Reincarnated as Twins: And Then, I Was the Only One Abandoned - ☆30 Magic Stones

☆30 Magic Stones 

When we returned to Celestia’s estate, it was, as expected, absolute chaos. 

Well, no surprise there. 

After all, the princess had returned. And she was leading a suspicious-looking gang of young bandits. 

The retainers and maids desperately tried to convince her to reconsider. But Elysia shut them down with a sharp command, silencing them instantly. 

Once Elysia made a decision, she never backed down. 

I think it was Gald who said that. 

Now, bringing them here was one thing, but… they had no place to stay. 

There was no way all of them could fit into my house. And I obviously couldn’t just let them crash in Elysia’s mansion. 

“Alright, Kai. As you can see, you guys don’t have a house. Luckily, there are plenty of trees in the nearby forest suitable for building. Just go ahead and build yourselves a place.” 

I tossed out the idea casually. 

“Got it. We built our last hideout ourselves. So we’re used to it. We even brought our tools, so we’ll get started right away.” 

Oh, nice. 

Maybe I should ask them to help out if anything at my place needs repairs. 

As we parted ways, and I was about to head home, a loud scream suddenly rang out from behind. 

“Uwaaaaaahhh!!!” 

A few of the boys had collapsed onto the ground, their legs giving out beneath them. 

Huh? 

I turned to look and saw Gald approaching with Kagutsuchi and Vald in tow. 

Wait a sec… 

They’ve gotten even bigger since the last time I saw them. 

They’re way past the puppy and kitten stage—these two are jaguar-sized now. 

“Souta… I waited… for your return…” 

With a pale face and a trembling breath, Gald spoke before collapsing on the spot. 

“I… I took care of them properly…” 

“Oh, thanks, man.” 

The two beasts came bounding toward me. 

Even bigger, they were still adorable. 

I introduced them to the stunned Kai and the others. 

“These guys are my pets. Kagutsuchi, a Hellhound, and Vald, a Behemoth. I let them roam freely around here. But don’t worry, they won’t attack people for no reason.” 

“B-Boss… You really are something else…” 

That was all Kai could manage to mutter. 

◆◆◆

The young bandit crew immediately got to work on building their houses. 

While gathering materials near the lake and taking a break, Liana—who always had her senses sharpened—seemed to notice something. 

“There’s something at the bottom of this lake.” 

They rushed into the forest, gathering vines in bulk. Then, Karina, who was particularly skilled with her hands, started weaving them into a hexagonal net. 

Her fingers moved deftly. She was tying the vines together with remarkable speed. 

They attached weights like stones and floating plants to the net. And soon, a cast net was completed. 

Xenon took it and threw it into the lake. He let it sink all the way down before pulling it back up. 

Mixed in with the regular rocks inside the net, a few stones emitted a mysterious glow. 

“Oh? What’s this? A stone that emits mana? We should report this to the boss.” 

◆◆◆

Kai brought the stones back, and Yuna appraised them. 

Kagutsuchi and Vald often wandered to the lake. It seemed they had been absorbing mana leaking from the lakebed all along. 

“Hmm, I always noticed mana seeping from the lake. So this is the source. These are magic stones—a rare mineral used for crafting magic tools.” 

Yuna’s eyes sparkled as she examined the stones. 

“For now, let’s keep gathering as many of these magic stones as we can while building the houses.” 

By the time the bandits had finished their houses, they had collected a massive amount of them. 

Apparently, there were still plenty more left at the bottom of the lake. 

Kai and his crew even built a small boat to help recover more from different parts of the lake. 

For now, we entrusted the collected stones to Elysia. And as for the bandits… they were now being trained as part of her personal guard. 

Their instructor? Noah.

Noah drilled them thoroughly, from the basics of mana manipulation to advanced combat techniques. 

Using his vast experience and knowledge, he provided personalized training for each member of the bandit crew. His instruction was strict yet easy to understand. And over time, the members gradually honed their skills. 

The training as Elysia’s personal guard wasn’t just about combat techniques—it also emphasized teamwork and strategic thinking. 

Through near-real combat simulations, Noah taught the once-rough bandits how to coordinate with one another and defeat enemies in the most efficient way possible. 

With Kai’s buffs added to the mix, they were starting to look stronger than your average army. 

Since “bandit crew” didn’t sound cool, I decided to rename Kai’s group “Shadow Raiders”. My chuunibyou (edgy, over-the-top) sense was definitely shining here. 

They would be handling a wide range of tasks from stealth operations to bodyguard duties. And I expected them to become an indispensable force in the future. 

Between training sessions, they also worked on farming—plowing the land and planting the secret elf kingdom seeds that Elysia’s group had brought back during their trip. These rare crops were worth a considerable amount if sold. 

I was counting on them to help pay off my loan. 

Things were running smoothly———until one day, an incident occurred.