—Irritation.

According to the dictionary, the meaning of this word is the slightly aggressive displeased emotion directed as a response toward someone or something. Disclaimer; this feeling could also be a sign of a teenager going through a phase (if you know what I’m saying).

Well, I don’t really know what the disclaimer is saying but this does confirm one thing for certain.

I’m irritated… or more specifically—

"Eden is... irritated."

“Huh? Why? I’m sorry if it’s about what happened to Ruby yesterday, the Valkyrians were preventing me from entering the room so I couldn’t have done anything.”

The sky today is clear and beautiful, the gust of wind gently sweeps across the silver clouds and brings along with it a scent of wonderment and playful trickery. An appropriate backdrop for an adventure.

I look up from my dictionary to Brother Altarin who is standing right next to me in front of the mansion while making an apologetic face.

“What are you talking about… Brother Altarin....? Ruby is okay… those people... didn’t mean any real harm to her at all.”

“There’s the psychic Eden again. I’ve always found your ability to discern other people’s intentions to be a little bit scary,” says Brother Altarin, patting my head twice. “Sometimes I wonder if you're doing it on purpose.”

“What… do you mean?” I tilt my head a little and ask him.

“That… Ahem! Anyways, what are you irritated about?” Brother Altarin clears his throat and changes the subject.

I don’t know why he looks so flustered but I decide to quickly ignore it and focus, biting my thumbnail as I try to come up with an answer.

“Eden is irritated because…”

Brother Altarin’s peculiarity? No. Brother Altarin isn’t any weirder today than usual, this is about the level he always is. Big Sister Vena? Not her either. For some reason, she has been in an especially good mood since yesterday and this morning’s breakfast was exceptionally delicious. Ruby? She didn’t do anything wrong, why would I be irritated with her?

In the end, there’s only one person I can think of…

“Athena…”

The reason why is because...

“Athena doesn’t… understand Eden.”

“...!”

Brother Altarin freezes in shock for a second then immediately starts to urgently inspect my body, putting his hand on my forehead and pulling my limbs all over the place.

“Are you sick, Eden? Did someone do something to you? Was it Vena? It was Vena, wasn’t it?”  

“...?” Maybe he is a little weirder than usual today after all?

After seeing that I’m not responding to any of his barrages of questions, Brother Altarin’s imaginative mind seems to have automatically jumped onto the next train to arrive at the destination of absurdity.

“Or is it…” Brother Altarin backs away from me and staggers, covering his mouth as if suddenly realizing a horrifying truth.

Then he points at me and asks loudly, “Who are you, you imposter?! The real Eden would never question Lady Athena! Where have you taken him?!”

“Brother Altarin… you are definitely… weirder than usual… today.”

“Ah… that ability to unapologetically throw obvious insults and casual jabs at me with a cute and innocent face, you’re definitely the real Eden alright.”

“Brother Altarin… Rude.”

I try to express discontent on my face, but all I can muster in the end is a small frown, which Brother Altarin nonchalantly laughs at.

“Hahaha~ I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It was just a joke,” Brother Altarin says and once again comes to pat my head softly. “Of course, Lady Athena understands you. She’s a little busy right now and can’t spend as much time with you as before, but don’t take that as a sign that she doesn’t love you anymore, okay?”

What Brother Altarin’s saying makes sense, but…

“Brother Altarin… you also don’t understand.”

“——!!”

Brother Altarin freezes again for a few more seconds this time before muttering to himself, “C-could it be? I-is it that?”

“Is it… what?”

“The constant feeling of bereft and irritation... the adamant insistence that no one could understand you... Eden, are you?” Brother Altarin looks at me with a shocked face. “—Are you going through a phase?”

“What’s... a ‘phase’?”

Ignoring my confusion, Brother Altarin begins to mutter, “I see, I see, that explains everything. Your increasingly strange interests and curiosities are the first steps. Next, you will begin to distance yourself from those around you and become a problem child! Then after that, you’re going to run away from home and get involved with the bad sort of angels and continue your downward descent!”

Brother Altarin turns to grab my shoulder. “Don’t do it, Eden! It’s too soon! Be our innocent little brother for a little longer! Fifty years, no, a hundred more years, then I wouldn’t mind if you want to go and be a harem protagonist or something!”

“Brother Altarin… that’s not it,” I cut him off and remove his hands from my shoulder.

“Then what exactly is it?” Brother Altarin calmly asks.

So in order to put a stop to brother Altarin’s silly outburst...

“Eden… will explain.”

—————..........

[ The Mansion of House Athena - Three Weeks Ago ]

…..

It was just one day after Eden had delightfully accepted his free-roaming permission from Athena. And after a full evening of running around the city of Anorlon, Eden came back to her office with sparkling excitement—or at least as sparkling as he could show on the surface—and a little extra surprise.

“Athena, Athena… The local supermarket... gifted Eden with a bunch of snacks... when Eden visited.” Eden opened up a box of donuts and presented them to Athena. “Do you want to eat them... together?”

Vena and Altarin were also standing a little back in the office along with the two of them, silently and perplexingly staring at the basket full of chocolates, cookies, and almost every type of candy available on the market. Still caught up pondering the mystery of how in the Realm of Gods could the supermarket’s owner be so willing to give all these to Eden for free.

How? Was in fact, the only word that was echoing over and over in the twins’ heads as they helped carry the basket back to the mansion.

Athena on the other side of her desk, however, didn’t appear all that interested in either Eden or the box of donuts, as she tried to lightly brush him off.

“Eden, I’m a little busy right now. So, can you go bother someone else for—”

“Eden… is a bother?”

Eden’s slightly melancholic response made everyone in the room flinch.

Athena instantly became aware of her own carelessness. So, for the first time in almost two millennia the silver-haired Goddess of Wisdom and War—felt a genuine sense of panic!

“Uh, I-I... Umm.”

Athena uncharacteristically stuttered upon receiving a look from Vena standing across the room that seemed to be saying. —Lady Athena, how could you?!

Athena tensely glanced at the slightly Vena with a look of. —I obviously didn’t mean it like that, I was just...

But before Athena could finish making excuses with her eyes, Vena silently scowled back. —Then tell him that!

The corner of Athena’s mouth subtly twitched at the white-haired maid’s unashamed lack of any attempt to show even a small glimpse of ‘respect’ toward her master. But despite this, Athena still took Vena’s advice and looked back at Eden.

“I didn’t mean it like that, Eden, I was just—”

“Athena, don’t have to... say anything… Eden understands.” Eden slowly closed the box of donuts. “Eden will be… in the library.”

But as Eden was about to walk away, Athena scratched her cheek guiltily and said, “Actually, Eden.”

Eden turned around and looked at her with his golden round eyes.

“I think I would like to have those donuts if you don’t mind…”

When Eden heard that, the light in his eyes shined a little, and he quickly walked back to Athena.

Eden then took a piece of donut from the box and broke it into two halves, keeping one for himself and handing the other to Athena, who took it from him and ate it.

“Do you… like them?” Eden expectantly asked while nibbling on his half of the donut.

“Um yes, of course, I really like them,” Athena answered him with a relaxed smile.

“I see...” Eden muttered quietly, seemingly falling into deep thought. Eventually, he looked straight into Athena’s sharp, silver eyes and said, “Then Eden will… bring back more gifts… in the future.”

And to that, Athena only gave him a harmless enough warning.

“Whatever you do, don't get yourself into trouble, alright?”

…..

And exactly three days after that.

“Athena, Athena… The local jewelry store... gave Eden their entire catalog of accessories.”

“What...?”

Athena had to do a double-take when Eden and the twins came into the office with a suitcase full of glittering necklaces and rings.

“Because Athena is always… wearing that earring… Eden thought you would like these.”

In her confusion, Athena looked toward the white-haired butler who is supposedly the most ‘sensible’ of the trio.

“Altarin?”

—Only to find that both Altarin and Vena were equally as confused as she was.

“I’m very sorry Lady Athena, but I couldn’t comprehend what happened either... ” Altarin said.

“Eden sort of ‘politely’ asked to take a look. And they just gave everything to him without even asking for any payment,” Vena added incredulously.  

“I think they were even thanking us when we left...” Altarin concluded.

"..."

The awestruck looks on their faces made Athena sigh in exasperation.

Then, she turned to say to Eden.

“Give them back.”

“Eh..? Why...?”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? These things are meant to be bought with coins, not given for free. That’s stealing.”

“And stealing is… bad?”

“Yes.” 

Eden paused momentarily, before picking up a small silver ring from the suitcase.

“Can Eden at least… keeps this ring?”

“Why do you want to keep the ring?” Athena inquired curiously.

Eden broke eye contact with everyone and looked down at the silver ring in his hand.

“Because you need a ring… to make a proposal… no?”

“““...”””

The conversation had suddenly progressed way too fast for anyone else in the room to know how to react.

It took Vena five seconds before she could even muster a response... and she responded by snatching the entire suitcase including the ring from Eden’s hand and running to the office’s door!

“Lady Athena, your will shall be done! Your faithful vessel will return these sin-inducing objects to the unholy place they came from so that they no longer taint the minds of the innocent,” Vena righteously declared.

“Big Sister Vena…” Eden tried to run after her.

“For these items to make Eden even conceive of such ridiculous notions as ‘Marriage’.” Vena’s sub-zero gaze could almost pierce a hole through the metallic suitcase. “Just thinking about it makes me want to shove them down my twin brother’s throat…”

“What do I have to do with this?!”

“Big Sister Vena… wait.”

“You can’t stop me, Eden! I’m only doing this for your own good!”

Vena ran out of the office while wiping tears away from the corner of her eyes. Eden chased after her. Altarin sighed and casually walked after the two of them like he had no choice but to do so.

Leaving behind Athena in her office...

She picked back up the document she was looking at before and muttered to herself.

“Who was he thinking about proposing to, I wonder…”

The thought did indeed bring forth a small feeling of melancholy inside Athena, though not as strong as it did in Vena. Because she knew one thing that both Vena and Altarin had yet to realize.

Eden was a human…

There were quite a few differences between Low-ranked and High-ranked angels. But the most prominent of all, aside from the disparity in power, was that High-ranked angels have life spans many times longer than that of Low-ranked angels.

Added to that the fact that both Vena and Altarin were Divine Spirits. Angels who have sworn allegiance to a certain Godhood. Which made it so that their life spans could be extended for as long as the gods themselves.

As for Athena herself, her Godhood was decided for her the moment she was born. And for the last 2000 years of her existence, she had experienced the pain of outliving those who loved her, more than once.

One day Eden would have to leave for one reason or another, she knew that. But still, she hesitated to reveal this to the twins. Those two had their fair share of losses and griefs, to tell them that something like that was bound to happen again…

Bound to happen again...

When she was thinking till then, Athena suddenly came to realize something about the earlier incident, something which made her involuntarily rub her temple.

“Eden... wouldn’t bring back any more ridiculous gifts, would he?”

And sure enough, she was right. More right than she expected.

…..

So again…

“Athena, Athena… the Anorlon’s branch of Octavia Transport... gave me 20 percent of their stocks.”

“Okay, now you’re just pulling my leg.”

Eden and the twins walked into Athena’s office today and presented her with a signed contract.

“How did you even get this?” Athena couldn’t help but ask.

“The receptionist lady… was very nice,” Eden answered immediately.

“That doesn’t even explain anything…” said Athena, wearily shaking her head.

Soon she told Eden that he should also return this to the company. He reluctantly agreed. But not without whispering under his breath…

“So… you don’t want this… either?"

…..

And again…

“Athena, Athena… I visited the museum… and they gave me this statue of you.”

“Eden, I suggest you put that back. Or people will rightfully be fired for that”

…..

And then again…

“Athena, Athena… the local alchemist shop gave me some stuff from their shelf… even this hat—”

“LEMIRITH LEGR’AN! LEMIRITH LEGR’AN!”

“It can… talk.”

“Eden, I’m pretty sure that thing is trying to summon an interdimensional evil from another plane of existence…”

….

Until finally…

“Athena, Athena… the local weaponry gave Eden a bunch of weapons and armors… even this grenade.”

“...”

While Athena was still speechless, Eden picked up a small hand grenade from a shopping cart full of dangerous weapons of war including swords, axes, spears, and firearms.

“And if you pull the pin… like this.”

“No wait, Eden stop!”

Seeing that Eden was about to pull the pin, Athena hurriedly yelled out. She was too late, however, and Eden had already triggered the detonating mechanism!

The grenade was about to explode!

BANG—!

A loud bang resounded in the small office… But, it wasn’t the sound of the grenade going off.

“Vena!”

Altarin, who had precisely shot the grenade out of Eden’s hand, called out to Vena who swiftly jumped into the air...

“[Freeze]!”

And used both her hands to evoke a powerful [Hydromancy] on the grenade that was about to explode. Freezing it completely and beautifully captured the sparks and flames like a floral ice performance.

And then, the ice cube falls back onto Eden’s hand.

“Big sister Vena… Brother Altarin… Amazing.”

Eden observed the frozen diorama and gave his earnest compliment to the twins, both of whom responded by shyly scratching their heads and profusely blushing.

“That was nothing, really.”

“I can show you a lot more tricks if we’re alone… B-but only if you want to see it, of course,” Vena said, before getting embarrassed immediately afterward when she realized that she might have said something accidentally inappropriate.

But then, a voice filled with divine wrath rang out from behind them, making the trio shudder in fright.

“—All three of you…!”

They turned around to see Athena standing there wearing a beautiful smile on her face. 

But her eyes were not smiling.

“Especially you!”

Athena went up to Eden and aggressively pulled his cheeks. While the twins cleverly tried to make themselves imperceptible by blending into the background and staying completely still.

“Ouch… Athena… I’m sorry.”

“Not again! Okay? No more of these gifts!”

“Eden understands… Ouch.”

“And when are you going to finally learn to have some resemblances of common sense?!”

“Eden will try harder… next time… ah! It hurts!”

Athena continued to ‘punish’ Eden for his actions for a little longer while Vena and Altarin continued pretending to be office decorations and apologizing to Eden inside their minds.

After that day, Eden no longer came back home with any gifts… and the whole chaotic fiasco was over.

—————..........

[ The Mansion of House Athena - Front Gate ]

….

The gentle breeze blows past us, carrying the fluttering smell of flower petals out of the mansion’s garden. And I…

“I’m sorry Eden, I still don't understand what any of that has to do with what we were talking about earlier,” I admit to Eden after he’s done telling his story. And that makes him frown a little.

“Brother Altarin… you really don’t understand,” says Eden, a slight hint of irritation in his monotonous but pleasant voice.

“Okay, I’m sorry I don’t know what you were thinking when you casually robbed a quarter of the city and almost accidentally blew up the mansion.”

I end up sighing helplessly at the prospect of Eden becoming harder and harder to understand as he grows older.

I suppose it is as Master Casandro has said, 'Beautiful girls are as innocent as a bouquet of white roses—only if they still have an underdeveloped ego something something…'

“But Eden, you really scared me in the last three weeks you know?”

“Eh? Why?” Eden asks cutely.

I put up a serious expression and answer him with absolute earnestness, “Because I thought that one day you were going to come back with a girl and say that she gave you her—Arrghh!”

“What were you going to say to my little Eden, Altarin?!”

An angry voice comes from beside me. And I turn to ask its owner...

“Couldn’t you have greeted me without stepping on my feet, dear sister?”

—Who is, of course, Vena.

“Eden, how could you forget your hat?” Vena ignores me and puts the round, oversized hat on Eden’s head. “Lady Athena said that you shouldn’t let anyone see your eyes directly. Well, I don’t really know why, but I suppose I can’t let a girl like that red-eyed thief appear again, can I?”

Vena begins to brush away Eden's long golden hair from his face, her face blooming with a genuine—and frightening—smile.

“Who are you… referring to… big sister Vena?”

“Ah, what am I saying? Such a person should probably be forgotten completely. We’ll never see her again in the next 15 years anyway. Hahaha~”

Vena lets out a short laugh filled with sinister auras while still smiling pleasantly.

—Hey hey, are you fine with having Eden see you like this?! Eden, look, look at the true face of your 'Big sister'!

But alas, Eden doesn’t get to catch a glimpse of Vena’s true nature and has already moved to the roadside and begins to… whistle?

“Eden, what are you doing?” I curiously ask.

“A delivery girl told me… that you can get a free ride… by doing this,” Eden simply tells us.

““A free ride?””

To be honest, before we took Eden in, all three of us—especially Lady Athena who prefers peace and quiet—didn’t really go outside of the mansion much aside from some errands. So we probably aren’t as well acquainted with the city of Anorlon as Eden seems to have become.

But then, Vena and I notice there's something wrong.

“Eden, I think that person might have meant that you have to use a magic whistle to summon an Ethereal Carriage,” Vena starts to say.

“But carriages were a thing of the past, so I don’t think—”

VROooooOOMmmmMM~~!

Right as I’m about to finish my sentence, a roaring sound of a powerful engine blasts into our ears. Then, a black vehicle appears almost out of nowhere and comes to a complete stop in front of us at what seems like its full speed.

Vena and I use our arms to block the gust of wind while Eden has to hold his hat with one hand to prevent it from flying off.

“...We spoke too soon, it seems,” says Vena, not hiding her surprise.

“Um…” I can only nod in agreement.

The car in front of us has a sleek and cutting-edge design. The Octavia brand at the front indicates that this is probably the newest series of locomotives using the latest edition of their Mana Batteries… I only know this because I’ve read about it in a magazine that I totally didn’t go back and ordered more of.

The sliding car window interrupts my observation with the appearance of a figure sitting in the driver’s seat. A hoodie-wearing, purple bob-cut girl with hair clips decorating her temple.

I feel like I’d seen her face before but I couldn’t see it clearly under the sunglasses.

The girl looks at us, and when she opens her mouth, only a single word comes out.

“Eden…”

I look over at the person in question, who nods his head politely before replying in an equally monotonous voice.

“Yuu…”

Then a short silence follows as they continue to stare at each other, wordlessly communicating something through their eyes until eventually.

“Anorlon Times Building… got it.”

“Thanks… Yuu.”

""...!!""

Ignoring both my and Vena’s surprise. ‘Yuu’ opens the car’s doors and lets us inside the luxurious interior. Eden decides to go sit in the front seat, beside the mysterious chauffeur.

Needless to say, I choose to sit behind the two of them and keep my mouth shut, somehow feeling like if I say something now it would intrude on the solemn atmosphere.

As for Vena. Well, as anyone can guess she has been sitting beside me.

And her eyes have been dangerously sharp since earlier.

—————……….