Chapter 11: Xyrus

We stepped out into what appeared to be a plaza after experiencing nauseating vertigo. There was a fountain with crystal clear water, and clouds served as a backdrop for the bright blue sky. The sun reflected off the commercial buildings and filtered down to us. The air smelled clean and was fresh. Without a doubt, this location was more sophisticated than I had expected from the medieval world.

'So this is Xyrus... Not bad'

Sure, it lacked the technological comforts of a modern world from what I could see, but this place was cleaner than I expected. After all, horses were the primary mode of transportation during this time period, and horses produced a lot of dirt. Perhaps the state of their streets had something to do with magic. Or was it the horses? I'd have to investigate.

Aside from the medieval world's questionable hygiene, I was surprised that people were not taken aback by our sudden appearance through the teleportation gates. Some of them, mostly young people, looked at our caravan with interest, but the majority of them just kept moving forward, paying little attention. Something like this was normal for them.

After a brief examination of my surroundings, I inquired. "Where are we going now?"

Alice, who sat next to me in our wooden carriage seat, hummed in thought before responding. "We have a friend here. We'll go see him and then decide what to do."

I nodded but moved closer to Alice so she could feel my presence. I was aware of it. She was hiding it well, but the unconsciously made micro-expressions on her face revealed her depressed mood. She was probably considering how Arthur would react to this city or something along those lines. Nothing I could do but cuddle with her and let her feel my warmth.

I kept looking around after Alice wrapped her thin, somewhat cold arms around me. I marveled at the sight as the carriage began to move. Unlike Ashber, this location seemed more refined. Housewives and children were still playing in the streets, but they were dressed better and appeared cleaner. There were also children dressed in dark blue uniforms with gold trim. They all appeared to be noble in some way. Perhaps this was due to the fact that living in a city like Xyrus demanded a higher level of social standing. It is, after all, a floating city.

The carriage kept moving, making a rattling sound. As time passed, the houses seemed to grow larger and the population density decreased. The locals became more refined, as did some of the people's clothing.

After some time, the carriages came to a halt in front of a rather large mansion. The setting sun illuminated the house's entrance, which was just beyond a flight of wide, gray stairs. The lion-shaped knocker adorned a dark brown door with intricate carvings, and the golden plaque next to it with the name 'Helstea' carved on it only confirmed that my parents' acquaintance was wealthy.

Alice hugged me and I turned to face her. When I looked at her, she smiled at me with her teeth bared. I simply lay down on her shoulder, and she rested her head against mine. Her chin brushing against my hair was a little uncomfortable, but I put up with it. I had no idea what was going through her mind, but I knew I was her emotional pillar for the time being and would be for a while until she got over Arthur.

My father stepped out of the carriage and greeted us with his trademark smile. After climbing a flight of stairs, he went with Durden to knock on the door knocker. A maid poked her head in after the sound of the knocker passed through the door. She looked at Reyndols with curiosity in her black eyes and nodded a few times. Reynolds then returned to us with a summary of his talk.

"Vincent is at his auction house right now." Our father informed us. "Tabitha is out shopping with her daughter, so there's a bit of a wait." He smiled at my mother before shifting his gaze to me and answering my unspoken question. "Kiyo, we're going to see an old friend of the twin horns."

Reynolds got into our carriage after the announcement and sat right next to me. "Well?" he said, proudly smiling. "Isn't it a lovely city?" He asked, more of a statement than a question, so I just nodded. "Ha~, your father was well-known around here, you know? Ladies were approaching to me left and rig- Ouch!"

Alice retracted her hand from the spot where she had struck Reynolds. "Don't lie to Kiyo." She said it with a frown, but then she sneered, her hazel eyes gleaming with a mysterious gleam, like a child about to make a joke. "Did I ever tell you, Kiyo, how your father and I met?" Reynolds stiffened, and she continued. "You see..."

Reynolds waved his hands in front of him, a rare expression of panic on his face. "Wait a minute, honey, it was a joke!"

Alice turned down his offer to make amends. "Back then, your father..."

Reynolds was visibly dejected and muttering things under his breath after an educational story about how Reynolds was a confident person who blushed at the slightest eye contact with Alice. Alice, who appeared to be amused by his pain, laughed coyly, putting her hand over her mouth and squinting her eyes. Was she a secret sadist? Why did she appear to be having so much fun? Well, and at least now her attention was diverted away from Arthur.

I heard Adam's voice greeting someone just as Alice was about to humiliate Reynolds again with another embarrassing story. "It's been a while, Tabitha."

Reynolds perked up, perhaps anxious to escape the chatter. "Come on," he said, and before I knew it, I was in his arms and, in a blur, on the floor. Just as my vision was returning to normal, I felt a calloused hand on my head... "It's time to say hello," Reynolds declared.

"It's good to see the twin horns are still there." In response to Adam's greeting, a woman's voice responded. I followed the melodic voice and watched as a black-haired, blue-eyed woman greeted everyone, followed by a little girl cowering behind her mother.

She turned to us after greeting Angela, Adam, Durden, Jasmine, and Helen. Her elegant figure and straight posture, combined with her symmetrical face, made her appear mature and attractive as she walked, swaying her hips towards us. Her brow furrowed slightly as she scanned our faces with her gaze. But when she noticed Reynolds shaking his head and Alice looking a little thinner and unkempt, her crystal blue eyes widened with realization.

She came in front of us with a sad face. "I'm sorry, Reynolds, Alice..."

Reynolds cut her off before she could finish her sentence. His gaze was drawn to Alice and me, and Tabitha became aware of Alice's frail mental state. "Why don't we discuss this when Vincent arrives?"

Tabitha gathered herself, her face solemn, and she nodded. "Of course," she says. However, she crouched in front of me after that, her bluish dress highlighting her eyes as she stood in front of me. "What's your name, little one?" she asked, brightly smiling.

"My name is Kiyotaka, and it's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Tabitha." I bowed as best I could, though it came out somewhat awkwardly because Alice had a firm grip on my hand.

Tabitha pushed the little brown-haired girl forward slightly as my gaze shifted to her. "Say hello, Lilia. This is Kiyotaka, and he's your age."

Despite her mother's encouragement, the little girl still held the woman's blue dress in her small hand, her round, hazel eyes reminiscent of a scared kitten's as she introduced herself. "H-Hello."

"Hello, Lilia." I nodded, and she appeared startled by my greeting, ducking behind her mother's leg slightly.

Tabitha laughed lightly at her shy daughter. She took Lilia's hand in hers and turned to lead the way to her house, where the maid from earlier was already there, the door open. "Let us enter. Vincent should arrive soon."

We entered the house and proceeded to the living room via a hallway with various doors and a staircase to the second floor. The living room welcomed us with the creak of the wooden door. It was adorned with a chandelier that distributed light evenly throughout the room and some brown armchairs that matched the brown furniture.

Lilia lost her shyness as soon as she stepped inside and let go of her mother's hand. She dashed to a corner of the room near the bookshelf with a small pile of toys and began to play in front of everyone's amusement. Everyone took a seat in a better mood. The twin horns and Tabitha were catching up, but my mother appeared distant, with only occasional nods and a forced-sounding laugh.

I noticed Tabitha looking at her as if I wanted to talk to her, so when my gaze met hers, I nodded and moved away from Alice before she could react and squeeze me to keep me from escaping. Tabitha recognized my intentions and approached Alice to speak with her.

I felt a little lost as to where to go after completing my mission, but in the end I made my way to where Lilia was alone playing with a small doll and sat down with her. I wondered what they were talking about when I felt the cold touch of the wood in my hands, but I had an idea. They appeared to be good friends, as evidenced by Alice's sobbing in Tabitha's embrace after a brief moment of conversation.

"W-want to play?" When I was lost in my thoughts, a cute and slightly loud voice called me out. Lilia had another toy and was offering it to me with both hands. When I just stood there staring at her, she seemed to shrink back in her seat more and more.

In the end, I shrugged. "Sure."

As she nodded, her face lit up and a smile formed. "Yay!" she exclaimed happily. Lilia took out a few toys and set up a little stage where I could play with her, but after a while she scolded me for some reason. "Uh-uh! The cakes go bad if you don't hurry, faster!" She insisted.

As I slowly moved the carriage along the makeshift road towards the tent, which was a block of wood, I looked at her, puzzled. "But... a horse travels at 40 kilometers per hour, and the tent appears to be about 20 kilometers away, so it's natural for it to take a while." I confronted her.

"What?!" Lilia scolded me angrily for some reason. Then she snatched the toy from me and handed me something like a frying pan. "Make cake!"

"Okay."

However, after a while, she scolded me again. "Kiyo! Your cake burned!"

"How is that possible?" In perplexity, I inquired. "It hasn't even been 30 seconds. A cake takes about an hour to bake, not including cooling time and decorating. If we scale that down to our game scale, it would still take about two minutes to bake." It was illogical.

Lilia pouted. "I don't understand you, you're no fun!."

Eh... that's sad, but apparently I was the only one who thought so, because everyone else in the room laughed. They'd been watching us play for a while and apparently thought it was hilarious. Had I said something strange? I thought I was simply speaking logically.

"Twin horns? I thought you were coming a couple of days ago. I was starting to get worried." With a smile, a thin man with brown eyes and brown hair said.

"It's been a long time, Vincent." My father gave a tired smile.

"Reynolds, I'm glad to see you're doing well!" Vincent finally approached me after hugging my father and the rest of the family. His brown eyes looked at me strangely and around the room, but he eventually shrugged. "Are you Arthur, or are you Kiyota?"

The welcoming, family-like atmosphere froze. A layer of awkwardness settled in, and Lilia, who was sitting right next to me, shifted uncomfortably, unable to bear the pressure. Vincent was also perplexed.

"I am Kiyotaka, Mr. Vincent. " I clarified politely, earning a nod from him I decided to continue. "Unfortunately my brother Arthur..." Before I could finish Vincent cut me off.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I had no idea." He apologized, looking at Alice, who appeared particularly distressed. "Why don't you two take a break? We can talk later. "

Tabitha, his wife, followed. "Alice, Kiyo, I'll show you where you can rest." Tabitha rose from her seat to assist us, but not before reprimanding Lilia for attempting to flee. "You as well, young lady."

"Moh! It's still early, I want to play more!"

Tabitha carried Lilia and led the way while to us soothing a grumpy child. "Tomorrow is another day; your father is having an important conversation right now."

We walked up the stairs before turning left. "We'll call you for dinner, you can rest easy," Tabitha said as she opened the door to the room. She smiled and lifted Lilia up, sniffing the air near her. "As for you, it's bath time."

As she was dragged into another room, Lilia squirmed in her mother's grip and extended a hand toward me. "Help!"

It was clear that I did not help her. Lilia looked at me as if I had betrayed her after swearing eternal love and disappeared into a room with a pitiful expression on her face as I shook my head.

Alice entered the room with a small smile on her face. The door squeaked shut, and her expression fell. Before the room could quiet down, Alice began to sob quietly, her hand clenched against her dress as she leaned against the door, as if all her energy had been expended.

"Are you okay, Mom?"

She wiped her tears with her sleeves and smiled falsely. "Yes."

I moved in closer and wrapped my small arms around her waist. "It's fine to cry."

She patted my head and smiled slightly. "I understand, and the same goes for you." With one hand, she lifted my face. "You can cry too."

Can I? I wasn't certain. However, I couldn't even feel sad right now, so I simply shook my head. I declared as I looked at her with conviction. "I can't cry," I continued before she could say anything. "I won't be able to be strong if I cry. I promised Arthur that I would be strong."

She simply shook her head and slid against the door, eventually sitting up. She laughed as she stroked my hair "You little dummy. The strong cry as well."