False Light

"Mmmh, there's a lot more than I thought."

"I didn't expect to actually see this many either…"

"You did warn them in that interview after all as well. It's actually pretty impressive that they're still intending on it."

We were watching over them as usual, since they were now almost there. It was the 27th of January, and a little over a week has passed since my latest interview, in which I specifically pleaded with anyone who was thinking about it to not do it… but I guess you can't reason with idiots, huh? Of course, it's not like I expected everyone to back away, but I didn't think there'd still be close to 100 people gathered up.

We were both sitting on air, watching down as their carriages marched forward. The plan was for them to stop alone without me at a nearby mansion, where we already sent personnel and tailors, alongside designers and all that they'd need. After all, we wouldn't want them to appear in the capital wearing whatever they have on them now. Well, it's not like either one of us would mind, but given that they're soon going to be back to the highest noble status, it's better to make sure their first public return to the capital won't have any snarky comments regarding it. Not towards they're clothes at least anyway.

I had already instructed Markus about that, and I even wrote it in the letter for mom and dad, but I'm not really sure if the others know honestly. Regardless, the plan was for me to simply wait for them at my house in the capital, but that doesn't seem to be an option anymore. The most shocking part out of everything, is that a good 40 men out of those that are currently plotting to assault them at the mansion, are actually recruits too. Rather, I'm not surprised in itself that they're like that, since we were aware, but It's almost insulting that they have the guts to go through with it… 

We were planning on overlooking them, since a lot of lesser important recruits were pretty bad at hiding their hatred towards me, but I guess we'll have to cut down on some men, huh? At least on the ones that are involved anyway. It sucks though, you know? After all, we're losing personnel that could carry out minor tasks, which usually means we could keep the more important and valuable recruits doing more relevant work, but it can't be helped. 40 ish people isn't that big of a loss I guess. 

They managed to intercept their carriages about 3 days ago or so, and me and Mio had infiltrated into one of their meetings, and found out about their specific plans. It's almost pitiful that no one realized honestly, since Mio was using the most basic level of invisibility magic, but I guess that's on me for expecting anything from them. 

Currently, around 10 people or so are watching them from away, and communicating through mana with the rest. A good amount of them are already near the mansion, but far away enough to not be noticed by any mana surrounding search. The plan in itself isn't actually terrible, but it's the principle that makes it disturbingly annoying. The fact that they genuinely thought they could hide this from us, being the worst part.

"I guess I'll just have to go later."

It's not like I mind an early reunion anyway.

I wasn't planning on meeting them at the mansion as I said, but it's unfortunately necessary. It's much easier for me to just deal with them and say I had someone keep an eye on them, than sending enough recruits to overpower the 100 ish people that are planning on jumping them. It's less flashy, faster and more efficient in the end. As much as I'd like to entrust the situation to Cael and the rest, not even dad could take 40 recruits after all.

"Seems like it… then, what if I also-"

"No."

"…I Didn't even finish my sentence."

"How would I explain "Luna" being with me there… I have an alibi, but what about you?"

"I mean, didn't we agree on making it so Luna is one of your personal assistants or something along those lines? If I was going to show up at your house anyway, what's the big deal with me tagging along with you now?"

"Even if that's the case… I bet you just want to flirt with Cael-"

"Absolutely."

"…"

"At least try to deny it."

"I have no intention of lying to my dear older sister."

"…is that so."

I guess it has been quite a while since the last time they interacted to be fair, huh? 

"Alright, you can come as well. But try to not get too touchy with him, at least not in front of the twins."

"Yeah, no. That's not something I can promise, or have any intention of trying to agree on. For that matter, there's nothing wrong with the twins seeing that their older brother has a fulfilling love life, is there?"

"Don't try and corrupt them at such a young age, you beast in heat."

"…did you forget who your siblings are?"

"What are you-… oh…."

Dang it, she does have a point. Rune aside since he'll still be fairly normal growing up, Nala is a little… well, you know how fashion geniuses are often depicted as ruthless bastards with absolutely no filter on their mouth in stories? Yeah… Well, she's not far from it. In her defense, she is still sweet at heart to be fair though. She's fairly nice to us and generally to her friends too, so she's not exactly like that but still not too far either… But also she does have Rune to keep her under control, which makes things a lot easier when it comes to defending her, to some extent at least anyway. But still, I guess that she does have a point, that corruption doesn't really mean much when you have someone who's as bossy and authorial as Nala, huh?

"Alright. You can come."

She seemed fairly pleased by my acceptance of her proposal in the end, since she then got up on her feet, and smiled lightly. I also got up, and stretched my arms as she spoke.

"Well then, let's thin out their numbers a little, since they're gonna arrive at the mansion soon."

"Though they still have around an hour or so to go."

"Better to take care of the few strained insects before the whole colony arrives."

"I guess you're right."

Snapping her fingers then, 13 portals opened slightly above the air we had hardened, and 13 people fell on their butts down on it, at the same time. They seemed confused at first, annoyed even that they were randomly teleported out of nowhere, but the moment that they looked up and saw that it was us, their faces paled up just like anyone else's. These people weren't actually recruits, but they were still better off to be taken care of first.

They were in charge of observing their carriages on the way, and informing the others of their location. Mio then crouched in front of them, who by the way was in her "small" form, and pointed with her right index finger towards them before speaking, in her usual cunningly light tone.

"Given that you guys aren't recruits, I don't expect you to know who I am right away… but I think that you have an idea more or less, don't you?"

"W-we-"

His jaw was cut loose, dangling down from his skull, only being kept in place by some remaining skin. Of course though, needless to say that it had happened too fast for either one of them to even see her move. Well, she didn't actually move since she did it with mana, but regardless, they will never know. 

"I don't recall giving you permission to speak, you know? I was just asking for the sake of it."

Blood spilled out, as he tried to bring his jaw upwards towards his skull, but of course to no result. His screams were honestly almost annoying, due to the fact that some blood had gotten into his throat at the same time, so it was closer to a gurgling sound than anything. I think Mio probably felt the same way though, since the next moment, she had cut his head off. 

The others seemed too scared to move, which was understandable and actually a lot more appreciable than you'd think in this situation. It made things a lot faster and easier for us in the end.

"Now then, I have a simple task for you guys to carry out."

They tried to crawl backwards, but their hands probably felt the end of the hardened air behind them, which stopped their futile movements as a whole. 

"It's nothing complicated really. All you have to do is tell your companions a little message via mana communication, alright? If you do as I say, I can guarantee that you'll manage to get out of here."

"…"

"Hm? Ah, are you worried about that? No worries, you do have permission to speak unlike him. Go ahead, I need a reply, after all."

"I-im the one in c-charge of general c-c-communication…"

"Yep, I know. So? What's your answer?"

"I-I'll do it! W-what mess-sage should I t-tell them?"

…what a disgusting sight.

His face was hard to look at. Tears were silently streaming down on it, and at the same time his lips were curled up into a creepily hollow smile. All that while his eyes were already long dead. I'm sure that deep down he's aware of what will eventually happen to him, and that there's absolutely nothing that will save him. But even then, he'll still reach out for even the slightest source of light amidst his darkness, just like a fly will at night. 

However, a fly will reach for light in order to survive, because it cannot see enough to fly during the night. Meanwhile, he's reaching out for a light, trying to save himself from the darkness that he put himself in. He knows he's wrong, he knows what he wanted to do to our family with his comrades, but still tries to reach out for it. Even flies have more morality than him, or any other one of these bastards. 

Besides Cael, I'm the one who knows the best, just how bright Mio can shine. It disgusts me that these people are trying to reach out for her light, when they know very well that they don't deserve it. But at the same time, I am also relieved. 

"I'm glad that we can get to the bottom of this quickly. What I need you to tell them is that they'll arrive at the mansion in around an hour or so, and that you guys won't be able to contact them anymore for the time being. I don't care why, just make up an excuse, alright?"

"I, I-I understand! I'm getting to it right now!"

"Take your time."

I'm relieved, because even though they disgust me, I at least get to see this once in a while. After all, there's plenty of light sources in the world. Some may be tame, and mild enough to even be able to directly look at, like a candle. 

"I-I've done it! They said that they don't care, and it doesn't matter!"

"My, my, you have quite the rude teammates, huh?"

Some may be slightly harsh on your eyes, and would be better to not directly try to look at them, like a lamp's. 

"Hahah… y-yeah, we do actually. B-but they deserve whatever you 2 have in store for them, since it would be fair punishment!"

Some may be so dazzling, that you can feel all of your worries melting away under its blazing heat, and warmth. One thing that could represent that properly, would be the light of hope, granted to you by someone who you deem trustworthy and reliable.

"I guess you're right. After all, bad people deserve to be punished for bad behavior."

However, none of those categories actually apply to a fly. After all, every single type of light source during the night is one of hope for them, so this is strictly a human related matter. And in that case, there is also one final type of light source.

"Honestly, tell me about it! I'm glad that we aren't going to go through with the plan anymore. It was stupid from the start anyway."

One that may seem like a ray of hope, or one of comfort. A light so inviting, that it makes you feel as if darkness is only a thing of the past. However, it is easy to look past its real form. While it may appear as a ray of hope, that light source is actually a pathway, leading straight… to your demise. That's the ligh of…

"Is that so?"

"Yep, yep. It really is. I promise to never do anything like this ever again. Once we get down, I'll turn my life around and become an upstanding member of society."

"Haha, then I guess it's about time I finally get you out of here, isn't it?"

"That would be really great, thank you so much. We don't even know how to thank you enough-"

"Ah, well, you don't need to worry about that. The fact that you gave them that message alone, was more than enough for me."

"I see… alright then, we'll take your word for it. How are we going to be taken down by the way?"

"What are you talking about? Isn't that obvious? haha."

"Hmmm. Ohh, I see, I see. You're going to make a stairway down with mana, for us to go down on?"

"Well, not quite."

"Then are you going to teleport us down, the same way you got us up here?"

"That's not it either."

"…? Then how are we supposed to get down-"

"Like this."

…Of false Hope.

She stopped hardening the air beneath them, which made them fall. It was Simple as that. They'd hit the ground in around a minute or so given our current altitude, but that didn't really matter in the end.

You guys aren't worthy of Mio's real light.

She can shine so bright that her light can endure the purest feeling of hope deep within your very soul. But that is only if you're deserving of it. Just as Mio can become your ray of hope, she can also be the pathway towards your demise. 

And for the record, she didn't actually lie to them either. If you paid attention to her words, she simply said she'd get them out of here. She never mentioned anything about them getting out alive. She had already built the foundation of the pathway, the moment they accepted her proposal, without carefully paying attention to what she was saying.

Their plan isn't even horrible in all honesty. Choosing to ambush them the instant they arrive at the mansion, instead of waiting for the night is definitely a smarter choice given the circumstances. The recruits may have thought about the possibility of myself going to visit them before the night would come, while also being aware that I wasn't going to wait for them there, which I had informed everyone about generally. 

If they actually managed to go through with it, without us noticing that is, it would've probably gone perfectly according to plan. But unfortunately for them though, as mentioned earlier we had known about it ever since their first meetings. Mio's most basic invisibility magic was more than enough to completely counter them in the end. 

"Now then…"

She got up, and at the same time her aura surrounded her for like 2 seconds at most, before dispersing. She had changed into Luna.

"Let's go wait for them, shall we?"

"Are we going to let them go through with it?"

A portal then opened beside her, who was a few steps in front of me.

"Hmm, why not? Or at the very least, let them release the barrier. It'll be easier for you to take care of them if they're all inside of it, grouped up nicely and all."

"Oh, right. I have to do it… what a pain…"

"It can't be helped, can it? As far as I'm concerned, Luna is just one of your friends that happens to be some sort of assistant of yours, and you coldly replaced her from your best friend position, with the richest person in the world!"

"Don't make me seem like a gold digger… there was no replacing in the end either. After all, my one and only best friend has and will always be just Mio."

I sighed with a smile, as I walked beside her, placing one hand on her shoulder.

"Is that so?"

"It is."

She brushed my hand off, then walked towards the portal first.

"I see. If my so-called best friend wants to stay there she can be my guest, but I'd rather move on already, you know?"

"Nope, this so-called best friend of yours will tag along with you. And always will." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Cael's Pov)

I thought that we'd be going straight to the capital at first honestly, but it turns out that wasn't actually the case. Instead of going straight to our destination, we're going to be stopping at a mansion nearby, and "get ready" there. That's what dad said at least anyway. 

It does make sense if you look at it from a technical point of view though, to be fair. It may not be the most comforting and pleasant thought, but unfortunately it's very likely that we'll be completely surrounded when we get there. Reporters, probably even some live streams going on as well most likely, so I guess it's normal for us to actually try a little and put up a "worthy" image of ourselves.

It's not like we're dressed as homeless skunks or anything like that now, but we're also definitely not up to standards, considering the title that we're going to fight in court to get back… yeah, it makes sense in the end. 

From the way Markus and dad spoke about it, it didn't seem like Maia would be waiting for us there though. I can't deny that I do actually miss her ever so slightly, but in the end it won't be long until we see her again either way. There is a weird thing that's been on my mind recently though, ever since yesterday since dad told us about it. And that was…

"Cael, Cael! Hey… hey! Are you listening?!"

"Hey, hey!!"

She's been a little annoying ever since. Right now she was pulling on my arm, trying to get my attention to whatever she's been talking about for the past hour or so, which in fact I haven't been listening to. Not one bit.

"…what's up, Nala?"

"I'm asking if you're listening to me!"

"Ah, yeah, yep. Indeed, I am. Yes."

"No you're not! Why aren't you listening!!"

"I told you I am… you're asking why we have to change our clothes, no?"

Well, I did at least hear the gist of it anyway. She's been asking the same thing over and over for the past hour so It kinda got engraved in my head eventually.

"Yes, that's it! So why is it?!"

"Because we need to look good when we arrive at the capital."

"Why? Are we ugly now? Do clothes make that much of a difference?!"

"Ugh… mom…?"

I tried to ask for help indirectly, but she looked up from the book both of them were reading, and gave me a "not a chance" look, with her usual smile on her face. I was abandoned by my own mother… stranded in the side quest of satisfying my little sister's curiosity. The world is cruel.

"Hey, hey! Are you not going to answer me?? Cael, Cael!"

"…it's not that we're ugly, Nala. The reason we have to "get ready" before we arrive is to properly appear to the public, and maintain our image."

"What image?! And why does changing out clothes matter?!"

"Let's put it this way… imagine a noble person, alright?"

"Hmmm, alright. I think I got it!"

"Right, now. Imagine someone from our village, it doesn't really matter who."

"Alright, I did it!"

"Great. Now, do you see any difference in their clothes?"

"Uhm… I think I do? The rich person's clothes seem more elegant…?"

"Yep, that's a good start. You can tell that there's a clear difference in how they dress based on their status, no?"

"Yeah, I think I understand…"

"Now, let's do a fun little thing instead. Try to reverse their clothes, and hairstyle. Imagine the noble man with the same clothes and hair as the person from our village, and the person from our village with the same ones as the rich person."

"W-wait a second…"

"Take your time."

"Uhmm…."

"Hmmmmm…."

"I…I got it! I did it, Cael!"

"Good job, good job. Now, can you tell me what each one of them looks like now?"

"Alright-…? Cael…? Why does our villager look like a noble now?!"

Well, I can't blame her for being confused.

"That's the power of changing your appearance. And I'm not talking about changing your face. The way you dress, and keep your hair, can change how others see you. For example, you'd expect a rich person to wear fancy looking clothes, no? In that same way, we should also get better clothes and tidy ourselves up, since we have an image to show. Well, putting it simply: we should look good to the public."

"…why do we have to look good?"

It seemed like she had understood what I was saying, but her expression was a little contorted, probably in confusion. I guess it can't be helped though, since she is still a kiddo. If your parents told you that you should look good for other people, most people her age would probably ask why as well.

"Because we're nobles. Well, we're going to get our status back at least anyway. But regardless, if we don't put a great image of ourselves to the public, everyone will look down on us."

Though I'm fairly sure, neither me, Maia or both of our parents actually care whether some randoms look down on us or not, it's probably best if at least one of us cares enough to maintain our public image… 

"So if we don't dress up well, and make our hair look pretty, they'll think we're bad people?"

"They already do think of us as bad people… but if we also make it seem like we don't care about our appearance, they may think we're either poor or weirdos. You don't want people thinking Nala is a weirdo, no?"

"I'm not a weirdo…"

"Exactly."

"…do you also think I'm a weirdo because I don't dress nicely?"

"Huh? Are you stupid or something?"

I sighed then ruffled her hair.

"Look, Nala. Everything I told you, only applies to a few kinds of people. Bad people if you will. Not everyone cares about their appearance, and not everyone judges people because of it. I don't think any one of us actually cares if people look down on us, you know? After all, we don't judge people from their looks either, do we?"

"We don't…"

"Exactly. But when it comes to nobles, like us, it's best if at least we try a little to maintain our public appearance positive, because it may cause trouble to everyone, even the good people if nobles like us are seen poorly. You'll understand when you're older, but for now you should just know that it's best if we try a little."

"…so we just have to dress nicely for others?"

"Hmmm, yeah not really."

Her eyes lit up after hearing my answer, which was most likely the opposite of what she expected.

"It's true that we should hold our position publicly, but in the end, if you just like to dress nicely, you can do it for yourself, and for no other reason. Or on the other hand, if a certain type of fashion that you enjoy wearing isn't seen as fashionable or acceptable by others, all you have to do is make it fashionable yourself. If people see us as good nobles because we dress nicely, they'll think that whatever we wear is fashion, no?"

"I think I understand it now…! Does that mean that if we make people see us well, then we can wear whatever we want?!"

"Pretty much, yeah. That's the gist of it. It doesn't seem all that bad anymore, does it?"

"It doesn't! Then I'll do my best to look good, so then I can make my own fashion!"

"Yep, yep. That's the spirit!"

Well, at least the kid is a dreamer.