Anxiety II

After taking the two children to the waiting room, the guard took out a rectangular device.

He pushed some buttons on it before it emitted subtle waves of mana as it also vibrated in the process.

"This is Orpheus Manor, who is this?"

A strict voice soon sounded from the rectangular device after a few seconds.

***

'Calm down… I need to think…'

Regis took heavy deep breaths as he thought while keeping his expression natural.

He then felt a tight grip on his hand.

Looking at Pandora who was looking at him with a worried expression, his lips broke into a smile.

He caressed her head and said, "Don't worry, we'll be fine. We just need to follow what Mister Savior told us."

'He's really in character, huh?' Pandora almost giggled but was able to maintain her expression.

She only nodded and leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes to prevent herself from laughing out loud.

However, her trembling body made Regis confused, 'Is she really this good at acting…?'

Creak—

The door suddenly opened, stripping him of any liberty to think further.

"Children, I've received news from the Orpheus Family and they've vouched for your entrance…"

It took all of Regis's strength in order to not make a surprised expression.

However, just as he was feeling relieved, the guard spoke again, "...but they told me that they wish for you to go there tomorrow and introduce yourselves."

'Shit…'

"Understood, Mister Guard. We'll surely visit them after we groom ourselves. After all, we can't really go like this, right?"

Regis chuckled helplessly as he pointed at their tattered clothes.

The guard smiled before giving him a pouch.

"Mister Guard, this is…?" Regis looked at him with a clueless expression.

"It's a gift." 

The guard's smile widened as he placed the pouch on his hand, "Just make sure to not forget me in the future, okay?"

"Of course we won't!"

Regis answered enthusiastically as he showed a shocked expression.

In the pouch was a couple of silver coins and a single gold coin. He was surprised at the "gift" the guard gave him.

'To give me this curry for a favor that might not even be of benefit for him in the future… I guess people in the fortress are really different from the ones in the slums, huh?'

Regis thought as he held Pandora by the hand, following the guard as he led them into the city.

"Oh right, a friendly reminder to the two of you. I know that you're still quite young but make getting IDs a priority, okay? There's just so many things you can't do if you don't have one as you've seen from the guy earlier."

Remembering the man who begged the guards earlier, Regis nodded with a smile of gratitude, "Thank you for the kind reminder, Mister Guard!"

Waving him goodbye, Regis led Pandora by the hand as they walked towards the center of the fortress.

Along the way, they saw people wearing different types of clothing.

Some wore robes, some wore heavy armors, some wore veils, some wore turbans, and there were even some who had no shirt.

There were many things that they were only seeing for the first time.

Like a new world had opened to them.

However, there was one thing that Regis noticed, 'There are no people from other species?'

As an avid fan of fairy tales, one of his fantasies was to see a creature of different species.

Nevertheless, it seemed like it was not the time for his wish to be granted yet.

After all, he was also thinking about another urgent matter: the meet up with the Orpheus Family tomorrow.

'I wanted to get out of trouble by using Fiollo's name, but I found myself in even bigger trouble…' Regis could feel his head aching just thinking about it.

On the other hand, Pandora curiously looked at the market with wonder in her eyes.

'There are so many cute things…!' 

Her eyes sparkled at the thought of going around and looking for things to buy.

The world mainly developed in the path of utilizing the different energies, thereby lacking in the field of entertainment.

However, it was obvious that even this wouldn't prevent the concept of "shopping" from appearing in her mind.

"Let's go find an inn first before we shop in the market, okay?"

Regis spoke with a gentle voice.

"Really!? We're going shopping!?"

"Yes, yes. We'll do it later."

Regis felt a little confused at her excited reaction, 'Is shopping really that attractive?'

***

In a luxurious hall…

"Fiollo saved some children?"

A man with a gray beard muttered to himself before chuckling.

"That's impossible. I wonder how those conmen got their hands on the emblem of the Orpheus Family? I must know it…"

At this moment, the door to the hall opened as a servant entered with his head bowed, "Patriarch, we've sent some investigators to the village where Fiollo and the others were last seen."

"Good. How long will it take for them to report back?" The man asked as he sipped his wine.

The servant replied, "I estimate that they would be able to report tonight at the earliest and tomorrow morning at the latest."

"Mhm. By the way, how are the preparations going with the ritual?"

Hearing this, the servant flinched a little before answering, "Yes Patriarch, we only need three children left before we are able to complete the necessary sacrifices needed for the ritual."

"Excellent. Two sacrifices will be coming here tomorrow so make sure to get the last one ready. Oh but don't rush, okay? Lest we attract attention to ourselves."

"Understood, Patriarch. Are there any else, Sir?"

The man shook his head, "You may go now."

"Heh, how lucky for sacrifices to come here by themselves? With this, my plan would be completed even faster."

He looked at the picture frame at the side and smiled, "Don't worry hon, we'll be together again soon. Just wait for a little bit more, okay?"