The Southern Kingdom of Tinsel.
The Radiant Jewel of the Auren Continent.
Where order is gold, manners are iron, and every soul plays their part in the great performance of society.
Among common folk and nobles alike, Tinsel is seen as the most refined and dignified nation in the known world—the crown of civilization!
A bastion of culture, etiquette and divine order. The streets are said to glimmer with polished stone, the air hums with soothing music and the law is as firm as marbles.
Absolutely ridiculous!
Yuzuriha didn't know where this sudden flood of knowledge came from, but from what she's seen—experienced, it's all bull.
'The image the government projects on its people never changes.'
From the moment Yuzuriha reincarnated into this life, she was thrown into what seemed like a mugging which resulted in the death of the little girl Yor.
'But to be fair, I haven't seen this place all that much, so I could be judging it too early. Still…
I wonder, should I tell them? I'm not their little sister, at that alleyway, the real one actually died'
For a while, that thought had been plaguing Yuzuriha's mind. Say what you will about her, she was still human.
Taking the role of their little sister and acting like nothing happened made her feel guilty, like she was some sort of imposter.
Listening to them now—
Marcille was going off like she was retelling a legendary tale.
"And then this thing, right? This…disgusting, slimy crab-thing with way too many eyes in its mouth, it stank, I swear. Came crawling out of the sand. I took one look and went 'Not today, buddy!'. So I grabbed my spear and shwoom! Right through its nasty little mouth!"
"Gross!"
Willow squealed but at the same time laughing. She smacked the table once for dramatic effect which earned her a little giggle from Leo.
"What kind of crab has eyes in its mouth?!"
Leo asked in a voice full of innocent disbelief, and Marcille answered that with a mouth full of food.
"The kind that deserves to get punted halfway across the dunes!"
"You kicked it?!"
Willow gasped.
"With my spear!"
Marcille must have winked when she said that because a burst of laughter filled the room. Everyone was laughing, excluding the blind girl, who was frowning.
'A crab monster? What is she talking about? Could she be messing with them or something? Well, they are kids so she could be exaggerating. That said, what kind of job does big sis, uh…Marcille, work in to tell an absurd story like that?'
Yuzuriha sat at the table with them, bowl in front of her and a spoon nestled between her fingers. Not only was she confused about what they were talking about, but she was also very interested.
The air in this place was…peaceful. No, not peaceful. It was…
"Warm"
And she wasn't a part of it.
Yuzuriha dipped her spoon into the bowl and felt the thick and heavy stew. She couldn't see the contents, but the smell was smoky, with that sweet undertone of roasted root vegetables.
When she tasted it, the flavor bloomed across her tongue. It was soft meat, probably lamb, boiled tender and seasoned with something earthly.
'It's delicious!'
She almost blurted that out like last time, but she was aware of it this time.
She ate it slowly while listening to more than their conversation. Since she couldn't see, her other senses had been heightened.
Yuzuriha could feel every vibration in the wood through her fingers resting on the table's edge. Every footstep, every tap, every shift in breath—she could feel it all.
It was almost like a super power!
It's mostly how she was able to navigate her way through the dinner table without needing help. They probably knew that too, the reason why they weren't trying to assist her in eating.
'Is this how it's like for blind people?'
As she wondered that, Willow suddenly snapped her out her thoughts with a question.
"Hey, Yor. Are you ok? You haven't said anything since we sat down"
Yuzuriha hesitated for a moment, grip tightening on the spoon. She certainly couldn't tell them what she was thinking.
How would they even respond to that? Would their reactions be good or bad?
Well, considering these are kids so they would most likely lean toward the latter.
Yuzuriha's lips parted then closed. A quick enough lie wasn't surfacing!
The dinner table had gone silent. They all must have been staring at her with either curious or suspicious gazes.
Say something!
"I…"
As she tried, her voice suddenly caught on something invisible, something coiled and cold inside her throat.
'I can't speak!'
No matter how much she tried, not a word was coming out. This almost made her panic, but she immediately redirected that energy in shaking her head vigorously.
This motion didn't outright answer the little girl's question, luckily she didn't press. Nobody at the table did. They just went back to eating, the clattering of dishes made that apparent.
"Willow, Stop bothering Yor. She is clearly tired, can't you see that?"
Leo said in a snarky tone.
"You're so mean. Yor would never get tired of me, you're just jealous she likes me more!"
Willow proclaimed as she leaned her head against Yuzuriha's shoulder. She didn't move away, but she didn't lean back, either. Probably to not get involved in whatever was going on.
Even though she was the subject of topic.
"Whatever"
Leo dismissed the little girl as he went back to eating his food. And Willow gave off a small giggle to celebrate her win, she must have been grinning at Leo too.
'Heh. Cute'
For a good moment, there was only silence. That was until Marcille cleared her throat.
"Alright, alright. Enough storytelling for now. Eat up you two. Yor, finish up. It's time to practice"
Marcille said as she stood up, the wood under feet creaking softly. At first, Yuzuriha didn't respond for obvious reasons.
The first being the fact she hadn't gotten used to being called Yor, and the second, was the thoughts that welled up inside her mind whenever that name was mentioned.
Yuzuriha knew very well that she wasn't Yor. That little girl had died in a dark alley. Yuzuriha had just…walked into her skin like it was some old dress left behind.
Even if she pretended to play house with them, it still wouldn't change that fact.
"Please don't give me that, Yor. You know it's important to practice controlling your astris. Now come on, let's hurry"
When Marcille called to her again, Yuzuriha quickly pushed her chair back and stood up, walking up to her older sister.
'Practice? Astris?'