Sitting in front of his parents' grave, a lot of thoughts coursed through Ashton's head as his memories, and the emotions within them, welled up again. He could feel his throat tighten as he read his parents' names on the stone.

  Since the carvings were relatively deep, Ashton could see the outline through the wisp-sight, though it was still hard to read. The thing that he was noticing most of all were the cracks throughout the cut stone and the plants that were overgrowing onto it. This probably has been the case since even before the plants started to go wild because of all the mana suddenly being introduced.

  So there was something simply Ashton could do. He put his hand onto the ground and called for the gnome, just using some gravel from the path to create the earth elemental's body. At the same time, Ashton had the Backpacker give him a piece of coal that he quickly used to call on the salamander.

  While fixing the cracks in the stone and the grave with the gnome's help, the salamander's well-controlled fire burnt away the roots and ivy overgrowing onto the stone.

  The Backpacker also gave Ashton a few other things that he was carrying with him. He was intending to use them to create some support items, but since candles weren't hard to find anyway, he could just pick up a few more sometime. So, he put these ones onto the edge of the grave.

  "Poppy, do you think you could pick out some good flowers growing nearby?" Ashton asked as he pulled out a piece of candy from his pocket. "This is your payment. If something is wrong, immediately let me know and I will call you back, okay?"

  The pixie nodded slowly, glancing over at the grave solemnly before fluttering away.

  The rules for contracts formed directly like this were a bit complicated when the contracted being was actually around their summoner. While it might seem like Ashton was able to use Poppy's abilities permanently, that wasn't actually the case. There was still an 'active period' for the contract. It was just that Ashton could give Poppy the payment directly without having to draw a summoning circle.

  If Ashton didn't give Poppy a proper payment whenever she used her abilities, it would just drain a ton of his mana at once. Though usually, for something like this, it wasn't technically necessary to give Poppy an offering, as this was more akin to her doing Ashton a favour. An offering was only necessary when the summon's abilities were used.

  But for a contract with a physical being like Poppy, there were other benefits. Even during the active period, she could leave Ashton's channelling range. She couldn't use her abilities there, of course, at least not through Ashton's influence, but that wasn't that big a deal. One of the more useful things though, was that Ashton could immediately call Poppy back with just a thought. Her body would temporarily be turned into mana, as it was when she stayed within Ashton's vessel, before being reconstructed in front of him.

  He could do the same with all the other summons. Technically, they could jump around within Ashton's range however much they wanted, but it took a lot more time, mana, and effort than just moving there normally.

  For now, Ashton continued cleaning up his parents' grave. He moved away the ashes of the plants with the sylph's help, and cleaned the stone properly with the undine. Keeping up five lesser elementals at a time wasn't all that big of a deal anymore at this point, as long as Ashton wasn't using any flashy magic.

  Something small like this wasn't hard.

  By the time Poppy came back with some flowers, Ashton was done. Poppy had picked out some pretty-looking wildflowers, though she wasn't able to carry a lot of them at once. This much was perfectly fine, though.

  Ashton placed them onto the grave and clicked his fingers. The wicks were lit in a slightly too-large flame, but Ashton quickly dimmed them down.

  Now, the grave of the Garling couple was in a better condition than any other grave in this place. It looked practically like new. Though, it was still quite different to how it was back when this stone was first placed here for Ashton's mother, or when it was updated with his father's name. There was a degree of weathering that simply couldn't be undone, not that Ashton thought it was right to pretend the passage of time didn't happen. He couldn't see it of course, but he was sure that the colour had changed over time anyway, and parts of the stone had been lost that couldn't be recovered anymore.

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  But that was okay. Time passing was normal, that was how it should be. Things were supposed to fade over time, some parts were supposed to be lost. Maybe someday, Ashton's mind would understand that idea, too.

  With a slight breath, Ashton placed his right hand into his left. He wasn't religious, but he knew that his mother was. His father wasn't the most religious person in the world, either, but he still dragged Ashton to church for important occasions. Things like holiday's and his mom's death anniversary, that sort of thing.

  Today was the first time in ten years Ashton stepped into the cathedral.

  But even so, he figured maybe right now, his parents might be able to hear him. If this was a world with mana at one point in time, maybe they made their way through the underworld as well, and their souls were now resting peacefully before entering back into the stream of rebirth after a few years or decades. That was, if his dad wasn't the insane sort that would choose annihilation, though Ashton could see a path like that for him, too.

  He laughed slightly.

  "I promise, I won't join you two over there anytime soon."

  Ashton slowly got back up, and just lingered here for a few moments longer. Until he heard the sound of someone walking on gravel. They were standing outside of Ashton's natural channelling range right now, so he slightly adjusted it and pushed it toward them a little more. Though usually, Ashton stood at the centre of this sphere of mana, he was really just moving himself closer to its edge.

  And soon, the person that was revealed was none other than Carol Baker, Clementine's mother.

  "What do you want?" Ashton asked, and she hesitated to speak.

  "I... How is she..?"

  A scowl naturally appeared on Ashton's face. "Clementine is safe. She came back to Drakewood the day this all happened, and was captured by some lizardmen a few days later. I freed her and some others stuck in the costco today," he explained, giving Carol the bare minimum grace that he could give her.

  A relieved sigh came from her. "I see... so she's alright, that's good."

  "She's safe now. But she's not 'alright'. I don't think anybody is, anymore."

  A laugh escaped Ashton's lips. "What's left of your husband seems to be thriving, though."

  Carol's body-language tightened instantly. "He-He's not that bad, you know? He's just stressed! As you said, nobody is really alright anymore... he's just scared about what is happening to everyone right now. I know that doesn't excuse the things he did to Clementine back then, but–"

  Ashton turned toward Carol. Not that he needed to, but it felt appropriate. "The things he did? Why are you taking yourself out of this so naturally?" He took a couple steps forward, compressing his range a bit more as he did. Carol's expression became clearer to him. "Yes, he beat her black and blue to the point she could barely even move more than once, but don't act like you didn't get physical with her. You hit her, you yelled at her, you turned her into your little maid. From my point of view, you're not a mother, just as he isn't a father." Ashton briefly turned back to his parents' graves, to force Carol's eyes to wander as well. "Because there's no way you two deserve the same titles as them."

  Carol opened her mouth, trying to give some sort of excuse or explanation, but was struggling to. So, Ashton just walked past her. He should just leave at this point.

  "You don't know what it was like! Living in that house, with him! It was hard for me, too!"

  "... And yet you still stick by his side, even after what he did to become that."

  "Yes! Because he's actually trying to help people! He's-he's changing, I know it!"

  Another involuntary laugh came out of Ashton. "Yeah, he definitely is. Listen, don't get it wrong. I decided to let him live for now. I know I'm going to regret this, definitely. It's not a matter of if, but when he becomes too dangerous to leave alone. The only reason I'm leaving is because I cherish Clementine too much to let her see me as her father's killer. Not without talking to her about this, first."

  Carol laughed nervously. She followed behind Ashton a little bit. Her voice was shaky, like she was trying to do anything she could to prove him wrong. "You think he's going to become dangerous? What do you even know about danger? You pampered little brat!"

  Ashton couldn't even get angry at provocations like that. Pampered? What the hell did she know?

  "Yeah, sure. You'll know that I'm right soon enough. I suggest that you pay close attention. That way, before it's all too later, you can do the one good thing that you will have ever done as a parent."

  "And... what... what is that?" She sounded genuine, almost like she was asking for genuine advice.

  "His skin is getting thicker and harder than normal right now, and his stamina is improving, but he still needs sleep. So, you take a knife and push it through his eyelid into his brain. Use a mallet to drive it in faster if that helps," Ashton stated matter-of-factly, then turned around toward Clementine's mother and smiled softly. The wisp resting within the top of the Summoner's staff should be illuminating his face well during moonless night. "And then, when you see the message confirming that you killed a Marked, you pull the knife out of your husband's head and slit your own throat. I think that should be a good way to make up for all that you two have done."