"It's the monster, Mommy! It's Dark Whirlwind!"

  Roselle, looked at them curiously with one eyebrow raised, "Wait, ‘Dark Whirlwind’?"

  The child's mother, a woman with medium-cut blue hair and a dress designed for the cold weather that could also double as a jacket, trembled in fear. Her wide eyes darted between Roselle and the child.

  With a shaky hand, the mother offered a small pouch filled with s and bills to Roselle with desperation. She pleaded, "Please, take all of it! Spare us, Dark Whirlwind! If you ’t spare me, then Please spare my child!"

  She gently raised her hands in a calmiure and tried to speak, "Wait, you've got it all wrong. I'm not--"

  Before she could finish her sentence, a sudden gust of wind blew through the area, stirring up the snow and causing Roselle's hair to flutter dramatically. The mother and child gasped in terror.

  Roselle, realizing the misuanding and the fear iher's eyes, took a cautious step forward. Her hands were still raised to show she meant no harm. She tried to speak calmly, "Please, listen to me. I'm not the ‘Dark Whirlwind’. I'm just someone who nded here by act..."

  However, when she moved closer, the mother's instincts to protect her child kicked in. She tightly clutched her daughter, Sally, and whispered fiercely, "Sally, I'm going to protect you. Stay behind me."

  Sally, wide-eyed and frightened, nodded and huddled close to her mother. The mother's protective stance remained. She kept a wary eye on Roselle, ready to shield her child from what she believed to be a monstrous threat.

  Risebelle and the mage approached the tense se. Risebelle tried to expin, "That's my sister, Roselle. We got separated when we nded here. I o—"

  Before she could finish her sentehe mage's eyes widened with fear while gng between Roselle and Risebelle. He grabbed Risebelle's arm and said, "We o avoid eye tact. Dark Whirlwind read people’s minds with just a gaze. Don't let her use that power or were finished."

  However, the mage's initial certainty began to waver within seds. He noticed something odd about the situation. The dark energy that usually surrounded Dark Whirlwind was absent, and Roselle exhibited no magical energy at all.

  He leaned closer to Risebelle and spoke in a hushed tohey look exactly the same, but... something's nht here. Dark Whirlwind always exudes an aura of darkness and malevolehis one... she's different."

  Risebelle, finally able to finish her sentence, expio the mage, "That's my sister, Roselle. We got separated when we nded here. I o make sure me and my sister's get back together."

  Uanding the situatioer, the mage nodded and agreed to move closer to Roselle and the distressed mother and child. .

  With relief and , he spoke to the woman, "It's okay, dear. This isn't Dark Whirlwind. This is Roselle. She's been separated from her sister and is just as lost and fused as we are."

  The mother, still trembling with fear, looked between the man and Roselle, trying to make sense of the situation. Slowly, she released her tight grip on Sally.

  Sally, overwhelmed with relief, ran to the mage, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug. She excimed, "Daddy!"

  The mother, equally relieved, embraced the mage as well.

  Back at the , Roselle and Risebelle sat with the mage's family, the atmosphere siderably calmer. Sally still g to the mage, her fear gradually subsiding, while the mother watched the two newers with some relif after hearing their story.

  The mage cleared his throat and began to expin, "I apologize for the earlier fusion. In Jancito, the mere appearance of someone resembling Dark Whirlwind send shockwaves of fear through the unity. The legend of that entity is deeply ingrained in our culture."

  He turned his attention to Roselle and Risebelle, a suggestion, "To avoid any further misuandings, I would advise you both to stay hidden while you're here. I uand that you want to reuh your sister, but for everyone's safety, it might be best if you remain cealed."

  The mother nodded in agreement. "Yes, please. We don't want any trouble, and it's clear that your presence could cause quite a otion."

  Sally, still ging to the mage, piped up, "Yeah, we don't want Daddy to get in trouble."

  The mage smiled reassuringly at his family, then turo Roselle and Risebelle. "We help you find a pce to stay, where you'll be safe and hidden fr eyes. Ohings settle down, we figure out how to reunite you with your other sister."

  Roselle began to speak, though hesitantly, "Yeah, but... we're really hungry. Is there any way we could get something to eat first?"

  Her plea was followed by the audible rumbling of both her and Risebelle's stomachs, a remihat even advanced creations had basieeds.

  The mage chuckled softly, "It seems even robots get hungry too," he remarked with a pyful grin. "Of course, we'll make sure you both get a good meal. Just stay hidden for now, and we'll bring you something to eat."

  With that promise, the mage's family got to work, preparing a meal for the hungry sisters.

  While they waited for the mage's family t them food, Risebelle leaned in closer to her sister and spoke in hushed tones.

  "Runebelle 't be too far from here," she whispered,"We o find her and then find Kintovar. I don't like being separated like this."

  Roselle nodded in agreement. "You're right, Risebelle. Let's eat quickly and then figure out how to reuh Runebelle and Kintovar."

  The mage's family brought them a steaming bowl of soup with meat, Roselle and Risebelle exged gnces, uain of what to expect.

  Roselle stared at the bowl, initially surprised by the delicious smell. However, wheook her first spoonful, her eyes widened, and she practically flew out of her chair with joy. "This is amazing! It's so good!" she excimed.

  Risebelle, usually the more reserved of the troached her meal with lowered expectations and joining it, lowered eyes. Yet, as soon as the broth touched her lips, her eyes lit up, and she was uo resist the urge to devour the soup with haste. It was a taste unlike any they had experienced before.

  The mage chuckled at their reas, a proud smile on his face. "I'm gd you both like it," he said. "This is a specialty here in the North Pole. We call it 'Snowfke Soup with Spiced Meat.’”

  Sally, the 7-year-old girl, chimed in with her owhusiasm. "It's super yummy down your tummy!" she decred between bites of her own bowl.

  Between bites, Roselle spoke to the mage's family. "Thank you so much for the food. It's so delicious!"

  The mother of the family, still ed about the sisters' safety, replied with a warm yet cautious smile. "You're wele, dear. Just remember to stay hidden for now. This city be a bit... plicated."

  Risebelle nodded in uanding, her serious demeanor returning. "We'll keep a low profile, but we o find our you sister, Runebelle. you help us with that?"

  The mage, after sharing a gh his family, nodded in agreement. "Of course. Once you've finished your meal, we'll do our best to assist you iing with your sister."

  After finishing their meal, Roselle, Risebelle, and the mage stepped outside. The mage, still a bit puzzled by their robotiature, ented, "Normally, finding someone in this city would be easy with magic, but, as Risebelle expined, you two are robots, correct?"

  Risebelle nodded in firmation. "That's right. We ck the typical magical signatures that humans ical creatures have, making it challenging to track us with magic. However, we really o find our you sister, Runebelle, no matter what."

  The mage uood their situatioer now and was itted to helping them locate Runebelle. "Very well," he said, "we'll have to rely on more traditional methods the's start by asking around and gathering information. Someone in this city might have seen her."

  With a pn in mind, the trio set out to navigate the Northern streets of Jancito.

  The Northern city of Jancito was a blend of natural beauty and magical architecture. It y led amidst a snowy ndscape, where pristine white exparetched as far as the eye could see. s, made to withstand the cold climate, were scattered throughout the city, their woodeeriors adorned with intricate carvings and frosted leaves.

  Amongst the s, there were also some buildings structed with a blend of traditional and magical designs. These buildings were taller, with pointed rooftops that seemed to defy the weight of the snow. One building, in particur, stood out—a grand Academy of Magic, its spires reag for the sky. It ce of learning and power, where aspiring mages hoheir craft.

  As Roselle and Risebelle vehrough the city, their eyes were drawn to a pce of worship dedicated to the Goddess. A magnifit statue of the Goddess, with long, flowing hair, stood at the heart of the temple. In her hands, she cradled a delicate representation of the pself, a symbol of her divine influence over the world.

  The snowfkes drifted gently from the sky, nding on Roselle and Risebelle's shoulders and creating a soft, wintry b over the city. The mage, notig the ge iher, gnced around for a clothing store.

  Before they could proceed, he turo Roselle and said with a warm smile, "I'll o find a clothing store first. We don't want you to be mistaken for Dark Whirlwind with your current look. A simple ge should do the trick."

  As Roselle nodded in agreement, the mage gently gathered her long hair and skillfully tied it into a ponytail, giving her a more distind friendly appearance.

  "There you go," he said with satisfa. "Now you look like a regur visitor to Jancito, not a mysterious entity. Now, let’s find those clothes and tinue our search."

  As Roselle and Risebelle ehe cozy clothing store, the store clerk, a friendly woman with a weling smile, greeted them warmly. "Wele to Frosty Attire! How I assist you today?"

  However, her cheerful demeanor shifted slightly wheiced the mage apanying them. With a pyful grin, she teased, "Alden, you and Nitya didn't have more children, did you?" She chuckled, adding, "You certainly know how to keep busy."

  Alden, the mage, ughed good-naturedly and waved off her ent. "Oh, no, nothing like that, Cire. These are not my children. They're visitors to our city and needed some suitable attire for the North Pole weather."

  Cire, the store clerk, nodded in uanding,

  "I see, I see. Well, we've got plenty of warm clothing to choose from. Let me know if you need any help, dear guests."

  Roselle and Risebelle perused the racks of clothing in Frosty Attire, taking in the variety of winter garments on dispy. The rows of coats, scarves, and boots stretched out before them. The North Pole seemed to be decked out in clothes for the cold weather.

  Roselle ented with a hint of nostalgia, "They have a lot of clothes here. I haven't been to a store like this in a long time."

  Risebelle nodded in agreement but added a note of caution, her serious demeanor ever-present. "Yes, but we still o be cautious. We stand out, and we don't knoe trust in this city."

  Roselle and Risebelle tiheir search for suitable attire in Frosty Attire. The store's ers began to take notice of the two newers. One person, in particur was able to notiething unusual about the sisters. As they looked at the children, they couldn't sense any magical energy emanating from them.

  "Strahey don't seem to possess any magical energy. That's quite unusual in this city, where magic is so prevalent. Should I front them about it?”