Holding a little girl's hand, a young man walked through the streets of Ormont, a newly constructed city built on the ruins of a much older one.
He was tall, very handsome and had a very charismatic air around him. But if any woman, young or old, took a few steps toward him to try their luck, their bodies would notice something before their minds even registered it.
He's always smiling brightly at the little girl, showing her the various stalls across the street and buying her some snacks from time to time.
But his gaze was heavy and deep. Whatever joy he was showing was fake. Even though they couldn't explain it properly, the women felt as if they were standing near a wall of raging fire and freezing water, both at the same time.
Worst of all, the man had a heavy heart.
So much so that when they approached him, all other feelings vanished except the solemn feeling.
The world wasn't so colorful and the little joyful things didn't seem fun. Life itself was such a torrent of suffering…
The unintended affect of a powerful soul, despite a lot of restriction, which warded off the strangers allowed Varian and Primula to reach their destination soon.
It was a large manor in the outskirts of the city.
Compared to the newly constructed city which was built with cheap material and poor aesthetic, this place looked like heaven on earth.
It was a large manor in the outskirts of the city.
Compared to the newly constructed city which was built with cheap material and poor aesthetic, this place looked like heaven on earth.
The two large silver gates were coated with molten gems and the road paved from the entrance all the way to the vast mansion was made of pure white stone that shone from the moonlight captured in it.
The garden was brimming with a variety of plants and flowers which even a wealthy merchant's guilt merchant could not grow due to the strictness they demanded.
While they might be able to afford materials, they wouldn't be able to keep rank 7 warriors as guards outside the gates.
In the entire Voralis Empire, no more than 50 people would have a home better than this.
From the poorest of commoners to the wealthiest of merchants, anyone could only stand in awe of its majesty.
The powerful guards looked on in contempt as they watched two commoners pass by.
They were expecting claims of awe and reverence, but—
"Brother, I love you so much!"
Primula jumped up and down with an ecstatic expression.
Varian was confused. "Why? You didn't even ask why we're here."
"Of course, I know! I'm too smart to not know!" Primula straightened her back with a composed expression and rubbed under her nose with a slightly arrogant expression.
"Really?"
Varian was skeptical.
After every relapse, Primula's memories would be messed up. The relapse this time was pretty bad.
So, she only had a few memories, giving her some common sense like names of things and numbers.
Her memories with Varian and his wives remained extremely secure in all situations, perhaps because those were her first memories and that was the time when she was the safest.
The Primula he's seeing right now, at least for the time being, was clueless on the matters of warcraft and politics that Alison taught her, much less regional history.
So, what the hell was this little girl on about?
"Hum? Humm? Are you feeling jealous, brother? When you were 6, you were cosplaying as a stone. And when I'm 6, I already know your next three, no, five moves!"
'That stone again!'
A vein popped up on Varian's forehead.
Even though she didn't share a blood bond with him, Primula behaved like a true sister and enjoyed pissing her brother off.
"But I'm sorry for being too harsh, brother." She said suddenly, catching him by surprise.
"Huh?"
"You were a stone at 5. At 6, you managed to grow into a tree, isn't that an improvement, oh ho ho." She even covered her mouth with the back of her hand and imitated the characteristic laughter of an aristocratic lady she saw in a movie.
Varian had enough of the little devil and pulled her cheeks.
"Ouch, ouch, oush! Shworry! I'm showwry!"
Primula rubbed her red cheeks with teary eyes while trying to simultaneously appear pitiful so he won't pull her cheeks anymore and angry to show she's pissed.
Varian shook his head and turned to the manor. His expression grew heavy and the guards on duty paid a bit more attention to him.
In a low voice, he said. "There is an important reason for coming here."
"Of course!" Primula patted her chest and pointed at the manor. "We're going to play hide and seek here! This is the perfect spot! The manor last time was ten times large, so it's too big! This is a bit small, but it works!"
"Wh-What?"
Not only Varian but even the two guards on duty were dumbfounded.
"Let's goo! I'm still a little behind with 2:398."
'That's not a little behind though.'
The guards looked at each other, having the same thought before they shook their heads and came to their senses.
They shouldn't allow outsiders in!
Boom!
The two men, clad in a scary pitch black armor, landed in front of Varian and Primula like comets.
"This is the private property of Duke Augustus Von Halfius. Leave if you want your head to remain on your shoulders."
Varian caught the raging Primula and shook his head at her. The little girl puffed up her cheeks and crossed her arms.
"Hmph!"
"Look, kiddo, if you die, your sister will not be able to survive. The world is a lot harsher than it looks. The duke isn't home today, so count yourself lucky and just leave."
Even though the voice coming from the mask was still cold, the words were sincere and kind.
And that kindness stopped Varian from resorting to violence.
The four women, well, mainly three, were now under a supervised mental training session by Isadora to finally make peace with reality and let go of the fear still gnawing at their hearts.
So, he decided to do visit.
People, if they remained. And places, if they didn't.
Sadly, his first destination was a place.
"…I have something very, very important inside. Someone very dear to me is buried here…under the mansion. I want to take his remains and give him a proper burial elsewhere. This place is no longer suitable."
His words caused the atmosphere to change and a killing intent shot up from the guards. The one silent until now laughed in anger.
"This manor is one of the oldest in the entire empire. It's older than 15,000 years! There's been no burial here as far as its history goes. Didn't I tell you, Ruffus? These poor guys are just thieves or scammers! They don't deserve any sympathy!"
A sigh was heard from the helmet of the other guard and he raised his spear.
"You'll be leaving with one arm. Come into my sight once again and I'll personally kill you."
Varian sighed and looked at his own palm. If possible, he didn't want to kill in the vicinity of this place. And the guard seemed kind too.
"Left or right?" As the gaurd asked him with a glowing spear, Varian let go of his hand on Primula's head.
"Heh!" The little girl's lips curled up into a devilish smirk and a green light began to emerge out of her fingertips.
It was at a power level that the guards didn't expect.
The other guard hastily raised his spear to strike her down. "You little animal!"
As their spears reached Varian and Primula, the green light exploded out.
Boom!