Carbon monoxide is not a knowledge that could be found in this world. Not when there is magic around them that kinda makes people a bit lazy to do a bunch of research like what Argo saw on Earth. No, Argo gained this knowledge after spending almost all his last ten years on Earth studying chemistry. So, right now, it took a long time for him to explain the concept of what is carbon monoxide and how dangerous it could be.
But after thirty minutes of his very brief lesson, Vanda has her mouth gaped wide as she just realized the severity of her magic.
"I don't know that it would be this dangerous.." She spoke slowly, still a bit speechless at the explanation. "When I first found that spore and extracted it, it would only cause a slight headache and nauseatic, which was big enough as I was already a grandmaster mage at that time. But I have no idea it would cause a lot of harm like this."
Argo patted her shoulder, giving her a sympathetic gaze.
"I get where you are coming from." He spoke in an understanding tone. "If it was only a slight amount of it, you wouldn't even notice the immediate effect of this carbon monoxide inside your body. The fact that it still causes you nausea makes me believe that it was already in a very high amount when you found it."
Vanda nodded her head. However, there is still one thing that she is curious about, so she decided to ask.
"If it was so small that even my enchanted eyes couldn't see it, how could you see that and even determine the exact amount to say it was too high to kill me?"
Argo put his fist on his chin, thinking for a while. After a few seconds, he began speaking.
"You remember that when I first came to the other world, my mana is blocked inside my body, right?" Vanda nodded at that. "Well.. After I gained back access to my mana, I noticed that all my five senses is somehow heightened to another level. If I put enough mana on it, I could see even the invisible thing that is hanging in the air. I could hear the sound of animals that couldn't be heard by normal ears. I could smell anything in a radius of three miles. And so on. You got the idea."
Now, Vanda is looking at him with a dumbfounded expression.
"Wow.." Her mouth gaped wide. "I don't know what to expect when I asked this question, but your answer is definitely out of my mind."
Argo just shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly.
"Well, even though it was hard to believe, that is the reality."
Vanda nodded in agreement. But before they could say anything else, someone suddenly barged into the room rudely, causing a frown to appear on Argo's face. However, it vanished immediately after he heard the voice that followed after that.
"Big Brother!"
Two little girls suddenly popped up from the door, rushing at him and giving him a bear hug. "Why is it that big brother Gavin standing in front of the door and not allowing us to go outside? Is there something wrong?" Lami asked, her big round eyes staring at him with curiosity.
Argo just let out a low chuckle as he ruffled the girl's hair amusedly.
"Don't worry, Lami. I will explain it after breakfast." He answered the little girl. "And in the meantime, who wants to help me make some breakfast?"
There is a star shining in their eyes as they raised their hands quickly to the air.
"Me, big brother!"
"I want to help too!"
Argo smiles fondly at how cheerful both girls are compared to yesterday. That is how children should act at that age, and he just hopes that it could continue just like that for a while.
"Sure, let's go!"
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Fifteen minutes later, all of the residents at his home gathered around a single big dining table that Argo enlarged it with his earth magic, mesmerizing the sight of the food in front of them.
"What is this, big brother?" Vanda asked with an astonished expression. "I cannot believe that you could turn a potato into something that smells so delicious like this."
"I know it, big sister!" Vera bounced from her seat in excitement. "Big brother said it is a sher.. Sheer.. Ummm…"
She struggled for a little to remember the name before she gave up and turned around to Argo with a pleading gaze, causing a giggle to let out of Vanda's mouth.
"It is a Sheperd's Pie." Argo helped the girl patiently. "It is basically a cooked lamb and a bunch of vegetables like carrot and celery topped with mashed potatoes. Well, you got the idea."
"Yeah, that is what I want to say!" Vera suddenly added with a smug face. "I was the one who mashed the potatoes!"
"Hey, I also helped!" Lami chimed in. "I was the one who prepared the vegetables, right big brother?"
Argo just nodded amusedly at them. Even though they just met yesterday, they get close to each other pretty quickly, and they would always find anything to compete against each other.
"So, boys," He turned his attention to the boys who devour the dishes in front of them. "What do you think about the food?"
"Id's Defifiouf!" Alex spoke with his mouth full of food, eliciting a giggle from his sister. Vanda just looked at him with a disapproval gaze as he gulped his food pretty quickly before he corrected what he said before. "It is delicious, big brother!"
"I have to agree with Alex," Ara added. "I ate a lot of rotten potatoes before, and I have never imagined it could be this delicious."
"You have no idea about it." Deron snorted. "Even the best cook in the Musia Kingdom is not even close to big brother."
Argo and Vanda shared a knowing glance at each other. What Deron just said and how he behaved at the dining table clearly answered their suspicion about them coming from a noble family. Well, it is not like they would press him into telling his story. They would hear it when he felt comfortable enough with them.
"Oh, yeah, Big Brother!" Vera's voice calls him out snapping him from his thought. "You said you will explain to us why we cannot go outside, right?"
And right after that question, another four little heads turned into him with curious gazes, making him sweatdrop for a bit.
"Well, last night when you were asleep, we were invaded by someone called Suran." He answered, causing gasps from the children. He decided to twist the fact that they are the ones who invaded their enemies from the children. "And as you can see, your big sister is wounded by the battle earlier."
Their gazes snapped to the elf who they just noticed had a lot of bruises on her body.
"Are you alright, big sister?" Vera and Lami suddenly jumped from their seat and rushed toward the elf with worried expressions. "I have only heard about Lord Suran from big brother Ara, and all I heard is terrible things! Did he hurt you a lot?"
Vanda's eyes softened after she was swarmed by two little girls.
"Don't worry about it." She answered softly. "Big brother has already made sure that I am okay now. And I also defeated this Suran too! Am I awesome?" She asked the last part with a playful smile. And it gets the reaction that she wanted, as not only the girls, but the three other boys also looked at her eagerly.
"Really, big sister?!"
"I have no idea you are so strong!"
"Idiot! Anyone who is big brother's companion of course would be strong!"
"Hey, don't call me an idiot!"
Vanda couldn't help but chuckle at the chaotic atmosphere that those children created just because of her. It is the first time she experienced something like that, as when she was in the Jade Forest, her position wouldn't allow any children to come at her with this friendly atmosphere. And to put it frankly, she likes this way better than in her home.
"Well, Kids.." She spoke again, gaining the attention of the children. "While I won the battle, I also made a very big mistake. And because of me, now the air in this city is very poisonous. I accidentally killed almost half of the people in this city because of it. That's why big brother said not to go out right now."
There is a silence descended upon the room as the children are trying to process what Vanda just said. But to her surprise, the first one who broke the silence is the silent kid, Alex.
"That is so awesome, big sister!" He spoke with a star shining in his eyes. "I know you are strong, but not this strong! I mean, there are a lot of people in this city, and many of them are very strong! To be able to kill a lot of them accidentally like that, you are really awesome!"
Vanda is dumbfounded at his reaction. Never has anyone said she was awesome because she killed a lot of people, and she is not sure how to react to that.
"Are you not bothered by the fact that I killed that many people?" She asked with an uncertain tone. However, the children just looked at each other before they shrugged nonchalantly.
"Not really," Ara answered casually. "Murder always happens here almost every day, and that wouldn't be our first time to witness it. As for the people that died because of your attack, well, the only ones that I am sorry about are the children who are the same age as me. They are just unlucky to be born in this city and don't meet big brother faster than us. But other than that, I think all of them deserve to die."
"I couldn't say better than that." Deron nodded in agreement. "Asshole, all of them. I still remember the day several people got us and almost sold Lami to the noble from the Musia Kingdom. I wish I am the one who kill them, but I wouldn't mind if they died from your attack."
Now, Vanda is speechless, doesn't really know what to say about that. While it is concerning how easily they talk about killing people, considering how hard it is for them to grow up in this place, she could understand where they are coming from. And she is touched by how they tried to cheer her with their words.
"So…" Ara broke the awkward silence in the room. "If we cannot go outside, what do we do now?"
Argo who hasn't spoken anything for a while smiles before he answered,
"Now, we are going to clean this city." He grabbed some scrolls from his space storage, gaining curious gazes from everyone. "So, any of you want to learn how to draw a rune?"