"Well, if you insist...," Mom said curtly.

"I've been here quite a few times already, so I don't think it's needed—," Dad was about to reject the offer when he noticed I was looking at him, eyes full of expectation.

Dad, look into my eyes!

I. WANT. TO. SEE. THE. LOERA. RESIDENCE!

I want to reminisce—and I want to see what has changed so far.

"...kh, okay, we'll take your kind offer, then, if you don't mind," Dad seemed to grasp my wish, as he quickly changed his mind.

"Actually, if you don't want to come along, you can remain here. Rest assured, the children will be safe with me, and Ophelia-san seems to be willing to tag along—"

"No. It's okay. Really. I also want to see the Loera clan's main residence. It's been quite a long time after all."

...Dad, Clyde's birthday was on Month 1, so obviously it hadn't been such a long time for you, right?

Hence, we went to take a stroll around the Loera family's main residence!

It was a lot wider than my current house, so it felt quite nice taking a stroll around the residence—wait, I was so used to the convenience of going here and there around my current residence, so I couldn't help but think of how inconvenient it might be to go here and there in this wide residence.

When we passed by the guest area, Clyde even went as far as to offer us a stay if we wanted to, but obviously, Dad politely and firmly rejected the idea.

Dad, sometimes I want you to decrease the "Don't get too close to my daughter" aura you have...

Sigh...

I wonder what will happen if I were to have a younger sibling, especially a younger sister?

I heard the youngest would tend to be the most doted... well, I'd definitely dote on my younger sibling if I had one... Not that I would have any bitter feelings towards them in this lifetime, right? So unlike my previous one...

Geh, I felt that I was the worst human being as Reinst now—what's with the past me, having quite a bad feeling towards my own blood brother?

Obviously, Clyde didn't bring us to the personal or restricted areas. After taking a walk for a while, we would be returning to the party hall soon.

The party hall was like a very spacious ballroom that was connected to the garden. It seemed like we would be holding the banquet in the garden later.

It was nice that the weather seemed to be on our side, but in case if it were to rain, I heard that there should be some kind of barrier that would shield or cover the whole garden to ensure the outdoor party could sail so smoothly.

Yet an unexpected thing occurred before we went back to the party hall!

In the middle of our journey back, we encountered... today's star!!

--To be more exact, I saw Nicole who dressed so beautifully. Her hand was holding another small hand, as a small figure was walking behind her.

I bet on my life that the small figure is Ein, my nephew!!

...Wait, I indeed said that I bet on my life, but dear mischievous specte-of-light-god, don't you dare pull any prank at this moment or I will curse you!!

"Oh my, isn't it the Hartmann family? It's a pleasure to see you all here! I thank you for fulfilling our request of bringing your children," Nicole politely greeted us.

"Nicole-san! You look so pretty!"

This is my honest and sincere praise, okay?

You wanted my praise so much back when I was Reinst, so be happy, okay?

"Aah, Lyra! You're still as cute as ever! Thank you so much for your praise!" Nicole smiled brightly.

And yep, you're welcome.

See, I'm different from Reinst who never really praised you so sincerely like this, right? So... have you dropped your suspiciousness by now?

I'm totally not connected to Reinst, get it?

"Ah, this might be quite a spoiler for you, but it must have been fated for us to meet like this!" Nicole suddenly clapped her hands as she gestured to the mini-human behind her to come forward.

"Eine, why don't you introduce yourself to the Hartmann family? They are nice people, I'm sure you will like them! Look, this big sister here is close to you in age, so I'm sure you will get along well!"

...Dad, please stop spreading your cold aura here, you will scare my poor nephew...

"Ein, weren't you curious of the Hartmann family after hearing Mum and Dad talk about them before?" Clyde stepped forward to encourage his son as well.

Eeeh, what is this? My nephew is one shy child? Hehe, looks cute!

After their coaxing and my parents' sweet greetings, the little boy finally stepped forward.

When I first looked at him—whoa! He was really a combination of Clyde and Nicole!

He has Clyde's soft blonde hair, Nicole's pretty light blue eyes... and ooh, he even has a mole near his right eye, too! Just like Nicole!! ...I didn't know moles could be hereditary!

But when I peered into his eyes... They weren't the eyes of a shy kid! They were the eyes of someone who was assessing the other party!

...This darn nephew of mine wasn't shy, he was actually assessing us all this time?

Sure enough, he didn't show any sign of timid cat as he stepped forward, smiled—whoa, dazzling!

But is this the Loera clan's business smile? Or is this an angelic smile?

A-anyway, he looked good when he smiled like this... like a very cute child—a beautiful smile—eeh, boys would hate it if they were called as "beautiful" right?

Then, very surprisingly, he saluted us politely before introducing himself without even stammering.

"Hello, how do you do? Thank you for coming to my sixth birthday party... I'm Reinell Fyunez Kronychle Loera. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Though people would first focus on his polite gesture and superb performance at such a young age—I didn't pay any attention to it at all.

I mean, look! You see...

Did you just hear his name?

No, it's not about how long his name is.

Read again, what is his first name?

Reinell.

R-e-i-n-e-l-l.

Sure, I see how Nicole addressed him as "Eine" and how Clyde addressed him as "Ein"... but...

Is it only me, or I feel like the name "Reinell"... was... in some way or another, derived from my previous self's name, "Reinst"?

Hello? Is it only me or anyone else find the connection, the similarity?

GOD, I CAN'T HANDLE SURPRISES LIKE THIS, YOU KNOW?!