Inside, the shop was alive with bustle. Customers looked through a variety of rune stones, each with its own set of qualities and enchanting powers.
Behind the counter stood a guy with black hair and black eyes, underdeveloped wings in his back, indicating that he was an avian beastfolk, which are mostly composed of creatures with wings. His keen glance and welcome grin were instantly noticeable.
"Baron Aiden!" It has been too long, my buddy; how was your journey?
Aiden shook the man's hand heartily.
"Rykor, it's nice to see you. This is my kid, Dajit. I hope. You received my letter." Letters are typically sent with avien monsters such as pteryx, a fast-flying, pigeon-sized monster that can stay airbonded for a long time since they go three times quicker than us, and certain levels are even ten to twenty times faster.
Rykor nodded before approaching me and giving me an approving glance.
"Welcome, young master. Your father talks highly of you. Would you want to go visit your new home with us?"
He took us out of the shop and back into the busy streets, weaving between the people until we reached a calmer area of the city.
"This way, please."
They followed Rykor to a beautiful home with a large courtyard. The air was filled with the aroma of flowering flowers, and a sense of calm pervaded the region.
"Baron, here is your new house. I purchased it some time ago, anticipating your demands, and it was also within the amount you suggested."
Aiden's eyes shone with gratitude as his desires were met.
"You have excelled yourself, Rykor. It's excellent for the price range I recommended to you, and it has gone under renovation as well."
Then he gave us the complete house tour and told us to move in since he was going back to the business because it was a weekend and the shop was very busy, so he needed to overview it and assist his staff out.
Then we returned to the inn and brought everyone to this residence, which had already been cleaned and refurbished by Rykor.
Seraphina entered from a side door as we went into the courtyard with a labourer we hired to bring in everything we needed, her ears twitching as she took in her surroundings. She approached me with caution, her huge eyes brimming with wonder.
I went forward with a delightful grin.
"Hello, Seraphina. How have you been doing, and what do you think about this house?"
Seraphina pricked up her ears and gave a bashful nod.
"Hello... Dajit and house beautiful."
Father saw us talking to each other and said,
"Dajit, why don't you show Seraphina and your sister around? It would be beneficial for both of you to get to know the house more, as we will be living here from now on."
I looked at Seraphina and my sister, Luna, who stood close, her sightless eyes fixed on nothing in particular.
"Luna, How about I tell you about the cool stuff we have in this new house?"
Luna grinned and reached out automatically.
"Yes, brother, tell me about our surroundings."
Seraphina stepped closer, her interest clearly outweighing her original reluctance. She stretched out to join Luna, her presence softening.
I took a big breath and considered how to describe the surroundings to Luna.
"We are in the courtyard right now, Luna. There is a tiny garden to our left with some flowers blossoming. Remember the gardener's garden in the mountains, filled with roses? You adored the aroma of those flowers. We have them too, and then there's the home, which is a two-story structure with eight beds."
Luna nodded; her face lit up.
"Oh, roses! I recall how they smelt. Those are my favourite flowers, and the home is smaller than it used to be, but I still adore it."
I directed Luna's hand to a neighbouring jasmine shrub.
"Here, smell this. It's jasmine, and it smells nice."
Luna took a deep breath, her face breaking into a smile. "Yes, it's lovely."
Luna took a big breath, and her face broke into a smile. Yes, it is wonderful. I turned to Seraphina.
"Do you want to go view the garden with us? I can explain everything to Luna as we go around the garden and then house."
Seraphina nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes... like that."
We went around the yard, with me describing certain plants and flowers and telling Luna about our two-story structure where we would live from now on.
Luna listened closely, her fingertips brushing across the leaves and petals as I directed her hand.
Seraphina, now noticeably more calm, followed closely, her earlier trepidation dissipating with every stride.
There was a sense of calm in the air, and we were beginning to feel secure and connected.
It was a good and quiet place to live, and there weren't a lot of houses nearby.
Luna became more relaxed towards the conclusion of the tour, with her customary calm demeanour returning.
Seraphina, too, appeared calmer, her eyes conveying a renewed sense of belonging now that she is beginning to realise what living with a family means.
The next days went almost as well as they did in our village days as we were trying to adapt to this new lifestyle.
Father, the hard-working one, began investing additional money in expanding the current shop.
He had grand intentions to make it seem more premium, in the hopes of attracting more clients and elevating our family's standing once more. Meanwhile, my mother began remodelling a room so that she could continue to do alchemy in the room as she wanted to continue doing it.
In the meantime, dad also went to Matrix Academy with a letter of application for all three of us and to review the school curriculum and infrastructure before enrolling us. To our joy, we were accepted immediately.
The school acceptance letter said that our classes will begin next month in June, in accordance with their revised term schedule, and that we will all be assigned different classrooms because of our specific needs.
The next day, I was assigned to caring for Luna and Seraphina while my parents went shopping for new items and hired workers for our house because they would be busy with their work soon and wanted someone to care for our huge house.
So I decided to investigate...