Allucivita

Chapter 1 [Briamundus]

The statue stayed in front of my eyes as I reviewed everything. I then turned around, observing the forest around me. If you didn't look closely, you would never find out that there were huts and houses amongst the bushes. Our village was very well-hidden... and with the help of magic too, of course. The whole village was built around the stone statue. Why? Well, the village wasn't just an ordinary village.

The village was rather deserted today. In fact, that was completely understandable. A few years ago, when I was a kid, there wasn't even any semblance of civilization here, deep in the forest. So, it was a fact that our small village didn't have that many populations.

I walked up to one of the trees and climbed to the top. There was a simple treehouse there, made of wood and quite small.

I entered the room and found a group of familiar people inside. One of them, with his brunette hair, raised his hand cheerfully. "Ah, Ve, you're here!"

The other two raised their head and waved at me, then went back to their own business.

"Hey, guys," I replied. "Emma's not here yet?"

"Nope," the brunette said, shaking his head. "I am usually the last here."

"Heh, she is always late." The dark-haired boy next to the window sneered.

I didn't reply to that, and only exchanged amused smile with the brunette. Then, glancing at the corner, I found the young man with very light hair, so light that it seemed like he was shining. He was pouring over the scrolls in his hand. "Lex, you're getting older today? Your hair is whiter."

"It's silver!" The white... I mean, silver-haired boy rolled his eyes. "It's an accident, okay? You guys had been poking fun at me for two days already, aren't you tired?"

"No," the brunette commented. "I still have no idea how you still can't wash the paint off your hair."

Lex groaned. "I see you're taking a lot of fun in this, Wilhelm."

Wilhelm laughed out loud. "Don't you see, even Ryden is entertained."

Ryden, the dark-haired boy, was indeed smirking. "Ve is right. You look old."

Lex glanced at us in dissatisfaction, then dismissed us with a wave of a hand. "You guys are noisy!"

I laughed and sat down next to Lex. "What are you reading?"

"Some previous difficult cases done by our seniors," he said, mumbling. "We are graduating in a few days and we have to be ready for everything."

I wanted to comment at how studious he was, but before I could, the door was suddenly opened. "Whoa, a full house!" A cheerful blonde girl appeared from behind the door. "Sorry, am I late?"

"You're always late," Ryden mumbled.

Emma ignored him. "By the way, captain, vice-captain, the chief is looking for you guys."

Lex and I glanced at each other, then nodded. "Well, speak of the devil," I muttered. We walked outside, through the hanging bridge, and into the large wooden building without any further comment.

Our chief was sitting quietly beside the dining table, eating something out of his prized porcelain bowl. "Be careful with that, chief," I joked.

Sir Konrad, our chief, looked up at me without a smile. I shut my mouth. He was in a rare bad mood today, so I shouldn't worsen it. As we all know, when good-natured people get mad, mortals couldn't deal with the consequences.

Lex cleared his throat. "Sir, what are your instructions?"

Sir Konrad put down his bowl with slightly more force than necessary, and I flinched. What happened that he was in such a bad mood? Our chief usually handled porcelain gently since it was left by his late wife.