Chapter 7: Chapter 6: New Family.

Echoes of Fire and Shadows

Chapter 6: New Family

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I was currently in my room with Fred, Lilia, Tiria and the Twins. 

After lunch, the adults told us that they really needed to discuss a very important matter. So they brought us kids to my room in order to have this serious talk.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that they want to talk about me… After all, Tiria said that she was here to help Lilia and Fred with me and my personal circumstances.

“Have all of you gotten yourselves comfortable?” Lilia asked with a gentle expression.

Liliana, Luna and I nodded at the same time.

I was sitting in my bed with the twins while Lilia and Fred were standing in front of us and Tiria was leaning against the door.

“Okay, I don’t really know where to start, so I think I will be blunt. Is that okay with you, Julius?” Lilia asked with a concerned expression.

Fred and Lilia have been acting a bit weird ever since lunch… For some reason, Fred has been looking at me with a strange expression since then. Lilia started giggling randomly while we were having lunch.

Tiria has been acting pretty normally. The only thing I could say about her is that she was particularly insistent that I called her: “Auntie”. 

“That’s okay.” I nodded at Lilia.

“Mom, what do you wanna talk about? Is Auntie going to move here forever!?” Liliana looked very excited. Her eyes were sparkling

“I’m still thinking about it, Lili.” Tiria smiled bitterly at Liliana.

“C’mon! Why do you have to think about it!? You’re taking too long! Liliana then pouted. 

It seems like she really wants Tiria to stay here...

“A-A-Are we moving back to the city...?” Luna suddenly spoke. She had a less-than-thrilled expression on her face.

Lilia shook her head.

“Nope. We are going to stay here. Forever, hopefully.” Lilia smiled at Luna.

“Phew… What a relief…” Luna let out a sigh of relief when she was told that they were staying in the forest.

Lilia’s expression then turned into a more serious one before looking at me. She and I made eye contact before she finally started speaking again.

Here it comes…

“Actually, we are going to talk about Julius.” Lilia spoke with a very serious tone. Fred and Tiria were watching in silence.

Liliana and Luna then looked at me and then back at their mother with confusion.

“Have you found my parents?” I asked.

“Ehh!?” Both twins looked at me with dumbfounded expressions.

Hmm… I wonder if I should have feigned ignorance for a bit...

“Not at all. I reached out to all of my contacts in every major city of this country and there isn’t a single report about a missing kid that fits your description.” Tiria spoke in Lilia’s place.

I imagined that would be the case. After all, it has only been a day since Fred found me.

Still… I'm absolutely impressed. To be able to check if there's any missing person report in all major cities is just nothing but incredible.

I don't know if it was because of magic or technology, but it sounds like this world is more advanced than I thought...

“Of course, we haven’t given up yet. It has only been a day since I started searching. There’s still hundreds of villages and towns that I need to check to see if I can find them. But let’s be real, it will be pointless to continue this search." Tiria shrugged. "Lilia, he's all yours.” Tiria looked at Lilia and nodded.

Lilia nodded back at Tiria before facing me again.

“Julius… You’re not from this world, right?” Lilia declared with a very serious expression.

...

Huh?

Huh!?

How did she even find out I’m from Earth!? Was it something I said!? Has she met more people like me...!? 

I started panicking internally... I was bombarding myself with those kinds of questions, trying to get a clue about how Lilia found out about my origin.

“Mom…? What do you mean by that?” Luna asked with concern.

“Yeah, what is that about?” Liliana tilted her head with confusion.

"Girls, I'll answer your questions in a minute. I need to speak to Julius first." Lilia kept looking at me.

(Okay… She found out… I don't know how, but she found out… What should I do now? Do I deny it? Do I simply admit that I'm not from this world…? Damn it! This is going to be difficult!) I was unsure about what to do.

"Kid, do you trust us?" Fred suddenly spoke to me.

I just looked at him, dumbfounded… 

The two of us kept making eye contact for a while…

…

…

…

(Sigh… I guess there's no point in trying to hide it or lying about it any longer…) I thought to myself.

I took a deep breath and cleared my throat…

"That is correct. I am not from your world. I apologize for lying to you about this, but as you have already guessed, I don't have amnesia. I'm sorry." I just confirmed their suspicions and then apologized. 

Now, I really feel bad about lying… I mean, I know I did it to protect myself, but still…

"However, I need to ask... How did you find out?"

For some reason, the atmosphere in the room was quite strange.

The twins were looking at me and tilting their heads with confusion.

Tiria was looking very intently at me without saying a word.

Fred seemed a bit troubled. He was scratching the back of his head while looking at Lilia.

And Lilia… Well… She had a very difficult to read expression. She looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Julius, I think I also need to apologize... I possess a skill that allows me to take a look at the [Status] of another person. I used that skill and peeked at your [Status] without your consent. I'm sorry about that…" Lilia apologized to me.

Oh… So, there’s also a skill for that purpose… It sounds like it is both useful and dangerous at the same time.

Just imagine that anyone with the skill could look at your personal information in your [Status] whenever they want... 

That is actually pretty scary…

"So, I imagine that you saw my titles… That's why Tiria said that it would be pointless to look for my parents." I looked at the red haired woman leaning against the door.

Tiria simply nodded while smiling to confirm my suspicions.

"Well, considering the circumstances about my rebirth and the titles I have, I don't actually have a clue if I have a family in this world or not." I just shrugged. 

"I think it might be impossible to find them unless they actually find you first, since we don't really know their names or what they look like." Tiria also shrugged. "Although I do have another question… Do you come from the land called: Nippon?" Tiria looked extremely curious.

Nippon… Nippon…? Wait... 

Ah…! 

I think she must be referring to Japan...

"I come from the world where that country is located. My home country is thousands of kilometers away from it though." I explained to Tiria.

Where am I from? That's a bit of a tough question…

I was born in South America, but thanks to my parents' jobs, we ended up living in the United States for a while.

When I was six, we moved to the United Kingdom for a few months and then we did the same in France, Germany and Spain.

When I turned seven, we finally settled down in Spain and a few months after that, the accident happened and my parents lost their lives.

So, I lived most of my former life in Europe.

"Ehh? I thought that's what your world was called! So Nippon is just a country… That's so surprising!" Tiria looked amazed by what I just told her.

I then looked towards Lilia and Fred.

"I can only express my deepest gratitude for saving my life. It wouldn't have been funny to die after just being reborn..." I smiled bitterly while expressing my gratitude to them.

"Kid, how old were you when you… Erm…" Fred was struggling with what he wanted to ask me.

"How old was I when I died? I had just turned twenty years old." I said to Fred.

The three adults looked at me with pity, while the twins looked more confused than ever before.

Fred and Lilia shared a look with each other before looking at me again... Lilia suddenly crouched and got closer to me. She grabbed both of my hands and held them tightly.

"Fred and I talked for a bit and we agreed to adopt you." Lilia had a serious expression on her face. "That would be only if you want to, of course!" She panicked a bit and suddenly added that part...

Excuse me… What...? 

Did… Did I hear that correctly…?

"Could you repeat that…?" I was naturally confused.

"We want to adopt you, Julius. We want to take care of you." Lilia looked at me with determination.

"Aye." Fred had the same determined expression as his wife.

I could only look at them in silence…

Huh… To think that I would end up being adopted again… I don't really know how to feel about it…

I mean, it would be great to have an actual family in this world. If I'm going to carry out my part of the deal with Melius, then I will need people that will have my back… People that I can trust with my life.

Now... I know I have only known them for a day, but my gut is telling me that I can really trust these people.

I took a deep breath and then nodded.

"That sounds good actually." I smiled at Lilia and Fred.

Honestly, I really need their help. I barely know a thing about this world and I do not know how to survive on my own…

Without them, I would probably be meeting Melius again by now...

So staying with Fred, Lilia and the Twins might be my best and only choice right now. Not that I'm unhappy about it though. I'm genuinely thankful that I can stay with them.

Lilia smiled at me. She looked quite happy that I had agreed to being adopted.

Fred had a difficult to read expression… he looked conflicted, happy and relieved at the same time.

I wonder if I have to sign any document or if we need to see a judge for me to be adopted...

"Well, that was easier than I expected. So, are you gonna call me 'Auntie' now or what?" Tiria said with a teasing smile.

"Well, if you insist… Auntie…" I was a bit embarrassed.

She has been insisting on me calling her that for a while now… I never thought it would be this embarrassing to call her 'Auntie'…

"Yep! That's certainly better!" Tiria had a smug expression on her face.

I then looked at Lilia who was still smiling…

"I don't mind if you call me 'Mom', you know? In fact, I insist~." Lilia was holding my hands tightly.

Wow… That actually is even more embarrassing, but… 

I couldn't deny Lilia's request... She looked so happy and excited that it would make me feel bad not saying it.

"Okay… Mom…" I ended up averting my gaze.

God… That was just as embarrassing as I thought… No… It is perhaps a little bit more embarrassing than what I had imagined…

"That's right! You're my son now~." She said playfully while ruffling my hair.

Lilia's smile was enough to make me forget about the embarrassment for a moment.

Huh… who would have thought that she would be so happy that I called her 'Mom'...

"Wait a minute! Does that mean that we are siblings now!?" Liliana suddenly yelled. She looked at Lilia with confusion.

Now that she mentions it… We are siblings now, aren't we?

Sheesh… This is a crazy coincidence, but it really feels like a déjà vu... I ended up being adopted and having a pair of sisters again.

My sisters from Earth were not twins though.

"J-J-Julius is our little brother now… But that's…" Luna looked at me with a conflicted expression.

Hmmm… I imagined that the twins would have been happy about this…

"Yes, he will be your little brother. Are you unhappy about it?" Lilia smiled gently at Liliana and Luna.

The two of them shook their heads.

"It is not that… But…" Luna started twiddling with her thumbs.

Ah, so they are not unhappy with having me as their little brother. I wonder what's the problem though...

"But?" Lilia tilted her head.

Liliana then looked at Luna and then at me… She got closer to Lilia and started whispering something in her ear.

I noticed that Liliana was blushing slightly while doing that.

"Oh, so you were worried about that huh... I don't think it will be a problem, you know?" Lilia looked extremely amused. 

Lilia then started whispering something into Liliana's ear.

"I see! It doesn't really matter when you look at it that way!" Liliana seemed to be overjoyed about what Lilia had told her.

Liliana then looked at Luna, she smiled and then gave her the thumbs up.

Luna and I just looked at Lilia and Liliana with confusion.

"You three will be fine." Lilia patted the head of Liliana. "But we can leave that topic for another time. We need to talk about something important." Lilia then looked at me again.

Tiria and Fred nodded in agreement.

"Julius, there's so much you will need to learn about our world… But the most important thing that you must know is that your identity as an otherworlder must be kept as an absolute secret. This information about you should never leave this room, do you understand?" Lilia looked extremely serious and worried.

"Why?" I asked.

Hmmm… Could it be that people like me aren't treated well in this world? That's a bit troublesome…

"People like you are very special in our world, especially in our country… There's two groups of people that absolutely must not find out about your identity." Tiria seemed to have read my mind…

Oh, so we are not disliked apparently…

"Those groups are: The Emperor, The Royal Family and the Laurents." Fred spoke with a very serious expression on his face.

A genuine Emperor… I somehow have a bad feeling about this…

"You see, Julius… The Emperor and his family have a special magical ritual that allows them to summon people like you. The power to summon people from other worlds as [Heroes]..." Lilia didn't seem keen on explaining this to me.

If I was a betting man, I would have said that it is for the sole purpose of saving the world from the Demon Lord…

Claire made me play several video games with that premise. So, I think I know where this is going...

"So that's why you wanted to know if the title of [Hero] appeared in my [Status]..." I nodded to myself after a revelation came to my mind.

"That's right. Julius, look… I am going to be blunt about this… If the Emperor finds out about your origin, he will not rest until he has captured you and turned you into a slave to do his bidding just like his family has done to people like you for generations. We must tread extremely carefully around him and the Royal Family." Lilia couldn't be more serious right now.

Her expression made me feel shivers down my spine.

He will turn me into a slave if he finds out about my origin… Well, that's fucking messed up!

"Well, I don't know how things are in this world, but in mine we didn't meet emperors every day, so I think I will be fine." I said with confidence.

The three adults in the room immediately shook their heads.

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"Actually… You have a high chance of meeting the Emperor… Remember how I told you that Fred was the strongest man on the continent?" Tiria smiled bitterly.

Uh oh… I have a bad feeling about this…

"Yeah…" I nodded.

It was then that I remembered… Fred and Tiria used to be knights…

The bad feeling started getting worse...

"Judging by your expression, you just realized what I was trying to say." Tiria nodded to herself.

I then looked at Fred…

"The Emperor is my former boss. And he's also the reason why we are living here in the first place." Fred scratched the back of his head. He looked very annoyed.

"Oh…" I realized that I really had some high chances of meeting him.

Okay, this is bad… What if he comes here and one of his subordinates has the same skill as Lilia and then takes a look at my [Status]? How do you even prevent that from happening!?

I started to panic internally...

"Julius, it is fine. That man will never move from his castle to come so deep into the countryside. This place is safe for you." Lilia noticed that I was panicking. She showed a gentle smile and then patted my head in order to calm me down.

It was working… Her gentle and kind demeanor was quickly making me calm down...

"I'm glad that the Emperor isn't able to live without the luxuries of the Capital." Tiria smiled bitterly.

"Aye. Unless we go to the capital or he summons me to go there, we will be fine.." Fred said with an easy going attitude.

So, we are good for now… I see…

I really don't want to meet a person who would enslave others… I'm glad that I don't have to meet him.

"What about the other group? The Laurents… Who are they?" I asked.

Fred immediately frowned.

"My former family..." He spoke with annoyance.

I tilted my head with confusion.

Fred's former family? What's that supposed to mean?

"My father, my brother and my sister. They are probably the most vile and repulsive people I know." Fred looked at the empty air with rage.

"It doesn't matter how much jewelry or expensive robes a snake wears, in the end, it is still a snake. That's how the old saying goes, right Fred?" Tiria started patting Fred's back.

Fred simply nodded in response.

I was a bit confused again… 

Why do I have to be wary of them?

Fred then took a deep breath and calmed down.

"They are nothing but a bunch of power hungry criminals who will do anything to get more power. Kid, whatever you do, never EVER involve yourself with one of them!" Fred gave me a serious warning.

So, I think it is obvious that they will also try to capture me and turn me into their slave…  That’s simply great...

I think I don't like this world as much as I did before…

"But as luck would have it, those guys won't leave the capital either. So you're still safe here." Tiria smiled at me.

I see… Well, it is not like I had concrete plans to go anywhere since I don't even know the geography of this world…

"But there's something that doesn't make sense to me. Why do you have a different last name, Fred?" I asked the giant.

"I'm an illegitimate son of the Duke Christofer Mareus Laurent. Which means that I cannot inherit the family name nor the title of my father. My current last name is something that I came up with when I joined the army." Fred closed his eyes and explained with a tired expression.

A Duke!? This man in front of me is the son of a Duke!? 

I was completely flabbergasted thanks to that sudden revelation…

Lilia was silently patting my head while I was trying to digest the information I had just received.

She suddenly cleared her throat…

"Pretty surprising, isn't it?" Lilia smiled warmly.

"Yeah… But I think I would use the word 'shocking'..." I nodded while looking at Fred.

"Well, there will be time for more serious talk another time. I think this is enough for now." Lilia then stood up while still holding one of my hands. "Why don't we celebrate that you're a part of our family now? How does that sound, son~? Lilia showed me a teasing smile.

She seems to be very overjoyed about the fact that I'm now their son…

Lilia then helped me to stand up from my bed...

"Let's have a feast!" Lilia was extremely motivated.

"I wouldn't mind having another bottle of wine." Tiria smiled from ear to ear.

"Well, I guess I'll go hunt something for our feast. I'm feeling confident that I'll catch something big today! Hahaha!" Fred also looked very motivated.

I then looked at the twins.

Luna's face was completely red while Liliana was looking at her with amusement. Liliana seemed to have whispered something into her ear while the adults and me were having our discussion.

"S-S-So… We can still…" Luna stuttered a lot and didn't finish her sentence. She was nervously playing with her hair.

"That's right! Mom said that it will be okay for us to do it!" Liliana stood proudly.

I don't know what they are talking about, but for some reason I feel concerned about my wellbeing and my future…

"Julius, let's go! You'll help your mother in the kitchen." Lilia started dragging me out of my room.

We really had a feast afterwards even though we had eaten lunch not so long ago…

Still, I had a lot of fun and ate a ton.

I never thought that I would be adopted after a day when I was reincarnated…

I guess life is full of pleasant surprises!

---

-----Luna's POV-----

I was lying on top of my bed and looking at the ceiling… 

I can't sleep at all…

My mind could only focus on the words my sister whispered to me when Julius became our brother…

“Mom said that it is fine if we marry him since we are not related by blood. She also said that Julius would have to call her Mom in a few years anyway. So we have her blessing! Isn't that great, Luna?" 

That's what my sister whispered to me at that moment…

Mom and Liliana are so mean… Saying those kinds of embarrassing things...

But… I have to admit that I got really worried when Auntie appeared today… I was worried that she was going to take Julius away in order to find his real parents…

But I didn't actually expect that Mom and Dad would make him our brother…

"But, at least he will stay with us…" I whispered to myself.

Yeah… Julius will not be taken away… Which means that we can spend as much time together as we want...

"Hehehe… Julius… It tickles… Hahaha..." My older sister was talking while asleep.

…

I looked at her with annoyance… She was sleeping so peacefully while I'm here not being able to sleep because I can't stop thinking about Julius and what she told me before...

I kept looking at the ceiling with a deadpan expression.

"Julius, it is too soon to kiss~... I might allow you to do it if you take me on another date though~..." She spoke with a lot of cheekiness...

My sister kept talking while asleep. Or so she wanted me to think… I’m sure that she’s probably completely awake and doing this just to tease me…

"Smooch… You’re so sweet~..." She started making kissing noises.

That's it! I can't stand this any longer!

I got up from my bed, grabbed my pillow and blanket and then went out of the room…

I closed the door carefully in order to not make any noise.

"Phew…" I let out a sigh of relief.

I'm sleeping on the couch today! 

I immediately used a [Grade 1] spell of the [Light Element] to create a small ball of light to illuminate my way.

"That should do it." I nodded to myself. I was proud of myself when I confirmed that I had done the spell correctly.

I quickly made my way downstairs… The house would be completely silent if you ignored my dad’s loud snoring...

Just as I reached our living room, I noticed that the door of Julius' room was still open…

He and our Auntie are going to share the room while she stays with us.

"…"

Peeking for a bit would be fine, right? It will be just for a few seconds.

I think it will be fine… I mean, it should be… I’m not going to do anything bad...

After confirming that there was no one else in the living room, the kitchen or in the staircase, I nodded to myself and then went to take a look into Julius' room.

As expected, Julius and Auntie were sleeping but… I didn't expect to see Auntie hugging him tightly…

Julius didn't seem too bothered by that, since he was sleeping peacefully.

"Shaddap! I can take on that bear! Just watch…!" Auntie also talked while she's sleeping… 

Well, it is more accurate to say that she yells while she’s asleep…

"Hehehe… That ale will taste great with my bear meat…" Auntie snuggled with Julius.

Julius was pretty unfazed by that…

Perhaps I can get a closer look…

I looked around the room and then confirmed that the two of them were still asleep.

I walked very very slowly and very very carefully towards them. I was giving my all to be stealthy in order to not wake them up...

After a minute or two, I was able to reach Julius without waking them up.

I started looking at him very intently...

Just by looking at him, I was able to reach a very important conclusion…

(He's so cute…) I thought to myself while looking at the sleeping Julius.

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I got very embarrassed...

"Bring another round! I’ll drink until sunrise! Hahaha…!" Auntie yelled again…

Despite how loud Auntie was being, Julius was still sleeping soundly.

Sheesh… I don't know how he can still be sleeping like that…

If he won't wake up, maybe I could…

I looked around the room again and then prepared myself mentally after confirming that no one was watching me.

I gathered my courage and then…-

(Here I go!) I felt prepared…

I launched myself towards my objective...

My back soon landed on the cramped soft bed. I was lying beside Julius…

"..." I couldn't even express how embarrassed and happy I felt.

I was sure that my whole face was as red as a tomato…

But I couldn't stop there… 

I turned around only to see Julius' adorable sleeping face.

I took a deep breath and gathered my courage again...

I extended my arms and then started hugging Julius.

(Ah… I did it…) I got even more embarrassed when I realized what I had done…

He was very soft and warm… That was probably the reason why Auntie was hugging him tightly.

…

…

…

(A little bit closer won't hurt anyone, right…?) Despite my embarrassment, I could only think of getting closer to him.

I slowly but surely started moving closer and closer to him… I finally stopped when my head was on top of his chest...

I could hear his heartbeat clearly…

(That is… So comforting…) I was very comfortable in that position.

My eyelids then started feeling extremely heavy… I couldn't keep my eyes open...

"Yawn…" I couldn't help it but to yawn… "Good night…" I muttered as I was falling asleep.

I was then taken to the land of dreams… But just before I closed my eyes, I think I noticed Liliana standing at the door of the room...

---

"Ngn…"

I couldn't move my body properly… It felt extremely heavy…

It was as if there was something preventing me from getting up from my bed...

I opened my eyes when I realized there was something odd about this situation.

"Ah..." I was flabbergasted… I could only look at the culprits with confusion…

The reason why I couldn't move was that Tiria, Liliana and Luna were all hugging me tightly…

I was being hugged from almost all directions… Tiria was hugging me from my left, Liliana was on top of me and Luna was on my right…

(When did they even come into the room...?) I thought to myself while I was still dumbfounded.

How did this situation even happen...?

I could only look at the ceiling since I was stuck in bed…

"Hehehe…" Liliana giggled in her sleep.

"..." Luna was breathing softly…

I could feel Luna's soft breathing in my neck… Her hair kinda tickled...

"That bear meat is mine and you know it…" Tiria was hugging me really really tightly.

It was a miracle that my spine was still intact despite the tightness of Tiria’s hug...

I… Umm… I think that this family is even more tightly knit than I thought...

---

Chapter 6: New Family

END

 

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