:::[Third person POV]:::
Liu continued to look at Adam as he walked toward the group of hunters.
She stayed around the plaza to see how the hunter team dealt with the portal, but she didn't expect to see Adam there.
As for Verte, she was also a very mysterious entity altogether, so she didn't need that much sleep and was very active all the time.
Liu was fairly surprised by their little exchange and never imagined that Adam, who looked so helpless and pitiful the day before, would suddenly talk to her like she was someone of his age.
She also realized that while she was talking with Adam, she didn't put her guard down as she would do with an ordinary kid.
She felt like she was talking to an adult rather than a young man. Adam's way of talking was a little bit odd, mostly because he was supposed to be a noble himself.
More importantly, that last sentence Adam said with a calm face made Liu's heart flutter a little bit, and that was an emotion that she wasn't accustomed to.
Most of the time, when some men compliment her like that, it made her feel disgusted because she could feel the lust in their eyes.
Liu, like most girls, was very intuitive when it came to things like that.
However, Adam's eyes were pure, as if he did not have any kind of ulterior motives but just gave his honest opinion.
Then, Liu was also stunned by Verte's reaction. This mysterious baby never approached anyone apart from Liu. At that time, however, she looked like she was in the arms of her father.
Liu realized that there was more about Adam than meets the eyes.
Nevertheless, she wanted more evidence and more information, so she was waiting for a chance to test Adam for real.
As Adam was getting near the portal, Liu was more curious about what he was trying to do.
"…?"
No emotions appeared on her face but it was as if a question mark popped above her head.
"Gugugu!"
Suddenly, Verte let out happy noises and reached her little hands toward Adam.
Liu was curious about the connection between Verte and Adam, but for the time being, she contented on observing.
"Hm?" Liu let out a tiny gasp.
She saw Adam being scolded by a soldier but he just passed them as if nothing happened.
'What is this feeling? It's quite similar to what happened at that time.' Liu pondered as she looked at Adam, then she took a glance at Verte who seemed very energetic and clapped her little hands.
Then after that, Liu's eyes widened.
'What's going on? What happened to the portal?' She thought, but before she could even process what happened, Adam was already on his way back with a confident smile on his face.
He looked satisfied with what he did, but Liu didn't know what happened.
Before she knew it, Adam was already near her, and then he looked at her again.
"Miss Liu, as you can see, we have to finish dealing with the aftermath of yesterday's incident, but I hope you enjoy your stay! You can directly talk to me if there is anything else you need." Adam said, then he made some gesture with his hand, trying to make Verte laugh.
"Gugu!" Verte giggled looking at him.
After that, Adam bowed his head courtly and went on his way.
Liu had a kind of weird look on her face, something between shock and curiosity. However, her face quickly reverted to her usual expression.
'What was that?' Liu wondered because Adam's way of speaking startled her.
There was also the fact that Adam just did something extremely odd.
'I need to discover what is happening as fast as possible…'
*****
Amelia was standing not far across from Liu.
Her family was going to head back to their planet, later on, that day, but she decided to look at the scene where the whole incident took place one last time.
There was this feeling that she couldn't get rid of and weighed on her heart. It was as if there was something that she missed.
She looked at the scene in front of her and noticed that there were a few strong people present there. She knew that these people were from the Empire and were known as hunters.
Hunters were respected because they risked their lives to fight against monsters that could destroy cities, and towns, on planets that were not directly under the protection of the Empire.
Amelia respected them, and she even dreamed to use her particular talent to become a support for a hunter team in the future.
To do that, she was going to attempt the entrance examination of the Holy Academy.
However, there was something that made her freeze in place. It was occurring when a boy of the same age was walking toward the portal.
At that point, it still looked like this so-called Adam was being bratty, but then something unexpected happened and Amelia was about to remember something, then her mind went blank.
She was looking at Adam but there was nothing, and he looked like a normal person who possessed a gift.
And that was weird because her whole body screamed in fear.
'W-why am I feeling scared just by looking at him?' Amelia thought to herself.
[Are you curious?]
Suddenly an ominous voice echoed inside Amelia's mind.
Amelia was feeling extremely awful at that moment, and when she began to hear a voice inside of her too, she thought that she was losing it.
'What's going on with me?' She asked herself, feeling concerned about her mental health.
[I will give you knowledge if you are willing to accept it.]
The voice continued to talk, and Amelia become more and more scared.
'Who are you? What's going on?' She asked herself, seeing that no one else heard the voice.
[You will understand everything once you accept me. Everything will be exposed in front of your eyes, and you will finally understand the things that only you can see.]
The voice made an offer to Amelia, but just hearing the sound of the voice made her doubt and feel scared...
"I…"
Amelia was extremely confused by what was happening to her.
*****
:::[Adam's POV]:::
I exchanged some words with Liu again before heading to the building where my mother was resting.
Liu didn't say much, but I hoped what I did would help with the future exchanges between the two of us.
Though I didn't want to overdo it, so I kept it short and waited for new opportunities.
As I walked, I looked around and people were still looking at me with puzzled eyes. I didn't understand why, but I guessed that they were feeling sorry for me because my birthday turned into carnage.
However, among the crowd, there was one girl who looked pale and uncomfortable.
'What's happening to her?' I wondered, but before I could do anything, the girl hurried somewhere with a perplexed face.
I didn't pursue her, because I knew that some people lost their loved ones during that incident.
I also almost lost my mother for a second time, so I could relate to her even if it was a little bit.
'She needs some time to reflect on all of this,' I thought.
After that, I made my way to the main building where my parents lived in.
I didn't understand why, but I decided to live in a different building when I turned thirteen, because that way, I thought, I would be able to focus on my research without raising anyone's suspicion.
Now that I think about it, I didn't even consider my parents feeling and was only focused on myself.
'I am stupid sometimes...' I realized.
When I entered the building, some maids were shocked to see me.
I didn't pay attention to their chatters, and instead, I asked if I could see my parents.
No one could stop me if I wanted to go see them, but considering that it was still early in the morning, I asked just in case.
As soon as I arrived at the front door of my parent's room, I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
Tok! tok!
"Who is there?" My father asked.
"It's me, Adam," I replied.
"Adam? Come in..."
As soon as I heard my father's word, I entered the doom, minding my steps.
"…I didn't expect to see you here so early in the morning." My father continued.
"I was worried about, M-mum." I stumbled a little bit. To say that one word took a lot of effort than I thought. It had been a while since I called my other mother that way, even before she passed away.
At that time, I realized that I never called my second mother like that. Even if I respected her and loved her, the way acted made it look like didn't treat her like my real mother. I was too unfamiliar when talking to her, and I felt like she was worried about it for a long time.
"Adam..." My father mumbled.
"I am fine now, Adam." My mom said in a very peaceful tone.
She sat up on the bed and looked at me with gentle eyes.
At that time, I got misty eyes.
"Mom, I love you."
I said, the words escaping from my mouth naturally. Then, I felt somehow embarrassed despite all of the things that I went through.
My mom just smiled when she heard me.
"We love you too, Adam," she said with a soothing and gentle voice.
"Yeah, yeah, we love you son! But did you exclude someone just now?"
My father remarked, and the three of us laughed quite a bit.