Rebirth Of The Bastard Spirit Summoner

At the sound of the door, Stark quickly picked up his shirt, using it to wipe the excess sweat before opening the door, not bothering to put on a shirt.

In front of him was a young maid whose eyes widened when she saw him, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"Y-you missed dinner." She began, pausing a little before she continued. "The head maid said you shouldn't make a mistake like this again, but there is food waiting for you downstairs."

Immediately she finished, she stormed off, covering her face with her hands.

'What is wrong with her?'

Stark closed the door and went to sit on his bed. "How is it dinner time already?"

When he started the workout, it had just been 4:30 PM. How had nearly two hours passed without his knowing?

He quickly took a change of clothes and hurried down the hall to the bathroom with his towel.

Stark stood underneath the freezing cold shower, his mind a mess of thoughts.

He sighed deeply as his mind went back to the dream he had. He couldn't help but remember the old times… back then, living with Vivian and the twins was a daily thing.

Never would he have imagined that he would spend a day without them, yet here he was.

He stayed underneath the cold water for a long time, as though the water could wash away his grief, before stepping out and wiping his body.

Stark slapped his cheeks to clear his head.

He could not bring them back, so the least he could do was avenge them.

One step at a time…

After changing to a fresh set of clothes, Stark went downstairs, heading straight to the dining room where his food was waiting for him.

When Stark got to the dining room, the same girl from earlier was there, sitting at the table with her face buried in a book.

There was a single plate of food that had been covered with another plate. "Is this mine?"

The girl jolted, then blinked when her eyes focused on him. She had been far too lost in the prose…

"Oh, you're here. That is your food."

Stark sat down and picked up his spoon before he began wolfing down the food. Manners be damned, the work the chief maid had put him through today had made him ravenous.

Plus, if possible, he still wanted to get a few light exercises done.

The girl stared at him the way one would watch a caged hamster. It seemed he was far more interesting than her novel, because she dropped the book and instead focused on the way he ate, her eyes wide in surprise.

Then suddenly—

Cough! Cough!

Stark had somehow managed to send food down the wrong pipe, his eyes slowly turning red from the peppery burn that followed.

The maid immediately stood up and hurried to a tap to get him a glass of water, which Stark drank greedily before heaving out a sigh.

Then she chuckled, placing her hands on her mouth to try to stop herself. "I'm sorry, hehe, you're just very strange."

When she finally managed to stop herself, she smiled. "I am Eva Goldstein, and you are?"

Stark paused at the mention of her name and turned to actually look at her.

Auburn hair that appeared fiery in just the right lighting, coupled with green eyes with a dangerous glint in them.

How had he not realized it sooner?

She was the daughter of none other than Caylus Goldstein, the chief knight, and the greatest obstruction to his plan of getting Darell.

Stark smiled and took her hand in a gentle handshake. "Stark, you can call me Stark."

•••

In the entire city of Sandhill, there was one district far quieter than anywhere else. It was the most serene part of the entire city.

As people walked by, some sat on benches placed under great trees, while others sat on the grass, enjoying the evening breeze.

But there was one thing common among everyone here, and that was that they each had a book in hand.

Jade walked past the quiet streets and stopped in front of an imposing building.

It was gargantuan in size and had tall pillars carved out of stone as well as two large statues of owls wearing glasses in front of its entrance.

The Sandhill National Library.

Jade began to ascend the building and then pushed the door open before stepping inside.

Out of all the libraries in the south, this was the largest and most stocked library there was.

It was the only place she could find what she was looking for.

The librarian ushered her towards herself immediately she set eyes on her, and Jade strode up to her.

She could have chosen to go invisible, but a part of her wanted to be seen—to feel human, even though she was not.

"Good evening," said the woman, her voice sharp and formal. "New here?"

Jade nodded.

"Alright, fill out these forms and hand them to me."

Jade picked up the pen and filled in her details, fake details, of course. It wouldn't bode well if anyone found out she had died decades ago.

"So what are you looking for?"

Jade thought it over for a second.

"Books on resurrection, spirits, and legends."

The woman gave her a strange look, then turned to the side. "What about you, dear?"

"Do you have anything related to curses, seals, and enchantments?" came a delicate voice from beside Jade.

The librarian gave the two girls a puzzled look. Finding one weirdo with strange reading tastes in a day was more than enough.

She adjusted her glasses and began scribbling down the number of the shelves they needed to check.

Meanwhile, Jade turned to check the girl that was beside her. To her surprise, it was an elven girl with blonde hair and crimson eyes.

Elves this far south were a rarity, especially in a city like Sandhill, and yet that was not the most surprising part.

There was something else that caught her eyes… Although it had been well hidden, Jade could see it peeking out from underneath her shirt.

A slave mark.