Just like entering through the doors of the trials and the domain, Eldric felt a blur before opening his eyes in a completely different place.
Standing on a large platform, he could see hundreds if not thousands of people walking back and forth. Looking back, other than the door where he came from, many other doors were placed in the vicinity at a distance. Each gate was heavily guarded and secured. There were people as well as animals of all kinds slowly walking in a queue, patiently waiting for their turn.
Glancing further into the distance, Eldric could see numerous horse carriages in the distance haggling over prices.
Walking to the nearest carriage, Eldric told his destination before hopping in and placing the bag down. With the carriage on the move, he could see the ever-changing scenery outside from the window.
Even though Eldric had a few scattered memories of District C, he didn't imagine it to be much different than he had envisioned. Instead of the place filled with large buildings and shops, the place was rather empty. There were large empty grasslands, large farms, and occasional small forests. The large buildings were only seen occasionally followed by small houses.
But if there was one thing that bothered him the most, was the lack of any shop after exiting the initial area of the gates where he arrived. He didn't know why, but he didn't see any kind of shop throughout the journey.
"It's better to call it a village than a city." Looking at the scenery outside, Eldric muttered in a low voice.
After living inside the school grounds for a long time, the previous body owner's memories were a bit hazy about the outside world, leaving Eldric clueless about almost everything. The only thing he didn't forget was his home address.
It took almost more than three hours for Eldric to arrive at his destination. After paying the carriage driver, Eldric looked at the place in front of him before taking a deep breath.
In front of him was a large six-story building. Taking a glance around, he didn't see any other house or building in the vicinity but saw a few carriages standing there under the trees. Behind the building seemed to be a small patch of forest giving the scenery some colours.
Gritting his teeth, Eldric took a step forward. Even though he didn't want to come here and face the so-called parents of the previous body owner, he didn't have any other option.
He was out of money and currently has no place to live. So, the only place he could think of was here.
Grabbing his bag, he slowly began to make his way towards his apartment.
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Within a few moments, Eldric found himself standing in front of a door with the number '504'. Taking a deep breath, he raised his hand and knocked on the door.
With every passing second, he could feel his heart beating fast and his breathing getting heavier. He could even hear the footsteps behind the door slowly nearing him.
"Creeek." With a sound, the door soon opened. And with it, Eldric finally saw the familiar yet unfamiliar face looking at him in surprise.
"....." Both of them looked at each other in silence before Eldric spoke "I am back."
The man standing at the door was stunned when he opened the door, and only after hearing Eldric did he come back to his senses.
"Ha ha..." With a small chuckle, a smile formed on his face as he took a step forward and hugged Eldric. "Welcome back."
Startled by this sudden display of affection, Eldric didn't know how to react. On the one hand, he wanted to escape from this uncomfortable feeling but on the other hand, he didn't dare to make any unnecessary moves in case he raises suspicion. So, the only thing he could do was to stay silent and just let out a smile in response.
"Is your school finally over?" With a smile, the man patted Eldric on his shoulder.
"It is finally over." Eldric just let out a forced smile.
"...." Looking at Eldric's response, the man's eyes flashed for a moment as he understood something. But soon the smile on his face grew as he patted Eldric on the shoulder.
"Come, join us. We were about to have lunch." Taking the bag from Eldric's hands he placed it on the table before grabbing him by the hand and pulling him towards the dining room.
"My... It's Eldric." As soon as the two of them reached there, a startled voice echoed throughout the house, and before Eldric could say anything he felt someone embracing him.
"Uhhh..." Being hugged by the mother of the previous owner made him somewhat uncomfortable but he still gritted his teeth.
"You are finally here." Taking a step back, the woman slowly caressed Eldric on the face as she looked at him with misty eyes.
"It's good that you are here." She wanted to say more, but the surge of emotions inside her was overwhelming. Even when she opened her mouth to speak, she couldn't come up with words. She could only ruffle his hair and keep on nodding.
Showered by this display of affection, Eldric didn't know how to react. He wasn't feeling overwhelmed as he knew clearly in his heart that this display of affection was for the previous body owner... Not for him.
So, he could only let out an uncomfortable smile.
"Come sit." No one seemed to notice his unnatural expression as the woman pulled him by his hand and made him sit on a dining chair.
On the table, there was some bread, rice and vegetables. It wasn't anything fancy, but the slow fragrance from the food was enough to raise his appetite. After all, he had been hungry for the past two days.
Looking at his eyes stuck to the food, the woman just smiled and began to serve him food.
Eldric too wasn't polite. Grabbing the bread in both his hands, he began to devour it at a rapid pace.
It wasn't until almost all of the food from the table was finished did he stopped and looked at the woman in embarrassment.
"Sorry..."
"Oh don't be." The woman filled his plate once again. "I am not hungry. I just ate before your arrival."
Eldric knew it was a lie, but at the moment there was nothing that he could do.
Embarrassed, he finished his food and raised his head to look at the father and mother of the previous body owner who was looking at him with a smile.
Eldric didn't dare to look them in the eyes, so he could only look at the ground.
"You must be tired... Take a rest first."
It was the father who spoke. His face still had a kind smile on his face as he stood up from there and escorted Eldric to his room.
It wasn't until they reached two rooms adjacent to each other that the father stopped and hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Do you want to see your sister?"
As soon as he asked the question, Eldric nodded. Now that it has come to this, he could only try to go with the flow.
Getting Eldric's approval, his father walled to the other door before knocking on it.
"Aira. Look who is here to meet you?"
After waiting for a minute and seeing no response from inside, the man shook his head with a bitter smile.
"Perhaps, she is sleeping. How about you meet her in the evening."
With this, he walked away from there, leaving behind the figure of Eldric who soon entered his room before closing the door and lying on his bed, completely exhausted.
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While Eldric was taking a rest, a completely different scene was playing outside in the living room.
Sitting there was a middle-aged couple with a grim expression on their face.
"So... He failed to get into a university." It was the man who spoke first and from his voice, one could hear the feeling of exhaustion.
"Are we going to do it?" After a long silence, it was the woman who spoke.
"I guess so." Even though the man's voice was filled with exhaustion, there was a sense of relief in it. It was as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulder.
"But is he going to agree?" Furrowing her brows, the woman looked in the direction of her son's room as if not entirely sure.
"Our son is much more mature than peers his age. He will understand once we tell him." Shaking his head, the man was sure of himself before adding further, " Let him rest for a few days before we talk to him.
In the meantime, do not give up and keep on trying. We wouldn't have to put him through it if we succeed."
With these words, the entire room soon plunged into silence.
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By the time Eldric opened his eyes, it was already evening. With a yawn, he stood up, took a bath, and slowly walked out of his room.
Reaching in the living room, there wasn't anyone there. It seemed both the father and mother were gone out.
Looking around, Eldric didn't wish to snoop so after grabbing a water bottle he walked back to his room. But the moment he reached there, his steps paused as he looked at the other door beside his room.
Thinking for a moment he took a step forward before knocking on the door.
Even though he wasn't their real family member, he still wanted to meet all the members of the family.
As soon as Eldric's hand touched the door to knock, it was pushed back.
"It's open?" Narrowing his eyes, he thought for a moment before pushing the door completely open.
And as soon as he did that, Eldric was greeted by the sight inside of the room.
The first thing that caught his attention was the figure of a woman sitting in front of the window, quietly looking at the forest in the distance.
Lost in her train of thought, she didn't seem to notice the arrival of Eldric.
"Hello, sister... I am back." Eldric spoke softly, hoping to have a conversation, but to his disappointment, she ignored him completely, as if unaware of his existence.
Eldric didn't speak another word but sighed in silence.
From the blurry memories he slowly began to remember about the woman in front of him.
Her name is Aria and she is the elder sister of the previous body owner. For as long as he could remember, the previous Eldric never saw her speak. Not to mention speaking, he never saw any changes in her expression.
Looking at her sitting there in silence, enveloped by the shadow of the room, Eldric just let out a sigh.
"Then... See you later." Bidding farewell to her, he closed the door and walked back to his room.
Sitting on the bed, he began to recall the fuzzy memories of his family.
It wasn't until almost an hour passed that he remembered some things.
"Okay...
The name of the father of this body is Cedric. The mother's name is Elara and the sister's name is Aria."
Now that he remembered their name, Eldric let out a sigh of relief. Now that he had recalled their names, he was sure that might be able to recall some important memories.
With this thought in mind, Eldric walked out of his room to join the parents who had just arrived from the outside with a bag full of fruits, eggs, and chicken to celebrate the return of their son.