"That brat.. is such a handful!"
Ale stomped his feet as he remembered that stubborn younger brother of his. All the trouble he went through because of that kid, and the whole inheritance issue, they shaved a few years off his lifespan.
"Brat...?"
"Handful...?"
Rudy's teammates looked surprised by Ale's reaction while Phil and Gary could only shake their head.
"That's right! I had to go through so much trouble because of him!"
Ale kept stomping on the ground as he started explaining his suffering to his new friends.
"What happened? What did he do?"
Rudy asked, curious and a little amused.
"You guys can't even imagine! First, he used to follow me around 24/7!"
"Follow you?"
Rudy asked, wanting to know more about this kid that made Ale have such a hard time. He was also curious about this kid that Ale's voice held such fondness for, whenever he spoke of him.
"Yeah! And get in my way every time! I got scolded so many times because of him! That snitch!"
It was the first time they saw Ale express so much emotion at once. It was also the first time they saw such a healthy relationship between two brothers from a noble family. Normally they'd be at each other's throat over the inheritance and stuff.
"Haha.. what else did he do?"
"Ah right! One time, he secretly followed me on my secret night outing and even got lost! That idiot!"
"Whoa! What happened then? Did he manage to come back safely?"
"Of course not! He got caught by some human trafficking bastards. And then I had to go rescue him."
"That must've been terrifying."
"Yeah, he bawled his eyes out when he saw me."
"Pfft... Haha.. He definitely sounds like a handful."
"Doesn't he? Even now, I'm sure he's throwing a tantrum cause I left without saying bye to him."
Ale shivered just thinking about it. Everyone was hooked by Ale's stories and didn't even realize when they reached the town. After reaching the town, they went directly to the office, so they could hand these people over to them.
At first, Ale didn't expose his identity and simply stayed at the back. But everything went smoothly even without any interference from him.
The authorities were very friendly and accommodating. They also didn't show any type of negative or racist expression when they saw the people from other tribes. Instead, they treated everyone with same important.
It was weird. Definitely not normal. And Stuart couldn't help but ask them after they were done with all the paperwork and formalities.
"This is very different from what I had imagined."
"Sorry? Is there something wrong?"
The man in his thirties looked a little confused as he asked what Stuart was talking about.
"Well, you see, the other tribes."
"Yes? What about them?"
"...."
Stuart wondered what was wrong with these people as he saw the confused expression on the face of the man in charge.
"You guys don't seem to hate them, or hold any negative opinions.."
He asked a little straightforwardly. Since they were about to leave these people in their care, he had to be clear about their intentions beforehand.
"Oh... that.. Did you not notice anything different when you walked by the town?"
The man asked back instead of directly answering Stuart's question.
"Notice what?"
"There are many people from other tribe in our town."
"What? Even here?"
Stuart asked back, surprised. He remembered the scene from back at Ale's town where there were people of all kind and tribe mingling together. Since they arrived late in this town, they hadn't really seen many people yet since it was dark, and totally missed it.
"Every land under the Duke went through severe transformations in the last three years. These are the results of that, you see."
The man didn't explain much and left the place after giving a big smile to Stuart. He and his people then started guiding the rescued people to a temporary shelter.
"Um.."
One of the rescued people looked at Ale and the rest and suddenly bowed. Following that person, others also started bowing their head one by one.
"Thank you!"
"We'll always remember your kindness."
The parents of the kid that Ale played with before also approached Ale and thanked him separately.
"Thank you, young master."
"I hope you only have happiness and success in your future, young master."
Ale gave a big hug to the kid one last time before they finally left the place. All of them, exhausted after going through so many incidents, decided to check into the nearest inn and rest their tired body before anything else.
Ale got himself a four-person room so he could stay with the three of his people. They wanted to give Ale a room for himself, but he said he'd be more comfortable that way.
"Can't believe we're sharing a room with the young master."
"Right? I'm excited!"
"It's an honor."
"Why are you all making such a big fuss? Ain't I always with you guys 24/7 back home?"
Ale wondered where they got so much energy from as he sighed. After all, it's true that he spent most of his time with these three. They were more like a family rather than his servants or guards to him.
"But this and that are different!"
"Yes! It's like a special privilege!"
"It's an honor."
Ale rolled his eyes and entered the room. It was pretty big even for four people. Ale occupied the window side bed and just flopped down immediately.
"Won't you change your clothes first, young master?"
Kevin asked, already ready with another pair of comfortable clothes for Ale to change into.
"Turn off your butler mode and just rest. I'll change later."
"But that's -"
"I'm tired. Wake me up when it's dinner time."
And just like that, Ale fell asleep instantly.
"Haah.."
"Just rest, Mr. Butler."
"Yeah, aren't you tired?"
The two knights also agreed with Ale and suggested that Kevin take some rest now. Although a little unsettled in his heart, Kevin sat down on his bed since there was nothing else to do. Dinner that night went rather eventlessly.
The next day, Ale woke up early in the morning, feeling refreshed after a long and comfortable sleep. The morning air in the island was way fresh compared to the town. As he stood in front of the window and took deep breaths, he could feel energy coursing through his whole body.
'I'll let them sleep a bit longer.'
He looked at the three of them sleeping soundly and decided to take a walk before any of them woke up. Times like these were rare after all, when it felt like he was the only one in this world.
As he walked alongside the shore, dipping his foot into the cold morning water, many thoughts crossed his mind and disappeared along the way.
Lost in his thoughts, he even failed to realize that someone was walking right behind him, following him quietly. Only when he was about to step on a broken shell did that person reached his hand out and grabbed Ale from behind, stopping him in his track.
"Ack! Who-?!"
"It's me. Good morning."
Rudy smiled as he greeted Ale, his smile shining brighter than the morning sun.
"Huh? Rudy? How-? Since when?!"
"I was training in the beach when I saw you."
"Training? So early in the morning?"
"Habits. Anyway, I called for you but you didn't hear me. What were you thinking about?"
"Thinking? Was I? I don't know.. What was I thinking about?"
Ale felt his mind go blank at the sudden shock. There were definitely tens and hundreds of thoughts going through his mind just a moment ago. But he forgot about all of them when he saw Rudy's smile.
"Haha.. I don't know that. But I do know something."
"Hmm?"
"There's a broken shell, behind you."
Rudy pointed as he pulled Ale forward slightly. Ale turned around and saw the sharp edges of the shell shining from inside the water.
"Whoa.. That's dangerous!"
"I know, right? Yet, someone was about to step right on top of it."
"Whew.. Thanks for that."
"No problem. Still want to continue that walk of yours?"
"Would you like to join?"
"Gladly."
The two of them started walking together, Rudy making sure Ale didn't step on another broken shell, and Ale, just enjoying being in the main characters presence.
'Even the air feels clearer when he's around.'