The sound of a wolf pup barking and laughter gave the house a lively morning atmosphere.
While descending the squeaky stairs, the sight of my whole family spending their time with Wolfy on the couch brought a smile to my face.
"Good morning, Levi." Seeing my stare, mom giggled and said, "I know what you're thinking. Even myself, I am surprised that my allergies don't act up around this little guy."
Everything's clear now. Imagine the pain of not being able to play or caress such cute creatures for your whole life...
"Boy, you should have seen your mother's face when Wolfy came near her! Ah—!" With his usual good vibe, father teased mom but she shut him down with a discreet pinch.
Due to his job, father comes home late most of the time so I only get to see him in the morning.
Here in Kelna, the only person that can give Igor orders is Lieutenant General Orion, which is why Ariel admires our father so much.
While a Lieutenant General is someone in charge of managing with full authority over a town or city's military force and possessing at least 3-stars on his core, a General makes sure they don't abuse their authority and aren't corrupted. However, this role requires at least 5-stars.
"It's great to see you interested in books. Kids at your age just think about playing. This is your first day going to the library with Ariel, right?" father handed me a gold coin.
Thanks to his job, our family is quite well off. Unlike average people, we don't struggle financially. This might be a lot for others but it's just pocket money for us.
Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Cooper are the currency in my world. Each of them is worth ten times higher than the coin below it. If I were to convert its value, the Gold coin that father gave me should be around 1,000 USD.
"This is the day we are going to the library..." Ariel muttered as her beautiful face turned pale at the thought of opening a book and reading it for hours.
She has never been a bookworm. For her, spending time playing is much more interesting than studying. However, this doesn't mean that her IQ is low, it is quite the opposite.
Once, a deceitful merchant tried to fool Ariel only for her to trick him instead.
"Please, don't you want both of us to become more knowledge?" I pleaded while holding her hands.
After looking at me, Ariel turned her head to the side and avoided eye contact. "Levi, you evil! Don't you dare to make this face in front of me!"
"Big sister...?"
After an internal struggle, she sighed, "Fine. You won. I surrender, but you will have to grant me a request."
"Anything you want."
"I will keep it for future use," Ariel said with a happy smile.
At the side, father whistled as he commented, "What a deadly weapon you have there, Levi."
"Remember to come back before nightfall and watch over your little brother." As always, mom instructed Ariel.
As we were leaving, Wolfy jumped from her grasp and followed us outside with his wagging tail.
On our way toward the library, a boy with at most a better-than-average look approached us even under our unfriendly stare.
"Ariel, do you want to go and play with me?" Melo asked, his eyes were glued to my sister.
Hateful.
Despite the previous countless number of failures, this fool never knows when to give up. If he wasn't Orion's only child, I would have punched his face, right now.
Understanding my impatient temper well enough, Ariel gently caressed my hand to calm me.
"Unfortunately, I can't nor do I want to. You should find someone nicer than me to play with you." Just like father, she managed to keep a smile all the time, even during such moments.
Wolfy has been observing from the side and as an intelligent little boy, realized that Melo is equivalent to a rejected wolf.
*Growl*
His tiny sharp teeth were in plain sight, ready to pounce and bite his foe, and as Melo backed away from us, we took the opportunity to leave without saying anything further.
After distancing a little from him, I rewarded Wolfy with a treat. "Good boy."
From behind, Melo shouted, "You can't escape from me! One day, you will be my wife!"
"This guy even dares to dream about marrying you..." I grumbled.
Ariel chuckled at my angry face, "I would rather marry you than him."