Chapter 61: A Lesson in Being Human

The following afternoon, Clyde, wearing a red and white plaid button-down shirt, jeans, and sneakers, along with Celes in a pink t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers; Casca and Corie in matching sleeveless blue and green tops, denim shorts, and sneakers; and finally Craig wearing a black sleeveless t-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and sunglasses, strolled along the sidewalk to take in the town’s atmosphere.

"Today we’re getting clothes and essentials. Our big gear bags are inside the Chimaera Z-X cockpit, and there’s no way we can retrieve them," Clyde said.

"Yeah... we were forced to carry only our backpacks because that mister caught us yesterday," Celes added.

"Lucky for us we could borrow clothes from Mr. Walter and Miss Ellie for the time being," Craig said, looking down at his outfit.

"Yep... and thankfully Miss Ellie has pretty stylish clothes, hehe," Corie added.

"And they fit the three of us just right... right, Sister Celes?" Casca asked.

"Yes... that’s right. Sorry about that, I took the long pants, so you two ended up with denim shorts," Celes answered.

"It’s fine... I actually prefer it like this. Just like back in the simulation, I always dressed like this," Corie said.

"Same here... even though we weren’t in the same simulation, I dressed just like her too, we are twins after all," Casca added with a smile.

"Come on, let’s pick up the pace. We need to get back to the inn quickly to help them out, right?" Clyde said.

"Okay," Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie replied in unison.

They continued walking toward the shopping district while observing the scene in the quiet, uncrowded small town. The population was sparse, and life seemed to move at a truly relaxed pace, even though a few mid-rise buildings, not skyscrapers, stood in the town center. Vehicles on the road were few and far between; those present were mostly agricultural transport trucks, massive container semi-trucks hauling local yields to the big city, and a few ordinary cars passing through to stop at nearby buildings.

Beyond surveying the town, they also tried hard to adapt, making a point, for instance, not to startle whenever a man or woman passed by whose lower body was that of a horse, and striving to act natural without staring at the locals. After walking around the town, which took only about three hours to explore on foot, they returned to a clothing store connected to a department store they had passed earlier and stepped inside.

Upon entering, Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie spotted many teenagers who appeared to be their age, boys and girls alike, wearing school uniforms and hanging out in groups inside. Celes turned to look at Clyde, Craig, Casca, and Corie, who stood frozen by the entrance.

"What’s wrong? Why did you all stop?" Celes asked, puzzled.

"Nothing... it’s just... seeing those kids... reminds me of my life in the simulation... I was still going to school in there," Craig answered.

"Right... hanging out with friends... walking around, looking at things... joking around and all that... I experienced that too... before the accident, hearing that song, and waking up here," Corie added.

Clyde said nothing. He patted the back of Craig’s head and flicked Casca and Corie on their foreheads until their heads jolted back slightly. Clyde then looked at the three of them as they stared back at him, giving them a subtle cue by darting his eyes toward Celes. The three caught on instantly.

"Sorry, Sister Celes, I was just reminiscing about my life in the simulation," Casca said.

"Yeah... sorry, Sister," Corie added.

"Um... I was just remembering my life... besides, my life in the simulation is already over because of the apocalypse... right... you know that, right? Hahaha," Craig said nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

"Huh... why are you apologizing to me? I actually want you to tell me and explain why they’re all wearing the same clothes," Celes said, bewildered, pointing at the students scattered throughout the department store, genuinely having no clue.

Hearing Celes’s words and seeing her confused expression, Craig, Casca, and Corie turned to glare intensely at Clyde, squinting their eyes with pouting, annoyed faces. Sigh. Clyde sighed and scratched his head without an itch. He looked at his three younger siblings and silently mouthed an apology before stepping up beside Celes, who looked amazed and captivated by everything inside. Naturally, as Clyde drew near, Celes immediately grabbed his arm with a cheerful expression.

"Clyde, what’s that? What about that over there?" Celes asked brightly, pointing toward a makeup display and a hat kiosk.

Seeing Celes so enthusiastic and full of questions, Clyde smiled warmly. Patiently and step by step, he explained everything to her, starting from the various stalls inside the department store, to why teenagers their age wore matching outfits, to why they gathered in groups while staring at their smartphones.

"Understand now?" Clyde asked.

"Yes... then what are those two doing?" Celes asked, pointing off to the side, specifically at a bench where two teenagers, a boy and a girl, were listening to music together from a smartphone.

Clyde turned to look where Celes was pointing and froze in shock, as did Craig, Casca, and Corie, who also turned to stone. The couple then began teasing each other, which ended in them sharing a kiss. Suddenly, Celes grabbed both of Clyde’s cheeks, startling him, and smoooch! she kissed Clyde on the lips, imitating the couple. After releasing the kiss, Clyde stumbled backward,

"Wh... wha... what was that for, Celes?!" Clyde blurted out, his face flushing deep red.

"Oh... I was just curious what it felt like... They were doing it, so it’s the same thing, right?" Celes asked innocently, licking her lips.

"They’re dating! They’re a couple! That’s something normal for teenagers... I’ll explain it to you, but I just don’t know where to start," Clyde said, wiping his mouth with a bright red face.

"Y... yeah, that’s right, Sister! Kissing is something you do when a boy and a girl are dating," Casca added in explanation, resting a hand on Celes’s shoulder, her face pale.

"So it’s not something you can just do with any random guy, it all has to be based on love!" Corie added, grabbing Celes’s other shoulder.

"Um... you two should probably explain what dating is first, what love is, and what being a couple means... Sister Celes looks totally lost," Craig chimed in from behind in a low, near-whispering voice, a flustered look on his face.

Casca and Corie immediately launched into a detailed breakdown of the topic for Celes, who nodded along, taking in every word with complete seriousness and heart. Meanwhile, Craig patted Clyde’s shoulder as Clyde covered his blushing face with one hand, trying to comfort him. After Casca and Corie finished explaining everything, which took nearly half an hour, to the point where they had to step aside and sit down so as not to block people coming and going,

"Oh... I see... In that case, I love Clyde, Casca, Craig, and Corie... I love all of you because we grew up together and we’re family!" Celes said cheerfully.

Then, to everyone’s total surprise, Celes suddenly reached out with both hands and kissed Casca right on the lips in front of her. A startled Corie tried to run, but got caught and ended up kissed right on the lips as well. After that, Celes stood up and planted a kiss right on Craig’s lips, making him almost jump out of his skin before Clyde caught him.

"See... I proved I love all of you!" Celes said brightly.

"Yeah, we get it... but Sister, you can’t kiss Brother Clyde like that! Siblings aren’t supposed to kiss each other," Casca said, wiping her lips.

"Right, right, Sister! You can’t kiss us or Brother Craig either, please don’t ever do that again!" Corie added, nodding while wiping her mouth.

"My first kiss... was with Sister Celes... and I haven’t even kissed Lyra yet... sniff," Craig whimpered, clutching his lips, his face tomato-red as he hid half his face.

Clyde, standing beside him, took a turn comforting him by rubbing and patting his back. Meanwhile, Celes looked utterly bewildered as she watched all four of her siblings turn bright red and actively avoid her gaze. But suddenly,

"Ah... hey... we’re in public... ah... ah..."

Clyde, Casca, Craig, and Corie turned to look over at the teenage couple. It turned out that after kissing, and as the store began to empty out, they had started making out, groping, hugging, and the young man sliding his hand inside the girl’s shorts, making her gasp.

"Alright... let’s go inside and buy some clothes," Clyde said promptly.

"Yeah," Casca, Craig, and Corie agreed immediately.

"Huh? What are they doing?" Celes asked, confused.

"Nothing at all! Don’t look, let’s keep moving!" Clyde, Casca, Craig, and Corie said in unison, grabbing Celes, pushing her forward together, and covering her eyes.

They kept walking, and whenever Celes tried to look back, one of them would gently turn her head forward again and talk to her, doing their best to keep her distracted.