In the middle of the bustling streets, where the sound of chatter was everywhere and the aroma of food tickled the nose as it flew with. Surrounded by buildings with material akin to lime stone, tall with rounded edges reminiscent of some classical architecture from his world, their soft shadows cast down on the pavement.
Looking up, there was something transparent, a vehicle akin to a train soared through the see-through tubes. The Levethren was one of the most efficient ways to get around in Ilifel, second to that was walking, and the airships were only ever used for long distances.
Unlike back in his world, there were no cars on the roads, no bikes—although there were something akin to skateboards, rather, it was hoverboards. Used by a few young-looking people having fun racing or whatnot with each other.
—Click…
Could be useful, he thought as he caught a glimpse of the youths playing some kind of game.
With a click of his pen, Alum noted down everything he saw, how people interacted, and the many differences. While he didn't differentiate between the races much at first and only acknowledged them, despite that, there was harmony between them—something almost alien to him since even the minor differences back in his world started wars. Then again, they were all Lesichans at the end of the day—all a part of the continent-wide empire, so the culture and values shouldn't be too different from country to country.
Mm. Well, that's only an educated guess, he wrote.
Then again, there was conflict outside the empire. The Lesich Empire is located in the central-north continent slightly above the planet's equator. Then there's another continent to the southeast, another one west, then directly east, then the true central continent on the other side—Shian. The western continent was named after Isth, the southeast was called Pelthron, and the east was Vishtrom. As for the central-north, its name is Lishvick.
As far as Lishvick goes, the Lesich Empire covers a large portion of the continent. If he ever saddened Amethely, the sole Imperial Saint, he'd probably have around half the continent's population against him.
When the thought crossed his mind, he chuckled, amused at the idea—I would presumably deserve that, he wrote.
..
A while back, after finishing work for Rigeld, Alum was without much to do. The old man always said, "We finish, we laze!" And so, Rigeld was asleep while Alum read a book.
It was still morning, and Alum had nothing to do—his eyes unconsciously darted toward the doors occasionally, and Rigeld didn't miss a beat.
"Why don'tcha go see her? I'm not stopping you," he spoke lazily, not even looking up.
"No." Alum closed his book. "She's too endearing—it makes me want to embrace her if I were to see her," he calmly spoke with somewhat rosy cheeks.
"Hmm," Rigeld mused, raising a brow—who are you…? "Never thought I'd hear the word cute from you—but I suppose I can relate to that dilemma," he chuckled, amused—
"What?" Alum coolly inquired, staring him down, as the room felt colder.
Rigeld stood up and slammed the table. "Don't take that literally! I'm too old and married—I meant that I can relate to the feeling, not the exact thought!" he rebutted, his voice filled with mock-frustration.
Alum turned his head and chuckled, "I know that," he said, hiding his smug, inexpressive face.
"Ugh! You little! You're messin' with me, aren't ya?!" A vein popped on Rigeld's forehead. "Brat…"
Alum shrugged. "It's payback for earlier," he sighed.
"Oh—c'mon! I was just celebrating it with ya!"
"By parading to every department around the base, boasting—even I feel shy, you know? If you weren't my superior, I'd feed you a fist," Alum softly spoke, though his clenched fist shook like a rocket to be launched.
"Oh? What a coincident, I happen to love talons," Rigeld fired back, grinning. "It's a pleasure of mine with some booze, ahah-haha!"
"…"
"Still… you sure are more bratty today! Before… well, I guess it was more indifferent arrogance? So? What's changed—or is that who you are?" he inquired questioningly.
"…" Alum paused for a moment, his eyes widening slightly as if genuinely surprised himself. "…I suppose I was a bit arrogant and bratty as a child," he remarked after recalling his past.
"Oh? I didn't take you as a rebellious type."
Alum's eyes darkened slightly. "I've calmed down since," he casually shrugged.
Rigeld grinned. "I don't mind, y'know?" he said, then pointing at Alum. "Children should be children," his teasing grin widened.
"…I'm not one thought?"
"Hmm? Who knows?" Rigeld shrugged and glanced at a picture frame of his late wife and son. "Ahem, either way. Why don'tcha head out to the city?"
"Is that okay?" Alum replied, tilting his head slightly.
"Why not?" Rigeld casually leaned back onto his chair. "I mean, the thugs—they're… taken care of by a kind hero."
Chely? Alum's eyes narrowed.
"When did she—"
"Right now," Rigeld grinned as he looked at the screen on his desk. "Well, a little birdie happened to tell her some criminals were targeting you, so… naturally, as an overbear—I mean protective older sister-in-law, she went out to handle the… issue."
"…I see," Alum nodded.
"So get out there! Don't you want to take her on a DATE!?"
"…" Alum frowned as if to ask—how do you know that?
Rigeld stiffened, frozen like a statue. "I-I mean… it wasn't like I saw the whole thing through the elevator recording or anything, y'know how things are? Rumors sure travel fast!" So he said, whistling.
—sigh… that's why he was like that…
"I'll head out then," Alum scratched his faintly red cheek.
Before Rigeld could add anything more, he'd already left. Rigeld sat there in silence, watching the doors close.
—Then suddenly, pinkish flames burned into existence as Coral woke up from her sleep. She flew over and landed on Rigeld's shoulder and nested there.
"…" Rigeld patted her with a finger as he gazed at the picture frame. "You miss them too?" he said, his voice filled with nostalgia.
"Prrri…"
"Ahah-haha… I guess you were too young to remember…" Rigeld chuckled. He sighed and turned toward the window to look out. "Time sure passes at this age…"
"Prrrii, priii!" Coral responded.
…
..
Thinking back while standing in line, Alum sighed inwardly as he put away his notes. It's not as though he's forgetful, but as of late, his memory hasn't been the way it used to be—that was to say, he didn't need some sort of reminder to recall certain information.
Although it was inconvenient, he didn't mind it too much since that's how it was always supposed to be, hadn't it been for his supernatural abilities.
Before he realized it, he was already first in line. The stall owner smiled as she huffed, resting her hands on her hips.
"Oh my," she said, her voice soft and welcoming. "Is there something on your mind, Young Soldier?" she inquired.
"…" Alum, snapping out of his daze, lightly shook his head. "Not particularly." He then glanced at the sweet bread. "I'd like to have chocolate filling, please."
"Coming right up! That'll be 60 Lech!" the clerk replied, as soon as Alum handed her the money, she quickly began to prepare the treat. And as she took out the bread and chocolate, heating it up in the small oven, she turned back to Alum. "Out of curiosity," she grinned. "Are you Mr. Alum perhaps?"
"I am," Alum answered casually.
"Really!? I thought so!" the clerk exclaimed, her hands pressed together as she leaned her head to the side. "I-is it true that you two are… Lovers?"
It couldn't have spread that fast… Alum almost frowned.
"What makes you ask that?" he queried.
"Well…" the clerk awkwardly averted her eyes—Alum's gaze was a bit intimidating. "The two of you were seen together and… seemed very close—or so the rumors go…"
"I see. We seem close," Alum smiled faintly. "I'll leave that up to your imagination—"
"Hey, Lady, mind taking my order now?" a girl cut through in the middle of their conversation.
"C-certainty… I-I'm sorry, Mister, you can take any seat over there…"
"Hmph," the girl frowned as she glanced at Alum—her golden eyes as rare as his, but also reptilian like. "What?" she snarled.
"Nothing. I thought you were rude all," Alum said bluntly as he looked down.
The girl was a fair bit shorter than he, about the same height as Luna. Her hair was silky, a mat of dark purple.
"Rude?" she remarked. "Say what you want, but I'm not in the wrong."
"Perhaps. But you could've been nicer."
"Huh? Rich, coming from you! You don't seem the least friendly to me!" The girl then pulled down her lower eyelid and stuck out her tongue.
"What are you, a kid?"
"…" The girl turned a shade of red, and her eyes twitched. "W-what did you say!? I dare you! Call me that again."
"Kid," Alum reiterated, deadpan.
"You're a kid!"
"…"
"…"
"P-please calm down, you two!" the clerk exclaimed.
"—Aetlise. Why are you picking a fight as soon as I look away?"
The calm voice had come from a white haired man, his eyes a striking gem-like blue. Calm and collected, he pulled Aetlise's hood and tossed her towards the seats.
"Apologies," the man said, handing Lech to the vendor, pointing at the menu. Then, he glanced at Alum, who was about to head over toward the seats himself—"Take a seat beside her. Don't fight."
Alum frowned at being ordered around, but complied to avoid making a bigger deal out of things. From the look of it, the man seemed to be someone important—he was ordained in a fine dark cloak and armor underneath.
"So? You're a girl's lover?"
"Girl? Saint Amethely?" asked as he pulled out a chair.
Aetlise, raising her brow with a scowl, replied, "What are you dumb? Who else could I possibly be referring to?"
"Possibly, sometimes," Alum shrugged. "Still, you're curious? That was unexpected," he added as he sat down.
"Hmph. Not really. It's just that she's a big deal—so excuse me for being a little curious," she said, rolling her eyes.
"You're not very cute, are you?" Alum sighed.
"What? Treating me like a kid? Tsk… you must lack sight. I'm pretty, adorable, and competent—though, someone like you couldn't begin to comprehend," she said, crossing her arms.
"That's plausible."
"…"
"…"
"Perhaps—possibly, plausible," Aetlise mockingly reiterated Alum's responses.
"Hmph," Alum humphed monotonously.
"…" A vein popped on Aetlise's forehead. "I'll fucking kill you…!"
"—Calm down," the white haired man said. He handed Alum his order and handed Aetlise hers. Then, he turned back to Alum. "I apologize about her. My name is Silver, an adventurer and her mentor. Aetlise, introduce yourself."
"Don't wanna," she said, biting into the jam-filled bread.
Silver didn't seem to mind as he nodded. "Her name is Aetlise, you can call her Lise—"
"W-wait a minute, Master A—Silver, no way! There's no way he's calling me Lise!" she protested with a stuffed mouth and crumbs on her cheeks.
Deadpan, Silver said, "As you can see, she's stuck in puberty despite her age," with a small sigh.
"I can," Alum nodded in agreement as he too unwrapped his chocolate-filled bread.
"W-wait, Master… don't tell me you're on his side!?" Aetlise spoke, her eyes shaken with betrayal.
Silver shrugged and chuckled, somewhat amused by the situation. "Then you should act your age."
"Ugh…"
Seeing her look defeated, Alum remarked, "How old are you even?" which might've been a mistake in hindsight.
"Tsk… I'll just get it over with," she clicked her tongue. "Aetlise, biologically 20… S-ranked adventurer, happy?"
"…" —that's a joke, right?
"Why are you so quiet, huh? Now, your turn, soldier."
"Alum, 19. Cadet."
"Pff—ha… Ahahahaha?! Really, you're calling me a kid!? YOU'RE a kid!" Aetlise burst out laughing, holding her stomach. "B-beside, pff… you're a cadet? You sure act all high and mighty, nowhere near me—"
But then, abruptly, she received a forehead flick from Silver.
"Guuh," she groaned. "Master… why?" she sobbed, holding her forehead.
"You're being rude. Besides, even if he's a cadet, he's a part of Ilifel's respectable military. Additionally, can't you see he has a custom-made cloak and badge? Although he's a cadet, he's not treated like one."
"…" Alum didn't really care as he bit into the bread—I should've ordered something to drink too, he thought. But then again, his initial plan was to get his treat and move on.
"At least I'm mentally 19 too," Alum shrugged, adding fuel to the flames.
"What did you sayyyyy!?"
"…" Silver rubbed his temples and eyes, then sighed—Perhaps, I'm not the one who's supposed to teach her civility.
"Say, Mr. Alum. The military and the guild work in tandem—it couldn't hurt having connections to the guild, right?"
"I suppose not."
"Good. What do you say? Could you become her friend? You seem patient and don't seem affected by her provocations."
"No."
"NO WAY—wait!? What do you mean no!? I'm not good enough?! Huh!? Is that what you're saying?"
"You wouldn't want that either, would you?" Alum tilted his head.
"Of course not! But I'm allowing you to be my friend," she crossed her arms. "Gracefully accept, idiot!"
"Okay. We're now friends, Lise," Alum chuckled and reached out for a handshake.
"…"
Aetlise took his hand—her proud expression then turned a little sour as her usual frown surfaced—was I just… tricked????
Meanwhile, Alum seemed happy, thinking—A new friend. A pretty chaotic one at that…
..
After Silver left, Alum was left alone with the bratty girl he'd just met—it was hard to believe she was an S-ranked adventurer, but since he proved she was with her badge, there wasn't much else to be said.
"Hey, do you know any good places for a date?" he inquired while combo-locking her inside the game.
"Ugh! How should I know? Also—stop that! It's annoying as hell!" Aetlise fumed, spamming the controls on the machine.
"No," Alum blandly stated.
Currently, they were inside a neon arcade to settle their differences. And since they couldn't physically fight, and Aetlise would have an overwhelming advantage, they decided on games.
[Victory!]
The screen said on Alum's end while Aetlise peeked from the machine behind him.
"You cheated…" she murmured. "Also, what do you mean by date? You wanna ask the lady somewhere?"
"Please just call her Ame," Alum requested.
"Tsk… fine, so… You want to take the girl Ame on a date, but don't know where?"
"Yeah. I'm not a native, so I don't know any places. Only the vendors and parks I've been to," he replied.
"Sounds fine to me," Aetlise shrugged. "Or what? Is she one of those demanding rich girls?" she asked, raising her left brow, her golden, reptilian-like eyes peering intensely.
"Not at all. The opposite, actually—the ordinary seems special to her. But…"
"You don't know what ordinary is either hahaha, that's funny dude!" Aetlise laughed as she slapped the machine.
"You speak as if you do."
"Sure do! But I don't bother with courtesy. It's a pain in the ass."
"So you're just mannerliness—hey, don't grin."
"Yeah, yeah… but… why are you in a wig and sunglasses… You honestly have a cute face—you into cross-dressing or something?"
"No." Alum shook his head. "I'm alone with a friend who happens to be a girl."
"And?"
"I'm well-known nowadays and don't want it to hurt Ame with strange rumors. Besides, even if there's nothing between us, others wouldn't think so, would they?"
"I see. I thought you were a freak for asking Master Silver for a favor like that, seems like I misjudged you," Aetlise scoffed.
Alum nodded, then spun with a deadpan expression—
"You… you sure you're not into this?" Aetlise asked, stepping back.
"What? Jealous that I'm pretty?" Alum asked, his expression smug, hands on his hips.
"…" Aetlise blankly stared into space—like sand, she was blown away by the wind. "I've… got a question. You're gonna tell that Ame girl you… Dressed like this?"
"Yeah? Why?"
"…I see." Aetlise sighed. "Well… why don't we ask the women around town? It should also be perfect since… you're like that."
"Oh… you're right, then people wouldn't get the wrong idea."
"Well… or you could've just some vendors or workers," Aetlise facepalmed. "Do you have no common sense?"
"…" Alum stared at him, sulking somewhat. "That's… I do—to some extent."
"Sigh… I'm doing you a favor. You better treat me," Aetlise demanded.
"I don't mind."
"You sure?" she grinned mischievously. But before Alum could reply, she said, "Let's go then!" and headed toward the exit.
..
I used to remember—caressed by grass, my body weak. I was thirsty… So. So. Thirsty. Water… my vision is hazy. Sticking out my tongue, I smell for something and it was close… what is it? A human child?
Oh… he has water… water… water! Water!
I moved closer—as I got the taste, my senses returned, my body felt lighter. I looked up at the human child and saw myself in his eyes. Doesn't he know I'm dangerous? His eye is this close to me—wait! Is he picking me up!?
"—Hey, do you understand me?" he asked, his mouth curved upward.
I… understand him?
"Oh, it works!"
A human who can talk to us?
"Sorta, hey… are you alone too?"
Obviously.
"Then… would you like to come with me? I can take care of you!"
And why should I trust a human? You kill my kin.
"That's true… but I won't!" his lips curved again. At that time, I didn't know it was called "smiling."
…I don't know.
"I'll give you food and water!"
Deal!
The human child then made some loud, annoying sound with his mouth, but it didn't seem hostile, because there's that curvy mouth again.
"Then we're friends—oh, but what do I call you? Do… snakes even have a name?"
Name? Call? What's that?
"Hmm, how should I explain? Oh, Mom and Dad call me Al, that's my name, and that's me! Something like that?"
I see… okay then, give me one. A name.
"Really!? I can name you?!"
I said you could, didn't I? Give me one!
The human child seemed to think for a moment before saying, "How about Liss? It's a cute name—and you're cute?"
What's cute? Whatever… Liss… so I'm Liss…
After that, the human child took me into his home, showed me a lot of things, gave me food, and played with me—I learned a lot about humans, their emotions, and expressions. But one day, when we were sleeping, I wrapped myself around his arm as usual, there was a knock on his door, I hid and… he was dragged away, his mouth covered—Al! Endangered!
I launched myself at the intruders but… I've seen them before—they were his servants! Why are they doing this!?
"What the hell? He has a fucking coral snake?!" one of the men yelled and before I realized he grabbed my body and smashed me into a wall—I couldn't move—his big feet crushed me and everything turned dark.
Why… this is why humans are… no… If I'd only been human… would things have been different?
A/N
Sorry for the late update, been busy since I started a new job. Getting used to things, so I should soon return to once a week.