Ae Rin managed to get her sister out of her hideout to come along but there is still one problem left.
Iris hasn't been out in more than 100 years.
"Which creature lives in those big structures?! Who could have made something so gigantic? Is this some kind of witchcraft?" Iris couldn't believe her eyes when she saw those big hotels and malls all around her.
"Shhh! Calm down! There are people around us. They might think you are a lunatic!" Ae Rin warned her as she cautiously glanced at the people around us to see if they had heard her, but thankfully, no one was really paying attention to a seemingly 15 year old girl.
"Oh! And, look at those! What are those?" She tugged at Ae Rin's sleeve and pointed at a video game store like an excited child.
"Iris, we will look at those later! Right now, we need to meet up with Kyou." Ae Rin caught her by the arm and stopped her from getting drawn towards the store.
"Who's Kyou?" Iris asked.
"He's the human I mentioned about earlier." She replied as she managed to get a cab for the both of them.
"A stupid name for a stupid human." Iris rolled her eyes and scoffed.
"You are judging him without even seeing him." Ae Rin frowned and they got into the cab.
"Whatever, I am not particularly interested to meet a human. And right now, I feel like killing all of the humans out here." She gestured toward the people walking around.
The driver of the cab wasn't too comfortable with what he had just heard. He looked at Iris' reflection on the rear - view mirror. They accidentally locked eyes and Iris glared at him. "What are you looking at?"
The driver remained quiet and averted his gaze awkwardly.
They reached Ae Rin's apartment and got inside. As soon as they entered, Iris scanned the entire place. Ae Rin removed her coat and threw herself on the couch to relax.
"What is this?" She asked while closely observing Ae Rin's laptop.
"That's called a laptop. It is used in many ways. For communication, games, movies, education, jobs, etc." She replied. "And one more thing, Kyou will be arriving any minute now. Remember to be calm.
Iris ignored her and explored the house, being surprised every time she saw something new to her.
*Ding dong*
"Oh, I will get that. It might be him." Ae Rin smiled as she walked up to the door and opened it for him.
Kyou greeted her with a smile and entered the apartment.
"Right, so...What did you want to talk about?" Kyou asked.
"Oh? Is that him?" Iris walked out of Ae Rin's room before she could reply, and greeted him with cold eyes. Kyou was dumbfounded by the situation. He scanned her from top to bottom and an uneasy look covered his face when he locked eyes with her. "Who...could she be?"
Ae Rin seemed to have realised the tension intensifying every second, so she decided to speak. "So, uh, I actually wanted you to meet her. She is my blood - related sister. Her name is Iris. She will be accompanying us to Arthalia. She knows how to get there."
"You never told me you had a sister! Oh, anyways, nice to meet you, Iris." He smiled and extended his hand for a handshake.
Iris looked back and forth at his face and then at his hand in confusion. "What do you want me to do?"
"Uh...You are supposed to shake my hand..." He replied.
"What? You expect me to even touch you? Remember your place, filthy human." Her eyes turned ghostlier as she glared daggers at him. The room temperature was beginning to drop drastically.
"Iris, calm down!" Ae Rin frowned.
Kyou withdrew his hand and sighed as if it was something that he faces everyday, "Calm down, miss. I just asked for a formal handshake, not a war. There is no place for arrogant brats in this world."
"Do you realize who you are talking to?" She questioned.
"An animal, perhaps." He replied with a knowing smile.
"Stop it, both of you! I didn't let you both meet so that you can keep on fighting. This is life and death we're talking about! Get serious!" Ae Rin interrupted and glared at them.
Iris looked away in anger and Kyou sighed and sat on the couch. "So, miss. Iris, any idea how to get to Arthalia?"
She ignored him and turned to face Ae Rin.
"The portal to Arthalia, or, another dimension requires a lot of energy but it would be fine since you and me are there. I can teach you how to open the portal but I don't know what lies in that world. But one thing's for sure, it's not at all similar to this world so we need to be careful."
Ae Rin nodded and asked, "But, if you knew how to get there, why didn't you go there beforehand? You did have many servants, so the amount of energy wouldn't have been a problem."
"I didn't know what I would've to face in that world. And I was all alone back then. My servants wouldn't be powerful enough to protect me from a force greater than me." She replied.
Ae Rin nodded again.
"Did you guys have lunch?" Kyou stood up and headed to the kitchen as if it was his own house.
"Not really." Ae Rin replied.
"What about you, little miss?" He smiled at Iris who was still giving him the mean look.
She was about to deny but her stomach grumbled loud enough for everyone to hear it.
"O-Okay, fine..." She replied.
Kyou chuckled and started his cooking.
"I was wondering...why don't you just say at my house? Wouldn't it be hard for you to come all the way here so many times? You can use my brother's room. He isn't here now. Well...he has a wife now and they recently went on a honeymoon to New Zealand. He will be coming back next month only." Ae Rin smiled.
"Okay, then. I'll stay here. Move my belongings here." He replied while placing a few freshly made omelettes on a plate.
"What? Move here?! I don't want to stay at the same house as him!" Iris frowned.
"Then you could just get lost." Kyou replied.
"Do you have a death wish?!" Iris' anger reached its extreme as she focused her energy into a ball of flaming ice and aimed at him.
"STOP IT! I've had enough of your drama! Both of you will be staying at the same room everyday until you stop fighting like amateurs, and that's final!" She glared at them before walking into her room and slamming the door behind her, leaving Iris and Kyou in a shock.
-WHAAAT!?!!
-WHAAAT!!??!