Elly and I walked down the hallway led by the maids and Rhoselyn. As we reached The Lord's study, Erol came out from the room and our eyes met. He fixated his eyes on Rhoselyn as he greeted her. Rhoselyn pursed her cherry lips as she stared at Erol.

"What... did you say to Father?" Rhoselyn asked, with a hint of anxiousness.

"I reported the incident happened on our travel to him." Erol solemnly answered. Rhoselyn seemed to be concerned as she peeked at me.

"Did you tell him about the kidnapper incident?" Rhoselyn asked again, although with a masked smile.

"Yes, I did, Miss Rhoselyn." Erol casually answered.

"...and about the wanted criminals?" Rhoselyn asked again, she was staring quite hard at Erol. Erol sighed. He knew what she was worried about.

"That will be after confirming with the evidence..." Erol explained as he gave me a cold eye. Rhoselyn raised both palms to her chest as she exhaled in relief. "Alright then..." Rhoselyn turned to my side as she perked a smile on her cherry lips. "...Let's go in" She uttered.

Two maids in front of the room opened the tall door. If I can only use a word to describe the room, it would be 'extravagance'. Every furniture in this room screamed luxury. Gold adorned every corner of the room and they sparkle. Aside from that, the person sitting at the desk caught my attention the most. He was a fat middle-aged man wearing a silky-smooth crimson colored suit whom I assume is The Lord himself. Mr. Pierr also in the room standing beside him.

"Father, welcome home." Rhoselyn greeted him as she now stood before the desk, Elly and I stood behind Rhoselyn. The Lord cleared his throat as he stared at us. He seemed to be the uptight kind of person similar to Erol. I see no resemblance between Rhoselyn and her father. Maybe the eyes... they are the same hazel colored.

"They are Yuu and Elly, Father." Rhoselyn introduced us. Elly and I stepped forward and bowed. But the lord interrupted before I could open my mouth.

"Welcome to Easton!" The lord suddenly smiled and spoke. I didn't expect him to be friendly and neither Rhoselyn too. She has a dumbfounded expression put on her face. She looked at his father while obviously confused. The lord stood from his desk and moved to my direction. He patted my shoulder really hard as he grinned so wide flaunting his golden tooth.

"Do you like this place?" He asked.

I don't know what's going on here, but I will see through the end first...

"Yes, you have a lovely mansion, my lord." I answered. He pulled his hand back from my shoulder and leaned himself on the desk behind.

"I've been expecting you..." He said.

Huh?

"Eh?" Rhoselyn got even more confused as she looked at me trying to find an answer. Elly also looked clueless.

Does he also know that I came from another world? But, Rhoselyn doesn't seem like she knows that.

"A young silver haired man will arrive at the full moon phase, which is tonight. His arrival will mark the successful start of my plan. That's what 'he' said and it was indeed true... Hah-hah-hah" His laugh resonated throughout the study. Nobody seemed to know what he was talking about. Not even Rhoselyn. She looked at me quizzically.

‘He’…?

"Young man... Please don't hesitate to request anything you wanted. Whether it is money or women." The Lord continued as he offered. "As long as it is within my grasp. Hah hah hah!"

"I am sorry, but I did nothing worthy of your kind offer, my lord." I said.

"Your presence alone has brought fortune to me. So, go on request... Don't be shy, young man! Talk to Pierr if you want something." He said.

I guess it would be rude to refuse... I can use that...

"Yes, my lord." I nodded in acceptance.

"Pierr, please get them the best quality clothing and also accessories. My fortune star can't be looking that simple, no?" The Lord ordered.

"Ah, this is fine my lord. I found this clothing comfortable. Thank you for your kindness." I hastily stopped Mr Pierr.

I don't want to wear that silly silky sparkling suit like the lord. That's... too much for me.

"Alright, if you say so young man. Hah-hah-hah-hah" The Lord accepted as he laughed.

"Father... you seemed to be in a very good mood today. Did something good happened?" Rhoselyn asked.

"Yes, it was something worth celebrating... Pierr, tell the cooks to make something special for tonight. Prepare Ailiura meat for them." The Lord ordered.

"As you wish, my lord." Mr. Pierr humbly replied.

"Young man, your name is Yuu right?" The Lord asked.

"Yes" I answered.

"You can stay here as long as you want. He said that you will be going on a journey and at that time... I shall aid you as much as I can. So, don't worry..." The Lord explained.

Going on a journey? Just who is that person…?

"I am sorry my lord, but can you tell me who-"

Toc toc toc

The sound interrupted my attempt to ask. Right behind the tall glass window, a blue dove-like bird pecked on the glass and got our attention. The lord turned away and move toward the window. He opened and let the bluebird in. The bird rested on his hand with a rolled paper tied around its claw. The lord grinned as he retrieved and read the letter. He scrunched the piece of paper into his pocket.

"Pierr, prepare a carriage. I am going out." He ordered.

"But father, you've just returned." Rhoselyn said.

"I am sorry my dear Rhoselyn. Make sure to treat our guest well." The lord walked toward the door while Mr. Pierr followed him out.

"It's nice to meet you, young man... Have a good day." The lord walked out of the room after the parting words. Muria and Fetallina quickly bowed down as the lord went past them.

I glanced at Rhoselyn. She was sighing with her eyes looking down. After a moment, she raised her head up and face my direction as she masked smiled. "Well, at least he likes you." Rhoselyn said. I can feel the that she wasn’t smiling from her heart. She looked disappointed.

I guess, she does feel lonely huh…

"Rhoselyn… The lord mentioned a person who told him about my arrival. Do you know him?" I asked Rhoselyn the question that's been on my mind since The Lord first spoke. Rhoselyn mulled over it for a while.

"Hmm... I am not sure myself but recently, I often saw a tall man walking in and out of this mansion..." Said Rhoselyn as she still looking deep into thought.

"How did he know that I will be here?" I asked.

"I don't know..." Her brows furrowed down. Rhoselyn looked clueless and curious. "But that man gives off an ominous vibe to me... I don't really like him. His meeting with my father always seemed to be so secretive. Father also never introduced him to me... That man only interacted with Father." Rhoselyn explained.

"How does he look like?" I asked.

"He seems to be at the same age range as Father. He always dressed in black cloak covering almost all his skin. The hood is mostly covering the head so I don't really get to see clearly of his face. But, there is something about him that have caught my attention..." Rhoselyn paused as she runs her mind.

"What is it?" I asked.

"...It was... his hair and eyes color." Rhoselyn glanced at me. "They were both black colored."

That looks normal to me… in my world though…

"Are black hair and black eyes not common?" I asked. Rhoselyn immediately shook her head.

"No, it wasn't that the color is uncommon. But, having both colors as black is quite rare. Normally, people will have either black hair and blue eyes or brown hair and black eyes. But, I heard there are cases where some people were born both black colored. It's just, my first time seeing it in person..." She explained.

"YUU!!"

Elly suddenly shouted at me and got a prompt reaction from both of us. Her cheek was puffed up like a hamster. She looked annoyed. Rhoselyn was surprised too.

"Don't ignore meeeeeee!" She exclaimed. That's when I realized that she has been tugging my sleeve since earlier. But I was too caught up questioning Rhoselyn.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I am hungry." Elly confessed. The room turned silent for a moment reacting to Elly.

"Ah, right, it is near evening now..." Rhoselyn glanced at the window. The sun has started to set. Part of the sky was tinted in an orange hue. "Let's go get some food, shall we?" Rhoselyn offered and Elly hastily bobbed her head up and down. "Yay! Food!" She cheered.

"Fetallina, please go check on the dinner. Tell me if it is ready. We will wait on the balcony." Rhoselyn ordered.

"Yes, Miss Rhoselyn." Fetallina, the ginger-haired maid, she bowed and excused herself away. While we headed to the balcony lead by Rhoselyn and Muria following behind us. It was not far from the dining room. In fact, it was connected to it. The balcony was spacious and grand.

Elly immediately runs toward the fence as we stepped into the balcony. We were on the second floor of the mansion but we can see the view of the town as the mansion was built uphill. The view was amazing. The wind is quite strong here.

"What is it like in your world, Yuu?" She asked as she looked at me with bursting curiosity.

“Well…”

Speaking of my world... how am I going to return? My only lead is those missing people... I wonder where are they...

"Rhoselyn..." I called.

"Yes?" She promptly replied.

"Who is in charge of 'The Hell Gate'?" I bluntly asked.

"It was a property of Tesoviel Kingdom. Therefore, it is run by The King. Why do you ask?" She questioned.

"You know right? That's where I was summoned to... from my world."

"Yes, I have guessed it." Rhoselyn lightly nodded.

"Do you have any clue of who summoned me?" My question put Rhoselyn into a puzzled look.

"Uhm..." She muttered.

"Could it be Sylph, The Wind Spirit?" I asked.

"There's only one way to make sure." She stated.

"Do you mean… Find The Sylph?" I asked.

"Yes, he ordered me to bring you there after all. You might find your answer at The Wind Temple." She said.

I glanced at the city view through this very balcony. Elly is walking along the fence while looking at every direction. Although she was once afraid to go out. She looked so carefree right now.

"There's another thing I wanted to ask." I turned to Rhoselyn and said.

"Yes, what is it Yuu? I will help you as much as I can." She offered.

"To be honest, it was not only me who was got summoned to your world, Rhoselyn. There are hundreds of other people coming with me..."

"Ehh??" She gasped in surprise.

So... she didn't know.

"...Something happened and I was knocked unconscious. The next thing I know, they had gone." Rhoselyn still looked surprised. She couldn't process what she just heard. She left her mouth hanging open while her droopy eyes bugged wide.

"I wished to return to my own world." I confessed.

"I see...” Rhoselyn paused. She looked up to the orange tinted sky. “Well, I do understand how you would feel, after all, to be summoned into another world away from your own homeland is a terrifying thing. I wouldn't stay as calm as you do, Yuu." Rhoselyn smiled wryly thinking in my place.

"Do you know how can I get back to my world?" I asked.

"Well... that's..." Rhoselyn paused while looking troubled. It was as expected anyway.

"Gate summoning ritual is one of the hardest magic spells in this world, not mentioning about summoning 'Alte', the human from another world..." Rhoselyn explained.

"But, there are still some ways right?" I asked.

"Yes, there are two ways to be exact. The first one, it was to gain the blessing of all spirits of this world. Which mean, the summoner has to be approved by the spirits. The summoning itself isn't that bad but to be able to communicate with all of the spirits are the most difficult...

Average people don't even get to see a spirit in their whole life after all. But, some people do get the blessing from the spirit. I am one of them..." She explained while she smiled heartily at the end.

"The Sylph?" I asked.

"Yes, I am blessed with the power of The Sylph... It is my greatest blessing and I feel fortunate for that." She smiled.

"So... your magic affinity is the wind?" I asked.

"Well, you can say that's true. But, as you see, I can also do some other magic like healing. Being blessed is different with the magic affinity a person shared. One major difference between being blessed is that I can do chant less magic as though a natural user."

"I see... Is there anyone ever got blessed by all of the spirits?" I asked.

"In the history, yes, it was the princess of the old Tesoviel kingdom who had all spirits blessing and she's also the one who opened the gate and summoned the ancient heroes. Beside her, there is another person..." Rhoselyn explained as her eyes fixated on me.

"…and that person was The Moonlight Sorcerer." She stated while eyes didn't avert from mine."...it was you." She said.

“There must be a mistake…” I said.

I never came here. I don't even understand any of this. The spirits, mana, magic, and those creatures in the caves. It was indeed my 'first time' experiencing them.

"Can you tell me more about this world?" I asked.

"Yes, of course. It will be my pleasure." Rhoselyn humbly agreed.

"Miss Rhoselyn." A voice called from behind us. It was Fetallina.

"Ah, yes Fetallina, is the dinner ready?" Rhoselyn asked.

"Yes, Miss Rhoselyn." The ginger-haired maid answered. She raised her head up and stepped aside.

"Food!?" Elly came running toward us as she noticed Fetallina appearance.

"Alright. Let us go to the dining hall." Rhoselyn smiled at the exciting Elly.

The dinner was extravagance as what the Lord has told them to prepare. The meal was delicious. The way they served the food was quite the same as of my own world except for the ingredients. Some color looks off but the taste was heavenly. Especially that dark blue colored meat. The appearance itself will normally be treated as something poisonous or not edible in my world. Rhoselyn said it was the meat of an 'Ailiura' fish. But it tastes more like beef/chicken than a fish though. Elly was slurping appetizingly at everything that was placed on her plate.

"...In Allius, we have six major races. We are the 'Human' and so are you. But you are special. We called you the 'Alte'…" Rhoselyn explained.

"How about the other five?" I asked.

"The human kingdom, Tesoviel, populated the center and the east part of Allius. 'Elfin' lives in the further East Allius where the woods were the thickest. 'Dwarfin' lives in the West Allius. The 'Beastman' lives in the North Allius. While the 'Demon' lives in the South Allius..." She explained.

"Demon? Don't tell me that the human race is currently in the war with them" I straightforward asked.

Please don't say that was the reason I got summoned...

"It 'was'. Allius has been at peace for thousand years. The evil demon king was defeated by the ancient heroes. The demon race never attacked human since that…”

"I see... how about the sixth race?" I asked.

"…They are the 'Meurima'."Rhoselyn answered while looking a bit unconfident.

Meurima?

I looked at Elly. She was chomping her fluffy white cake but I bet she noticed what Rhoselyn had just said. It must be her race.

"Meurima... It is the general term for their race. The male is usually called a merman while the female is called a mermaid... But..." Rhoselyn paused and took a sip of her drink.

"You will see many races around the land but you will not see a Meurima. They lived in the Eternal Sea. Rumour said that they have no legs in replace of a fish tail. Their skin is blue in color and some other people said that they enjoy eating human flesh…

Nobody really knows how a Meurima looks like. They are shrouded in mystery. Because they don't come up to the land and we also don't go to the sea..." Rhoselyn said.

If she knew that Elly is a Meurima... I wonder how would she react.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Meurima is well known as a solitude race. They don't need any resources on the land so they have no reason coming up nor communicating with us. That's what my father told me..."

"Have you ever go to the sea? Does nobody try to seek for them?" I asked.

"No, we can't do that. Even the Elfin and Demon race who had a naturally strong power would have trouble going into the Eternal Sea. As for Eternal Sea, it is what we call the border of Allius. It is also well known as 'The Sea of No Return'." She said.

"Is the sea that bad?" I asked while imagining the worst sea I could think of.

"At a glance from the shore, the sea looked inviting. Bluewater, white sand, and never-ending horizon. The view is breathtaking. It is when a person tried going further in, they will be greeted by the 'Seducing Fog'." She said.

"Seducing Fog?" I questioned.

"It is a thick fog lying above the Eternal Sea. They were spread all over the sea. Whether it is North, East, West or South. The fog always lies beyond the sea. The fog is rumored to be the work of the Meurima. Some also said it was the work of the Water Spirit. But, mostly… people believe that is where the Evil Demon King was sealed at. The demon was once to be known in close term with the Meurima after all...” Rhoselyn explained.

“I see… By the way, since we were interrupted earlier. What was the second way of doing the summoning ritual?” I asked. Rhoselyn went from smile to an unsettling look.

“Well… that’s…” She looked hesitant. “Actually… the second way isn’t something a common people would have known. It was a knowledge I learned from Father.” She said.

“Is it a forbidden spell?” I asked. Rhoselyn nodded.

“Yes, it’s. No sane people should do it that way. The preparation is terrible.” She said.

“Children sacrifices.” I muttered. Rhoselyn looked at me shocked.

“That is true. But… actually, it is known to need the human sacrifices. What made you think that they were ‘children’?” Rhoselyn looked at me quizzically. I glanced at Elly. She was still requesting on filling her probably the tenth plate of the blue meat. I was reminded of the children corpses lying below that cliff.

“You see, Rhoselyn… I have a feeling that we were summoned by the second way…” I said.

“What made you think like that?” Rhoselyn asked. Her eyes looking straight at me, seeking for an answer.

“Do you know what’s beyond ‘The Hell Gate’?” I replied with a question to confirm how much she knows about that place.

“In my knowledge, that’s where the ancient heroes defeated the Evil Demon King. The demonic beast of the Evil Demon King was sealed in that place. It was built to guard the gate. It is also known as the ‘Underworld’.” She explained.

I see… so, those monster are demonic beast huh…

“Have you ever visited the underground of that building?” I asked.

“No… it’s strictly forbidden for commoner or even my father, The Lord of Easton himself. No one can go in without the permission of the King… Breaking this rule means dead punishment. But no one would be foolish enough to visit the demonic beast anyway.” Rhoselyn stated and then she leaned closer as she whispered. “…How is it looked like in there?” She curiously asked.

"That is not a place for normal human...." I muttered while thinking back of those beasts. Especially that three-headed hound. Rhoselyn smiled wryly and nodded. "...You must have gone through a lot." She said.

After the dinner and before we separated to each of our own chambers. I asked Rhoselyn whether she can teach me the language of Allius since I have only understood their conversation thanks to the magic bracelet. I also need to learn to read. Rhoselyn agreed and she will also teach me about the magic knowledge starting tomorrow. To be honest, I was feeling a bit excited.

This is weird... Why does my heart beat so fast at the thought of learning about this world...?

Elly and I were in the room. She went straight to the bed after taking her bath. She seemed to enjoy her fluffy bed and fast asleep. I looked through the tall window. The Lord said that tonight will be the full moon. I was curious about how it would have looked like. So, I opened the window to gaze at the night sky. It was indeed brighter than last night.

"Hah..." The wind is strong at night. I bobbed my head out and looked at the moon. It was round and big. Tenth times bigger than the full moon in my world. I was dazed. The colorful sparkling stars were even brighter too. I looked at the surrounding. The moonlight reflected the area and created a glowing atmosphere all around the place.

The balcony was just below us... I see... wait...what is that?

There was a figure standing in the middle of the balcony. Reflected by the moonlight. The person was cloaked in black as he walked toward the fence. He stopped there and turned to my direction. The person raised his head up and staring straight at me. His black eyes reflected under the moonlight seems so lifeless.

Huh?

What is this feeling?

I dashed out of the room. Running through the hall. Heading to the balcony.

*thud

I tried opening the door but it was locked. So, I gaze through the glass window. But, no one is around. I scanned once more but still see nothing but empty glowing balcony reflected by the moonlight. So, I went back to my room. I looked through the window again but that person has vanished.

Am I seeing things?

I couldn't help but think of the eyes of that person and the weird feeling his gaze gave me. But after all, I was defeated by the fluffiness of the bed and gone to sleep.