Shades of the New World

Chapter 196: A problem of emotions

Evin didn't want to deal with a crowd of people, so he took a little detour and silently appeared on the house's backdoor. He opened the door by unlocking the lock from the inside like he always did and entered. He then disabled the security measures inside the house and he entered his house without much fuss. 

The two others also seemed happy enough to play along, since Rith usually followed along what Evin was doing and Ssatsko was also someone who didn't like the crowds. It was almost magical how in sync they were.

The three then silently entered Evin's makeshift test room and closed the door behind them. This room seemed to be cleaned quite recently, as the smell of wet wood came from the floor.

"I've never thought one could actually just get in like this without making a fuss," Ssatsko said from the side, weirdly excited at this new prospect of sneaking into his own house after a long trip. The room was nigh soundproof, so as long as they didn't start shouting at each other, no one would notice them talking.

"I'm guessing the crowd would die out after a few hours. Let's just wait till that happens," Evin said and sat onto his couch and started looking around his room, feeling nostalgic.

"You two are such weirdos. Don't you at least feel excited coming home after such a long time?" Rith shook her head.

"Hey, you're in this too. And besides, just imagine us walking towards the bakery and everyone's eyes falling on us. Theor and Lora would probably run to give me a hug, and then I'd have to explain why I became so tall in such a short time. All with a bunch of random people looking at us, with varying emotions," Evin explained.

"But Theor will still declare to the whole town that you've come back anyway. He'll probably put a discount on his food just to tell more people." Rith giggled, remembering Theor's big mouth.

"Yeah, but I won't be there to witness it, so it's alright. Probably," Evin sighed.

"Alright, whatever What are we going to do if the crowd doesn't disappear?"

"I think they're trying out an order-based sales system," Evin said.

"So they would gather orders for the next day and bake only the ordered things?" Rith asked.

"Yep. So I'm pretty sure everyone will leave after a bit."

The three sat down and waited for the crowd to disperse, each doing their own thing. Evin was mostly chatting with Runa, as the skinshifter asked about stuff about the room and the house. Half an hour passed and Evin could hear the noise die out.

"Now what? Do we sneak out again and come from the front?" Rith asked.

"That would be a bit awkward And it's not like we can just pop out from inside our room. Hmm You know what? Portal us out of here," Evin said.

Rith held her paws to her face and sighed loudly.

"Are you serious?"

"Just say we appeared here," Ssatsko said from the side.

"No, but they're gonna ask where Arza is and we can't just tell them we portaled him to his house. What would happen if they ask Liza later and find out? That would be too embarrassing. Just portal us out and we'll walk through the front door," Evin said flatly.

"I can't believe you're actually serious You know what? No. I'm not doing this," Rith said stubbornly.

"By the Empress' tits, you're such an annoying Cosmic. Ugh, just get inside my shadow, I'll sneak us out of here," Evin said and shoved Rith and Ssatsko into his newly forming Personal Dimension.

After a minute, he materialized on the streets, careful to avoid anyone's eyes. Rith and Ssatsko appeared next to him promptly, one grumbling incoherently under her breath and the other holding back his laughter.

"Alright, let's go," Evin declared gleefully and happily headed towards the bakery. He tried to open the door and walk inside, but found that the door was actually locked.

'What the fuck?' Evin thought and began knocking.

"Please tell us your name and order through the backdoor!" Theor's annoyed voice came from inside.

Evin's eyebrows twitched and he shouted back: "Dad, it's me, please open the door!"

Theor's footstep sounded from inside, and the man's face appeared on the window next to the bakery. Confirming that it was actually Evin, Theor hurriedly opened the door and gave Evin a big hug.

'I can't believe he still hugs me even though he knows I'm much older than him,' Evin thought, but didn't shy away. He felt happy, even.

"Is it just me or had three years passed already?" Theor asked with shock.

"I'll explain it later. For now, let's get inside," Evin said smilingly.

"Evin?" Lora's asked with a confused voice, which was followed by Elina.

"Something magical happened and I've grown two years in a very short time. Sadly, that's all I can tell you for now," Evin explained as concisely as he could.

"Can something like that happen? Then does that mean you can become younger as well?" Lora asked.

"Sadly, no. You can only become older through this method. Though maybe if you were as strong as the Empress, you could do something similar," Evin shrugged.

He was glad that everyone took the news relatively calmly. He didn't know that his family was used to the occasional mysteries that occurred when raising a mage. Not to mention Evin was one of the worse cases with his steady stream of miracles.

"In any case, why have you come so early?" Theor asked.

"Ah, I'm taking a small break. Only ten days, though. After that I'll need to go back to the Tribe I'm studying in."

The family started to catch up and Evin started to tell them the things that he was allowed to disclose. Mostly through the guidance of the Oaths. 

Soon after, Sasha woke up due to all the fuss and told everyone to be quiet. Theor and Lora explained that Evin had come back, and Evin could see a tinge of jealousy spark in her eyes as the silver horned girl looked at him.

"Why is he suddenly so big?" Sasha asked, looking weirdly at Evin. 

"Give your brother a hug, Sasha," Theor urged from the side, but the girl seemed a bit unwilling.

'I guess it's time to have that talk with her...' Evin thought in his head.