As he opened the door, a cleaning robot greeted him.
"Welcome home! Master Roman."
"Thanks," Roman replied. He still wasn't used to this greeting. These robots could be seen as lost technology. It is said that after the destruction of the Universal Starlink network, such technology was fully lost in history.
Only some collectors would use and research them out of curiosity. But rarely are such technologies, old as forty thousand years, still workable.
But he didn't know when and how such an antique was found by his aunt Amrita.
She was not blood-related; actually, she was the predecessor's father and mother's colleague. Because she lost her hand in battle, now she was retired.
"Brother, did you come home?" a childish voice spoke. Aeilia spoke. But she was hiding, a past trauma still lingering in her mind.
"Yeah! I am back. Did Aunty make something?"
"Did you eat anything?" Roman asked her."I am not hungry," Aeilia spoke shyly."Or are you?" Roman teased. Hearing it, she ran toward him, and he took her into his arms.
She had the same olive-like eyes as Roman, but her striking red hair made her stand out. A burn mark on the left side of her face slightly distorted her features.She was Roman's actual sister, only five years old.
"What were you doing, tell me?" he asked the shy Aeilia."Aunt bought an antique data to research. It's about a Thrag-like small creature and a rat.""Did you enjoy it?" he asked while changing his academic shirt."It's funny! You see, the Thrag was stupid and the Rat was smart.""Really! Did you see who won?" Roman asked."Obviously the Rat, he was smart after all.""Right! Did you eat anything at lunch?"
"No," saying that, she immediately touched her mouth. "Hmp.""I was supposed to not tell you," Aeilia replied."It's okay, I won't tell Aunt! However, can you tell me where she is?"She nodded her head and said, "Aunt is sleeping in her room."
"If you wake her up, I will cook the whole duck in the freezer.""Really?" Aeilia asked, as if her eyes were shining stars."If we roast it, you could sleep with a full belly of duck meat today." Hearing it, she couldn't stop her excitement and ran toward Aunt Amrita's room.
As she ran, all the lights in the room brightened.
"Huh! Small child, happy with small things," Roman thought, as if missing such joy and emotion in his life. Changing his clothes, he took a small bath."Aunty! Brother has come, he would cook us a big duck! Aunty wake up or brother said he wouldn't cook the duck," she said, knocking on her door.
The age gap between Roman and Aeilia was a huge difference—almost ten years. That's why, instead of rivalry, it was just caring for her. And as Roman's father and mother were both in high posts, someone needed to take care of her.
But being a person transmigrated from Earth, Roman felt sad about Aeilia and his predecessor. How unlucky would one need to be, far away from their own parents, and in the end, the responsibility fell on one uncaring adult?
"Thumb Thumb." The door was attacked by Aeilia.
"He is lying. He wouldn't cook the duck, that's only for occasions," Amrita replied."I would! Today is a big surprise day for all of us," Roman replied loudly, making Amrita crawl up from her bed.
"Coming! You two devil spawns, never let me sleep peacfully."
"Yay! Brother is going to cook duck! Brother is going to make duck roast!" Aeilia, innocent as she was, could be said to be dancing with joy."Sit beside the chair. I will cook some chips for you first," Roman said to Aeilia."Okay," she replied happily.
Amrita opened her door. With messy hair and dark circles under her eyes, it was evident she had drunk a lot.
Roman looked at her astonishingly. Even though she was without a hand, her beauty could rival big beauties in the movie industry."You are drinking again, Aunt Amrita."
"Let me be! It gives me peace," she replied while washing her mouth."But..." he tried to reason with her."Oh, come on little brat, are you my father? Let me be, so," she casually responded before jumping on the couch in the guest room.
She spread her legs in a comfortable position and took a sip of her beer."Fuah! That hit the spot!" she exclaimed.
"Why didn't you cook?" He demanded an answer."Oh, come on, don't make that look. I was really busy," she replied nonchalantly.Knowing it was pointless to argue with her, he asked,
"Did you even eat before drinking?" he asked as he walked to the kitchen, heading toward a rectangular black screen mounted on the wall.
"Why are you trying to become my father today? Just cook the... duck... wait, could you also make a soup?" she muttered.
"Tap."The moment he touched the black screen, it became transparent, revealing what was behind it: a fridge.
Taking out the pre-made French fries, he put them in the oil. This extra pre-made thing was done by Roman after transmigration.After seeing how irresponsible Amrita was—sometimes she cooked, sometimes she was too drunk to talk or care.But at least it was a good thing. Unlike other war veterans suffering from PTSD, she was just a little drunk.
After giving Aeilia French fries to eat, he took out the big juicy duck with some vegetables. Being single for thirty years of life, it could be said he had mastered the way of cooking—from budget student meals to expensive ones. More than that, he often planned his second dates in his apartment. Creating some luxurious dishes was easy for him.
But in the end, no one could fill the emptiness in his heart.
That's the story for another time. After slicing and marinating the duck with various spices and ingredients, he put it in the microwave oven. He was planning to make an easy dinner. With the leftover parts he cut off from the duck, he started making a mixture between duck and vegetable soup. Well, he mostly followed a chicken soup style.
But who cares? Whatever he made, they needed to eat, so he didn't think much.
Looking at the cute Aeilia, he fell into a deep thought. If I go away for my training, would Aeilia live the same life as she is now? he questioned.
Roman was also born on a battleship, just like Aeilia. His father and mother, both being in high positions, couldn't leave. Thus, seeing the constant fight between the corruption of the Origin World and defending various planets from outer enemies, life on the battleship was far from easy—it always felt like chaos.
His parents, being good friends with Amrita, sent him with her to the Ashtrum after her retirement. Of course, it was for the best for him, but after coming here with the drunkard Amrita, he felt lonely.
Aeilia's story was the same. On her 5th birthday, a group of Green Orcs invaded Ares. During the fight with them, some parts of the battleship were destroyed in a blast. Sadly, Aeilia, who was celebrating her birthday alone, was blasted away and burned on her left side.What's more—when she was about to run toward her father and mother, a Green Orc captured her and almost put her in his mouth before her mother blasted the Orc's head at point-blank range with an energy gun.
That's why she was also sent to her Aunt Amrita. The old Roman saw his previous self in her and didn't want her to feel as lonely as he did. Thus, he took care of her as much as he could.With the emotions of the previous body owner, the current Roman also thought the same.
"Maybe I should take both Amrita and Aeilia to Central-Ashtrum. The Capital of Ashtrum I."
But with his father and mother's low income, could he live there with the whole family? he questioned. I need to earn money. Then I could protect my sister, he swore in his mind.
Thirty minutes later, both the soup and roast were cooked by Roman."Dinner is ready!" he called out as the food aroma filled the dining room.
"It smells so good." Aeilia looked at the soup, drooling. It was hard to imagine this kid had set her mind on eating duck roast.
Aeilia tried to help him take dishes to the table. Thankfully, she did it without causing any damage.
Smelling the food, Amrita also came to eat after finishing her beer.
"Come on, let's dig in."Roman said.