After their meal, Orion noticed that the time was calibrated on Triazils, so he rectified this.


    He wanted to relax his muscles as much as possible before moving again.


    Drania and Dramia returned to the fairy realm right after to talk with Tiohr-nam.


    Only him, Amelia, and Karteira remained in their home. They were discussing a few things, plans that would take a few days to complete, and whatever was on their mind.


    It was right after Orion went to prepare a cup of coffee, that Amelia returned with something he hadn''t seen in quite some time.


    "Orion! Look what I found! It was stuck in one of the pocket of my bag. I had completely forgotten about it."


    Glancing at the object, he recognized it immediately.


    "Is that your deck of card?"


    His face crumped up instantly.


    "Do you want to play a game with me and Karteira?"


    Bad memories of playing hours after hours against her resurfaced.


    ''It''s been a while, why not.''


    He swallowed the bad feeling he felt, and agreed.


    "Sure."


    Taking his cup from the counter, he returned to the table with Amelia, where Karteira was waiting.


    After everyone was comfortably sat, Amelia began to talk.


    "I''ll play with Karteira first, and I''ll explain the rules at the same time. We haven''t played in a while, so it''ll come back to you too."


    Orion closed his eyes and nodded, though he clearly remembered the rules.


    What Amelia played the most, and liked more than any other card game was ''War''.


    And... it was impossible to win against her.


    ...


    "Huh? I was unlucky?"


    Karteira lost painfully so, experiencing the same tragedy as Orion before her.


    ''I don''t feel like playing anymore.''


    With the fastest change of mind he ever had, Orion wanted to disappear and avoid playing against her.


    He looked at Karteira with sympathy.


    "No, you weren''t unlucky. You will understand later."


    Taking the cards scattered on the table, he swiftly made the deck, and shuffled it.


    "Alright, I''ll humor you Amelia."


    Orion cut the deck of fifty-two cards in two, placed one in front of Amelia, and kept the other half.


    The results?


    "It feels quite nostalgic."


    A magnificent loss for Orion. Twenty pairs against six.


    "How?!"


    Even Karteira was shocked. She never knew such a game existed before Amelia showed her, but she liked both the game, and its name. Though, she didn''t understood how Amelia was able to win with such a large margin over the opponent.


    "That''s just how it is with Amelia. She was born to trample others on card games."


    Even though he was smiling, he clearly sounded bitter about losing every time.


    "I''ve never won a single time against her, and we''ve played hundreds of times."


    The one concerned looked rather innocent.


    "What? It''s fun just to play isn''t it?"


    Orion turned his face slowly toward the window.


    "You wouldn''t understand, you''ve never lost in your life."


    ''At least she doesn''t brag about winning. It''s just a simple enjoyment for her.''


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    "Karteira, let''s do one together. No hard feelings."


    "Alright."


    Amelia watched as those two began to take the game rather seriously.


    The match ended quickly, with only one winner.


    "So close!"


    Karteira slammed her fist on the table in frustration.


    "I won, fifteen to eleven. See? That''s a standard result, Amelia. The fact that you almost get more than seventeen pairs each time you play is not normal."


    Ignoring the loser, Amelia stared at Orion.


    "Well, what do you want me to say? I don''t influence my own luck, you know."


    His expression froze, before returning to neutral.


    ''She''s right. Nothing can be done about that.''


    "That''s true."


    "Amelia! I challenge you!"


    Karteira pushed her cards to Orion and let him shuffle the cards.


    ''What am I, a dealer?''


    With a smile, he did just that, and gave half of the deck to each other.


    ...


    A few matches happened, with Amelia always winning, and Karteira winning some matches against Orion.


    During a match against Amelia, Orion began one of the topic he wanted to discuss with them.


    "I have something to ask, it is a subtle subject for me to talk about, and I don''t know how you will receive it."


    Amelia placed the card at the top of her deck on the table.


    "If you know it will be bad, why do you bring it up?"


    Placing his card on top of Amelia''s, he looked and saw that it was a two against a queen. Amelia won the exchange.


    "The lamia queen asked me if I disliked her appearance. I''m not so blind as to not see the underlying message. She clearly confessed to me."


    The room''s temperature fell instantly, but hot air was also felt on the other side.


    "I know I said I wouldn''t care for more, but I don''t even know that woman. And what more, she''s a lamia?"


    A cold breeze swirled around her.


    "While I was lost in my thoughts over the matter, someone went ahead of me?"


    Karteira had hot air forming around her.


    "That''s what I said. It is a subtle matter. This is also why I have something to propose."


    Placing another card on the table, the room temperature returned to normal.


    "You''re going to say something like ''Why don''t I make her come to Horizon so that you can get acquainted to her first, and then see if we can find common ground.'' isn''t it? Also, I''m sure you''ve already told her about me, and that you are always in a fight."


    "At this point, I won''t be surprised, but you just want to learn more about the faction, right?"


    "..."


    His expression was priceless. The shame of having been read like a book, and the fact that she knew exactly his thought process were painting his face.


    "Nothing to say? Am I right?"


    "Am I that easy to understand?"


    "Because you can''t understand my thoughts most of the time? We''ve been living together for as long as I remember, of course I know you at this point. I''ve learned more about you since we''ve left Auro too."


    She was right, he would also sometimes read her mind. For them, who were close, this was normal.


    "You two are quite lucky. I don''t have that kind of thing."


    Karteira looked dejected, and felt rather excluded.


    "That''s something you build over time. I didn''t have that when I was younger. It only noticed it... after the fire."


    ''She''s not saying ''accident'' anymore?''


    Both Orion and Karteira noticed the subtle change, but it was there. She had began accepting that it wasn''t her fault.


    Knowing that she could one day also felt this link with Orion, she recovered her spirit.


    Right then, Orion placed his card on top of Amelia''s, and miraculously won the exchange.


    "It''s a queen, right? Are you sure we can receive her? She''s not going to speak unjust things to us?"


    Orion won the next exchange again.


    "I can tell that she is a strange person to deal with, but she never looked disrespectful toward me. The fact that she took a liking to me should make her be careful of her words around you two."


    "You really want to learn more about that faction. I understand, let''s do that for now. If you ever bring her here, just tell us."


    The moment Orion placed his card, something that rarely happened with Amelia finally happened.


    "A war..."


    Two kings were on the table.


    They were both on their last card.


    Amelia placed it first. Another king.


    ''Damn it, and yet I was close to win against her.''


    He closed his eyes, and placed the card on top of the pile.


    *gasp*


    Hearing Karteira, he was sure that he had lost.


    "I lost... it''s the first time."


    Opening his eyes, he noticed the miracle. He had finished the game with the ace of spade.


    Fourteen to twelve, with Orion in the lead.


    "I won? Against you? What happened?"


    Also in shock, they both stared at each other in complete silence.


    Before bursting in laughter.


    ~


    After they were done playing, they went outside.


    It was time to check on mini Tiohr-nam. That was how Karteira named the tree that grew from the seed her mother gave to Orion, so they kept it.


    "It''s growing. This is good."


    Amelia decided that the best place was not far from their home, thirty steps away.


    She made a pile of fresh dirt and used the tablet to create the terrain. After that, she sprayed a large amount of water on it before planting the seed.


    "In just a few days, it''s already this big."


    The seed had taken root, and a stem, quite big at that, was already out of the dirt.


    "Yes, we should have a beautiful tree in a month or two. She said it would grow fast. After that, the smaller tree of life should create other trees for us to use."


    Amelia nodded at Orion''s words.


    "Yes, and then we''ll finish the guest house."


    Next to them, Karteira added.


    "We have to return to Hocride with the queens too. We should get the furniture we need over there too."


    Thinking of what was needed, Orion agreed.


    "Good call. While you girls are taking care of the clothes, I''ll go look for that."


    "You really hate clothing stores."


    "I do."


    With a joke that was also an observation, Karteira copied Amelia.


    Noticing that he didn''t mind her speaking like that, she grew a little more confident. He wouldn''t judge her for acting a little more friendlier.


    "If not for Kamala, I would have kept the same clothes. But I will have to give her that, they are quite comfortable, and harder to damage."


    The three of them were in their casual clothes, which were different from the clothes they wore outside of Horizon. This was their home here, and wearing the same clothes could be tiresome too.


    "I really like the clothes."


    "I do too."


    Both girls agreed.


    "Anyways, what else do we need to do?"


    Orion turned around, but there was nothing remaining for him to do, and he wasn''t especially thrilled about training right now.


    ''I should also take a shower.''


    With that decided, he quickly returned home with them.


    While he was taking a shower, Amelia went to work on the terrain outside of the house with Karteira.


    After that, she returned home to cook dinner, and just like that, the day was over.


    The next day, Orion went to the fairy realm to pick up the sisters.


    Next stop, Hocride.