“Would you stop that?”

Ignoring Eilae’s complaint, Shaden continued to weave and guide his uncoiled bracelet in the air. It made hissing noises as it zipped in front of him swiftly and masterfully like a snake moving through the grass.

“It’s dangerous,” Eilae repeated. “One mistake and you’ll hurt someone.”

“That’s why I’m practicing, aren’t I?”

Ever since Shaden had received the gift from his companion, he had experimented whenever he got the chance—mainly when they were traveling. He quickly discovered that the metal of the bracelet had an affinity with his telekinetic magic, allowing him to control the item like another limb. He loved it. Now, he could unwind the chains without touching the bracelet itself, and the spikes could be summoned whenever he felt like it. It was like a miniature pet.

He also found out that Eilae held more objections in her mind than he had originally thought.

“Fine, fine, I’ll stop,” Shaden relented after seeing Eilae pouting with flushed cheeks.

In truth, he guessed that the reason why she was so discontent with his practice was because she herself could not do the same with her necklace. Because Shaden didn’t know the incantation for telekinetic magic, he couldn’t teach it to Eilae; it was too difficult for her without chanting. She could have taken his intentions wrong, thinking that he wanted to keep his abilities to himself.

The more he traveled with her, the more her childish habits stood out to him. They were becoming more comfortable with each other, saying things they wouldn’t have said before, making remarks that would have been considered as an insult when they had met.

It was more from Eilae to him, though. His habits hadn’t changed much, but Eilae’s remarks were becoming honest with her heart. She still held the dignity of the lady, but her words had metamorphosized into sharper, harsher comments.

Simply put, she acted more like a child. Only in front of Shaden, though. When their tutor was present, she was perfectly composed.

Right now, Lytha was sleeping. Meaning—

“I’m bored. Do you want to play Conquest?”

Eilae was more outgoing.

“Sure,” he replied.

The game was like rock-paper-scissors but with six hand motions in total. Apparently popular among noble children in the Rvuvick Empire. The game was usually played with pieces of cards, but when the items were missing, hand signs were sufficient along with a good memory.

Shaden returned his bracelet to his right arm. It felt more comfortable that way.

In Conquest, the six signs you could make were King, Queen, Heir, General, Knight, and Soldier. King defeated Queen, Queen defeated Heir, and down the list it went until Soldier defeated King. The condition to win was to stack up the right pieces or put out the winning sign.

“The time for Conquest has arrived. Make your play—”

They both formed their hands into the signs.

“General.”

“Queen.”

None of their pieces defeated each other, so Shaden’s Army piece would stack while Eilae would maintain her Royal piece until she put out a new Royal sign.

To win, Shaden could either play King right away, but it was likely that Eilae would predict it and play Soldier.

“Make your play—” they both began,

“Knight.”

“Knight.”

Shaden bit his lip. If he had played King right away, he would have won. Now Eilae had the advantage, having placed a Queen and Knight together. One more Knight and she would win. Even if he played King, she would have more stacks than he, resulting in her victory.

His safest choice was to play General again and win. But—

“Make your play—”

“King.”

“Heir.”

Having paired a King with a General, it was Shaden’s win.

“That was very close,” sighed Eilae. “I expected you to put out General.”

“I thought you’d think that. I was thinking of putting out Queen but winning with a King-General feels the best.”

“I disagree. Three soldiers and an Heir is the way to go.”

They continued to play, trying to outsmart each other while their tutor peacefully snoozed away to the side.

The journey by horse had already taken two weeks, even on good roads. They would rest in small villages along the way and were close to the border now. According to Lytha, another week of traveling would do the trick.

If it hadn’t been for the ladies’ necessity of always having a bath every day and keeping their conditions at the top, they would have arrived by now. But they had to enjoy the trip even when traveling, insisting on tasting local foods and sleeping in the best places.

It was hard to believe that this Lytha was the same Lytha who slept on the trees in the forest, not caring about the dangers of the night. Maybe she was being considerate of Eilae, who had a delicate build. She had often become sick.

Shaden had heard her worries from time to time. “Am I not being a burden?” she had asked.

Eilae was stronger now. Probably.

“Heir. I win,” she announced with a smile. “I guess I outsmarted you this time.”

Her smile was full of confidence, and Shaden realized that people grew rather quickly.

“Another round!” he challenged with a frown. “I won’t lose three times in a row.”

〄 〄 〄

They passed the border without much trouble like they had always done and rode southwest to where Danark was located. It was Eilae’s first time visiting Melern, and her keen eyes were intent on absorbing everything she saw in the foreign land. Not that it was much different from the western region of the Empire, but as their neighbor, Eilae was even more motivated.

Come to think of it, Saiton had been born in Melern. He had been the one to influence the food and culture in the country to an extent. When he returned to the Great Library (if he ever did), he would ask them about that particular man. Who exactly was he?

Shaden’s nostalgia was incited when his eyes met the familiar forests, trees, and wheat fields. He wondered what the village of his childhood was like now. How about his brother? Was his training progressing smoothly? He wanted to see his family soon.

Village by village they traveled. They went through two cities along the way, ones that had giant walls like Danark. But after seeing Naerathim, they looked small in comparison. And definitely more weathered, which was surprising as the walled cities were much younger than the ancient elven city.

Finally, he saw a familiar sight.

“We’re here!” he yelled in satisfaction. It had felt like so long since he returned to the city.

“That’s Danark?” Eilae said with a hint of surprise. “It’s bigger than I expected. Your descriptions aren’t accurate.”

“I may have been confused after seeing everything else,” he admitted sheepishly. “The Empire’s cities are too big. Even the villages are big.”

“It goes on to say how advanced our country is,” Eilae proudly stated.

Shaden didn’t really have a sense of patriotism to his country, nor a sense of being a ‘Melernian.’ Maybe it was because he hadn’t experienced conflict between the nations, but he simply felt like a ‘human.’ The majority of the human nations spoke the same language, adding to his beliefs.

The familiar gates. The familiar smell. The emblem of a bird with a leaf in its mouth greeted them from the walls and the guards’ uniforms, helping Shaden realize that he had finally returned home. It had been over a year.

“Do you still remember the way to your house?” Lytha queried.

“How could I forget?”

They (or at least Shaden) said thanks to the carriage man who had brought them there and began to navigate through the city. He would simply have to walk along the main road until he found familiar sights. If he ever became lost, he could ask the way to the Swordsmanship Training Academy. It would be impossible to forget the way from there.

They saw a tall building, the same one he and Rother had climbed when the princess had paraded through the city. Hadn’t he been threated with death back then? Those invisible agents sure had been menacing.

He recognized the shops that his mother had brought him into. He recognized the streets and the lampposts. The city hadn’t changed much in a year.

“I hope there’s enough space in our house,” Shaden said, seeing how narrow the streets were becoming. “My brother’s probably not home, so there should be enough.”

“I won’t be staying at your home,” said Lytha.

“I thought you were keeping an eye on me. Are you being shy again?”

“Nonsense.”

Lytha refused to speak more afterwards, so they continued to walk. Instead, Shaden turned his attention to Eilae.

“You’ve heard about my little sister. Her name’s Melany. She must be five by now.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting her.”

“Well, I’m worried. She hasn’t seen me in a while.”

Eilae snorted. “Blood runs thicker than anything else. You will do fine. There are times when you worry about the smallest things.”

Shaden lifted his eyebrows. “How about you? When you finally meet your siblings, how would you feel?”

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“Our relationship isn’t so weak as to be broken with merely two years. I would feel just as I’ve always felt.”

“Even with the younger ones?”

“They will be educated.”

“That’s a pretty cold answer.”

“A logical one,” she corrected. “Don’t worry,” Eilae reassured, seeing Shaden’s face grow tenser each minute. “You will do fine.”

“Should I buy a gift?”

“That sounds reasonable.”

So before going home, they visited a bakery Shaden knew and bought a cake as a return celebration.

Just when he was feeling great, another set of thoughts began to pulsate inside his brain. Maybe going home without telling them beforehand was a bad idea. He was also bringing guests with him, and he didn’t want to be a bother.

They were his parents. He could be at ease with them.

He stomped down his doubts.

The time finally came for them to enter the apartment. If Shaden noticed a change, it was that the area was livelier than usual. The place had been vacant besides their family before, but now he noticed newly potted plants, decorations, and curtains within the windows of the buildings.

He glanced at the window of his home. It looked the same.

“Let’s go,” Shaden announced.

Step by step, his group ascended the stairs to the top floor. He recognized every foothold and patch on the wall, and his heart thumped faster as he neared the door of his home. At last, the moment had come.

Shaden knocked on the door twice.

From within the house, there was a series of footsteps.

“Who is it?” said a voice Shaden knew by heart.

“Mom, it’s me.”

The door instantly swung open, and Melsei revealed her face to her son. A look of joy bloomed into a giant smile, and she reached forward to give her son the biggest hug he had ever gotten.

“Shaden!” she cried. “You’re back.”

“I’m…back,” he said, hugging his mother back. “I missed you.”

“I missed you even more.”

She held the position for a good minute before letting go. It was only then that Shaden noticed the unnatural tiredness that hung around her eyes.

“Mom? You don’t look too well.”

“Do I?”

She touched her face, but there was nothing else left other than relief on her eyes. Letting out a weak chuckle, she looked back at the others.

“Lytha, if I remember correctly. Hello, little lady. Are you Shaden’s friend?”

Eilae nodded, curtseying to show her respect to the older woman. Melsei smiled.

“I can’t leave you out here, can I? Please come in. I’ll make something to drink.”

Soon, everyone was seated around the table, sipping on a sweet tea while Melany ran around the room, chasing Shidey. The cat wasn’t even trying to hide its three tails now. Sometimes she would let Melany catch her, while other times she would jump away only to be chased again.

Shaden had been happy to see the cat doing well but also a little sad that his sister hadn’t acknowledged him yet. She was too focused on Shidey.

“Mom, if it’s alright, can we…stay here until my birthday?”

“Only the two. Not me,” Lytha clarified.

“There’s plenty of room for everyone,” said Melsei. “Garthan has been gone for two months, and Rother hasn’t visited in a long time…”

“Dad has been what?”

“Oh, he sends letters. He’s in the north, trying to locate Rother, though the letters are quite delayed…”

“Did something happen to him?” asked Shaden worriedly.

His mother shook her head. “It’s something you’re too young to understand. Your brother……became upset, and he……went deeper north. He is determined to improve, isn’t he? My boy.”

She sounded sad, but it faded away. “I can’t always be worried, can I? Now that you’re here, safe and sound, I feel like I could build a city! Please, make yourself at home.”

Eilae offered to clean the dishes while Shaden unpacked his items in his old room. It was just like he had left it, with all the items neatly arranged in their place. His books were still there, his wooden sword was there, and the place was empty of dust. He was admiring his old memories when Eilae walked into the room, part of her dress wet, looking a little unsettled.

“What happened?” asked Shaden.

“I should not have tried to clean the cups,” she confessed. “I have been portrayed in a bad light.”

“I’ve never seen you clean before. Why try now?”

“It’s being respectful.”

“You’re a guest,” he told her. “Just relax. We’ll be staying here for a while.”

“Okay. May I…have a towel?”

“Of course.”

Shaden guided her to the bathroom. Everything was just as it had been, so he had an easy time of finding the towels for Eilae to use. While she was changing, Shaden approached the kitchen and saw his tutor and mother talking to each other.

“Has he been a good boy?” he heard his mother say.

“He’s a very good boy,” said Lytha. “You don’t need to worry about him.”

“That’s a relief.”

“He will be staying here until his next birthday. I’m sure you will be invited to our home then.”

“Do you mean…Garthan’s home?”

Lytha nodded. “You’ve never been there, have you? It’s a mundane place.”

“Shaden will be having a birthday celebration there?”

“Yes. The tenth birthday is an important one.”

Melany was sleeping on the couch with the cat, who was enveloped in her arms. Shidey seemed to be staring into oblivion, not moving a muscle for some reason. Maybe Shidey was acting as the owner, being considerate of her pet while she slept. The thought made Shaden smile.

Yet the cat had been neglecting him all this time, and he couldn’t take it anymore.

Slowly, he let his mana leak out from his body. Instantly, Shidey’s ears shot up, and she turned her head towards Shaden, who motioned to her with his hand.

“Meow~”

Shaking herself free from the little girl’s hold, the cat leapt down from the couch and trotted towards her old master. She meowed constantly and rubbed her fur against Shaden’s legs. He reached down and petted the cat, who seemed to enjoy his touch.

The cat’s flesh felt chunky. Somebody had been feeding her too much.

“Is it bad to be worried?” Shaden heard his mother say, albeit in a humorous tone.

“He’s mature for his age, but he’s still a kid,” Lytha said. “Though sometimes I wonder about it too.”

They shared a small laugh, and Shaden rolled his eyes. How else was he supposed to act? Unlike when he was very young, it felt weird to act like a nine-year-old.

“He’ll always be my boy.”

He saw Melany waking up from the couch, who immediately spotted him around the corner with the cat. Rubbing her eyes, she began to move, and Shaden knew she was coming for him.

Five-year-olds. What’s the best way to entertain them?

He stepped back a few steps as to not disturb the adults. Melany hurried to him, her gaze completely focused on the cat—when she tripped.

“Woah, easy there,” he said, skillfully clutching his sister’s shoulders before her face met the floor. “Hey, Melany. Do you remember me?”

Melany looked up into his eyes for a few seconds, and Shaden was worried that she may have forgotten about him.

“Sha-den,” she finally said. “Mom talks. About you.”

“Does she?”

By this time, Melany was busy trying to catch the cat, who was scurrying around Shaden’s legs, meowing as if asking for assistance. Shaden picked the cat up, who let herself be grabbed without much resistance.

“The cat is heavy,” Melany stated.

“Whew, she sure is. Can you carry her too?”

The girl shook her head, but her hands were out, fingers grasping the air.

“Do you want the cat?” he asked.

She nodded. “Shidey’s the only friend I have.”

“Oh.”

Shaden carefully returned the cat to the floor, and Melany took the chance to wrap her arms around the animal again, who meowed weakly. She then half-dragged the cat back to the living room/kitchen as best as her small frame could, all the while looking like she was carrying a truck.

Shidey was her only friend.

Her statement had punched something in him. His sister, who did not have any siblings nor friends to hang out with, stating that the only friend she had was a cat—didn’t sit well with him.

He felt sad all of a sudden, remembering his past. Melany was living like he once had. Before school, his life had been confined in a small home, his activities limited to gazing out the window and listening to the birds, crawling around the house.

He understood her feelings. It wasn’t boredom Melany was feeling. She was perfectly content with her life, having seen nothing she earnestly wanted. Shaden, who now had a handful of experiences, wanted his sister to have more than he had.

He'd try to create the best year for his sister.

〄 〄 〄

“What? This?” said Melany while pointing at the book in Shaden’s hand.

“This is a picture book,” he explained. “Do you know elves?”

“El—wha?”

“Elves. The pointy-eared race. They’re pretty.”

“Pointy? Ear?”

Shaden nodded, swallowing his spit. Talking with a child was pretty tough.

“Can you read, Melany?”

“No. Mom reads for me. You can read?”

“I can. Do you want me to read it to you?”

She nodded with enthusiasm. The cat in her arms didn’t look as happy, almost grumpy even. But being a good pet, it didn’t do anything to resist.

“Pretty!” she hummed. “Next.”

“But I didn’t read the story—”

“Next!” she demanded. “More pictures.”

Losing to his sister’s orders, Shaden flipped to the next page, feeling down. The Elveathin contained many good stories, some that he had been very impressed with. Sure, the pictures were great, but it was the words that were important.

Oblivious to his thoughts, Melany giggled, pointing towards a goblin with a sack on its head.

“Ugly!” she remarked. Pointing to a blonde elf holding a staff, she said, “Very pretty. I like it. This is fun!”

Two thoughts formed in Shaden’s mind. First, the most important thing was for Melany to enjoy herself while he was here. He couldn’t be a detached sibling. The second thought was, the book was impractical for human children since the words were written in Nflerin. She’d never be able to enjoy the stories unless he told them to her.

He wanted to read it to her very badly, but she didn’t seem interested.

“Play with me too.”

Shaden looked up to find Eilae watching him, arms behind her back. She was in comfortable clothes—also black.

“What?” he dumbly replied.

“I’m joking,” she said, glancing over at Melany. “You are completely without control in this situation, aren’t you?”

“Well, I guess.”

“You look like you’re being pressured.”

“Maybe a little. Don’t tell her that, though,” he whispered. “I want to be reliable.”

“Reliability is earned through authority,” Eilae stated. “You need to lead her, not be pulled by your sister’s whims. Or else, you will be stuck in her mind as a pushover.”

“That’s harsh. I’m very sure you’re exaggerating.”

“Children’s minds tend to exaggerate more, though they seldom reflect on it.”

“Ah, my smart companion, saying meaningful things again.”

“It’s what I was taught,” she snapped. “And it works. It is effective and brings discipline.”

Shaden turned away to hide his lips curling up. Eilae was so quick to defend herself even when he said something mildly provoking about her manners.

“I’m sure it does,” he said in the least sarcastic way possible. “Care to teach me?”

“I reckon I will.”

She sat down next to the two of them.

“So, you want to be reliable.”

“Yes.”

“There’s nothing else that increases reliability than solving a problem that the child cannot solve.”

“Makes sense. But how?”

Eilae’s eyes examined Melany, who was happily flipping through the pages of the elven picture book.

“There’s no need to be hasty. We have plenty of time.”

〄 〄 〄

“Mmm. Nggg…”

Standing on her tippy toes, Melany reached for the jar of water positioned on the top of the table. She was struggling as her height was lacking, but she tried, nonetheless. Had this been a normal day for her, she would have gone straight to her mother after failing.

“Careful there.”

She looked up to find her brother looking down at her.

“Do you need water?” Shaden asked.

She nodded.

So using his taller build, Shaden retrieved the jar as well as the cup and have it to his sister, who gulped it down in large mouthfuls.

“Thanks,” she said.

Then she went off to watch her mother knit. She was her mother’s girl, always sticking around close to her. Melsei also appreciated her daughter’s presence even greater ever since her husband had left to find their son.

Shaden, on the other hand, glanced at Eilae, who nodded.

“Just be there whenever she needs something,” she told him. “Scold her when she does something dangerous. You should have added, ‘ask me whenever you need something.’”

“It doesn’t feel natural.”

“Children don’t care what’s natural or not. You’re her brother, for goodness’ sake. Be assertive.”

“I think I’ll just go along with the situation.”

“Hm. Suit yourself. But really, there’s nothing much to do in this place, is there?”

“We could go outside. I know; I can bring Melany along.”

To his disappointment, his sister refused to be separated from their mother, almost to the point of crying, forcing Shaden’s attempt to fail. It hurt his heart a little.

“Melany, your brother wants you to go on the trip with him~!”

“Don’t want to.”

“It’ll be fun. Mommy takes you outside all the time, right? Your brother will buy you snacks.”

The little girl buried her face into her mother’s lap, refusing to move from the place.

“I want daddy back. If he goes, will daddy come back?”

It was an innocent, not-so-deductive remark of a child. But it pierced Shaden’s heart like a harpoon, causing him to choke for a moment.

“Of course not. Daddy will be home soon.”

“How soon?”

“Very soon.”

Melsei turned to Shaden and mouthed, “Don’t worry, she’s just not familiar with you. She’s a good girl.”

He mouthed back, “I know.”

Of course he knew. His sister was such a sweet girl. But it only made him feel worse since now it felt like his approaches to Melany were selfish acts that he wanted to fulfill for popularity. After giving his mother a weak smile and saying, “I’ll take a look around the city with Eilae,” he returned to his companion who was waiting for him.

“Well?” she asked.

“It’ll just be us two,” he sighed.

The days onward were very relaxed and casual, with Shaden and Eilae helping around the house or training by running through the streets or practicing magic in his room. Following Eilae’s instructions, he tried his best to please his sister every day by being a reliable older sibling, and he could slowly see her warming up to him.

He tried to go see Mistilia once, but she had left the Academy upon turning ten, according to the Instructors there. No one he knew had been present, including the Headmistress, and the place had felt distant. It had been a while since he had taken lessons.

Even if it was just a little, he missed those days. Sparring with a heavy stick, sweating furiously while dodging each other’s blows…now it was just remaining unseen and finishing off the enemy with one strike.

One day, Shaden saw his sister playing with some dice that he vaguely remembered.

“What’s that?” he asked, seeing the black cubes with white numbered engravings.

“Dice. They’re pretty,” she said, rolling them around.

An old memory surfaced to his thoughts.

“They were mine once. I bought them with my own money for my birthday.”

The recollection was a funny one. But afterwards, he had stored it into one of his drawers, forgetting about them.

“They’re mine,” insisted Melany.

“Of course, of course. You can have them. I’ll give them to you.”

She remained quiet, focused on rolling the dice. She hadn’t turned her attention once to him, and he was beginning to think that she was disregarding him when she opened her mouth.

“…thanks,” she said softly.

“……no problem.”

The days went by peacefully.