After barely making it to the transport wagon, I was sadly told to let the girls down just as we were nearing the transport wagon station. So basically, after all of my hard work carrying them across the town, I didn’t even get to witness the reward of seeing Cecily fluster up upon being seen by others in a princess carry. What the hell did I even do all that for...

In any case, after hopping into the wagon, it was nearing nighttime, so we decided to hit the hay (not literally though, since I already did that a couple of hours ago). Slowly dozing off one by one, the cozy scarlet insides of the transport wagon faded out as my eyelids couldn’t keep themselves open anymore.

Not sure how long we’ve been out, but it was certainly enough for me to get well rested. Upon opening my eyes, I could definitely tell that a new day has dawned, but I wasn’t sure what the time was specifically. Dawn, early morning, or heck, maybe it was even high noon by now, but I couldn’t tell. The only indicator I had to go off of was the sunlight waking me up through the windows.

“Ugh, g’mornin’ to me.” I muttered.

“Did you just wish yourself a good morning?” Cecily’s giggle shocked me wide awake.

“A-Ah! Nuh-uh! I-I was just…!” I flubbed about, scrambling for a correct justification for doing such an embarrassingly lonely action, “Ugh, just forget I said anything. I’m used to having someone wish me a good morning, so I just kinda did it out of habit…”

“And by someone, you mean that girl, right?’ She donned a lonely look herself, “Marina?”

“…Come on, I don’t wanna talk about this topic anymore. Nothing good will come out of it.”

Once again reclining back into my seat, I stared off into a random corner of the interior we were in, only for a light, barely audible whisper to surprise me from the side. “G-Good morning…”

Turning my head 90 degrees to the right, with my eyes wide open, I saw Cecily sitting there, hiding her face in one of the pillows that came with the transport wagon and pretending to have gone back to sleep. Heh, don’t go getting embarrassed now, dammit!

“Thanks.” I replied with a warm smile as I went to close my eyes as well, “You too, good morning.”

“Mom and dad awe fliwting again…” An annoyed sleepy voice said with a deadpan tone right under our noses, “And don’t just go to sleep wight aftew saying good mowning.”

Oops, looks like we were a bit too loud, so we woke Nelly up. Then again, the wagon cart we’re in right now is pretty cramped, so maybe any levels of flirting are enough to wake a fussy baby like her up. I wonder though, why did she sound angrier about us not being consistent with our morning greetings than about us waking her up?

“Ha-ha-ha…!” I faked laughing audibly, “Would you look at that, we’re here!”

Immediately tossing both the girls out of the wagon along with our luggage, I had successfully spared both myself and Cecily of the embarrassment and one-sidedly decided to force the situation again. That being said, it seemed like that was the correct choice, because luckily we actually weren’t that far out of town anyways. Sure, it was a short walk to the capital, Agni, but I’d rather walk a kilometer or two than have to sit another second in that transport wagon with all the awkward air that was built up.

Walking through the city gates was just as uneventful as we were told it was gonna be. No one came up to you to greet you, or ask for your legal documents, or anything. It’s not like the capital was empty or anything, in fact it seemed quite bustling with life, it’s just that the people here don’t really interact with each other any more than they have to.

They’re also very laid back. If this was any other country’s capital, we’d already be seeing one or two disputes happening out in the open, be it a thief stealing a merchant’s wares, or some punks terrorizing the place, or just some kids play that escalated a bit too quickly. But none of that was present here. The people had an odd nature, one in which their only goal was to go from point A to point B, and not to stray off the path. If I had to describe it, I’d say that this place is like walking among…

“Ants.” Nelly spoke, “Evewyone’s walking so nicely, like they’we a bunch of ants!”

“Yeah, I was just about to say that myself.” I added, “But it’s nice in its own way. Despite it being the middle of spring, it’s still a lot warmer than the climate in any other country in the continent.”

“Is it already April?” Cecily recalled, “Nelly’s birthday is coming up soon, so why don’t we think of a gift for her? She deserves it!”

“Good idea! Nelly, you’re turning 6 in just a couple of days, so you’re one step closer to being a big girl! You excited?”

“Mhm!” She nodded with a bright smile, “How much longew am I gonna have to wait befowe joining Uncle Meil?”

“Ah.” I scratched my cheek, “That’s still a way’s away. Since you’re gonna need to turn at least 13 before you can enroll in a University, that means you’re gonna have to wait another 7 years, I’m afraid.”

She slowly stopped to count how much that is on her fingers, before giving me a strong pout. Now I know that you can’t wait, Nelly, and I know that that pout of yours is cute, but I’m afraid that in these situations there’s just no other way but to wait it out.

“Fow my biwthday,” Nelly appeared to have a eureka moment, “I want to see Uncle Meil!”

“Anything else?” Cecily chuckled, “Like something more… doable?”

“No!” Nelly pouted once more, “I want to see Meil!”

“Now now, Cecily.” I tried calming everyone down, “We may not be able to meet with him in person, but if you could just give us some time, I think I can sort something out for you, Nelly.”

“Weally!?” Her eyes glistened, “Thanks dad, you’we the best!”

“Hehe, what kind of father can’t fulfill his daughter’s birthday wish?” I proudly raised my chest as I spoke, “You’re a lucky girl too, Nelly, cause you have a papa who just so happens to be up to date with the latest tech news. I also happen to know some old colleagues I could get in touch with and procure us a device meant for taking pictures.”

“A device… for taking pictures?” Cecily furrowed her brows.

“Yeah! After we get our hands on that, then I just mail it to Meil, he takes a picture of himself and sends it back! Then Nelly can take a gander at her idol whenever she so pleases!”

“But that sounds like it’ll take a weally long time…” Nelly donned a sad expression.

“I know, Nelly, but it’s the best we can do for now.” I patted her on the head, “We split up with Meil for a reason, and I’m afraid that reason forbids us from meeting up with him for at least the next couple of years.”

“Oh, but in the meantime, you can ask for anything else!” Cecily smiled, “Whatever you want!”

“Hmm…” She thought for a short minute, “Then can I have some glasses?”

***

After hearing that Nelly had apparently needed glasses because she couldn’t see well, we had no other choice but to take her to the eye doctor. But wait, how come Nelly’s just telling us this now? Surely we would’ve noticed her having poor eyesight, no?

“Good day, doctor.” I knocked before opening the door, “We have a little patient for you, got the time?”

“Hm? Foreigners?” The lovely lady turned and got up from her chair as she took a look at us, “What do you need? Make it snappy, I’ve got other things to attend to.”

Wow, quite a feisty woman, no? Way different than the image I had of doctors that I got from talking to Harper. But even still, despite her rather agitated demeanor, I still can’t deny that she’s just as, if not more beautiful. A lady’s a lady, no matter the profession, I guess.

“Our girl here seems to have some problems with her eyesight.” Cecily explained, “Although we haven’t really noticed this ourselves before either, she just told us that she wants glasses.”

“Mom, hold on…” Nelly tried to speak, before the doctor lady glared at her up close with her sharp, red eyes.

“Look at me. Hey, don’t go closing your eyes!” She grabbed her by the head, “You two, help me out here and tell her to hold still! Come on, I ain’t gonna kill ya’!”

“What the hell are you doing to my daughter?!” Cecily snatched the now weeping Nelly away from the doctor, “Besides, we haven’t even introduced ourselves properly yet!”

“Sigh, fine.” The lady rolled her eyes, “I’m Dr. Lionheart. Happy now?”

Wait, Lionheart? I wonder, could she be related to… that Lionheart? As in, Genevra?

”Excuse me, Miss.”

“That’s Excuse me, Doctor to you!”

“R-Right. Doctor, do you perhaps have a sister?”

She donned a surprised expression before chuckling a bit. Turning around to her desk, she grabbed something from the cabinet and showed it to me. It was a framed painting that seemed to resemble a family portrait. Obviously, due to the small size, the image didn’t quite get all the details on the people’s faces, just the most characteristic ones, like hair and eye color. That being said, there didn’t seem to be any parents in the picture, just two girls and two boys.

“Two brothers, one sister.” She said, “I imagine you’ve met Genevra on your travels?”

“Yes!” I smiled, before realizing what I was gonna tell this woman, “D-Do you know where she is in the world now?”

“That girl, ever the adventurous type.” She smiled nostalgically, “She’s supposed to be in Great Hiana now, working for the ITA, right? Although I haven’t heard from her in a while.”

“Right, that’s…” I had her sit down to hear what had happened to her sister.

If I recall, Genevra mentioned this girl’s name was Lana. Or was it Gina? Well, I think I missed my chance to ask her now, so who cares. From what Genevra told me, her sister could also use Spark and Fireball, but she couldn’t control it, due to the excess of rage in her system. Looking at her now though, she still has those deep crimson colored eyes, but she’s nowhere near the levels of anger that one would have to be in in order to use her Red Iro Abilities.

“…And so,” I finished the story, “Your sister, Genevra, died under a rockfall, and I lost my pinkie.”

“…I see.” She silently took the shocking news.

“We as fellow adventurers and party members are tasked with telling the family of the deceased about their fates. I’m sorry you had to hear this, but I hope you can at least find some closure in knowing-”

“Shut your trap!” She jumped up from her seat, the flames practically showing in her eyes, “A-Ah! I’m sorry!”

Yeah, this is more or less the kind of anger one should expect within a Red Iro Beholder. Damn, just her gaze was enough to raise the temperature in the room…

“It’s nothing.” I replied, calming down the girls, “I understand the pain you’re going through. I also lost some very important people in my life.”

“…I’m sorry.” She composed herself, “But I think I still need a minute.”

“I’m gonna be straightforward in saying that you’re gonna need a lot more than a minute.”

“Heh, you think?”

“Yeah.”

“…”

Silently beginning to break down, she sobbed and sobbed, until those sobs turned to wailing. It was a painful sight to see, but it’s not like she was suffering alone. Slowly, carefully toddling her way to the doctor was Nelly, who didn’t really know what to do in such a situation, so she simply patted her on the head. The doctor raised her head for a moment to see who it was that was comforting her, before chuckling through the tears and once again calming down.

“Sorry for scaring ya’, kid.” She said.

“No wowwies, kind lady!” Nelly smiled back, “I don’t like it when I feel sad, so I want you to not feel sad as well!”

“…I’ll try.”

The room was now silent, serene, and the doctor tried with all her might to stop crying, but to no avail. It’s to be expected though, obviously a person couldn’t be this strong mentally, but I applaud her for trying despite that. That being said, we still stayed for a bit longer to comfort her, as well as so I can explain in a bit more detail Genevra’s last couple of days.

I said that nothing too interesting happens in Litus, but I guess I was wrong. Be it Nelly’s imminent birthday, her suddenly poor eyesight, or the fact that I had met up with Genevra’s sister. It’s a vast world we live in, and yet it’s still somehow so small.