章 9: Magical Essence
Zenith's return was received with warm welcomes by everyone in the orphanage. Even Andra, who harshly reprimanded Zenith this morning, chuckled after sensing change within the once distraught child.
"Ha ha ha, harsh discipline goes a long way." said Andra proudly.
Liliana gave Andra a glare of disappointment and said "And whose the one that caused this trouble?"
Andra gave a laugh without answering and walked away
Lucy introduced Zenith to the rest of the orphans, who were excited and curious. It was rare for Liliana's orphanage to receive any orphans, and now they had received three in a row. First was Emily, who lost both her parents in a minor expedition incident. The second was Sirius, who was thought to be separated from his parents because of an alleged kidnap by a group of cultists. Now it was Zenith who was transferred here because of his violation of the central city orphanage's guidelines.
Lily and Oliver were full of enthusiasm as they relentlessly questioned Zenith about his experience in the central city orphanages. Throughout the process, Zenith couldn't help but ignore their questions and avoid eye contact. He had to admit that they were friendly, but their enthusiasm was reaching an uncomfortable level.
Zenith felt his face burning with heat from everyone's excited glares. His face soon turned rosy red and he self-consciously turned his head to avoid their stares.
Lily admittedly thought this scene was quite adorable. However, the dissonance between Zenith's initial delinquent-like behavior and his current shy nature somewhat vexed her.
Annoyed by Zenith's out-of-place introversion, Lily took the lead and forced Zenith into a conversation.
"Heeey~!" said Lily in a melodic tone.
"..."
"Heeey~"
"..."
"Hey! You! You there! Hey! Hey! Hey!" Lily's melodic tone immediately turned to a demanding one when she couldn't hold her frustration of being ignored countless times.
"Can you stop yelling?!" Zenith griped.
"Hmph. Why didn't you reply sooner?" Lily gave a smirk as if knowing that Zenith fell into her trap.
"..."
"Anyways. Tell us about the central city. What is it like? I heard many famous idols live there. Have you met any? Please tell me!" nagged Lily.
"I heard they have started the construction of a second magnetic train system that would encompass the whole settlement. Is that true?" followed Oliver.
"Have you heard about the upcoming expedition? I heard the headquarters are desperate for new recruits and many people are rushing towards the central city. Do you think I could also join?" asked Lucy with a smile.
"Idols? Of course, I have seen them. They're all over the billboards with their gaudy jewelry; they truly disgust me." replied Zenith
"As for the construction of a second magnetic train system, it's been on hold for years and I doubt they'll resume it anytime soon, especially since those big-shots are occupied with the upcoming expedition."
"While for the expedition itself... I don't believe it's worth your time."
Zenith spoke pompously.
"Hm? Seems like you're quite knowledgeable about the central city. Mind telling me more?" smiled Lucy.
Unaware that he had fallen into their little conversation trap, Zenith blabbered on with great pride
The questioning and childish prattle lasted all the way till dinner when Andra finally shut them up. Although Andra scolded them, occasional gossip continued in the form of whispers as they ate.
Seeing Zenith's integration into the little group, Liliana unknowingly gave a relieved smile.
The excitement lasted throughout the night, and Andra had to make the stubborn Liliana separate them so they could gain some much-needed sleep.
Liliana originally planned Zenith to sleep in Lily and Oliver's room, seeing how it would help further his trust with the orphans. However, there wasn't enough room for another bed, and Andra was annoyed by their obnoxious blabbering. Consequently, Zenith had to sleep on a homemade mattress made from multiple blankets spread on the floor in the nursery.
The nursery was quite spacious despite its purpose, it consist of two brand new baby cribs and a soft mat covering the entire floor. It had an entirely different look from when Sirius arrived. Lady Liliana had personally redesigned the once shabby nursery with the funds provided in hopes of bringing an enjoyable experience to both the babies.
Unfortunately, the redesign had not provoked any change in Sirius' indifferent expressions. In contrast, Emily thoroughly enjoyed this new experience, especially the addition of a little bookcase containing her favorite books.
Zenith had decided to sleep right next to Sirius' crib as it lacked a bookcase making it more spacious. He then piled the ragged blankets like pancakes and slammed his back on them with a face of comfort. Next, he took out his recently worn clothes and sniffed them before placing them by his side. Feeling self-conscious about his actions, Zenith blushed and immediately placed his clothes to the side. He truly couldn't bring himself to forget that smell, it was too alluring and tenderly.
Zenith had vowed to cherish this smell as it was the only remnant of Alice. He also wished to see her again, but he had a nagging feeling that this wish would be impossible to achieve.
Soon, Zenith finally fell asleep and fell into the night's graceful arms.
...
The night was silent and charming, it had an air of comfort that could only be found on a sunny tropical island. However, this warmth was interrupted by dreamy whispers of sleep talk from Zenith.
"Alice. Alice. Alice~" moaned Zenith languorously.
"Alice... Please, don't go..."
Naturally, the victim of such loathsome action was the person that slept closest to Zenith.
Sirius reluctantly awoke with tired and numb eyes. He pushed himself upright and sat there mindlessly waiting for his thoughts to finally gather.
When Sirius finally collected himself, he realized he had missed something of great importance. After Zenith came back, Sirius had been staring at him endlessly with his dull black eyes. Liliana and the others dismissed this behavior and thought that Sirius must also be curious about Zenith. In truth, Sirius was only staring at Zenith because there were tiny crimson strands of energy slithering around Zenith's clothes. Sirius was instinctively attracted by the strands of energy and desire soon welded within his eyes. Unfortunately, tried as he might, Sirius was unable to get close to Zenith who was constantly within the center of the small group of kids.
Thus, Sirius, with his undeveloped mind, immediately forgot about it the instant Zenith left his sight. Even more unfortunate was that he had fallen asleep when Zenith came into the nursery, prompting him to miss his chance.
Luckily, Zenith's moans of a person named Alice and an enchanting smell rejuvenated his forgotten desire.
Sirius stared at the clothes that were right next to Zenith's face. The clothes consisted of a dull grey sweater and plain white jogging pants. However, surrounding the pieces of clothing were multiple crimson strands of energy.
Sirius crawled towards the edge of his crib to the side where Zenith was sleeping and poked his little arms through the narrow spacing of the slats. His delicate hands wiggled and waved in the air like a zombie. However, his arms were able to reach the clothes which were irritatingly close.
Sirius decided to poke his whole arm out titling his face sideways. He couldn't perceive what he was touching as he needed to face sideways to allow his whole arm to fit through the space of the slats. Therefore, he could only feel his way through.
Sirius' hand patted the air and soon touch what felt like a warm squishy cheek. He continued on and finally touched a rough and cold cloth.
Gripping and pulling on the cloth, Sirius found it to be stuck. Sirius slowly retracted his arms and turned his head to see Zenith snuggling the clothes. Fortunately, his first attempt proved fruitful as it had loosened the clothes and made it within his reach without poking his whole arm.
Sirius pulled the second time with every unit of strength within his body and successfully detached the clothes from Zenith's possession. Consequently, Zenith subconsciously made repeated groans of despair like the sounds of a wailing ghoul as the smell left his face. This groan made Sirius' skin crawl and he was frozen in fright.
While Sirius was frozen in fear, the crimson red strands of energy danced around Sirius' body and flowed majestically into his skin as if an unknown force was forcibly attracting it.
Once every strand of energy flowed into Sirius' body, the smell immediately disappeared and Sirius collapsed exhaustedly onto the soft patting of the crib.
A grand and bewitching motherly voice soon soothed through Sirius' mind.
[Magical Essence is insufficient, the prerequisite has not been met.]
Oddly enough, Sirius could clearly understand the meaning of this sentence despite being an infant. However, it was too tiring to ponder the statement, and soon he fell back into the night's graceful arms.
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