In the late afternoon around 4:50 PM, Liam was in the Chapena district, strolling leisurely towards his home. Before him stood a house that no longer felt unfamiliar to him.
Liam had fully embraced his new life, assuming Zavi's identity, but he would live according to his own desires.
The door handle turned and the simple wooden door opened. Liam took a short breath before entering the house. Two steps later, he straightened his gaze and was surprised by a man with blue eyes staring intently at him.
Liam was mistaken, knowing that this afternoon, Ren had returned from his unclear trip. His brother was standing on the first step, while he also saw Isabelle standing above, staring in disbelief.
"What's going on? Why are you both staring at me like that?" Liam panicked, unconsciously voicing his thoughts.
The house fell silent, no words were spoken afterwards, both of them observing every part of Liam's body, seeing his shirt covered in holes.
Isabelle slowly descended the stairs, approaching him with a gloomy expression. She looked at her brother's face and then cried as she hugged Liam tightly.
Liam, who didn't know what was really going on, was confused by her actions. His chest felt tight from the strong hug and also because his previous injuries had not yet fully healed.
His eyes widened. He suddenly realised that behind him, between his shirt and trousers, was the silver revolver Albert had given him earlier.
"Get away from me," said Liam, trying to break free from the embrace. He took two steps back, looking at their faces with a confused expression before entering his room.
The door opened, and after entering, Liam closed it so quickly that it created a loud bang in his room and in the living room.
Ren glanced at his room before turning and walking towards her own room. Meanwhile, Isabelle changed her mind about returning to her room and decided to knock on Liam's door to ask him something.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Three knocks were heard, but Liam did not answer from inside, prompting Isabelle to forcefully open the door without hesitation.
The door swung wide open, and on the bed, Isabelle saw her brother fast asleep on his back.
"Really? He fell asleep this quickly?" Isabelle exclaimed in surprise, tapping her forehead.
Isabelle took three steps forward from where she had been standing, grabbed the blanket, and covered part of his body, leaving only Liam's head exposed.
A small smile appeared on her face. Previously, she and her mother had been worried about Liam's sudden departure and his failure to return home for a day.
But at that moment, she could breathe a sigh of relief. Before leaving her brother's room, Isabelle first lit two candles to provide light at night, placed them on a tray, and set them on the table.
After that, she immediately left, closed the door tightly, and walked back to her room while waiting for her mother to return. But, unbeknownst to her, Liam was actually pretending to close his eyes to hide the revolver.
Suddenly, he woke up, his back stiffening unconsciously as he lay on top of the revolver. Liam got out of bed, walked over to the wardrobe on the left side of the room, and opened it to look for something.
Inside the wardrobe was a small room that Zavi had made earlier. Liam didn't know for sure why Zavi had made such a small room.
Was there something he had been hiding all this time? Liam thought for a moment.
He moved the clothes hanging on the left, seeing a wooden pull the size of a corn kernel at the bottom centre. Liam bent down and immediately pulled the wood.
A neat box the size of a hat immediately popped out, almost hitting his face. Liam was startled and gasped afterwards.
"Is there anything in this box?" he muttered softly as he looked for a way to open it.
Five seconds passed, and he still couldn't find a way to open it. Liam placed the box on the table and paced around his room, remembering how Zavi had locked it.
Yes, Liam knew that there was a small padlock on the box. But he didn't know where Zavi had put the key to open it.
Even after twenty minutes had passed, he still didn't know if he could open the box by shooting it, smashing it with a hard object, or something else.
Just as he was about to close the cupboard, he suddenly realised that on the floor, Liam saw something that dazzled his eyes.
"Damn it!" Liam smiled. "How could I not have thought that I had this revolver, cih."
Bending down slightly, he picked up the revolver with three bullets left in the cylinder. He walked over to the table and immediately grabbed the box.
Without hesitation, Liam pointed the revolver at the small padlock. But he changed his mind about shooting, afraid that the sound would be heard by others passing by his house, as well as his brother and sister.
He put the revolver in the desk drawer and closed it tightly. Liam covered his face with both hands, his head still filled with strange thoughts as he walked towards the wardrobe to change his clothes.
Since yesterday afternoon until now, he hadn't showered at all. He took a pair of brown shirts and trousers, placing his watch on the table before heading to the bathroom.
Twenty minutes later, he had showered and was now in his room drying his hair with a clean, unused towel.
Click... Liam stood up and opened the lid of his watch.
"So I've been out of the house for a day, huh?" he muttered softly.
"Five o'clock in the afternoon, that was fast. I haven't even had lunch yet," Liam closed his watch and put it in his trouser pocket.
He stepped out of his room, walked towards the stairs, and looked up afterwards.
"Isabelle, have you eaten yet?" he shouted, scratching his suddenly itchy hands.
Where Liam was standing—between the ground floor and the stairs—Isabelle should have been able to hear his shout clearly. Ten minutes later, it wasn't Isabelle who came out in response to his call, but her older brother, Ren, who walked over and was about to go down the stairs.
"I haven't eaten yet, Zavi. Do you want me to cook something?" he asked coldly as he slowly descended the stairs.
His black hair was messy, his blue eyes radiating exhaustion. Liam didn't know what to say except to nod and agree.
Even Zavi himself hardly ever spoke to his brother; whenever he met him or Isabelle, he chose to avoid them. Liam, who remembered this through half of Zavi's fragmented memories, felt sorry for Ren because of his brother's treatment of him.
Meanwhile, Ren walked calmly towards the kitchen, followed by Liam from behind.
"You'd better just sit down, I'll cook it myself," said Ren coldly as he put on his mother's blue apron.
"Yes," replied Liam, confused, and obeyed her order to sit down.
After about twenty minutes and overcoming the challenges of cooking, Ren could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Earlier, he had forced the fried fish and oil had splattered onto his hand, causing his arm to turn red.
Reluctantly, she had to ask Liam to do all this. Liam complained and didn't believe her earlier words; luckily, back on Earth, he was skilled at cooking basic dishes like this.
Back at the dining table, there were several appetising dishes on it.
The fish was fried in batter and served with chips and tomatoes. There was a pie made from potatoes, meat and vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, cabbage and meat.
The stew, which was originally made from beef or lamb, was changed by Liam to use chicken and combined with delicious boiled potatoes.
Three sandwiches filled with eggs, potatoes, tomatoes, and this time Liam added meat. Ren also added a dessert he could make, none other than a soft and delicious pudding.
Some of the dishes were still steaming hot and fragrant, making their stomachs growl. Before eating, Ren told Liam to call Isabelle, who was still in her room.
Liam nodded in agreement, while also trying to make this family relationship better than before.
Twenty minutes later, Isabelle walked downstairs with Liam after being persuaded for a long time, and the two of them entered the dining room.
"Sorry, Ren. If you've been waiting too long," said Liam as he walked towards the chair and sat down afterwards.
In the end, the three of them ate together, even though the food was already a bit cold.