V and Harold were sitting on the couch, while Rosita was in the kitchen.
Noah leaned against the wall near the kitchen with his arms crossed. Looked like he changed into clean clothes.
Maya was sitting on the middle step of the stairs, thinking hard about ways Eri could survive out there.
"Maybe she should wear a fake Code."
The adults all nodded in agreement.
But Noah strongly disagreed. "That's stupid. Any knight can tell the difference between a real and a fake Code."
Maya frowned and crossed her arms. "Who do you think you are, being so sure of yourself? One of the royal Sakaris knights or something?"
"And who do you think you are? I've seen way more knights than some house girl like you." Noah's eyes narrowed at her.
"House girl?" Maya gave a mocking laugh, pissed off, and got up from the stairs to walk toward him. "I'm several times your age, so don't mess with me, little boy!"
Noah stepped closer. "Living a long life doesn't mean anything if your brain is stuffed with stupidity, little elf."
While the two of them argued, V and Harold just sat quietly, watching them like it was free entertainment.
"Does anyone want popcorn?" Rosita said, actually looked happy that the house was noisy for once.
"Me! And I'm not giving any to the stupid boys!" Maya shouted.
"Sweetheart, don't be too mean to the guest," Harold said with an embarrassed smile.
"But he started it, Dad!!"
Noah sighed, totally annoyed. "Was it really that hard to understand your idea was dumb?"
"You want her to walk around with no Code so she gets caught in one day?"
Noah ran a hand through his hair, exasperated. This girl was sworn to make him angrier than he already was!
"The energy from a girl with a Code is like a thousand times weaker than from one without a Code!" He explained, hoping maybe she'd get it.
But it only made Maya scowl harder. "I'm an elf. I already know enough about energy!"
Noah stepped back and leaned against the wall again. "Then you should've noticed the crazy amount of energy Eri is giving off."
"What are you talking about? Eri doesn't give off any energy at all…" Maya said, looked confused.
And Noah froze, her words replaying in his mind.
Maya was an elf—of course she should've felt Eri's energy.
So why was she denying it? Or… was she really not sensing anything?
Then why was Noah the only one who felt that insane power from her?
Another thing Noah couldn't figure out was touching Eri.
It had never happened before that when he touched someone, those painful shocks appeared—so he thought maybe the problem was with Eri. But earlier, when Maya held Eri's hand, nothing happened. So that meant it wasn't Eri either.
Then why was it only when the two of them touched each other that those painful spark shocks appeared?
So many things confused him and kept his mind spinning.
It really got under his skin.
Right then, Eri started walking down the stairs.
The whole time Noah and Maya had been fighting, she had been showering and changing into the clothes Maya gave her.
She looked a little tired, moving slowly toward the kitchen.
Quietly, she tapped Rosita on the back to get her attention.
"Um… ma'am?" she whispered. "Could you maybe feed my second stomach before it gets mad? This little thing won't stop grumbling."
Eri was talking about the Devourer she had hidden in her pocket.
But Rosita just gave her a kind smile. "Of course, dear. I set the table already. Let's all have dinner together."
Everyone headed toward the dining table.
Eri was just about to join them when Noah walked up. Gently, he placed a towel on her still-wet hair to dry it a little. His face was still cold.
Eri wasn't used to drying her hair—maybe because no one had ever told her before. Still, it wasn't a big deal. She just stood there quietly until Noah finished.
"It's nice she has a brother to look out for her," Harold said warmly, already seated with the others at the table.
Rosita smiled too, agreeing with her husband. "Noah seems so distant. I didn't expect him to be such a caring and clingy brother."
Everyone was sitting around the table, which was covered with colorful dishes.
Eri stared at the plates in confusion when a tiny black dot caught her attention.
She slowly reached out and poked the fish's eyes with her fingertip.
The others smiled at her curiosity—
—while Noah calmly nudged her hand away with his fork. "Don't poke the food."
He cut a piece of the fish and placed it on the plate in front of her.
Eri frowned at the ugly-looking fish. "But… this looks kinda too scary to be food…"
"I agree, fish is scary!" Maya snickered quietly at Eri's reaction.
Rosita filled a bowl with soup and set it next to Eri's plate. "Eri… have you ever eaten fish before?"
"No… I mostly ate dry food… and, umm, old Milolo," she said, dipping the tip of her finger into the soup and tasting it.
Noah silently picked up a spoon and held it out to her.
She looked at it for a moment, then quickly nodded and finally took it from him.
"Just that? Dry food and old Milolo?" Maya shot her a worried look. "No wonder you're so skinny."
Eri blinked at her, her eyes traveling over Maya's body. "But… you're even skinnier than me…"
Harold nodded. "I've told her that a few times too, but she keeps saying she's on a diet."
"Oh, come on dad!" Maya rolled her eyes at her father. "You think I got this perfect body easily?! Beauty requires suffering, you know?!"
Rosita chuckled softly and turned back to Eri. "Still, that must've been really hard. Milolos are already sweet, and the longer they sit, the sweeter they get."
Eri took a spoonful of soup into her mouth, but because it was hot, she swallowed it too fast and started fanning her mouth. "Huff—hot! My mouth—umm… no, it wasn't that hard… I actually really like sweet things."
.
.
The moonlight shone into the living room through the window.
V was asleep on one couch, and Noah was lying on the other, one hand covering his eyes.
That's when he heard a soft whisper coming from the stairs.
"H-u-m-a-n?"
Hearing Eri's small, whispery voice, Noah sighed and looked toward the stairs.
Eri was hanging upside down from the railing on the second floor. Her legs were hooked over the rail, her head dangling down.
In the darkness, the only things really visible were her eyes and the loose strands of her hair falling down.
Seeing her head hanging there with messy hair, Noah suddenly jumped in shock and sat up quickly. "What the?!"
When he realized it was Eri, he let out a deep breath, but the scare had already killed his sleep.
"Are you sleep?" Eri whispered, still staring at the flustered Noah from her upside-down position.
"Not now, thanks to you," Noah muttered as he stood up and walked toward the window.
Eri flipped herself down and followed him.
"I just realized you look a lot like goblins. All those flashy moves without even making a sound." Noah leaned against the wall beside the window.
Eri let out a small laugh. "goblins? I read a lot of novels. After a ninja novel, I tried to act like that so my brother wouldn't notice me sneaking out."
Noah already knew she had been locked in that dungeon her whole life. But hearing how she still snuck out of her room despite all her father's and brother's efforts made him smirk at her stubbornness.
"Instead of reading thousands of useless novels, you could've studied something more useful." He said.
"No way! Novels are more exciting. Just the thought that everything would end happily made me really happy."
"Such a cliché." Noah rolled his eyes.
"Doesn't matter. The main character was free to do whatever they wanted. That made my imagination go even wilder."
Noah opened his mouth to say something, but Eri cut him off again. "'This isn't my fantasy world.' I know that. I swear I know. You already told me before."
Noah let out a satisfied sigh. At least she wasn't blindly clinging to hope.
Eri stepped closer to the window, leaned on the edge, and stared at the moon. "This world doesn't have a place for my dreams. So I just have to… shove them in by force and make space."
Noah nodded slowly, but then froze as her meaning sank in.
"W-wait, what?! That's even worse! Do you have a death wish or something?!" he said, shocked.
"Noah…"
Hearing his name for first time from Eri, made Noah calm down a little, his eyes locking on hers.
"I don't want to just survive anymore…" Eri said quietly. "I want to live. And I'm not gonna wait for someone's permission to do it."
Noah ran a hopeless hand through his hair. He couldn't believe all his words meant nothing to her.
"Any plan for that?" he asked.
Eri smiled and touched one of the lights floating beside her. "I just have to follow the light."
Noah glanced at the glowing thread she touched. "You actually trust these?"
"Of course. They're the ones who showed me you!" Eri nodded firmly.
'Ugh… then they're just as untrustworthy,' Noah thought with a poker face.
Suddenly, Eri's eyes widened in shock as she stared at him. "Wait… you can see the lights?"
Noah looked a little confused at the question, but finally nodded.
"This is the first time ever!" Eri smiled. "My father and brother couldn't see them!"
Noah blinked. Then frowned as he realized one more mystery had just been added to the endless list about Eri.
'Great. Just what I needed. Another damn thing about her that only I can notice.'
-
The sun had already risen.
Outside the house, V was lying on the grass, messing around with a crystal that looked like some kind of puzzle.
Rosita handed a bag to Harold, while Maya, after putting on her cloak, was helping Eri put one on too.
"What if a knight shows up in the town?" Noah grumbled, again and again.
"Don't worry, no knight has ever gone there." and Harold reassured him... again.
Rosita put a hand on Noah's shoulder and smiled. "I know you're worried about your sister. But Eri said she wants to do this. She has to start gaining experience little by little."
Eri nodded excitedly.
She was supposed to go with Maya and Harold to the nearby town for some shopping, and she looked really happy—though also a little nervous.
Noah still looked doubtful, but he had already tried a bunch of times to talk Eri out of it and failed.
He walked up to her, adjusted her hood, and decided to repeat all the rules to her again. Just to make sure.
"Stay close to them. Don't take your hood off. Don't look up. Don't talk to anyone. Hide your right hand. Keep some distance from people when you walk. And for angel's sake, don't be clumsy and bump into somebody!"
Eri just nodded fast at every one of his complaints, waiting for him to finally be done.
Maya already fed up with Noah, grabbed Eri's hand and started leaving.
Noah scowled and shot her a sharp glare, but Maya just stuck her tongue out at him before the three of them headed off toward the town.
Noah didn't waste any time. With a serious face, he went straight to V—who was still sprawled lazily on the ground.
"We need to talk…"
"I'm busy now," V said casually.
"I said we NEED to talk!" Noah snapped this time, his voice so loud that Rosita gave them a puzzled look.
Then he let out a frustrated sigh and tried to hold himself together.
"Please… u-uncle…" he forced out through his teeth, tone controlled.
Rosita smiled and went back into the house, while V jumped up happily.
"Of course, my dear nephew." He ruffled Noah's hair. "What did you want to say?"
Noah shoved his hand away and narrowed his eyes. "Get lost."
"Whoa, sooo rude!" V put a hand dramatically over his chest like he was hurt.
Noah ignored him and crossed his arms. "I mean disappear before she comes back!"
"And break her sweet heart? You know how excited she's to be my disciple."
"That's exactly the problem!" Noah snapped. "The problem is YOU! She thinks if she becomes your disciple she'll be some kind of unstoppable warrior one day!"
V tilted his head, pretending to think, then nodded. "Ohhh, I see. That's a really good goal."
Noah blinked a few times and realized even this old man was one of the countless idiots around him. "You'll only make her die sooner than she's supposed to!"
"Do you know exactly when she's supposed to die?" V asked simply.
And Noah froze for a second.
"Of course… not…" He took a step back, frowning hard as he looked away.
"Then let her decide how she wants to die. After all, it's the only decision she's ever made for herself in her life." V shrugged, already walking toward the house.
He reached the door but turned back for one last look at Noah.
"Besides… living means sacrificing ourselves for our dreams. Otherwise, the only difference between us and the dead is that we're still breathing."
Then he went inside, leaving Noah outside, angry and frustrated.
"What's for dinner tonight, Rositaaa?" V's cheerful voice called from inside.
-
In a crowded marketplace, Harold walked in front, Maya was behind him, and Eri was the last one.
This place wasn't as fancy as the capital and looked much simpler.
Still, even Eri noticed that almost every seller had Light Crystals for sale.
The most important thing was that, unlike the capital, there wasn't a single girl in sight in this town.
"Seriously… everyone here is men…" Eri muttered.
Maya caught her words and gave a small nod.
"Yeah. In other towns, people at least treat girls better when inspectors or the empire's knights aren't around. But this town's different. The men lock up their wives and daughters inside. This place has become super popular with the Bounty Informers. No knight even bothers to come inspect here anymore, since they know if something happens, the people themselves will snitch to the empire."
"Yeah… I get it." Eri frowned and grumbled under her breath. "When even the people don't show mercy to each other or their own families, you can't expect the empire to do any better. Pathetic."
Eri stayed silent the rest of the way. She was really pissed.
She could understand the Empire being cruel to keep their power. But what really made her sick was seeing normal people from another land being so heartless to each other.
Lost in her thoughts, she bumped into someone and fell on her back—maybe out of habit, or just clumsiness Noah had pointed out.
And... her hood slipped off.
Since Harold and Maya had gone a bit further ahead, they didn't notice that Eri had fallen behind and just kept walking.
Eri looked up in shock at the big, angry man standing over her, who had just stepped out of a building.
She quickly tried to jump back up. But right then, the man slammed his foot down hard on her stomach and pressed her back against the ground.