Chapter 303 In A World Watched Over By Gods - I
Holy City of Necronia.
In a certain ordinary household, in one room.
"──Cliff! Licia! It's already morning! Come on, get up!"
Awakened by the smell of breakfast wafting from the kitchen and his sister's voice, the boy──Cliff──opened his eyes.
"Yesss... I'm coming, sister..."
Responding with a still sleepy voice, Cliff got out of bed.
He then moved to the next bed and gently shook his little sister, who had been sleeping in the same room.
"Come on, Licia. It's morning, sister is calling you."
"Ugh... okay. I'm getting up..."
Responding with a sleepy voice as well, Licia slowly sat up.
"Good morning, big brother!"
"Yeah, good morning."
A cute little girl with shiny black hair and golden eyes yawned and greeted him. Licia was one year younger than Cliff and was currently 6 years old. Cliff was 7.
Licia had black hair, while Cliff had bright red hair. However, both had golden eyes, and their facial features were quite similar.
After the two siblings got up, they left the room and hurried to the kitchen.
There, a girl in her mid-teens, wearing an apron and preparing breakfast, was waiting.
"Good morning, Big Sis Ai!"
"Good morning, Sister Ai!"
"Cliff, Licia, good morning. Go wash your faces quickly. Let's have breakfast."
The girl called Ai smiled gently, her doll-like face brightening the room.
With her shiny silver hair tied in a ponytail, she wore the uniform of a girls' school located in Necronia.
Cliff and Licia don't look alike, and their hair color is different from both of their parents. However, to show they are definitely family, their eyes shone with a golden light.
""Yes!""
They cheerfully replied and headed to the washroom.
After washing their faces and fixing their bed hair, they returned to their room to change and then went back to the kitchen, where their big sister was setting breakfast on the dining table.
"I'll help, big sis Ai."
"I'll help too!"
"Hehe, thanks. Can you carry this plate?"
""Yes!""
Soon, breakfast was ready, and the 3 of them started eating.
Then, Cliff finally looked around and asked curiously.
"By the way?"
"What?"
"where are Mama and Papa?"
"Mama and Papa said yesterday that they're going to the dungeon today, so they won't be home until morning."
His sister answered with a slightly exasperated look.
Cliff remembered what she said and nodded, saying, "Oh, right."
"So that's why you're cooking today, big sis."
"Yep."
"We're going to the workshop after this, right?"
"That's right. So we need to eat quickly and get ready."
""Yes!""
Cliff's parents sometimes go deep into the dungeon to get good quality wood.
Usually, they go to the workshop run by their parents and spend time in the nearby craftsmen's dormitory, playing with the neighborhood kids while waiting for their parents to finish work. But on days when their parents dive into the dungeon early in the morning, it became a routine for their sister to take them to the workshop.
However, today was a little different from their usual routine, and Cliff and Licia smiled with excitement.
After finishing their meal and getting ready to go, the 3 of them left the house.
First, they head to the "White Lily Maiden Academy," where their sister goes.
It just opened recently, but it has already become popular among the children of wealthy families, known for its cute uniforms.
On the way to the academy, the 3 of them walk happily side by side.
Feeling the warmth of the early summer sun, their sister said, "Oh, by the way, summer vacation is coming soon!"
"Summer vacation! It's camping time!"
"Hey, hey, big sister! This year, Licia is going to swim a lot in the lake!"
"Hehe, that sounds great. Then let's swim together, okay?"
"Yeah!"
"Big sis, do you think the thieves will come this year?"
"I wonder? They didn't show up last year, and maybe they're too scared of Papa and Mama to come out this year too."
"I see..."
At Cliff's house, it has become a tradition every year during this season to go camping at a lake between Necronia and the Republic of Ilias.
This lake quietly exists in the mountains where monsters roam, with no towns or villages nearby. The only ones around are monsters and outlaws hiding in the mountains.
Normally, it wouldn't be a place for a family camping trip, but it's a very beautiful lake, and at night, the stars reflect on the water, creating a magical scene. It has been a tradition since Cliff was in his mother's womb.
Their sister especially loves this event, and whenever camping is mentioned, she always smiles happily.
After walking and chatting for a while, they finally saw the large grounds of "White Lily Maiden Academy" standing proudly along the main street of Necronia──then their sister said with a worried look.
"I'm still worried, even though it's close, so I'll walk you to the workshop."
"Y-you can't!! You said we would go just the two of us today, remember!?"
"That's right!! You have to keep our promise, okay!?"
Cliff and the others panicked at their sister's words.
Actually, today, they had made a promise to go to the workshop just the two of them, with the condition that they could leave from this girls' school. They had worked hard to win her over by complimenting her, saying things like, "As expected, Big Sis Ai is the most beautiful girl in the world!" and "I want to be cute like Big Sister Ai too!!"
The girls' school was close to the workshop, only a few hundred meters away. However, their overprotective sister was worried about letting her younger siblings walk through the city alone.
Even though Cliff and the others were safe, there were some dangerous areas in Necronia, and she couldn't help but worry.
Plus, it was suspicious how desperate the younger brothers were. It was obvious they were up to something.
Still, she thought a few hundred meters should be fine, so she nodded and said, "Alright, I understand." She didn't want to be too overprotective and take away their independence.
"But you absolutely must go straight to the workshop without any detours! Got it!?"
"Yeah, got it!"
"Okay!!"
With that, the sister parted ways with her younger siblings in front of the gate of White Lily Maiden Academy and watched them for a moment as they walked away.
In her heart, she prayed to God to watch over her siblings.
'So, God, please take care of them.'
'...I'm using God a bit too conveniently... Well, it's fine.'
Just as she felt like God had accepted her request, she finally walked through the school gate and entered the academy.
She greeted the other students who had come to school just like her with elegance.
"Good day!"
"Student Council President Ickle...!! Good day!"
"Good day!" "Good day!" "Sister, good day!"
"Yes, everyone, good day."
The girl students who spotted her── Student Council President Ickle── gazed at her with dreamy faces.
This is the garden of the white lily maidens.
With her outstanding beauty and talent in both academics and sports, the Student Council President was the object of admiration for the maidens.
However, Student Council President Ickle still did not understand the meaning of those admiring gazes...
* * *
Meanwhile, Cliff and his sister, having separated from their big sister, moved a bit further to escape her gaze, took a side road, and walked toward the central area, away from the workshop.
(I'm sorry for breaking my promise, big sis...!!)
Cliff felt guilty for breaking his promise right away. However, he lifted his face with a determined expression.
(But, this is for the peace of the family...!! So surely, big sis will understand...!!)
His self-defense reasoning was perfect.
Without any worries behind him, he held his sister's hand and marched forward.
Their destination was── the Necronia Explorer Guild.
After a while.
Though it took some time with their small legs, Cliff and his sister safely arrived at the Explorer Guild.
Once inside, it seemed the morning rush was already over, as there were only a few explorers around. Without hesitation, Cliff and his sister made their way to the counter where a familiar big sister was sitting.
"Hello, big sister!!"
"Oh, Cliff and Lissy (Licia-chan), hello. What brings you here today? Where are Papa and Mama?"
Cliff cheerfully answers the receptionist, who looks puzzled.
"My papa and mama are working in the labyrinth! I came today because I have something to ask Uncle Lion! Is he here?"
"Guildmaster? Yes, he is, but... please wait a moment."
The receptionist leaves the desk and goes up the stairs to somewhere.
After a while, she returns with a tough-looking man wearing an eye patch──Uncle Lion.
Uncle Lion looks at the two with a somewhat exasperated expression.
"Hey, hey, did you two really come here by yourselves?"
""Yeah!""
"Yeah, but..."
"Um, we have something we want to talk to you about!"
"You want to talk about something?"
"Yeah..."
At that moment, Cliff and Licia show serious expressions and say something shocking.
"Actually... papa and mama might be in danger!!"
"Ahh!!"
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