'Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!' A rattling voice shakes my head. I try to keep my eyes shut to stay asleep, but the last piece of dream I had burst like a bubble.

Yawning deeply, I sit up on the side of the bed. Checking the window from there, I realized there was still no sunlight.

"Still dawn?" I muttered with inaudible words.

My sleep was disturbed by that voice again. It will occa.s.sionally wake me up, and would even electrocute me. The nerve of it. Once day I will... no, I shouldn't think about it, it can sense what I'm thinking.

Heck, I don't even have a secret left because of it!

Yep, the voice was actually the symbol itself that was talking.

I stand up from the clutches of my comfortable bed, resisting the feeling of the enticing bed spirit dragging me down.

Stretching my joints, I moaned, feeling the relaxing sensation from doing it.

I dressed myself with my everyday wear since leaving Eastern Horizon City. I don't get tired of it, at least I have something to wear. It's fancy too compared to what I was wearing before Allen rescued me.

Finally, I left the bedroom.

I went straight for the kitchen and found some cold tea.

"It's probably Allen's tea." I said, wondering what will it taste like. Maybe refres.h.i.+ng, maybe not, it is Allen's so I think it's bound to be a good one.

But I didn't dare drink it. The urge of taking a small sip struck me, but I resisted it until it died down.

The tea might be drinkable when it's hot, but could become poisonous when it's cold. Maybe even the poison would stick on the teapot, and the next person that will use it will get poisoned. Maybe if I touch the handle, I'll get poisoned too? Or even just being near it, I don't know, I don't know!

I decided to walk towards the alchemy room while toying with the Magic Frostbite Resistance Pendant.

I checked what could be seen on the way. The designs including the furniture that were placed inside here are so intricate, but it's not as livelier as the ones in the bedrooms.

Arriving in front of the door of the alchemy room, I politely knocked several times, but with time pa.s.sing, there were no replies coming from the other side. I slightly opened the door to check if Allen was inside, but there wasn't a single living being in there.

So then, I decided to search for Allen until I spotted the library. The door wasn't thoroughly closed, there was gap. Peeking through the gap I saw Allen, with his head resting on top of a book.

"He is a reader after all." I said to myself and realized he is asleep.

Carefully approaching him, I noticed a small box near him on the top of the table.

It's Allen's personal belonging. I really shouldn't touch it or else from who knows where a trap will shoot out and kill me.

Everything around him is so dangerous.

Turning my head away from the box, I noticed that the book where Allen's head was resting on was turned on its last page.

There was a long writing on the back cover. Probably the owner of the book.

The writing seems to be something about getting persecuted? No, it's prosecution. I wonder what's the difference between the two.

As I checked even closer I spotted the book's current page only recently dried, as if it was wet earlier on.

Then I sighted something very pecular, the part of the page where Allen's eyes were near at were still soaked.

It looks like... he cried?

It's a weird feeling, I don't see him making any expressions on his face. His coldness is way different from the normal one.

Anna is cold, but actually warm when you get to know her. Like Allen, but why do I feel it's different?

Rein is aloof, and not to mention he has some fetishes on killing humans. But nice to his herd. Allen is nice too, I think.

I immediately tiptoed away from Allen, afraid to wake him up.

Exiting the library, I closed the entrance and went into deep thinking of what to do next to spend the remaining time until sunrise.

***

At the backyard...

Currently in a cross-legged sitting position, I kept circulating my mana and internal energy throughout my body.

It was a practice mandated by Allen to me that I should do everyday so that the veins in my body would be wide enough for the said energies to circulate easier.

He always say to me that I shouldn't be lazy with this exercise, telling me it's not that frequent to see somebody that could control both mana and internal energy.

But for me, I don't feel that special. I don't know why, but I can't put my tongue on it. Maybe because there are more unique individuals around me? Or is it because I can't even make use of mana yet? Or because I'm still useless?

"Edwin." I heard Allen's voice from behind.

Lifting my eyelids, the light coming from the sun striked me like poison flinching a victim's body. Why did I even position my face directly to where the sun will rise in the first place?

His voice wasn't manly nor childish, it's actually only a plain, emotionless one. I have always been wondering since I encountered him back at Eastern Horizon City, he seemed so bleak yet not so bleak at the same time.

Sometimes, I would think he doesn't even have any emotions at all.

Looking straight towards Allen's immutable eyes... I mean eye, because he was wearing the same old leather eyepatch on the right one, I couldn't even see any trace of change on it even the longer I look to it.

The sensation that the eye gave was do cold that I couldn't stand staring directly at it for a few seconds.

"What is it?" I asked with a polite tone.

Allen: "Aren't you going to go change your clothes for the auction today?"

Oh yes, the auction. I almost forgot about it.

"Umm... no, this is formal enough already. Plus, I don't have any other good clothes to wear." I shrugged.

What I was wearing were the long-tailed coat over a s.h.i.+rt and comfy long pants, all of which were provided by Allen.

"Come on, let's go buy a more formal clothing for you." Allen said and didn't wait for any of my replies because he entered back inside the villa.

Why does he do that? He will leave once he made a decision, probably because he doesn't want me to go against it?

I sighed inwardly at the sight. He was so extravagant in spending his money.

Come to think of it, he can sell a merged pill of his for an amount of 800,000 gold coins, and that was already the lowest price offered by him, while the buyer was still being reluctant to take it because it was too low.

Every time I see him waste his money, a hesitant would flow through me. Making me think if I should continue walking with him or not, because I would benefit from it too.

Grandpa would always say to me when he comes back from duties: "Don't spend money lavishly."

But having a lot of money yet not being spent is even worse, maybe?

***

Strolling around the city to find a shop, I kept the same position, always walking behind Allen.

I don't really consider myself as somebody equal to him, even with our strengths, I'm severely outpowered by him.

I also thought he tried to kill me twice, I don't behind that unchanging face, maybe he feels so wronged for accusing him. Pfft... as if.

Well, if he wanted to finish me off, I would've probably be dead back at Eastern Horizon City; but I blindly sticked to the notion he was really trying to kill me, until he had to personally say he wasn't.

I could also feel a sense of security just by viewing his back.

'You have some weird fetish.' The symbol sent me a message.

You dumb number, it's not a weird fetish, well it's probably one... wait, no it isn't, is it?

Yeah it's not.

I have no idea what kind of feeling is this, maybe it's like he's a protective big brother to me. That's probably the correct feeling, right? Never had an older brother before, so it should be this?

A protective older brother.

"Here." He didn't say much and just entered a shop with me.

Entering it, my eyes widened I saw the extreme fanciness that was displayed inside. The wood furnis.h.i.+ngs weren't just s.h.i.+ny, but there were pieces of expensive stones and linings of gold inserted in them.

It's not that much actually, but why would they even use it as a design in a shop?

'It's fake, obviously.' The symbol said. 'You're dumb.'

Me: ?

The process of purchasing new clothes was fast. As soon as we finished buying, we immediately wore them and exited the shop.

Allen bought two long coats, each one for the both of us.

The ones that he bought were more stylish, formal, and pleasing to the eye than the travelling coats we usually wore.

Should I say something, like a thank you for the new clothes? But that seems too unpleasing to hear, because after all, these things were expensive.

'Just do it.' The symbol said.

"Thank you." Finally, I was able to say it.

"You're welcome.", Allen replied without looking back to me.

He's so indifferent. I have the urge to ask why he is like that, but maybe I shouldn't do it, because he might feel a bit displeased, angered, or won't even bother to answer at all.

Perhaps, if he wasn't only a few years older than I am. I could've regarded him as my father.

The symbol: 'What?'

I'm like a little kid, with my eyes looking up to him like my idol. It's squinching, but that's what in my mind.

Oh yeah, he told me once that I'm an ignoramus. No, I am not stupid, I know what that word means, I just don't want to speak against him, because maybe he's joking at that time and I will ruin the moment.

I wonder, where will I be now if Allen refused to train me? I wanted to kill father's murderer. Then what will Allen think of me? He doesn't wantonly kill. He did kill James, but maybe there was no choice so he did that.

Come to think of it, I still have that few bronze coins debt. I got it when he gave me those bronze coins I stole him. Grandpa told me to return it back as a debt, but I wasn't able to find him then.

He doesn't even need it. He's so rich.

Wait, what will I do if I kill the person who killed father? It's kind of an overkill. It's probably just a mortal. Should I still kill?

The symbol: 'No.'

I should do it then.

The symbol: '...'