Side story 3: Affection
[Edited By Arthur300000 and ArchmageNaoki]
“Argh, who the hell doesn’t teach their kids not to call people in the middle of the night!” The flashing light from the scrying orb is making me unable to sleep. I just came from the toilet ten minutes ago. Ahh, my old age is killing me.
“Oh, hello my dear Catherine.” I said as my daughter’s face came up on the scrying orb.
“Hi, dad. I’m calling to tell you that you are going to have a new GRANDDAUGHTER!” She seems more excited than normal. Well, it’s not that out of the ordinary. Whenever women of my family talk about a little girl, they always get too excited. I blame my wife.
“Wait, is that going to be ok with your current… condition?” I'm worried about her because I heard that her genetic sickness was getting worse and she needed some kind of cybernetic implants a few years ago. I wanted to sell my house to help her, but her husband is too stubborn and refused. Oh, my poor daughter. From then on she stopped visiting me.
“It’s alright dad. We're adopting her tomorrow. I was just so excited, so I called you.”
“Adopt? Why!?” Oops, I should keep calm here. My surprise sometimes gets the better of me.
“Well, she’s an outsider. I thought I should tell you beforehand, but she's a girl, so it'll work out somehow. See you, dad!” … She doesn’t even listen to me. And she just hangs up on me! Damn, now I'm even more worried.
I want to call her back but once the scrying orb is used it needs a full day to recharge. I called her again the next day and the day after, and all I got were responses like Kuro is cute, and Kuro is doing this and that. The information might get a little distorted by my daughter’s unnatural love for a little girl, but I am still happy for her.
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About a couple of weeks after that, the scrying orb was flashing in the middle of the night again. Who the hell- Oh, it’s my grandson.
“Hi there my little Tyke, you've grown up a bit.” He is one of my favorite grandchildren. I still remember him following me to the field when he was just a little kid. How many years has it been?
“Hello, grandfather. Are you still using that scrying orb?” I nodded and felt a little offense. What's wrong with this scrying orb? I've used it since I was a young teen and it's never let me down.
“So we don't have much time, I'll be brief then. We're coming to visit you the first day of the founding days holiday. I already sent the energy ionizer for mom to you. It should arrive the day after tomorrow. Make sure to connect the machine to the main power supply. I've already adjusted everything, so you don’t have to change anything.”
“Oh, the beginning of the founding days huh? Will that girl-”
“Kuro will be with us. Ok, that’s everything, see you when we get there grandfather.” Oi, you don’t need to be in that much of a hurry. My scrying orb can last several more minutes... It looks like it’s time to clean up the house.
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Anna was ecstatic when she heard the news. She doesn’t show much, but she's been cleaning the house non-stop since morning while humming that theme from her favorite drama. I never thought that this house would never have a lot of people in it again like it used to in the past. My dear little Charlotte is also going to bring her family this holiday. I warned her beforehand that Catherine is going to bring her outsider daughter along, but instead of being careful she just said that she also want to adopt one… Hah, let’s hope for the best then.
“Albert, you look strangely happy.”
“You too, Anna.”
““Ha ha ha ha-”” *Ding* *Dong* “HELLO! You have a delivery!” Oh, it must be the energy ...zer, something or whatever from my grandson. I walk to the front door and open it. The delivery man seemed to be surprised and took a step back. Blah, children these days. They lack exercise and healthy food.
“S-sign here please.” The man gives me the paper and pen. It is quite difficult to handle this small thing. It took me quite a while to scribble something legible on it because it was so small. When I handed the paper, he quickly ran into his car and drove away... He didn't even offer to help me carry the box down the stairs.
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The box is quite heavy. Luckily, I don’t have back pain problems like most of my friends, so carrying it to the basement was relatively easy. The thing inside the box looks expensive. Aren't they financially struggling? Where did they get the money from? Did they resort to something illegal? Oh, it’s the letter from my grandson. Let’s see what this is about.
Dear grandfather,
Please plug the device immediately when it arrives. The device needs to charge the air for a while. Please don’t worry about where we got this. It’s perfectly legal. With Kuro’s help in our last adventure, we got enough money to buy this.
Thanks,
Aunos Velvori
P.S. I also put some larger monster cores in the box attached to the device.
That Kuro girl again, huh? She seems to be a good kid.
As I plug the device to the generator, its needle displayed that its usage capacity is at ¾. This thing drains a lot of energy. I check the aforementioned box and found several large green monster cores inside. It's all set then. Now, I hope they arrive safely.
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“Papa, what is an outsider?” I wonder what an outsider is because I heard mama talking excitedly about it. She even planned to adopt one, but the plan was rejected by Papa because he said it’s too risky. Although from the tone of mama it must be something very cute. Today we are going to visit grandpa and grandma, but all I heard from mama were things about this outsider.
“She is your cousin, Laurell. And please don’t call her an outsider, It’s rude. Her name is Kuro. And do you remember what I told you?” My dad answered while driving.
“I know Papa. Don't create unnecessary grudges. Although, I thought I have only two cousins, Aunos and Pristia.” Why did I suddenly have a new one?
“Uhmm, It’s complicated. Your Auntie Catherine just adopted her recently. So now you have three cousins, Aunos, Pristia, and cute little Kuro. I think she’s about your age.” Mama answered. So this adopting thing can make a new brother and sister suddenly appear in my family, huh?
“Was I also adopted?” I don’t remember anything before I was with mama and papa as their son but-
““No, of course not!””
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"Is this the other daughter you mentioned? I am sooooo jealous!" When we arrived at grandpa’s house, mama leaped at the girl as soon as she saw her. She must be Kuro, and she looks to be around my age.
"Nice to meet you." Kuro offers me her hand. She is beautiful. A lot more beautiful than the prettiest girl in my class. Seeing her up close made my heart beat unusually fast. Is she casting a strange spell on me? I hid behind Papa. He’s very good at magic so that he can protect me.
However, a moment later she gives a huge catfish to mama. I heard from mama that it’s very expensive, but she said she didn't mind. How many sweet breads can I buy with three gold coins? I’m not sure, but I think three gold coins would keep me happy for an entire month. She must be very kind to give that up.
After that, we bathed together. Kuro seems to be a bit reluctant to join us, but when she dip her flawless feet into the water, she didn't hesitate anymore. I tried to not look at her because every time I do, so my heart rate goes up. But for some reason, my line of sight keeps getting drawn to her beautiful face.
Then our eyes met.
*Sigh* She breathes out heavily.
What did I do wrong? Why did she sigh when she looked at me? While I fumbled for the reason, she suddenly removed her towel and show her goddess like body to me. Is this what papa meant when he said: “Women are complicated”? I don’t understand her actions at all.
“Laurell, are you alright? Your nose is bleeding!” Papas shouting brings me out of my thoughts.
“No papa, I’m awright.” I said to papa, but my sight is somewhere else. *Drip* I just noticed something leaking from my nose, and it's red. What is this, am I sick? I've never had blood come out my nose before.
After that Papa brought me into the house and cast a healing spell on me. My nose stops bleeding, but I felt embarrassed when I was thinking back on what happened in the bath. I wish I could impress Kuro somehow. The problem is, I'm always being mistaken for a girl. Even though no one outright teases me, it's quite frustrating when an unknown boy confesses to me in public.
“Papa, I want to be a hunter.” The hunter is the coolest job I know. If I can become like a dashing hunter in my town, I think that I might be manlier. And Kuro might... like me.
“Hmm, we can try that tomorrow. There is a hunting spot in the magical forest nearby.” I knew it. Papa is reliable.
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"Anyone want to go hunting in the magical forest with us?" In the morning Papa invites everyone, but to my surprise, Kuro is also coming along. Uuu, my pressure is suddenly increased. I have to show her my cool side today.
We visit the unicorn glade before the hunt. They're as cool as I remember, but for some reason, the unicorns are afraid of Kuro, and she looks devastated because of this. Wait, is she a bad person?
[No, she isn’t.] … Cool! The unicorns can talk! But it’s weird that they’re not moving their mouths while speaking, this must be the so-called telepathy.
[We can, but we prefer not to most of the time. However, this time it seems one of us caused a misunderstanding. I need to intervene.] Misunderstand?
[That girl, she is kind and good natured. If she were a bad person, she would've been asked to leave the glade already. Nevertheless, her mind filled with loneliness, sadness, and… Well, that’s why it’s difficult for an empathetic creature like us to be near her. Just a glimpse of it causes us so much pain.] So you read her mind!
[The one who just ran away caught a glimpse of it, and our minds are shared. But before you ask me for romance tips I have to disappoint you. We don’t share what we read with anyone.] Oh, come on…
In the end, no matter how much I begged the Unicorn to tell me he just kept silent. But according to what Unicorn told me her past must be really painful.
"Stay behind me. I will protect you." Kuro, from now on I will protect you.