"Don't you think you talked too much?"
That's what was going through his mind as he listened attentively and responded to Lucie's words with a sincere smile. Of course, he couldn't say that because he wanted to develop good relations with Lucia Leafera and he didn't want to seem rude to Neko. So he continued to listen to Lucie as if he was interested.
"It's natural for someone to like me, though."
He looked at Lucie. Although she had been shy at the beginning of the conversation, she had opened up and shed her shyness as they talked.
"Lucie is a good girl. Her sister is rich, she's beautiful, elves are far from mating, so she must be a virgin... Just like me."
He imagined himself with Lucie. He envisioned a world in which they were married and had children in their arms.
"But it doesn't work. It's not that I didn't like the idea, maybe if I had followed a different script my feelings would have been different, but..." He fell into pessimism again. When he was around people, he would forget the negative thoughts to some extent, but tonight the thoughts came back to him. "I don't deserve this, I can't be happy. Sinners like me should not be happy. Happiness is a concept that only the good deserve."
The only thing he had done by coming here was to separate a child from its mother. Yu Valarfin didn't deserve happiness.
"Mr. Valarfin, are you and Neko siblings?"
Lucie had been talking to herself for so long that Yu had lost touch with his surroundings and was lost in his own thoughts. Now she came back to the world with a question.
"I never said we were siblings. How did you come to that conclusion?"
As one can see, Neko had cat ears and a tail, and it was not possible for Yu's mother, father or any of his ancestors to have cat blood. Neither his ancestors nor Yu had any genetic heritage in common with Neko.
"I thought you were either real siblings or step siblings," Lucie said.
"Maybe an older brother or father figure- AH!" He screamed, interrupted by Neko's forceful pinching of his waist.
"Y-Y-YOU! WHOSE FATHER ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE!" Neko's red eyes widened in anger and her cheeks flushed.
"I said that because you're a child." Yu was trying to free himself from Neko's fingers.
"DON'T CROSS THE LINE!" Neko shouted, drawing the attention of all the people on the road.
"Okay, okay. I apologize."
When people started to look at them, he bowed his head and apologized so as not to draw more attention to himself by arguing. His pride allowed him to do this only to Neko because she was a child.
"How did you two meet?"
Lucie's question startled both Yu and Neko.
"Sigma Tower, that's where we met."
Even though their acquaintance predated Sigma Tower, Yu didn't want to go into details. Anyone else wouldn't have even mentioned Sigma Tower, but since Lucia knew, there was no need to hide it from her sister Lucie.
"A child shouldn't be-" Lucie was interrupted.
"Let's not talk about unpleasant things."
He didn't like being interrupted, but when Lucie insisted, he had to do something he didn't like. He quickly put a smile on his face to keep the atmosphere
Just thinking about Sigma Tower, let alone talking about it, depressed him. He didn't want Neko to hear any more about the place where his mother had died.
"By the way," Lucia spoke for the first time, sensing the uneasy atmosphere. "There is a census and a registration process, all Rolderhelm citizens must have one by the beginning of the year. You said you were immigrants, if you get one now you will become a citizen here. And you will be comfortable."
Lucia took a small, hard wooden plate out of her pocket and showed it to Yu. It had his name and personal information written on it in the letters of this world. Incidentally, Yu had learned Rolderhelm's alphabet in an hour, as he claimed. It was easy to learn because the country has a simple alphabet that reads as it is written.
"An identity card."
On the card was Lucia's name, family name, type of magic she was predisposed to, date of birth, race, signature and an identification number.
"Yes, do you know that?" asked Lucia.
"I didn't know Rolderhelm had such a thing, but I'm close to the idea." Like every person in the twenty-first century, Yu had an identity card issued by his country, but he could not show it to Lucia because he no longer carried it with him.
"It is said that as a result of the wars in the surrounding countries, up to a hundred thousand people have migrated to Rolderhelm. Rolderhelm has always received immigration, but this time the number is so large that it is like being invaded by an army of immigrants. These people do not know the culture and customs here. If they are tolerated, they can rise to the top of the local citizens and try to change the cultural fabric of the place. The state is working to prevent this invasion."
"I know states that are not as hardworking as Rolderhelm..." In the First World, pointing out that immigrants were a problem would have resulted in being prosecuted by the 'Social Justice Warriors' and denounced as fascist and racist. Yu was impressed to see Lucie speaking out so bravely. "But I am one of those immigrants."
Even though he was part of the invading army of immigrants Lucie described, he understood that measures were necessary for the peace and well-being of the local citizens.
Even Yu, when he learned a few things about the Second World, was thankful that he had come to Rolderhelm and not to another country.
Rolderhelm's standard of living was very high compared to other countries and there were ages between them. Considering the medieval life in the neighboring countries, it was inevitable that Rolderhelm would attract people's attention and capture their imagination.
Yu could not compare Rolderhelm to any country that existed before the twentieth century. Rolderhelm was a principality and far ahead of other countries in the area of law. It was a country with a strong legal system, which attracted investors.
When a foreigner invested in Rolderhelm, he knew his money would be safe. Rolderhelm investors also felt safe investing in other countries.
If a foreign country coveted the capital of a Rolderhelmian investor, the Rolderhelmian investor knew that the Princess of Rolderhelm would take action to defend the rights of investor with her navy.
"First of all, an ID card system has been introduced to identify who is currently in Rolderhelm and to count the population. After the beginning of the year, those who do not have this card will not be able to live in the country easily. There are regulations for traders, tourists and adventurers, but uncontrolled immigration will be prevented." Lucia was talking as she took the ID card from Yu. "As I said, we got it a few days ago, you have time until New Year's, but I think it's better to get it now, if you leave it to the last days you might get crowded. It doesn't take long anyway."
Yu, who doesn't like to disrupt things, nodded his head in agreement.
"Where should we get it?"
"You can be get at the municipality. It's open all day long, you can go anytime you want." Lucie answered Yu's question.
"Also a family name, a surname, is mandatory. You need to think of something for Neko," Lucia said with a smile. Her green eyes sparkled.
Yu didn't need to think for a second, the name was clear in his mind.
"Valarfin it is then, original and cool. Don't you think?"
"No." And Neko refused without a second thought.
"Why do I keep getting rejected so cruelly?" He picked up his pace and faced Neko. "Do you have a name in mind?"
Neko gritted her teeth, unable to answer because she had no idea.
"If Rolderhelm has something like child support, we can register ourselves as father and daughter and get money out of thin air. That's something to find out."
It went without saying that Neko would insist, but Yu hoped she would understand when it came to money.
"Children are hard to deal with," Yu said.