Something was off—a thousand percent off.
Raven sat down on a random stone, casually shooing away a Diricawl that was teleporting back and forth nearby.
“Did Old Purple just chicken out?
Was my proud land tank actually afraid?
That doesn’t make sense.
I recruited him back then precisely because he was so fierce.
A creature with such a temper should’ve picked a fight with me first, acknowledged me as his ‘successor,’ and let me pass the trial that way.
How did playing with a ball count as passing?
“So he really was trying to say we shouldn’t waste food back then, huh? Guess my leading by example really paid off.”
Having convinced himself, Raven decided to get back to business.
After all this fuss, it was nearly three in the morning, and dinner was already digested.
Although in theory Raven would be fine even if he never ate, he refused to accept having an empty stomach.
So Raven pinched his right thumb and middle finger together and blew a sharp whistle.
*Crack!* A sudden pop echoed in the air above, and a creature radiating body heat landed right on top of Raven’s head.
It didn’t feel that heavy?
Raven reached up, pulled the creature off his head, and burst into a laugh like a honking goose.
“Hahaha! Hahaha—ugh, hahaha!”
Even as he laughed, he didn’t forget to ask Phineas Nigellus Black through their soul link.
“Phineas, did you just undergo rebirth? How did you end up looking like this?”
This was the [Dusk Highlands] high-mountain region, home to magical birds like Fwoopers, Jobberknolls, and Diricawls.
Naturally, the lord of this domain was Raven’s phoenix, Phineas.
It was just that the lord’s current state didn’t look too good—or to be accurate, it was hilarious.
In Raven’s mind, a phoenix was usually a magnificent magical beast resembling an eagle, covered in vibrant red plumage, with long golden tail feathers and a golden beak and talons.
Phoenix – Phineas Nigellus Black
But right now, Phineas had only one or two feathers on his entire body, exposing his pink skin.
He looked just like a parrot that had just been plucked bare.
Although Raven’s telepathic message sounded completely normal…
…as his soul-bound partner, Phineas could sense Raven’s true emotion—pure, rotten mockery!
Furious, he scrambled right up in Raven’s palm, flapped his bare wings, and nipped at Raven’s thumb while letting out indignant *coo-coo-coo* sounds.
Raven laughed even harder.
“No wonder I didn’t see you go play with George and Fred after I got home. Turns out you went through rebirth again!” This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Only when Raven finally stopped laughing was Phineas willing to settle back down in his palm to chat.
“Coo, coo, coo…”
“Your previous form wasn’t even that old. There was no need to rush into rebirth.”
“Coo! Coo-coo! Coo-coo!”
“That’s because I didn’t want to bring Ron’s rat! That’s why I registered his Pigwidgeon instead. It’s not like I actually wanted to pet a little owl.”
“Coo-coo!”
“Hey, Phineas, be reasonable! What do you mean ‘swear an oath’? Do you distrust me that much? Besides, with you looking like this, how am I supposed to buy anything? I really might have to use Pigwidgeon as my courier now.”
“Coo-coo-coo, coo-coo-coo-coo…”
“What? You forced your own rebirth, and now you want me to ask Albus Dumbledore for divine flames? Doesn’t his Fawkes need them to eat? Fawkes needs them to skip his chick phase too!”
“Coo.” Phineas covered his head with his two featherless wings, adopting a total “I don’t care, I’m not listening” posture.
“Fine, fine, fine! I’ll go ask him for you later. First, let me out. I need to talk to Old Deek.”
At the mention of that name, Phineas seemed to stiffen for a moment.
He hopped up from Raven’s palm, shoved with his wings, and launched Raven right out of the space.
Sunlight illuminated the dome, filtering through the gaps between vines and penetrating clear glass to spill onto the room’s wooden floorboards.
This was Raven’s favorite sunroom garden aesthetic.
Nearby, the loom was still operating on its own.
Without an order from its master or magical materials supplied to it, it wouldn’t produce anything.
The globe supported by a carved dragon, the marble statue of a Graphorn—everything was wiped squeaky clean.
The coffee table and sofa were set in Raven’s favorite corner spot; he loved having a bird’s-eye view of the entire room.
However, Old Deek was nowhere to be seen.
The sound was coming from the direction of the greenhouse room.
Following the noise, Raven walked over.
The Mithril Ancient Magic Sentinels lining the corridor showed no extra reaction.
Mithril Ancient Magic Sentinel
Because the moment Raven appeared in this space, he automatically acquired administrative privileges; he was already bound to the sanctuary base.
Stepping off the wooden corridor, Raven spotted a house-elf wearing a rag of red-and-green plaid.
The elf was shoveling dirt while muttering curses under his breath, next to a heap of charred Venomous Tentacula branches on the ground.
“Stinky bird, bad bird, stupid bird.”
As Raven drew closer, he heard it clearly.
Well, now he knew where Phineas had undergone his rebirth.
Of course, Old Deek also noticed that a long-absent visitor had entered the space.
“Hello, Heir. I am the caretaker here, Deek. It is a pleasure to serve you. Allow me to give you a tour of this place.”
Just as Raven had instructed him in his past life, Deek didn’t mention that his caretaker privileges were actually higher than those of the heir.
That was merely a safeguard left behind by the master to protect the members, preventing an heir from selling out their interests.
So long as the heir did not harm their interests, Old Deek would continue to serve the heir just as he served his master—even if, relative to the heir, he was the one who truly held authority here.
Only now did Raven get a clear look at Deek’s face.
Compared to magical beasts, which easily lived for centuries, humans and house-elves were unmistakably short-lived species.
A hundred years might sound a bit long to a Thestral, a Unicorn, a Graphorn, or a Phoenix, but it was only *a bit* long.
For Old Deek, half a lifetime had passed.
Raven still remembered Old Deek from back then.
Even then, Old Deek had already been ‘Old Deek,’ with graying hair and sideburns.
Now, Old Deek looked impossibly ancient.
The skin on his face sagged heavily, and deep wrinkles crumpled his features together.
He would probably be the very first friend Raven would watch die of old age.
Overwhelmed with mixed emotions, Raven spoke up:
“Old Deek, didn’t I give you a suit before I left? If you like it here, you’re welcome to stay, but you will always be free.”
The successor’s words made Old Deek wonder if he had misheard.
He strained to open his drooping eyelids.
His cloudy, bloodshot eyes could no longer make out the face standing before him.
Yet precisely because he could only see a blurry outline, he noticed that this person’s posture and bearing were completely identical to his master’s.
If his master had truly returned, he would stand in that exact posture and speak to him with that exact tone.
As if trying to confirm something, Old Deek submitted an access verification request to the sanctuary base.
The request sank like a stone into the ocean, but the boy in front of him spoke up instead.
“Yes, I’ve already reclaimed authority. Can you confirm it now, Old Deek?” The young wizard opened his arms.
Old Deek shuffled forward and threw his arms around his master’s waist, tears streaming down his cheeks.
“Deek… Deek never expected to see Master again. But Deek is too old, far too old! Deek is useless! Deek was wrong!”
Deek blamed himself bitterly.
He longed to serve his master, but he had grown so old he could barely move.
Then Raven’s voice drifted down:
“It’s fine, Old Deek. I have a new mission for you.”