CHAPTER 17

"Okay, I think I should start this one," I said confidently. Arthur took a seat not far away from mine, excited and relieved to finally be back again.

I recounted everything that had happened since the day he had left, including details about my restaurant, which he found hard to believe - honestly, I wouldn't have believed it myself.

But what I didn't clearly mention was the disappearance of Aurora because I myself don't understand the reason behind it.

"So, that's it?" Arthur asked, his expression somewhat impatient, though he never completely expressed it.

"Yeah, that's it. Now it's your turn," I said impatiently.

He then proceeded to tell me everything that had happened, all according to the novel, with little difference, which made me feel really good because it proves that my actions aren't causing any distortion in the events that should remain the same in this timeline.

"By the way, Arthur, I built a training ground for us to use," I told him, though that would have been the case if I hadn't realized that I cannot make Arthur stronger than in the main novel.

"Arthur, I think we should go get some clothes for you; you know, those ones are a bit odd," I suggested.

"Great idea. As long as no women are coming. Shopping with them is a very bad experience; we'd be there forever," Arthur said calmly.

"Exactly. Wanna go now? We could eat something at my restaurant, and I also want to ask you a few questions about your past life," I proposed.

"Okay, I want to do the same too. Plus, it's been a while since the last time we had a brotherly moment," Arthur agreed.

"How about we take Ellie with us? It would be a great opportunity for you to spend some time with our little sister," I suggested, waiting for his response.

Arthur's face brightened, and he said excitedly, "Of course, brother! I am really excited too."

"Okay, let's go," I said. We both left the room, and I went looking for mother, while Sylvie followed Arthur around.

The first person we met was Lilia, who sprinted up towards us. She reintroduced herself to Arthur, even though her parents had already done so. Then, she looked towards me, saying, "Sorry, Tom, for getting mad at you. I should have realized that you couldn't tell me about Arthur. I am deeply sorry."

"I understand. No big deal, Lilia. Still friends?" I asked, positively.

"Sure," Lilia said, although she took a while to respond with that one word. She turned back and started marching away. But then she came back and said, "You better be there in time for dinner. They did some effort right there."

Arthur and I nodded in agreement. As soon as Lilia left, Arthur asked, "What do we do?"

"You are the older one," I said.

"Should we go tomorrow?" he suggested.

"I guess. It's better not to piss mom off," I replied.

"Of course, it's better. Remember what she did when she found out that dad is going to get us swords?" Arthur said.

And after a few more steps, we met Uncle Vincent on the way to dinner.

"Did you take Arthur on a tour around the house?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did," I said while hitting Arthur on the arm.

"Well, great. We don't want him to get lost now, do we?" Uncle Vincent chuckled.

"And I almost forgot, you gotta be here tomorrow around 6 p.m. or so. I got something important to show you, both of you, and I am really happy you're back with your family, Arthur. Don't hesitate to ask me if you want anything, all right?" Vincent said.

"Okay, I'll do so. Thank you, Mr. Vincent, for taking care of our family and for providing dad a job," Arthur said.

"Specially one that actually suits his style," I added.

"You mean the fact that he's only good at fighting?" Arthur joked.

We all laughed, and Uncle Vincent's laugh was the most distinguished, compared to both mine and Arthur's random ones.

We followed Uncle Vincent to the dining table. Mom, Aunt Tabitha, Lilia, Dad, and Ellie were already there. Sylvie was jumping all around the table, eating any piece of meat her eyes fell on. Arthur was trying to eat a bit of it before Sylvie would finish it all. And Lilia was eating less today; it seems like she took my joke a bit more seriously than what I thought.

After dinner, though, Uncle Vincent mentioned that he was thinking about enrolling us in Xyrus Academy. Arthur, of course, refused just like in the cannon. We went to the room, followed by Dad and Mom.

"You know, they only mean well, Arthur. They're not bad people," Mom said.

"Yes, Mom, but still, I just returned to you. I don't want to go already. I have already missed a lot. I don't even know about my own sister, and I missed all of you a lot," Arthur said, expressing his emotions.

As soon as Arthur finished his words, we had a family hug moment, something that Arthur deserved. And my own purpose is to make his life better than cannon at least. And then I had an idea. When the hug was over, and our parents left, I pulled Arthur to my side.

"How about we go on a family trip together tomorrow?" I suggested.

"That's a great idea," he said.

"Where is Sylvie?" I asked.

"She probably slept already," he said.

"Well, we probably should do the same," he added.

"Okay, let's go," I said.

Then, after settling Arthur in his bedroom, I went to sleep. While my clones were doing something, they kept training just like usual. Though, they were trying to contact Aurora, but all of their attempts weren't really useful.