''What?!'' The lady immediately got off her chair, almost flinging it backward.
''Calm down,'' Brant pleaded with her.
''Our little brant has a daughter!'' she exclaimed out loud.
''You idiot, since when did I mention that?!''
The lady pushed her chair back in front of the table, took a deep breath, and sat down.
''Then, for what reason do you want me to register her under your family name?'' she said, completely changing her tone.
''Iria's orders.''
''The Duchess, hm… I see. Very well then.''
''Huh? That easily?'' Brant asked, almost dumbfounded.
''What did you expect? Of course that easily if it's the Duchess's order, right, little Brat?'' she stated with a taunting grin.
''I told you no more calling me that! It's in the past. anyways, I got things to do. We'll be off now.''
Brant almost smashed the cup on the table and got up. He picked up his sword and hung it on his back with such precision that he made it look easy.
''Come on, Reili. Let's go.''
''So soon?'' The lady asked. ''When will you be coming back?''
Lorelei got up from her chair and followed Brant.
''I don't know. I don't know what will be out there.''
''I don't know what will be out there,'' the lady repeated, imitating Brant's serious tone.
''Shut up, old lady. I'm going now. Bye bye!"
Brant was clearly red from blushing. Their playful interaction almost made Lorelei smile. Brant pushed open the door and walked to the black metallic gate they had come in from. Before Brant could open the gate, a swarm of kids blocked his way.
''Huh? Whaddya want?'' he asked, trying to intimidate them.
One of them stepped forward.
''Won't big bro come to play with us today?''
''Outta the way. Got some other stuff to do.''
Another one of them stepped up.
''When will big bro come back?'' she asked, almost screaming at Brant.
The lady came from behind and spoke up to the children.
''Big bro Brant is busy, you guys. He will come back later, right?''
''You old— FINE, FINE, next time I come, we'll play,'' he said, brushing his hand through one of the kids' hair.
After he said that, they all looked happy and moved away from the gate.
''Tell little Samy to come see us sometimes too,'' the lady asked.
''Yeah, sure I will,'' Brant replied, walking out of the gate with Lorelei trailing him.
Lorelei turned around to see all the kids, as well as the lady, waving off Brant.
They must really like him, she thought.
''What are you spacing out for? Keep up the pace, Reili.''
She ran to catch up to him. In this area of the city, people were swarming around every corner of the streets — whether it was spending time with their family or just enjoying the freshness of the early morning. Just like back in the capital, there were some shady-looking people sitting down in front of shops holding out cups to the passersby. Many of them stopped by to drop a few lyrr in them, and Brant was one of them. Even though there weren't many, he did his best to drop a few to the ones he saw.
''Even after all our efforts, you can't save all of them, I guess,'' he muttered to himself.
He suddenly stopped in front of a rundown shop with a sign seemingly almost falling off. Compared to the other shops Lorelei had seen earlier, this one looked questionable. Some pieces were even missing from the staircase leading to the door.
''MORNING!'' he screamed, pushing the door open.
Lorelei entered after him and saw a man behind a counter striking hot iron. He stopped for a bit, stared at Brant, and got back to work.
''How rude of you, ignoring me like that,'' he said, pouting.
The man placed the iron he was striking into what seemed to be a furnace and wiped his hands with a handkerchief.
''Don't tell me you broke it again,'' the man sighed while walking closer to Brant.
''How could I break Mr. Pouty's precious creation…''
''Then what is it?''
''Uhm… how do I say this… The blade became a little uhh…''
''Out with it already!''
''It became dull…''
Brant pulled the sword from his back single-handedly and showed it to the man. He took it, barely managing to lift it up, and dragged it to the back to inspect it.
''Just how many monsters did you kill out there?''
''Quite a few…''
Pouty sighed and signaled Brant to go away.
''Come back in a week.''
''YAHOOOOO!'' Brant screamed excitedly while pushing open the door.
Once they were out, he asked Lorelei, ''Is there anywhere you want to go, or anything you want to do?''
Lorelei thought about it for a while and recalled the dome.
''The dome. I want to see it.''
''Alright then! I'll bring you there!''
While dumbly strolling, Brant held a little grin on his face. Lorelei thought he looked a little stupid doing so, but still happy. Vinyl was a peaceful city, no matter how you looked at it. There weren't any nobles using their influence to scare others; everyone looked happy going on about their day. Faintly, a familiar voice called out her name. She looked behind to see an old man standing in front of a stand.
''Brant, wait.''
She ran to see the old man. Lorelei recognized him; it was the same old man from the capital — the same one who sold sugar to her and Maria. How could Lorelei forget him with his long white beard?
''Hello,'' she said.
''How are you, dear? It's been a long time, hasn't it?''
Lorelei nodded.
''Last time I came with Maria.''
''Maria?'' the old man questioned, stroking his beard in the usual way. ''Is it someone I know?''
Lorelei stared at him aimlessly.
Did he really not remember Maria?
''Is something wrong, dear?''
''Maria… The girl wHo was with me. HEr mom is Silvia. Don't you rEmember?''
''I'm afraid not. I apologize.''
Not only did she kill them, but she took away who they were from others' memories.
It isn't fair, she thought.
''Please, remember,'' Lorelei pleaded with the old man.
Brant came from behind and pulled Lorelei away. He apologized to the old man and left with her.
''What's going on?''
His voice wasn't able to reach her. At that moment, she became aware of her power. She became aware of the sins she had committed. Lorelei didn't just kill those people; she took away their existence — the reason why they had lived: to be remembered, to be known, to be loved. She was walking, but her mind wasn't present.
''I'm sorry,'' she muttered.
''What did you say?'' Brant asked, concerned.
But no answer came from her. It was all too much for Lorelei to handle at once. When presented with the harsh reality, all she could do was cower and apologize, but Lorelei knew for herself: apologizing wouldn't take away a thing; rather, it wouldn't bring back anyone. She felt all the confidence she had built so far crumble under the huge weight of those memories.
''I'm sorry,'' she muttered again.
''Hmm? You are?''
It was an unfamiliar voice. She looked up to see Brant. His hands were grabbing something in the air, and particles were forming around his hand, taking on a sword-shaped appearance, but everything remained still. It was as if he was frozen in that same position. She looked around, and just like Brant, everyone else was frozen. Amidst the crowd, she saw a hooded person. Under a long cloak, someone stood there. Lorelei was able to see their mouth move, the strands of hair falling down their body, and their hands swinging away.
''You are sorry, you say?''
The person disappeared. Lorelei frantically looked around to see where they had gone. Suddenly, she felt frozen by an immense pressure swallowing her. She saw hands wrapping over her torso. The hands toyed with her body for a while, then pierced right inside. She felt them wave inside her, playing around with her insides — moving her organs around and replacing them in their original places. The hands rolled over something and pulled it out. A white core, still emitting particles. A rushing sensation of emptiness took over Lorelei.
''Look. Look at how beautiful it is. You really are just like my master.''
The person placed it back inside her body, and the hands got off her. Lorelei turned around only to see that they had disappeared. It was a feminine voice; Lorelei was sure of it. It was a woman who spoke to her.
Then right in front of her, she appeared. A red-eyed woman with hair as purely white as it could possibly be. Lorelei was terrified; it was the first time she had ever felt such immense fear. Her whole body was telling her to move, but she couldn't order it to. The sudden rush of adrenaline and fear canceled each other out. The woman slowly walked closer to her. From this distance, she clearly saw her pupils — they were spinning; rather, the black inscriptions in them were spinning.
''Say, Lorelei. I've got a question for you... Care to answer?''
Lorelei stayed quiet because it was the only thing she could do. The woman disappeared again. She felt a huge pressure being relieved from her and regained control of her body. The woman walked around her in circles in a playful manner with her hands behind her back.
''No need to be so stressed. If you can answer me properly, I will even give you a little reward,'' the woman chuckled.
Lorelei mustered up all the courage in her body to finally speak.
''Why are you doing this?''
The woman disappeared again and reappeared in front of her, her finger over her mouth.
''Shhhh,'' she said softly. ''I'm asking the questions.''
The rotation in her eyes had become even faster, and her expression filled with thrill. For the first time, Lorelei feared that she would really die.
I'm going to die…
I'm going to die…
I'm going to die…
She stepped back and jumped in the air. A clock at least four times the size of her body appeared behind her and rang three times.
''The Authority of Time. Sounds like a fair deal, doesn't it?''
Lorelei had no idea what she meant by the authority of time, but she was certain that this power was the reason why everything around her wouldn't move at all. If her interpretation was really true, such power wouldn't be something a normal person could obtain. But Lorelei doubted that she would hold her word, even if she did answer properly. She was stuck; there was no way out for her this time. In either case, she had a terrible feeling that she would be killed.
''So? What do you say?''
Then, she heard the figure whisper in her ear.
''Don—''
The woman emerged right before her and leaned closer to her ear.
''Don't say a word. I want to hear this Lorelei's answer.''
How did she know about the figure? Lorelei asked herself, terrified.
It didn't matter whether or not she answered her question — she would still be killed. So she gave the woman a sly grin and copied Brant's way of speaking.
''Go eat shit.''
The woman seemed surprised, yet amused.
''Very well then.''
The clock rang once more and disappeared in a flash of light. She closed her eyes due to the shock, and when Lorelei reopened them, the woman was face to face with her. Her eyes spun and spun, almost luring her inside.
''You're an interesting one, if I must say. Refusing one of my master's Authority, how amusing. I'm Fray. We will meet again in the near future,'' she smiled at her. ''If you manage to survive this, that is.''
A beam of light flashed in Lorelei's eyes. Blood gushed out of her mouth onto the ground. She tried grabbing her torso, but felt empty. Right in the middle, her body had been punctured. She fell to the ground and lost consciousness.
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