Vision 7 - What is this? (1)
The house looked typical from the inside. It had two floors with normal decorations, plants on the sides, and pictures on the walls. We walked through the hallway.
"Honey! I'm home!"
"Okay! Come to the living room!"
Bob announced his return, and a feminine voice echoed in reply. Bob marched toward an open door on our right.
As Bob entered the room, I followed behind him. A small boy came running toward Bob and clung to his leg.
"Welcome home, Dad!"
"Hey, champ!"
It was a boy of around ten, with a big smile and messy blonde hair. He clung to Bob's leg like a koala.
I saw a woman then get up from the couch. She also had blonde hair and was holding a baby girl with black hair in her arms.
"Hey, honey. You're back. You should rest here."
"Hahaha, yes. Today sure was exhausting."
It was a normal, happy family—a man with a wife and two children. Bob's wife turned toward me, her welcoming expression for Bob shifting to curiosity, as seemed to happen with everyone I met. Bob picked up the boy clinging to his leg and turned toward me.
"Come on in. Hey, guys, meet Arthur. He's the boy from the woods I told you all about. I invited him to stay tonight with us."
Bob announced it directly rather than explaining. But really? "The boy from the woods"? It could have been phrased better. I put on a genuine smile, walked in, and waved.
"Hello."
Bob gestured toward the blonde woman holding the baby.
"Meet my wife, Melissa."
I let my consciousness form the inscribed purple profiles of everyone.
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[The Active Skill 'Prescient Description' has been activated.]
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[Name: Melissa High
Age: 38 years old
Blessing: None
Active Attribute: Great Cook (General)
Active Skills: Cooking Lvl. 4, Axe Wielding Lvl. 1, Knife Wielding Lvl. 2
Passive Skills: Rationality Lvl. 1, Sense of Balance Lvl. 1, Patience Lvl. 1
Overall Stats: Strength Lvl. 25, Stamina Lvl. 26, Agility Lvl. 29, Magic Power Lvl. 26
Description: She has great cooking skills. Everyone loves her food. She loves her family the most.]
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I extended my hand toward Bob's wife, Melissa, but then my gaze fell on the baby in her arms, and I retracted it. Instead, I bowed slightly to greet her.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Arthur."
"Nice to meet you too. I've heard great things. I'm glad my husband found someone who shares his interest."
"Likewise. Sharing my interest with your husband, whose passion for the activity surpasses my own—believe me, the pleasure is all mine."
"Oh, you have a lovely way with words."
She is a nice lady with a warm smile. She seemed like the kind of neighbor all the children would flock to.
"Meet him. This is my son, James. James, say hi." Bob proceeded to introduce his son, who sat on his arm with his own arm resting around his father's neck.
"Hello."
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[The Active Skill 'Prescient Description' has been activated.]
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[Name: James High
Age: 11 years old
Blessing: None
Active Attribute: Rascal (General)
Active Skills: Sword Training Lvl. 1, Running Lvl. 1
Passive Skills: Tricking Lvl. 1
Overall Stats: Strength Lvl. 18, Stamina Lvl. 19, Agility Lvl. 18, Magic Power Lvl. 17
Description: He dreams of becoming a swordmaster.]
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I could see James as the kind of kid who would be timid at first but would turn into a rascal once you got to know him. I extended my hand toward James with a smile.
"Hey, buddy. I'm Arthur."
James looked at me anxiously and then shook my hand. I purposefully shook his hand firmly and put on an expression as if his grip was hard to match.
"Wow, James, you're really strong. Your grip is so powerful."
My compliment seemed to work because James put on a triumphant expression and spoke with his head held high.
"Right! I'm super strong. I'll be a great officer in the military one day."
I wasn't just complimenting him—the kid's stats were similar to mine. If we fought on equal ground, I wasn't sure who would win.
"Okay, champ. Arthur, meet the last member of my family, my daughter, Jules."
I turned toward the baby girl and couldn't help but look at the precious little thing with fondness. She was staring at me with wide eyes, as if I am some alien. Maybe I was an alien to her family.
"Heyyy, baby angel. I. Am. Arthur."
"Gugugugagaga..."
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[The Active Skill 'Prescient Description' has been activated.]
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[Name: Jules High
Age: 2 years old
Blessing: None
Active Attribute: Little Angel (General)
Active Skills: None
Passive Skills: Adorable Lvl. 2, Perception Lvl. 2
Overall Stats: Strength Lvl. 11, Stamina Lvl. 12, Agility Lvl. 10, Magic Power Lvl. 10
Description: She is highly perceptive. Even at her young age, she can perceive everything.]
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I was shocked to see Jules's attributes. Not only was she stronger than most people from Earth, but she also had two passive skills, which were impressive. Adorable and Perception—I wondered if she might become someone very powerful.
But I shook my head at my thoughts. I shouldn't be thinking about a two-year-old child like that.
Jules's smile gleamed as her eyes turned to me, and surprisingly, she stretched her arms toward me with warmth.
"Woah! Jules never goes to strangers," James exclaimed from Bob's arms, clearly surprised.
"I'm surprised as well. You must be good with children, Arthur," Melissa added, looking between Jules and me.
"He's good with women," a sarcastic comment came from my side. It was Persephone. I just ignored her. I shook Jules's tiny hand with my fingers.
"Not really. Thank you for having me. I'll be under your care for today."
By this point, I was tired. I turned to Bob, who was putting James down.
"Hate to say this first thing, but I'm really tired. I think I'll turn in for the evening. Please call me at dinnertime."
"Ah... Right, of course, you would be. Come with me. I'll show you to the guest room."
I bid farewell to Melissa, James, and Jules, then followed Bob. He took me to the first floor and led me to a room in the corner. The room was very spacious. I looked around and thanked Bob, but he called to me one more time before leaving. He had something to say.
"Umm... Arthur... I got two axes from the lake. I was thinking of giving one to you."
"Why?"
That was unexpected. I was genuinely surprised. He did all the work—I just stood by the whole time while he went through his own script.
"Well, we were both there, and you stayed, but I didn't see anything you got from there."
It seemed Bob was bothered that I came empty-handed while he left with precious axes.
"Sir Bob, what you got was for you to keep. Don't worry about anything."
"But—"
"If you want, I'll consider your hospitality for tonight as my reward."
I didn't want him to feel indebted. I already got Zoe's Heart, which is a precious skill. I assured him not to feel obligated and sent him away, though he still looked somewhat... awed.
I went to lie on the bed. Persephone flew toward me and sat beside me. I thought she would say something snarky, but instead, she just sat there quietly. Then I felt something moving in my hair. A bit late, I realized she was running her fingers through them.
"I guess you didn't get along with—maybe even hated—your family, but you should have someone to care about."
It's not that I don't care—I just don't want to. But I kept that thought to myself. I guess it's cruel, even a betrayal, to let her think I hate my—I didn't let my thoughts go further.
Instead, I just focused on her fingers, which felt really good, and I fell asleep almost instantly. The lights were already off, so it was the perfect atmosphere. I slept peacefully.
Around 8 P.M., Bob came into the room to tell me to come downstairs for dinner. I went down with him. The table was filled with food—Melissa had prepared a feast. We all sat down, prayed briefly, I just joined my hands, and then we started eating.
"James, eat your vegetables. Look, Arthur is eating everything."
"But Dad isn't eating his!"
Melissa, who was feeding Jules, scolded James to eat his vegetables, but James called out his father. Melissa glared at her husband.
Bob scratched his head and spoke awkwardly.
"What are you talking about, champ? See, I'm eating my vegetables."
"Boooo!"
Bob ate his vegetables with a sour expression, and James pouted. Seeing such a normal family atmosphere, I didn't realize the words that came out of my mouth.
"Such a happy family atmosphere."
I had never experienced such an atmosphere, so it was new to me.
Suddenly, silence filled the table. Everyone was looking at me, even Jules. I stiffened inside. What is this atmosphere? It felt as though someone had suddenly died.
Bob blinked a few times, looking as though he was about to ask something, but Melissa spoke first.
"Arthur, tell us something about yourself."
"Ah... There's not much to say. I like basketball and... woodcutting, obviously."
I replied with whatever came to mind, lying about the woodcutting part, of course. I hadn't had any connection to woodcutting before meeting Bob.
"What about your family? Bob told me you're traveling. You must miss them."
I stopped eating and placed my hands on either side of my plate. I took a deep breath and spoke with conviction in my gaze.
"Not at all. I don't miss them."
"Oh?"
Melissa was a little surprised by the seriousness of my answer. I started eating again with my fork and spoke at the same time.
"My parents weren't much concerned with me. It was all high expectations. I'm very happy to be far away from them. I wish I never meet them again in my life."
Melissa and Bob fell silent after I spoke. James was still trying to separate vegetables from his plate, and Jules kept staring at me as usual. I took the last bite and stood up from the chair.
"The food was really delicious, Mrs. High. Thank you for the meal."
I genuinely complimented the chef. It had been some time since I'd eaten homemade cooking. Then, I casually looked at Bob.
"Sir Bob, I'll head to bed now. Please don't wake me before morning. If it's not too much to ask, let's talk tomorrow morning."
"Sure. Goodnight," he replied, as if he knew I would make that request.
I gathered my used cutlery onto the plate—I didn't think much of it. After placing the plate on the counter beside the sink, I headed back to the guest room.
I sat near the window and gazed at the stars. My thoughts wandered to several blurred moments of my life, particularly about my parents. I truly meant it when I said I didn't want to meet them again.
Then, pushing those thoughts out of my mind, I took a deep breath. Since I'm in a different world, I don't need to think about meeting them.
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[Some Nubeculas are curious about your family.]
[100 total points donated.]
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You know what they say about curiosity—if it's aimed at me, they'd better keep it to themselves, because I know exactly how to make it work in my favor.
"I'll move at midnight, when everyone is asleep."
I said it as if talking to myself, but as usual, I was talking to Persephone. She walked toward me.
"You're going to get money from generous people?"
Her sarcastic comment made me smile. I nodded at her question. She seemed to be understanding me better because of our contract, and she nodded to herself, indicating she understood.
Around midnight, when I was sure everyone in the house was asleep, I got up from the chair.
I walked toward the door of the room and locked it from the inside. Even though I was certain everyone was asleep, I wasn't taking any chances. Who in their right mind would leave the door open?
I walked around the room to a drawer near a closet opposite the window. Earlier, I had found a purple mask in the drawer—a Venetian mask like the ones people wear at festivals.
I also had a long, oversized black coat. I had asked Bob to buy one for me during our brief conversation while Melissa was finishing setting the dinner table. The coat was made of black velvet with some fur. I put on the coat and mask.
"You look sexy in that outfit."
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[The Nubecula 'Whose Heart Bleeds for the Heartbroken' comments, "You look amazingly mysterious."]
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"Well, we're going to do something amazing."
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[The Nubecula 'Gumiho' is excited.]
[The Nubecula 'Gumiho' comments, "Let's go do something fun."]
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I walked to the window inside the room. Most of the lights outside were off, but a few houses still had their lights on.
This was the best I could do. I didn't have any camouflage or invisibility skills, so I had to work with what I had. Besides, I was sure I wouldn't need it.
I opened the window and spoke toward the sky.
"We didn't have today's riddle, right?"
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[The Nubecula 'Hwang Jini' comments, "No."]
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"Here's one for tonight: 'I am the beginning of everything, the end of everywhere. I am the beginning of eternity, the end of space and time... What am I?'"
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[The Soul Partner 'Persephone' has shared her Active Skill with you.]
[The Active Skill, 'Flight Lvl. 1,' has been activated.]
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After completing the riddle, I stepped out of the window and into the sky, using Persephone's flight skill.