♢
"...Soooo... What should we do now?"
Aya and Miranda stared at Eugene after he said that, and somehow, those three then shifted their attention towards me. Even Elle who was tugging my jacket tilted her head dumbfoundedly. She was curious as well.
Stockholm as it was right then, was no more. Only Anciles roamed the place 24/7 and who knows if there were any enemy Aegis Users in the city. Probably hiding and waiting for us back at the military HQ.
"..."
We were in a dark alley quite far from my house, since we suspected more Anciles would pop up after the whole incident that just happened. It was not really a good place to hide, but for now, it sufficed.
I thought about hiding in another house some time ago, and it was dismissed just as quickly. After all, being confined in a small space while being afraid of the looming danger, particularly Anciles, was not a preferred option. We were made aware of the fact that Anciles were surreptitiously searching for people in the neighborhood, so one way or another, they could pop out in front of us if we stayed in the area any longer.
"I know what you are thinking. There's nothing for you to worry about, honestly. The Anciles are not a threat as long as Aya and I are here," assured Miranda after she observed my expression.
"So we can at least be bolder than before... like taking out every one of them so that we can secure a safe place. At least for the time being. There's no need to bust Alicia and that Alexander out of that HQ in a rush. If we head inside carelessly, it would be all for naught. Our lives will be lost in the blink of an eye."
I nodded at Miranda's suggestion. "That is true."
"You forgot about the fact that Aegis Users might also be around here," Eugene pointed out. "I don't know if those people made more of them, but hey, it's not gonna hurt to be more cautious. I mean... we are in the enemy's territory."
"Its heart and belly," added Aya.
"Yup."
"Yeah... until now, I don't have any information about it... If Amathelia had somehow made more Aegis Users."
"..."
"...I don't understand anythiiiing, Papa!"
Everyone looked at the confused Elle, and she pouted. "Can't we go back hoome?"
"...No, we can't right now, Elle," I said as my hand brushed her hair. "But we will go back... don't worry."
Elle looked at the ground, her eyes drooped down.
"Papa..."
"Yes?"
Elle threw herself at me and I almost staggered from that. It was kind of unexpected.
"I... I don't want to cry again... I don't want."
My mouth curved into a smile.
"But, Papa, if you leave me again..."
"Ah, no! I'm not going to leave you anymore. No matter what, we will stay together from now on. So... I'm sorry, Elle."
"I was scared... Everything was so scary, Papaaa!"
My hands gently pulled Elle closer to me. "...I'm sorry."
"So sweet. Father and daughter bonding moment!"
Aya hit Eugene in the arm so hard that an 'unmanly' yelp came out. Miranda just sighed and motioned it was time to get moving. I nodded in realization.
"Let's get moving. If there's a safe place where we can use to recuperate for a while before heading to the military HQ, I guess 'that' one should do. After that, we can eliminate the Anciles hiding and head to the HQ pronto."
I stood up—ready to go, but two dainty hands pulled me back downwards. With a raised eyebrow, I looked at Elle— her face was still buried under my jacket.
"Elle... let's go."
"Papa, I want to be like this a bit longer. "
Her thin arms wrapped around my waist, refusing to let me go. I smiled at that... and after some thinking, I gestured at everyone else to go over to my car and wait for me there. Eugene smirked at the whole situation, and Aya narrowed her eyes at him.
"Awwww. So sweet of a father—Blleergh!"
A small fist found its target on Eugene's stomach, and the man crouched in pain. Aya glared at him, and he shuddered from it. That must have hurt a lot. Anyway, I found their interaction to be quite amusing— since it had been a while I saw Aya expressed her frustration, physically. Usually, the girl would cast a withering glare at anyone she didn't like, but that was when she was about ten or so years old.
She definitely had changed significantly— in a positive way of course. Her countenance was far more expressive than I remembered.
"You keep ruining the moment, Eugene!"
So that was what she was mad about.
"Eehh? Come on... I was just teasing."
Miranda, who seemed to be observing the situation with an impatient look, cleared her throat. "We will wait there, then. And... just in case these kids will interfere with you two... I will drag them along. Again, we will wait there, so don't take too long."
Miranda's hands grabbed at Aya's and Eugene's collar so fast that the two didn't even realize, they were being dragged by Miranda all the way to the other side of the alley. Well, they snapped out of it sooner, but their attempt to get away was only met with a malicious smile.
♢
It didn't take too long; probably about 15 minutes for us to arrive at The Eugene's Orphanage. This was the place I had in mind, shoved into a not-so-busy district, it served as an ideal place for us to recuperate. Though there was more to it than that.
After 10 minutes, I parked my car a bit at a secluded place before heading to the orphanage by foot. This was, of course, a method to confuse the enemy if by chance I had caught their attention by driving my car.
"Think we lost our pursuers?" I asked Miranda after we halted at the front door.
"Should be. If, there was anyone chasing after us in the first place, that is."
My eyes darted left and right to make out any other presence beside the five of us. However, I scratched my head afterward in confusion.
"It's too quiet... The children should be running about by now," said Aya, "They were the few ones that didn't get shoved into jail like the others."
"And Jacqueline..."
Eugene's face contorted into a mix of emotions. "She must be with the children. After all, even after what Amathelia had done to this country, this place was kind of unaffected by it. So... I can only think of one, particular... um... situation that happened while—"
"While Aya and I were gone..." I interjected.