Riza's father snorted, before saying, "Sit down! Where do you think you're going?"
"Dear, please stop shouting."
At that moment, Rizaneth gritted her teeth and sat down. It wasn't like she couldn't leave, but she didn't have the guts to.
"Who is this? …" asked Riza's father, as she turned to look at Reeve, who sat there awkwardly.
"This is her friend, Reeve. Apparently, he's our guest", replied Riza's mother, with a smile.
"Apparently? Where do you come from?" this question was directed at Reeve.
"From a small city called Bernice."
"Where is this small city?"
"In the South."
"Oh, I heard that you've been working for Saedis for some time now?" asked Rizaneth's father, looking at his daughter.
"Yes."
"You must be happy now that he has been promoted to governor of the South", he said, with a smile.
Reeve couldn't believe what he was hearing. One moment the father is yelling at his daughter, and the next, he's sweet and soft.
"Well, even if I'm happy, I don't think he is. By the way, how did you hear about that?"
"Our family is one of the big families in Sky City. Do you think it's difficult for me to find out about something so minor?"
'Eh? Minor?' thought Reeve.
"Anyway, enough about that. So, you mentioned something about a journey. Where are you going?"
"We're going to the capital. He wants to learn magic at Artemine", replied Riza pointing at Reeve.
When all gazes turned to him, Reeve released a bashful smile. He was now embarrassed, as it seemed like he had been caught trying to do something naughty. However, Riza's father had a wistful expression instead. He seemed to be remembering something.
After some time, he sighed and asked, "Have you awakened?"
"No… I haven't", replied Reeve.
"And you want to go and learn magic, just like that?" Riza's father smirked.
Reeve was at a loss. He then answered after a moment of thinking, "Apparently I have latent magic. The only way to know whether this is true is to go and get tested at the place."
"Is that so? Wish you all the best then", replied Riza's father, getting up. He turned to his daughter and continued, "I wonder how you managed to convince Saedis to let you go."
"Something happened, and I helped to mediate it. So, I simply told him I was taking a break. Somehow, he agreed to let me go. Of course, he did so begrudgingly."
"No wonder. Anyway, I'll go and get some rest. When do you plan to leave?"
"After we have secured enough funds."
"Oh? I thought you had money. Wasn't Saedis paying you enough?"
Rizaneth ended up narrating her ordeal. Her father frowned as he heard about it. In the end, he said he could give her a few silver coins to pay for their transportation. Even though Riza tried to object, due to her mother's intervention, she ended up agreeing to take the money.
When morning came, Reeve went out to the alchemist���s shop. He had promised last night that he would help with making the sedative … rather, sleeping portion. The old man gave Reeve a couple of flasks, before ignoring him completely. Reeve was actually surprised that the old man could trust him to that extent, however, he was quite wrong. First, the old man didn't trust him at all. He simply agreed so as to stop the pestering … eh … person?
Another reason was that he didn't think that Reeve would accomplish anything. He thought the person would give up after failing once or twice. So, with these thoughts in mind, he gave Reeve the flasks and left him.
The room that Reeve was operating in was very small. Inside, there was a small wooden table with glass flasks, two chairs and lamp stand. It was hard to believe this place was the workshop of a renowned alchemist. And of course, the room was at the back of the shop, among a few more.
Reeve sat down, and took out the flowers of the Valerian plants, that he had brought with him. Silently, he began working. Of course, he had to go out of the room to get things like a pestle. He managed to get it after pestering the old alchemist who was working in another room. At one point, he felt that the shop felt a little too empty. For a renowned alchemist, there were no helpers. There were no apprentices either.
Well, while Reeve was busy trying to work his way towards fortune, Rizaneth was at home. Rather than sitting around, she asked Gaur to find some information for her. Moments later, he returned with a maid. This maid had blonde hair.
"What did you find out?" asked Rizaneth, as she yawned.
"It seems like the Skycrawler household has been quiet as of late. The young master has been seen at the Severin mansion a couple of times, but there's nothing worth noting", explained Gaur.
He continued, "However, there's a rumour going around in the underground circles. I'm not sure if you want to hear this…"
"Go ahead and say it."
"Well… A member of the Seven Cardinal Sins has been spotted in the city. Apparently, he met with the butler from the Severin family", replied Gaur, with a sigh.
"Wait…What? Why would a member of the Sins be here? Don't tell me, they're planning something!"
"It's a bit too early to come to such a conclusion. Remember, it is a rumour. It hasn't been confirmed yet."
"But why would anyone come up with such a baseless rumour? There's no smoke without fire. Anyway, which member was it?"
"Avarice."
"Oh no! That means … He's probably not going to like this!"
As they were still talking a messenger dropped a letter. The letter was addressed to Master and Lady Wolfe. Riza had to give the letter to her mother, who refused to read it. She was saying it was supposed to be read by her father first. There was one other person who wasn't happy. Technically, it didn't matter what happened, she'd always been unhappy. This person was Hesreth.