"So... Is this where your friend you told me about earlier lives?"
Bai Zemin stopped in front of a very plain-looking wooden door in the easternmost part of Bearcrest City where the most ordinary citizens resided, those who not only did not have enough ability or bravery to risk their lives and fight to the death or whose lineages had never produced a soul evolver powerful enough for their descendants to enjoy the privileges of their success.
"Hehe, Orc... If I were you I wouldn't underestimate this little wooden door in front of us." Seraphina said as she let out a giggle like that of a naughty little devil.
Both she and Bai Zemin were covered by long black cloaks to hide their figures. Both of them were simply too popular because of the status they had and what their names represented, therefore, it was impossible to leave the castle in peace unless they were covered like this.
Although there were occasionally people who looked at them with curious eyes in a failed attempt to see beyond the magical cloaks, no one paid special attention to them this way.
Two days had passed since the meeting in the throne room.
During the past 48 hours, the war on the outside of the city slowly began to calm down a bit, and although the soul evolvers were still on guard, the number of enemies had decreased considerably and was now manageable enough for King Philip to allow the citizens to slowly return to their homes but still not allow them to approach the city walls.
The energy shields had been activated to medium level as a precaution as occasionally a powerful mutant beast of great Agility would appear which required the intervention of a Second Order human soul evolver; the energy shields served to buy time if necessary and thus prevent the enemy from getting through the walls so easily.
"Mmm..." Bai Zemin put on a thoughtful expression as he looked at the wooden door, but even after several seconds, he couldn't find anything strange there except the light layer of natural mana covering the wood of some chopped-down tree.
"There are several magic circles hidden in that door, you little scoundrel," Lilith said as she looked at the wooden door with her bright ruby eyes.
She was standing right next to Bai Zemin and Seraphina but only he was able to see and hear her while the second princess of Gales was not even aware of her existence let alone her presence.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Oh?" Bai Zemin made a small sound of surprise upon hearing Lilith's words, he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary in the door in front of him.
"Yeah, this rune encryptor is indeed good, at least quite a bit above if compared to your little sister Meng Qi who just started."
"Mm? Orc, did you figure something out?" Seraphina asked feeling surprised by the sound he had made.
She thought he had been able to see past the camouflage veil her friend had placed on the wooden door to cover up the runes and magic circles.
"No, nothing like that." Bai Zemin shook his head before changing the subject slightly. "So... Are we going in or what?"
"Hmph." Seraphina walked over to the door and pulled out a strange metallic pink key. She put it in the lock and soon a surge of mana spread out and covered the door in its entirety.
Bai Zemin blinked in surprise at the sound of the lock opening and finally became curious about the friend Seraphina said she wanted to introduce him to.
Seraphina had gone to look for him early in his room, and when Bai Zemin asked her what she needed, Seraphina said she wanted to introduce him to someone. After following her for several minutes, the two arrived at this point.
"Orc, you better not fall in love with my friend," Seraphina said with a snort in warning.
"For god's sake, move it, brat." Bai Zemin rolled his eyes and urged her to open the door once and for all.
Seraphina obediently opened and once the two of them were inside she quickly closed the door behind her as if she feared the people outside would see in.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Bai Zemin looked around and could not help but feel a little surprise in his heart. Because of Seraphina's status, Bai Zemin had expected her friend to have certain luxuries but apparently, he made a mistake.
This house was very normal, so normal that Bai Zemin could even compare it to the old house where he grew up and where he lived with his loved ones for most of his years of life so far.
There was no corridor and when entering the first thing one would find was a small living room with two green armchairs covered with some patches, a small glass table in the center probably intended for sharing tea during snack time, and a two-door cabinet with glass windows from where one could see the interior filled with small plants. There were also three doors apart from the entrance and exit door.
"Wait here," Seraphina said.
She took off her cloak and hung it on the wooden coat rack next to the entrance. Before Bai Zemin could say anything, she disappeared beyond another wooden door.
Without much to do, Bai Zemin approached the wooden cabinet and casually ran a finger on it. There was not even a speck of dust there. What caught his attention the most, however, were the plants beyond the glass panes as they all seemed to be quite exotic and had mysterious appearances.
He glanced forward and sideways several times as if to make sure no one was there before reaching out his hand to the handle that would open the glass doors. However, his movements stopped when an emotionless voice sounded from behind him.
"Don't do it, you'll get injured."
Bai Zemin almost jumped in fear when that voice sounded not too far from where he was.
My God! He had just checked and there really was no one there but he didn't even notice when this person had stepped into the room!
Bai Zemin turned around as he quickly said, "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to-"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})His words got stuck in his throat as his eyes fell on the young girl next to Seraphina.
The girl had the appearance of a young girl of 14 or 15, her small body was covered by a long light blue dress that appeared to be quite old and somewhat inappropriate for someone of her height. Her legs were covered but her slender arms were exposed, the girl's arms were so delicate that they made one worry about hurting her if one hugged her too long. Curiously, however, she did not give the impression of bad nutrition but of someone small by nature.
This girl had the whitest skin Bai Zemin had ever seen in his life, it even looked to be a sickly white because it was just so white. Her hair was snow white as were her thin eyelashes and fine eyebrows. Her lips were a bit pale and as small as her whole body, her entire expression seemed to cry out indifference and coldness towards life and the world in general.
If Bai Zemin had to describe the young girl next to Seraphina then he would probably use two words.
Porcelain doll.
Pretty and delicate looking sweet but incredibly fragile.
"Hmph. Kali, would have been better off letting this pervert open that cabinet so he could get exactly what he deserved for sticking his nose where it didn't belong." Seraphina crossed her arms and began to tap her foot softly and repeatedly on the floor as she looked at Bai Zemin with wide eyes.
She looked like a jealous wife waiting for explanations from her husband for coming home late.
The expression of the girl named Kali did not change at all when she heard Seraphina's words. She said in a soft but casual voice: "I'm afraid my plants might have been damaged in the process. I'd rather avoid it if possible."
... So she warned him for the sake of the plants and not for his safety. Bai Zemin didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he shook his head in his heart.
He looked at Seraphina and said in a serious voice, "Ponytails, do you want me to spank you a couple of times again? Hmm? Have you forgotten what happened when you called me a pervert for no reason? If you're itchy tell me, I'll immediately help you to soothe it."
Bai Zemin even raised his right hand and made a spanking gesture as if to emphasize his words a little more.
"You..." Seraphina looked at him and subconsciously brought both hands behind her body.
The girl named Kali raised her small head towards Seraphina and paused for a few seconds before turning her face back to Bai Zemin.
"Quite surprising. This is the first time I've seen Seraphina being defeated."
Even though she said that, the tone of her voice didn't let the surprise she was talking about show. Every word that came out of her mouth was monotone.
"I- I wasn't defeated by anyone! Not by this Orc at least!" Seraphina shouted with her eyes closed and her face slightly red.
Bai Zemin ignored the childish acts of the little princess of Gales and focused his attention on the young girl again.
The reason he was looking at her so much was not due to her beauty since no matter how one put it she was still a little kid. This young girl was very special, Bai Zemin could feel it somehow but he could not put his finger on where that special characteristic was.
"Staring at a person for so long is not polite."
Kali's voice brought him out of his inner thoughts.
He blinked and calmly responded, "I'm sorry about that."
"That's the second time you've apologized in less than 60 seconds."
"I'm so- Ugh..."
Seraphina's eyes went back and forth between Bai Zemin and her friend. Her pupils glistened peculiarly as she said in a weird voice, "Kali.... It's quite strange for you to talk so much with someone you just met..."
"Is that so?" replied Kali in the same monotone voice as always without any change in her expression.
Bai Zemin hesitated for a moment before carefully asking, "You.... can you see me?"
Kali turned her face that was previously looking at Seraphina back to him. After a moment of silence, she returned in her usual tone of voice, "Close your eyes."
Bai Zemin did not understand but still did as she said and closed his eyes.
Kali's voice entered his ears, "Can you see me?"
"... No." He answered.
"There's your answer." She said in a flat voice.
Bai Zemin opened his eyes and looked at the girl in front of him again.
Right, Kali had kept her eyelids closed from the moment she entered the room. In fact, Kali didn't seem to be able to move her legs either as she was sitting on a small magic wheelchair that floated a few inches off the ground and with several dozen golden magic runes around it.
"Ahem!"
Bai Zemin scratched his head in embarrassment and slowly looked away as he was caught by Seraphina again.
"I'm so- ... I'm just curious, that's all." He said. Bai Zemin let out a light sigh and said in an honest voice, "It looked as if Kali was looking at me, that's why I asked that question just now. I apologize if I offended you."
Seraphina looked at Kali and said in a careful voice, "Kali, this orc can be a bit of a brute sometimes but he really is a good person, I guarantee it."
"I know, or else you wouldn't have brought him here," Kali replied in a flat voice. She kept her face fixed on Bai Zemin and said calmly, "Although I cannot see your appearance or Seraphina's or that of any other being living or dead, I have a skill that allows me to see something that neither you nor anyone else in the world can see. That's why I know where you are or what you are doing even though I can't see the kind of expression you are putting on."
Bai Zemin's eyes lit up, "I see.... So that's why you knew earlier that I was about to open that cabinet door."
Kali didn't say anything for several seconds, she just kept "staring" at Bai Zemin, and even though her expression never changed from the beginning to the end, he couldn't help but feel that her "stare" was really intense.
"Kali, is something wrong?" Seraphina asked as she noticed that something wasn't right with her friend.
Kali opened her pale and somewhat dried lips, and in the same monotone voice as always, she said something that surprised not only Seraphina and Bai Zemin, but Lilith as well.
"You... have something inside you, in your soul."
* * * * * * *
