Soon, multiple PTVs left the hospital. The Firekeepers were heading for the Immortal Flame Manor, while some time later, two sporty PTVs followed. Sunny had deliberated a lot on whether he should buy a PTV or not. Alas, his eyes fell on a sporty two-seater PTV which he had been treating as if it were his child.
Funnily enough, Sunny had been paying more in fines than the amount Effie was costing him. But he enjoyed his joyrides they gave him a sense of peace.
He had tried his hardest to show off his new car to Neph. Unfortunately, she barely showed any reaction.
Of course, that would be a lie for a normal person, that is. But he knew Neph very well and could see that she was surprised Sunny had bought something like this.
"Like it?"
"Sure, it suits you."
'Huh? Suits me?'
Stepping on the pedal, he sped up. It had become the norm for him to break the speed limits.
Of course, he was doing it for a different reason this time. After all, he was trying to impress Neph although it failed spectacularly. After a while, Neph simply told him to slow down.
'Is she scared of high speeds? Yeah, no way...'
As Awakened, they were already used to traveling at high speeds so this wasn't that different for them.
'Wait... does she not trust my driving?'
Letting one hand stay on the steering wheel, he pulled out his driver's license from his wallet and gave it to her.
"Take a look."
"Why are you showing this to me, Sunny?"
"I passed it fair and square, mind you! I was the best driver there!!!"
"That's nice?"
Neph was still confused by his sudden actions.
"Are you scared of high speeds? You do know as Masters, nothing will happen to us."
'Oh, so that's it.'
"It's nothing like that, Sunny."
"Uh huh, sure."
*Screeeeech*
"We're here."
Unbuckling their seatbelts, they got out of the car. Neph took a good look around the area, taking in the surroundings. She felt relieved to be back in the real world. Taking in the warmth, she looked forward to living with Sunny. Strangely enough, it got her excited like a little girl who finally got the doll she wanted.
"Looks like we arrived a bit too early. Kai, Cassie, and Effie aren't here yet."
"I wonder why?"
Coughing awkwardly, Sunny invited her to sit on the lawn, to which she awkwardly agreed. After all, she had never experienced this kind of thing before. Sunny could feel the hint of curiosity in her eyes...
They both sat in silence for a while until they heard another PTV approaching Sunny's house.
"Took you long enough, Kai."
"Sorry, Sunny... Please forgive us. We aren't as good at driving compared to you."
Kai bowed down to Sunny sarcastically. Alas, Sunny wasn't enjoying a second of this.
"Fine, fine, whatever."
Following Sunny, they reached the door. Letting out a small sigh, he opened it. His mind still hadn't properly processed the things that had happened and the things that were about to happen. Steeling himself, he faced them and, trying to replicate Kai's tone he said:
"Welcome to my humble abode! The headquarters of one and only Sunny's Brilliant Emporium!"
The cohort stared at him for a while, which caused Sunny to choke up and cough.
'Damnation! What was that reaction? It was drier than the damned Sahara!'
Walking inside, Neph lingered near the entrance, observing his house... a little too much for Sunny's comfort. But Sunny realized why that was the case Neph had lived in a manor, while this house wouldn't even occupy one-seventh of it.
"It's quite nice sunny"
"Thanks Neph, im glad you like it"
Sunny felt relieved and was excited inside like a teen girl. He was glad that Neph liked his house. After all, he bought it himself! He was very proud of it. Living in the outskirts, he hadn't even had a proper home before. So, these kinds of things made him really happy.
"I worked a lot to afford this, but it was very much worth it! Being a research assistant has its perks, after all."
Raising an eyebrow, she looked at the walls of Sunny's house... It was in a very sorry state. More than half of the walls were broken. Did a nightmare creature get inside? No that wasn't possible, not in this neighbourhood. Was he ambushed? She doubted the great clans would send assassins after Sunny, and that too in his own house. This was a mystery she couldn't solve.
Sunny noticed her confused stare at the walls, while he himself was reminded of what had transpired. He was devastated when he saw it for the first time. He wasn't particularly mad at Effie, but he definitely was frustrated about spending more money on his already new house!
'Of all the things. :('
"Before you start getting any weird thoughts... Effie happened."
Nephis hesitated.
"Oh, okay."
"Everyone, make yourselves comfortable. I'll go make some food."
Thinking about what to prepare, he suddenly had an idea >:)