"So you and sir Ronald are the only occupants of this house, correct?" Allister pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Yes," Alan nodded. "There is my father, Thomas, but he lives in the mountain villa nowadays."
"And there is absolutely no one else to maintain this mansion?" Allister then asked.
"Yes," Alan casually replied. "It's just the two of us doing all the cleaning."
"Indeed," Ronald confirmed as if it was the most ordinary thing to do.
When the Illyers were about to meet the elusive leader of the Bell Conglomerate, they had expected many things. However, whatever expectation they had all fell moot, dumbfounded even upon seeing the man holding a broom and duster.
"Then how can you clean all the mansion with just the two of you?" Marisa asked in a gasping tone. "It must have taken ages to do so!"
"Oh, that's easy. Since it's only the two of us, we only clean the rooms we actually use; our bedrooms, my office, the bathroom, the kitchen, the dining hall, and this living room," Alan explained, gesturing his hand downward. "Oh, and also the pathway to them too."
"That is... very pragmatic of you, mister Bell," was all Allister could say. "But why do you not hire servants? Is it because you needed to keep your identities as Court Wizards a secret?"
"No, not really," Alan waved his hand off. "We just don't want to waste money on house servants," he answered bluntly.
At this point, the Illyers started to get a clear idea of what kind of people the Bells were. There were already signs from Bell junior and Bell senior simply cemented it.
"Alright, now that just won't do!" Among the crowd of Illyer servants, a maid spoke up. She was the oldest among the maids, most likely the head maid.
"Anna," Allister called the head maid out. "I do not think you should-"
"Pardon me, my lord," Anna cut him off, clearly having a no-nonsense attitude. "But the state of this mansion cannot continue for any longer!"
"And what do you suggest we do?" Alan asked. "Or are you going to clean it yourselves?"
"Precisely!" Anna put her hands on her waists. "Now that we are here, we might as well make ourselves useful," turning to the other maids, "right ladies?"
"""Yes!""" The maids shouted in unison.
"Hm, sure, why not?" Alan accepted, rubbing his chin. "You will most likely pick up the same jobs as you did in your world and we could use some helping hand for once. Duke Illyer?"
"I approve," Allister closed his eyes. "We will be here for a considerable amount of time, it would be preferable for this house to be cleaner."
And that's pretty much the head maid. (Joshua)
I guess the position comes with a few perks.
Oh, there is more where it's coming from, boys. (Alan)
"Thank you, my lord," the head maid smiled. She turned to Alan, "now, can you show us where you keep your cleaning instruments, lord Bell?"
Setting aside how the head maid called him, Alan quickly caught on to what she meant and warned her, "Hm, about that," pointing at the broom and duster, "that's the only pair we have along with the mop. We have no cleaning tools other than those."
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It was only logical for the Illyers to stay in the mansion. Even if it was smaller than theirs, it was still too big for the two Bells to live in. Besides, having them live elsewhere could lead them to trouble considering their status as Visitors in a modern world.
"The immigration laws enacted years ago have made it troublesome, but fortunately we were able to fake your identifications in the end," Alan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yes, certainly..." Allister smiled wryly.
Knowing the right kind of people and slapping them with fat stacks of cash was bound to get every Illyer their fake papers. Being the richest man on Kaomagi Earth helped that.
"Anyway, now that it's done, we can move on to the next thing on our checklist," Alan continued. "Namely, what will you do from now on."
Now that got everyone's attention. As everyone's livelihood went down with their immigration to Kaomagi Earth, they needed a new one.
For the former servants of the Illyer mansion, employment in the Bell mansion was only natural. The Bells really needed someone to take care of the mansion.
As for the Illyer's knights? Well...
"Mister Clint and miss Alexa, you're hired," Alan stated. Turning to the rest of the knights, "the rest of you, no. You guys will be wasted being mere bodyguards."
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"...Huh?" Oswald blinked.
In the end, Oswald and his subordinates signed themselves up in the police academy. With their discipline as knights, they should have no trouble passing. Their only hurdle should be knowing how to use a gun.
"Now for the actual Illyer family," Alan said for the main part.
"As arrogant as I may sound, I am certainly not going to settle for a menial job," Albert, first prince of Kirash, firmly stated.
"Seconded, as presumptuous as it is," Allister added.
"Fair enough, I'll see if I can find a spot in my Conglomerate," Alan said. "However, you will need qualifications for it."
"Hm?" Allister raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Official qualifications," Alan elaborated. "I'm not faking those for you, so you will need to get... educated. In fact, you all should get Kaomagi Earth education," he said to everyone.
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"So, how's your day, Irene?" Ronald asked in English.
"I am fine, sir Ronald, just overwhelmed as usual," Irene sighed as she slumped on the recently stitched couch in the living room. "I never thought you have been speaking our language thanks to your Maneg Soul all this time, or the fact there are different languages in general."
"Well, at least you're fluent in ours now," Ronald smiled as a maid passed by sweeping the floor not too far behind him.
It was a few months after the Illyers settled in. Those months were filled with cramming everything they possibly need to function in modern society. For one, they needed to learn English they painfully need after simply nodding and such when the shady guy Alan knew processed their fake IDs.
It wasn't too bad for the servants since they don't need it too much for simple housework, but for the knights trying to become policemen and the main Illyers trying to get a better job? Yeah...
"I still cannot believe most children younger than me learn these," Irene grumbled. "I still could not wrap my head around some of these lessons. I never thought there was more to it than adding and subtracting."
"Welcome to my world," Ronald smirked, stretching his hands wide open.
"Haha, very funny," Irene laughed sarcastically, something she would never do back in Spiri Raia. It must be this world or knowing Ronald's true nature doing this to her. "Speaking of your world, I noticed it has less technology compared to the Otherworldly Court or is it because you refused to renew yours?" Especially when the bathroom was something she was more familiar with.
"Our facilities in the house still work just fine," Ronald shrugged. "I don't see any reason to replace them."
"Really?" Irene raised her eyebrow. "Just like the black car lying around in the garage?"
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Spiri Raia
Year 905
Year 1398 in Manegia
"So just knowing the Otherworldly Court increases your chances of becoming a Court Wizard?" Irene asked.
"Pretty much," Ronald shrugged.
"Oh no! Does this mean Irene's too!?" Layla gasped in horror.
"Anyway," Irene chuckled. "Does that mean you have known the Otherworldly Court since you were little?"
"...Yes," Ronald nodded slowly. "You could say that."
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"I have brought Liam with me just like you asked," Allister said with Liam, the old coachman, following behind him.
"Then come inside the car," Alan told them.
In the garage, there was a black car, a car that was clearly wrecked with its front crumpled down and windows shattered. In the driver's seat, Alan was there despite its state, staring down the steering wheel without looking at the Illyers.
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"My dad bought the when he saw it having a cheap price tag," Ronald began.
"That is... quite like him, sir Ronald," Irene said dryly.
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Ignoring the duke's remark, Alan continued, "It was quite exciting for us, being able to drive with our car. My grandfather's old car had broken down before that and the other cars we have were loaned to employees."
"But if that's so, why is this car broken, lord Bell?" Liam asked. Being a coachman, he would be self-conscious of the state of the carriage he drove, seeing this unrepaired car would warrant such reaction.
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"One day, when we're on our way home," Ronald answered. "My mom and dad were fighting."
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"Actually, I don't even remember what happened back then," Alan shook his head. "But as it happens I did not look at the road and..."
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"...suddenly, we crashed into a truck," Ronald said.
"..!" Irene gasped.
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"My wife died immediately while Ronald was left critically injured," Alan closed his eyes. "The paramedics here wouldn't be able to save him in time so I did the most sensible thing that came to my mind."
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"You were transferred to the Otherworldly Court for healing?" Irene widened her eyes.
"Yes," Ronald nodded. "Life Wizards along with the Death Wizards didn't lose as much power as other Wizards do so their healing was still on the borderline supernatural."
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"The Life Wizards were able to save Ronald," Alan continued. "But the damage was done."
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"Dad swore off driving ever again and I'm inclined to do the same - we just pay for a taxi from then on," Ronald explained. "Since then, that car laid around the garage collecting dust. We never bothered to fix it..."
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"...but I never disposed this car," Alan continued. "That would mean forgetting the memory and Court Wizards don't forget memories."
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"I still have a scar on my forehead," Ronald lifted his bangs, showing the wound. "We Court Wizards like to keep scars to remind something important to us and the Life Wizards decided this was that and didn't heal it fully.
"Anyway, that was how I know the Otherworldly Court."
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"I didn't intend to let my son know about the Court," Alan admitted. "But that event forced my hand. Must be fate indeed."
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"To be honest, I was pretty excited about the Otherworldly Court after knowing despite the events that led to it," Ronald confessed. "Thinking about it makes me feel bad..."
"I see," Irene muttered in downcast. "I-"
"No need. Honestly, I don't really get why you need to apologize for making someone bring up sad memories," Ronald waved it off. "It's all not too bad since I get to meet you."
"Wh-Wha!?" Irene was flustered. "D-Don't go saying things like that out of the blue!" she stammered, fumbling her noble speech pattern.
"Heh!" Ronald smirked.
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For all the months living with the Bells, the Illyers had never met the Bell matriarch, just Alan and Ronald along with Thomas, the founder of Bell Conglomerate, who occasionally visited. When the Illyers asked, both father and son had always avoided the topic, leaving only the worst assumption that they wouldn't want to bring up.
But then, the Bell patriarch mysteriously called Allister and Liam into the garage where a wrecked car laid and proceeded to tell them everything. Allister doesn't know if that meant the Bells trusted them enough to know this or-
"But, there are times where wounds must be healed," Alan turned his back to face the two old men on the passenger seat.
"Hm?" Allister raised his eyebrow. "Are you saying...?"
Nodding, Alan turned to the old coachman, "So Liam, how would you like to drive this car once it's fixed?"