This Strange World Needs a Kicking! Ch. 02

Without telling him anything, she closed the door and pressed her finger on one of the buttons on the metal panel. Sebastian staggered as the room moved. "What is this?" he asked and grabbed one of the metal bars on the side to avoid losing his balance.

Tani threw him another annoyed look. "It's just the elevator. I hope you didn't want us to take the stairs to the sixth floor."

He turned toward the mirror and froze. He wasn't himself anymore. He was a scrawny young man with dark hair and pale skin. Some of his traits could point out at him being a vampire, but he had walked in the sun just fine, so that wasn't his class. He scrutinized himself. This body looked weak. And he had to find a place where he could see if he still had his magic.

Maybe it was a good idea to keep his mouth shut for a while. This world had to have scholars and a library from which he could learn more about it without depending on this hysterical little girl.

A small plink came from one of his pockets. Then another followed. He chose to ignore it.

"Aren't you going to check your phone?" Tani asked. "And what's the deal with you and Milo?"

Milo was the commoner's name.

"There is no deal," Sebastian said haughtily. "And I check my phone as I see fit. It requires no tending now."

"Whatever," Tani said with a shrug.

The room stopped, and Tani opened the door. They walked onto a platform and headed over to a door.

"It was about time that you two made an appearance," a woman in her forties welcomed them. She had short curly hair and a tired expression on her face. "Go wash your hands and come to the table."

Sebastian looked around. If they were royalty, they surely preferred to live in small quarters. The walls and the ceiling were bland. However, a pleasant smell of food tickled his nostrils. He was quite hungry, he realized.

Tani opened another door and began washing her hands at a fountain spouting water from a wall. Sebastian followed and examined everything with intrigued eyes. He observed Tani as she touched a knob and made the fountain stop.

He ignored her as she wiped her hands and waited until she was gone. Then, he touched the knob. Nothing happened. Ah, he had to turn it, he realized.

"What an astonishing thing," he murmured. He placed his hands under the fresh stream of water and washed his hands and face thoroughly.

He turned the knob again, and the water stopped. Then, he noticed a similar knob on the other side of the spout. He turned it and placed his hand under the stream.

"Oh," he exclaimed when hot water burned his skin.

He quickly turned the knob to stop it. What a handy and strange invention! They were probably sitting on top of a hot spring.

That meant that, despite appearances, they were a wealthy family.

"Are you coming already, Kai?" Tani called from behind the door. "Mom says that she didn't spend hours cooking so that you couldn't give a damn about her food."

Strange, Sebastian thought as he wiped his hands. They had cold and hot water on command, but their mother didn't have anyone to do the cooking.

They had to be a very eccentric wealthy family.

TBC