Anxiety I

"Is that it!?"

Life returned to Pandora's exhausted face as she excitedly pointed her finger.

In the direction she was pointing, the silhouette of a wall could be seen. Though it looked quite small due to the distance.

Regis looked and also smiled, "Yes! I think that's it!"

The two of them glanced at each other, happy to the point of having tears in their eyes and almost crying.

The past few days had been nothing short of hellish for them.

It was not that they were not used to travelling, they just preferred the life of being safe inside a village, town and the like.

"Hmmm, I'm still a little sad that we didn't even get to stay in the village for a week before we were forced to travel again…" Pandora sulked as she walked.

Patting her head Regis chuckled, "Don't worry, the life we'll have in the fortress will surely be better than the one we had in the village!"

Hearing his words, Pandora's expression became better as she nodded excitedly, "Mhm!"

To be honest, Regis was also a little upset since they didn't even get to enjoy a life in the village.

Nevertheless, he knew that something happens just because.

After a few more minutes of walking, the two were soon greeted by the massive size of the Corelli Fortress.

"Woah, it looked quite small earlier but now…" 

Pandora's eyes were wide with amazement at the sight of the towering wall.

Regis also felt amazed, 'So that's what a fortress looks like, huh? It really is different from Toran City.'

He could not help but compare the two in his mind, feeling quite bewildered.

After all, it was also his first time seeing a fortress as he only saw villages when he was in the demonic human camp.

They were now only about a few kilometers from the fortress.

"I don't think we need to rest first before entering. What do you think?" Regis said as he glanced at his companion.

Pandora, who still had her lips parted in amazement, snapped out of her daze and replied, "I think so too. It's not some lawless village in the wild, after all."

"Then let's enter immediately and find an inn so we can rest." 

"Okay, Brother."

As they approached the massive gate that led to the fortress, they saw many people going in and out of it.

The two then promptly fell in line alongside the other people.

Pandora curiously looked around with her big and sparkly ruby-red eyes, but she noticed that some people looked at her with disgust.

Knowing what the reason was, the spark in her eyes faded as she tried to cover it.

However, she felt a touch on the hand she was using to cover her eyes, "Ehhh? Brother, what are you doing?"

"Just hold my hand. Why are you trying to cover your eyes?" Regis spoke as he glared at the ones who made her uncomfortable.

"B-But my eyes are ugly and no one wants to see the–"

"Huh? Are you saying that my eyes are ugly?"

Hearing his words, Pandora remembered something.

She looked up and saw Regis frowning at her playfully, making her giggle, "Hehe, why are you making that weird face, Brother?"

"Because what you said was mean. Are my eyes really ugly?"

"O-Of course not!"

"Then never tell that to yourself either, okay?"

Seeing his gentle blood-red eyes that were reminiscent of her ruby-red ones, Pandora smiled as she nodded bashfully.

"Very good." Regis ruffled her black hair as he smiled back at her.

"No! Promise I'm not a demonic human!!"

"Even if you say that, you still don't have any IDs with you so we can't let you in."

At this moment, a commotion broke at the front of the line.

It caught the attention of others, Regis and Pandora also looked ahead with curiosity in their eyes.

"B-But I really need to get a priest!"

"That's really not our problem. If you have no ID, you can't enter the fortress."

…

Pandora felt pity at the man begging the guards to let him enter.

"He must be sick…" She muttered before looking towards Regis, "Hey Brother, what do you thi–"

However, seeing the frown on his face, Pandora felt that there was something wrong.

Therefore, she decided to stay silent as she knew that whenever he was like this, there must be something that he was worrying about.

At this moment, Regis was racking his brain to the maximum, 'ID… ID… Shit, how did I forget about that!?'

That was right, he was thinking about how they could enter the fortress despite having no IDs.

He looked ahead and saw that he and Pandora were fifth in line. 

Even though there were many people who wanted to enter, the guards were efficient so the line moved fast.

"Next!"

The guard's shout sounded again, but it felt.like needles were poking on Regis's heart.

"Next!"

"Next!"

"Next!"

Regus and Pandora now stood at the front of the line.

She glanced to her side and saw that he was still gritting his teeth nervously.

Sweat drenched Regis's back as he anxiously looked ahead, 'What to do… What to do… What to do…'

"Next!"

Still, the world doesn't wait for anyone.

Hearing the guard's shout, Regis led Pandora by the hand and walked forward.

Seeing them, the guard widened his eyes slightly in surprise, 'Devil Spawns? And two at that. They're also quite young…'

Still, he asked with a strict expression, "Where are your parents?"

"T-They are dead. So i-it's just me and my sister now…" Regis stuttered as anxiety enveloped his face.

"Oh?" The guard raised his brow before asking again, "Then do you have your IDs?"

This time, a little bit of gentleness could be heard within his voice.

'A good start…'

Regis noticed this and smirked inwardly, his nervousness lessening.

On the other hand, Pandora tightened her grip on his hands as she felt nervous too, 'Does Brother have an ID?'

She listened as Regis carefully spoke, "Ummm, I'm sorry but me and I don't have IDs yet."

"Then you can't ente–"

"But the one who saved us gave us something. He said that we should show this to the guards if they ask for IDs."

"Huh?"

'Huh?'

Not only the guard, but Pandora was also surprised at his words.

'There's someone that saved us? Why do I know nothing about that?' Thoughts appeared on her mind but she kept silent.

She didn't want to interrupt on whatever her brother was planning to do.

"Who's the one that saved you?" 

The guard asked with a stern tone.

Regis rummaged through his pocket and gave a circular pin to the guard.

The guard looked closely at the pin before his eyes widened in shock, "This… Is this what I think it is!?"

Regis nodded, making sure to show slight confusion on his face.

"Y-Yes, that's the emblem he gave us… Is something wrong, Mister Guard?"

The guard shook his head.

While scrutinizing the pin, the guard asked again, "Who saved you?"

"Ummm, he told me that his name was Fiollo… I think he said Fiollo Orpheus?" Regis scratched his head.

"The Orpheus Family!?"

The guard looked to the other guards beside him and said, "Take my position for a while. I'll just guide the guests of the Orpheus Family, okay?"

The other guards nodded and whispered something.

"Esteemed Guests, please follow me. We still need to contact the Orpheus Family so let me lead you to the waiting room while you wait."

The guard said in a gentle voice as he led the way.

Pandora looked to her side once again with a curious expression, 'I wonder what Brother is planni–'

However, what greeted her sight was Regis's drenched back.

He looked as if…

…he didn't know what he was doing.

'Fuck, what do you mean contact the family!?'

Was the only thought in Regis's head at this moment.