1 YEAR PASSED. Claude has yet to give Arius an answer.
1
'He's stubborn. He doesn't answer my questions but asks me questions. He allowed me to drink coffee only if I answered his question. Unfortunately it was too tempting. He's such a tsundere. I'm just asking him whether he needs me for anything or could I travel the world? I mean I understand that a six year old kid travelling alone isn't normal nor safe. But why does he care? The original Arius died anyway. Why couldn't he care for him as well? ugh well anyways today I'm definitely going to convince him!' Arius's thought as he crossed his arms.
"Dad!" Arius shouted as entered Claude's Office without knocking.
Claude sighed. "You're here again."
Arius simply smiled. "If I'm going to hear your useless babble then I might as well get some fresh air." Claude stood up and walked out of the room
"A walk? Where to?" Arius followed him.
"Amethyst Garden." Claude responded.
When Arius heard that he froze.
'Why...is he going there of all places?' Claude turned to see Arius standing there a bit spaced out.
"Aren't you going to follow me?"
"Uh..yes..."
Claude walked towards him and bent down.
"Do your legs hurt?"
'Eh'
Claude suddenly raised him up from his armpits. They stared at each other in silence before Arius began struggling for release.
"No No My legs work just fine, I can walk."
"..." Claude ignored him and began walking while carrying Arius, surprisingly Claude had picked him up perfectly fine.
"No..Put me down." Arius said and kept struggling.
Claude then raised Arius in the air and then shook him up and down as if he was a stuffed toy.
7
"HE-UWAh-HA-I'M GONN-PUKE-UWAH!" Claude stopped.
Arius was dizzy from the ups and downs and clenched on to Claude's robes for support.
"Oh, didn't you just say you could walk on your own." Claude smirked.
'Psycho. WHO THE HELL DOES THAT.'
"Now stay still until we get there."
Arius sighed and moved into a comfortable position, resting his head on Claude's shoulder. It was quiet at the start. Arius was trying to recover from his dizziness and Claude was just walking silently. After a while Arius broke the silence.
"...So Dad, I want to go outside the Palace grounds."
"Permission declined."
"Why."
"Because it's dangerous outside."
"I know how to defend myself with magic."
"...Why do you wanna go outside?"
"Well, Why would I wanna stay here?"
"Did someone offend you?"
"You."
"..."
"..."
"...How?"
"Several reasons actually."
"State two."
"You neglected me until the assassination attempt. I would probably be dead right now, if not for my mana. You didn't even place a protection spell on me like you placed on Athanasia."
"..." Claude had a blank expression.
"You let Athanasia drown in the lake back then. "
"..." Claude didn't say anything.
"You-"
"I said two." Claude cut him off.
"..."
"...Do you hate me?" Claude asked.
"..."
'Do I ? I mean of course I do...or I did... but the past year I spent with him. It strangely ...felt nice. I was happy. Claude was acting like a real father...'
"...I don't..."
Claude looked surprised. Arius shoved his face into Claude's shoulder, trying to hide his expressions. Claude lightly patted his head.
'Jeez, what is wrong with me?! Why the hell am I being so emotional?! So what if Claude suddenly began acting like a father?! He still neglected me and all... great! I feel like crying now! WHY IS HE CARING ABOUT ME?! I Don't know why but when Claude acts like this I can't bring myself to hate him. He's...annoyingly stubborn, can be extreme sometimes and overall has a pretty unlikable personality but he's... my only father...'
"Arius." Claude spoke in an unusually warm tone as he hugged his son.
Arius moved his head back to see Claude's painful expression. That was the first time Claude had shown this expression to Arius. Arius unknowingly raised his hand to pat his father's head.
"..." Arius quietly patted his head.
Arius realized Claude had stopped walking and looked to the front and saw the entrance to Amethyst Garden.
"This place.. never changes.." Claude started and then began walking inside it.
"The reason I'm not willing to send you outside is because...that wench-ahem I mean your mother also asked the same thing from me."
Arius looked at Claude a bit surprised.
"She asked me to let her leave the Palace so she could explore the kingdom. I warned her of the dangers but she was too stubborn and ended up convincing me."
Arius was attentively looking at Claude's expressions.
"However , once she stepped foot outside the Palace , she faced many dangers. Assassins, pickpocketing and drunk men."
Arius couldn't help but make a small 'pfft' sound at the mention of the last danger.
"But she still didn't listen to me. She learned swordsmanship and still went outside. She was a strong woman, but the assassins got her when she was weak from childbirth."
Suddenly the atmosphere turned a bit gloomy over the last word.
"Arius. I couldn't protect your mother , but I at least have to protect you. No matter how strong your magic is or how intelligent you might be, I would still like to keep you near me. In my sights, where I can see and help you if any danger arises."
8
Arius was shocked beyond words. He didn't know what to say. After neglecting him for five years and coming to him when he almost got killed by the very Assassins he was trying to protect him from, he's saying he cared.
"You're stubborn , but I'm afraid I will never allow you to leave the Palace. You can hate me for it all you want."
"..." Claude now stopped talking. He didn't have the courage to see his son's face.
"...How. How can you say that to me?"
"You say you care about me and want to protect me... but then why , Why did I not have a protection spell on me? Why did it take you five years to finally visit me? Why did you marry another woman after mom died? You betrayed her, you betrayed me. They said Lady Diana was the prettiest woman in all of the empire. Did her blinding beauty make you forget about your late wife and son. You took on the responsibility of having another child without even being able to take care of your first one."
2
Arius was getting angrier each second, the more he thought about it the more angrier he'd get. He now struggled for release and managed to get on his own two feet.
He then clenched his hands into a fist and began hitting Claude with them.
Of course a child's hit wouldn't hurt him but what hurt him was the face of his son as he landed the hits on his lower body.
"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT!?"
Punch!
"You're so cruel!"
Punch!
"You-You!" tears began to flow down his cheeks , his anger turned into sadness and instead of shouting at Claude, he was now crying loudly before him
6
Claude kneeled down before him and pulled him closer into a hug but he pushed him away.
"Nwoo-Uwahh!"
"Stay away from me!"
Sniff!
Sniff!
"Arius , I had most definitely placed a protection spell upon you."
2
Arius looked surprised.
'He's... not joking...right?'
"The reason I didn't visit was because I didn't want you to go through the dangers of Royalty, I kept your existence hidden for that very reason, but since assassins were still sent after you. There was no point in continuing to keep your existence hidden. So I announced it and warned those fools."
Arius had a conflicted look on his face.
"And as for that other wench...she... was a bad decision from the start. "
22
"Arius, I... I'm sorry... for everything. Even if you hate me... that's alright. You have a right to..."
4
Arius felt so confused about this. Seeing Claude's painful expressions pained him and yet he couldn't just ignore his wrongdoings of the past. Arius stopped thinking and just did whatever his heart told him to.
He suddenly hugged Claude who was shocked by his action. He hugged him tightly and then screamed and cried
1
"Stupid Dad! How can I hate you!? when you're the only parent I have left ! I DON'T HATE YOU BUT I HAVEN'T FORGIVEN YOU EITHER!"
Sniff!
Sniff!
Claude wrapped his arms around the small figure of his son. He held him tightly and picked him up. Arius showed no resistance, he just buried his crying face into Claude's chest.
Until.
"Ah! Brother! and Daddy!?" A mini figure from behind a few bushes came into closer view.
"AHHH BROTHER AND DADDY." A mini figure from behind the bushes came into a closer view.
Arius flinched and hurriedly tried to rub the tears in his eyes. Claude noticed and positioned his face opposite Athanasia.
"..Athanasia..what brings you here?..." Claude asks
Athanasia was shocked to see her brother who hated being carried, hugging Claude like that.
"I was looking for my brother and then I heard some noise from the Garden..so...I -" Athanasia said while worriedly looking at her brother.
"Arius has fallen asleep, what did you want from him?" Claude lied.
Arius was a bit surprised by this. He didn't want his sister to see his crying face or find out about how he had just emotionally broken down.
Claude was helping him. Arius simply tightened his grip on Claude's robes and rested his head on his shoulder, closing his eyes.
"I wanted to play with my brother, b-but if he's sleeping that's okay!"
That was the last thing Arius heard before actually drifting off to sleep. He again had a dream about his mother. She was walking through Amethyst Garden, she had a bright smile on her face and her eyes were peacefully admiring the flowers.
The dream was rather short. He woke up soon but to his surprise...
'...Huh..did I fall asleep..?... where am I...?... This isn't my room... huh... HUH.' Arius realized that the room he was in was none other than Claude's.
"You're awake."
Arius suddenly shifted his head to the source of the voice and he saw Claude sitting on the couch with some papers in his hands.
"Ah, was I asleep for a long time?"
"No. "
Arius got out of bed and walked to Claude. Claude had a frown on his face as he looked at the papers.
"Dad , what's wrong?"
"It's nothing for you to worry about. Felix. "
Felix, who was stationed outside the door, opened it and came inside.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Take care of this." Claude said as he handed the papers over to Felix. Felix's face turned grim after reading the papers.
1
"Tell the maids to prepare my tea and his coffee. Bring Athanasia as well."
"Yes , Your Majesty."
Felix left. Arius was curious about what was written in those papers. So he made his puppy eyes and asked Claude
"Dad!"
"..."
"What was in those papers? "
"...kidnappings."
"Some children have gone missing. The suspect is a group of illegal slave traders that kidnap children and turn them into slaves. But there is no need to worry, Felix will take care of them."
"..." Arius had a blank expression on his face. He knew slavery was something that was common during this time and age. But Obelia did not support it. He did feel bad about it.
Claude looked at his son and smirked at his calm expression. He patted his head and picked him and placed him on his lap.
"Eh-Hey! No, Wait! Put me down!" Arius struggled
"..."
The struggle went on for two minutes before Arius just gave up and sat on his lap peacefully.
"...You said you didn't forgive me..."
Arius raised his head to face Claude.
"...How do I gain it then...?.."
"Let me go outside." Arius said bluntly.
Claude facepalmed.
"Didn't I just tell you about the slave traders?"
"Won't Felix take care of them?" Arius asked while smirking.
Claude sighed and said, "I still can't allow that"
Arius pouted . Suddenly Arius heard the sound of footsteps. He jumped off of Claude's lap and went to sit on the couch opposite to him. Suddenly the door burst open.
"Daddy! Brother! Athy's here!"
"Good evening Athy" Arius replied
"..." Claude just stayed silent.
Soon the maids came in with the sweets for Athanasia, coffee for Arius and tea for Claude.
"Brother, is that good?" Athanasia asked Arius who was sipping on his coffee.
"I like it. It gives me energy and refreshes me. But it's not too sweet so Athy might not like it. Would you like a sip? "
Athanasia nodded and sipped on the drinking it, Athanasia had a strange expression on her face.
"Did you not like it?"
"It's not bad.. But I prefer more sweets I guess." Arius chuckled
"It's because you're still a kid."
3
Claude and Athanasia both had a 'what.' expression on their face.
"Daddy , I've been wondering! how come brother gets to drink coffee while Athy isn't allowed to drink tea!"
Arius froze.
'Oh hell. JEEZ ATHY WHYY , DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT WAS TO GET PERMISSION FOR DRINKING THIS .'
Claude looked at them while sipping his never ending tea.
"Yes.., you're right.."
"Plus! Coffee isn't good since it messes with your sleeping schedule. That's why my brother fell asleep earlier. You can ask Via about how he doesn't feel sleepy at night at all!"
Arius just stayed silent while glaring at Athanasia. Athanasia simply smiled brightly at him.
' . .' Arius smiled back.
"Bring Olivia Grantum here." Claude ordered , while glaring at Arius. Arius averted his eyes as he remembered what he had previously said to Claude.
FLASHBACK
Arius barged into Claude's office
"Dad! "
"..Ugh" Claude sighed. He was doing paperwork but upon his son's visit got up.
"Felix."
Soon the maids came in with their coffee and tea. They sat on the couch.
"Have you been sleeping well? You look pale. As I thought you shouldn't drink coff–" Claude asked Arius as he sipped on his tea.
"I've been sleeping perfectly fine. If someone looks pale then it's you, Dad. You've been working too much , Rest is important." Arius replied Smiling Brightly
"...Coffee's are bitter.. I thought children wouldn't like it..."
"The one I drink has a slight chocolate flavor in it. I don't like sweets like Athy does."
"...Still coffee isn't good for you at your age."
"Put that aside , the reason I came here is because I wanna go out of the Palace."
"Felix."
"Wait! Hey!"
And thus Arius was forcefully kicked out of The Emperor's Palace or also referred to as The Garnet Palace.
END OF FLASHBACK
"Olivia Grantum. " Claude said in a sharp tone as he stared at his son who refused to have eye contact.
Olivia was now in the Emperor's Chambers, standing before the royal siblings and the emperor. Arius was looking at Olivia with desperation in his eyes. Olivia could understand him just by looking at his eyes.
"Tell me about Arius's sleeping schedule for the past week."
'*Mentally Crying* just savor the taste of the coffee I'm drinking right now. This is probably gonna be my last one for a while.' Arius thought and began peacefully sipping his coffee.
"His Highness, on the first day of the week, slept some time after midnight. He was exhausted throughout the next day and took another nap in the afternoon. He drank coffee with Your Majesty in the evening and once again slept after midnight. "
"That's enough. Arius you will no longer be drinking that. " he said while glaring at the coffee mug he was holding
Then he looked towards Olivia
"I want his sleep schedule fixed within a week. He should be asleep long before midnight."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Olivia bowed.
The coffee in Arius's hand was taken away by Olivia, and instead he was served milk. Milk. MILK.
Athanasia smiled towards him while Claude continued to glare. Arius mentally cried before saying,
"I want mango juice..."
1
The maid went to get it.
"Brother! Why don't you try some cake? It's not morning right now." Athanasia smiled brightly as she shoved a piece of cake into his mouth. Arius didn't resist and just stayed quiet while chewing it.
The day ended with Claude remaining silent for the rest of the evening. He seemed mad but oh well. It's night time right now. Athanasia had gone to sleep, but as the lovely princess slept a black shadow appeared before her bed.
"There... that's enough stabilizing her mana for today. I should go back to bed. Olivia might come to check on me."
Arius left Athanasia's room, he felt a little dizzy because when he said 'stabilizing ' he was actually absorbing some of her mana and that overwhelmed his body for a while , that's why he would do it at night. As Arius got to his bedroom door, he felt someone's presence behind him.
'Shoot! An Assassin?! Now?!'
Arius quickly turned his head to reveal a tall figure. It was Claude. The dizziness got to him and he stumbled, but Claude caught him before he hit the ground and picked him up. He then whispered to him
"You're still awake?" Claude asked while looking Arius straight in his eyes.
Arius averted his eyes
"Olivia tucked me in bed an hour ago, but I couldn't fall asleep so I sneaked out!" Arius whispered back and smiled at the end.
"Time to Sleep." Claude said and opened the door to his room.
"But I'm still not sleepy." Arius complained.
Claude laid him on the bed and put the blankets over him. He then used magic to make him fall asleep.
Arius again dreamed of his mother. This time she was practicing her swordsmanship. She looked beautiful as always.
ARC 2 - SLAVE TRADERS
ONE WEEK LATER
Claude kept coming every night to check on Arius. During the past week Arius noticed Claude was looking at his room with disgust.
He thought Claude might finally change his and Athanasia's residence to another Palace. He did change the story so it might happen earlier than expected. But Claude never said anything about it. Maybe Arius was being too hopeful.
The time had come. Arius was planning on doing this peacefully but seeing as how Claude had been pretty strict with him not leaving Palace Grounds.
Arius decided to leave in secret. He had been meditating with his mana and had a basic control of it. He learned teleportation on his own. And now he wanted to leave the Palace.
He made a detailed and well-timed plan. He planned the perfect time to leave and come back without anyone finding out about his little escape. And when the time was right
Poof!
He teleported himself into an alley. He cast magic to change his eyes and make him somewhat taller. He had learned the art of making fake money and so you can guess he had one hell of a time in the markets.
7
He would've always dreamed of actually exploring Kingdoms when he used to just read about them from his phone screen and now being reincarnated in those era's made him pretty happy.
Time flew by and before he knew it , it was time to go back. He teleported back and as he had planned, no one found out.
This became a daily routine. He would always leave the Palace at his time and return accordingly.
One day as he was enjoying the food stalls and looking at the lively city , his eyes fell upon a group of children, in ragged clothing , who seemed to be professional street thieves.
'Now being a good prince of this empire , I should catch these thieves!... . Who the hell said I'm good? Instead they seem fun , should I be friends with them?'
1
The children who had by now stolen fruits from the stalls and some money from the passersby ran into an alley. Arius being the curious kid he is, went after them carefully concealing his presence.
The children were pretty fast and swiftly moved from alley to alley. Arius tried keeping up but lost them at one point.
He gave up and tried to leave that maze of alleys, when suddenly he had a blade being pointed at his neck. It was one of the children, a boy with dirty brown hair, green eyes and ragged clothing.
"Well? you've been following us. What do you want?"
Arius was quite amused to see they noticed. Normally children their age wouldn't.
"Uh, Hello..." Arius said as he held both his hands high in the air to show he had no weapons and did not mean harm.
"..." The boy with the brown hair just glared at him. Suddenly a girl hit the brown-haired boy in the head from behind.
"Jeez! don't you see he has no weapons. You're gonna make him start crying!" The girl scolded the boy who was groaning while holding his head tightly in pain.
"Hello, I'm Lifa , What's your name?" The girl spoke as she came near Arius. The girl also had the same hair color as the boy , her hair was long to her stomach. She had blue eyes.
"I'm Arion.." Arius made a fake name on the spot.
"Please don't mind my brother's rudeness. Say Arion , did you get separated from your parents?"
"I... don't have any parents."
"An orphan , huh?" The boy said.
"...But then where did all that money come from? You. You're a noble right?" Lifa questioned.
Arius flinched
'Welp damn. My clothes were definitely simple and commoner-like , but seeing as how they're wearing ragged ones , of course they'd think I'm not an orphan. Plus they probably saw me buying food from the stalls the past week. Damn , what do I do now?...'
"..GUYS!" A shout from behind the end of the alley.
"Tch, what is it!?" The boy shouted back.
"IT'S AN EMERGENCY , HURRY UP!"
The brunette expression darkened. They quickly ran through the alleys. Arius was also quite worried and so ran behind them.
But of course he lost them and now he was lost, sitting in a dark alley filled with rats.
'Ugh. I should prepare an excuse to tell them about the money. But I wonder what kind of emergency happened...Did one of the kids get caught stealing?'
Arius was in deep thought when suddenly a tall dark figure approached him.
"Hey kid, are you lost? " A deep voice asked.
Arius raised his head to see a man with a black robe on. He was grinning. The man extended his hand to Arius and said
"Come with me. I'll take you to your parents."
Arius stood up.
"No need." He said with a cold glare. There was something about this man that didn't seem right. Arius thought it would be best to stay away from him.
"Well.. that's too bad..." The man said and suddenly grabbed Arius's arm tightly.
"Ugh, LET GO OF ME!" Arius shouted at the man.
"Shut up kid. Today's my lucky day to find two brats simply lying on the streets. Plus with a pretty face such as yours , we'll earn a lot!"
Arius bit that man's hand. The man out of pain threw him back to the wall. He hit the wall and groaned in pain.
"YA LITTLE BRAT!"
The man said in anger as he was about to hit Arius.
Arius froze.
This sight of being hit reminded him of his past life. The way his 'father' beat him up. He closed his eyes and began shaking.
'..Please...don't..hurt me.' he thought to himself as he shivered upon the sound of the man's fist getting closer.
Bam!
Arius tightly shut his eyes.
'...Huh...I don't feel pain...'
Suddenly he felt someone grab his wrist.
"HURRY UP DAMMIT!" A tall boy with green hair shouted at him as he began to run holding his wrist. Arius looked back to see the man on the ground groaning and then getting up with his eyes fuming in anger.
1
"OI YOU BRATS HOW DARE YOU HIT ME!"
'Hit?' Arius wondered. He then saw the green haired boy holding a wooden bat in his right hand.
The man was running after them and Arius still couldn't stop slightly trembling over the shouts that man kept giving them as they ran.
He just allowed the green haired boy to lead the way and he followed him running as fast as he could.
5 minutes later
They had now run into an abandoned building. Both of them were on the ground catching their breaths.
"Phew! That was close!"
Arius was still slightly trembling.
"So..What's your name? "
"Arion.."
"I'm Gunther , but my friends call me Gun for short."
3
"It's dangerous to wander alone in the streets. There have been slave traders out there recently. They've been kidnapping children mostly so be careful."
'..What...Slave traders. But didn't Dad say Felix would deal with them. It's been more than a week now. They're still not arrested?'
"Where are we?"
"oh this? This is our Base."
"Our?"
"Yep! me and my friends, we're all orphans , so we stay here together! "
'Oh , I think I know where this is going.'
"It'll be dark soon. I'll take you back to your parents. Come on! "said Gunther as he stood up and walked over to Arius.
"I don't have any parents.."
"..So that's why..." Gunther mumbled.
"So! Would you like to stay here!" Gunther beamed.
"Uh..I don't have parents. But I have to go somewhere... "
"Oh...Then I'll take you there! It's dangerous alone."
"No, it's fine. I may not look at it but I can defend myself."
"Pfft-Yeah I saw." Arius pouted.
"How old are you?" Arius asked.
"Eleven." Gunther replied and gave him a look that said 'You?'
"Si-Ten" Arius stuttered.
'Damn , I almost forgot I'm taller because of magic. So I'm ten right now. He's five years older than me..'
Suddenly footsteps were heard. The sound of someone sobbing and running. Gunther signaled Arius to hide, which he did.
The door opened and in came seven children. Three girls and four boys. A girl with red hair and a boy with dirty blonde hair were crying.
The other five children had a sad and pained expression on their faces. Two of these children were the ones Arius had encountered previously. Gunther's expression turned grim in a matter of seconds.
"..Where is Mia?"
The boy whom Arius had previously met came up to Gunther and put a hand on his shoulder. He whispered in his ears.
"..I'm sorry." Was the only thing Arius could hear from his distance. Time was running out , he had to go back or else Claude would notice. So he teleported himself back.
THE NEXT DAY. Arius once again left the Palace. This time he teleported outside that abandoned building and slowly made his way in. He had organized his thoughts yesterday and came to the conclusion that the girl named Mia was kidnapped by the slave traders.
That was the emergency those kids had. And that explained why the slave trader mentioned that day being his lucky day.
He also questioned Claude about the slave traders yesterday and found out they were pretty skilled in hiding, and so have not been caught as of yet.
'Dad said Felix would take care of them but with the looks of things , those kids might go to save that girl. Stupid , really . But I can understand how worried they'd be, plus the imperial guards still haven't caught them and who knows what they might do to the poor girl.'
Arius opened the door and went inside. It was empty.
'Huh..are they hiding? or out for their daily stealing?'
Gasp!
"Arion!?"
Arius flinched. A shout came from inside. It was Lifa.
"Where were you?! Gun told us he met you yesterday but you disappeared, we thought the slave traders got you!" She ran up to him and hugged him.
"I'm sorry, I just had to leave suddenly. Lifa, right?" she nodded.
Lifa let go of him and welcomed him inside. She took him to the second floor of the building which had a few rock-hard mattresses and some clothes scattered on the floor.
She told him to sit wherever and he did.
"..What... happened yesterday?"
"Before that , tell me who you are?"
"I'm Arion. I don't know my last name. I work under a nobleman but explore the city in my free time. The nobleman I work for is not a bad person and provides me with food, money, clothes and shelter."
"What's the name of this nobleman?"
"Hmmm...I don't remember..I only clean the estate, I've hardly met the head in person but the whole staff Is always praising him." He lied.
'Damn if such a nobleman exists , I'd like to meet him.'
Lifa was silent for a while before speaking
"Acceptable...So...Yesterday one of my friends, ...Mia, ...was kidnapped by a slave trader. My friends and her brother, Gun, are currently looking for clues to find her."
"..."
"I see..."
'As I thought'
"I'd like to help as well. Gun saved my life yesterday when I was almost kidnapped. "
"Are ...you sure? It might get dangerous, Gun and the rest of them have learned self defense but you don't look like you ca–"
"I've told this to Gun and I'll tell this to you as well, I'm well capable of defending myself, you needn't worry." Arius said with a glare.
"...if you say so." She said in a doubtful tone.
" You can start helping us out tomorrow, for today I'll just introduce you to the Gang. They'll return before night falls. Until then let me show you around." She said as she stood up.
Arius nodded and stood up as well. They then toured around the building which was surprisingly in good shape. Once they were done, Arius began asking questions.
"How do you guys manage all alone like this?"
'I already know the answer but I'm still gonna ask.'
"We steal." She replied with a smirk
"It's not the best way, true, but without this we'd probably be passed out on the streets and who knows, maybe turned into slaves. We need to do what we have to. To survive."
"I understand what you mean."
"So , usually one of you stays behind to take care of the base? while the rest go searching?"
"Yep!"
"That boy you met alongside me back then. He's Jasper, my younger brother. The two who were crying yesterday were Ruby and Eli. The rest of them , I'll introduce when they arrive. Oh and we also have Vincent. He wasn't there yesterday. Unlike us he has a family and visits us when he can. He's super smart too. He's like our leader, everyone listens to him."
1
'This sounds so cool , like they have a whole gang and a leader too , so anime-like.' Arius thought excitedly.
"How old are you guys?"
"Well, the youngest of us is aged seven and the oldest is twelve."
'...Well damn, I'm the youngest here.'
Suddenly the doors open.
"We're back!"
Lifa suddenly stood up and went to meet them on the first floor. Arius followed behind , but remained hidden.
"Any luck?!" Lifa shouted back at them with sadness and desperation in her voice.
The others didn't reply but their expressions gave it away, 'No.' There was a moment of silence, before Lifa asked
"Where's Gun?"
"That stubborn idiot is still searching for her." replied Jasper with an annoyed look on his face.
"but! he said he'd be back soon!" The red-headed girl from before, Ruby, defended him.
"But still! it's too dangerous for him to be there alone." The boy with dirty blonde hair, Eli said.
"Okay guys, don't argue. He needs some time alone, it's understandable after what happened." Lifa tried to soothe the tension
"Yea, plus he is the strongest of us, he'll be fine" another boy said.
"Oh I almost forgot! Guys, we have a new friend! Arion!" introduced Lifa and Arion came out of his hiding spot.
"No way! This kid from yesterday?!" Jasper exclaimed
"Yes, he was safe." Lifa said
Ruby suddenly hugged Arius and began crying.
"Thank God!"
'Okay. stop. Why are they being so friendly? first Lifa and now Ruby too.' He thought, a bit annoyed by how they kept crying and hugging him.
"He'll be helping us from tomorrow in finding Mia."
"B-But-"
"Shut up Jasper." Lifa scolded him in a teasing tone.
The children all headed upstairs and made themselves comfortable. Eli and one other boy brought them snacks to eat and juice.
"Time for introductions! starting with our newest team member, Arion go!"
"I'm Arion, I work for a nobleman, as a cleaner. And uhh I don't have any parents but the staff working in the estate is pretty nice to me. Yesterday I was about to be kidnapped by a slave trader but Gun helped me and so to repay him back I'd like to help..."
"Pfft." Jasper laughed. Lifa hit him in the stomach with her elbow, which made him groan in pain.
"And exactly what is so funny?" asked Lifa.
"Ugh, well I'm just thinking how he found such an excuse. Are there really any noblemen who are so nice , my first time hearing this, tell me what's the name of this noble?"
"Uh...I don't know."
"There! Ya see!?" Lifa hit him in the head.
"Jeez! you need to cool down, go get some fresh air." and with that Jasper was kicked out from the second floor.
"I'm sorry Arion, he can be an idiot sometimes."
"No it's alright"
"Moving onwards! From youngest to oldest!"
"I'm Ruby! I'm seven years old. I usually help around with the food and sometimes go out with the rest. " she said in a welcoming voice.
'She seems like a kind and nice person.'
"I'm Elio, you can just call me Eli like the others. I'm eight years old and I also help around with the food and cleaning this place." he said in a soft voice.
'He looks like he can't handle stealing things anyways.'
"Usually , Ruby or Eli stay behind to look after the Base." added Lifa.
"Jasper is the next oldest after Eli, he's nine and he's the most expert in stealing and so his work is mostly on the streets. We call him Jazz for short."
'He did seem a bit arrogant, I guess it's because he's the best at stealing. Still I don't get why he doesn't like me.'
"Next in age is...The twins!"
"Winslow." introduced Winslow in a slow and uninterested voice
"Willow." introduced Willow the same way as Winslow.
"We both are also usually with Jasper, working." said Winslow uninterested
"They're both ten." added Lifa
"Next is Me. As you already know , I'm Lifa , Jazz's Older sis. I usually go with them as well."
"After me is Gun, you've already met him. He's eleven years old. And he's the best fighter of our group–"
"Really? Really Lifa? Do you not see me?" a blue haired boy said in a disappointed voice.
"Oh come on Cad, We all know it. Accept it , he's a better swordsman and fighter than you."
The rest nodded in agreement.
"Wha- You guys- Just you wait! I'll be the best swordsman in this whole empire!"
"And now you're copying him." Said Willow in a quiet yet sarcastic voice.
"CAN'T TWO PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME DREAM!?"
"No." Willow replied with a straight face.
"Pft." Arius accidentally laughed.
There was a moment of silence with everyone staring at him but then they all started laughing. After a moment of laughter Lifa continued.
"So, This weirdo here is Cadell , our second best fighter!" she said in an attempt to make him happy but he just looked at her with disgust over that.
"He's the oldest by age, twelve." Lifa explained.
"But mentally he's the youngest." added Willow with a straight face.
"Hmph! Just you guys wait! Anyways , nice to meet you Arion! You can just call me Cad like the others." Cadell smiled at him
"It's nice to meet all of you as well "
Arius smiled back.
"We also have two other people. Vincent, he's eleven. And Mia, she's seven and Gun's sister."
Suddenly the mood went gloomy.
"Guys. Don't worry, we'll find her soon. And she'll be okay." Arius assured them, they just gave him a sad smile.
"And, I don't believe I've told you my specialty, right?"
All the children in the room looked at him a bit confused.
"wait what do you–"
"Magic." Arius said with a smile.
Their faces went shocked all of a sudden.
"N-No way.."
Arius used his mana to make a fireball all of sudden.
"WHA- NOOO!" Cadell shouted.
Jasper and Gunther came running in
"WHAT'S WRONG!?" they shouted as the inspected the room.
"OI GUN , JAZZ LOOK AT THIS !" Cadell screamed
Smack!
Lifa hit him in the head.
"Would you stop screaming!? you're being hella loud!"
"told you he was a kid." said Willow from behind.
Cadell looked at her with a frown, but forgot his anger when he remembered the flame.
"Gun, You're back?" Elio asked
"Yep , I was on my way in with Jazz, when I heard the shouts. what was it about anyways?"
"Oi! HIS HAND IT'S BURNING!" Jasper screamed as he looked at Arius's hand
"WELL WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET WATER!" screamed Gunther.
Both of them started running here and there to fetch some water.
"GUYS STOP!" Lifa shouted at the two boys.
"STOP WHAT!? SAVING HIS HAND!?" Jazz screamed back.
"Ugh!"
Lifa went after her idiot brother to smack some sense into him. Gunther went and got a bucket of water and was about to throw it on Arius. Eli stopped Jasper and Lifa smacked him hard in the head.
"Gun, wait!" Ruby shouted from behind.
Splash!
Arius was dropped in water. Everything happened so fast. He didn't have time to react or even understand the situation.
There was pin-drop silence in the room. There was a dark aura emanating from Arius. Gun gulped and began sweating. He nervously laughed and said
"Ario-"
"Not. .Word." Arius said as he glared at Gunther with a death glare.
"But ! Your hand was burning!" Jasper exclaimed.
Smack!
"IT WAS NOT." Lifa smacked and shouted at him.
"He was using Magic." Said Winslow who was simply enjoying the whole show.
"Magic?"
There was another silence in the room. Arius quickly dried his clothes using mana. Everyone looked amazed.
"Anyways, I'll be helping from tomorrow, And yes I can use magic but I'm self taught so I'm not that great. I have to go now." Arius said.
"Mhm, Okay, See you tomorrow then!" said Lifa waving at him with a smile as he teleported away, leaving everyone shocked.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ : *. .* : ﾟ.───
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Lifa
She's like the mother of the group. She takes care of the rest and helps in all the duties but mostly stealing. She's mature for her age and keeps the rest united. She's cunning , observant, kind, quick to understand situations, quick for decision making and has leadership qualities. She uses a dagger as her weapon of choice.
Jasper
He's kind of an idiot. But he cares a lot about the safety of the group and so is suspicious of outsiders. Despite his exterior he's actually quite sensitive. He , like his sister, uses the dagger and is quite skilled with it. He can be kind , dumb, scary when u hurt his friends or sister, uncaring towards strangers. He's the most skilled with the dagger and his movements are similar to Assassin's making him great at stealing things as well.
Gunther
He is a sweet and caring person. He is quite skilled with the sword (He practiced with a wooden one though But his quick movements certainly showed potential.) He wants to become the greatest swordsman and be able to wield his sword to protect the weak. He is a great older brother not only to his sister but everyone in the gang. He's always worried about others' well-being. He goes stealing with the rest.
Ruby
She's like those sweet , innocent girls. She just wants to open a bakery when she grows up and sell all kinds of breads and cakes. She's mostly the caretaker of the Base, as she cannot bring herself to steal anything because of her kind nature. She's great at cooking and baking things despite her young age.
Elio
He's like the male version of Ruby. Same as her. Kind , sweet and has a big heart. He has the same dream as her and they both kinda wanna do it together.
Winslow
He's the older of the twins. Both twins are quiet but he's the less quieter one. He takes care of his sister. He can seem cold sometimes. He's quick to understand situations and reacts to them accordingly. He and Willow are the information gatherers of the group. They're skilled at getting information about anything and everything. He's quite smart as well.
Willow
The female twin is the least talkative in the whole group. She mostly keeps to herself unless it's making fun of Cadell. She's calm and collective , and mostly has a blank expression on her face. She is more skilled in gathering information than her brother.
Cadell
He's like the biggest child of the group. He's super expressive. Acts without thinking. He would say any and everything on his mind on the spot. Gets excited over the smallest things and disappointed all the same. He's a curious kid. He also thinks himself the rival of Gunther in swordsmanship. He's also skilled in that area. But not as much as Gunther. He wants to beat him and has the same dream as Gunther. His childishness aside. He can be scary and mature if need be.
Vincent
As mentioned. He is the leader of the group. He's the mastermind of this group as well. He gathered all of these children together and kind of saved them and taught them how to survive by stealing and stuff. Everyone trusts him . Jasper trusts anyone Vincent brings to the group but since Arius wasn't brought by Vincent but came himself , He doesn't trust him.
Mia
She's kinda like Ruby. She's like the cute little sister for everyone in the group. Innocent, kind and cute. She's interested in Medicines and healing magic as she wants to help people. Basically she's a cute angel.
AFTER ARIUS TELEPORTED BACK.
'I'm tired. Using magic in a series is still hard for me. I can use two basic spells together but teleportation really drains me.'
Sigh!
It was sometime after sunset. Unfortunately, Arius had some classes scheduled for before dinner. Politics and History of Obelia. The most annoying subjects of his life.
He hates them from the core of his heart. Surprisingly he was good at everything else. Probably because he had been a great student in his past life and studied thoroughly.
He even went overboard and did extra study on the topics he was taught so he could stand out in class and make a positive impact on the teachers so they praise him in front of his parents.
He was great at the languages of the other empires and kingdoms. He already knew most of the arithmetic since he learned it in his previous life.
The sciences they taught were almost the same as from his previous life, Only the names of the people who invented those theories and some other information was different. Politics and History of Obelia on the other hand. He was never interested in Politics and History was his worst subject even back in his previous life.
1
He wanted to refuse learning those subjects as he didn't enjoy them but, being a prince is tough.
"Brother! Where have you been all this time!?"
Arius, who was coming out of the Amethyst Garden, flinched.
"I already searched the Garden and you weren't there! "
Arius gulped.
"Uh..Athy , is anyone else searching for me?" Arius asked anxiously
"...Nope! Madam Pompidou's health became unsteady as such my mid-afternoon dance lessons were cancelled. I've been searching for you since then! I didn't tell anyone but I was still worried!"
Arius hugged Athy.
"THANK YOU MY ADORABLE SISTER!"
'If dad found out I was missing he'd increase security around me and I wouldn't be able to leave.'
Athy was a bit confused by the sudden hug but knew she was right about him not being at the Palace.
'Athy's a reincarnate too so It'll be fine if I tell her!'
"Athy, This is going to be a secret between us okay!" He whispered in her ears. He held her hand and took her in the garden.
"So lately , I've been using magic to teleport into the city." Athy's jaw dropped
"Can you really use magic like that?!" Athy asked in shock.
Arius chuckled. "Of course, but it does drain me"
"I wanna go to the city too!" Athy demanded
"About that... Lately some slave traders have been wandering around. They mostly kidnap children and sell them. If they found my adorable sister they'd most likely want to kidnap you so No."
"But that's dangerous for you too brother!"
"I know but you see, I've found a group of children whose friend got kidnapped by them, and they're being reckless and trying to save their friend. Those kids can't use magic and in the worst case scenario they get caught too, so I'm gonna keep an eye on them."
Athanasia tried processing all this information. There was silence for a moment as the little princess was in deep thought.
"...Dad's probably gonna do something about the slave traders soon anyways. Why don't you tell Felix about the children? He's leading the search, he can search around the area their friend got kidnapped and you can tell him to keep an eye out for the kids." Athy suggested.
"...No..Felix would probably ask why I know this.. and... " Arius's voice became low. Athanasia leaned in to hear what he was saying
"...I wanna help them myself..." Arius mumbled.
Athy heard it and chuckled. "I wanna meet them too!"
"..Athy.. I've told-"
"after you're done with dealing with the slave traders!" She cut him.
"Okay fine. "
"Brother, don't worry If you leave again. I'll cover you up from here. "
Arius smiled and patted her head. "Thanks lil' sis"
Arius and Athanasia now became partners in crime. Arius headed for his evening lessons and Athanasia went to Claude because she wanted to eat sweets.
After Arius's classes were over , the family had dinner together.
At Dinner
"Arius, you look a bit pale." Claude said observing his son's complexion.
"Dad, Do I have to study Politics and some stupid history of Obelia?" Arius said in an annoyed tone.
Athy almost choked on her food.
"If you don't want to then you don't have to." Claude said calmly
"Really?!" Arius asked in surprise.
Claude nodded.
"Brother, You're the crown prince. You need to know these things if you're going to–"
"No. I'm not doing that. "
"..."
"...Daddy, who is going to be the heir?" Athanasia asked curiously with sparkly eyes.
"It's...too early to decide that."
This was the first time that royal siblings instead of fighting for the throne were rejecting it. Such pure and innocent children thought Felix.
'Now that I think about it. We keep thinking who's gonna be the heir but Dad isn't exactly gonna die anytime soon. He's perfectly healthy right now. I know that he's involved in dark magic but I'm sure Lucas can heal him. I didn't finish reading the whole manhwa and it was Ongoing so I don't know what happened. I remember everything till the debutante. It seemed peaceful and Lucas was there if something went wrong, it'll be fine. Dad will live a long life and if anyone will be the next heir it's gonna be our children meaning Dads grandchildren. Not me , not Athy. That seems nice!' Arius thought as he smiled.
While Arius was deep in thought, a hand reached out to him and touched his forehead.
'Hmmmm?'
"You...seem tired. Are you done eating?" Claude asked, a bit worried.
'Uh? Is it that obvious?'
"Yes. I'll just go and sleep now."
Claude abruptly stood up and picked him up.
"Wha..." Arius was used to it by now. He just sighed and let things be the way they were. Claude then looked over to Athanasia and said.
"Felix. Carry her."
Athanasia had a half-scared and half-happy expression.
She was glad she didn't have to be around that ticking bomb and scared that maybe Claude will favour Arius more and neglect her and everything will play out as 'Lovely Princess' again.
'B-but I still have a brother. Even if I lose Claude points. Brother points will help me a lot.'
3
By the time they reached Ruby Palace, Arius had fallen asleep in Claude's arms and Athanasia was also pretty drowsy.
They were both laid on their beds and once again both of them dreamed of their mothers. Athanasia dreamt of seeing her mother walking in a garden in Siodonnease clothings and Arius dreamt of seeing his mother dancing during a banquet.
Both of them looked pretty. One of them shined like the blinding sun and the other resembled the aura of the moon.