Chapter 39: Something’s Not Adding Up

Chapter 39: Something’s Not Adding Up The two people who’d loved to mess with him as a kid had both crossed his path today, and wouldn’t you know it—they were also the Shadow Twins’ mom and "adoptive mom." Talk about drama. Then something clicked. "Hold up, I remember Sara and Yolanda weren’t that old back then—maybe in their twenties—and I never heard anything about them having kids. How the hell do they have a pair of twenty-year-old twin daughters after just ten years? And after ten years, even someone with zero talent should’ve made it to Low-tier by now. So why are they still stuck on the edge of the Withered Lands, getting their butts kicked by basic beetle monsters? Something’s not adding up here!" While Carlos was lost in thought, Sara and Yolanda knew damn well they couldn’t keep the twins’ weirdness under wraps much longer. But hey, at least they’d run into Young Master Carlos from the Valois family. Whether it was their old connection to the Valois clan or the family’s rock-solid reputation, they figured this might actually work out in their favor. "I should find some alone time to grill them both for details. Or maybe just let my sister handle the whole mess—that’d probably be smarter." Carlos grabbed his cup of red tea and took a sip, the sweet aroma washing through his mouth, clearing away the nagging thoughts that had been bugging him. ... The tea party wrapped up. Carlos slipped on his helmet with lightning speed—yet somehow still looked elegant doing it—and four pairs of eyes practically screamed disappointment. The night passed without incident. When the blood moon finally called it quits and the blazing sun took over, the earth started getting some decent light, and everyone hit the road again. They were already at the edge of the Withered Lands. In less than a day, the group finally made it out! The Dark Mist monsters vanished, and the ground wasn’t a dead wasteland anymore. Little green shoots were popping up here and there, and you could actually spot small bugs and critters scurrying around by the roadside. "Creak! Creak!" The Purple Thornblade Skeletons suddenly slammed on the brakes. "Ow!" x2 The Shadow Twins, who’d been trailing right behind the black carriage, smacked their foreheads straight into the back panel with a solid thunk. They rubbed each other’s little heads, looking dazed. The black carriage lowered, and Carlos stepped out. Then he made the carriage and most of the Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards disappear. Only four stuck around to keep watch. "Is Young Master Carlos actually gonna walk with us? That’s just..." Tall Sara stroked her chin with a pretty mischievous grin. She tried to elbow her best friend as a heads-up, but whiffed completely. "Where the heck did she go?" Right then, Yolanda and the twins had basically teleported to Carlos’s side. The tall one was beaming like a proud mom while the two little ones stared at him like he was some kind of treasure, totally mesmerized. Carlos, who’d just taken off his helmet, casually sidestepped a few feet away. "Hang tight for a sec—someone’s coming to pick us up." When Carlos left the Withered Lands, he’d already used some fancy alchemical gadget to ping the family guards stationed near the area. The twins’ big eyes lit up with curiosity: "Will there be big horses?" x2 "Should be." Carlos half-listened to the mentally challenged twins while his mind wandered elsewhere. Yolanda smiled as she watched them chat, when Sara totally killed the mood by smacking her friend’s shoulder. While whispering: "Earth to Yolanda!" Yolanda didn’t even look away, murmuring back: "He’s gotten like a million times cuter since he was little, hasn’t he?" Sara’s whole body went rigid, then her voice got all wistful. "Yeah, and he’s already a grown man now. We’re getting old—no longer spring chickens." Yolanda’s eyes crinkled with a smile, but her tone turned gloomy. "We’re getting old..." Carlos caught the two grown women having their whole "woe is me, we’re ancient" moment, and his eye twitched. In this supernatural world, regular humans lived to 150. These two women in their thirties had barely hit adulthood and were in their absolute prime—when life was supposed to get awesome—with killer looks and personality, yet they were acting like they belonged in a nursing home. Weird as hell. "Clip-clop clip-clop" Hoofbeats echoed from way off, getting closer. Several armored guards with a fancy carriage came thundering over, finally pulling up in front of them. The guards hopped off and gave a formal bow. After that, the lead knight in full armor pulled a metal ring from his storage space and handed it to Carlos. Carlos activated it with some special magical mumbo-jumbo, confirming these were definitely his sister’s people. "Let’s roll." Carlos and the four Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards climbed into the carriage and settled into the cabin as the guards mounted up, ready to take off. "Whoa whoa, Young Master Carlos, what about us? Are we supposed to hoof it behind you like before?" Sara frantically asked this pretty important question. "Sara, we can just follow along behind. We still remember how to get to the Valois estate." Yolanda gently tugged Sara aside, shooting her a look that said "read the room." Sara suddenly got it. "Oh right, no biggie." The twins didn’t seem fazed, just kept their eyes glued to Carlos’s emerald peepers. Carlos looked around—the guards had only planned on picking up him and hadn’t brought extra horses. And judging by how the four women looked, he seriously doubted they could ride anyway. As for letting them trudge along behind, or even travel separately to the Valois estate later, Carlos wasn’t cool with that. Sure, they were "old friends," but ten-year-old friendships meant jack when people changed this much—better safe than sorry. He needed to make sure nothing happened to them if they fell behind, and more importantly, keep them from sneaking off. So there was really only one choice. "You’re all riding in the carriage—it’s got plenty of room." Sara down below waved her hands like crazy: "No way—how could us regular folks deserve to ride in some fancy noble carriage? Right, Yolanda?" She glanced over. "???" A cool breeze swept by—she was standing there all alone. While she’d been talking, Yolanda and the twins had already hopped in the carriage... Sara gritted her teeth—she felt totally ditched by her supposed best friend. Her long legs kicked into gear with a few bouncing leaps, catching the carriage before the whole convoy took off. "Yolanda!" "What’s up?" Yolanda blinked all innocent, sweet as pie. "Nothing... forget it..." "Then sit down already..." "...Fine!" The twins started going nuts exploring the carriage. "Whoa! What an awesome carriage!" "Keep it down—Riley and Anna need to behave." "..." You could hear constant chatter coming from inside the carriage. The guards kept their mouths shut but made mental notes of everything to report back to the Duke. The guard captain for this trip spat under his breath: "This is ridiculous—I’m definitely telling the Captain about this!" Keeping his irritation in check, "Move out!" The group hit the main road heading for Ember City...