Chapter 20: Meeting

Silence reigned in my room. I didn't expect everyone to stop talking so suddenly at the same time. I was expecting them to continue talking for a little while before stopping.

Oh well.

"So, you are blind, huh?"

The girl nearest me said that in a sad tone. I know that it is sad to see someone like this but, I don't think I have ever met you in my entire life.

"I am. However-"

"You are?! When did this happen!? Did this happen during the same incident which led to all of your injuries!?"

Mother started shouting. That is the kind of reaction I knew mother would have after processing my words. So, who is going to calm her down?

...

Me?

Alright then.

"Mother, it is alright. This is one of the consequences of what I did. You do not need to worry about me because I have already accepted that this has happened to me. Because the person in question accepts it, you should too."

I give a speech about why she should stop worrying about me. That should be effective in stopping her from panicking even more, right?

"W-where did you learn how to talk like that?"

I heard mother's questioning voice. Oh, so that is what you are going to ask me about?

"I was always like this, remember?"

"It is just, you seem a bit weirder than before."

"I am not weird. This is just who I have always been."

Yeah.

Don't call me weird.

Anyway, I will need to ask who are the people in my room right now.

"Who are the people who are in this room, mother?"

"Most of them are some of my friends who I invited here. However-"

"My name is Luscia von Roscelto. Nice to meet you. Though, this shouldn't be the first time we met."

The girl near me cut off mother's speech and introduced herself. It seems that she has a last name. Which, in turn, means that she is important.

"You can't start speaking while Madam Irene is still talking, Miss Luscia!"

I then hear the voice of an old man reprimanding the girl named Luscia. He must be the caretaker of her, right? Wait a minute.

Luscia = important

Noble going to Vulcan = Luscia?

"Hey, wait a minute, are you the noble who is supposed to be coming to Vulcan?"

"Yes I am. I am also the person who you saved from that monster on the path. That is why, I must express my thanks."

"You're that girl?!"

I didn't even notice what she looked like at the time so, I didn't know who she was. This is getting a bit confusing right now. We need to discuss this matter thoroughly while everyone is still here.

"This is confusing. How about we discuss this while we eat breakfast at the table, alright?"

"Yes! I will prepare the food!"

"I will help Madam Irene with the preparations."

"Um, since we have nothing to do with this-"

"Nonsense! You are staying here with us!"

I heard everyones reaction to my suggestion and stood up. I felt the arm of the girl hold mine.

"You said you were blind, right? I will guide you so that you won't hurt yourself."

"Thank you."

I accepted her help and went down the stairs to the table for breakfast. Even though I never met her before the Forgeclaw attack, I feel a certain sense of nostalgia.

********************

Luscia von Roscelto.

The daughter of Duke Roscelto and the niece of the current King of The Anastelo Kingdom. She is related to people who have both power and influence. I learned these details during our meal and also learned that she was the person who mother is teaching. However, judging by her attitude, she isn't really behaving like a noble at all. I wonder why.

"What are your attributes and Mana capacity? Also, what is your ability?"

I pose that question to her while biting into my bread. I am a little bit interested in what she is capable of.

"I have the Earth, Thunder, and Glacier attributes. My Mana capacity is 340, 000 MEP. Lastly, my ability is Mind Connect. I named it myself."

Wow.

Two sub-attributes.

Interesting.

"Aren't you surprised?"

"About what?"

"About the things I just told you."

"Well, not really. It is cool that you have sub-attributes, but the only thing I am curious about is your ability."

"Then, I will tell you about it. Mind Connect allows me to connect my consciousness with another person through eye contact. Once the connection is established, I can control a person's body, send messages, and show images through our minds."

That is a cool ability.

Her ability is mind-related, just like Psi. Is that why I have this feeling when I am talking to her?

"Now that I have introduced myself, you should introduce yourself."

"Alright. My name is Alexander Noxien Zetranos. I am the son of...father and mother. I have no attributes and no Mana. My ability is-"

"What do you mean you don't have any Mana or attributes! Also, how did you know you don't have any!?"

I hear mother screaming again. I need to calm her down, again.

"I found a book that tells you how much Mana or attributes you have and followed its instructions. It yielded no results so, I assumed I don't have any. Anyway, I will show you my ability."

"You have an ability?"

"Yes I do. What is wrong with that?"

"People only get their ability when they are 6 years old, like me. How old are you?"

"I am only 5 years old. My birthday was on the attack."

"Are you sure that it is an ability and not high-level magic?"

"I am very sure. I will show you now. Come outside."

I tell everyone to come outside of the house. When we come out, I tell them to look at me. I then use my ability to grab my own shadow. Death God said that it is manipulation, alteration, and deletion of shadows, right? I need to think of a short version that removed some letters.

Ah!

For short, it will be called 'Shadow Ctrl, Alt, Del'! I am so creative when I have to make a name for something.

I use my power and move my shadow around with my finger. That is the control part done, now the alteration part. I try to change the shape into a box and put lots of energy into it. After some time, the box becomes tangible.

Huh.

I can even make it tangible if I put enough energy into it. Now, time for the deletion part. I close my fist around the box and I feel it disappear from my hand and go back to its original place. I can't see but I can still sense where they go. It is not really deletion and more like putting it back to its original place but, whatever.

"Carros, was that magic?"

"No. I used my ability to check for Mana and there was none. That really is his ability."

"That is good. That means, I can do this now."

I heard Luscia just say something weird. What does she mean when she says that she can do something now? When I was thinking that, I felt my mind being pulled out of my body.

When I looked around, I only saw Luscia in front of me.

"Um, what is happening?"

"I used my ability on you. I apologize for not asking first but, I had to tell you something important that no one else should hear. That is why, I used this method."

"If you have something to say, you can say it."

I wonder what kind of important thing she will say to me?

"Let's start off with a greeting that I haven't said in a long time. It is very nice to see you again, older brother."