After the dungeon raid, Gracier took a quick detour, going back to Eris city, more precisely into the Zilya's mountain range. She was visiting her former village, her hometown.
Gracier accompanied by Saeko secretly sneaked into Gracier's house she built after becoming a successful Adventurer and earning a lot of money.
From the outside, this house looks stylish. It has been built with white pine wood and has burgundy brick decorations. Large, triangular windows add to the overall look of the house and have been added to the house in a mostly symmetric way.
The house is equipped with an average kitchen and one modern bathroom, it also has a large living room, four bedrooms, a cozy dining area, a study, and a roomy garage.
The building is shaped as a short U. The two extensions extend into stylish gardens to each side.
The second floor is smaller than the first, which allowed for a large balcony on one side of the house. This floor has roughly the same style as the floor below.
The roof is low, triangular, and layered and is covered with seagrass. One small chimney sits at the side of the house. Several small windows let in just enough light to the rooms below the roof.
The house itself is surrounded by a gorgeous garden, including various trees, bushes, flowers, and a large pond.
Gracier went directly to her room after exchanging a few words with the maids taking care of the house in her absence while Saeko went into the garden.
A scruffy plot of moss-covered grass is contoured by young flower bushes and shrubs. A fountain stands in the center of the garden, offering an aquatic element of tranquility, one enjoyed by birds as well. The smaller flower bushes are forming a miniature world of their own, full of mysteries and wonder; they're a forest for ants. The flower bushes and shrubs reach 1.5m/5ft high, but this is unusual, and perhaps unique to this garden. Here and there lies a stepping stone, giving people an elegant way of exploring the garden and all it has to offer. Grass slightly disrupts the pristine look as they hungrily search for even more pieces of land to expand to.
The fountain demands all attention, but in doing so also draws attention to everything near it. The smaller flower bushes often look fantastic, and the flower bushes and shrubs are nothing to sneeze at, but there's just no way to outshine the fountain.
Meanwhile, Gracier inside her room was lying on the bed, closing her eyes she drifted into the Dreamland where she was recalling a certain memory of the past.
The city of Stonewick was built at the base of a modest mountain and is truly an ancient metropolis. Its grace is matched by the backdrop of mighty mountains which have helped shape the city into what it is today.
The resources these mountains brought were of great importance, but they were also influential when it came to architectural designs as the vast majority of buildings have been built in the shape of those same mountains.
The skyline is scattered with tall buildings and a lot of them seem to have evolved throughout the ages. Business is booming in Stonewick and it has attracted a lot of attention. Various cultures have left their mark not just on the city's cuisine, but also on the city's identity. What historically was a city of plain, ordinary people has grown into a new culture of variety and it's this that unites the 700 thousand people to this day.
It's this multicultural identity that has truly left its mark. Hundreds of gastropubs, bistros, and concession stands offer a plethora of culinary choices and those who feel hungry for something else can enjoy tours, sports activities, water sports or one of the many other recreational venues.
Under the burning sun, hot air roamed the entire city.
Maybe this was the normal weather pattern, however, the tourists here couldn't deal with the heat, only the natives or residents who stayed here for a long time could take such a humid and hot environment.
Even if their backs are dripping wet with sweat, the pedestrians went about their normal business. With sweat droplets running down their cheeks, their nonchalant attitude suggested they were used to this. Granted, there are still youngsters who grumbled about the heat.
A wind blew by as the pedestrians savored this rare delight. Some of them stopped to enjoy the wind.
The gust went beyond the busy streets, and the modest buildings and the cheeky winds entered the residents' homes on high-rise buildings.
As the chosen candidate of the wind's blessing, a breeze blew through Gracier's bed, moving her bangs slightly, blessing the world with a view of her unfair god-given looks.
She stirred into consciousness when the breeze caressed her. Her eyelids slowly twitched as she rose from her peaceful slumber.
Like a hatchling, she struggled to open her eyes. Her heterochromia eyes were like fine crystals that shimmered with a brilliant glint. Her blurry vision focused and she saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
She blinked in confusion, with an expression that would make any male scream "Beautiful", she roamed her gaze over the strange room. The room had a strangely calm scent wafting about, she took the time to remember this warm and peaceful room.
''This..."
She was puzzled because she can't recognize this place no matter how hard she searched her memories.
"Where..."
"You're awake, huh?..."
While she was still combing through her memories, figuring out how she arrived here, someone's voice interrupted her thoughts. The voice almost caused her to tear up.
Guided by her own heart, she quickly turned around to look at the door.
The door was ajar and Alex stood there with a plate in his hand. He brought some fresh, steaming, nourishing food for her. Soon, the room was suffused with the scent of good food.
He placed the food on the headboard of the bed, he sat down by her side.
"How do you feel?"
Alex asked with a smile.
"Do you feel sore or discomfort anywhere?"
She looked at Alex with a stunned look. She recovered after Alex sat down and she reacted promptly.
"Big brother?..."
She looked around.
"Where am I?"
"My house."
Alex chuckled.
"Also, your home from now on."
"M-my home?..."
Gracier sat there with a dumbfounded look. She didn't think her Big brother would drop such a bombshell on her.
Alex hesitated when he saw his sister's looks, he looked into her eyes.
"Ah, you don't remember..."
He looked at her intently.
"The things you did before..."
"The things I've done..."
Gracier frowned as memories poured into her mind.
She went berserk while trying to use a power she couldn't control because she felt she was not strong enough, she could control her dragon form.
She recalls flying in the sky, fighting and killing other things with powers unfathomable to her.
She remembered how she dismembered the fallen subjects and how she consumed their spiritual cores.
She also remembered how she pierced Alex's chest and almost destroyed his heart.
Finally, she remembered her hands that were stained with the blood of many.
Her looks of confusion were gone, she started expressing a look of sadness and regret. She cowered as her eyes dimmed down.
''I think I might have killed and I even hurt you, big brother.''
The scary memories came back to haunt Gracier. Her face paled and she looked sickly.
Although the blood on her hands wasn't a direct result of her conscious mind, her kind nature pinned the lives on her. She's someone who can't even ignore an abandoned stray cat after all.
For her, the memories were cruel and unforgiving.
Alex saw her dark look and he lowered his head to ponder.
He reached out to pat Gracier and her beautiful red hair.
"Does it hurt?..."
Gracier didn't answer, rather she didn't know what kind of answer she should give him.
Did it hurt?
She lost her emotions from that time, does it still hurt?
The tinge in her heart, what's up with that?
Alex could read her mind and he chortled.
"It's okay..."
Gracier flinched. She turned towards her big brother.
"It's okay..."
He's trying to convey his heart's voice to her. He rubbed her hair and he beamed at her.
"Even if your hands are stained with blood, even if your body is stained with blood, you're still you..."
Alex's radiant smile dazzled Gracier.
"If you think you've sinned greatly then let me weather it with you..."
"The guilt you carry..."
"Shoulder... it with me?..."
Gracier's eyes wavered.
"Why?..."
''Simply because as I said that time, we are now a family, you're my sister whom I love dearly and will do anything for your happiness.''
Gracier's widened before she burst into tears, tears of joy, it was starting from that day the way she looked at her brother slowly changed, and she began to desire more, for this man she would do anything and want to be together with him forever and more intimately. This has become her dearest wish, a forbidden feeling arose in the little devil's girl's heart.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l