The view was... surreal. The sunlight was passing through a hole just above the lake, but it was not the main source of light in here. No, around Sunny were a lot, maybe thousands, of fluorescent mushrooms, countless trees, and other plants whose names were unknown to him. It was the one way to show the opposite of a city. Or of modernity as a whole.
Still, he was struck with the fact that he was witnessing so many trees in one place.
It was both mesmerizing and uncanny at the same time.
Sunny's eye moved to meet those of Ashe.
-"Okay... but WHERE are we? Are we even still in the waking world at that point?"
-"Rest assured, Sunless, we just moved somewhere else, lost from history. It was a place that my husband and I had built as a residence a long time ago. Sadly, it had been discarded... Until now. If you have any other questions, I will—"
-"A year? What about the ra... I mean the food. Is there anything to hunt in there? Stacks of food can be prepared in advance? Envoy for groceries?"
The dean looked at him with surprise visible in her eyes. Not only she, but the rest of the group was also looking at him with weird expressions. Only Nephis was standing out, because she looked satisfied. As if she finally had someone who was speaking her language.
Frowning with only one eyebrow, Sunny didn't know what to say. Was it bad to ask those kinds of things?
After a long moment of silence, it was someone with ruby-colored eyes and long, wavy red hair who chose to step up.
-"Hum... Young man. How to tell you this..."
-"Did I do something weird? Jeanne is trying to help me wi—"
-"No no, don't worry about that. It's just that your mind doesn't match your appearance."
-"Huh? What did you mean by that?"
Not knowing how to explain it, Dana simply turned to the most logical person for help. The sleep-deprived doctor looked at her with a bit of amusement in her gaze. It was quite fun to see her prideful colleague being defeated by a simple child like that.
Still, she moved to get close to the subject of this situation. Sunny was trying to process everything that he knew to get a slight chance to comprehend what was happening, in vain. He was still tensed up from the journey, but the way he reacted as she got close warmed her heart, or at least, he felt like it.
His eyes, once distant and on the defensive, were now more like they should have always been. Soft, sincere. Yes, it was not some blind trust, but it was far from the killer gaze that he used to give a month ago. His reaction may or may not have reminded her of a certain girl when alone with her grandma. That thought gave her a smile as she reached the boy.
-"Cute. But too serious. My words. Our thought. Or close to it."
...
Sunny.exe had stopped working.
Quite literally, Sunny did not move but still gained a few shades of red around his cheek and ear. He didn't know how to react to this kind word. And it was even worse when it was from someone he liked. He couldn't say anything.
Complaining? It would look childish.
Being mad? It would look childish too...
Ignore it? With the heat from his face, it was already doomed.
At that instant, his only wish was to find a hole and jump in it. Being so small that no one would find him. Disappearing, being one with everything around. He could only find himself looking at the soil beneath him. But still, from the corner of his eyes, he could see that Nephis was smiling.
She had found one of his weaknesses.
'Oh f—'
He could also hear the little chuckle around him, a very short one, but still, he heard it.
-"So... I was saying that we will stay here for at least one year. And for the food, it was actually a mix of your three options. We are growing our own vegetables; there are still some prey to hunt around here, and we have a few food cans. As for the grocery, we have our way..."
Ashe had to interrupt herself from saying too much.
-"But enough talking; we need to join the Palace before twilight."
No more explanation was given as everyone started to follow Ashe. The two kids were surrounded by the adults, so Nephis had the perfect opportunity to murmur at Sunny.
-"So… Still not used to being cute, princess?"
-"Shut up… you devil."
One was still red from the last interaction, while the other was grinning like a cat trapping a mouse. The path they used was large enough for all of them but still hardly looked practical. The road they followed was clearly made poorly or at least at the last minute. Sometimes, Sunny could swear that there was some stone slab under all that weed and dirt.
And for the first time, Sunny was able to see Dana and Plume using their memory to cut open a clearer path for them.
A myriad of sparks were born out of nothing, disappearing right after, only to leave behind them one magical object.
Because to his surprise, the mute was already wielding a weapon without him noticing it. A light move from her hand and a long and flat blade suddenly appeared, acting like an extension of her forearm.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the scout was now slashing the nearby branch and bush with something that looked like a sword used by a captain of a pirate crew… from what he could remember of the story his mom once showed him, of course.
It was so… captivating. Sunny had his curiosity blazing. Especially with Plume's weapon, even with the fact that it was cool, he was still blocked with the idea that this type of weapon would be dreadful in the Outskirt. But that was not the best point, no… Plume's physique is enough to make every muscular man blush with embarrassment after all.
He didn't think of that, how everyone here can fight. He would have assumed that she may fight barehanded, but with the sunlight reflecting from the blade with each motion, that was now outdated.
She was screaming strength with every one of her movements; she looked strong…
Ashe came to his mind at that moment, and with her, the words that she gave him.
'Gaining strength… '
-"A problem, princess? You almost fall over."
His thought had stopped for an instant before his face started to tense when the words came to sense.
-"Don't call me that. And why should I explain anything to you? It's not like you cared."
-"I want you ready as fast as possible; there are differences between training and the rest. You look serious, so you have my attention. Or maybe I should call Jeanne? That way, she will doll you up the same way as usual."
Sunny was clenching his fist; the tone that she took at the end was clearly taunting. And he hated himself for being able to fall for those stupid tricks. Still the others were not listening to them, or rather, they didn't want to act for now, not wanting to overprotect him. At least it was his guess.
There was no sound from him for a few seconds; not even his breathing was audible since he just stopped doing it. Forcing something erratic to be slowed down.
-"I just thought that Plume looked strong, and that I wanted to be like her. My body is weak, and now I know that keeping it this way will only give me more trouble as time goes by. So I was… both admiring and envying her… Not in a bad way, but…You know what… Just forget about it."
Ashe was now giving some side-eyes to Plume with an amused smile, not that Sunny was able to see it. Looking at Nephis, who was now showing a weird face of her own… was she… Thinking about something?
Then her voice gave an answer.
-"I admire my teacher."
-"Huh ?"
-"I said… I admire my teacher. When you are starting something, having someone to look up to in that field can only help. Now… you need to observe and learn. Because envy alone can give you nothing tangible. Step by step, you get closer."
That… was quite a surprise, a real share of wisdom from Nephis. Who would have known?
-"I… Thank you…?"
-"If you really want to thank me, make sure that my tips don't go to waste."
Now that was more like her. But now, Sunny was looking back to Plume, watching her body move without a word. She was just like a machine; for him, it looked almost inhuman. But he did put it on the fact that he was mundane and she was not.
Still, from his point of view, it was beautiful, so what was the shame in looking at something beautiful? No one said a thing; on the contrary, Plume gave him a slight smile of approval. And after that, her movements were easier to observe, as she slowed down just enough for him to get a glimpse of them without losing too much efficiency.
But sadly, nothing is eternal.
As they slashed through the last branch, the palace revealed itself. Sunny had expected that it would look as abandoned as the road that led in there, but he was wrong. The place was like a game that never left its box.
The opposite of what they walked through until now.
-"We… may have put in a lot of custom Spelltech during the construction."
-"Wait. Are we the first group to arrive here?"
The clan was not that little, right?
Right…?
Still, without wasting any time, Ashe gave her answer.
-"We are the only group. The rest are staying somewhere else, with only two exceptions. But I'll explain it after we are inside."
The discussion will have to wait for now, but since no one asked any questions except him, Sunny wasn't that much on his guard. Even more than that, he had noticed the way they acted with him; if not for Nephis, no one would have been acting like he was a stranger.
On the contrary, if there was any distance between them, it was on him. Not that he regretted it; it did just make things feel weird to him. He still can't really ignore his way of thinking. Everyone might be a danger for him, even if those people were clearly closer to being harmless to him at this point.
Taking his time, trust can't be given like a flower… It was built. With time and effort from both sides. And well, there was no need to rush anything. Because if Nephis had told him this as a way to irritate him, it was true that Jeanne was there.
He did feel better and safer around her.
Even if it was quick, she had always been honest to him… She had been there more than anyone for the last two years, had entrusted him with her past. She had cried for and with him. When he thought that no one would ever do that for him.
Maybe it was just a fact of "Good place, good time, good words." Not that he knew or cared.
So maybe he was not as dense as he was before his arrival…
After a few minutes of walking, they reached the giant door that overlooked them. No one had to touch it, as if they were welcomed by the place itself.
The hinges moved by themselves, and everyone looked not at the place but in the direction of the dean.
-"Okay… There's an enormous amount of Spelltech in there…"
With an exhausted sigh, Dana was the first to enter the Palace, soon followed by the rest. If the last place Sunny had stayed was regal, this one was just close to the divine.
The inside was just like that of a temple. White marble everywhere. The light was coming from some torches and braziers, but the majority of it was coming from stained glass windows, beaming like a place serving a god.
A holy place of some kind.
-"What is this place?"
A question that, for the first time, seemed to be shared by everyone. Ashe was chuckling with a bit of unease, even a bit embarrassed.
-"That was… supposed to be a present for my daughter. One that we wanted to give after Nephis' birth."
No one talked, so she simply kept explaining.
-"The world was moving fast, and being at the center of the attention could be hard over time… So my husband and I worked for years, in case she would ever need a place to find peace and silence. Her own little paradise to take a breath. Then… you know the rest."
They knew it too well. Doing their best not to look at the girl with them, with only Sunny daring to look at her. And she eyed him back, with complex emotion in her eyes betraying her attempt at an expressionless face.
This time, jokes and cutting remarks were not allowed. Both motherless, they knew how to respect each other, at least on this point.