Twisted Wonderland: Glorious Masquerade - Let the Bell of Solace Ring

Chapter 2-4: A Caring Housewarden

The group continue looking around the city and soon arrive at a general store.

"Is this a general store?" Azul asks.

"That's right. Go on and have a look around," Rollo says.

The group soon walk inside after the door opens. They soon look inside.

"It looks like the perfect place to do some souvenir shopping," Deuce says.

Azul agrees, "True. Perhaps I'll pick out a few things for the Octavinelle students."

This causes Epel & Deuce to react in shock, "Bwha?!"

"What's with that reaction? It's rather rude, you know," Azul questions.

Epel speaks up, "Azul?"
"Buying souvenirs for students?!" Deuce says, just as shocked.

"What's so surprising about that?" Azul asks.

"You're going to actually give them away... for FREE?!" Deuce says, still shocked.

"That's generally what you do with gifts, yes. What do you two take me for?" Azul says with a frown, "I'm capable of caring for my fellow Octavinelles. This is a fine chance to convey my gratitude for them."

"Okay, yeah, makes sense. Sorry for suggesting otherwise!" Deuce apologizes.

And Epel says, "Golly. Vil said you were greedy and told me to be careful around you... But you're a caring housewarden, Azul!"

But Azul chuckles, "Heh heh heh, just so. I'm a VERY caring housewarden. Though I never said I wouldn't expect anything in return..." He then notices one of the items, "Hm, What's this? Wooden blocks with letters on them?"

"Those are study aids for children—building blocks to help them learn the alphabet," Rollo says, "There's a letter on one side, and then a word starting with that letter on the opposite side. Children in Fleur City use them all the time."

"Neat. Let's see what kind of words they have..." Deuce says and looks at the toys, "'Apple' for A, 'baby' for B... Haha, that's cute."

"And for F... 'festival'!" Epel says, "There's a picture of children playing at a festival under the word. They're easy to understand and fun to look at. Yeah, I bet little kids would love these blocks and learn a lot from them."

Then Rollo explains, "In the past, lessons were more demanding. Children had to study much larger and more complex words. But people complained that the curriculum was too hard for children to understand... So nowadays building blocks with simple words are more common. It's deplorable, really."

"So these are building blocks. We don't have them in the Coral Sea. What fascinating toys," Azul says.

Deuce says, confused, "Wait, you don't use building blocks under the sea?"

"No, wood doesn't tend to last long underwater. They're not common," Azul says, "We do have study aids made from shells, though. Do all land children play with building blocks?"

"Nah... I don't remember playing with any," Deuce says, "I mean, I might've just forgotten, but Mom says I've always loved playing outside."

"Yeah, my family says I was always big on sledding and climbing trees. Lots of outdoor stuff," Epel says.

"You're both so active," Azul says, "Even if I'd been born on land, I doubt our paths would've crossed. Well, I still need to find a souvenir that would be easy to hand out to a large group. I'll look around a bit longer."

"Certainly. I'll take my leave, then. I should go check on the others," Rollo says.

"Thank you for so kindly showing us around. I'm sure we'll see more of each other later," Azul says.