Alma 59 Meeting the Family

"I suppose that we should introduce ourselves before we start, though. It would be awfully disheartening if you did not know our names, dear brother," said the handsome young man.

There it is again… Why is he calling me his brother? It's kind of unnerving being called that by this guy…

"Hmmm... I must be seeing things. There's no way. Not from these little ants. That couldn't be possible…" murmured Lacrima, in a half-concerned tone. She snorted coldly and said, "The only conclusion is that these meddling insects are counterfeits. The audacity! But they couldn't have accomplished this alone… who helped them?"

Couldn't it be possible for what? Counterfeits? What are you talking about?

Lacrima snickered and said, "These clowns are fakers, impostors made by someone with forbidden knowledge. Imitations. You need not fear pathetic beings such as them. If anything, pity them — these poor, little bugs…"

The young man took a seat across from Reed and said, "My name is Kanosis Dragoncrest, the eldest of my siblings. I am the one who invited you to this gathering through Princess Violett."

He closed his book and said, "It seems you are quite a reserved fellow, brother. We've sent several invitations to you through our associates, but you always declined."

So you're the source of those annoying invitations?! You're a persistent motherfucker, aren't you? You know what? Fuck. You. Asshole.

He had initially planned to remain polite for Violett's sake, but the revelation was too much for him to handle. The bastard had just casually admitted that he'd been the one who'd been ruining his mornings. Every damn day, he'd receive multiple invitations and then get hounded by Arcano, the perfect butler, until he read them all to him.

Frustrated, Reed said, "I couldn't be bothered. After all, who'd want to attend a stuffy-ass party like this? But you got me in the end, so it's your win. Congrats."

Kanosis dryly laughed and said, "I feel the exact same way, but they're useful for a variety of reasons. They mainly keep the sheep outside pacified and docile, among other things… but that is a topic for another time. Allow me the honor of introducing the family, brother, before I forget again."

He silently gestured at one of his siblings, a gorgeous young lady with overflowing long hair that spilled out onto the floor when she stood up. She had a small, lovely smile on her face when she lightly bowed toward Reed. "It is good to see you in good health, brother dearest. Please make yourself at home; what is ours is yours as well."

"This is Sigurda, the second eldest. Pay no mind if she suddenly falls asleep at any point forward. She possesses a unique constitution and often requires to dream in order to use it. Sister Sigurda is a Dreamseeker; she is one of few who can sometimes divine the future through dreams."

"She is, in fact, the one who informed us that you would finally appear tonight…"

A genuine sleeping beauty, huh. That's a little nifty, I guess.

A tall, bulky man stood up and said, "Greetings, brother. I am just as delighted that you have finally come! Do not hesitate to call me if you need an extra hand if the sheep outside give you any difficulties, heh…" He patted his thick, stocky arms and grinned, as if to imply what his solutions to life's problems were.

"This is Sverre, the third eldest," said Kanosis with a slightly annoyed voice. "As you can see, he is very energetic and prefers to solve issues in rather… direct ways. I would greatly appreciate if you could just ignore anything that comes out of his mouth."

Sverre simply sneered in response and ignored Kanosis as if he didn't exist.

Oh, this looks familiar. There's nothing as universal as the war between the older brother and the younger one.

A young, slender girl with a cold expression quickly stood up and said, "It is good to finally meet you, brother. I hope we can get along in the future…" and sat down just as fast. Her hair covered one of her eyes, a style that was oddly popular among the youth, and wore casual, revealing clothes unlike the rest of her siblings.

Why do they cover their eyes like that? Wouldn't you want to see where you're going? I don't get the fashion in this world…

"Ingvild, the fourth oldest. I ask that you do not take anything she says to heart, brother. She is in that phase of her life, where one finds it 'cool' to rebel against one's own family. I'm sure you understand our…" Kanosis sighed, not even finishing the sentence.

The frustrated oldest sibling reclined on his seat and said, "The one next to you, playing a game on that device, is Rune. He is the fifth oldest and as you can see, he is an unruly little—" Kanosis sighed yet again, unable to even find the will to speak.

This one's probably the most normal one of them all. Who would have thought…

"I'm next, aren't I?! Right?! I'm Eir, big brother!" An adorable young girl popped out from behind Reed's seat and hopped on his lap as if she belonged there.

"Wait a minute isn't this—" said Reed as he stared at the girl in front of him in confusion.

"They're identical twins, brother. Don't be fooled by their innocent appearances, though. Ylva and Eir are still older than you despite how they might appear. These two have a unique constitution, rarer even than Sigurda's. They're spiritually bonded to one another — they can see, hear and feel what the other twin is experiencing if they focus on each other."

Wait, they're older than me?!! What the fuck? Fucking hell…

"Where's my chocolate bar, big brother? How come Ylva got one and I didn't? That's unfair…" said Eir.

Kanosis snorted in disgust and said, "Drop the little sister act, Eir. You know how I feel about it. Please, act your age for once. The same goes for you too, Ylva."

Ylva popped out from behind Reed's seat and hung herself around his neck in an act of defiance against Kanosis. "We're just putting a natural advantage to good use, big bro! What's the harm in some harmless fun here and there? You really need to get the stick out your ass one of these days~"

The twins pointed at Kanosis mischievously as they laughed in derision, making a mockery of his so-called authority as the oldest sibling.

"As you can see, they're an irritating handful. I don't know where they've learned this behavior from, but I intend to get them back on the right path in due time," said Kanosis in a low, menacing tone.

"You've got a big family, that's for sure," said Reed. "Must be very taxing wrangling six other people at once, I reckon. A lot of headaches, I imagine."

"Hmm? Six people? Ah, that's right, I nearly forgot. I forgot to mention that, didn't I? You see, there are eight of us siblings in the family. She wasn't here, so I forgot to mention her at all," said Kanosis in a half-joking tone.

"Seven of you are here, right? Where's the eighth? On some important business?"

"No, no. The eighth and youngest is present, but not in this room. She's outside managing and taking care of the ball at the moment. You are already intimately acquainted with her, given she was your former classmate, no? Astrid is our the youngest sibling, so we thought it best for you to gain some experience in handling the sheep, hence her absence."

Astrid?! I mean they're all part of the same family, but she doesn't look like them at all! Is she a… child born out of an affair or something? Or maybe a different concubine? It makes no sense…

"You're probably thinking that she does not look like us at all, no?" said Kanosis with a knowing smile. "Her beautiful black hair, and deep, electric-blue eyes, right? A lie, I can assure you. Her blood is pure; she is no bastard child if that was what you were thinking."

Kanosis chuckled in self-derision and said, "If anything, her blood is the second purest, aside from my own, you see. You will find beneath her feeble persona the noble heritage of gold and silver."

But why? Why hide it from everyone? Does that mean that Sebastian is also the same? But Kanosis did say eight siblings and not nine…

"What about Sebastian, then? He's part of the family, right? He and Astrid are relatives, no? Why isn't he part of your little group?" said Reed in confusion.

When the siblings heard Reed's question, some laughed heartily and others simply shook their heads. Ylva and Eir giggled like they'd heard the funniest joke in their lives. It seemed that his question had riled up the family, so to speak…

Kanosis said, "Brother, you jest. That fellow is, unfortunately… lacking in an important aspect. Sister Astrid might consider him family, but there are some things that cannot be forced. It is folly for a man to fly too close to the sun. I'm sure you of all people, brother, understand this fact of life."

And there it is, right there. The truth has been revealed. I can finally stop caring about playing nice. Thank god.

"Excellent. I was going to die of boredom with all that boring prattling, you know. I'm glad you've finally to grow a pair of balls, boy. Let's get this party started for real," said Lacrima in delight.

Reed smiled, nodded in agreement and then said, "Yes, you're right. All too right, in fact. That's why it's very confusing, given you understand that little pearl of wisdom."

A horrifying amount of Anima surged out of Reed like a never-ending flood. Waves of painful, crushing pressure covered every square inch of the room in an instant as Reed willed his presence onto reality.

"Now that the pleasantries are over, let's get on with the real shit," said Reed as he grimly smirked at everyone in the room. "You're going to tell me everything that I fucking want to know. That's the price you're going to pay tonight for flying too close to the sun…"

Chapter end