Chapter 11- Serendipity Inn (10)
Walking to the reception area, Elaine discreetly moved her fingers within her sleeves
Simultaneously, the 'brother doll' downstairs responded
Like flipping a switch, his previous rigid movements now gained a sense of being more alive, relaxed and natural, if before his actions looked like unoiled machine, now he seemed to have been injected with spirit and life
Reaching the reception area, Elaine and Clyde spotted 'Lina's brother' holding a large bag
The man was dressed in all black with a black cap and a black mask
Noticing their arrival, 'Lina's brother' looked over, his green eyes looking coldly at Clyde but it warmed up upon seeing Elaine
"Lina"
Greeting his sister warmly he took off his mask and cap revealing his face
Clyde momentarily paused while Elaine secretly clicked her tongue
Damn I'm hot
The brother doll was a striking male version of Elaine
It was basically her but taller, his features deeper, his jaw more defined, it's built muscular, and his charm brooding and dark
When both Elaine and the doll are put together, despite looking eerily similar, the feeling they gave are two different extremes
Giving him a once over Elaine was satisfied
Not bad, this doll looked better than her actual brother, she should ask Larson to make more of these
"Are you twins?"
"What do you think?" Elaine gave Clyde a sly smile and walked towards the brother doll
"Deceo, how are mom and dad?"
The brother doll Deceo paused before raising his hand to stroke Elaine's hair
"You don't need to worry, they're the same as always" giving his sister a smile, he handed the black bag to her
"I put some of your clothes and necessities in here, lead me to your room later so I can check it out"
But Elaine didn't accept the bag, instead she seriously looked at her brother and asked him a question in a somewhat hesitant voice, to the onlookers, it seemed like she didn't even realize her voice was trembling
"They're n-not holding a grudge about that incident last time right?"
Deceo looked at her and sighed, putting down the bag, he grabbed her shoulders to pull her closer to him, giving her a light hug while stroking her hair
Getting hugged by the brother doll, Elaine inwardly praised her choice of not using her actual brother's appearance on the doll, or else she would have shuddered in disgust while playing out this farce
"Lina, our parents are old fashioned, you know them folks, it's gonna be hard for them to accept and it's not your fault, give them some time, they wouldn't blame you forever and it wasn't your choice so you shouldn't let this matter keep weighing your mind"
Elaine shoulders trembled while she reached out her hands to wrap around her brother
As if noticing her distress, Deceo kept holding her while murmuring warm encouraging words in her ear
The picture they formed was very heartwarming, a symbol of sibling love and mutual support, it really made people tear up involuntarily while witnessing their bond
Some customers in the inn, especially the older folks had smiles on their faces while looking at the pair of siblings while muttering to their partners how rare such love between siblings was
Even Clyde thought so, but that doesn't stop him from following through with his plan in collecting information from Lina's brother
Letting go of their hug, Elaine led Deceo to Clyde while introducing the two men together
"Deceo this is Clyde, he helped me when I got lost in the forest and lent me some money to open a room here, Clyde this is Deceo my brother"
Deceo's eyes while looking at Clyde was somewhat hostile but it was well-concealed, if Clyde hadn't seen a flicker of distaste in the others eyes, he wouldn't have noticed it
Clyde kept this in mind and mentally simulated multiple questions that could help him gain information without provoking the other party too much later
The two men looked at each other silently for a few minutes before Elaine cleared her throat
Deceo not wanting to embarrass his sister, first broke the silence
"Thank you for taking the trouble to take care of my sister, what's your account number I'll send you the money she borrowed"
"It wasn't much trouble at all, I just saw that she was in a predicament and offered help, even if it wasn't me I'm sure others would have done the same"
"No don't belittle yourself like that, good men who helped my sister without any ulterior motives are quite rare"
Clyde felt that the way Deceo said that sentence was quite strange, but without changing his expression he continued with the usual niceties
"You flatter me, I'm just glad to be able to help"
Deceo forcefully patted his shoulders while giving him a smile
"Enough of that, I'll repay you after I send my sister to her room, we can talk over a cup of coffee"
Clyde just nodded but thought to himself that the pat just now was really heavy, but he didn't dwell on it instead he paid more attention to the mention of 'talk' that Deceo suggested
He wondered if he could get any clues, last night he had entered the forest to try to find more information about Sara but he couldn't find that bodhi tree from yesterday and wanted to ask for Lina's help in looking for leads
She was quite lucky in that aspect
Seeing Deceo smile warmly while following Lina to her room, Clyde didn't follow, he should let the siblings have some time together without the interference from outsiders, they seem like they have a lot to say to eachother
He sat down in the lounge in the reception area to wait
***
The 'siblings' that 'have a lot to say to eachother' walked in complete silence
After having the brother doll deliver the clothes she bought in the system store to her room she let him go back down to satisfy Clyde's desire to gather information
After the doll went out, she closed her eyes and her perspective changed to Deceo walking in the hall towards the reception area
Walking down the stairs, she spotted Clyde sitting still on the couch waiting for Deceo
She made the doll approach Clyde and asked him for suggestions for a place with good coffee
Clyde mentioned that there was a popular cafe just outside the inn that could get them a private room
Deceo nodded and wordlessly put on his mask and cap
Clyde noticed that Deceo's expression was much colder and somber than he was with his sister and thought that this was probably what he's like normally
He had seen Deceo in the reception area before he went to get Lina and the man wasn't expressive then as well
Getting up and leading the way to the cafe the journey there was oppressively silent but Clyde didn't mind, he wasn't much of a talker either
Arriving at the cafe they asked for a private room
Upon sitting and ordering their coffee, the two men looked at each other without saying anything
Clyde didn't know how to break the silence and Deceo... well Elaine that was controlling Deceo was just waiting for Clyde to start his data gathering and didn't plan to speak up first
When their coffee arrived, they wordlessly started drinking
While sipping the coffee she couldn't taste due to the brother doll not having tastebuds, Elaine inwardly thought
I didn't expect Clyde to be this much of an introvert