Crybaby

"The library?"

Aero who had his mouth full with salted scrambled egg cooked to perfection nodded his head.

"Well, I prefer it if you take your time and rest for today but some light reading won't do any harm, right? Some people even find reading a really great thing to kick start their… sleeping instinct," Master gave a side glance to the man standing beside him.

The man wore an elegant black butler outfit. In contrast, his pure white tail poked out from the back of his pants. It swayed gently to the right and left, ignoring Master's remark.

His fluffy white ears though were different as they sometimes tilted and folded in a weird angle for no reason whatsoever.

In Aero's eyes, this man was quite a unique beastkin. Master called him Brandy. Another pet name just like Alfie.

His real name was Brand Tailor, yet another slav… another retainer of the Vermilion house. He and Alfie; full name Alfred Grace, were mentees of the same mentor.

"There is something that I need to check. And maybe I would get some relaxation from the library."

"Well, I don't mind. It is just that not many people use the library nowadays. I think apart from you, only that green crybaby frequents the library on a daily basis," Master sipped his cup of coffee.

'Green… cry baby?'

"Ah, don't worry about him. Maybe he won't even dare to look you in the eyes. He has always been like that," Master commented nonchalantly and signaled Aero to quickly finish his breakfast.

"Brandy showed the prince to the castle's library. I had things to do and Alfie is out on an errand. Make sure to keep an eye on him at all times," Master instructed Alfie as he rose from his seat and headed towards the door.

He paused in front of it and added, "Ah, one more thing. He's quite bad at pausing during his reading season so remind him when it's time for lunch. Drag him out if you have to."

He gave Aero a toothy grin before walking out of the dining room.

That leaves the two of them awkwardly in the room. As Aero took the last bite of his meal he tried to break the ice between the two of them.

"So, your name is Brandy?"

"Brand Tailor at your service," Brandy said as he gave Aero a bow. "Please just call me Brandy like everybody else."

"Okay, Brandy. From what Master had said, you seemed to dislike reading books?"

"Huh~" Brandy sighed lightly. "It is not like that young master. For me, the quiet sound and sometimes the rustling of pages gave me peace. You could say the library is my favorite place to sleep," Brandy said confidently with a righteous tone.

Aero raised an eyebrow, "Is that so? Does it have anything to do with your ear? They have been moving nonstop for a while."

"It is precisely that. My family has inherited this Gift since its founding. Simply put, you could say I have super hearing."

"Super hearing~" Aero whispered.

"Yes, super hearing. But it is nothing compared to your great Gift, young master," Brandy said with a smile.

Unfortunately, he had to wipe that smile off his face.

"I'm sorry if I said something rude just now, young master. I may have said something out of line," Brandy bowed.

Aero smiled wryly at Brandy. He could see the guilt in Brandy's eyes.

"No, you did nothing wrong. My Gift is not as great as you think it is. In fact I find it quite troublesome."

Brandy nodded his head in silence. Master had told Alfie and him what sort of Gift this young prince had so they could better serve his needs. In his opinion, Gift like that was extremely rare and if used correctly would be a boon to its user.

Brandy knew what it feels like to detest one's Gift. He was also like that when he started his career as an adventurer. One thing that he had learnt from his experiences, it is not the Gift that made someone powerful but how the users utilize them that gave each Gift their own unique strength and battle style.

"Is it my heartbeat?" Aero suddenly asked.

'He's quite sharp for someone so young. As expected of the heir of the Reds.'

"Yes. I thought that maybe I had hurt your feelings, young master."

"Your gift sure is handy, Brandy. I wish mine was like yours."

"Just give it some time, young master. As you grow and mature alongside your Gift, you will naturally learn how to use it. When that time comes, your Gift will be better than mine."

"Is that so? Someone just said the same thing to me last night."

"Wise words from a wise person. Is it Master who told you that?"

"No, it is not Master. I don't really know her identity and there is only one way to find out…"

- - -

"The elven nobility banded together on the founding day of the Elven Council . Though its presence had no significance in the power balance between the races, the council represented the elves' unity as a whole. Their voices were given power by the masses of elves.

Overtime, this association bore its fruit by surprising the world with the first ever joint expedition team composed of only elves. Despite the earlier critiques this team got because of their glaring non-existence balance, all well that ended well.

The team triumphant return after their successful expedition upto the uncharted territory of Sahara shocked the world. This breaks the stigma of what a balanced team looks like. Some even tried to imitate this achievement but to no avail. This also proved that elves have what it takes to be more than just a side role supporter.

Gewein Alm, Sprite 1782."

The boy finished reading the book with satisfaction in his voice.

"The Stomping Faun, lead by Beaumont Moss," the boy whispered. "I wish I could join them when they still exist… huh~" the boy sighed.

"What's that? Extensive History of the Elf and How They Came to Be… is it interesting?" asked a voice.

"Of course it is. The author Gewein, is a famous…" the boy almost choked on his saliva when he looked at the one asking the question.

Red blazing hair shimmering under the sunlight. It swayed as the boy tilted his head at the trembling green haired boy. His eyes that gleamed with beautiful ruby colour looked at the boy with confusion.

Aero could always see the emotions of every person he made eye contact with but that did not mean that he understood why they were showing such emotions.

Back in The Mine, he knew the inhabitants hated him but he did not know why. The same could be said to this trembling green haired boy.

Fear and anguish were bare for everyone to see even without the aid of something like Aero's Gift. His trembling lips, quivering eyes, and the pool of tears welling under his light brown eyes, they all pointed towards that same emotion.

Fear.

"Uhh…" Aero gave Brandy a glance asking, "Did I do something wrong?" to which Brandy just shrugged his shoulders.

"You okay?" Aero tried to offer his hand to the boy but he stumbled backwards, avoiding Aero like a plague.

"I-I-I've heard of you. They say a new…" he gulped hard. "... a new Vermilion is coming in," the boy said with a shaky voice.

"Is that so? My name's Aero by the way. Nice meeting you," Aero gave the boy a simple greeting before moving to another section of the library.

Since the other party was so guarded towards him, Aero decided to give him some private space since he was more comfortable like that.

The boy followed the retreating red headed boy with his eyes. This was the first time he met a Reds of his age. All of the adult Reds were so intimidating that whenever he saw them he would hide away behind his chaperone.

His encounter with the young Red did go like the script he had plotted. He imagined the red headed boy to suddenly come and throw some punches at him. Then he would proceed with snatching away the book he was reading and shredding it to pieces. After that he would give him a heartfelt laughter and looked at him with condescending eyes like he was some ants at the Red mercy.

'Maybe he is still new here and still researching the current power balance of the castle. Hmm? Why would he come to the library then?.'

While he had that thought, his eyes never left the red headed boy's figure. He intently appraised every little move the young Red did like a seasoned stalker.

The Red in question seemed to be searching for some book on the Fairytale and Lore section. It was opposite from the History section he was sitting in.

The boy browsed through the rows of books and clicked his tongue. He seemed dissatisfied with his founding. The Red then looked towards him and a smile crept on his face. He then briskly walked towards him.

'Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh no, no, no, no, no. Here comes the punches!'