(Kazu Xiao POV)

I felt a sense of nostalgia as I took in the sights of the golden palace. This place reminded me of a past that I wished I could remember.

My mind was always a haze of questions, yet this place made me feel at peace, perhaps that was what Indrath wanted in the end, I needed to find my own purpose, but I didn’t know where to start.

Indrath and Theitus were alike in a lot of ways, perhaps I needed to accept this new beginning with a little more willingness, after all Mythral wasn’t so bad. It was certainly clear, Theitus was among the strongest here, I would have to try harder if I wanted to beat him. I'd find a way to keep up with him, that seemed like a good start to my goals here.

Theitus and me entered the dining hall to find a large table set with four plates while many of the other seats remained empty, leaving me to wonder just who else lived in the palace considering there was a fourth plate.

“… Go ahead take a seat, Altear will be joining us shortly. She is probably getting the food ready right now. you’ve yet to taste the cuisine in Mythral. It's a rare treat, you know. You'll find everything here is well worth a taste," Theitus said with a large grin on his face, as he gestured me to an open seat.

I gave a simple half nod as I took a seat before Theitus did the same. “I never had much of an appetite for food, but I’m sure it tastes good," I said with an air of indifference before I spoke up to sate my curiosity, “… who else lives here in this palace? there’s four plates here," I asked with my usual demeanor.

Theitus's gaze shifted toward me with a grin, "well you’d be the new addition to our table. but Altear, myself, and the young miss Isabelle whom I took in as my daughter are the only ones that live in the palace. Although, we do have Clansmen that reside in the city," Theitus explained while I let out a small hum.

“I didn’t think someone who lived so long would bother having children,” I said with my usual attitude.

Theitus only let out a hearty laugh at my response, "You would be correct on that account, but Isabelle is my adopted daughter, Altear and I raised her from a young age, she is quite the young lady, if I do say so myself," he stated with a grin before continuing on with. "She is of both Ezumi and Kanmori, unfortunately her parents died when she was very young, but her dual heritage has gifted her a great deal of magical ability and natural martial prowess. as you’ll come to see. However, unlike myself and Altear, the Kanmori clan are known for their mastery of martial arts and Ezumi has closer ties to magic essence than most, as you would expect Isabelle’s potential is boundless," he explained while his smirk glowed with pride.

I only listened as Theitus went on about his daughter's abilities, I guess I was interested in a sense even if I didn’t look it.

Our conversation seemed to be put on hold as the door to the dining hall opened up to reveal Altear, the same lady I had met shortly after waking up, "My, my, I hope I didn't make you two wait too long, I was helping Isabelle with some of her training, but I did manage to prepare dinner," She said while setting down several plates with steam wafting off the top as the smell of herbs and spices filled the air.

Theitus welcomed both Altear and the aroma of her cooking with a large grin, "No, not at all. Me and Kazu were just talking… Where’s Isabelle? She’s late for dinner." Theitus asked Altear as she set the final plate of food in the center of the table.

"She should be here shortly, she said she was going out for a walk, she seems rather upset about something, I am sure she will be along shortly.” Altear said with a sweet smile on her face, and it wasn’t a second after when she looked at me with a sly smirk. "… How’s my little Xiao doing, Kazu-kun~. Is he behaving Theitus?" Altear asked with a playful giggle that met my typical aloof attitude, an expression of indifference as I didn't bother to answer her.

Theitus’s laughter didn’t hesitate to fill the air. “Watch it now Altear. Kazu might put you on your toes, he’s quite the challenge," he said with a large grin while Altear licked her top lip in anticipation.

"... a challenge huh? It's been a long time since I even seen a Xiao, let alone fought one," she said with her sly smirk and pink eyes glinting with golden stars, a gaze that was nothing but alluring but I still found myself unamused. “How do you like it here so far Kazu-kun?” She asked after a moment of eyeing me up and down as if she wanted to tease me.

"It's not bad, I guess, the place is nice," I remarked with an air of indifference.

Altear let out a small giggle at my response, "…He certainly has the Xiao touch, right Theitus?" She asked with a smile.

Theitus let out a hearty laugh while he watched me, "I thought so too, he is rather cold, but he has the heart to care. He simply lacks the social skills, I'm sure he will warm up in time," he said with a large grin while Altear couldn't help but to giggle.

“Mhm, I might have to give him a tour of the city sometime,” Altear added playfully with a wink toward me that was once again met with my usual demeanor.

However, it seemed like I was saved from another wave of teasing when the door to the dining hall opened up to reveal a girl with fiery red hair tied up into a ponytail, while a set of red bangs fell over her face while eyes that shimmered with gold, pink and silver glared forward.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Ah, there you are, Isabelle, you're late for dinner. we’ve been waiting for you,” Theitus said with a smile, but she didn’t look so thrilled as she took her seat beside Altear. it was clear she didn't want to be here at all.

"I had a few things I needed to take care of. Sorry for being late. Theitus,” she said with a sigh before looking over at me, with a scowl. Regardless Theitus was eager to introduce us, "Kazu, this is Isabelle, Isabelle, this is Kazu. The guest I mentioned, He’ll be staying with us for a while." He exclaimed.

Isabelle let out a sigh, "Yeah, Yeah… The Xiao guy, nice to meet you I guess.” She said without any real interest before she looked over to Theitus as if she was waiting for his approval.

It was clear to see she held a certain level of respect for Theitus as he smiled back at her, "… since we’re all here now, let’s dig in." Theitus’s hearty laugh filled the air once more before filling his plate with the food on the table.

Everyone soon followed suit and did the same. I filled my plate with whatever caught my interest. Thinking nothing of it until my plate was filled with chicken glazed in sauce, some sort of meat rolls and long stringy noodles that smelled of spices.

I was curious, considering I’ve never seen food like this, it was simple and precise while captivating a rich tapestry of exotic aromas and colors, "... well what are you waiting for, eat up," Theitus said with a large grin and hearty laughter.

I only gave a slight nod in response, a bit curious as to why Theitus and Altear were staring at me. I was sure my appearance eating wasn’t exactly pleasant to watch but still I found no real reason to hesitate as the slimy noodles met my tongue.

The taste that hit my mouth was unlike anything I have ever tasted before, a burst of flavors that had me salivating for more as a slight burning sensation tingled my tastebuds while the texture was absolutely perfect.

Yet my short moment of amazement was cut short as Theitus’s grin and Altear’s smirk grew even wider as if they realized I actually enjoyed it.

“… Huh… Can’t a guy enjoy his food without you two looking so smug about it?" I remarked with a slight annoyance that only made Altear and Theitus snicker to themselves.

“Hah, that is a Kanmori specialty. I had a feeling you’d like it. Altear's cooking is always amazing, isn't that right Altear," Theitus said with a wide grin and his usual hearty laugh.

"Of course~. I tried my best for our little Xiao here," Altear said playfully as Isabelle looked over to me, her unique sharp gaze clearly had something against me.

“I heard the Xiao didn’t need to eat, but you sure are enjoying yourself even after your kind abandoned Mythral and left it to die," Isabelle spat making it clear her scowling gaze was meant to be rude.

I didn't even bat an eye, and her words certainly meant nothing to me, but Both Theitus and Altear looked a bit concerned, "... Isabelle, you can't say things like that. Kazu doesn't even know that past let alone know of Mythral's past," Altear said with a slight concern as her gaze shifted toward me but truthfully, I didn’t need her to stick up for me.

"Hmm? As far as I'm concerned, these Xiao you knew don't matter to me. So don't get your panties in a twist. A better idea would be to leave it at that," I said with a scoff before returning to my food, with little interest

Isabelle only seemed to grumble under her breath and glare at me without anymore outbursts.

"That's enough you two, Kazu has only just arrived. Don't be so cold to him Isabelle, you should try to get along. You're a strong young woman but that doesn't mean you should let your pride blind you," Theitus said sternly like a fatherly figure would do with their child.

Isabelle let out an annoyed huff before giving a silent nod.

"He's right Isabelle, now finish your food, you have training tomorrow. I expect you to be on time and ready," Altear said in a somewhat motherly manner as Isabelle only let out a sigh.

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered before going back to her food, no longer interested in me.

For the most part, they all seemed to let it go after I dismissed it as idle chit-chat as we enjoyed our meals, leaving the conversation to shift to small talk and some sort of reports every now and then from Altear as they became relevant. “… Oh no, the Red Manes will be just fine, and they also delivered some supplies early this week. I’ll be focusing on giving you a hand,” Altear said to Theitus as I simply listened to them talk, not really taking interest in anything.

"That’s good, Isabelle here is already a handful to train, and with Kazu, I’ll need the extra help," Theitus answered, causing some laughter between him and Altear. Meanwhile, Isabelle seemed to not like to be put on the spot with their obvious teasing.

"Theitus… Altear…” Isabelle grumbled turning her head away and crossing her arms with a slight blush.

Altear only smiled at her and patted her head, "Oh come on, don't be like that. We are just messing around with you," she said with a small giggle as Theitus laughed alongside her.

I could only watch from the seat with my typical unamused expression, and it was hard not to notice that this was probably how a family acted like. In a way I felt a bit out of place, but I couldn’t deny the slight sense of nostalgia as I watched like I once had, something like this.

Regardless dinner finished up with some small talk here and there. Altear went off somewhere with Isabelle while I was left alone with Theitus.

“I should apologize on behalf of Isabelle's rudeness, she’s known for her quick temper and sometimes she lets her pride get in the way, but she’s a good girl at heart. Don’t think too harshly of her, she will come around." Theitus explained with his usual grin before he couldn’t help a much softer laugh from exiting his lips. "… She can barely get along with any other clan members, but she never fails to impress me,” he added as his grin grew wider.

Yet I wasn’t offended, I honestly didn't care much for the subject, but I did wonder why Theitus thought he needed to apologize.

“… don’t worry about it, I’ve heard worse things from people on the mainland,” I said with a slight shrug which Theitus only laughed at my response.

"I’m glad you think so,” he added before rising from the seat, “I have some paperwork to deal with, we’ll start training in the morning, you might want to rest up, that room you woke up in is all yours" he said before carrying his towering frame out of the room, leaving me in the dining hall by myself.

With nothing else to do, I left the dining room to the room I now had here in this palace. It didn’t take long to find the room in this place, but once I did, I found myself alone with my thoughts.

A deep breath and a sigh escaped my lips as I sat down on the bed, my thoughts were a bit clouded, but the one thought that kept coming back was how close they all seemed to be. In a way it made me want something like that for myself. Yet I scoffed at myself for feeling that way.

"Stupid," I muttered to myself with Indrath and the time we spent together on my mind thinking his influence must have rubbed off on me, but I couldn’t deny what I felt.

With an annoyed sigh I fell back on the bed with clouded thoughts, and I closed my eyes. I didn't realize how tired I was from the day. And I certainly didn’t notice I fell asleep in the blink of an eye.