Unlike Hye, Alyia didn’t have to go out to buy an outfit for their date. But that doesn’t mean her day was any easier than his. Five hours—that’s how long she had spent so far trying to find an outfit "good enough for the occasion."
Skirts, shorts, pants, dresses, and everything ever created, even outfits from various eras, were tried during her endless attempts. Japanese kimonos, despite their beauty, seemed too strange for a date.
The European royal dresses were beautiful and dazzling, as if straight out of a fairy tale, but they were too extravagant, large, and uncomfortable. Dining in them seemed more than a nightmare.
"Are you really going to do this?" Lior asked, rising from the bed and observing the long red dress that replaced the simple white dress his sister had been wearing. "She’ll be extremely irritated when she finds out, you know."
"...What about what I asked you to get?" Alyia questioned, ignoring Lior's words as she snapped her fingers, causing another dress to be created from scratch and form around her body. "Have you fetched it yet?"
"Are you seriously ignoring me?" Lior smiled, letting his body fall back onto the bed while moving a hand toward the window across the hall. "You’ll have to go back soon, so unless you’re not taking this seriously, she’ll find out."
Moving his fingers slowly, the previously closed and immobile window began to open gradually, the glass shifting discreetly as if an invisible force was constantly pushing it.
"And also... you know, giving rings on a first date doesn’t seem like a good idea..."
"Are you kidding?" Alyia smiled, walking toward the bed.
With every step she took, the yellow dress covering her was consumed from bottom to top by a long blue dress. What appeared to be small precious stones adorned every corner of that dress, from the sleeves at her wrists to the hem covering her feet. These precious stones were actually mana stones, the most expensive material currently in existence.
"What’s inside that little box in your wardrobe?"
"That’s just a precaution..."
"Precaution? Seriously. You don’t even have a girlfriend."
"Yet. I don’t have a girlfriend yet!" Lior exclaimed.
"Now, no more jokes..." Standing beside the bed, Alyia looked directly into her brother’s eyes, sending a shiver down his spine. "Where is what I asked for?"
"Well... it’s just that..."
In the blink of an eye, Lior disappeared. The abruptly opening window made room for something almost no one in that world could keep up with. However, unfortunately, one of the few beings capable of keeping up was also present in that room.
"Really?" Alyia said, standing in front of the window with one arm stretched outside. "Before running, you should at least..."
Suspended in midair as if gravity didn’t exist and with one foot held by an unyielding grip, making escape impossible, Lior sighed, interrupting Alyia and completing her sentence: "Create a distraction."
"So those rings are still in your wardrobe? ...I just said that without thinking..."
"Yes... now..." Looking down at the busy streets of downtown Seoul, Lior shivered. "Could you pull me inside? It’d be embarrassing if someone saw me like this..."
As his body re-entered the room, the window slowly closed. When he was fully inside, the window was completely shut.
"See?" Lior said, throwing himself onto the bed and hiding his face from Alyia. "That’s why Yang Kai acts that way with you. You need to improve your temper."
"Acts what way? He seemed normal to me."
"Normal?!" Lior exclaimed. "He couldn’t even look you in the eye, let alone talk to you."
With silent steps, Alyia "walked" towards the mirror. Her movements were so light and fluid that she didn’t seem to be touching the floor, and in fact, her feet weren’t moving.
"You shouldn’t be lecturing me on this. Who was it that ruined his trip to Korea? He didn’t seem happy at all when he left."
"Oh, that... I’ll give him one of my weapons as an apology..."
"Another one?" Smiling in front of the mirror, Alyia gently brought one foot to the ground, and silver shoes appeared, initially on her toes. "How many will that be? Five?"
"Eight..." Lior murmured, covering his ears with a pillow.
"Eight?!" Alyia exclaimed, turning to her brother, whose face was hidden. "What else did you do in Asia? I thought the problem in Shanghai was the last one. Was Teodoro involved too?"
"...There were some islands in Asian territory..."
Her long golden hair, in front of the mirror, changed shape without needing to be touched: "Again? How many this time? Four?"
"Almost that... twenty... Teodoro and I were training, so..."
"Almost that..." Alyia whispered, clenching her fists as the hairbrush on the small table below the mirror floated. "Are you kidding?! That’s eighteen more than last time. Eighteen!"
Without removing the pillow from his face, but moving a hand at an incredible speed, Lior easily caught the brush flying toward him.
"Lior... Do you think I don’t know what you’re doing?" Her voice was close, too close, and feeling this, Lior shuddered. "No more jokes. Where is what I asked you to fetch?"
"Well..."
The words didn’t come easily, so the answer Alyia sought took longer than it should have. However, when it came, her voice echoed beyond the building’s area where no sound should escape: "They sold it?!"
The argument lasted for some time, covering topics like firings, searches, or even something a bit more drastic, like the complete closure of the Korean branch.
In the end, after a "small investigation," with Alyia reading all the purchase records of the day and Lior watching all the security footage of the branch, those managing the place were fired. By incredible luck, the one who sold Alyia’s belongings was promoted to branch manager.
The price paid didn’t matter, as those items couldn’t be bought with all the money in the world. However, despite his mistake, Alyia felt she should thank him instead of condemning him.
"This place..." putting the notebook aside, Alyia rose from the bed while looking at the location sent by Hye. "Aren’t reservations at this restaurant usually made well in advance?"
"Yes..." Lior confirmed after checking the message. "But Ms. Samantha probably intervened... What surprises me is that she did it at a restaurant where most clients are hunters. It seems 'auntie' really likes you... still."
With her silver shoes, Alyia walked towards the door. Her bright blue dress contrasted with her eyes, and her golden curls never unraveled.
"Oh, and before coming home, don’t forget to fetch what I asked this time," Alyia said as she passed the exit.
"Yes, yes, I will, don’t worry."
Lior watched his sister leave, a small bump in the center of his head, smiling.
"They’re still there..." Lior whispered, turning over on the bed and grabbing his notebook to search for something. "Still..."
His radiant gaze fixed on the small screen for a while, but he didn’t say a word. From time to time, as the image on the screen changed, happy smiles appeared on his face while he constantly swung his feet in the air.
"My God! ...She’s so beautiful...!"
***************
Alyia walked towards the exit, her steps, even in heels, made no sound and her dress didn’t touch the floor, as if she were floating to the door.
Not just a normal door, it was also a portal capable of traveling anywhere in the world, the same portal Yang Kai had used hours before to return to China.
With her hand on the handle, Alyia opened the door, revealing the empty corridor on the other side.
A simple illusion.
From the outside, the door appeared closed. However, those exiting the apartment could choose their destination, visualizing the landscape in their mind, causing the door’s view to change.
Glasswork emanating a beautiful blue glow made of mana stones added an extra touch to the place. A 20-story building, certainly the safest in South Korea. As the landscape in the portal changed before her eyes, Alyia smiled, sensing something familiar nearby.
'That was close... This "lack of energy" is certainly a problem...'
The portal’s landscape shifted again, but this time more quickly. A door appeared before her eyes, opening to reveal a blue sports car with a sleek design, whose doors opened with a single touch, rising automatically at a ninety-degree angle.
The car door on the street side opened, rising slowly and allowing Hye to step out, thinking: 'Hmm... Auntie was right. Getting my driver’s license after turning eighteen was the right decision.'
As he adjusted his clothes, his eyes briefly strayed and were captivated by something that didn’t seem of this world. No, it could never belong to the mortal realm.
His eyes seemed to deceive him, so magnificent was the sight. Alyia appeared to be walking in the air as stars formed around her body.
She was wearing the sky.
To his eyes, people and cars around no longer existed, leaving only that beautiful vision occupying his mind.
For a brief moment, Hye even considered he had just seen wings appear on her back; but then, shaking his head, he quickly ran to open the door for the angel before him.
However, despite Hye not noticing due to being too focused on Alyia, he was far from the only one paralyzed by the sight of that angelic being.
Pedestrians or drivers, men or women, it didn't matter.
Everyone, without exception, had their eyes instinctively following her until the moment Alyia got into the car.
During those few minutes, not only the people around, but the traffic itself came to a halt thanks to those who had a perfect field of vision to contemplate that scene.
"...Did I forget my mask this time...?"