Master Of Astral Summoner

"I'll count to three. Come out now, or I'll cut you down," Theo said as he walked toward Shaan and switched on his ArcGear. "One… two…"

"W-wait." Shaan rushed out from behind the bushes in a panic.

"Oh... It's you. The weak man." Theo turned off his ArcGear. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

'Theo's words were indeed very annoying.'

"Hey, hey, did you hear me?" Theo folded his arms and stared at Shaan. "I said. What are you doing here?"

"The same as you. I'm doing social punishment because I broke the rules." Shaan stood up and brushed the branches off his clothes. "Theo, how can you be here? Aren't you supposed to stay in the hospital?"

"A nobleman like me is not like you weaklings." Theo patted his chest. "I only took a small hit, nothing serious."

'Tch, this guy really loves to brag.' Shaan shook his head. 'He almost died if I and the others hadn't saved him.'

"Hey, why are you looking at me like that?" Theo raised an eyebrow and stared at Shaan. "Is something wrong, weaky?"

"Ah, no, not at all." Shaan shook his head. "You haven't answered my question at all. How did you get out of the hospital?"

"After the doctor allowed me to go home, two men in uniform suddenly appeared at the door. They both came from Madam Yashina's group and told me to follow them so I could meet her about the fight that happened," Theo explained. "After she listened to my explanation, Madam Yashina told me to continue my social punishment because I broke the rules by attacking another Daemonist in the Twilight Sanctum."

'Oh... So that's how it is.'

"But that bastard was the one who insulted me first!" Theo grumbled angrily. "Argh! Enough, I'm sick of this place," Theo said, walking away from Shaan without saying another word.

"Hey, Theo, where are you going?"

However, Theo did not respond to Shaan's words and walked away carrying his Arc-Gear into a cluster of trees and disappeared.

"Good grief, Theo really knows how to be annoying." Shaan's face clearly showed his irritation. "Whatever, instead of staying here, I should go back and finish my task."

***

After Shaan finished his task, he returned to the Twilight Sanctum and gave his ArcGear back to the officer on duty. He then walked inside the Twilight Sanctum and accidentally met Mr Courier, Chelsie, and Nalira, who seemed to have just finished their own tasks. Without waiting, Shaan immediately approached them.

"Oh, hello, Shaan." Chelsie smiled when she saw Shaan walking towards her. "Uhm... how are you feeling?"

"Pretty tired. But I'm starting to get used to this job," Shaan said while stretching his body. "How about you all?"

"Um… Lira and I also started to get used to it," Chelsie said, shifting her gaze to the side. "Right, Lira?"

'... That's right. But at least today isn't as tiring as yesterday."

"Uhm... Yes, that's true." Chelsie nodded her head. " Sometimes, I feel a little bit jealous of Mr. Courier. he feels lucky because he can't feel tired like us."

"Logically, that does sound like an advantage. But I don't think it's something I should call a benefit. Even though my body looks perfect and it lets me think like a human, I still can't feel the things you feel." Mr. Courier looked at the barcode lines on his arm. "But based on these lines, I know my work consumes a lot of my mana." His voice dropped. "Maybe… humans like you can call it 'feeling tired', but… I still wonder what real exhaustion actually feels like."

"Umm... I can't explain it myself," Chelsie scratched her head. "Basically, that feeling of tiredness... It's like—"

"You need a break, both physically and mentally."

"Ah, yes, yes, that's right." Chelsie snapped her fingers. "What Lira said is true. Thank you, Lira."

"Besides, humans don't just have fatigue. There are many other feelings like sadness, anger, disappointment, joy, and many other feelings that arise in certain conditions,'' Shaan added.

Hearing their explanation, Mr. Courier was silent for a few minutes. "Oh...I had no idea humans had such complex things."

"Well, you could say that." Shaan smiled, hearing Mr. Courier's words. "Sir, we'd better go home and rest."

"That's a good idea. I need to recover my mana, too," said Mr. Courier. "Alright, let's go back."

After they walked past the main plaza of the Twilight Sanctum, they finally reached Dr. Marshal's house. Shaan clearly saw Dr. Marshal standing in front of the entrance with his arms folded, his face filled with confusion as he looked at several homunculi—ones that looked exactly like Master Courier—lying on the ground.

'Strange, what is Dr. Marshal actually thinking? Why does he look so confused?'

"Sir. Marshal, what are you doing out here?" Mr. Courier immediately approached him.

"Ah, it looks like all of you have returned." Dr. Marshal turned to them. "The other worker homunculi came back after finishing their missions."

"Oh, that's good news," Shaan said.

"But some of the homunculi suffered heavy damage," Dr. Marshal said as he pointed at one of them. "Look, these claw marks cut so deep they damaged several important components inside its body."

"…Doppleshade? Did that terrifying creature do this?"

"Hmm... it could be, or it could be another creature of darkness," said Dr. Marshall, scratching his head. "However, there are some important spare parts that I need to buy so I can repair it."

"Uhm… why don't you go buy them then?"

"I want to, but I need to recharge and check the condition of the other homunculi one by one. That takes a lot of time, and just now several customers came because they needed homunculi to deliver things," Dr. Marshal said. "I have to check the rest of them immediately."

Sir. Marshal, I would be pleased to help you," said Mr. Courier. "You must need help checking all those homunculi."

"All right, Courier 020. Thank you for wanting to help me."

"It's my pleasure to help you, sir."

"Dr. Marshal, let us find the spare parts you need."

"Ah, it's okay. I can handle it, Shaan," said Dr. Marshal, taking a small flashlight out of his pocket and shining it on the homunculus's body. "After examining this homunculus, I'll go buy the materials. Besides, you must be tired after working all day, and you should—"

"Let us help," Nalira interrupted the courier. "At least if we help, your task will feel much lighter."

"Uhmm... I agree with what Shaan and Lira said." Chelsie nodded quickly. "So, what do we need to do to help you?"

Dr. Marshal was silent for a moment, then slowly sighed. "All right, then, if you insist. I'll give you a list of the spare parts I need. But I need quite a lot of them, and all of you have to find them quickly."