"I've been unconscious for a day ...!? Why ...!? Why did it take so long?" Garuvy asked.

Andark remains silent.

"You were the one who made me faint, weren't you?" Garuvy asked again.

"It's not me," Andark replied.

"What!? Then who? What happened, actually?"

Andark remains silent.

"Explain it to me, please!"

"... Fine .... But before that ... you're hungry right?"

Garuvy looks at her stomach. She is also holding her stomach.

"Ah ... yes ..."

"Let's go to the nearest restaurant here," Andark said.

Garuvy and Andark come out of the room through the room door.

"Is this your house, Sir?" Garuvy asked.

"Yes. This house has 2 bedrooms, but I live alone here, so there is still one empty room. The room we entered earlier is my room. The empty room is in the door in front of us," Andark replied.

Andark points at the door in front of him and Garuvy. The door is the opposite of Andark's room door.

"Let's enter the room. I'll show you something," Andark said.

"Show me what?" Garuvy asked.

"Just see," Andark replied with a smile.

Andark opens the empty room door. He and Garuvy enter the room. There are a bed, a study table, a cupboard and a bookshelf in the room.

The window of the room is on the wall to the left of the bed, while the bed is in the top corner of the room.

The study table is in the right corner. The cupboard the bookshelf is in the left corner. The room door is in the bottom corner.

Garuvy is shocked after seeing a backpack placed near the bed.

"What!? That's ... that's my backpack!" Garuvy said.

She approaches the backpack and holds it.

"Why is it here?" Garuvy asked.

"Try looking at what's in the cupboard and the bookshelf," Andark replied.

"Huh? Why?"

"Just do it."

Garuvy opens the cupboard. She takes and looks at the clothes in the cupboard one by one.

"These are ... my clothes!" Garuvy said.

Garuvy puts the clothes back in the cupboard and closes the cupboard. She approaches the bookshelf and takes the books one by one.

"These are my textbooks!"

Garuvy puts the books back in the bookshelf. She turns to Andark.

"Why are my things here?" Garuvy asked.

"Well ...  you lost your parents, right? You can't stay alone in your old house. Levytatia Village is also dangerous for you, so ... starting today, you live in this house. I am your stepfather now," Andark explained.

"What ...!? Why ...? Why do you bother being my father?"

Andark remains silent for a while with a sad face.

"Actually ... in yesterday's incident ... I was requested by Clara to come to your house, but ... I was too late ..."

Andark turns his face to his right side.

"When I reached your house, you and Lyos are already fainted .... Your parents have already died .... I contacted my friends to help me taking care of you, Lyos, and your parents' corpses ...."

Andark turns back to Garuvy.

"I was helped by the Levytatia Village Head to brought you here with his car. I want to give you a surprise, so you were laid in my bedroom last night, and I slept in this room. Today around 01.00 p.m, he helped me again to bring your things here."

Andark turns his face to his left side.

"He feels responsible for not being able to guarantee your safety in his village .... I too, was responsible for coming too late ...."

Andark turns his face to the study table in the room. He points at the table with his right hand.

"I've also put your family photo on that table," Andark said.

After hearing that, Garuvy turns to the study table. She saw a small frame containing a photo of her with her father and mother. In the photo, Garuvy is in the middle, Thomas is on her right side and Krona is on her left side.

Garuvy approaches the frame and holds it with her right hand. She keeps staring at the photo. It made her shedding tears again. Andark is also staring at the photo with a sad face.

"How is it ...? Do you accept me as your stepfather ...? Or ... do you hate me because I can't save your parents ...?" Andark asked.

Garuvy turns to Andark while still holding the frame. She cleans her tears with her left hand. Her face seems serious.

"In ny opinion ... you're guilty for real ..." Garuvy said.

After hearing that, Andark is shocked. Garuvy turns to the study table. She puts the frame in her right hand on the table. After that, she turns back to Andark.

"The governments that do nothing to protect my house ... you who came late to my house ... the Slaboths who attacked my house ... everyone is guilty ..." Garuvy said.

Andark is looking down with a sad face.

"So ... you can't accept me ...?" Andark asked.

Garuvy remains silent for a while. After that, she is smiling.

"Don't worry .... I'm not hating you ...."

Andark is surprised and turns back to Garuvy.

"I can accept you because ... you can be responsible for your mistakes .... If you want to be my father, then I will accept you with pleasure ...! I hope we can be close forever ...!" Garuvy said.

After hearing that, Andark felt relieved and smiling.

"Thank you ..." Andark said.

After a few minutes, Garuvy stops smiling.

"What annoys me the most is ... the Slaboths!!" Garuvy said.

After hearing that, Andark is surprised. Garuvy's face seems serious.

"They hurt my parents while laughing! They're so cruel!! I can't forgive them!!"

Garuvy is looking down while her face is still serious. Her hands clenched into fists.

"I want them ... to suffer forever!" she said.

Andark remains silent for a while.

"She still doesn't know anything ..." Andark spoke in thought.

He approaches his adopted daughter. He holds Garuvy's head with his right hand. Garuvy is surprised and turns to Andark.

"Relax. You don't need to think too much about the Slaboths. Now let's go to the nearest restaurant as I said before," Andark said with a smile.

"... Alright," Garuvy said.

Garuvy and Andark come out of the room through the room door and turn right. They walk for a while until they reached the living room.

Garuvy is looking at the living room while walking. They are still walking on the same path until they approached the front door on their left side.

Garuvy and Andark come out of the house through the front door. Garuvy sees 5 Bothasuses that each of them is ridden by one Bothyzard in the sky. Those Bothyzards come from the left to the right.

Garuvy and Andark walk towards a Bothasus in the front yard. After that, Garuvy sees the same flying Bothyzards in the sky, but now there are 6 flying Bothyzards coming from the right to the left.

"There are so many flying Bothyzards here," Garuvy said.

Andark turns to Garuvy.

"Yeah .... That's because we're not in a village. We're in a city," Andark said.

Garuvy turns to Andark.

"A city?" Garuvy asked.

"Yes. We are in Bahageey City. This house is located in a housing complex in this city. If you live here, you don't need to worry about the Slaboths' attacks. I saved you just like the Seejahter Mayor saved Lyos," Andark explained.

"Oh, I see ...."

Garuvy is looking down.

"Actually ... my parents lived in this city before I was born ...."

"Yeah, I already know," Andark said.

Garuvy turns to Andark.

"Huh? How did you know?" Garuvy asked.

"Your uncle, Kamda Visyto, visited this house earlier around 03.00 p.m. He came here alone with his car," Andark replied.

 Entering flashback scenes ...

Around 03.00 p.m., in Andark's bedroom, Garuvy is still unconscious on the bed. Suddenly, Andark enters the room.

He is followed by a 32-years old man with normal hair and glasses. He wears a red shirt with short sleeves, a blue tie and a black trouser.

The bespectacled man approaches Garuvy. His face seems sad.

"Don't worry, Mr. Kamda. Even though she fainted, she was completely unharmed," Andark said.

Kamda turns to Andark.

"Are you really willing to take care of her?" Kamda asked.

"Of course. It's my responsibility after all," Andark replied.

"Well ... if you don't know yet, her parents lived in this city before she was born."

"Oh, really? Do you live in this city too?"

"Yes. I once lived here because her mother is my little sister, but now I have moved to Seejahter City to find a job."

"Oh, I see. What about her parents? Why did they move to Levytatia Village? It's a dangerous place," Andark asked.

"Well, after they get married, they wanted to buy a house for themselves. Unfortunately, they didn't have enough money to buy a house in this city."

"They are among the city people who are forced to buy a house in villages that are often attacked by the Slaboths. Eventually, they bought a house in Levytatia Village," Kamda explained.

"Oh ...."

Andark is looking down. He seems sad.

 "I see ...."

"A few years later, they had a daughter named Garuvy Ramona. Their daughter is special and is called as the Bothyner Prodigy by the government. Thomas owned a lamp shop. Krona owned a fashion store. The two are successful and have quite a lot of money."

"However, even though they have all of that, they didn't want to leave their village. I have contacted Krona and persuaded her to buy a house in a city ... but ... she followed her husband's wish to keep running their shops in the village."

"Thomas said that he didn't want to leave the people of Levytatia Village who need his lamp shop and Krona's fashion store .... They wanted to stay in the village until they die ..." Kamda explained.

"... I see ...."

Andark turns to Kamda.

"Now that they are gone, how is the fate of their shops?"

"... You don't have to worry about that. I will take care of both shops. You're better off just taking care of Garuvy. If you need more money to support her life, I can give you some."

Kamda extends his right hand to Andark. He is smiling.

"I wish you good luck for taking care of her," Kamda said.

Andark is also smiling.

"Thank you, Mr. Kamda,"

Andark shakes hands with Kamda.

Back to the current time ...

"I see ... so my uncle will help us if we need more money?" Garuvy asked.

"Yeah, but you know, you're a girl. You will buy a lot of jewelry for sure. That will cause trouble for me and Mr. Kamda," Andark replied.

"*chuckle* It's okay, Mr. Andark. I'm not into jewelry. I don't even have my ears pierced."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, it's because I don't like earrings. I already have my own beauty without that."

"Well, if so, then I don't have to buy earrings for you. *chuckle* Come on, don't waste time here. Let's go to the restaurant."

"Ah, yes."

Andark mounts the Bothasus near him and Garuvy.

"The Bothasus is too high for me to ride!" Garuvy complained.

"Don't worry," Andark said.

Andark places his left hand on the Bothasus' back. Blue aura appeared from his left hand. Suddenly, the Bothasus sits on the ground.

"Oh!" Garuvy is surprised.

"Come on!" Andark said.

Garuvy mounts the Bothasus. She sits behind Andark and holds Andark's body.

"Is this the first time you ride on a Bothasus?" Andark asked.

"Yeah ... but I'm trying to be brave!" Garuvy replied.

"Well, you're still a child, so it's obvious."

Suddenly, the Bothasus stands up. It made Garuvy surprised, but she didn't fall of the Bothasus.

"Actually ... I want to make the Bothasus fly to avoid traffic jams, but ... I'm afraid that you will fall ..." Andark said.

Garuvy seems scared.

"... Yes .... I'm afraid that ... I will fall ...."

"Well, then. Let's just make the Bothasus run on the road. Hold on tight!" Andark said.

The Bothasus starts running to the street. On the way, they saw some cars, some motorcycles and some Bothyzards riding on Bothasuses.

When they reached the highway, they got stuck in traffic.

"Damn ...! I should have made the Bothasus fly, but I'm worried about Garuvy! If she fell to her death, her parents' ghosts will haunt me for the rest of my life!" Andark spoke in thought.

After waiting for a while, their Bothasus could run again. when they reached a restaurant called as Mr. Yulay's Nice Dishes, they stopped at the parking lot in the front of the restaurant.

"Here we are. Mr. Yulay's Nice Dishes!" Andark said.

Andark makes the Bothasus sit on the ground. Garuvy gets off the Bothasus. Andark makes the Bothasus stand up before getting off the Bothasus as well.

"This restaurant is my favorite one," Andark said.

Andark and Garuvy walk together towards the front door of the restaurant.

A few moments later, at a dining table in the restaurant, Andark sat in front of Garuvy. Andark eats a plate of fried rice and drinks a glass of tea. Garuvy eats a bowl of rice mixed with chicken soup and drinks a glass of water.

After they finished eating ...

"Have you had enough?" Andark asked.

"Yes .... Thank you, Mr. Andark ..." Garuvy replied.

"You're welcome. Now as I promised, I will tell you who made you faint yesterday."

"Oh, yes. I will listen."

"Okay .... I told you that when I reached your house yesterday, your parents already died. You are already fainted with Lyos. I also saw a female Slaboth with a blue fire sword killed a male Slaboth with blue thunder axe. The other 2 Slaboths have already died."

"I suspected that she would enter the house to rob the things in there, so I tried to approach her. In fact, she tried to leave the house without robbing," Andark explained.

"... Is that true ...?" Garuvy asked.

"Yeah .... When she met me, she asked me not to kill her because she just wanted to escape. She said that she made the two children faint with her own Bothyner Technique. She did that because she realized that the children are the Bothyner Prodigies, so she must let the children live."

"Nevertheless, she still killed your parents because she felt that your parents were no longer worthy to live .... How could she know about the Bothyner Prodigies? I asked her like that. However, she didn't answer and ran away ..." Andark explained.

Garuvy is astonished.

"... What the heck!? She let me live but she still killed my parents!? You shouldn't let her escape!"

Andark's face seems sad.

"... I'm sorry, but ... I let her escape so that you could find her someday and asked her about her motives .... I couldn't let her die so quickly ...."

Garuvy is looking down. Her face seems serious.

"... Finding her by myself ...?"

After a while, Garuvy turns back to Andark.

"Fine .... If you really want it, I'll do it."

Andark felt relieved.

"Thank you, but you shouldn't keep thinking about it now. You still have a long way to go before you can become a Bothyzard and start pursuing your goal."

"Yeah."

Garuvy is looking down with a sad face.

"My parents ... are already buried, right?"

"Ah, yes. Do you want to visit their graves?"

"No, it's okay .... I don't want to think too much about them ...."

"Oh, okay. Shall we go home, then?"

Garuvy turns back to Andark. She is smiling.

"Yes."

"Alright, let's go."

Andark and Garuvy stand up from their seats.

"Ah, yes. Mr. Andark?"

"Yes?"

"If you're my stepfather, then who is my stepmother?"

"What? Umm ... no, you don't have stepmother."

Garuvy seems disappointed.

"What? Why? You don't have a wife?"

"No, I don't have ... a wife ...."

"Oh, that's too bad ..."

"That's because Clara didn't want to marry me!" Andark spoke in thought.

Garuvy is smiling again.

"Well, don't mind about it. Let's go."

"Oh, okay."

Garuvy and Andark leave the dining table.

Meanwhile ... in an empty place filled with gray color ...

There is a big light ball creature that has two eyes. He is the one who they called as TLBC. He is looking down.

"Now I just have to wait for the Bothyner Prodigies to grow up," TLBC said.

This is the end of the first arc, Introduction Arc.

To be continued.