Nil

I was irritated to learn was more of reading the intention of what was coming my way; it was more of I could see each path Ikol might take, but given his empty thought process it generated quite a few possibilities even in a few second span. I remembered Kron warning me that the future was not fixed, I just assumed three seconds was sufficiently short enough for that not to be true. Turns out sufficiently instinct driven actions generated multiple possibilities until the last milliseconds. Krahinn was laughing his butt off still at me, struggling to remain on his feet from how hard he was laughing. Lux clearly told Ikol not to accept the rematch immediately. It was odd seeing her be protective of someone. I guess Ikol's mother is that willing to get violent. I knew Hoggdin likely would save Lux from grievous injuries, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt like crazy while the wounds healed. Krahinn was wiping tears away at this point as they were streaming down his face.

You never told me. I stated calmly to Krahinn.

I thought its weakness was obvious! Krahinn laughed back.

I mean, I guess. I just never dreamed it was possible to be that empty headed until the last moments. I retorted. Krahinn was still chuckling.

I told you to stop relying on it so much. You did turn it off and adapt sufficiently well, but you shouldn’t have committed to that point. Krahinn lectured. I sighed.

You’re right. I admitted. I just figured I was doing something wrong at first. Nope, Ikol was just that in the moment. No thought, just action.

I know I am. Krahinn taunted with a smirk. Lux clearly told Ikol not to accept the rematch too, much to my chagrin. I'll just have to wait.

“Come on, Mama and Papa are waiting for us.” I stated as I knew I wasn’t getting to duel Ikol like I wanted.

“Mama and Papa aren’t here.” Ikol retorted, looking confused at me. I just smiled at Lux.

“Mama and Papa are what I call my paternal grandparents.” I informed Ikol. His blank stare back let me know he did not understand what I just said.

“Mama and Papa are my parents.” Ikol told me. Lux looked like she was internally cringing.

“A few people can have the same name.” I explained to Ikol.

“Really?” Ikol checked. He looked so confused by such a simple concept.

“Yes.” Lux confirmed for me.

“That’s weird.” Ikol quipped. Krahinn was cackling about this still.

“Come on, let’s go say hello.” I prodded them. Krahinn was being no help, so I had to move the entire group to the reception hall where Mama and Papa were.

“Who is this?” Mama asked upon seeing Ikol.

“I’m Ikol!” Ikol stated excitedly.

Who is he? Papa checked mentally.

A friend of Lux from Phestia. Ikol is more of a go with the flow type of being rather than a schemer. I answered. Papa nodded with understanding.

“I hear the fish here is the best. There is something called a sauce that I need to try with it.” Ikol was explaining to Mama.

“That can be arranged dearie.” Mama assured Ikol.

“Yay! Thank you!” Ikol cheered as he did a few happy bounces.

“How about you give Ikol a tour of the castle while dinner is made?” Papa suggested. That was easy.

“Okay.” I agreed. I brought Ikol, Lux, Luna, and I to the front gate to start the tour.

You do plan on being nice to Ikol, right? Luna checked. Just because I liked a little mischief and the clearly gullible Ikol dropped in my lap.

Yes. I already figured out how I am going to mess with Lux as well. I informed her. Luna gave me a raised eyebrow.

Do not be mean to such a precious little cupcake. Luna lectured. What?

You mean Ikol, right? I verified. I was pretty sure but wanted to be certain.

Obviously. Luna confirmed. Ikol was looking up in awe at the castle.

I will not be mean to him, do not worry. As for Lux, whenever Ikol says something, I’m just going to smile at her. She’s waaay too tense and worried about nothing. I explained as I could feel my lips twitching.

You could just be nice, you know. Luna chided. I mean, I could.

Why are you harping on me today? I checked. She seemed oddly worried today.

I’m just a bit anxious; this is roughly the time things started going horribly wrong last time. I know it’s going to be different, but it just gets to me some days. Also, you have that real mischievous glint in your eyes, and Ikol is clearly too innocent. Luna confessed. I took her hand and laced our fingers.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Then I’ll be here with you today. Don't worry, I'll just mess with Lux. We can go dancing later when Lux and Ikol go to sleep if you want. I assured her. Luna blushed a bit as Ikol was still entranced by the grand, carved doors. Lux was politely waiting for once rather than making some snide comment.

“Let’s begin the tour!” I announced happily.

Ikol was excitedly following every word I said as we walked around the castle; Luna was happily holding my hand as I gave the grand tour to Ikol. Ikol kept licking the suits of armor on display for some reason. Why? What purpose did licking the metal serve? After taste testing the fifth suit of armor Lux gave him a glare that stopped Ikol cold. I kept smiling at Lux after each odd thing Ikol did; I could tell it was getting to her that I kept smiling at her. Just a bit more and she’d crack. Mwahahahahaha. Ikol was a gift that kept on giving. As the tour continued, I sensed Ein and Riva nearby so I directed us towards them as I knew Riva would love to see Ikol and Lux. Soon enough, the two of them were in sight along with Uncle Nez and Nox.

“FLUFFY!” Riva yelled out excitedly as she ran towards us. She was a near spitting image of our mother with amber eyes, curly black hair, porcelain colored skin, and the only difference was she had our dad's dragon-like horns.

“I’m Ikol. Are you fluffy?” Ikol replied with a straight face. I was giving Lux my widest smile. This might be one of the best days of my life.

“You’re fluffy!” Riva cheered, dancing a bit in front of Ikol. Luckily, she knew from Lux that she needed to ask permission to pet a being.

“But I’m Ikol.” Ikol retorted, looking distraught.

“Fluffy is a word that means you are covered in fluff. She is saying you look soft and furry.” Lux explained to him.

“Oh. I am fluffy.” Ikol agreed upon realizing it was a compliment.

“Can I pet you?” Riva requested with her best begging eyes.

“What’s that mean?” Ikol asked. I guess not a lot of words were familiar to him. Part of me wanted to learn more, and the rest of me knew Ikol would not be a great source of information.

“She runs her hands on you.” Lux answered. Ikol looked confused.

“Why?” Ikol probed as he didn’t grasp the concept.

“Just say yes. It won’t hurt you.” I told Ikol. Ikol looked at me.

“Yes?” Ikol agreed. Riva immediately began petting Ikol, scratching by his ears and rubbing her tiny hands along them.

“Oh, that’s nice.” Ikol quipped as Riva began scratching his chin.

“Can I ride?” Riva requested as she kept petting Ikol.

“Sure.” Ikol stated. Riva hopped on him and kept petting him.

“Fluffy!” Riva cheered. Ein was still standing with our uncles.

“Ein, Uncle Nez, and Uncle Nox, this is Ikol. He is a friend of Lux and a guest of the castle.” I introduced them to him.

“You spoil her too much.” Uncle Nez told me as he waved a finger at me.

“I am trying to be a good brother.” I defended myself.

“Nil is the best brother.” Ein agreed while we did a mini high five.

“You know his mother might kill me for Riva, right?” Lux interjected. Oh, that was just gravy.

“Ikol agreed to the petting and ride. You can clearly boss him around, so tell him to the contrary.” I retorted. Lux glared at me, as I knew that option was only slightly better for her.

“You are enjoying yourself, aren’t you?” Lux growled at me.

“Yes.” I confirmed. Just a bit more. Almost there. I could see her eyes starting to twitch.

“Nil, you need better hobbies.” Uncle Nox lectured. What?

Everyone is lecturing me. I whined to Luna.

Gee, I wonder why. Luna taunted me.

What does that mean? I checked. Luna gave me an amused stare.

You are blatantly trying to start a fight with Lux, and your parents were clear you spoil your sister too much. Luna told me.

Can you clarify how I spoil her too much? I requested as I motioned to continue the tour.

You give her whatever she asks for. You need to stop doing that. Luna answered. She might have had a point.

“Dear uncles, would you like to join the great tour I am giving Ikol?” I asked. Both looked at my siblings who had already joined the tour.

“Hmmm. We told your parents we would watch your siblings today, and somehow you have already recruited them to join your tour.” Uncle Nez told me sarcastically.

“Mystery how that happened.” I joked. Both of them gave me less than amused stares as they were clearly going to go along with my antics.

“Uh huh.” Uncle Nox retorted as he took Uncle Nez’s hand and joined the tour group.

I continued my grand tour, still holding Luna’s hand. Ikol kept Riva on his back as she was ecstatically petting him. Lux glared on, debating how to tackle the issue at hand. The castle was quite large, so it took another three hours to show Ikol the entire castle. We eventually reached the dining hall, where Mom, Dad, Duke Dawnsfield, Mama, Papa, Grandpa, Grisbane, Cesar, Cleo, and Julius were all sitting. I guess Nautilus and Helga are having date night tonight. Mom and Dad saw Riva on Ikol before glaring at me. Yea it didn’t take much effort to figure out where the new came from or how Riva ended up riding and petting him. Dad looked at Riva, who begrudgingly got off of Ikol and took her seat at the table. Cesar’s face looked like seeing another random was doing wonders for his mental health; part of me was tempted to mess with him on it, but I knew Mom and Dad were already going to be less than thrilled about the events of today. Julius gave me the expression that he'd want me to explain Ikol when the adults weren't around.

“What did we say?” Mom pressed. Her eyes drifted to the fact I was holding Luna’s hand; Luna gripped my hand in response. So, I was picking all the fights today. Joy.

By the way, this is Ikol, a friend of Lux from Phestia. I told her mentally.

“Stop spoiling Riva so much.” I answered. Lux looked at Mom and clearly tattled. That was one work around for her.

Apparently Ikol needs to stop giving rides and getting pet by your sister. Mom taunted me.

“This will be your last warning.” Mom informed me out loud.

Thank you. I replied. Luna motioned for us to take our seats as Duke Dawnsfield looked at me funny.

Do remember physically, you two are ten. Mom reminded me. I looked between Luna and her dad, and she sighed before letting go of my hand for now.

I know. I lamented. It did have some irritating downsides. Dinner was served at this point, and Ikol was given fish with sauce like Lux. Lux with little hesitation ripped off a piece and dipped it in the sauce. Ikol replicated what she did and lit up.

“This sauce is great!” Ikol chimed happily.

“I am glad you are enjoying the fish.” I told him. Ikol ecstatically kept eating more fish as he liberally applied the sauce.

“Chef’s Realm is so cool! And you have those fun licking suits on display.” Ikol said with such joy in his voice.

“Licking suits?” Dad asked, not grasping what Ikol meant. I just looked at Lux and smiled. Her eyes were beginning to twitch violently.

“He is referring to the suits of armor.” I clarified. Now Ikol was getting many looks of confusion.

“You also have such nice bricks; they have a nice earthy smell to them. It’s nice.” Ikol added on as he took another bite of fish.

I gave Lux another grin and a small thumbs up. She finally hit her breaking point and lunged at me from across the table. Forling finally. Nearly every adult at the table let out a deep sigh of annoyance as they were debating what to lecture us for. Before we could begin dueling, however, Krahinn appeared with Orga and Ipnerslei. He saw Lux glaring at me in a fighting stance, my family looking on annoyed, and Ikol obliviously eating fish. Krahinn unleashed his while glaring at Lux and I. He is such a killjoy. We both sheepishly sat back down in our seats as Krahinn kept glaring menacingly.

“I thought I was clear about liking peaceful mealtimes.” Krahinn snarled at us. Luna was chuckling at us as we now quietly ate dinner.