“How did it go?” Mika asked him as soon as he entered the lobby. The young miss was also done with her awakening and her smile was bright as ever.
“It was empty.” Dio smiled at his sister whose face crumpled after hearing what he said.
“Empty? But you used to be an adventurer. You didn’t have a record of your awakening?”
He looked down as he remembered his awakening. “I awakened, the day Gramps died.”
Mika covered her mouth with her hand as she gave Dio an apologetic look. “I shouldn’t have mentioned that.”
“It’s okay, Sis.” Dio smiled. “I need to get used to it.”
“Are you going to hide it?” Mika whispered.
“Yeah. They say that only geniuses could awaken on their own. I don’t want to be labeled as someone that I’m not,” Dio said with an annoyed tone.
“My little brother is so cute when h
After they finished the snacks at the café, Mika once again led the way towards the central plaza. The stalls were brimming with foods from raw fruits to meat skewers. Dio went to the stall that sold chicken feet and bought two pieces.“You like this kind of food too?” Mika said with a smile as she took the chicken feet that Dio offered.“Yes. I prefer eating in a tavern or a roadside diner rather than inside a classy restaurant.” He said while munching on his food.“You’re similar with Kael in that manner.”Dio’s face crumpled when he heard Kael’s name. He was comfortable enough to even show his annoyancetowards him.“Found you!”Mika heaved a sigh as she mumbled, “He would never allow people to talk behind his back.”Dio grinned when he caught Mika’s words. However, his expression changed once again when Kael wrapped his arms around his
“Woah! 10 continuous shots and it was all bull’s eye!” Mika said with admiration.Dio put down the bow and smiled towards his sister. “Thanks for bringing me here.”“Now that you had your fun, shall we go to the guild? Father asked for you,” Kael said with a smirk on his face.Dio nodded and immediately hid behind Mika before Kael could grab him. He glared at his older brother when he laughed in amusement.“Let’s go meet Father.”The three of them went inside the carriage and proceeded to the Guild. They stopped in front of an enormous building with lots of people coming to and fro. At the top of the building stood the Armani Merchant Guild crest and even the people working had the crest pinned on their uniforms.“Welcome to the guild, Mr. Mikael and Ms. Mikaella. A receptionist slightly bowed his head and led them the way.Once they entered the lobby, they saw that mos
“I knew that you’d be here.”Dio looked at the entrance of the balcony and he saw Amery’s grinning face. He shook his head as he watched Amery walked towards him and hold onto the railings as soon as she was standing beside him.“For a noble lady, aren’t you quite assertive, my lady?” Dio teased.“You’re getting arrogant now, I guess? Do you think that you’re my type?” Amery giggled.Since the day he met her, Dio knew that being bold and assertive was part of Amery’s personality. She always took the initiative and make sure that she wouldn’t hesitate on things that she wanted.“I won’t get ahead of myself and assume that, my lady.” Dio turned his back on the railings and sat on the floor. The hall seemed to be much livelier and the music grew louder. The dance must’ve started and the people inside were having fun.“I somehow expected t
It was a fine morning after the welcome party for Dio and Cassandra was already beaming with nervousness and excitement. Though it was a shock that her brother insisted on Dio touring her around, she did not dislike it. “Why are you dolling yourself up when you are just going to tour around the capital?” Casper’s voice was heard near the open door of her room. “Don’t tell me that you have a crush on that guy?” Her brother’s statement sounded more like a warning than a question. She could feel him glaring at her back as she looked at herself in the mirror. “I don’t have a crush on him. I just don’t want to look like a nobody if I’m going to walk around with him,” she defended. “And what do you mean by that?” Casper folded his arms as he looked at her suspiciously. “Dio Armani is such a handsome man,” she said as she smiled sweetly. “I don’t want to look like a rag beside a commoner.” “Is that so?” Casper’s suspicious gaze continued on.
“Your backup is here!” Kael smirked after he hit the director’s nape stealthily.“I didn’t ask for backup, though?” Dio said with a childish grin as he opened the hidden door. It was dark inside and but he could hear the children from below flinched at every sound that he made. He jumped down and he was followed by Kael who used an artifact to produce light.“What the…” Dio clenched his fist and he could feel that Kael did the same as they both looked around the room. The children were all dirty and their thin clothes looked more like a rag. They were all so skinny that their bones were almost visible on their skin. And their eyes… Those were the eyes of people who already lost hope.Their eyes were wary of the two strangers who just went in and the younger ones trembled as they hide behind the older kids.Dio kneeled in front of a little girl and held her cheek gently. He smiled and said, &ldq
Cassandra stood in front of the fountain where the statue of the emperor and the crown prince stood. She felt so proud that it stood tall to remind the people that their ruler was someone powerful and the empire was stable because of the imperial family.“Are you a fan of the emperor?”Compared to the excitement he had while they were eating, Dio seemed to be somewhat annoyed as he stared at the statue.“Do you not like the emperor?” She asked out of curiosity.“I’m not in a position to like or dislike someone.” Dio looked away. He didn’t want Cassandra to see through his bluffing.“The emperor is kind but he’s also a little scary.” Cassandra smiled. “I met him before in the palace. He told me to be good friends with Princess Cassiel.”“You sounded like the emperor is a doting father.” Dio chuckled as he turned his back on the statue. “Shall we ro
It was a bright sunny day and the sound of the horses’ footsteps added to the excitement of the girl inside the carriage. The morning market was noisy as usual and the cool breeze complimented the nice weather vibes of that day.He was surprised when Royce told him to change into his hunting attire and to bring his daggers. As soon as he was near the door, he saw that Riguel held a spear, Kael had his sword on his waist and Mika had a staff in her hand. They were all ready to go and Mika seemed to be the most excited one among them all.“We’re having an outing to the capital’s biggest forest.” She smiled sweetly.“I told you we’re not going there for an outing, we are going to hunt.” Kael corrected his twin sister.“Stop your argument and let’s go.” Royce walked past them and went to the carriage. The four of them followed their father and joined him in the carriage that was big enough to a
“Mika!” Kael shouted as he looked around for his twin sister.Dio spread his mana on the ground and used his magic to search for Mika but it was useless. He couldn’t feel her presence so it would be one of the two possibilities: she was transported out of his tracking range or her presence was weak compared to the presence of the one who took her.He wanted to believe the second option because he felt a strong presence running away from the forest towards their tent.‘Blur!’ He activated their mind link and searched for his Bond’s location. After knowing that Riguel and Royce were with Blur, he asked Kael to follow him.“Dio, Kael!” Royce called out to them and hugged them.“Father, Mika is missing!” Kael said in a panic.“She’s not missing. She’s being held by that monster.” Dio pointed out the giant orc in front of them.The four men of the