The trip continued silently, at least for Basil's part. Shirley and Julia became a mute for a few moments before they regained their rowdiness once again. Basil didn't interrupt them. He knew they were trying to distract their minds from the earlier event.
Everyone's first time of watching the act of killing in front of them had never been pleasant. Even more so the first experience of killing someone. However, Basil couldn't understand this.
He had been fine when he had first killed someone. He had found it reasonable as the thought of killing had been mutual. Therefore, he had nothing to regret or remorse. It had been just and right.
He was aware he might be different though. He often found himself having a different view with many people. Surely, it didn't mean he was entirely different. There were still some people with the same thought as him.
Neigh!
The Hexapod Horses stopped in their track and the carriage also followed suit. "We have arrived, Sir," said the driver professionally to Basil.
Basil looked out the window of the carriage and could see a mansion that was half as big as Cobham Manor, which was a very big place for someone to stay.
Click.
The driver opened the door of the carriage, and Basil got out of the carriage with Shirley and Julia in tow. The driver stood in the side and bowed politely.
"Kind Sir, do you find my service up to your satisfactory?" The driver asked Basil while still bowing his head. Basil answered him simply, "Yes, it is." The driver righted himself and smiled amiably, "Thank you, Sir."
He looked at Basil uncertainly as if he got something to ask but didn't know how to ask. Basil looked at that and nodded his head lightly, "You may leave." The driver bowed once again before mounting the horses.
He left the place along with the carriage.
"It's big."
"Yes, it's big. Are you going to live here alone, Brother?"
Basil looked at the two girls neutrally. For some reason he felt like not to answer them. However, he ignored it as it was too trivial to be concerned about.
"Depends on the occasion."
He was referring to Danzel's or Clarissa's visit. He would surely bring them here to enjoy the air of another County. Surely, they would stay at his place. It was the reason he had sought a place to stay.
Unfortunately, the girls seemed to have a different thought. Their eyes glinted in a weird manner as they looked at Basil from the side. When Basil stepped forward, they followed suit. They finally entered the mansion.
...
Shirley and Julia were sitting on the sofa in the living room. Basil was busy being the clean freak he was, cleaning the mansion from the accumulated dust and any other thing that made it dirty.
The two girls could only look at him in amusement as he used Magic to clean the mansion. They had offered to help him, however they were rejected in a soft yet harsh manner.
In the end, they could only watch Basil while sitting on the sofa eating some snacks that Basil had Magically taken out of nowhere.
"Will your brother be ok? I mean, it's a big place."
"I think... He will. He has been a clean person since I know him."
"Girl, that word is very interesting considering you are siblings."
"Well..."
Shirley could only scratch her head nervously. She really didn't know what to say. She had just gotten closer with Basil for the past month. If it had not been for that particular day, she doubted she would have gotten closer with him.
Julia observed her friend silently and opted to not pursue it any further. Her friend's family was a complicated one it seemed.
While enjoying the snack, Julia set her eyes on Basil. He was swiping the surrounding with wind and pulled up any dust or dirt sticking on the ground and furnitures alike. He then led the dusty wind outside, leaving the surrounding clean.
Basil smiled in satisfaction and moved to another place. Julia gaped her mouth open. She had never seen the stoic Basil gave that reaction to anyone. Seeing Basil gave that reaction out of a housework was baffling.
Basil had just finished his throughout cleaning and returned to the living room. When he arrived there he was greeted with the scene of Shirley lying flat on her belly and Julia hanging on the sofa head rest like a rag.
Looking at the table, he could somehow find the reason. "You ran out of snacks? Why didn't you tell me?" The two quickly righted themselves up and acted like the earlier display had never happened.
Their ladylike manner returned as they stood pristinely like a respectable lady they were in front of Basil.
"You were so engrossed in your activity that we didn't dare to disturb you, Brother."
"Furthermore, we weren't really that hungry, Senior."
Just like best friends, they backed up each other very well. Both of them had a smile on their faces making the earlier display was unthinkable to a lady of their caliber. Surely, it should have been perfect if not for the blush —
Kuoong!
— and their empty stomach.
Their already red faces turned into a volcano that was ready to explode. Basil didn't give any particular reaction to that, he merely counted how much time had passed since they had arrived here. A second was all it took for Basil to figure it out.
"Alright, let us have a dinner. I will make us something quick to fill our empty stomaches."
The girls could only nod shyly. The earlier pristine display of them was gone. They had returned to the normal version of them. Meaning, they behaved just like how a girl their age behaved.
Cut. Cut. Cut.
Shirley and Julia looked at Basil's hand godly movement while cutting the ingredients. It was so fast that they worried he might have cut his finger at some point. Surely, their worry was unfounded. No ordinary blade could hurt him.
Plop.
Dropping the ingredients to the pan one by one, Basil heated it with Magic. The amount of control he had over his Magic amazed the two girls ceaselessly. Furthermore, Basil had mastered so many Elemental Magic they wondered what was his Affinity.
"Is your Brother an Elementalist?"
"I don't know. I have never asked."
Elementalist was a Mage that focused on using Elemental Magic. These people were blessed to have an affinity of all the Basic Elements, therefore enabling them to use the four Basic Elemental Magic — Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind.
"Let us help you, Brother."
"I will set the plates."
Seeing that Basil was about to finish his cook, they couldn't bear to stay idle. Thus, they offered Basil a hand to prepare for the dinner. Luckily, Basil didn't decline this time. The table was quickly organized thanks to their meticulous way of doing it.
Basil leered at them through the corner of his eyes and smirked faintly. Even though they were a daughter from a Noble family, they at least knew how to take care of some things by themselves.
"The table is done!"
"Now it's time to eat!"
Maybe because they had just done a job their maids usually did for them by themselves, they felt enthusiastic to eat the dinner. Basil quickly brought the delicacies he had cooked for dinner and set it on the table.
Again, Shirley and Julia helped him. They quickly washed their hands and sat on their respective seats. A moment of silence to pray was the only thing they needed before wolfing down their food.
The girls were curious of the taste of Basil's food. They had some expectations on it. When the soup they had spooned touched their palates, they widened their eyes in disbelief.
Preposterous! This taste is forbidden!
It was so good that they momentarily forgot how to eat like a lady. The dishes were easily the best dish they had ever eaten in their entire years of living. In Shirley's opinion, not even Irene's cooking could compare to Basil's.
Julia was having her time of bliss. She was so engrossed in her food that she didn't know she was crying. She wouldn't mind to get fat if she could get to eat food of this caliber!
Basil looked at the overreacting girls in faint amusement. He knew he cooked well, however it wasn't his best yet. The ingredients he had used had been limited, therefore it wasn't as good as he had intended.
It didn't take long for the table to be empty. The girls had gulped down all of the food on the table clean. Funnily enough, they had the conscience to end it in a ladylike manner.
Wiping her mouth with a napkin, Julia exclaimed at Basil, "It is easily the best dish I have tasted so far. You are a great cook, senior!" Shirley didn't forget to also throw her two cents in, "You can easily put any cook to shame, Brother!"
Basil also wiped his mouth and replied them calmly, "I am glad that you liked it." This time he didn't eat in haste. He ate very slowly while observing the two girls' comical way of eating.
"It is already 7 in the second half of the day. I believe your parents should be worried about you."
Julia and Shirley looked at each other. They didn't care about the fact they hadn't told their parents yet. They were slightly baffled Basil had just aimed the earlier words at Shirley too. After all, they should have the same parents, right?
Their puzzlement didn't last long as they thought that matter was too trivial to think about. Taking out a rectangular wooden plate with the size of half of a palm, they infused it with Mana and said something to it.
"Mother, I'm going to stay at Shirley's place tonight."
"Father, I'm going to stay at Brother's place tonight."
The wooden plate bleeped once before returning to normal. The two girls looked at each other once again and flashed a smile. Basil shook his head helplessly and just picked up the plates to wash them.
"Ah, let me help, Brother!"
"Let me help you too, Senior!"
The two friends looked at each other again. Using their eyes motion only, they exchanged thousands of words in a single second.
'Why don't you back up this time?'
'No, why don't you let me do it this time?'
In the end, Basil told them to do it together. The girls sighed in disappointment, but they still did it anyway. As they had told their parents they would stay over tonight through the Transmission Talisman, he had to prepare a room for them.
It didn't take long for him as the manor had so many guest rooms. He organized them briefly, and settled to have Shirley and Julia sleep in a different room. One could know just what chaos they would cause if they were to sleep together.
Basil was wise enough to grasp all of their daily stunts in just a day.
...
"Uwah...! Taking a bath is so refreshing."
"I agree. Taking a bath is always my favorite."
Shirley and Julia were conversing with each other on their way to their bedroom. They had changed themselves to a nightdress right after bathing. They had expected Basil to sneak on them while they were bathing, however Basil didn't do that much to their chagrin.
"Hmm... Where is your brother anyway?"
"I don't know. Why don't we seek him?"
"Nice idea."
They started to explore the mansion to look for Basil. They searched the kitchen, the living room, the Master bedroom, however they couldn't find him. They were slightly baffled at how good Basil hid himself.
"Huuh.. I think he left to—"
Psssh!
At that moment, they heard a sound coming from the other side of the bathroom. Due to their curiosity, they quickly scurried over to see what happened. By the time they arrived there, all of them froze to a statue.
What they saw in front of their eyes would forever be etched into their minds. They saw a half naked extremely attractive young man with a muscular but lean body in front of them.
The young man's skin was still moist due to the bath he had taken, and it raised his attractiveness even more. The girls were feeling weird as their breaths turned ragged and their faces turned red.
The young man was none other than Basil. He looked at the dreaming girls unamused. He felt like he had been violated by almost every girls he met lately. Luckily, he was experienced in facing this kind of occasion.
"I will guide you to your rooms in case you are lost."
The girls nodded dumbly and followed Basil's back in a daze. Basil led them to the rooms he had prepared for them calmly. He ignored the fact they were ogling his body with their eyes.
"Here's your room."
Again, the girls nodded dumbly. Basil didn't give any other response as he merely turned his back on them, entering the master bedroom, his room. He looked at the king-size bed in front of him and sighed softly.
"Your room is not here."
Basil turned his body and looked at the girls who had followed him. They nodded their heads dumbly once again. Shirley stepped her feet forward and said to basil, "It's here. I will sleep with you."
Julia also nodded in the back shyly while having the conscience to blush. Basil looked at the girls and sighed in exasperation.
It's going to be a long night.