Walking past the gate we stood in a spacious yard with trees and flowers lined up nicely throughout the place along with a tall fountain. From what I could see the house was two stories high and had several balconies.

"Welcome," as I looked around an old voice called, which caught everyone's attention. "Have you been well, my son?" in front of us was an old couple along with three men that resembled Leon. One of them looked almost a perfect replica of him.

Everyone's looking at us. This is a bit awkward. I thought as I somewhat hid behind Leon. "Yes, father," Leon said with a bow. "I'm glad you too are in good health."

"Yes, although my days are fast approaching," he said with a chuckle, then looked at me and my sisters. "But enough about that, please, do introduce these new faces."

"Of course," Leon spoke as he tapped me on the shoulder. "This is my son Arata. And these are my daughters, Hanna and Mia," at his words, we all just looked at the old man in silence. "Kids, he is your grandfather Orin Arumani. The head of our house."

"Hm? Arata?" Orin mumbled, his old gaze peering into me. "You're the one who got lost in Canavar, correct?"

"Y-You knew!?" Leon asked taken aback.

"You made such a big fuss. Of course I found out." Orin responded disregarding Leon's surprised behavior as he turned back to me. "Anyway, child, how did a boy you're age survive in those monster plains?"

What now? I don't want to recap the whole story. "Due to my father's teachings, I was able to overpower the most deadliest of monsters," I answered. "The only thing that kept me going was the thought of getting back to my family."

"Hm? What a brave child you are. Just like your father," He spoke, sounding a bit proud as the corners of his lips curved up into a small smile. "I take it that beast next to you is from Canavar as well?"

"Yes, I found her all alone and half-dead inside a cave," I explained. Not the whole story but that pretty much sums it up.

"Is that so, such a strange beast but I'll allow it," he said. "Anyway, I've finished my business here. Get to know the rest of the family in your own time," he added, turning to look towards the maids. "Show them to their rooms," he ordered before walking away.

"It's good to see you back home, Leon," said an old woman as she neared him.

"Mother!" Leon spoke, sounding excited as he saw her. "It's been so long," he said, giving her a hug.

"Indeed it has," She replied then looked at Hanna. "Is that little Hanna? I haven't seen you since you were just a little baby," she said while patting her head.

"Is that so?" Hanna spoke, visibly confused as she looked up at the old woman.

"You're Arata, and you're Mia, correct?" she said looking closely at both of us. "I'm your father's mother which makes me your grandmother."

Mia didn't look like she was going to speak any time soon so I took the lead. "Nice to meet you, grandmother," I said with a small bow.

"My, my. You don't have to be so formal," She said, bringing her hand up to cover her chuckle. "My name is Bella, but feel free to call me grandma."

"Yes. I'll do that," I replied. Hm? She seems like a nice lady. Maybe that's why Leon has such a high opinion of her. That and because she's his mom.

"Yoo, Leon!" a man that looks exactly like Leon called out. The only difference being the hair color. Leon had blonde hair while that man had it brown. "How have you been? I'm guessing you've had a good time since you're the one with the most kids," he said elbowing Leon.

"It's nice to see you too, Creon," Leon responded.

"Wait you're Creon? The Creon?" I said. "You're that author who wrote those pervy books on women," I commented.

"Aha! You've seen my work, have you? I don't recommend it for a boy your age, but just for you, I'll make an exception," he let out a small laugh as he padded my back. "I have to say, Leon. I'm liking your kid already."

"You always talk about such vulgar things," another man said then walked away. This one was blond and wore an expression as if nothing in this world could bother him.

"It's nice to see you again, brother," Leon said as he passed by. But the man didn't turn around or say anything. "I see he's still the same," Leon whispered to Creon who nodded in agreement, then turned to look at me. "That's my older brother, and your uncle, Dion."

"Yes, I don't know when he got so arrogant, but now he rarely even talks to us," Creon pointed out, letting out a sigh.

"Hey, Leon," an honest-looking man said while holding a baby. "It's good to see you again after so long, brother."

"Yeah, It's good to be back," Leon replied showing a smile, all his nervousness from earlier completely gone. "Is that your kid?" he pointed out, looking at the baby.

"Yes, this is my first and only son, his name is Atticus," he said, rocking the baby up and down. "And that's your son," He spork, looking at me. "Arata, right? I'm Brian your father's younger brother."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, other uncle," I told him. He seems like a nice man. Looking around now this really is a beautiful place.

"Master Arata," my attention shifted to a young woman in a maid outfit who greeted me with a low bow.

Master? I thought a bit perplexed by her choice of words as I took in her image. "Yes?" I spoke, confusion laced in my voice.

"Would you like me to show you to your room now?" She asked, looking down at me as she was taller than me.

"Yes," I replied, still confused.

"Right this way then," she said, lowering her head before turning around and walking ahead. I guess I'll follow her.

As I looked around I noticed that the only people around were Leon and his brothers. Emma and my sisters were nowhere to be seen. I guess they all went inside. I thought as I followed behind the maid.

Walking past the front door we were in a wide room that was very elegantly decorated. There were two sets of stairs going up to the second floor that were separated by a double door. Going up the stairs she led me through a hallway with paintings along the walls and a carpet to mark the path.

She then turned to another, much smaller, hallway with various doors. As we walked through it I saw tags at each door all with different names.

Theodore, Nina, Ada. And then came two names I recognized. Mia and Hanna. It's their rooms. Next to theirs was a door with my name on it.

"We're here." She said, opening the door. This is a room? It's so big? I thought as I let all my belongings drop to the ground.

The entire floor was carpeted. There was a large bed in the center of the wall. Drawers, mirrors, lanterns, a desk, and even a sofa with a small table decorated the room. I can't believe I'm going to live here. It's unlike any place I've seen before, even in my past life.

"As you can see there is more than enough space to store all your things," she said with an outstretched hand. "If you want I can help you sort your things out."

"N-No, it's okay," I told her, still taken aback by this huge room. "I can do it myself."

"I understand," she said with a bow. "I'll be on my way now, if you need anything else you're more than welcome to call on me. I am your family's personal maid."

"I will and thank you," giving me only a nod she made her way out of my room. Even though I just met her I could tell that she was no personal maid. She is a slave. There are slaves living in this house. I don't support slavery so I don't know how to feel about that.

I spent some time putting all my things away. I didn't have much of anything so I finished pretty quickly. Since this room was so big and had many things I was able to hide away the Exosia orb. But I still worry that just about anyone, even the servants, could find it. So I need a more permanent solution.

But right now I think I'll rest. I thought as plopped down on my bed. It's so comfortable. So soft. The last thing I saw was Flare laying down next to me before I slowly closed my eyes.

-----

"-ta. . . Arata! Wake up!" I heard a familiar voice call. As I slowly opened my eyes I found Hanna and Mia right next to me, each on both sides.

"What?" I asked, my voice hoarse as my gaze lazily scanned over both my sisters.

"Hurry and get up," Hanna said, sounding a bit annoyed due to her attempts at waking me up. "We're having a family Diner to get to know the rest of the family."

"Urg! Do I have to go?" I said, sluggishly bringing my blanket up to cover myself as I closed my eyes.

"Yes, father asked us to come get you," Mia said, having the same tone as Hanna while she pinched me on my side so that I wouldn't fall back to sleep.

"Ah!" I let out, a bit in pain, as my body jerked. "I'm getting up!" I told her. Before I got down I noticed that I slept with my shoes on. "How long have I been asleep?"

"I don't know. A few hours, maybe," Hanna replied. Looking out the window I noticed the sun was about to set.

"What have you guys been doing all this time?" I asked, walking out of my room.

"We've been exploring this huge house," Mia replied, her voice echoing throughout the hall. "We were going to ask you to join us but you were asleep."

"Did you find anything interesting?" I said as he turned the corner into the main hall.

"The bath, I guess," Hanna replied.

"Why is that?"

"Well, it's unlike any other I've seen," Hanna said. "There's only a few throughout the house and they're separated by gender," making it to the end of the hall we walked down the stairs. "It's this huge tub that gets filled with water."

"Does that mean that we all wash our bodies in the same water?" I asked. "Because that's nasty."

"No," Mia said. "You take a shower and then enter the bath," at the bottom of the stairs we walked through the now-opened double door. "Both the showers and the bath are in the same room."

"That's right. And there are no covers," Hanna said embarrassed, bringing her hands up to cover her red face.

As we made our way through the short but wide passageway we made it into the dining room where everyone else was. "Oh? We're here," Mia pointed out.

The dining room was connected to the living room area but it was still a pretty large space. "Hey, Arata," I heard Leon call with a smile on his face. "You're here."

He seems to be in a good mood. I thought. As I made my way closer I noticed that there were two tables. One where the adults sat and the other for us kids.

They were both full by the looks of it, so that meant that I was the last one to get there. "Sorry I'm late," I said, looking toward Leon.

"Doesn't matter," He replied, waving his hand in dismissal. "Go on, find a place to sit," he said then signaled toward the kid's table.

"Got it," I told him before looking around at the available seats. There were only eight chairs and four were taken.

Hanna and Mia took a seat on the long part of the table, leaving only two of them open. Either the host seat, next to my sisters, or the one on the side next to two kids I didn't know. I sat down in the host seat, deciding it was the best option.

My sisters were to my left along with some other girl next to them, then two other kids to my right, and one in the opposite seat of mine.

In total there were four kids whom I'd never met but we shared the same blood. It was all silent, no one was talking. I also notices that the kid to my right was reading a book. Should I start a conversation?

"Hehe," I heard someone giggle, it was a girl who sat across from Hanna. "What's with this awkward atmosphere? You guys are so boring," She said, looking around. "Let's introduce ourselves to the new guys."

That's right they've lived together for some time before we arrived. So they already know each other.

"I guess I'll go first. My name is Nina," she said, placing a hand on her chest. "I am really happy to see new people living here with us and I do hope to get to know you all better."

Such a unique character. I thought as I took in the girl's image. Green eyes and pink hair. There's only been one other person whom I've met that's had nonhuman characteristics like this. Perhaps she is mixed-race. showing a wide smile she then turned her head to me. "What about you?"

"Huh? Me?" I spoke, a bit confused. To which she happily nodded in reply. "My name is Arata. . ."

Following my words was a short moment of silence. "That's it!?" Nina said with a tilt of her head. "Come on say more things, like. . . What do you like to do? Or what's your favorite food?"

"I guess. . . I like to practice magic," I answered, looking for things to say. "I don't particularly have a favorite food?" Not in this world at least.

"Magic huh? My brother here also loves magic," she said pointing at the kid next to him. "He's even reading a book on it," she spoke, hiding her giggle as she poked him. "Come on introduce yourself."

"My name is Theodore," the boy said not taking his eyes off the book. Are these two seriously siblings? I mean they don't look alike. This Theodore kid had dark hair with blue eyes totally unlike Nina.

"Your Mia," Nina said, looking at her, then turned to Hanan. "And you're Hanna, I met you two earlier," she pointed out. "Then the next is?" she started to say leaving the words to hang in the air for the next person to answer.

"My Name is Ada," the girl sitting next to Hanna said in a serious tone. With dark hair and brown eyes, the girl looked as if she didn't care about anything.

"And finally," Nina said again signaling to the kid who sat on the opposite side of me.

"My name is Alexander," the kid said. "It's a pleasure," He sounds cocky. I thought as I noticed he had blonde hair with dark eyes.

"Well, that's everyone," Nina announced, her cheery mood as strong as ever. "Now come on, throw some questions."

"I got one?" I said, raising my hand slightly. As Nina gave me a small nod I turned my attention to the boy next to me. "Theodore, what's that book about?" I got curious when Nina mentioned it was related to magic.

"It's about ways to better control mana and guides to certain techniques you can do with it," he replied. "Do you. . . Know how to manipulate mana?" he asked, taking his eyes off it for a second to look at me.

"Yes, I learned from a book that was in my father's study," I pointed out. Hearing my words his eyes widened slightly.

"What's this?" that Alexander kid cut in. "That sounds ridiculous, one can only learn mana arts with a proper mentor and-"

"Really?!?" Theodore exclaimed, cutting him off. "I learned magic the same way too," he said.

Interesting. So even a normal kid could learn the way I did. Either that or he just might be talented. "What's your elemental affinity?" I asked.

"Fire and wind," he responded.

"Eh?" I let out a bit taken aback. "Just like me."

"What are the odds?" he said with the same expression I had.

"Where did you get that book?" I asked, raising my hand to point at it. "Are there any more?"

"Yes, there are tons of them here in the mansion," He said. "Is there anything in particular you would like to read about?"

"I want to learn more about the geography and history of this world," I replied. "Along with a book about runes."

"There's a lot of books here with that information," he said. "If you want I can show you where they are."

"Sounds good," I said happily with a small nod.

"Woof!" following my words there was a loud bark of a beast that I recognized. It was so sudden that it startled all of us, even me.

"Flare!" I said, getting off my seat to pick her up. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in my room?"

"Woof, woof," she replied. No idea what she said. I thought as I scratched the side of my head in wonder.

"Aww!! What a cute puppy!" Nina said with sparkling eyes as she got up from her seat and came close to me to see Flare.

"She's not a dog," I pointed out for who knows how many times now.

"Then what is she?" Nina asked, looking up at me while she pet Flare.

"She's a wolf," I answered simply, not wanting to give a full explanation of her Lycaon origin.

"That's even cuter," Nina said happily, her voice booming into a high-pitched tone. "Brother, scoot over. I want to sit next to Flare."

At her words, Theodore let out a sigh as he moved to the next seat, while Nina brought hers closer to me. Then everything went quiet again.

My attention shifted to the other table where the grown-ups were talking. "Of course, my son will inherit the position of head." I heard Dion say. "Being highly skilled in both magic and swordsmanship since the early age of six. My son is a true genius," he spoke showing an arrogant smile as he looked this way. "Isn't that right Alexander?"

"That's right, father," Alexander said. "I've been honing my skills as both a mage and a swordsman. Once I learn internal mana control, I'll be at the very top."

He hasn't learned internal mana control? Looser. I thought as I rested my head down on my hand. "The likes of which all of you will never reach," Alexander said giving us all a cold look.

I stiffened a bit as I saw his behavior. What a cocky brat. Was the only thing that passed through my mind. "There he goes again," Nina, next to me, whispered. Looking down as she pet Flare. "Ever since we got here he's been so rude to us. I'm glad your not like him."

"Nor do I plan to be," I whispered back, turning my head to look at her. She let out a small giggle in response as we made eye contact. Then I turned my attention back to Alexander.

"You pathetic bunch can never rise to the top with your puny attempts at learning magic." He continued. "Your talent pales in comparison to mine. I'm a real genius. Since an early age, I've been learning from the best mentors in this kingdom. I've even had the opportunity to fight a few magic beasts, real monsters in the flesh, and of course, I came out triumphant in the end."

The fact that he doesn't mention what beasts they were just proves that they must've been weak. Have you fought a crimson orc? Or fought a powerful earthen mage to the death? Yeah, I don't think so. I thought to myself as I looked around.

Everyone seems to be ignoring him, even Ada, his sister, looks tired of it. Nina was humming happily while petting Flare. Mia and Hanna, we're talking among themselves. And Theodore went back to read his book.

"That's just how good you can become by learning from the best. And of course, you'd have to have my genius to be able to take in such knowledge."

God, does this guy ever shut up? He's getting so irritating. "So Nina," I called out to her, deciding it would be better to start a conversation so that I wouldn't have to listen to Alexander's words. "What are some things that you like?"

"Things I like huh?" she said, putting a finger on her chin as if in deep thought. "I like to hang out with friends, I guess. And animals too," she added while scratching Flare behind the ear.

"Didn't you just move here?" I pointed out. "And you already made friends?"

"Well, back where I used to live I had a lot of friends but then we moved here and I've just been trying to fit in with the family, you know," she said, sounding sad as she looked down at Flare. "But I would like to make some."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I also had a friend back where I used to live," I said with the same expression she had. "Now I don't even know if I'll ever see her again."

"I guess we're the same," she replied.

I spoke the truth. I left Saville expecting to return the following year. I had made a promise to Nia that I would come back. But it seems like I won't be able to. I do hope that one day we meet again. I wonder what she's doing right now.

A loud thud interrupted my train of thought. "You dare ignore me!" Alexander said angrily, glaring at me from where he stood.

Everyone is ignoring him so why is he only looking at me? "Me?" I asked confused.

"If not you then who else!?" he shot back.

"I don't know," I said sarcastically. "Maybe the table full of people ignoring your nonsense."

"Nonsense you say? You think I'm joking? You think you're better than me?" he said showing a smirk. "You're just jealous because I'm superior."

I stayed silent, thinking it wasn't worth my time to argue with this kid.

"You really are an unfortunate person. You were not born with talents like mine nor offered proper tutoring. You're just an incompetent fool who's trying to be in the same class as us geniuses." He continued.

"Is that so?" I said unfazed. "Maybe you're right." I don't even feel angry. It's actually kind of sad to know that he is the way he is.

"Tsk," he clicked his tongue, noticing the expression on my face. "I hate that look in your eye," Is that why he's being so aggressive toward me? I thought as I took the brunt of his verbal abuse. "You still fail to understand. You can never be like me. But please, keep trying. Like a little kitty chasing its tail, it's amusing."

There was another loud thud that cut him off. It was Hanna who slammed the table with her hands. By the expression on her face, I could tell that she was furious.

"You're really pissing me off," Hanna said angrily, pointing her finger at him accusingly. "You're the one who doesn't know anything. Arata is way stronger than you can ever hope to become. He is the nicest person and the best brother in the world, so you calling him all those mean things is unacceptable."

Hearing her words left me at a loss for words. I didn't know she cared this much about me. It's so moving. I might actually cry. "You. . . You dare look down on me!" Alexander yelled angrily.

"For what you said to Arata. You deserve to be looked down upon," she responded, crossing her arms as she looked away from him.

"How dare you!" Alexander got up and was about to grab her by the collar but before he laid a hand on her I grabbed his hand pushing him back. "Y-You. . ." he said, showing an angry scowl.

"I don't care what happens to me. But if you touch her, I won't have mercy," I said coldly while gripping hard on his hand. Until his face twitched from pain for a second.

"That's enough!" I heard Leon say. "This has gone on for long enough! Arata, let him go," I did as he said and released him.

"Come now Leon, why did you interfere? It's their problem. So let them resolve it," Dion said more as an order than a statement.

"If this keeps going someone might get hurt," Leon said, looking at Dion with an annoyed expression.

"So you're worried about your child, is that it?" Dion spoke, showing a smirk, then looked at Alexander. "Tell me, son, how do you plan to handle this."

"I want a duel," Alexander demanded. "I'll show you just how much better I am."

"You don't have to accept," Nina said next to me, sounding worried.

"Yeah, she's right," Theodore added. "You stood up to him already, isn't that enough?"

"I accept," I said ignoring their words. "And I'll show you just how disappointing reality is."