Shin's Pov
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The Infirmary I was staying in was cold making it hard to fall asleep at night. Thinking about how I was a total idiot with Zora today also didn't help. Before coming to this fantasy world I had no friends disregarding my sister. I didn't know what being friends with someone meant so I was bound to make some mistakes.
'Friends don't hug each other, I'll take note of that.' I thought, thinking back to the talk Zora and I had in the kitchen.
I had tried to hug her out of gratitude for her helping me, but It seemed I crossed a line that friends shouldn't cross.
'hmmm, I'll go for a handshake next time.'
I awoke well-rested and early. I could hear the birds chirp outside welcoming the morning. I didn't know what I was supposed to do while I was here. My injury had already been treated, I assumed I would have left by now. But it seemed Zora wanted to help me more for saving her life. I had no reason to refuse, I had a feeling I could gain a lot of insight about this world here.
Putting on my freshly laid clothes, I made my way to the sink to brush my teeth. Although I came to this world widely unprepared I still had plenty of toothpaste left!
'Hmph, I am a true genius after all.' I thought, grinning at my brilliance.
"S-shin are you up?" A familiar voice came from the other side of the door.
"Yeah I'm coming gimme a sec."
Putting away my toothpaste I opened the door to find Zora in her usual black button and skirt outfit.
"How'd you sleep Zora?" I asked her casually. It took her a while to respond to me, avoiding eye contact with me as much as possible.
"F-fine. I came to let you know we'll go see my father today. I also wanted to talk to you about him before we see him."
"Sounds good, let's talk then." I said gesturing her to sit on the bed. I couldn't help but notice Zora acting strangely. She seemed nervous when talking to me.
'We are about to meet her dad after all so it makes sense.' I thought.
She explained to me what her father was like, and the appropriate way to address him and whatnot. From what Zora told me he was a person who only desired knowledge, and looked down on others that didn't pursue it. He also had a bad habit of degrading others. The reason Zora hasn't lived like most children is because of her father.
"We'll leave to meet him in a few minutes so just make sure your prepared." She said anxiously.
"I'm sure It'll be fine, If what you told me is true then he'll probably take a liking to me. It's not every day you come across an unknown race right?" I asked, confident in my argument.
"You may be right but still... try to be careful around him. He'll most likely think of some way to use you."
"Heh, you really don't like him huh?"
"Not at all."
We made our way through the maze of the castle to meet her father. Accompanied by Kirin, he lead us to his office located at the highest point of the castle, giving him a full view of everything below. After a flight of stairs we reached a hallway with no doors except for two at the very end.
`Yeah this definitely gives off villain vibes.' I thought looked at the curved doors at the end of the hallway.
"Lord Aiken is waiting inside. Please show respect when commuting with him Shin. I'm aware you are a stranger to formalities." Kirin addressed to me with concern lased in his voice.
"Thank you for the warning." I said nodding in his direction. I had no reason to take offense to it. After all, he was right.
Kirin opened the large round doors revealing the inside if the office. Numerous rows of books were lining both sides of the room, with various files stashed between them. Where I expected to be a desk was a sort of mini lab setup, with various flask and strange liquids spread across the thin table. A large window was at the end of the room, sporting a view of what seemed to be most of the castle. At the window was a tall slender man facing away from us. His horns were much more distinct than any I had seen before, and much larger as well. He had a sophisticated aura about him. no doubt this was Zora's father.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Shin, I do hope you've enjoyed your stay here." He stated not turning away from the window. Zora and I kneeled like she told me to do when speaking with an elder.
"Y-yes my lord. I am most fortunate to be granted your hospitality. The stay has been nothing but amazing."
My voice cracked under pressure trying to keep a formal tone. There was something about him that made him hard to speak too. His aura was suffocating, I felt like I was drowning when I spoke.
"I am happy to hear it. My daughter has requested that I let you stay here as if it were your home. Is that correct?"
"Y-yes my lord. I have no memories of my past and currently have no place to reside."
Of course, I was lying but I had to convince him to let me stay no matter what. It would be increasingly difficult if I had to go on my own again.
"Interesting...a never before seen species comes through my front door and asks to stay here... I'd have no reason to refuse... but.."
The air grew tense as I anticipated his next words.
"It is because of your mysterious nature that I must be cautious with you. Therefore I propose an offer to you Shin."
"An offer?"
"In return for allowing you to stay hear and undergo study, I will perform various experiments on you regarding your mind and body."
"Wait fath-" Zora tried stepping in but I signaled for her to stop. After all, this was too be expected. The plan was for him to be interested in me enough to let me stay.
"Thank you my lord. And I accept your offer."
"Good. As of tomorrow you are to join Zora in her studies. Understand?"
"Yes my lord. Thank you for this opportunity."
"Do not be mistaken, this is for my benefit as well. You may leave."
Zora and I left the office. And the pressure I had felt before was completely removed. It was similar to the feeling I had when I was transported to this world.
"How did it go?" Kirin asked he waited for us to return outside the door.
"Smoothly, Shin surprised me by how formal he was." Zora said giving me a playful elbow.
"I can be serious when I want to be ya know."
The rest of the day was peaceful, Zora and I messed around for the remainder of the day playing various games she and I could think of. She had started to act normal around me which filled me with relief. However, I made a point to not overstep my boundaries again. I was given my own room with officially being welcomed into the castle. I still had no idea what Zora's family does but it still amazed me how wealthy they were.
With the day reaching its end I said goodbye to Zora and headed to my new room. It was much more spacious than the infirmary. Perhaps even too spacious for an eight-year-old. The bed was queen-sized, a big upgrade from my twin bed back home. I had plenty of storage space, multiple cabinets a bookshelf were placed inside, as well as a personal bathroom!
It wasn't hard to tell that technology was far behind what It was back home. So for there to be a working toilet was a pleasant surprise. After getting settled in and began resting, I started to envision the future that was laid out ahead of me. At the end of the day I was supposed to bring humanity back, but how would I do that here? Similar questions swirled in my head, needless to say I didn't get much sleep that night.