Peaceful west

Jean hands each of us a piece of whatever he bought as we get inside the orphanage. We walk into the lobby, where a beautiful woman with a charming demeanor greets us. Nelen and Esmeralda told us to sit on a nearby bench, so Jean and I followed. We were tired from walking, anyways. Jean sighed excessively for no reason while I admired the place. There's a staircase to my left, but I can't see where it leads to. Also, despite being an orphanage, this room sure is quiet. I expected a lot of noise from the kids. The place looked old on the outside, but even I can tell that the inside is very taken care of. I can see my reflection on the hardwood floors, and for some reason, the place gave a nostalgic feeling. I open the bundle of leaves Jean gave me.

"What's this?" I ask Jean.

"Steamed rice cake filled with Gods-know-what."

"Filled with what?"

"Gods-know-what. It's what makes it exciting." He bites the rice cake. Hmm... Bite... Attack... Defend... Training. Ah!

"Can we train again? I'm still a bit rough around the edges."

"Sure. How about tomorrow afternoon?"

"Wonderful. Can you also teach me the alphabet so I can read?"

"Alright, my child. Mom will help you."

"Mom?"

"Hey."

Nelen's voice calls our attention as she motions her right hand to come follow. We go inside a large library, where a small number of children read books. None read out loud and all of them sat in a formal manner while an old man slept on one of the tables. They're well-disciplined despite being kids, and their hair colors are all different. It's like a fucking rainbow in here. I smile at them, and a young boy looks at me. His face is frozen with fear. What is it about my face that scares children? Is it my smile?

"This is the library. The biggest part of the orphanage. This is also the living room." Nelen declares.

"This is nice." Jean strokes his chin.

"Are you talking about the kids, pedophile?" I mockingly ask.

"Obviously not, you dumbass."

"Please don't talk like that in front of the kids." Nelen looks at us with disgust. A tug on my coat surprises me.

"What's a pedophile?"

The face of an innocent child shines her eyes as she holds an old book. I start to sweat profusely, and I repeatedly curse in my head as she tugs once more. I look at Jean, hoping that he'd answer, but he only gives me a toothy grin. Nelen gives me a disgusted look, and I gulp as I prepare to answer it. I'm sorry, little one.

"It's someone who is--"

"Here's a rice cake for you, Elaine!" Esmeralda winks at me, and I could swear a tear escaped from my right eye. She happily accepts it and goes away.

"Where do we sleep?" Jean changes the topic.

"Oh, right."

We follow Nelen as she goes into one of the doors inside the library and opens it. Bunk beds surround us as we walk through the bedroom, and two doors can be seen on the far end of it.

"What about the rooms there?" I ask.

"Oh, those are the restrooms. Nothing special about those." Nelen opens the door back to the library and lets Esmeralda first.

"How long have you been here?"

"Twenty years."

"Wait. How old are you? How old is Esmeralda?"

"We're both twenty-three."

"Who's older, though?"

"We're both born in June, but Esmeralda's born in the ninth, so she's older."

"What about you? When's your birthday?"

"Mine's on the thirteenth." She says.

"Interesting... Hey, Jean! When's your birthday?"

"My birthday? Hmm... I honestly don't remember." He says.

"How can you forget your own birthday?"

"You're one to talk. Do you remember your birthday?"

"This is the dining room."

Bare, wooden tables scattered around what appeared to be an event hall, and there's a wide entrance to the far end of it. Jean and I looked around the room while Nelen and Esmeralda excused themselves, looking at each other as they walked away with hands held... Damn. I'm getting jealous again. I wish I can find my special someone. Soon. Jean enters the kitchen, and the smell of something savory catches my attention. Is that the kitchen? Are they cooking curry or something?

"The taste is going to be bland. The kids won't like it."

"Do you think so?"

"Yeah. Taste it."

"Mmm. Oh, wow. How did you know?"

"The smell was a bit off."

Jean talked with a girl with medium, light brown hair as he looks into the pot. I don't hear what they're saying, but they're laughing, so Jean must've charmed her. How come Jean knows how to make friends? I walk over to them to see what they were doing. Jean borrows a handful of condiment bottles and sprinkles everything in a messy way as the girl grabs a spoon and mixes it. Her eyes light up and she cusses.

"What the fuck? The smell changed." She says with surprise in her voice.

"Trust me, love. It's going to be a lot better. Taste it." Jean tells her in a flirtatious way.

"Mmm. Nicely done, Jean."

"I think I still don't know your name yet."

"Danella. Nice to meet you."

"That's a pretty name. Your mother must be a very pretty lady."

"My mother is dead."

"Oh."

I left the two alone and went for another door in the kitchen. Grass, toys, and walls. Sunlight barely shone on the backyard, and there's a set of children's shoes near the entrance. I look at the nearby clock. Five minutes until four. I was about to leave the backyard when I smelled it. A faint, sweet scent I'm all to familiar with. Phantom lilies. It only lasted for a moment, but it was definitely there. I go back inside.

"Do we have Phantom lilies in this place?" I ask Danella, who's busy flirting with Jean.

"Ah, yes! There's a large field just behind the wall in the backyard. Why do you ask?"

"I swear I smelled some of them back there. Is the wall broken or something?"

"The wall is eight meters thick. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't just simply pass through."

"Hmm. That is interesting. Tell me more." Jean's full attention was now focused on me.

"That's all I can say." I chuckle.

"I'll go check it out. You keep Danella occupied for the moment."

Jean smiles at the girl before going, taking the lighthearted atmosphere with him. The curry smells even better than before I got outside, and I asked her if I can taste it. She agrees, gets a saucer from a drawer, and scoops a small serving of sauce from the curry. She then hands it to me with a teaspoon. I can tell that she's on the shy side, so I decided to break the ice.

"Do you live here?" I ask as I blow steam off the sauce.

"No. I live a few blocks away from the North Gate."

"North Gate, huh? Wait... Isn't that district well-off?"

"Living here in the West is nice. It's peaceful, unlike the three gates."

"How come?"

"Politics. Beliefs. The quest for power. It's exhausting, honestly."

"I can understand the first two, but what's wrong with trying to be rich?"

"You've obviously never been in a dog eat dog world."

"You never know. Maybe I have. Can't say for sure, though."

"And why is that?"

"I've lost my memories, and that guy flirting with you just now offered to help me get them back. That's basically why I'm here." I turn around, looking for Jean.

"Really? That's nice... Your coat's dirty."

"Oh, right. I forgot about that. Does the orphanage have spare clothes?"

"Yeah. Let's get you upstairs. Come. I'll show you."

She turns the stove off and I follow her back into the lobby, where we go to the staircase A hall with five doors in total. I follow her inside a laundry room, where another charming lady greets us with a nod. She asks where the spare clothes are, but the girl ignores us and goes outside.

"Oh, right. She's deaf." Danella says and looks around the baskets.

"That's not nice." I frown.

"Found it. Give me your clothes. I'll wash it."

"Sure thing."

I take my coat and shirt off, but she stops me when I tried to take my pants off.

"I'll go outside." She blushes. Weird.

…

"These are tight."

"Well, that's obviously what we have, so deal with it. That said, your figure sure is nice."

"My body?"

"That's a more barbaric way to put it, but yes."

"You didn't tell me there was a balcony here."

"Of course I didn't. We were looking for clothes."

"Can we go there?" I ask. She sighs.

"Sure."

The building was three stories high and the third floor only had windows, but I didn't mind. The sun's calmer, there's not a single cloud in the sky, and there are more kids than before. The man with the basket also shuffled around, selling the same bundle of leaves to the parents talking near a small shop. I look at Danella, but she looks away. Huh. What was she staring at? Oh. I saw that same type of love birds when I was training with Jean. I hope one of them doesn't die this time.

"So? Why are you guys with the maiden?" Danella looks into the sky.

"We're investigating on something. Apparently, Nelen wants to find her mom's killer."

"Really? How funny. I thought the matter was solved."

"What do you mean?"

"There were clear evidences showing that the king was the one who killed her mother. How come she's still looking for the killer?"

"Maybe the king was being controlled by voodoo or something?" I scratch the back of my neck.

"Oh. Now that you've mentioned it... You're right. They didn't do an honorary parade with the body. Second time in the history of Stassi."

"It's a custom to show the dead bodies of their kings?"

"Obviously. The king's responsible for running the place. Not doing an honorary parade would be greatly disrespectful."

"You said it was the second time, right? Who's the first?"

"King Tarrith. He was the ruler when I was fourteen, I think. No one knew about Nelen back then. I hear he has Tyrant magic."

"Wait. How old are you now?"

"Twenty-five. You shouldn't ask a lady about her age, Sol. That's a bad sign."

"Did Jean tell you my name?"

"Obviously. Let's go back, shall we? The curry's going to get cold."

"Just reheat it, then."

We go back into the dining room to see the children waiting for us with smiles on their faces. The little girl from before also sat there, her eyes glowing as Esmeralda patted her head a pampering mother. Nelen and the old man played with the kids as well, and the smell of curry is now better than before. Good. The kids are occupied. We enter the kitchen, where we see Jean cooking the curry. There's a total of three pots now, and there's a mess of ingredients in the counter.

"Hi, guys. I went on a little shopping run while you two were out."

"Aren't you making a bit too much?" I ask as I look at Danella. She's just as surprised.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm going to give some to the neighbors. Giving's what I'm all about."

"No one's living in the buildings around us, though." Danella grabs a spoon from the drawer.

"Then let's put it in the fridge and eat it later. Easy. Sol. Help me out with the pots, will you?"

We all ate to our heart's content, and there was noise this time. Turns out, the kids are only quiet when it's study time, where an hour is spent on reading books. There's the twins, Magnus and Magna, who liked teasing Nelen about her eye. There's also Helena, the inquisitive child who's unusually fond of Esmeralda. And then there's Arys, the quiet kid with an unusually chiseled face. The caretakers were also nice, and I got to know their names when we ate. The old man's name was Jayce, and he's the owner. The shy one who ignored us is Una, and the charming lady from the lobby is Diana. I also found out that Una's literally deaf, and that Danella wasn't actually criticizing her.

Then it was time to sleep. We slept on the same room as the kids, where nothing out of the ordinary happened. Yep. Nothing out of the ordinary. The kids slept peacefully and so did the couple, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Why did I smell the lilies back at the patio? Why did the king go missing? How did Cerberus gather the bodies? Everything's so fuzzy. I can't make sense of it all... Oh, well. I guess I'll ask Nelen tomorrow.