Moving (2)

Since he no longer needed to go to the martial academy, Shui could wait with Ali and Sally until Jeanne came in the morning. When she saw the three of them waiting for her at the entrance, she knew that she had walked into something bothersome.

"Good morning? Why are all of you just sitting there?"

"Big Sis Jeanne, why don't you have a seat?"

Ali and Sally were one thing, but when Shui told her to sit down with a suspiciously polite tone, she did so with great confusion. She sat in front of Shui and saw him smiling like a crafty merchant.

'I have a bad feeling.'

"Big Sis Jeanne, I understand that you don't want to move with Uncle Trey."

When Shui brought up this topic, Jeanne glared at Ali and Sally, and they awkwardly squirmed in their chairs until Shui cleared his throat to return her focus to the conversation.

"Uh, that's because I really like this shop and I want to continue work-"

"Then you're fired."

"Wha, huh?"

"Remember, I own this place. So I can fire you."

Indeed, on official documents Shui owned Fairies' Wardrobe, but Jeanne managed it because he was too young and didn't care. However, he was technically still her superior so he had the right to fire her.

Jeanne was caught off guard by Shui playing this card so she could only stutter a response.

"Bu, bu, but Shui, are you really going to fire your dear big sister like this?"

"Don't worry, it's not just you. Uncle Trey said he would bring them too, right? Big Sis Ali and Big Sis Sally, you're fired too."

"Huh?!"

All three of them were astonished by Shui but he planned to do this the moment they asked for his help. Since he wanted them to leave so they weren't put in danger because of his actions, obviously he wouldn't just have Jeanne leaving.

"But what about the shop?" Sally asked.

"Simple, I'll close it. I won't sell it for now, but who knows about the future."

"Shui!"

They shouted in disbelief. They couldn't understand why Shui would suddenly do this.

"Why are you all so upset? It's not like this place is bringing in much revenue, and I'm doing just fine over at my Master's place. If you're worried about capital for what you're gonna do after you move, you can sell whatever you want. It's not like I'll have any use for it."

"But this place, your mother-"

"What about her?"

None of them could continue their line of argument. They believed that Shui surely had complicated feelings about his mother, but they didn't want to give up this place. For all three of them, this shop meant the world to them, and it was the last vestige of Suiri that they could take care of.

Shui could tell how reluctant they were to accept his words. It would be easy to force them, but he was too close to them to do that. He knew it would be hard for them to decide easily so he sighed and straightened his back.

"From what I remember, Mom wasn't the type to tie people down because of her own desires. She was really carefree, I bet sometimes she even forgot that this place existed. When she talked about giving this place to me, she didn't say I had to manage it, but that if I wanted to sell it, I couldn't force the employees to leave. She said it would be fine if they left on their own volition, but she wouldn't force anyone to leave. I truly feel like everyone here is like a big sister to me, because I'm sure that Mom cared for you like her daughters."

The way Shui spoke of Suiri made it seem as if he knew how she was before she became an alcoholic, but instead of thinking about that, the three women had tears in their eyes as they remembered her. Although she was the one to make this place, the other employess would always have to stop her from doing something crazy like giving out free clothes to new couples or simply handing them out on a whim. They remembered when everyone was still here, there were defintely problems but they all had fun. Suiri was at times a gentle mother, and at other times she was like a wilful little sister. That was the Suiri they remembered, and the one they were glad Shui could remember as well.

When Shui saw that they were crying, he went towards the door.

"I won't force you. But, I don't want you three to stay here for the rest of your lives. Mom wouldn't want that either. She wouldn't tell you to leave, but she would want you to be free to do as you wish. Please, don't use my Mom as a reason to tie yourselves down here."

After leaving these words, Shui was gone. It was almost time to open shop, but they were still sitting with tears slidding down their cheeks. Lost within memories of Suiri, they wandered what choice they should make...

Since he knew they would need time to sort things out, Shui didn't plan to go back home for couple days. However, two days later, Ali came to the mansion. Since he now had the highest authority over all the arrays covering the mansion, he was the first one to discover her. He paused his cultivation session and quickly went out to meet her.

"Big Sis Ali, what are you doing here?"

At first, Ali still seemed a little shaken from the stunning appearance of the mansion, but when she saw Shui she pretended that it didn't affect her.

"Before we make our decision, we have to talk to your master, who will be your guardian after we leave. Bring him over tomorrow around noon."

After saying her part, Ali quickly left.

"Huh? Wait, what?!"

Shui could get why they asked for this, but his relationship with his Master wasn't exactly good enough for him to ask him to meet his family on short notice. But, since he had to do it, Shui quickly thought about how to get it done.

Shui went straight to Nikolai's office. At this time, Emily would study by herself so Nikolai would be alone in the room. When Shui knocked the door and asked for permission to enter, Nikolai paused before telling him to come in. Rather than just a feeling, Nikolai was completely sure that Shui was more knowledgeable than he appeared, but he was still hesitant to confirm it.

"For what reason have you come, Shui?"

"My big sisters want to talk to you Master. I was hoping you could come with me to see them at around noon tomorrow."

"Hmph, do I look like I have that much free time? Don't bother me with such trifles."

"Please, Master."

"I already said no. What, do you not want to listen to me anymore?"

Shui was well aware that Nikolai was using this moment to build himself up by emphasizing on the fact that he was his master. Since Shui was basically in control of the mansion, it would be simple to use force to make him agree, but that method would be too sloppy. And so, though he was reluctant to, Shui went down on both knees and put his forehead to the ground.

"Please! They're moving and I want them to have peace of mind. Please Master!"

This was the first time Shui had ever kowtowed to anyone. Not even his mother had seen him like this before she passed! But if it was necessary, so that they could leave to a better place, he gritted his teeth and accepted this disgrace.

The sight of Shui grovelling in front of him, gave great satisfaction to Nikolai, so he changed his mind and went with Shui to see his big sisters. Since he would be detected by Nikolai, Shui didn't try to eavesdrop on their conversation, but he truly wished he did because when Nikolai walked out he mumbled, "Scary..."

'What the hell did my big sisters do to him?'

A few days later, Shui waved goodbye to his big sisters as they left on a carriage with Trey. With them gone, he felt a little lonely and he could also feel an even heavier burden. He was now by himself in this trial.

When Emily saw him looking off into the distance, she took out a pendant from her shirt and looked at it with a similar expression.