"Ah...Arne, doesn't the carriage look a bit weird without enough people?" said Erland.
"Oh? I mean, three people is enough to fill a carriage right?" said Arne.
Frode spoke with sheer enthusiasm in his voice. "I don't mind being like this. (Maybe he doesn't like gathered places.) I couldn't greet you properly before. I am Frode Metis, son of Svend Metis. He is a renowned doctor and my mother is Frida Dowsing, she has a pet business. She takes good care of them and hands the pets to their adopters with care. It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too. I know your father actually. I have heard of your mother but I never met her in person. Her last name is lovely though, do you mean that it means the sweet one?" Arne smiled and looked outside to take a view of the fresh fruits hanging on a tree.
"I didn't know that. Thanks for telling me."
"You are always welcome to hear anything you want from me. Though I can't guarantee you the right answer for everything, I will try my best. This conversation will be a pleasing one for sure. We can exchange knowledge like this, don't you think?"
Frode laughed. "It is already a pleasant conversation, isn't it?"
"Indeed. I hope that Erland won't feel left out." Arne looked at Erland.
"I am a good listener. It won't hurt to hear two prodigy talk about their wisdom. I would love to hear it." Erland spoke calmly. It was certain he has no enthusiasm in this.
"My my, who did I want to mess with? You are a citizen of Gaion now, so I am a mere...Hierius to you now. I should have known my place." Arne smirked.
"I didn't mean to offend you. I just said what is true. Of course, even though I am now a citizen of Gaion, I am still not worth of even half of you."
"You look down to yourself too much. An advise from a big brother and a Hierius, think of yourself as who you truly are. Not lower or not higher than what you are. You tend to hide and act...as your lower version sometimes which makes me worry." Arne crossed his legs and rested his elbow on the back of the seat.
"I am just insecure sometimes. I am shouldered so many things that my back hurts..." Erland looked worn out yet adorable.
"Aww...(How adorable my little brother is...)" Arne looked back at the window behind the carriage. "Did they fall behind?"
Turns out, they were far behind them.
In one of the two carriages, Hilda, Arise, Logi and Halfdan were in the blue one. Halfdan held Logi the whole time whilst the two ladies were chatting. Halfdan called them several times but they didn't notice.
"It isn't that bad right? I have heard of you before. You are so pretty." said Hilda.
"Oh come on. I'm wearing makeup. You look like a doll even without any." said Arise.
"Huh? No! You look beautiful. More than me. And also I am good with nothing unlike you. You can sing and cook high class dishes and you have a job as well." Hilda spoke softly as usual. Her way with words were bold before but for some reason, she has lost that boldness.
Arise waved her hand, gesturing a hard 'no' "It's just my family's job, nothing special. You look down on yourself too much. You gave up on love because you had to take care of your family right? Along with that, you gave up on your dreams as well."
"H-How did you know..." Hilda blushed.
"I am a big sister to you, you know. And a girl too. I have heard about you as well. Erland told me." Arise smirked.
"Heh...That boy..." Hilda looked away as her face got redder.
The forgotten being in the carriage spoke- "I am a living being with flesh and blood here, can anyone see me?" said Halfdan. At least, his name is remembered.
"Were you calling us?(I heard him but I didn't want to answer him...)" said both of the ladies.
"Yes. I did. Did you not answer me on purpose Arise?"
"Oh, we are almost there I think. That carriage stopped. What's happening to Tove's carriage I wonder..."
Meanwhile in Tove's carriage:
"Hey uncle. Is he gonna be alright? I'm worried about both of them. That Erland gets in trouble EVERY time. And that Frode is intelligent but gullible." said Tove.
"They are alright I suppose." said one of the two caretakers.
"Maybe...I mean Erland is smart and cool headed. Why did the director send two of you though?"
"You are pretty far from the carriage and you are going to a house for the first time. So she got worried about you and sent both of us." said the other caretaker.
"Ah...Now that you remind me that I am nervous now. Should I follow some special etiquette in that house? Do I look good?" Tove looked at her reflection on the window, checking her endearing beauty thoroughly and making sure she looks like a the perfect version of herself.
"You look adorable as always Tove. You don't need to worry when it comes to beauty."
"Right...I even left my Heba...I wonder what my daughter is doing." said Tove with a pout.
All three carriages finally reached the gate of the elegant house of Arne.
The gate was white and had two owl statues on both sides. As the gate opened, they could see a huge fountain and various flowers beside the road. The mansion was black and white and had a huge staircase. Exoticness was on every corner of the mansion. A cat came and greeted them with a meow. She was completely white and had a green bowtie around her neck. Her eyes were light blue like the roses around the road.
"Aw...my Ingrid, my princess. How have you been? Have you been a good girl?" said Arne as he kneeled to hold the cat.
Ingrid meowed.
"Oh, you are always a good girl." Arne looked at the guests. "So, ladies and gentleman and Erland Hephaestus, the newest citizen of Gaion, please suit yourself here. Welcome to my humble abode."
Erland faked his shock to see such beauty and said in his mind with a completely different expression unlike the one he's showing outside, "(My mansion was bigger than this...Even though Gaion has such poverty in some lands, the big shots has some abodes...Why?...Why do they have to be like this?...)"
The cat walked towards Erland to comfort him.
"(Cats can sense negative emotions. I should be normal right now.)" Erland smiled and got down to hold the cat.
The cat stared at Erland with visible confusion.
Some maids came right the at the moment Arne snapped his fingers. The sound made Logi uncomfortable for some reason.
"(Can dogs sense something...spiritual...more than cats?...I don't remember...)" Erland walked towards Logi and asked,
"What's wrong Logi?"
Logi woofed as if he was irritated because of something.
"I have called some of my maids of this mansion. Please feel free to ask them anything you need.
"I will team up with-" Tove couldn't finish her words.
"I will take Frode and Erland with me. Oh and Logi too- Hm? Did Tove want to take on of them?" said Arne.
Tove sighed. "N-Never mind. I will go with Hilda. I would feel weird around some boys anyway."
"(Wasn't she alone with us when we first met?...)" thought Frode.
"Hebe was there, and she is a girl." Tove looked mildly furious.
Erland was slightly shocked which could not be seen. He casually patted on Logi's head while wondering-"(That was a casual telepathy. I mean Frode's reaction was pretty obvious but still)"
"Me? I will bore you to hell." said Hilda.
Tove held Hilda's hands. "Oh course not. We have a lot of girly things to talk about." She looked at Arise and Halfdan and smirked. "Oy, Halfdan and Arise. Have a good date."
"That girl knows a bit too much for her age...*laughs* Shall we go, Arise?" said Halfdan and reached a hand out. Arise held his hand and began to walk, while looking away.
Erland, Frode and Arne entered the mansion. Erland was almost sweating about the fact that he failed his plan.
"(I brought so many people just to ignore Arne's bull. Heh...There isn't anything to do now anyway. I just gotta be careful. I mean, they are having fun...) Your house is so...big...Wowww..." Erland looked shocked just as before.
"Come on Erland. It's big for sure but there are bigger things! Like..the mountain of-" said Frode.
Erland sighed. "(Brother- stop saying this and that about everything, every ten seconds- its tiring...)"
"*giggles*You are not startled it seems." said Arne.
"Yes. I prepared myself for this. I want to be the greatest scholar there has ever been. I have to prepare myself for big things to be that. You have to experiment, deduct and come to a conclusion as a scholar." Frode stopped walking in all of a sudden and spoke with sheer dedication. "I don't wanna be any scholar though, I wanna be a scientist now."
Arne laughed. "You don't have to become a scholar to become a scientist." He narrowed his eyes. "I wonder if you have any...brilliant, out of the world idea in your mind..."
"Of course I have something in mind. Being a scholar will make things easier for me...that- is all I have in mind for now..."
"Well said." Arne looked at Erland. "Erland, what do you want to be?"
"You will make fun of me(Arne's gonna get cautious of me...)"
"NO we WON'T!" said both Arne and Frode.
"No you will."
"We won't, trust us." said Frode.
Erland looked away and answered, seeming embarrassed. "I-I want to live with mommy, daddy and Randi for the rest of my life and visit Hilda often after she gets married."
Arne kept his usual demeanor and replied "It's a...wonderful wish Erland.(Did he think it through...) Are you sure that you want this to come true?"
"I have to think about it."
"(Damn it....I can't take Frode away now. Neither of them are showing any dedication to specific things...I thought I could lure them both away in two different sections and...have a private chat with this gem this time...so that I can prepare him for the future...That boy's a gem like Erland. I should be close to him.)" Arne suited his robe and started to walk towards a door.
Arne narrowed his eyes and looked at Erland as Frode and him were chatting. "(Not that my plan would have been successful anyway...It was a vague plan I made in a hurry...They both are unpredictable entities...especially, my brother here who surely wouldn't easily fall for something so obvious...)"
"Please come this way. This one is my study room." said Arne and opened the door.
The study room was like a mini British library according to Erland.
"Woah..." Both Erland and Frode looked astonished.
"Haha. Isn't it cool? It's Jotunheimian styled. Enjoy." Arne closed the door as they walked in.
"Woah...So many books. Oh, what kind of book is this?" said Frode and took a book that had a suspicious title.
"(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! It's a book about reproduction. I have to save HIS INNOCENCE. And the fact that it probably describes how its done-He's gonna get traumatized....)" Erland was shocked to hell even though he looked excited and happy go lucky from the outside.
Erland jumped on him saying,
"Hey, what book is this?"
They both fell on the floor. Arne took the book and kept it somewhere high. His demeanor changed to a grim one as he spoke "It's a cursed book. Children must not read it. Some knowledge must be acquired when you are a grown up, okay Frode? I shall seal this book now." said Arne and spitted on the book.
An awkward silence passed...
"(No one is gonna touch that anyway.)" Erland looked at it with a confused smile.
"Please feel free to browse in this library more. I will keep an eye on you. Of course just to protect you two from harm." said Arne.
Erland browsed in the library with his friend Frode to their heart's contend, rummaging through every corner, except the ones with questionable books.
They suddenly found a book about all the worlds, which had maps in it.
As soon as Frode opened it, they both were excited to read it. It was filled with various information about the world and their culture.
Something in that book froze Erland in his place, because it was written that the underworld has been looking for an heir to the throne as well. A rather weird information for sure, to know that a whole world is now left without an heir.