Zeke yawned until his jaw could no longer take it. Even though he got used to his morning routine since his departure into Tarial, he was still not a great morning person.

  Looking around, his room was a simple guest room that was fairly larger than the attic one he was used to for over a year. But as usual, most of his belongings ended up in his storage pack.

  With a grin that should’ve disappeared by now after attaining his improved Superior Storage Pack, he placed his hand on top of the black and white colored pack and inserted his will into it. With a thought, his current attire–a simple white shirt and gray pants meant for sleeping–instantly changed into his Arclight Flow gear he received from Cronus.

  That never gets old, no matter how many times I use it, Zeke grinned, opening the door out of the guest room.

  It was even made up to the specifications that the servants put on, with the arms of his jacket rolled up across his forearms. The guys said something about ‘pleasing for the eyes’, but he still can’t believe that some people prefer to see his naked forearms. It was weird.

  Out of the room, the modern household was still surprising to see in this fantasy world, but he knew this belonged to Alissa, their current caretaker. He still felt miffed that they still had to live with someone else rather than live on their own, but he was getting used to living in someone else’s household and ensuring to not trouble them.

  Before his thoughts could go farther down the ideas of doing runes to improve the cleaning of the white hallways and even the rustic paintings placed on the side, rather for anything decorative but for just feeling at ease from their nature-themed displays, a tantalizing scent of breakfast filled his nose. His stomach instantly demanded sustenance and Zeke followed its will without hesitation and headed towards the open-air kitchen.

  There, he saw the girls, his family. Clara and Zoan, while the latter he wasn’t sure could be family yet, sat around the long table used to eat in the kitchen area. Zoan was apparently brushing her hair like mad while Clara was helping her out, possibly fixing the bed hair that Zoan absolute hates getting. She wasn’t used to sleeping before getting trapped into a real body, so she hated any semblance of bed hair on her silvery locks.

  Meanwhile, Mikella was hard at work in the kitchen, her hands weaving across the pans and skillets as various meals were being prepped, dressed, seasoned, and cut as though it all occured at once. The kitchen didn’t had just simple appliances a Runist drew runes on, but were instead vastly improved appliances that could easily outclass any appliances that were made in the old world even if they used the latest tech of the future. Like clockwork, Mikella prepared one meal after another, placing them over the table methodically as though it was created by magic itself.

  Zeke watched in awe, usually helping her out in the kitchen by drawing runes to her estimations and helping with any assistance. However, he made her promise to take care of breakfast after yesterday’s messy deal making. He thought he took it too far by making Mikella cook their meals, something of a stereotype that Zeke thought might be too crude and insensitive to do to his partner.

  But apparently he couldn't be more wrong. Mikella whizzed by the kitchen, a natural in her element. When Zeke sat down across from Clara and Zoan, receiving their morning greetings, Mikella instantly placed Zeke’s portion onto his side before he could look up to see her flash away back into the kitchen.

  He looked down and instantly frowned. Just as she promised, his plate was filled with greens and vegetables that might as well be an early morning salad, with a small amount of expertly cut chucken on the side with some very mild appliance of dressing across it all. Especially on the greens.

  “Mikky…” He groaned, knowing full well of his mistake.

  “Hey, you should’ve been careful of what you wished for,” Mikella looked back at him, winking with that ever usual cute smile of hers.

  Zeke didn’t dislike the greens. In fact, anything Mikella made was practically god-like to his crap taste buds of the old world. However, he was serious when he said that he was a carnivore by heart, and prefers to eat more meat even in the morning. Still, his stomach wasn’t exactly ready for such a heavy meal, so he took a bite out of the greens and, once again, forgot why he even complained about the salad in the first place. It was delicious.

  Before he could make a demand for seconds, the door opened up from the entrance to the living room. They all turned to find a very, very grumpy looking Alissa. Her brows were scrunched and her sharp eyes looked more ferocious than usual. She had that ‘just went to a meeting when it could have been a call’ look on her face as if she practiced that for years.

  When she approached the kitchen, however, her expression softened… by about a few percentage wise as she stared at the scene on the table.

  “Did you make breakfast?” Alissa asked. Despite her scowling face, her tone didn’t seem any different from normal.

  “Yep,” Mikella answered. “Sorry for using the stuff in the fridge. I’ll restock it once I get a moment. Were you out for the whole night? We haven’t seen you come in since after Clara told us you went out in the evening.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that,” Alissa shook her head, holding the bridge of her nose. “It was a sudden meeting, and don’t worry about the food. It restocks itself with a connecting rune to my usual supplier on a daily basis. I never have the time to go out and buy food for myself, so this was… a surprise to find first thing in the morning.”

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “What, breakfast?” Mikella asked in what looked like horror on her face. “Then sit your ass down here already. I made some for you too.”

  That instantly got Alissa’s face to soften up by half, her eyes widened. Zeke and the girls instantly made room for her around the table, Zeke picking up a chair to use right between Clara and Zoan. He wondered if he took it too far, not wanting to make Alissa feel left out or anything, but not only did Alissa took the spot Zeke put for her, Clara looked at her with a beaming smile and greeted her good morning.

  Once Mikella handed in her portion, Alissa looked at the meal–a grand slam of fried eggs, bacon, hash browns, a small bowl of greens and veggies with some dressing on top, with freshly squeezed orange juice in a glass cup.

  It was such a marvel, Alissa just stared at it for a long while. Zeke somehow could understand himself, being a man who wasn’t used to having such a spread in his early days in the old world. She tentatively took a bite with her utensils, and her face finally melted away. She smiled, something that was so close to Valorie’s that Zeke swore he would never say out loud, but was glad to see.

  “It’s delicious,” Alissa said. “At least there’s some benefits with you staying here.”

  “I can make it too if Bobo and Sissy are out, if you want,” Clara pointed out. “I’m not that good as Sissy, but it’s better than nothing, right?”

  “Right,” Alissa nodded. “Thanks, Clara. I appreciate that.”

  “You let us stay here, so it’s natural,” Clara beamed.

  “I’ll make sure she doesn’t mess up, just in case,” Zoan suddenly spoke, instantly receiving a pout from Clara. Alissa actually chuckled at the antics, bringing a good vibe around the table.

  Once they settled in with the addition of Allisa, the breakfast was done before Alissa spoke up.

  “Now that we’re all here, it’s time for business. I met up with Lord Cronus before I came here, and I received the briefing you guys need.”

  “Briefing?” Mikella asked. “We’re supposed to head to the guild today, right?”

  “Yes, but there are some things you should know before meeting with your comrades later on.”

  The two otherworlders looked at each other worriedly. One could say that this was becoming a norm for them as they listened intently to Alissa.

  “First off,” Alissa laced her fingers together. “You are not to mention to anyone else where you came from.”

  “We’ve been trying this whole time before Cronus came around,” Mikella pointed out, her eyes narrowing. “Now we’re telling it to pretty much everyone we come across.”

  “And you have to do it again for your future allies when you get to the guild,” Alissa nodded, but that only got Mikella to roll her eyes. “There’s a good reason for that. Lord Cronus believes that at some point, everyone in the world, not just Arcelot, would find out about the arrival of otherworlders.”

  The two paused at that. While the idea seemed ludicrous, the world being about four or five times bigger than their old world, it was actually possible that their appearance might spread.

  “So the fact is that we must, by all means, get all the otherworlders under our care rather than let them get taken by someone else more troublesome. You two were lucky when you landed near Eve Glade, right? If you were placed near the Aetheric Federation, for example, you’d be exploited beyond reasoning. And I can safely say that they won’t hold back by any means necessary.”

  Zeke frowned, and Mikella laid back on the chair. Clara and Zoan listened closely, keeping quiet as Alissa continued.

  “However, we can’t do such a grand undertaking if you two are the only ones who know about the situation. You understand that, right?”

  “...Yes,” Mikella grumbled. She straightened herself up before facing Alissa again. “But you guys know that it’s actually impossible to keep all the otherworlders in line, right? If they’re anything like us, they probably won’t like the idea of being imprisoned.”

  “That is a problem for the future, if we can manage to find any at all. So far, the existence of otherworlders are proven by you four alone. It’s not something I or Lord Cronus expect to be finished within the year or so.”

  “...Alright, I understand that much,” Zeke eventually said. “But what about our allies? Can we really trust them? We haven’t even seen them and yet you’re telling us to give them our secrets.”

  Alissa looked back at him with a confident stare. “I assure you, the comrades you’ll be meeting are professional. Moreover, they are actually undercover agents sent by Cronus himself. They merely act like adventurers to take on quests of impossible standards, especially ones that seemed suspicious and dangerous for the common folk. While troubles can turn up everywhere if you spot them hard enough, Cronus doesn’t want anyone to get through the worst of it without his knowledge.”

  “Secret agents…” Clara said with awe in her voice. Zoan just shook her head, but Zeke could have sworn she saw a small hint of a twist on the edge of her lips.

  “So… he’s keeping an eye on the adventurers too through his agents?” Mikella asked, now curious. “And take on quests that seemed too dangerous for other adventurers?”

  “It would do no good for the adventurer guild’s reputation if all the best adventurers suddenly die off from random issues–especially if they were made by the tower’s existence.”

  The two were starting to get the picture, no matter how grim it looked. In other words, this was all for the sake of keeping the secret of the tower’s appearances at a minimum. While the idea of otherworlders being revealed to the world is a possibility, what Cronus wants is to maintain the image of control he has over the country. By doing that, the people within the country would continue on as normal, not allowing any form of grand change to occur and causing chaos to form in response. It was a very calculated plan, something that Zeke was impressed by.

  He didn’t like that they were used like tools for that plan, but a good plan nonetheless.

  “I get all that, but I still don’t like it,” Mikella said earnestly. Zeke agreed to that with a nod.

  Alissa shrugged. “I’m not telling you to like it, or to agree wholeheartedly. This is for the sake of keeping the peace, and ensuring that when otherworlders do become known, the rest of the world won’t see them as invaders.”

  Zeke and Mikella grimaced in unison. Even if they were forced into this, they were technically invading another world. If this was their old world, pretty much half of it would believe them to be invaders and react in the only way they know–by outright destroying them. It wouldn’t be surprising if this world, no matter how diverse it was, were to have those thoughts in droves, especially in high places like the nobility and the leaders.

  “Now that you understand,” Alissa said, offering a small smile. “It’s time for you to get going. Your new allies aren’t the patient sort.”