The next day, due to Al's wounded arm, he was unable to clean himself. Carrot and Tamarinne willed to help him, or more like, they forced him to accept their help. When they started washing his hair, both Carrot and Al looked at the shampoo bottle. They could not read the Korean words on it but there was an image of a cute and small dog and cat. With Tamarinne's assurance, they could only hope for the best.
The day after, Al's condition was getting worse, not only that, his hair started losing. Carrot and Al could not understand what caused this. Meanwhile, the young researcher had not got the test result from his blood. As for Tamarinne, she struggled and wondered if she took the wrong products for Al.
Later, Yuna came in and she quickly understood the situation. And when she looked at the shampoo and creams Tamarinne brought back, she was shocked, "H-Hold on, Tamarinne, they are products used for dogs and cats only."
The moment the truth had been spoken, an awkward silence carried on as the four of them kept looking at each other.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Tamarinne kept apologizing for Al.
Waving his hand, he comforted her, "You said it for dozens of times. It's okay. Thank you for your help."
"Really, how could you think it would work?" Yuna looked at Tamarinne.
"Well… Al is a Suin, so I thought he would be similar to those we saw before. You know…" Tamarinne struggled and squeezed her fingers on her dress, "… most of them look like dogs and cats but walk on two legs."
"Yeah… I can see why you think that…" Al commented.
"Sit! Still!" Carrot placed one hand on Al's shoulder while lathering some liquid on his hair.
Reading the report of his blood test, Yuna turned to Carrot, "So, what does he have?"
"Some helminths and ear lice," Carrot touched Al's ears and answered. "Thankfully they are not dangerous and no parasite detected. Still, he will need to be on a diet and stay clean," she stared as Al.
"I get that," Al pretended to be annoying.
"That reminds me. Recently he did eat a lot of raw fish," Tamarinne commented.
"It's just so good and tasty, those sushi..." Al started dreaming again.
"Doesn't mean you can eat so many of them. But I can understand why you love them," Yuna smiled while looking at his ears and tail waving on the air.
Thinking of something, Al turned to Carrot, "After all, do you think it's related to my immune system?"
"What makes you think so?" Carrot smiled while cleaning her hands.
"You taught me that the immune system is a thing that protects us from illness and disease. Later, you said that the immune system can overreact with allergies, resulting in my condition. Many things can cause allergies: food, weather, pollen, and vice versa," Al said.
"That's right, you remember well," Carrot clapped her hands while Yuna and Tamarinne smiled at him.
"When it comes to weather, I think it could be the cause. Comparing to the dry and hot in Constella, Reingar has a better temperate climate," Al said.
"What about the food?" Tamarinne wondered.
"For normal to poor citizens, they always eat beans, bone broth and dried brown bread. The nutritious food is for the noble families, high priests and high priestess, and the Elders. Most of them are wasted and thrown away," Al told. Retelling them what was in Reingar reminded him of some bittersweet memories. "But not only in Constella, but other cities as well. The only city I know that have similar diets like Reingar is Perland but Aakhen is changing as well," he continued.
"Sounds like the wealth gap in Constella is pretty big," Yuna commented and Al nodded afterward.
"What did your parents do?" Carrot asked.
"My father was a weaponry instructor, and my mother was a psychologist," Al answered.
Hearing what he said, the three girls reacted the same expression, "Ah, that explains."
"Explains what?" Al looked at their strange reaction but he had no answer from none of them. "Different than my father, my mother often helped people who were in need of psyche. She always listened to them and gave advice if she could. But most people in Reingar didn't like her jobs because they thought she was trying to manipulate them," he continued.
"That sounds… awful," Yuna commented.
"But she didn't care much and kept doing her job," Al felt very proud of his mother. "I learned a lot from my mother. She taught me how to read people's expressions and why they act like so. She also said that I should never estimate a person just from the first look and always listen to what they have been through," he continued.
The next day, when Al just stepped out of his bed and put on his Reingar uniform, he realized something inside his coat. He took it out and it was the newspaper he picked up from Yuna's world. Curiously, he went to the library.
The Reingar library was considered as one of the most important places in Ritania. It contained a large and various books, meaning it had tons of knowledge from many subjects. Located on the west location of Reingar university, due to the important role, the library was under the protection of the Ezera army. Built-in Gothic style, the library had two main halls, four reading places, one canteen, and a dining room. Guards were posted to prevent any wrongdoings.
When he stepped into the library, he had to show his ID card, and not just him but everyone. After being authorized, he entered the main hall. The main hall was designed to stock numerous bookshelves and they were able to contain a large number of books and documents, whether how much old they were.
Al stepped close to a white box, which was known as a translating machine. He opened it and put the newspaper inside. A few seconds later, it released a copy of that newspaper that was translated. After that, he went to a reading place, sat down on a chair and started reading. The first line of the newspaper was written, "The price of being a Korean idol."
The first page of the newspaper contained a picture of a female idol, who had to apologize publicly after being caught of having a date with her boyfriend. The first paragraph stated it was not a surprise or even the first case that an idol was boycotted by fans for dating. Many idols before her made the same mistake and had to pay the price, which their careers were ruined.
"What is a Kpop idol?" the second paragraph questioned. It stated that the idol had to train and practice strictly with blood and tears through singing, dancing, and acting. Many of them could not sustain the training and gave up their dream. For those who passed, they started making contracts, or "slave contracts" and had to follow what their management company wanted them to do. If the company thought an idol was not "good enough" for their "standards", they would be fire and it would be hard for them to continue their career. Especially, some idols wanted to maintain their jobs, they usually burdened the sexual harassment from their bosses and even became a high-class prostitute.
Not only that, but the idols also had to bear the extreme diets to keep their "perfect form". As if it was not enough, they had to keep working tirelessly, resulting in some of them collapsed right on the stage. Even though, nothing would change or make a difference. They could even die but it was just another day of the job.
The next paragraph asked another question, "Why Kpop idols can't date?" As the question stated, dating was seen as a taboo that no idols should make. An idol was always supposed to be single to keep the "perfect picture" of youth and innocence. However, it did not hide a cruel fact that idols were seen as a product consumed by fans. And when an idol dated or chose their personal life over their career, fans felt betrayed and started boycotting that idol. From that point, it could be said that the idol's career was completely ruined. Crueler, it was not easy when an idol wanted to return considering how many idols were debuted in a year, and the fans had many replacement choices. It was why even though so many articles and news about how much an idol suffered, they were soon be forgotten.
There were still more and as Al kept reading, the more he admired Somi Choi, known as Tamarinne. She did choose a hard choice and he could not understand why she did that. But when he thought carefully, she did bring joy and happiness for many people, including him. Al would not be shy to admit that he was a fan of her. But he was more than a fan. He was a friend that Tamarinne trusted. It was why he did not want to do anything that could affect her career.
Located on the west of Reingar island was Ezera, the capital of the royal family, where Aither was taking the throne. At an opened place in the north of Ezera, Charles was observing the Ezera soldiers and sorcerers who were training very hard. When he was standing and looking down, the female elf, Iseria, came close to him.
"Iseria report!" she said.
"Please do," the Knight Commander calmly responded.
"As you command, I already sent spies to investigate the young Suin named Al Dawkins. It appears that he was from Aakhen, had a little fight with Lieutenant Karin and became friends with President Yuna and The Heir of the Covenant," Iseria reported, "Additionally, there is something special from that city."
"Oh? Continue, please?" Charles stroked his beard.
"Over 4 months ago, there was a battle with an ancient entity, known as Gula, the Gluttony Beast. According to the documents, it will keep eating and absorbing everything until it reaches its limit and destroys itself."
"Strange, I have never heard of this beast before," Charles doubted.
"I thought you would say so. The documents about Gula are written recently and have no other older copies. As far as the investigation goes, the young Suin was killed by Gula..." Iseria showed her struggling.
"You're saying a dead man is walking among the livings?" Charles doubted.
"I really can't answer the question. When I received the report, I was surprised as well. But there is one thing..." Iseria stopped.
"Please, go on," Charles comforted her.
Catching a breath, the female elf continued, "When I ask The Heir of the Covenant about that Suin, he said that Al Dawkins is a trustworthy friend. When I asked for more, Ras said that Al did have something in his mind that he didn't want to share with anyone. However, Ras also said that Suin is a guardian, same as Arkasus, Zeaon, and Kromcruz, and Karzan. More importantly, Ras insisted that he is on our side."
"Hm…" Charles put his finger on his chin and stated, "I thought there will be more guardians but I didn't feel that from that young man. But if The Heir of the Covenant said so, then it could explain why he is still alive after that fierce battle." Charles paused, he looked at the army and something came in his mind, "Perhaps he is like other guardians. When he gets lethal wounds, he will stay dormant until fully recover."
"One other thing, when you tested him, he was just recovered from a serious wound created by Katis and his machines," Iseria added.
"Oh, so that was why his movement was slow. Very interesting..." Charles did not hide his excitement.
"That's all I have to report to you. Do you think we will need to investigate more?" Iseria asked.
"Please, keep doing so. There are many things I want to know about that young man," Charles nodded. "If what Ras said was true, then Al Dawkins will get the support from Ezera as long as he stays at Reingar. However…" suddenly, Charles stopped and looked at Iseria.
"If there is anything you want me to do, I will take it as you will," the young elf showed her determination.
"You don't need to be that serious, I'm just asking you for a few things," Charles stopped and thought for a while before he continued, "I want you to come and stay as Reingar, and keep your eyes on that young man. If he needs something, provide it. But if he shows any sign of threat…"
Iseria did not wait for him to finish to get what he wanted her to do. She responded, "I understand, sir."