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"How are you feeling, Hunley?" Mirii rose her head, while looking at the boy to her right.
Hun's right hand was holding a wet towel on his head: he was smiling and staring back at the girl. Both were walking on a red carpet, covering the whole floor.
"I'm fine, Mirii." His eyes closed. "This is the third time she asked the same question to me… I cannot lie: it's getting a little annoying. Still, no matter how annoying this is getting, I can't talk back with Mirii: she's so worried about me… I could hurt her, if I say something! It's not like this will last forever… eventually, I'll completely heal!"
Mirii smiles a bit.
"There is a vending machine near Tonna's office." Her eyes closed. "Would you like to eat a little snack?"
"I'm fine right now… what about you?" Hun's eyes opened, while blushing a bit. "If you are hungry, I can't leave you without food."
Mirii opened her eyes, blushing a lot while lowering her eyebrows and opening her mouth a bit.
"I-I'm not really hungry…" Sweat jumps out from her head. "And if I-I was, I-I would buy something m-myself."
"Bu-but you have helped me… I-I should be the one helping you back!" Hun blushes, lowering his eyebrows and opening his mouth.
"Yo-you would really do that…?" Mirii's head lowered, as she smiles a bit and small hearts were flying out from her head.
"Y-yes, I would!" Hun looks forward, lowering his head and blushing even more.
Mirii giggles.
"Hunley offering me food… … nnnngghh… w-why I have th-this sensation to" Her eyes expanded, as her face got extremely red and her hands covered her head's lower side.
"Oh, isn't that Tonna's office? There is a piece of paper hanging on that door too!" Hun was looking forward, as his left forefinger was pointing at it.
Mirii was trembling, as her eyes kept seeing Hun. She took two silent breaths with her nose: gradually, her face returned to the original color.
"… I-I just thought the idea of hugging Hunley… wh-what's up with that uncontrollable reaction I got?!" Her hands slide down. "I-I really want to hug him, though… even now."
"Hey, it's saying that Tonna is out!" Hun opened his mouth, as he bended forward and looks at the paper.
"What?!" Mirii frowns, staring at the paper too.
Her irises were moving left and right on the words.
"Tonnalisa Pinna has been called urgently for an important briefing between other chiefs: if you wanted to communicate anything regarding missions with Tonnalisa, do so tomorrow. Thank you for the cooperation." Her fists clenched. "… they knew this. They are talking about the event happening tomorrow!"
"Ehm… s-something wrong?" Hun closes his eyes, as a sweat drop appears on his head's right side.
"… not necessarily." Mirii turns behind, looking forward. "There is nothing we can do about this: the message explains everything quite clearly." Her irises went up-right, as she started to walk. "Hunley, we must leave: Grina said that we and the others will eat inside my room… we can't let our food waiting, if everything is ready."
"Yes, I guess you are right!" Hun smiled, while closing his eyes and walking on Mirii's left side. "No better cure than to eat something!"
Mirii nodded, while giggling a bit.
"Although, if you still have that headache…" Mirii's head rose. "… I can give you one of my aspirins: after dinner, you can safely take one."
"Actually, I'm feeling great!" Hun nodded. "That wet towel was a great idea! Thank you, Mirii!"
Mirii blushes, while smiling widely.
"Such a simple, yet effective method to get rid of any headache: that's why I chose this." She nodded.
"Back in the farms, whenever I had a fever I always got a wet towel on my forehead." Hun looks up. "I'm surprised you used such traditional method: if I was a Technie, I would have used whatever technological invention there is, since it would have worked even faster and better!"
"An aspirin would be the tool you are looking for." Mirii's right hand took her right tentacle, caressing it. "But your headache wasn't that severe… good quality aspirins are kind of expensive, so it would be a bit of a waste consuming them."
"You are right on that!" Hun turns his head down-right. "I hate wasting resources… let alone wasting others ones!" Hun downturned his mouth a bit. "One day you could need those… and you don't have the time to buy another one."
"Exactly, Hunley." Mirii nodded, giggling a bit. "Exactly my own opinion… although, if the headache gets worse or it doesn't just go away, using an aspirin isn't a wrong choice at all: being greedy with your own resources can be harmful for your lifestyle."
"In fact, if I can use my money to buy something for my friends which is absolutely needed… I would do that without hesitation: helping others makes me feel good." Hun lifts his posture.
"Good to know!" Mirii turns her head to her left. "It's such a noble trait to possess… everyone should follow your ideas: they will never feel bad about themselves."
"Is that door your room, Mirii?" Hun's left forefinger pointed at a semi-closed door.
"Yes… I can't believe we walked this much already." Mirii opened her mouth a bit. "I'm hearing voices…
There! Six chairs ready to be used!
Like, where is the remote Grina? Gonna get to watch some TV after all that table lifting!
Ask that to Mirii: if you stick your noses around her things, you'll get in trouble!
Ehm… staring at a black screen isn't that bad, actually!
Mirii pushes the door, seeing Grina sitting on the left chair and Bars sitting on the bed. Her head rose, looking at Bars.
"The remote control is behind the television." Her eyes squeezed. "What do you want to watch, exactly?"
"Hey hey, you speedrunned this!" Grina grins while her eyes were closed and her right arm went around the top of her chair.
Mirii pushed the door, closing it.
"Tonna wasn't in her office: someone left a message on her door, saying that she is in a important briefing." Her head lowered, as her eyes closed.
"… guess they already knew about that petition." Grina simply smiles, tilting her head a bit to her right. "Safe to say, Tonna is listening well to all this…" She nodded. "She's already thinking about some strategic plan to use for stopping the Turf War Station Invasion!"
"From the sound of it, Tonna may call us tomorrow…" Mirii folds her arms, while raising her head. "… and tomorrow, we must get up and listen to her plan: there will not be too much time to even eat a decent breakfast, before the event will happen."
"Aaawww, girl…" Bars was lying down on the bed, with his shoes on the floor, his sight looking at the monitor which was showing Squids dancing near a bowl of candies, as his right hand was holding the remote which was pointing towards the television. "Like, I'm lazy without some sugary food…"
"GET OUT OF MY BED, YOU SEAPIG!" Mirii frowned a lot, while bending forward. "YOUR SOCKS ARE POLLUTING THE SHEETS!"
"Whooaaaaa!" Bars rolls to his right, falling on the ground. "Eh eh, like… excuuuuussee me, girl!" His right arm stretched from behind the bed's right side, with his right forefinger pointing the ceiling.
Smoke was coming out of Mirii's ears, as she was growling faintly.
"I know you are all my friends…" She closes her eyes. "… but that doesn't mean you can ruin my cleaned room."
"Can't really disagree with Miss Perfection…" Grina shrugged, as her head was shaking. "Bars, could you please put your shoes back on? That odor is really making me lose my appetite…"
Bars was sitting on the bed, bending his back down and tying his right shoe's laces. Mirii sighed loudly.
"Please, tell me you will take a shower after this…"
"I always take one each evening! Like, being fresh doesn't just mean wearing top clothes…" Bars chuckles.
"That shouldn't even been your concern!" Mirii frowned, lowering her head. "Taking showers not only will make Squids covered in sweet scent, it's also highly hygienic."
"Mirii, it's not like Bars doesn't take showers…" Grina looks at Mirii. "In fact, that disgusting odor really surprised me. Maybe he got that stinky bomb because of the mayhem happened earlier at the mall."
"Hmpf. It still doesn't justify the fact he didn't mentioned the hygiene aspect of showers…" Mirii lowered her head, as her eyes closed.
"Whatever!" Grina's eyes rolled, resting her sight on Hun.
The boy's head was turning around.
"Hunry, how about you?" The girl smiles while closing her eyes. "Kicked that headache off?"
"It's almost gone, Grina." Hun nodded while smiling. "Mirii's strategy worked just fine!"
"Good! Although…" Grina's head turned over Mirii which was staring at the door, moving her right arm towards the handle. "… why not giving Hunry an aspirin? You got the whole problem solved in a jiffy!"
"Grina, aspirins can't be compared like candies: they are expensive and found only in selected pharmacies." Mirii's head turned to the right, raising a bit, while her right iris was staying on her right eye's right corner. "That's why I used this traditional, simple method: I wanted to save aspirins for a more important use."
"Uhm… I guess you have a point." Grina shakes her head. "But still, it's just one aspirin! It's not like you use the whole package: it will hurt Hunry and be a real waste too!"
"Wasting one aspirin may implement the bad habit of wasting resources for every single excuse you can think." Mirii pulled the door a bit. "And before you know it, the habit will get worse and worse…"
"I agree!" Hun nodded, while smiling.
"Alright, I get your message…" Grina shrugged. "… anyway, any sign of food? I can't stand the hunger." Her right hand caressed her stomach.
Mirii bended forward, turning her head to her left.
"… I'm hearing steps." Her ears rose.
"Good!" Grina stands up. "Let's give them a hand: I gave them a list of food to carry, which is rather long! They might need some help, since it's a long way for"
"Actually, they have brought everything." Mirii pulled the door more.
From the left side, Fara walked in: her hands were holding each a food tray, Kelly's hands were under the tip of Fara's tentacles which were stretched sideways with a food tray on each tentacle's tip, as the plates and glasses on them were more than the other two.
"Wow, look at that crazy getup!" Grina smiled. "You really did an amazing job bringing everything up!"
"… people 'ept lookin' at me…" Fara downturned her mouth.
Mirii immediately picked up the blue food tray on Fara's right tentacle, as Hun took the orange one from her left tentacle.
"But they were smiling and cheering up for you!" Kelly starts dancing. "You got aaaall the atteeentioon!"
Fara sighed. Mirii frowned, putting the food tray on the table and looking at Grina.
"Yooouuu…" Her eyes squeezed. "Why didn't you helped them picking up everything?! Now Agents are starting to grow a suspicion on Fara!"
"But don't you see?!" Grina's arms moved towards the little girls as Fara was putting the food trays on the table. "They did something fun! It's an unrepeatable experience!"
"An experience who made Fara look like an alien and not a proper Inkling…" Mirii's head rose.
Fara lowered her head, as her eyebrows went up.
"No, th' faul' is mine… I-I shoul' had 'icked one 'ray at th' time." Her small eyes squeezed. "It was 'uch easier an' less odd…"
"But everyone was here already, second Master!" Kelly moves her arms up and down. "That process would had taken too"
"Bu' ya want'd to help at all costs!" Fara frowned looking at Kelly and growling.
Words came from Fara's mouth: everyone except Hun and Kelly shrunk their irises. Kelly gasped loudly, as her left hand covered her mouth and her tentacles stretched upwards.
"W-wait." Mirii shook her head quickly. "Wh-what did you said?" Her eyebrows went a bit up.
"She didn't have the courage to stop Kelly…" Hun sighed, as he shakes his head. "… and as a result, she agreed with Kelly's plan." He frowns a bit. "When Fara gets mad, her tone and dialect gets so strict, I find it a bit hard to understand her… only my mother can."
"I-I'm so sooooorry, Master!" Kelly bended down, waving her back back and forth in front of Fara: a waterfall of tears were flying off her eyes. "I-I wanted to help sooooo much! I-I thought you w-were having fun an-and enjoying all th-those looks…"
"Fara folded her arms, as her eyebrows rose very slightly.
"… s-stop doin' th-tha'." Fara's mouth was waving. "It's scarin' me…"
"Yes, ma'am!" Kelly jumps back up, as her hands were rubbing together, her mouth formed a small 3 and her eyes closed. "Do you need anything else, Master?"
"Yes: 'all me Fara!" Her eyes were a bit watery.
"What?!" Kelly's eyes opened wide, same for her mouth. "But… I-I can't always do that, Master: you and your brother need the maximum respect"
"CALL ME FARA!" She runs towards Hun, hugging him and resting her forehead on him.
She sobbed a bit: Hun's right hand was petting her head, as his eyes were staring at Kelly.
"… Kelly… mind if I say something about this?" His eyebrows rose.
"Of course, Master!" Kelly spins, returning with her normal pose. "Go ahead."
"You know… I-I know the Shrine really cares about me and my family… but even I don't really… well… accept all this." A sweat drop appears on his head's left side.
"WHAAAAT?!" Kelly's jaw dropped. "Bu-but you did accept! Everyone knows"
"No, I didn't!" Hun frowned. "And if you are trying to convince me that my whole family is forced to live there, you can forget it: our existence is tied with the farms and that will always be that!" He growled a bit.
"… so it's true…" Kelly lowered her head a bit. "… the story is about to repeat itself…"
"The story…?" Hun snorted. "What story?!"
"… your ancestor grew tired of the Shrine… he decided to leave us, unprotected… without leaving us a guide to look for." Kelly's face went a bit dark. "How unfortunate it was… incapable of holding his noble duty to protect the world…"
Hun grasps his sister even more.
"Wh-what's up with that tone, now?!" He swallows silently. "I-I was"
"What you just said, Master…" Kelly rose back her head, as some tears were forming near her eyes. "… it's a message coming from nothing but temptation."
"HUH?!" Hun's neck bended forward.
Mirii jumps in front of Hun, facing Kelly and bending forward while frowning a lot.
"Retreat those words immediately!" She growled. "Hunley will never talk with fiendish words!"
Kelly sniffed silently.
"The Master… I can see he's not aware of his own words… nor of the temptation surrounding his vision."
Suddenly, a hand fan appeared on her right hand as she starts dancing.
Master of the Shrine, guide and symbol of our traditions, once upon a time he had his eyes on the wonders of our world… the occasion to live fully in the ways the ancestors of the sweeter waters used to live.
Hun and Fara kept looking at Kelly dancing: her face was neutral, as her hand fan was waving around her body and face.
He was completely hypnotized… fascinated by the ancient mortal's humble lifestyles. Suggested by Demon Squid Hanbumiryo, spirit who threw temptations for humble positions to the whole Shrine, in attempt to take over the Master position and ultimately… rule all over the land.
Kelly's eyes closed, as some tears fell from her eyes. Blurry Kellys appeared near her sides, dancing different steps but keeping the same style.
Our Master… he knew that this demon was the most powerful of them all. The face was that of little boy, the heart was that of a terrible monster. Kurejihosu, the most loyal of our guards failed to protect the Shrine from Hanbumiryo's temptation powers. The Master was left with no choice… he repelled the demon with the use of all his powers… falling into the suggestions of the demon, which he at least hoped that the Shrine will disappear with him after the battle.
"No… n-no, it can't be!" Hun's eyes were getting watery.
This was one of the legends told at future generations… although, voices say that this was all a lie, to justify the Master's secret departure to pass the rest of his life with a woman who conquered his heart.
Behind Kelly, a blurry image of the Shrine appeared.
Some believe that the Master was growing evil, lately… he left his people to conquer the mortals and dominate on everything which was living. No one truly knows the reasons… but seniors still believe in the legend of Hanbumiryo, the true culprit of Dark Age he brought with him.
The two blurry Kellys, with the real one in the middle were standing still with their eyes closed, as the hand fan was covering their mouths.
The temptation spells were as dangerous as poison: slowly, the cursed Squids would become nothing more than the living expression of their humble temptations.
Everyone else's eyes grew wide, as their irises shrunk.
… after the Master's retirement… the seniors and specialists were called urgently inside the Master's room. They stood in that room for 3 months, before coming out and announcing The Vision of Liberation. The prophecy which will sign the end of the Dark Ages… the Master will return to us, brought by a girl whose heart was corrupted by one word.
Mirii tilts backwards, as her teeth gritted and sweat covered her forehead.
The Kellys resumed their dance.
However, the prophecy also brought us bad news: the new Master would have been affected the most by Hanbumiryo's powers… the demon knew beforehand that a prophecy about the Master's return would have been made. He sealed a curse… inside a vase forged by his tentacles.
"A…" Mirii's irises disappeared. "… VAAAASSEEEE?!" Her face went extremely pale.
A large vase appeared behind the Kellys, covered in the shadows.
The vase... rumors say that if the Master would ever touch such ornament, the temptation spells would awake once more… and his eyes would see the same images, his ancestor saw.
"STOP IT!" Hun bends down, as his hands were on his head: his eyes were watery, while they were staring the floor. "It's not true… I… I…"
For many years, our people were looking for the cursed vase and break it before the new Master would accidentally fall into Hanbumiryo's trap… … unfortunately, it appears the new Master has at least seen the vase. The spell is trying to claim your vision, Master…
Hun breathes loudly, as he clenches his fists and looks directly at Kelly which stopped dancing and was staring back at Hun.
"… the vase… I… I saw that… I remember that rather well…" He inhales air from his nose loudly. "It was large… but… but I didn't feel different from before…"
"Master, you are acting in the same way as your ancestor did…" Kelly frowned. "If you leave us… the Shrine will disappear, together with its people."
"NO!" Hun opened his bended arms, as his eyes expanded.
"Hold on!" Mirii's right forefinger pointed at Kelly. "Who are those people you are talking about?!"
"… me… the seniors… the Owner… … the Masters themselves." Her eyebrows went up.
Silence fell in.
"… Master… it's not true you belong to the farms… you have positive memories of them, yes." Kelly nodded. "You might feel nostalgic about its lifestyle… but your soul can't live away from the Shrine." She rose her head, while flipping her hand fan. "You need to be connected with the pure energy living inside its walls… only you can capture them far better than anyone else and spread throughout the Shrine."
NOOOO, STOP!
Mirii, Hun and Grina were all in front of Kelly with their eyebrows up. Fara was leaning against the wall, with her head down.
"Yo-you are joking right?! Hu-Hunley lived outside of the Shrine for many years!" Mirii grits her teeth, as her eyes were getting watery.
"You all talk as if this stuff exist! Weren't you the one who said that no one was sure about this legend?!" Grina swallowed visibly.
"I didn't even get used to the Shrine: it felt so uncommon and odd!" Hun's mouth was waving.
"… the Shrine survived for many, many years thanks to a self-proclaimed Master who tried to capture as much energy as possible." Kelly's eyes squeezed a bit. "But even that man couldn't do the Master's job forever… the end of the Dark era is the same as the predicted end of our existence."
Her head lowered, as her eyebrows rose.
"Until the return of the Master… right before our Shrine was losing everything…"
"What if that's just a legend?!" Grina downturned her mouth a lot.
"The Master saw the vase… he still remembers it!" Kelly rose her head, frowning.
"But I felt terrible inside that"
"Master, the spell is still affecting your thoughts… it's making you hate the Shrine, so you would escape once more." Kelly bended forward, while clenching her fists. "Is this what you want to do to us?! Make us disappear, just because you are not believing in our words…?!" Kelly sniffed loudly.
Hun opened his mouth.
"Hun…"
Immediately the boy turns behind: Fara was looking at him, with her eyes completely white.
"… her dance… it showed me our ancestors…"
"Fara?!" He sprinted, bending down and resting his hands on her small shoulders. "Are you alright?!"
"… Hun… I'm seeing us and our parents… surrounded by our people… celebrating our return and spreading an invisible energy to everyone…" Her head rose. "… a dark aura is surrounding you, right now… it's saying words… farms farms farms farms farms farms farms farms"
"FARA!" He shakes her sister. "WAKE UP!"
The little girl's mouth sealed.
"… farms… it's peaceful to go there… you would have only one thing to think… and hundreds of the wonders to see. The vegetation, the trees… why you would care about living forever inside a multitude of rooms? You have the chance… to belong fully among the mortals…"
Hun's eyebrows went up.
"… Hun… the voice is getting weaker… you are the one speaking… you are standing up…"
Suddenly, the boy stands up: slowly he turns behind… revealing his eyes without his irises.
"HUNLEY!" Mirii bended forward, as her teeth gritted and her eyebrows went up.
"… the farms… I like the farms…" He was looking forward. "… but… a voice is saying I should live there forever… when I just wanted to visit them once in a while… in honor of my ancestor… and my humble past."
Mirii starts breathing loudly.
"Hunley…" She stops breathing for a moment, as her hands were grasping her tentacles.
Hun rose his head.
"Fara… come…"
His little sister stands on his left side.
"… us Masters of the Shrine…" Hun lowered his head.
"… we would like to make an announcement…" Fara lowered her head.
"… it's time we shall return to our original roles…" Both rose their arms.
"NOOOOOO!" Mirii sprinted, as her hands fell on his shoulders. "HUNLEY! HUNLEEEEYYY!" Her hands were shaking him back and forth.
"… Miiirriiiii… uuuhhh…" His eyes squeezed. "… Mirii…" His eyes opened a bit, revealing his irises. "… huh… wh-what's going on…?"
"Hunley!" Mirii smiled, as she hugged him. "I-I was so worried…"
"Kelly…"
Hun and Mirii turned to the right: Fara had her eyes still white, staring now at Kelly. Immediately, Kelly jumped in front of Fara as her hands clasped.
"Master, is there a wish you would"
Suddenly, Mirii pushed her away.
"Stay away from us…" She shows her teeth.
Kelly frowned.
"Why you did that?! The Master"
"YOU HYPNOTIZED HUNLEY AND HIS SISTER!" Mirii growled, as her irises shrunk. "If you don't disappear now…"
"No, Mirii." Hun's left hand fell on Mirii's right shoulder.
Her head twisted to her right: Hun shakes his head.
"Kelly… she's right." He sighs. "Her dance… her dance really awakened Fara's inner powers."
Mirii's jaw dropped.