The next three days were like paradise. They didn't really do anything. They all were playing in the sea, and building a huge sandcastle at the abandoned beach. Aunt Ille called out some beach toys, which were originally Sister Electra's. They were a little old and worn, but they fit the purpose. The twins had so much fun that they didn't want to leave the bay for the night either, but the adults stated that they were unwilling to spend the night in the ghostly ruins. Since the twins didn't want to stay there alone, they all returned to the tent at another beach. On the evening of the third day, the weather forecast said a storm was expected, so Sister Electra decided to take the evening train. Aunt Ille escorted them to the station, because she had planned to stay in the kingdom.
"Take care of yourself!" asked them and hugged each of them. "Don't get too close to the big ones, they could be angry, and the next time you would not be so lucky!"
The twins promised her, but the train had arrived, so they had to part. They waved to each other, as the train rolled out from the station.
"What would we do tomorrow?" asked Valerie, as they took seat.
"I have to return to the temple." said Sister Electra. The kids moaned, they wanted to be with her. After doing nothing in the beach, the work at the temple suddenly seemed boring to them. "Sorry, I have to work, but you could do anything you want."
"We thought we could stay with you while we were here." said Conrad sadly.
"Sorry, but a research facility, connected to the military, is not a suitable place for children. You would also be bored building lithium hydride for a whole week. There is not too much to explore in the Kingdom of Lithium, so I recommend you to explore other kingdoms. You still have four whole weeks of holiday."
The twins were thinking hard. Neither of them were in a hurry to go home to an empty house, and somehow they also didn't desire the meeting with their parents, so they could actually stay. They have money, pardon, energy, but they had no idea what they could do on the Island for four weeks.
"The supplementary exam will be the day before the school starts again, so we could stay." said Conrad. "We could stay at the temple, and learn for the exam." He looked at the nun, but she shook her head.
"it is not possible, but I'll be on vacation too in three weeks, so I can join you if you want." offered Sister Electra.
The kids cheered, and told her, that they would have loved the idea, but still didn't know what to do.
"We could travel anywhere by train, we have a student pass, but the problem is where to sleep!" noted Conrad.
"Could we sleep there at temples in exchange for work?" asked Valerie.
"Yes, if you want to work through the holidays!" smiled the nun.
"That wouldn't be fun!" grieved Conrad. "Why aren't we older? We could buy a caravan!"
"If not a caravan, but we could buy a tent!" cheered up Valerie.
"It is a good idea." nodded Sister Electra."You can pitch the tent in any empty place, sometimes in parks too."
"But you will carry!" cried Conrad, who was afraid of always carrying a huge package on his back.
"You don't have to carry anything! Store the tent in your hand device, just like your suitcases!"
"Will that be heavy?" asked Conrad suspiciously.
"Are mine heavy?" asked the nun, and put her device into Conrad's hand.
"No, it's not heavy at all!"
"And there's the quad in it." smiled the nun.
The kids were amazed. Their mind was wandering to a wider selection.
"We could buy a whole house, and let out every evening!" laughed Valerie.
"Sorry, but storing a quad size object is the upper limit. You should be satisfied with a tent."
"Let's find one!" sighed Valerie.
She really wanted a whole, comfortable house, but she was immersed with her brother in a variety of tents in their hand device's catalog. And of course they quarreled over which one to buy. Unable to agree, they turned to Sister Electra to decide which tent would be good.
"I don't know." She replied, because she didn't really want to decide. "Let's do like this. Both of you choose 5 suitable tents, and I will decide, when you show your choices." She said, and gave her hand device for Conrad.
The twins were silent for half an hour, browsing the catalog. When both of them chose the tents they liked, and gave the devices to Sister Electra. She checked the chosen ones carefully.
"There is a tent with the same type." She showed them the model.
"But hers has floral pattern!"
"But his has a simply color!"
Both of the kids protested. Sister Electra were caressing the screen for a while, then she showed the result for the kids. The tents were combined in a certain way. The body of the tent had the floral pattern, and the cover was simply green. Valerie and Conrad were staring at the screen.
"It's not that bad." they stated in unison.
"Compromise holds friendship together!" smiled the nun, and smirked a bit. She had already known, what the kids didn't.
"It doesn't allow to buy!" said Valerie, as she had pushed the button for the third time.
"Don't be so clumsy! Give it to me!" cried Conrad, and snatched the device from his sister's hand.
But he was not successful either. They both looked at the nun helplessly.
"Why couldn't we buy the tent?"
"We have the required amount of money."
"More than, the required amount, and we still couldn't buy."
"Take a good look on the price!" suggested the nun.
"There are two icons." Valerie said, and let Conrad push them.
"Thread and fabric are required." the boy stated.
"Yes, you have to bring the thread, the fabric, and the money to the manufacturer, and they will make a tent to you."
"Where can we find the manufacturer?" asked Conrad.
"Push the manufacturer button!"
"There are three manufacturers!" Cheered up Valerie.
"All of them are in the Kingdom of Carbon." stated Conrad.
"So our next destination is the Kingdom of Carbon!" cried Valerie, and held her palm up. Conrad slammed into her palm.
"Deal! We will go to the Kingdom of Carbon!"
"Don't be in a hurry! If I were you, I would take a closer look at that thread and fabric buttons." smirked Sister Electra.
The buttons were directed the kids to the marketplace, and both of them fell silent. They tried to count the money to buy them.
"It is a horrible amount!" Conrad growled like a dying elephant. "Why are those items are so expensive?"
"If we add the price of the manufacturer, we won't have enough money to make the tent!" cried Valerie.
"We couldn't buy a tent." Conrad sighed resignedly.
"We couldn't even buy the cheapest one." sighed Valerie, after she tried to count the full price of the cheapest tent.
"Why didn't you tell us, that we can't buy a tent?" asked Conrad from Sister Electra.
"Because you could." came the calm answer.
"How? They are too expensive!"
"If you don't buy, but make the thread and fabric, you don't have to pay for either of them, and you can afford to buy it." She winked to the kids. "The device has a recipe book, so you alone could find out how to make them. The easiest way is to use plastic."
The nun gave her hand device to Conrad again, so the kids both immersed in the devices again, while discussing their discoveries.
"The plastic is really the cheapest choice, we just need Hydrogens, and Carbons to make a yarn." said Conrad.
"We don't have to weave the yarn, all of the manufacturers make them from yarn for a cheap price! So we only have to make yarn!"
"But making yarn from Carbons and Hydrogens requires special equipment!"
"Don't worry, the temples there have all the equipment you need. Either you pay the fee of the use, or bring enough little ones to make enough yarn to cover the expenses, and make your tent."
"So first of all, we have to buy Hydrogens." stated Conrad.
"Why would we buy them? We could go to a harvest with K.O. anytime!" protested his sister.
"The Hydrogens are very cheap at the Harbor, so why would we waste time?"
"Okay, maybe we could meet K.O. again!" sighed Valerie.
"You will surely meet him!" smiled Sister Electra.
"How do you know?" asked the kids with shining eyes.
"I contacted him, and he said, that he would arrive to the usual harbor tomorrow."
The kids erupted. They were extremely glad, that they would meet their old friend. Cutting into each other's words, they recounted their experiences in the Kingdom of Hydrogen. Sister Electra were smiling, as she was listening to the kids' stories. She was impressed by the way the kids explained and enjoyed every little thing, she had already used to. She began to feel sorry, that she had to work and not be able to travel with the twins.
The train stopped at the Center of the Capital of the Kingdom of Hydrogen in the morning. They all were sleepy, but none of them minded. Anyway, they already had have little time to be together. The little team went to the harbor at first, but K.O. didn't arrive yet, so they walked back to the Central Office, where the kids deleted their request to find their grandfather. They took a quick visit at the Prelate, to express their gratitude for saving their money. Since the kids were excited, they all returned to the harbor without having sightseeing. They didn't do anything, just sitting on the side of the ledge, and wobbled their feet. They were waiting for their old friend.
"There is K.O.!" shouted Valerie, and pointed to a small balloon in the distance.
"I am not sure..." said Conrad hesitantly.
"That' him! Look at the balloon!" convinced his sister.
Well, as the balloon came closer, it grew bigger, and the familiar floral pattern made them sure, that it was their old friend. Although that balloon was a bit out of shape, and gained two more big patches, it was inevitably K.O.'s vehicle. The twins began jumping, shouting, and waving. Their demeanor reminded the nun of the excited little ones. The twins were definitely happy. As the balloon anchored, and docked, the young woman could hardly keep them in safe distance. When the door of the small caravan opened she was unable to keep them at all. The kids were happily running to the old man, who opened his arms to embrace them. The three of them were laughing, embracing, the old man were ruffling the kids' hair. Well, they looked like to get a happy family reunion. The nun thought it should have been happened like this with their real grandfather. But it was just a mere thought, because she didn't have time for more. The twins took the old man by the hand and began to pull him towards Electra.
The meeting around the dining table of the caravan was in a completely different mood than the one Electra had had the misfortune to attend three days ago. The caravan itself was very different tan the previous one. This car was a very old one, with the necessary furniture. There were only three chairs, so the old man turned the staircase in the middle of the car, and he used that as a sitting place.
"So you want to buy a tent. It is perfect, because I have to buy a new balloon! Without you the Hydrogens are too lively!" K.O. told to the kids, and twins were giggling.
"But we don't have enough money, so we should make the yarn be ourselves." added Conrad.
"Just like me." K.O. nodded. " But I need all the Hydrogens, I have collected. So I can't sell them to you, but you can buy here, at the harbor from anyone. How many Hydrogens do you need?"
The kids looked at each other, and began speaking at once. K.O. stopped them after a while.
"So you don't know the exact quantity."
The kids looked at each other again, but neither of them could say out loud, that their friend was right.
"When you want to buy something, you should make a budget at first."
"A budget?"
"It is a simple thing. You write everything you need on the left side, and the prices on the right side. Then you just have to add the amounts. It is a simple budget."
He gave the twins an old, but empty exercise book, and a pen. Both children were averse to work.
"It is a simple thing, really!" tried Sister Electra to convince them. " I do budgets every day! Just write the things one after the other."
Conrad was the bravest, he started to write the budget. He wrote "Tent" to the header, and looked at Valerie.
"What do you need for the tent?" K.O. asked.
Valerie were looking after the necessary items. The price of the manufacturer, the thread and the fabric.
"But we want to make thread for the fabric." said Conrad.
"How many threads do you need for the fabric?"
The kids looked puzzled, and began to count on their fingers. It was a hard work, and when the kids began to sweating, they almost began to fight.
"There is a calculator in the device!" Sister Electra suppressed a smile and pushed her own device to Valerie, on which she had already called up the calculator function.
"It is much more easier!" Valerie cheered up. Her fingers were quickly moving on the buttons, and said the right amounts.
"You said , you didn't want to pay for using the equipment making thread. How many percent of the threads requires the temple for using their equipment?" asked Sister Electra.
"Twenty percents." answered Valerie, after she checked the site of the temples.
"Write that down, Conrad!" said K.O., and he asked the next question. "If they get away with the twenty percents of your threads, how many threads do you need to make, to have enough for the tent?"
Silence. Awkward silence. The twins didn't dare to look anywhere, just stared a point before them. They learned the percentage calculation, that is, they should have learned. They were no good students in math either, but it was the first time when they felt embarrassed to admit it. The adults did not let them suffer for long.
"If you have to give 20 percents, how many percents remains?" asked the nun.
The kids didn't answer. Valerie had tears in her eyes. Their grandfather had been right: they were stupid.
"Hey Valerie, look!" The nun showed her fingers to the girl. "If one finger is ten percents, how many finger do I have to fold to call them twenty percents?"
"Two." sniffed Valerie. The nun fold two finger.
"How many percent remained?"
Valerie softly touched the fingers, as she counted. This touch soothed her nerves.
"Eighty percent."
"Good! When you have to give twenty percents of your threads, your remaining threads are eighty percents."
"When your eighty percent is 500 pieces of thread, how many threads were taken from you?" asked K.O., and the kids tried to count. All their efforts went to waste. They didn't manage.
"When 500 pieces of threads 80 percents, how many threads are 1 percent? Divide the five hundred by eighty."
"6.25 pieces." replied Valerie.
"When one percent is 6.25 pieces of threads, how many threads are twenty percents? Multiply 6.25 pieces by twenty!"
"125 pieces?" asked Valerie, and the two adult cheered.
"Good!" K.O. said. "So how many pieces of threads do you need to make?"
"625 pieces altogether." answered Valerie with a little more confidence.
"Right. Now, count, how many threads do you need to make in reality!"
Valerie was a bit unsure, but after some counting she gave the right answer.
"Conrad!"
"I am writing!" He replied.
"Now we have to count, how many Hydrogens you need."
"It is easy!" Valerie said, and gave an answer.
"Almost!" said K.O. "You have to add two more Hydrogens to every pieces of threads, and the manufacturer also want a certain kind of amount of Hydrogens."
The twins immersed in the catalog, and in counting again, and in the end they could give the right answer.
"So, could you buy them?" asked their old friend. The twins nodded. "Do you have enough storage space for buying them? "
"Yes. We bought a lot of storage space." Conrad nodded, and didn't mentioned that those buttons were for free, because they had bought so many expensive buttons and applications.
"If you would also buy some, we could recommend a very good store!"
"Probably I would really need to buy some storage space!" K.O. scratched his head.
"So we could bring Sister Electra to home. The store is at the first train station of Kingdom of Lithium."
"What did you do at the Kingdom of Lithium?" asked the frightened man. "Don't mess with the military! It is dangerous to go there!"
"Don't worry!" laughed Valerie.
"Sister Electra works there!"
K.O. almost jumped out of his socks.
"I am the Head Priestess of a Lithium Temple." She smiled at the man. "I told you, that the twins need their friend!"
"How did you get into that kingdom?" asked K.O. in almost calm voice. He was very upset, but tried his best not to scare the kids.
So the twins told him and Sister Electra told about events unknown to the twins. Halfway through their speech, K.O. began to eat in nervousness. The children looked appreciatively at the amount of chocolate the man ate. When the twins began to recount their encounter with their grandfather and family, Sister Electra also joined in the stress-eating.
"You had good little adventures! Did you enjoy them?" the old man squeezed out a few words.
"Not all of them." Valerie shook her head.
"I would have missed the meeting with our grandfather." Conrad said quietly.
Silence fell to the caravan. Nobody wanted to comment on Conrad's words.
"It's okay, let's travel together! I am a bit bored of doing nothing, but harvesting. I feel like I need a little adventure too! What are your opinions? Are you with me?" K.O. asked.
"YES!" cried the twins in unison.
"So, let's buy Hydrogens for you, take the Sister to her home, and head to the Kingdom of Carbon!" the old man cried.
"OKAY!" The children cried back cheerfully.
"It seems you have luck!" K.O. said, as he watched out of the window. He stepped out of the caravan, and cried to the balloon, docking next to them.
"Hey Bert!"
"Hello K.O.!"
"Do you have Hydrogens for sale?"
"Of course, the whole balloon is for sale. Do you want to buy some?"
"Not me, but these children!"
"Come here, let's make a deal!"
Bert saw two kids running out from the caravan, and they were definitely coming to his balloon. A young woman came out with a device in her hand, and wanted to run after the kids, but K.O. stopped her. The kids arrived to Bert's balloon, when they had realized the had forgotten about their hand device, so they smiled at him.
"We are back in a moment!" said the girl, and both of them began to run back to gather their device.
"Grandchildren, K.O.?" cried Bert with laughing. "Heavy burdens, aren't they?"
"The sweetest burdens, Bert! They are the sweetest burdens!" K.O. cried back.