Chapter 11: Feeling Empty And A New Routine

It didn't take too long for Alaric and the girls to get back home, but as soon as they got in front of the door, the girls stopped and both looked at him with puppy eyes, as if questioning whether he was going to tell on them or not.

Though to him the answer was quite obvious.

(I won't, since the moment I agreed to help Lilian, I too became an accomplice in all of this. While I'm not a fan of lying, omission is already a part of my daily life whether I want it or not.) Alaric thought to himself before sighing.

Letting some of his thoughts go to the back of his mind for now.

"I'm not saying anything unless there's no way out already." He reassured them with a smile.

"Thank the 15 Divine Lords, you're not a total loser." Crystal sighed in relief while saying that, as she held onto Lilian.

"Don't mind her, she always has a stick up her ass, but I do agree with one thing, thanks for helping us out." Lilian added shaking her head awkwardly.

"Tell me something I don't know. You two are so much trouble." Alaric responded in a tired tone, looking at the girls with a small smile.

This led both girls to look at each other before looking back at him, not a word was said, but there seemed to be an understanding of sorts between them.

"I'm beyond tired! Let's just go in." Crystal broke the silence and pulled Lilian to come with her.

"Yeah, I would like to rest too… Thanks again, Al." Lilian smiled at him before following Crystal.

(I guess I really have to stay as strong as I can, after all, who will project the smiles If I don't… I made a mistake by allowing this world, this new reality to follow the footsteps of AF…

(The consequences weren't in my mind at the time, but now… I just wish we could live in a peaceful reality… Oh well, I better stop daydreaming and start getting ready for the King's call. The era of heroes is just a few years off from now.) Alaric began thinking about the reality he was allowed to me.

It was a much simpler decision when it was just a game and mere wishful thinking, but now that he had experienced something like what happened today, all he wanted to do was punch the version of him who made those vague decisions. However, there was no going back, only forward.

Without saying much more they all went inside and soon found the adults in the living room, calmly conversing.

"But I do think that it should be possible to accomplish in another 2 to 3 years now that things have reached this point, especially considering the popularity of some of the products I have access to.

"Though I must admit that things will most likely get rough with how competitive the environment is for merchants at this level." Dad said before she sipped from her tea.

"Oh please Loralaine, don't play the nice with me. We both know you're the one your competition should be worried about, besides, if anything, won't your parents just cause havoc and bring disaster if something goes wrong?" Grandma waved her hand as if to shrug it off as an unnecessary worry.

"Ericka, how can you be this insensitive? Can't you see the she's not comfortable with that?" Grandpa shook her head as she pointed to Father who indeed seemed bothered by Grandma's words.

"Fine, fine, I won't say more, but you can't just run away from the truth forever, especially when that truth is blood-related." Grandma continued while rolling her eyes.

"Ericka! Really?" Grandpa questioned with a frown on her face.

"Enough Chandra, I got your memo. I wanted to talk to my daughter but she's taking too long, tell her to come to my room once she's back." Grandma said before getting up to leave.

"Oh! It's my adorable babies! Where have you been hiding from Grandma all this time?" She immediately came to them when she noticed the presence of her grandchildren.

"We went for a walk!" Crystal responded with a forced smile.

"And we're not babies!" Lilian added nodding in agreement frantically.

"Is that so? It's always nice to see you all together like this! Finally getting along!" Grandma used her six arms to play with all of their cheeks at the same time.

"Hehe! It is indeed good, but you're pulling their faces a bit too strong, if you keep that up, you'll hurt them." Grandpa interjected pointing out a detail.

"Can you blame a grandma for loving her grandchildren?! Honestly, Chandra, if you have nothing nice to say might as well stay shut." Grandma retorted rolled her eyes and sighed before ignoring her completely.

"Fine then, don't complain to me later when I don't stop your antics." Grandpa replied her arms crossed as she focused on her conversation with Dad.

"I won't!" Grandma told Grandpa before turning to her grandchildren and saying "Now my sweet babies, I would like to stay and chat, but I'm tired, so just remember to behave and stay healthy for Grandma, ok?"

The 3 of them nodded their heads, and she smiled before leaving.

"Well, I'm going to go check on that woman, or she'll throw a tantrum about it later. So difficult..." Grandpa complained as she got up and followed grandma.

Dad chuckled as she said goodbye before focusing her attention on the kids.

"Come here and sit, I still have to tell the girls the good news." And so we they as she asked and sat on the couch in front of her.

(All in all, it seems they never came across the note in my room, how lucky.) Alaric smiled in victory.

"Your brother already knows, but I'm not sure if he told you that I've been promo-" Just as Dad smiled in excitement and began to talk to them, she was interrupted.

"LORA! This is an emergency! I just found this note inside Alaric's roo-." It seemed like he, however, spoke too soon as Mother came into the room holding the note he left with an expression containing horror only to freeze upon seeing them sitting calmly on the couch.

"Amora? What's wrong?!" Dad immediately got up and went to check on Mom, while the two girls beside Alaric stiffened.

"It's... Just… I found this note in Alaric's room while looking for him and got worried something happened to them... Thank the 15 Divine Lords they're alright!" Mom seemed to be under a lot of stress which made Alaric feel guilty for writing the note in the first place, but he didn't know the magnitude of the situation at the time...

After that Dad got her a cup of water with sugar and soon she had fully calmed down, before going from that to anger as they looked at the kids, both of their parents waiting for an explanation of what was going on.

When it came to this type of situation Alaric could easily make something up, or take the brunt of the blow by saying that it was just a prank, or something along those lines, unfortunately for the girls, he preferred saying the truth as much as he could, especially when it comes to close ones like family...

That was a habit of his from way since earth and one that had been called a weakness a few times before, but it was not that easy to let go of as one of his values... Actually, he didn't really want to let go of it.

(To lie for everything will bring way too many complications for later, and I'm not burying myself like that, not now, not in this situation. Sorry girls…) Alaric shook his head disappointed things had come to that.

It was as if he hated secrecy or planned to tell everyone close everything about himself or others, since he vehemently believed that there were things one need not tell others and have the right to keep to oneself, and all, he just preferred not lying to people and that was all. Not that it meant one should have to tell anyone anything if they don't want to.

"It was a prank! I was the one who told him to write it! We didn't want to cause trouble! We're sorry!" Crystal immediately took the initiative and lied.

"Is that so?" Dad asked her expression far from a happy one, as she frowned looking at them.

"..." Alaric chose silence.

"... You can't just do something like this! This time nothing happened, but what if we had gone to the knights and started looking everywhere for you!? Do you have any idea of how worried your mother was when she read that?!...

"This isn't a game! I should definitely forbid you of training with Ross... But that wouldn't be fair for him as he is coming from very far away and even bringing his party along. All of you are now grounded for the next 3 months, no going out or talking to friends...

"As for you Alaric, you have to start working with your sisters at the bakery, and spend the rest of your time aside from training with Uncle Ross and studying, helping grandma and grandpa with your sisters. Also no allowance for anyone anymore. You understand me?!" Alaric had yet to see Dad being this mad or strict, especially towards him since he spent most of his time alone.

(At least I lucked out and didn't lose my right to physical training, as that would have been a real setback… So this is the whole getting scolded by your parents deal, huh? It feels weird, especially since I'm not really a child...) Alaric could only take the words with the most guilty look he could pull.

The kids had no choice but to nod. Alaric had to look at the positive side of things, at least he didn't have to explain how he could kill 7 adult men on my own as easily as he did. That would have led to a lot of explaining...

His privileged life pack had expired... Truly a depressing moment.

After that, the kids were all ordered to go to their rooms.

In his room, Alaric was looking at the ceiling while lying on his bed.

(I killed 7 men, and 10 women, and even tried to kill a kid… Though he did deserve it.) He thought letting his mind rest with the thought.

This was not something he was particularly used to or anything and though he had killed, and committed much more heinous acts as a player controlling a character from beyond the screen. This was completely different for him, he had chosen to take lives with his own two hands, and ten of them were innocent as far as he is concerned.

(What now?… I want to feel bad and to feel like I'm some absolute monster, to scream and tear myself apart because I can't sleep due to guilt… But I don't… I don't feel that way at all.

(Killing is wrong, I believe as much in most cases, and I did kill people that to me were innocent, but it all just feels like a giant blur, like it didn't even happen from how I registered it, as if this action was nothing more than the side notes that might get used someday.) Alaric raised his hands and looked at them as they trembled and he could feel himself and the world around him.

Each deep breath tried to bring him closer to a semblance of real, but it all felt like a blurry dream, as if all that he did to those 10 maids had happened underwater. He could not remember their faces, their reactions, their voices, their last words, nothing. They were all just a huge blur, no, not even a blur since that was at least noticeable.

(Those 10 maids probably had families, friends, someone to take care of or love, some responsibility, or maybe even a big moment coming up…

(But they all just feel so insignificant… I killed them for a reason and it amounted to nothing, yet, I don't feel a thing other than the frustration I know I wasted their deaths… that's it… What am I? That's all I can ask, cause I don't feel human right now.) Alaric could only let himself lay there on his bed just taking in the world around him.

He continued to try and think of it but no answer came to mind.

(I don't regret killing the 7 men or trying to kill that little bastard and to me that's fine, they tried to kill me first and kidnapped my sister… But the maids… I don't think they had a choice, after all, that kid is a noble…

(Yet, I also don't regret killing them, at least not because I killed them, I regret it because I didn't finish the job even after killing them. Maybe I'm just a bad person, I might've always been evil or some form of psychopath… I don't know… It just feels empty.) Alaric closed his eyes ready to sleep peacefully, despite knowing himself, that he was a murderer.

People feared many things, at least most people didn't want to be or see themselves as the evil side, or do things that could fall in line with being evil, be it for fear of punishment, judgment, or guilt, there were many who would not do anything to put themselves in the position to commit ant acts they thought of as morally wrong.

However, something that many seemed to try, and ignore was their true feeling, as people would rather mask themselves with care, and positivity than face the cold reality that they simply did not care about something they should care about, something that people feared to fall to but did not want to acknowledge.

The reality of indifference and how it could express itself in them, even when it came to situations that should matter to them.

(I guess I'm just indifferent to the wrong thing, I should probably find a way to change… I just don't know if I can.) Alaric who's eyes were closed just fell into deep sleep with his last thoughts that day.

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(3rd person POV)

"Honey, weren't you a bit harsh on Alaric, after all, he was dragged into one of Crystal's mischievous pranks..." Amora asked her husband as they cuddled.

"Yes, but that was only because this incident made me realize something. We've been treating Alaric like he's a researcher at work, and I admit that I too was blinded by his abnormal level of intelligence for his age and not to mention his talent, but at the end of the day, he's still a child and should be treated as such.

"If we just let him isolate himself, it will be problematic for him when he grows up. He needs more social activity and a bit more of a harsh environment to help him grow. That's why I gave him the same level of punishment, and it's not that bad, they'll probably thank me for this when they grow up anyway." Loralaine answered her wife, holding her tight.

"I see... And, you're right. It will be the best for them in the long run." Amora agreed as they then continued to chat about various other topics.

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-The next day-

It started with the lessons and Alaric wasn't even allowed to exercise at all, which he believed was a bit much, but he couldn't really do anything about it.

Today unlike any of his days so far, his Mother came to take him to the bakery where he would start working with Lilian and Crystal.

There wasn't too much to do besides talk, since there weren't that many clients. Most were people who wanted to buy bread and leave while the small minority were servants of some house wanting to make a big order.

(Honestly, it would be more fun to spend my time training... Well, it could be worse I guess.) Alaric accepted his new daily routine.

Eventually, it was break time and they had to go check on their grandparents during that time. They weren't really in need of anything or more so Grandma refused to make them work for her, while Grandpa didn't really seem to need anything at the moment. However, the time spent together was still appreciated.

The work then continued and it was still boring to Alaric.

Lunchtime broke that cycle and they went home to eat with the family. Nothing notable happened at the table.

Once that was over, once again they were thrown back to helping their grandparents.

"kids, we're going out and you're helping me, and your grandpa. Let's go!" Grandma announced as she and Grandpa smiled at the kids.

They walked with them for a while before Lilian noticed something and then whispered into Crystal's ear.

"This isn't the way to the market or commerce area. Where are we going?" Crystal asked confused as she expected this to be a simple market trip.

"That's because we are not going to either of those places, we just wanted to take you kids to the play area so you can have fun for a bit. It was your grandmother's idea." Grandpa revealed the truth.

"Yes! I'm free again! I'm too pretty to be grounded anyway. Thanks, Grandma, and Grandpa, maybe you are actually still cool even if you are super old." Crystal reveled in the idea.

"… Nice! This is justice!… I get to put my social life in order. Thanks! This helps a lot." Lilian smiled as she gave her thanks.

"Great! Thank you, Gramps! You two just saved me. I'll get to show my passion and go into some training." Alaric smiled ready to go deep into his training routine to make up for the lost time.

"You girlies have fun, but no training for you, Alaric. You'll do more than enough of that once your uncle gets here." Grandma shook her head turning down his plan.

"That... Grandpa, you have to understand why I need to do this right?" Alaric decided to appeal to his grandfather.

"Nope, not today. You'll have plenty of time for that later. Today you just need to have fun, maybe make some friends outside the family. It will be good for you." Grandpa shook her head, not supporting him either.

"But… Training is fun… It's full of passion…" Alaric replied destroyed to hear there was no training for him.

(No grinding.… truly the worst fate for a player… I still have so much growth I could experience, and here I am, stuck right now.) Alaric was in pain not able to express his passion for his training.

In this world, not much was going on in terms of entertainment, so kids would just play around with sticks, and mud, run around, or prank each other, not necessarily what would be called peak entertainment, at least not as fun as trying to figure out the best way to cast a spell or the refreshing feeling of satisfaction after each training session is for Alaric.

The time was eventually up and Alaric didn't think he would be grateful to go back to the bakery at least not this soon, but here we are.

This moment also ignited his resolve to make entertainment for this world aside from theater, violence, music, art, and sex.

(Let's start by remaking a bunch of board games from Earth. Happily for me, will ensure things go smoothly. Not now though, I'll work on this later.) Alaric decided in his mind.

Once the work was over for the day, they were taken home to help out with organizing and cleaning which was honestly more interesting than just standing there hoping a customer pops up.

As it was his first day doing all this, he decided not to, but from the next day on, he would just train magic in his mindscape while working at the bakery, as it shouldn't go too wrong... Probably...

Things looked great and the house was all ready to receive their visitors, and it didn't take long before they arrived. The kids went outside to find a man and five women.

The man was obviously his uncle Ross, but what he didn't know about him was that... He's a wolfman one of the subspecies of beastmen, he looks like a normal human but has the ears and tail of a wolf.

Not only him, but two of the women present also had nonhuman characteristics, one of them had green skin, and the other was a cowgirl... Having cow ears, though Alaric couldn't see if she had a tail from where he was, though she probably does.

Mom moved forward as they got closer and said. "Numia, Ross, Litia! It's been so long!" She hugged all three of them in a group hug.

They were here.

Chapter end