Part 7

After being guided out the mansion by a lovely Succubus, Knight was greeted by a deep falsetto voice.

“Hmph, took you long enough.”

The voice came from one of two figures leaning against two pillars supporting the shelter. Knight felt like he knew them from somewhere, but with their face obscured by hoods, he could only go off their small statures.

“Come with us, white Knight,” the other figure, draped in a hooded, scarlet robe, gestured for Knight to follow as she pushed off the pillar.

“You what?”

“She told you to come with us, white Knight.”

This came from the one who spoke first, still trying to keep up with his chosen voice. This one draped in a much rougher piece of cloth. The obviously fake voice probed Knight’s memory of who it might be, but the problem wasn’t who they were…

“Care to explain how I’m a white Knight?” He kindly asked with a big smile.

“Heh, a dumb Knight it seems,” the boy shook his head with a smirk.

“You have that right, Shadow’s wind,” the girl agreed but with a strange expression. As if she were holding back her true reaction.

“…I asked a question…” Knight said, his smile dispersed

With a sigh, ‘Shadow’s wind’ brought a paw to his face and said, “Your clothes are white and your name’s Knight, right?”

Unable to retort a sigh escaped Knight as he squeezed his face with his hand. Accepting defeat, he belatedly replied with, “ignore what I just said.” Then, with the preamble of “Anyways,” he moved onto questioning the theatrical pair. “You two are Cerrin and Klavier’s kids, right?”

Instantly, the boy spun around with glowing eyes threatening to carve into Knight, belatedly followed by the girl. Paw’s raised; a deep, falsetto voice boomed out.

“Someone barely worthy dares to call us… someone’s ‘kids’?”

Ignorant to his stabbing glare, a mystified Knight spoke out. “Uh, yeah… You are kids.”

“Yeah, you have a point…”

“SIS-! I mean… Scarlett Scream!”

“Oh…sorry, Shadow’s wind.”

Dropping out of character, the girl admitted Knight was right. Yet her brother was having none of it. Then, forced back into character, she refuted Knight’s statement.

“Although appearing like two mere kids, the two siblings, chosen by the wind itself, are too powerful for the title of ‘someone’s kids.’”

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“Ah, I see. Sorry about that,” wanting to move onto other things, Knight relented to her nonsense refutation. “Anyways…

Just as he said his preamble, ‘Shadow’s wind’, interjected yet again.

“That would be a no, ignorant Knight.”

“Huh, the hell? I didn’t even say anything!”

“Yeah, what is it, bro?”

“SIS!”

“Sorry…”

Failing to keep up with the forced gimmick, ‘Scarlett Scream’ pouted as she was forced back into character.

Oblivious to slipping out of character himself, ‘Shadow’s Wind’ regained his cool and explained. “We shall not grace you with the answers you seek. Not until you call us by our true titles and not as mere kids.”

Failing to stop a chuckle at his stubbornness, Knight muttered to himself, “whatever the time and whatever the world… kids are the same as always, I guess.”

“What was that?”

“Ah. I was humbly stating my apology. An apology to the Chosen child of the Wind itself, who graces me, an undeserving Knight, with his Godly presence.”

“Ah-Oh…I see.” Flustered by the excessive, yet obviously sarcastic apology, the Child of the Wind averted his gaze. “Th-That is acceptable, white Knight. Now, you were saying?”

“Oh, I was say-”

“Nnnnn… NNNNNnnnn,” With a hum for attention accompanied by the tugging of Knight’s sleeve, the girl’s puppy eye act revealed her round face.

Knight couldn’t ignore her puffed out cheeks and round eyes. Her tinted red cheeks and the purple gleaming in her eyes. The cute contrast they created with her tanned face was too much for Knight to ignore. Not to mention her droopy, toothy smile and rabbit-like nose.

Bending his back, Knight patted the girl’s head and gave her what she wanted. “I was saying that I also apologise you. An extremely cute child, chosen by the wind itself.”

“Hehehe, THA-” Just about stopping herself from dropping character, the cute bunny said her thanks. “Why thank you, kind Knight… Ah, you can just call me Scarlet by the way.”

Ignorant to his increasingly doting attitude to little girls, probably acquired from his companion Rei, he accepted. Then, with the preamble of “So, where was I…ah,” he finally moved on. “I was going to ask why you two were waiting for me outside.”

“To see if you were okay, valiant Knight,” Scarlett giggled.

“Really? Why didn’t you come up with the others then?”

“’Cause we weren’t…” slowing down, Scarlet cleared her throat and returned to character. “We went with Iroha to shop for some things before she shooed us away, so we waited here to make sure we didn’t miss you.”

“…But you wouldn’t have missed me if you…”

Realising Knight didn’t buy it, the boy conspicuously cleared his throat for attention.

Knight could barely see the smug smile plastered over the kid’s face, but with the way he folded his arms, it was clear as day.

“Yes, we did indeed shop with Iroha. However, the real reason why we didn’t go inside is because we aren’t… allowed.”

“…And why was that?”

“Ah, well, just gave a few of the succubi a beating. All to save you of course.”

‘So that’s what the commotion was about…’ Knight realised. “I see, but Cerrin was the one who boomed the door open and he was fine.”

“Hey, hey, hey! That was me!” Scarlett blurted out.

“Then why…”

“Cerrin actually knows that Daughter of Sin. She’s the reason we’re even here. So, he had the best chance. That and we just wanted to have some more fun.” The boy explained.

‘Ah, they definitely didn’t stop when Lavri ordered her girl’s off.’

“Well, enough of that. A child of the wind does not boast. Let us meet your girlfriend.”

‘…Brat.’

Just as Knight began to follow with chagrin, the boy stopped and turned to Knight.

“Oh yeah, watch your back, Knight. As soon as we got here it was as if someone was watching out every move.” The boy said, shifting his gaze about town.

“Oh…?”

Knight was surprised. The kid was serious. The attitude he was wearing was completely different from his 8th-grade syndrome act.

“No, wait… Watching isn’t the right word.”

Muttering the last part to himself, ‘Shadow’s wind’ started back down the road, with Scarlet.

Tucking away the uneasy feeling that the kid’s words gave him, Knight followed.