“Babies?” One of the arsons asked, befuddled.

“They weren’t in the house, so where are they?” The temperature around the men rose, making them perspire.

“Remember? She came back last year with two babies.” A different thug cut in.

‘Agh, that bastard lied to us. He never had a cube that could let us go undetected. Maybe if we use his information as a bargaining chip…’ The silent thug thought to himself and started, “We don’t know, but-”

An inferno appeared out of thin air around the thugs, enveloping them. A horrifying scream was let out before ceasing from lack of oxygen. Black smoke rose from the flames as their bodies dropped.

“Then you’re useless to me.” Nicky turned around and faced the village - like daughter, like mother.

Cali and Lucy walked down the street, Sol casually floating to Cali’s side. The few onlookers at the periphery of the village cast glances at the trio. But upon seeing Cali, they went back to their business.

They made their way out of the village, but their rate was limited by Cali’s injury. In the distance, they saw rising smoke, but before they could react, they saw a rapidly moving projectile approaching them. Cali braced herself, but it didn’t help as the projectile shot right beside her, blowing her hair back. Cali turned and noticed only the bag Lucy was carrying was left, but she heard a familiar voice from behind.

“Ah, you two are okay!” Nicky was clutching a Sol and a Lucy in each of her arms. Sol winced in pain.

‘Not again.’ His injury throbbed.

“Yes, we’re fine,” Sol choked out.

“Oh, but you’re injured.” Not a moment later, a glow surrounded her babies. Nicky hugged them tightly, causing them to wear awkward expressions. Cali looked on with a longing expression.

“You’re injured too!” Nicky turned to Cali, flew over, and pulled her into a big group hug. The glow spread onto Cali, along with an embarrassed blush.

After the healing and group hug ended, Cali and Lucy retook their personal space while Sol, still unable to fly and exhausted, remained in his mother’s arms. Cali informed Nicky of the situation and what occurred while Sol explained how they left for food.

“It’s going to take me a while to repair the house, so you two stay at Cali’s for the night.” Cali wore a protesting expression but stopped when she looked at Nicky, changing it to a look of resignation. The two ironed out some of the remaining details.

‘I wonder. The house being burnt down doesn’t seem to bother her much, and this doesn’t seem like a random act. If the intention was for us to be in the house during the fire, then is the goal to use our deaths to provoke Nicky into destroying the village in her rage? Or maybe so she destroys the city?’ Sol strained his eyebrows in concentration.

‘Well, whatever. Either way, I just have to avoid being killed.’ Sol shrugged and went back to listening to their conversation.

“My lord, the mission failed. The house was successfully burned down, but the twins were not inside. We have not been able to get in contact with Javion.” A knight in full-plated armor fell to one knee and bowed deeply. Behind a wooden desk in a lavishly adorned room sat an imposing figure draped in a finely detailed crimson robe.

“What were they doing outside of the house?” He tapped on the desk.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“We don’t know. We lack manpower in the village due to the Witch’s barrier around the village that notifies her if non-residents pass through.” The lord’s tapping became louder as his reply went on.

“I know that. The Witch will be more alert now due to this failure. Recruit more eyes in the village and properly learn what happened. We will need to prepare more drastic measures.” His tone was harsh, and with one final tap, the knight rose.

“Yes, my lord.” The knight banged his fist on his chest plate and exited the room.

No light came through the cracks in the window into a dark, minimalistic room. A young girl with hair darker than the room lay in bed. Her hair spread in all directions like countless shadows for a single object as she stared up at the ceiling. She let out a quiet sigh. Her small room was extra cramped today as there were two newly placed cribs. Each with their matching babies inside. One of those babies was especially annoying.

“Milky, milky!” cried out Sol. Cali turned away, and Lucy shot him a disgusted look.

‘Okay, maybe I went a bit far with that one,’ he self-reflected. He waited a bit before bothering them again.

“So, you live alone?”

“Yes.”

“How old are you?”

“Twelve.”

“How’d you get so good at magic?”

“I practiced.”

“How’d you get to know our mom?”

“She helped me.”

‘Well, she really is a preteen. No doubt. I’m not dumb enough to trip on any landmines on accident like asking about her parents, but here goes anyways…”

“How’d you end up being exiled?” Sol asked in the same tone he had been using until then.

“You shouldn’t ask people that.” Despite her stern words, her tone was uncaring, or rather, it was just as annoyed as it was with all the other questions.

“But I’m curious.”

“Unfortunately, it isn’t my job to satiate your curiosity.”

“Worst. Babysitter. Ever,” Sol sarcastically remarked. Seeing that Cali stayed quiet, Sol decided to stop pushing her buttons and seriously continued, “I’ll answer one of your questions if you answer mine.”

Cali turned around in bed and looked at Sol. A lot of what she’s seen today bothered her. The unnerving linguistic abilities of Sol and Lucy, their uncanny intelligence for their age, to their powers while fighting in a death match. She stared at him in contemplation.

“Fine,” she hmphed.

“I lived in a common household in the city with my parents. Since I can remember, I’ve had dreams of a woman with devouring beauty and all-consuming eyes. Not even destruction was left in her path in my dreams. And I’ve tried emulating her since, mainly through my magic.” A longing and fondness were heard in her voice as she spoke, her eyes looking up to the ceiling as if to envision her while she talked.

“It turns out I had a gift with magic that I demonstrated at my preschool, and I was noticed by an affluent mage in the city. He helped me enroll in a magic school for nobles, and my parents were thrilled, so I went with it.” She let out a sigh.

“As you can imagine, I was discriminated against and attacked one day. I fought back with my magic, not knowing any better, and broke a couple noble kids’ bones. The mage who invited me ensured my sentencing was only exile over death, but my parents disowned me to avoid repercussions. It was your mom who helped make sure I had food and a roof over my head. And here I am now.” Her voice remained even, not letting her past disturb it.

“They have magic schools?” Sol excitedly asked. Lucy shot him a glare.

“Uh- Yes.” Cali was taken off guard.

“Well, thank you for sharing.” Sol remained quiet after that. The silence stretched on, but it wasn’t interrupted. Lucy continued staring at Sol to get him to say more. Neither one had the chance to notice it, but a small smile snuck on Cali’s face before gradually fading.

“Okay. So, now it’s my turn to ask a question.” Cali broke the silence.

‘Shoot, she remembered.’

“How are you two so capable at such a young age? Does Nicky use some hidden magic for teaching?”

‘Well. This happens when you gamble. Um.’ Sol pondered how he should reply.

‘Should I lie? Not when she was just so honest. I should at least tell something half true. What’re the repercussions for the truth?” Sol’s mind raced through dozens of phrasings and scenarios all at once, but his thoughts were interrupted by Lucy.

“This isn’t my first life, duh.”