After a lengthy car ride, we finally arrived at the Sasaki estate. When I get out of the car, a woman greets me with a smile. "Good even, Mr. Sato. It's a pleasure for you to be able to stay with us at the Sasaki estate." How does she know my name?
Jiro gets out from behind me. "That's one of the servants here. I'm sure that my parents have already informed them that you will be staying with us."
"Young master Jiro." The woman bows her head. "It's lovely to see you back at the estate."
Jiro ignores her and continues towards the house.
I look back at the woman before following Jiro. "It was nice meeting you. I hope that we can familiarize ourselves more later on." She looks at me, confused, as if I've said something wrong.
"Maki, come on. I have a lot of ground to cover if I want to show you everything."
My head turns back towards Jiro as my legs jog over to him. He still says my name wrong, but I don't mind it too much. "Coming." I'm not used to being so close to him. "You tried to say something to me earlier, about yesterday. What was it?"
I didn't notice it before, but he's exceptionally tall. I'm only five foot and seven inches (170 cm), but he still looms over me. He must be close to six foot something (183-ish cm).
"Oh yeah, that. It's nothing important." He pauses, struggling to find the right words to say. "It's just you remind me of someone I used to know, and well." He pauses again. His hands fidget with his shirt. "I wasn't used to it, so I want to push you away. It's dumb, I know—"
"It's not dumb." I interrupt him. He makes eye contact for the first time since we were at the academy. "I thought you hated me, so I'm relieved that it isn't something like that."
"It still wasn't right of me to push you away."
I nudge him in the arm. "Don't worry about it. I've already forgotten. How about we start fresh as if we never met before?"
He gently nods his head and smiles. "I like that."
"Who do I remind you of anyway."
He takes a long time to respond. "My sister." His voice is flat.
"Oh, maybe I'll get to meet her soon. Of course, that is if she still lives here." I respond in a cheerful tone.
He says nothing back.
I don't realize it, but we're already in the house's front entrance. Lord and Lady Sasaki have already disappeared. Two slim men stand at the door, both in suits and with their heads aimed at the ground.
"Okay, firsts things first. The Sasaki family is one of the most predominant families in the Magical world. We control most cities in the aspect of food and hotels." I gathered that much already. "This estate is where you'll be living. There are about forty servants here that can get you whatever you need. They already know who you are and will answer to you."
"Um, they don't have name tags. How will I address them?"
Jiro begins to laugh. "Just say what you need. You don't need to address them."
"Isn't that rude?"
Jiro starts walking more into the house. "I suppose a little, but remembering all their names is too time consuming." I follow closely behind Jiro, making sure not to lose track of him because I'm sure that I would get lost in the house if I did.
"One of the main rules is that you can't leave. My mother told me that you're under strict house arrest for the time being."
"What if I want to go outside?" I refuse to be stuck inside a house, even if it's a mansion like this one. Also, it's a bit strange for someone like me to be under house arrest. It's not like I'm that much of a danger to society.
"Then you need to get me or one of the bodyguards to look after you." Of course, they have bodyguards. "Speaking of which, I'll have Shu Lian be the one to look after you from now on." he guides me down one of the look corridors. "He's been my personal bodyguard since I was young. He's skilled enough to protect you well, so you don't have to worry about that."
I rush closer to his side. "What about you, though?"
A mischievous smile crosses his face. "Is someone worried about me?"
I feel my face begin to turn red. "Yes, you're more important than me by a long run."
"I wouldn't be so sure to say that anymore. You've got more magical energy than the top magical users in this country."
He stops in front of a door. "This is going to be your room." His hand grips the doorknob and firmly twists it, opening the door.
I peek my head in to grasp where I'll be staying. It takes me by surprise. The room itself is as large as my family's house. Oh goodness, my family. I completely forgot about them in the chaos of everything.
"Jiro, am I able to call my family and explain what's happened?"
"I'm sure they already know of the situation, but I'm sure something could be scheduled so that you could talk to them."
A wave of relief comes over me. I'm sure my little brother was worried about what was happening to me. I remember how excited he was to hear that I had magical energy flowing through my blood. It would be nice to see him again. I miss him so much.
"Young master, you are needed in the study." My body quickly turns around. I didn't even hear them coming. I look over to see Jiro's face has gone sour.
"Alright." He turns to me, his face turning a little softer. "Looks like the tour is going to be cut short. If you need anything, just ask one of the servants." He turns to leave but looks back at me one more time. "I'll be back later with some food."
I watch him leave. Once he's out of my eyesight, I go to look at the servant, but they're already gone. This house feels cold.
Inside the room, I find that all my things from the academy are packed nicely at the end of my bed. This must have been planned precisely, as this was all in my dorm before I left this morning for class.
I jump onto the bed, letting the mattress suck me in. In a matter of three days, I was kicked out of an academy and moved in with one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in this country.
I wonder if Merlin knows what happened. It seems like Jiro and him are friends, so I'm sure he does.
My eyes feel heavy. I haven't been able to get good sleep since the accident. Maybe I should try and rest while it's peaceful. I close my eyes and let the rest of my body sink further into the mattress.