"Young master, are you sure about this? Won't the—"
"Yes, my mom will surely get mad, but I don't want to have to interact with such wimps. Have you seen their faces? If I get seen talking to such a spineless duo, my reputation will tank." I explained as I was strolling towards the exit.
Not only that, they were also clearly small fries; out of the many I saw, those neither wore black uniforms nor seemed pretty high up in the hierarchy. It was a waste of time to even look their way.
"A shame, really… I think you would've gotten along with the guests." The maid commented.
Aren't you getting a little too comfortable now? I kind of liked the way you spoke earlier… It made us look a bit more… sophisticated.
"Yeah, but if it ruins my reputation, then it's pointless. If I want a good friend, I can just visit Leo. I know I can trust him unlike these petty snakes." I happily said as we passed through the front door.
"Young master… who are you talking to?" The maid asked me with a concerned look on her face.
"With you, of course. Who else would I be talking to?" I responded.
"But… I haven't said anything." The look of concern on her face told me all I needed to know; this was not a joke.
Tch, so the illusions weren't over, huh?
"We're going to my uncle's house. Can you bring the weapons I made earlier? I could show them to him; maybe I could earn a few praises. Demons that can still produce artifacts after being absorbed are something we've never heard before." I explained to her.
This will leave him speechless, I'm sure of it.
"Are you sure?" The maid playfully asked me as she walked in front of me, leaning forward to meet me eye to eye, accidentally exposing her cleavage.
One thing I found odd was a small scar that had appeared on her left eye, a small cut that had made her left eye blind.
Who is she? Up until yesterday she was completely fine.
"If you keep acting spoiled, your mother may end up disciplining you again." She said.
The outfit was different; the first thing I noticed was that I could even see her cleavage. Her usual attire was properly covered up to the base of her neck, and the skirt on the fake one also looked to be much shorter.
As I turned to my right, I saw the original maid walking besides me, her hands behind my back, as if ready to catch me at any moment, because she thought I was about to collapse at any moment.
Then I saw a copy of me playfully landing a karate chop to the top of her head and smiling back at her as I walked past her.
Both versions vanished as soon as they crossed the front gate.
Am I… I didn't know hallucination could be this… I should probably visit a doctor one of these days; maybe they'll find a solution to this problem.
A sharp sound suddenly pierced my ears, an extremely high-pitched noise that was seemingly about to burst my eardrums.
"Arghh!"
Wow… Just wow. Just what the hell did I do to deserve all of this? It's not like I—
The image of a strange spider flashed through my mind. It was of a strange color, didn't have an exoskeleton, and had a strange flabby body covered in slime.
Every time one of those strange images resurfaced, it came with a sharp headache. The image I saw was so grotesque and graphic it made me want to puke. Overwhelmed by all of those sudden sensations, I fell.
"Young master." All the concerned voices calling out for me brought me back to reality.
I thought I heard multiple voices, so how come I see only you?
"I'm fine; I hear you just fine; there's no need to yell." I assured her.
But when I opened my eyes, I found myself on all fours; my head was feeling incredibly dizzy. I felt as if the world were spinning all around me, so when I tried to get up, I almost fell back down.
No, I don't need your help; I can do everything by myself…
"Young master."
"Not a single word; I can do just fine. It was a small fluke; give it a few minutes and it'll pass away. Let's keep going for now."
With the help of the maid, we managed to walk towards the uncle's house, and as soon as we reached the front gate, it opened on its own.
We were let inside by the many servants working within the house and promptly informed that Leo was still sleeping in his chamber but were still allowed in. Then, after being served some refreshing orange juice, I passed out on a random sofa.
When I opened my eyes back, I saw gold glimmering in front of my eyes; a golden gaze was warmly looking after me, and a playful hand was gently stroking my hair while another was wiping something off the corners of my mouth.
"Where am I?" I asked the strange figure.
"Your hair is quite peculiar, just like mine…" The figure commented as she twirled my hair around her fingers.
Upon closer inspection, that was the newly adopted daughter of my uncle. I was happily resting with my head on her lap.
What was her name? I think it had something to do with food… it kind of sounded like… Olivia! Was that it? Wouldn't it be rude to ask her now of all times?
"Is that so?" I commented as I got up.
"What time is it? "I then asked her as I got up.
"It's 2:20 in the afternoon; you slept like a rock for the whole time," Leo answered.
He was sitting on another sofa placed in front of us, playing on one of his many handheld consoles, currently enjoying himself.
"Why didn't you wake me up? "I then asked him.
"We did try, once, but then I heard why you came here and thought it would've been better to let you rest. Today Father seems particularly busy; I don't know if he'll even return today." He calmly explained as he kept fidgeting with his game.
"And what's with her?" I subsequently asked as I got up to stretch my spine.
"I don't know; she's been obsessing over your hair; maybe she likes the color." He casually answered as he turned around to lie on his belly on the sofa.
Wait, but first of all, where are my servants?
"By the way, can I test out the weapons you brought back?" Leo asked me before I could even turn around to check out the room, his eyes still fixated on his game.
Strange, why is he so calm about this? The usual him would've… No, wait, I was out for half a day; he probably already tested those weapons to his heart's content. Mhhh, how would he react if I deny him now?
"I would prefer if we waited for the uncle to come back; I wish to see both of your genuine first impressions at the same time." I said in response.
Did I hit a nail in the coffin?
I peeked with the corner of my eye to check out Leo's reaction, and he seemed taken aback by my answer; he was uncomfortable, nervously looking at his adopted sister.
Oho, so that's how it is? I knew it, you rascal.
"I'm messing with you; feel free to test them anytime you want."
Meanwhile, the lady with golden hair was looking at me, tapping on her lap, as if to invite me to lie down once more.
"I'm fine." I replied out loud.
"So, Leo, do you have any idea of when the uncle will be back?" I asked him.
"Nope, the situation seemed urgent, and his laboratory got attacked, so it'll take some time before he—" Just as he was explaining why his father wouldn't be present today, I heard the front door of the house being closed.
"No way." Leo bolted out of his seat and ran directly towards the entrance to see if his father had returned; instead, at the entrance he found his older brother Elvis.
He reeked of alcohol, and there was a strange lingering smell on his clothes. I could see the kissing marks all over his neck and face; behind him was a sheepishly timid girl hiding behind his back.
The girl had short blond hair; her hair was in disarray, and her dress was crumpled.
"Oh, Leo! My cute Leo came here!" He drunkenly shouted, his voice almost cracking as he ran towards him with open arms.
"No, wait! You stink!"
Elvis ignored his pleas and swiftly picked him up and squeezed him in a tight hug. Leo, on the other hand, was fighting using all of his strength to not let the drunken Elvis kiss his cheeks.
Then he looked up and locked eyes with me.
Oh no, no, no, no, don't you dare.
"Little Lucy! Come here." He said as he finally let go of his younger brother, who immediately jumped as far away from him as possible.
"N-no, I'm fine here, I'm—" Before I could finish my sentence, he had vanished. He picked me up from behind, hugging me as hard as he could, squeezing the air out of my lungs as he ferociously rubbed his cheeks against mine.
God, he fucking stinks. What the hell have you been doing all morning?
Thankfully the bear hug didn't last long; after a short period of time, he released me from his death grip and, after messing with my hair, disappeared somewhere with the girl he brought home.