27 Passing time

Everyone had separated to either do their jobs or get some alone time. It was still more than 30 minutes before the 'reinforcement' would show up. Oliver had decided that everyone should take a look around and get more familiar with their characters, as they never know when it may come in handy.

In a giant bedroom situated in the east towers of the castle.

Emily was sitting on a chair and slowly sipping some tea made by her personal maid.

"This tea called Night's blossom is really tasty. Are you sure you don't want some?"

Ashely who was currently sprawled over a very comfortable looking giant bed slightly lifted her head to glare at her best-est friend in the world.

"How can you be so calm about all this? Aren't you worried at all about dying in this godforsaken place?"

Emily's eyes turned towards her slightly trembling calves for a moment.

"If I'm not calm who will keep you in check? I'm pretty sure that an aspiring journalist like you will pretty soon come over the fear of the unknown, and start exploring and questioning everything like crazy."

"Hehe..." A sheepish smile escaped Ashely's lips. She quickly got over her embarrassment though. In an excited manner, she almost jumped out of her bed and said, "But you know what, this place did an awesome thing that is completely impossible in the real world."

Emily took one more sip of the tea to prepare for Ashely's incoming rave. Fortunately, the preparation was unneeded.

"WE ARE SISTERS FOR REAL!"

Emily froze for a moment. A soft smile bloomed on her face moments later. "Yeah... yeah, we are sisters for real. See, everything isn't as bad as we initially thought."

Ashely gave a big nod in acknowledgement. "I know right!" But her demeanour changed instantly. "But you know what, this Oliver guy is really suspicious. I really keep getting this feeling that he knows us too well. It's almost like he is a stalker or something."

*Sigh* If a certain someone heard this then he would die of heartbreak. And here author had subtly hinted at him not to act impulsively after meeting them... well maybe he forgot about it in the heat of the moment.

Emily's brow's furrowed as she went into her deep thinking mode. After a moment of consideration, she replied,

"I don't think that's really the case (hopefully). First of all, someone with superpowers like Oliver has lots of ways to fool the law. If he wanted to do something to us then it would be very easy or him to do so.

We have joined Orb for the first time and we have already got this thing called Inventory. Although we can't store a giant robot's in them, it is very easy to fit guns, clothes, food and a lot more. It is the perfect tool for committing any crime. So, imagine the things a veteran member of Orb could accomplish with just his inventory items.

Not only that, didn't you see Jeff headshot that orc while Oliver was engaging it in close combat. The amount of confidence needed to pull the trigger in that situation tells us that he is very used to this situation. Then he also has Mr Luca Romano as one of his subordinates. According to Miss Lena, he is the owner of an international hotel chain with close ties to the people of the unsavory kind.

So, a rich guy with superpowers and powerful subordinates wants to stalk some poor and normal girls like us? I don't think there's enough motive."

Ashely was doing her best impression of a goldfish out of the water. "Well, damn! If you put it like that, my accusations do sound stupid. Ahhh! This is so stupid."

Emily took one more sip of the night's blossom and said, "It is and we should stop talking bad about someone behind their back."

Ashely gave a snort of disdain and thought to herself, 'Hmph, I know there is something wrong with that guy. I will definitely get to the bottom of it. Now, that I think about it he has five teenagers with him. That's so suspicious. Maybe I can start by investigating them.'

Emily gave Ashely a pointed look, "Ashely, what mischievous thing are you planning? You better behave in this place, or I will not bake apple pies for you anymore."

"Hm, eh... what are you ta- talking about? I mean look at me. Does it look like I can do anything bad."

Emily's intensity didn't reduce, "Well, that smile on your face! I know it all too well. You would always have that stupid smirk whenever you thought that you had successfully taken some drugs without my knowledge. Thankfully, your step-father uses his mouth more than his fists. I'm warning you, Ash if you do something stupid, then I swear that I will spank you hard."

...

Inside a room slightly bigger than Emily's bedroom in the castle.

Lena was sitting on a big velvet couch. She was looking out the window trying to spot things that are not present back on Earth. Oliver was quietly laying down with his head in her lap, and enjoying the feeling of her fingers running through his hair.

"So were you ever going to tell me about this whole mess you are in?"

Oliver didn't want to lie to his mother, so he thought that he should just keep quiet. After a minute had passed he realized that he had automatically provided an answer by staying silent, so he hurriedly started thinking of a good justification.

"You see mom, there is a pretty good reason behind it. Orb doesn't allow people other than me knowing about it. Only those who have signed a contract can know about it. You were also unknowingly forced to sign it when you decided to come to this world. So, yeah... um, I was kinda forced into not telling you."

'Frankly, I don't even remember if Orb ever stopped me from revealing it to others on Earth. But someone's got to take responsibility here.'

[I got you, my man... unless she asks me that question. I'm so selling you out. How could you use my name without permission?!]

A deep sigh escaped Lena's lips. "Can you at least tell me how dangerous this place really is?"

Olive gently but firmly took hold of his mother's palm. "I may get hurt badly, but I will not die."

A deep fire of conviction was burning in the eyes of the filial son, who just wanted his mother to have a better life.

Lena glanced down to look at Oliver's face. For others, he wasn't the most handsome person out there but he was the most handsome guy in her eyes.

Just an average white male with slightly more defined cheekbones and a sharper chin. His hair was very uncommon though. They had gained a sharper edge to them, and they had started growing into weird spikes that seemed to defy gravity.

For some reason, they had also changed from his original blonde colour to a pitch black colour.

'Are these sharp features due to change in his bloodline? Wait for a second! If bloodline can affect his physical appearance so much, does that mean he can be considered as not my biological son? If it's true then...'