In front of the receptionist, a trio of travelers finished checking in. Their cloaks were still damp from the rain, but their steps were light, clearly those of a practitioner. The receptionist barely glanced at them as she checked their identities, then prepared one of the 'silver rooms'.
She slid three room tokens across the counter, and the leader of the trio took them. One of the travelers, with his gentle voice, nodded his head politely. "Thank you."
Her ear twitched, then reddened as she peeked under the hood, "Uh-huh."
She looked away.
They moved on without any words and followed an elderly man who appeared from the side, disappearing into the inner halls. No sooner had they stepped aside when another group approached, but unlike those three, these newcomers carried themselves 'very differently'…
The eyes of the female lynx sharpened, immediately disliking them.
They had straight spines and very controlled, almost trained expressions. The cloaks were neat and enchanted, unaffected by the rain, while their sleeves each held the clear insignia of the 'Gallon Family' of the Four Great Families!
One of the men, the leader, a youth in his mid-twenties, placed a folded piece of paper on the counter. "We're looking for someone..."
His words were quick and straight to the point.
The receptionist took the folded piece of paper and unfolded it with two fingers, glanced at the image, then looked back up with a slight frown.
- Petra's wanted poster…
Although this receptionist didn't get out very much, it wasn't difficult for her to tell what was going on. Her expression didn't change. "Huh," She said in a cold and dismissive tone, "How cute, is it a relative?"
The man sniffed, his eyes darkening slightly. "Have you seen her?"
The receptionist pushed the portrait back across the counter. "We don't record all the guests," she replied lazily. "We won't expose them either, so if she's not your relative, then we can't hand her over, even if she is here."
He tried again. "Then perhaps you can tell us if—"
He retrieved a small portrait of 'Wind' from his pocket.
"—a girl named 'Wind Gallon' has arrived yet?"
The lynx leaned forward, resting her chin in her palm. Her tail swayed as she looked at the 'family portrait'. Her eyes scanned the cold face of the silver beauty.
She frowned, then sighed.
'How troublesome…' She thought to herself.
She crossed her arms and—
"Bah! You people from the capital are funny," she said in a dry voice. "You come all the way out here, flash your fancy shit, and still think you're entitled to every little request! Bah! I understand why the old man hates you so much! If it wasn't for people like you, he wouldn't have gone to an early grave!"
The man's eyes flickered briefly.
In his mind, he thought, 'that wasn't a no...'
To his delight, she continued, "Yes-yes-yes, she's here, in private room No.8, but you'll have to go outside if you want to reach it. It's in the back, about halfway up the mountain slope. You're definitely going to get wet, even if you use magic!" That was a quirk of the spiritual fog here.
She scratched her ear. "As for the little one, I can only say that if she's there, she's there." She hummed. "If she's not, you're wasting your time." There was a pause…
Then, with a sharp grin that showed just a hint of her fangs, she added, "Either way, don't start a fight, remember that, because fighting is against the rules here! Even if you're from one of the four, that doesn't mean that you can just do whatever you want!"
The members of the Gallon Family exchanged a glance, suddenly feeling some pressure from this 'strange side story style character'. "…Understood," the man finally said, bowing stiffly. His actions were quickly followed by the others. Although this small receptionist didn't seem to have much of a background, indeed, they were quite a distance from the family, so even if they could be 'avenged' later, it's better not to take a risk.
They turned and left—
And as they did, the receptionist leaned back, stretching her arms behind her head to crack her neck. "Tch," she muttered. "Always the rich ones, seriously, I just hope that they don't cause too much damage this time!"
Behind her, the rain hammered against the window as the clouds darkened.
Patter-patter-patter-patter…
* * *
Mountainside, Private Courtyard—
Rain slammed against the stone walkway as Petra quickly made her way back to their private courtyard. Her little legs blurred as she ran with all her tiny little might, desperately covering her head to protect herself from the rain.
The Calamity Wolf was not far behind.
Their private residence sat slightly apart from the main structure, existing as a detached building tucked along the slope, just outside the main valley. Warm light spilled out beneath the eaves, diffused by the falling rain and rising mist.
After returning, Petra trotted along the roofed porch, finally escaping the rain, her bare feet leaving wet prints on the wooden deck. She shook her head like a dog, sending water droplets everywhere, then slid open the side door with a gentle pull.
She walked inside.
-
The building had an unusual design.
In its center was a private garden, open to the sky, and enclosed on all sides. This garden formed the center of the structure, serving as a shared space that could be seen from nearly every room.
Surrounding the garden was a continuous ring of 'general-purpose rooms'. These twelve rooms were arranged side by side, forming a complete 'loop' around the garden, and with the exception of the corners, each room opened inwards towards the garden, its neighboring rooms, and the master hallway. This allowed movement through the entire living space without needing to constantly return to the main corridor. In addition, the 'doors' connecting each room could be left permanently open, effectively giving total control of the interior layouts of the building.
Finally, surrounding everything was the outermost layer, or simply put, a wide, looping hallway that ran uninterrupted around the entire structure. One side of this corridor was a series of equally spaced doors leading outside to the porch, and the other side was the doors to the individual rooms.
Mm, in short—! This layout was the easiest to understand if you imagined a grid—
Picture an eight-by-eight square, with the central four squares (2x2) forming the garden, the ring around that (4x4) held the bedrooms, and the outermost layer (6x6) was the continuously looping hallway, then the (8-8) as the outside porch with an overhanging roof.
Together, these layers created a hollow rectangle.
It was a rare architectural concept on the Cross Continent, blending communal living, natural space, and an unnecessary amount of hallway! All wrapped into a single, cohesive, 'courtyard residence!'
-
Walking inside, a few of the other girls were already there, waiting for everyone to gather.
Petra passed through the outer hallway and walked directly into the room, joining them.
Like Petra, they had also just returned from the valley, arriving only moments earlier, each wrapped in the iconic white towel provided to guests of Valley Stream Springs. Their damp hair clung to their shoulders and backs in differing degrees, while their skin still steamed from the cold, rainy air meeting the heat radiating from their warm bodies. Stubborn droplets traced hidden paths down their arms and legs, slipping free before falling to the floor, darkening it, then disappearing.
The scent of grass, rain and mud followed them inside, lingering in the room as it mixed with the clean, woody aroma of their courtyard.
Lilly, unlike the others, was already changed, dried, and sitting, and she was the first to notice Petra's arrival. The rest of the servants, still soaked, followed soon after. There were fifty of them in total, all temporarily gathered together despite soon needing to be split among the 'twelve rooms'.
Her eyes lit up, and she waved energetically to the little master.
"Aya! You're back too," she said brightly, lifting up a cup from the table. "We found a place further down, closer to the bottom of the valley! It was quieter, and we couldn't find you!"
Mm, In truth, Petra knew where they had all gone—
She just didn't want to climb back down...
Luna nodded from the side, sipping her hot chocolate with her legs folded neatly beneath her body, silently sitting with her sister.
Petra hummed in acknowledgment, then wandered over, accepting a large cup of cold milk that was filled to the brim, before thanking the female butler and lifting her head. She took a nice long sip, chugging it back in one gulp, then shivered in delight from the refreshing wave that washed over her body. Then, soon after, without ceremony, she kicked her little feet and waddled her way towards a screened-off partition located towards the back, pulling off her rain-soaked towel while grumbling.
Petra didn't mind being wet; she just didn't like sticky clothes…
She ringed her long hair with both hands as she disappeared behind the screen. The other water-washed beauties quickly followed in her wake, removing their towels one by one, then quickly jogging behind the partition to get changed into their 'night clothes'.
They had no sense of shame!
Even the 'boys'…
Hmm, spending an entire year together would do that to you!
As the others followed suit, the room was quickly filled with the sounds of loud laughter, the rustle of clothes, and the occasional sharp complaint about 'cold hands' and an 'unfair advantage'. There was no awkwardness at all—
It almost felt natural…
Which was a bit concerning! Especially for the ex-boys!
Some time later, Petra emerged in her usual, lazy black clothes, with a large hat and white socks, her hair still damp from the rain. She flopped down onto one of the casually placed cushions with a small thump, then stretched her body a moment later, waiting patiently.
Aah~
She hummed softly as, one by one, the other girls joined her, each dressed in a 'unique outfit' carefully crafted specifically for them by Lilly.
After everybody was done—
They moved rooms again, this time gathering in the 'main leisure lounge' of the courtyard, a wide, open space formed by four consecutively connected rooms, all opened, and all possessing sliding doors and low windows that opened up, leading to the porch and overlooking the eastern sea with an unobstructed view of the darkened horizon.
The sun was setting, and the night was arriving. Outside, the rain continued to fall, distant and static, while inside, the world was warm, comfortable, and familial.
As Petra, this lazy cat, watched the scenery, she slowly fell—
Bam! There was a sudden disturbance! The sharp bang echoed through the halls, rattling the walls and cutting straight through the relaxed atmosphere.
Petra frowned, slowly turning her head…
Her eyes narrowed.
"…Who wants to die…?" she muttered to herself.
With a small frown, she turned, got up, and followed the noise down the hall, her small feet failing to tap aggressively against the floor. As she rounded the corner, reaching the opposite side of the house, the sudden sound of voices finally entered her ears.
She didn't recognize them…
When Petra arrived, she found a small 'crowd' formed from the female servants. Several of the girls, like her, had been pulled by their curiosity, while others had followed Wind, the 'protagonist' of this incident, and surrounded her to watch the show.
Petra pushed her way through the garden of girls without hesitation, slipping between their thighs until she reached the front.
That was where she saw the 'death-seeking idiot'…
He was a man dressed in the formal beige and rust-colored robes of the Gallon Family. He stood rigidly in the 'doorway', with rainwater still clinging to his boots. His expression was distorted, frustrated, and almost irritated, as his impatience from the situation slowly bled through his 'smile'. He had come with an oomph, but he didn't expect to open the door just to be greeted with a huge wave of pressure…
It would seem that the girls had yet to realize that their innate aura was starting to become intimidating.