"Ailing, I believe," the elder answered, his gaze drifting to the open window where one could catch the sight of the lands bathed in the gloaming of twilight. We could vaguely hear the laughter of children outside.
It really reminded Hannah that though she was in a new world, there still existed living, breathing beings with emotions.
"She contracted an incurable illness a few days before you awakened," he said, returning his gaze to the cup he had barely touched.
Ah, disease also existed here.
Hannah looked at him curiously and couldn't help but think that something was out of place. "Maybe he has feelings for my mother?" she speculated, wondrously, before surmising that thinking about it would help nothing.
At Hannah's request, the elder thereafter explained what the 'awakening of the Lord' meant. Apparently, it was some sort of transformation which happened solely to the leader/Lord of the Santos Clan. Most Lords experienced it only when they were in their old age, yet it happened to Hannah when she was only six years old. Whether this was good or bad remained a mystery to everyone.
"What is the difference between an awakened leader and one who isn't?" Hannah asked.
However, before the old geezer could grant her an answer, the door(or rather the beads acting as a door) was opened as a short figure stepped into the room.
Hannah glanced at the sudden trespasser and was appalled. It was a young child with waist-length raven-black hair and cold, grey eyes. The child frowned slightly upon locking eyes with Hannah. Hannah glimpsed a flicker of concern in the child's eyes.
"Annette, what did I say about etiquette?" The elder addressed the child, annoyed.
"Eh, this is a girl?" Hannah remarked in surprise. The effeminate child had an aura that denied femininity.
The elder sighed, "No, he is...ah, this will take some explaining. Please sit down first, Annette or, rather, Arthur Santos."
Arthur sat beside Hannah, their sharp eyes locked onto the girl. "Is it true that Anna has lost her memories, Vasser?" The child questioned the elder, whose name was Vasser, chugging down the green liquid served for Hannah without any change in expression.
"Ah, this kid actually drank that poison?!"
Hannah, still surprised by Arthur's indifference, couldn't help but stare at the silver fox that established itself beside the child. The silver fox, similarly, was staring at her with interest.
[Identify yourself, being] the fox spoke, disdainfully, to Hannah but with slight apprehension as the white-furred creature coldly assessed her. [Why do I sense a distinct aura from you, being? Not to mention your striking resemblance to my master...]
"Quiet, Whitey. This here is my twin sister, Anna. Within the village, you are to refer to her as 'Lord'. I am the only one allowed to call her 'Anna'," Arthur addressed the beast and the creature let out a scoff-like sound in response.
[Tch. So my master has a sister complex.] It grumbled.
"Whitey, have you said something?" Arthur shot it a piercing glare that might have frozen the beast's blood.
[No, not at all. I was just praising my master's wisdom.] Whitey said, suppressing their amusement.
Hannah digested their exchange with growing surprise. Rather than being surprised that a wolf the size of an adult man was speaking, she was stunned to realize the identity of the child. "So this tsundere is my twin brother. And he has a sister complex...?" she ruminated, evaluating Arthur's fair face that had hints of pink. His grey eyes were especially alluring, appearing to be a reflection of a million stars twinkling in a white sky...
"Oh no, if my brother is this cute, won't he face a lot of boy trouble when he ripens?" she worried internally about the eye candy before her. Immediately, Hannah took it upon herself to be her adorable brother's protector.
She suddenly embraced the child, "Nice to meet you, my adorable brother! I'll make sure to shield you from any bent...I mean, evildoers...yes, evildoers!" Arthur sheepishly threw her a flustered look and responded, "Anna, what on earth...kindly u-unhand me...t-this is unbecoming of the L-Lord." Arthur's embarrassed "uwu" voice was like an arrow of love, targeting his twin sister's heart!
"Aww! You are so cute, Arty! I've always wanted a tsundere twin brother!"
Seeing that the girl had no plans of letting go, Arthur sighed helplessly and looked at elder Vasser, who sat awkwardly before them. "So...she truly has changed. I thought the villagers had lost the little brain cells they had left when they told me she had lost her memories. Before, she used to be...very meek and fragile. She had been like a bunny that never wanted to leave its hutch, yet after her awakening...she's become...well...this," Arthur commented, regarding his sister with a puzzled look.
"Oh my, your cheeks are so soft, Arty!"
Whitey: "..."
Arthur: "..."
"I think...it should be fine. Though her sudden change is indeed abnormal, the spirits have also informed me that it should be nothing of harm to the clan," Vasser explained, he and the silver fox feeling like light bulbs. "However, it seems that she has a sudden deep interest in magic, though she has zero mana in her body..."
"What, elder-san? So, that means I can't use magic...?" Anna inquired suddenly. Hearing the elder reveal this was like a bombshell to her. "Isn't the leader of the clan at least able to control magic?"
Vasser didn't find her words likable and answered proudly, "No, the clan leader has two skills unique to them. The Lord's ineptitude in magic barely matters when they possess these two excellent skills! These two skills are exclusive only to the Lord, and they are known as two of the world's most ridiculously overwhelming skills!"
"Oh? I like the sound of that! Is it, perhaps, the ability to master all weapons? Or the ability to summon a beam that can eradicate a nation?" Anna asked excitedly. Her imagination ignited a flurry of thoughts as she recalled all the versatile skills she had read in novels and even games.
The elder scoffed. "Of course not! Such rubbish skills cannot compare to the two unique skills of the Lord of the Santos clan!" his voice was decorated with pride as he belittled Anna's 'lackluster' imagination.
Whitey interjected with a look of interest. [I too have heard rumors of the incredible leader of the Santos clan. In the outside world, the leader is known as Santa.]
"Santa? What kind of bull****...!!!"
Vasser interrupted Anna, his eyes sparkling even more iridescently with pride. "Indeed! You see, our Lord has the unrivaled ability to grant random blessings to the world and summon the legendary flying reindeer--" The elder's voice was cut short by the sound of Anna's jaw hitting the ground in unexplainable shock.
"You're kidding me..."
Vasser assessed her face with a proud look, "You are speechless, aren't you? Understandable. After all, the entire world covets the Lord's..."
At this point, Anna couldn't fathom a word that left the elder's dry lips. It all sounded like nonsense to her. However, she couldn't deny reality. She had been reborn as Santa.