Ellie

What was supposed to be a day of celebration and summoning via Rain Dance became somewhat of an incident that almost led to catastrophe, and the Rain Dance was postponed until the next week.

Various children of all ages went back towards their homes, disappointed, and a few adults feared for their lives.

Luckily the site was far enough before the butterflies reached the general vicinity, and ended before a single child got hurt.

As if wished upon by fate, Ellie was held on by a caretaker and immediately went back towards the old man we are currently following right now.

"Good thing that you came already, miss. I think the child can recognize people already. Any time later and she might possibly mistake a different mother!"

"It's not that that I fear, but that the Merchants might actually make a move. You don't know this but there were three assassins that were sent for me, and if not for my family here, I'd been dead gone as good."

The old man's reaction to her words made him gasp and pause before hastening his pace and extending his strides.

We went through a few doorways in the courtyard, and finally found a small house that had a wooden door in it. It also had an opened wooden window on the side. I couldn't see much what was inside, but the white interior was well lit.

There was a fragrant smell all over, and there was a doormat in front. The surroundings were filled with plants that made the place refreshing.

Now that I look closely, they look like the plants at Borollo which gave out source energy from time to time.

There's not much but it was enough for the yard to be filled with source energy.

"Here we are, Young Miss..."

Mom let out a sigh of relief and entered the house, and we all followed behind.

The house was simple, and there were all sorts of furniture that were made in clay.

She instantly turned right towards where the window was from behind, and there was a wooden crib in which a baby was in.

The sleeping baby had slightly red hair like Mom's. She carried it and caressed her face which almost seemed to wake her up, but it turned out that she was just sucking air and stopped moving once more.

"She's cute...!" Aunt couldn't hold back once more and she hugged me tightly instead. After that she even pinched on my cheeks which almost made me yelp out in pain, but I held myself back to not wake the baby up.

"Meet Ellie... your sister."

Mom leaned closer to us and slowly knelt to show me the baby wrapped in a soft-looking fabric, Ellie.

The way she breathed reminded me of the more younger babies when I was back at the orphanage, and once more I felt my emotions rising.

This is my sister. My own blood relative sister.

Her eyelashes were long, and her cute little nose almost made me want to pinch it. Her slightly brown skin reminded me of Mom's physique.

She breathed slowly and softly, an actual baby. I wonder now if I also looked like this when I was born.

"Kaff, she doesn't look like you." Three whispered.

"Well, Kaff looks more like El, but he also got my eyes. He's like a mixture of us, and Ellie here... got her father's eyes."

The baby wasn't awake so we can't see how she looked like Dad, and I can see Mom's eyes slightly getting teary.

"Mom, can I hold her?"

"Sure. Support her neck and head, okay?"

She slowly handed me Ellie, and I carefully took her in my arms.

"So light."

It almost felt like she wasn't there. Her overall appearance made me want to protect her... or is it just something that a big brother feels when he finally has a little sister? I mean, my own little sister.

"She's going to be two years old in a few more months, yet she's still so little. I always kept wondering if she has some kind of problem, but I can't really take her outside as we might get seen."

"Now that you said it, little Ellie here does look like she's just almost a year old."

"Mom... does she have a source spirit?"

The question made the already quiet place seem more silent, and Mom's expression turned into a frown.

I almost lost my composure but her frown turned into a pout.

"Yeah, she has. Lucky girl."

Everyone's expression brightened and Mom smiled a little bit afterward.

Aunt kept jumping and had the urge to squeeze me once again but she held back as I was currently holding Ellie in my arms.

Three held me on the shoulder and gave her blessings towards the baby.

I don't hold every Vates in contempt nor hatred, but her intentions almost scared me. It was only after she finished praying when she told me that her prayers actually didn't contain any sort of magic that was based from Gemmatria, but she told me that it was from her heart.

Not sure what it was and from her fervent expression, I accepted her prayers wholeheartedly.

"Young Miss, you should all go..."

"Don't worry Min, we'll be safe. You too also, take care."

With that, we bade our farewell towards the old man named Min, and finally left.

Flying wouldn't probably attract us lots of attention, and the panic from earlier wasn't quelled that much yet.

At the distance there were still a lot of people that gathered towards where the Calamity Butterflies came.

Now that I think about it, Why was there a lightning strike before the butterflies came?

We started to fly and I made a white barrier that encapsulated Aunt as she carried Mom.

Interestingly though, Three was the one who carried Ellie, and they were both near me as we flew.

"Where do we go now?"

"Since we currently have Ellie, I think it's fine to go visit my own parents further south."

"But further south, would the child be fine?" Three asked as her brows furrowed.

"Don't worry, she has an Ice Orb necklace right?"

It seems that Mom is confident of the Ice Orb, but what scares me instead is that unknown beasts might suddenly just pop out as we cross over the vast desert.

It's like bringing an egg while using a spoon in your mouth while walking along a tightrope. It's not that exaggerated but that's the feeling I had.

...

***

The man and the boy who vanquished the Calamity Butterflies were currently staying at a large inn, and the manager was personally accompanying them inside their room.

"You can leave now."

"Thank you very much, sir..." The manager was clasping his own hands together as he tilted his head.

"It's fine, you don't have to know my name."

"Oh-oh, understood. Now if you still need anything, just let know the two maids I've stationed outside your room and they'll help you with anything. I imply emphasis on the word 'anything' here."

The man waved his hand as he glanced all around the room, and the manager finally went towards the exit.

The boy who always accompanied him had an unusual scowl on his face as he faced towards the door where the manager went through.

"It's like I'm not even here."

"No worries. It's common for people to mistake children as having lesser strength. Don't forget, that I'm still your master, too."

"Yes, master."

Turning around, the boy's scowl was gone and he made a slight bow before his eyes furrowed and started.

"Have you seen the others... besides us?"

The man turned towards the boy and replied.

"Yes. One of them was rather peculiar."

"Is it the one with the sword lights that also sent the butterflies away?"

"She also has a peculiar techniques, but her power is rather similar to someone I've met already. What I am curious about is the boy."

"The one who was trying to revive her mother? I don't see anything in him, but if master says so then he must be remarkable."

"It's actually the opposite. That child actually has no way of accumulating magic inside his body, but he was clearly using magic before even the butterflies started to swarm all over the city.

You've also felt the lightning from earlier, right? It was actually something I'm overly familiar with, yet I can't understand what the underlying system his whole being has."

With that, the man started to walk around the room as he brought his hand to his chin, and the boy scratched his head.

They were the same people that were once at a location where a lot of tall bamboo trees that had a rather peaceful environment, yet it was also where the child once lived where two tribes were at war with each other.

The boy had grown now after those years, and he was around four feet in height by now.

The man however, had no signs of any change in his body, even with his clothes.

"I'm interested. Should we pay them a visit?"

"If master wills it, then I could only follow."

"But first I'd like to have a taste of the local cuisine, so you may monitor them for now. Let me know when they're about to leave town, as my intuition tells me that their group isn't as simple as it looks like.

There's also that girl with black hair. I can't believe I've almost met someone that has a Silver Phoenix bloodline."

"Silver Phoenix? Does master have a need for that girl?"

"Not really, but her blood is rare. She'll probably grow more beautiful too, in a few more years. Her heart has already been conquered though, which is quite a pity."

"By conquered, you do mean that she's already someone's wife, right?"

"Not exactly, but females with a Silver Phoenix bloodline can only fall in love once, and that's set in stone.

Either way, everyone from their group is a mystery, and I only want to confirm my thoughts regarding the child."

The man raised his hand and an object just suddenly appeared within his hands, and threw it towards the boy who also caught it with a fast reaction.

"I'll be sure to let master know quickly if something happens."

The boy then left with a blur, and the room now only had a single person.

"Aih, mortality isn't really a sin, yet almost every living thing... Enough proverbs, as it's a time for indulging myself in intricacies and delicacies.

With that, the man suddenly disappeared with a flash of blue light, and reappeared somewhere else within Kandria.

He was just about to pick up something from the street food stalls when he stopped just seconds before the fragrant meat stick.

"Surely he found them quickly."

He closed his eyes and the surroundings seemed to pause, before resuming again within a second.

[I've connected to you. It's too early for a report, is it?]

The master and student duo seemed to be able to talk the same way Yona did when she instructed Kaff back then at the icy mountains. It was unknown if the technique was the same or if just similar, the imporant fact was that they were able to communicate with each other within long distances.

[Master, they're trying to leave the city! Also, there seems to be a few people following them. Should I take care of them?]

[Leave them be. From my estimates, they should be able to protect themselves.]

[There's also one thing---the girl that you mentioned earlier is currently carrying an infant with red hair. Based from observation, I could only assume that it's the kid's little sister as the infant has the same hair color as his mother.]

[Protect them when worse happens. Prioritize the infant; we don't want to shed an innocent's blood on such a good day.]

With that he opened his eyes once more, and found out that people were staring at him, and that the meat stick that he was about to acquire was already taken by a kid that was currently walking away.

"Mortality is a challenge, after all..."