The sun was setting down peacefully.
A couple of lampposts switched on, giving luminosity through the road. It has been a tough day and a lot of people are going home.
"Nash Sterling?!" Huck blurted out.
"Yeah, Nash Sterling," Aran repeated.
Huck averted his gaze from the two and started staring in the air. He tried to navigate his memories about who Nash Sterling is.
"Oh! I remember now. Nash Sterling is one of the most powerful knights on par with the commander! I think his title was 'The Silver Executioner' or 'The Silver Knight' something like that. He always has his silver sword and when it comes to fighting and direct attack, he is always the one leading the other army. Man, that is so cool! You have been living with him for like how many years again?" Huck recognized him immediately. Both Aran and Lisa smiled.
"I have been living with him for five years. Although we don't have that much connection to each other, I rarely see him at home because of his work as a knight of course. There's no way that Nash will spend his time with me and abandon his position." Aran replied.
"That's true, you wouldn't actually have that much intimacy either. But anyway, how did your life go within that timeframe?" Huck asked another question.
"Well, I'm pretty sure it is normal. I don't really have that many hobbies aside from reading a lot of books and venturing into the cave near the farmhouse. I also help with Lisa's father with gardening and harvesting fruits in order to earn some coins. His job as a merchant was really incredible. I've learned how to manage a business thanks to him. I have had Nash train me occasionally with fighting but it is mostly conditioning and preparing my body. He didn't really teach me anything aside from raising my awareness and defense. And if I have some spare time, I will be training inside the cave by scraping a lot of markings on the stones. Those stones were the target I created and I practiced my knife attack using it." Aran answered but he was somehow sad about the fact that his progress is not that effective.
"Aran..." Lisa called him with a soft voice while also displaying an unjoyful face.
"I mean, if you look at it, I'm not really fit to be a warrior. Yet, I have so much confidence that I will be able to save our village. It is not that I have a lot of knowledge, I am literally weak and I rely on 'knowledge' itself. I have wasted a lot of years trying to overcome my own weakness but I didn't realize that nothing was actually progressing. You guys are more fit to be in this academy." Aran followed.
"Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden?" Suddenly, Huck made an expression that seems to counter and diffuse what Aran said. He gazed at him with a confused look.
"Huh?"
"Aran, I wouldn't call that wasting your time! For five years you have shown so much hard work and even trying to develop your mindset into its full capabilities. Look at your body, you have a great physique and you have stable health. You also have quick reflexes and speed. And I presume that all of these characteristics came from your hard work as a worker or as someone who has managed to visit the cave numerous times to train with your knife. That is not something you shouldn't overlook, Aran!" Huck explained to him.
His words proved might and trustworthiness. Even with the slight misinformation, he knows that Aran is not actually weak, but rather, it was a by-product and a step for a full level of progression. Generally thinking, Aran is usually doing his best all the time, and that makes up his great body composition and never-ending strength.
The only thing that he lacks is technique and experience for fighting. He is also full of openings just like what Nash has been engraving to him ever since they have started training. But those flaws will eventually subside if here were to start training inside the academy. His whole aptitude as a warrior won't be affected by small imperfections.
"Aran..." Lisa interrupted Aran's gaze on Huck.
"What Huck is saying is that you didn't waste any of those years just because you didn't develop any fighting techniques. You indeed developed something else but not for the sake of your style but rather, it developed your own core and knowledge. You are special, other warriors wouldn't think about reading books and gaining intellect. Just because you don't have something to show doesn't mean that you are incapable of pulling something off or showing something that will make you good." She said with a nice tone.
Huck raised his hand and did a thumbs up.
"Also, Aran..." The three of them stopped on an overlooking place where they can see the whole town from above the hill.
The night sky still hasn't arrived so they got a chance to look at how beautiful the kingdom is from the top of the hill. The wind took a detour and they all felt the nice fresh air. Feeling them soothed their minds and pain altogether.
"I think it is wrong if you call yourself that one week from now." Lisa finished her sentence all while gazing at the whole town. Aran saw her beautiful and sparkly light blue eyes, reflecting from the sunset's rays. Her golden hair was waving back and forth.
"What do you mean?" Aran asked.
"Remember what Mr. Veldrey told you? He said you will be trained by someone that resembles your own style."
An unforgotten context that has passed through Aran's mind slowly enabled him to overcome his anxiety. The fact that he is feeling down and suddenly remembering all of his hard work and help made him fully understand what is it like to have a strong will. He curved his lips and smiled as he moved his head on the right side to see the whole town as well. The three of them have watched the sunset until the stars came in.
"Yeah! Thank you so much for reminding me!" Aran was really grateful.
--
After walking for like thirty minutes, they finally reached the avenue where Huck's father's workshop is located. The lights erupted. A lot of people were buying something from the market near the avenue while the rest are just stalling around.
"Damn that old man, did he bribed you guys in so he can have more customers?" Huck asked a question with an annoying tone.
"Hahaha! No, don't worry. In fact, he didn't really ask for payment when I got this knife from him. He is a good man, Huck. Your father is actually great." Aran answered with a chuckle.
"Oh! That's weird, he doesn't usually do that to strangers. Like, he didn't even ask for anything in return?" Huck questioned him again.
"No... Oh wait, I think he did. He said I should give him some stones or any rare minerals I can find in my journey. I think that's good enough since I have lots of those that I collected from the cave. Some of them are even glowing."
"No wonder he's got this wild look earlier in the morning. So he did meet you guys. Well, I think he did that because he knew that you guys are not from the capital." Huck said.
"Wait, how did you know that he knew that Aran is not from the capital?" Lisa asked with a curious look.
"It is simple, it is because all people that live here in the capital don't really know him at all, no one enters his shop," Huck answered.
"Wait what? How do you mean that they don't know him, isn't he one of the most prestigious blacksmiths here?" Lisa tilted her head.
"Yes, he 'is'. But that's just back in the days. Other talented blacksmiths have emerged for the past ten years and that old man has only been prominent for like a few months because of his strong and high-quality work." Huck said.
"Mm, you seem to be awfully calm about this," Aran spoke.
"No..." But instead of getting a heinous reply, his expression scorned all the way up making it look like Aran had severed a nerve inside him.
"Huck?" Lisa called to him with a curious face.
"That old man, he got shined upon those pesky other blacksmiths. About six years ago, his weapons have been stolen from the workshop. Someone intruded on our home and started destroying everything including his tools and other materials. But they didn't actually destroy the weapons that my father worked so hard for. They stole them and started spreading them outside the kingdom and inside the capital." Huck's voice was a bit hoarse, it was significantly heavy just by saying those harsh experiences.
"Oh no, that's..."
"Veldrey lost his license as an official blacksmith. His title and weapons were instead distributed around those bandits who are seemingly making themselves popular with his hard work. All weapons that he has made are being produced on the opposite side of this capital. That's why he is not known as of today. Only a discrete amount of people comes to his shop for a little maintenance of their weapons but they don't seem to recognize him."
It is hard for Huck to say about all of this in front of them. The idea of losing your title because of some jealous organization is pretty repulsive considering the amount of hard work that Veldrey managed to maintain.
"He knew that you guys are not from here because you came into his shop with the idea of 'him' still being one of the most prestigious blacksmiths. That is more than enough for him to conclude that you guys are not familiar with the services here." Huck followed up.
"What do you mean about that?" Aran asked.
"No one in this generation calls him that anymore. No one else knows about the existence of my father nor his talents and skills at creating numerous high-quality weapons. Yet you guys managed to enter the workshop with a presumed claim. I think even for a few minutes of that particular meet-up, you guys made him happy." Huck smiled as he gazed around the two.
Aran and Lisa returned the curving joyfulness to Huck. They approached the workshop and Huck opened the door.
"Old man... Good evening." Huck greeted him with a little bit of an unpleasant tone.
"Oh! Huck, welcome home." Veldrey was wiping an iron with a cloth.
"They're here..." Huck replied.
"Who's here?" Veldrey asked as he placed down the Iron pipe on the table.
"Wait Aran, where are you going?!" Outside the door, Aran suddenly ran away at full speed, he seems to have taken the route through their farmhouse.
"I'll be right back!" With an echoing voice resonating through the field. Lisa sighed and decided to enter the workshop.
"Oh! It is the young woman from earlier! What brings you in here?" Veldrey asked.
"Young woman? You don't know who Lady Lisa Alliere is?" Huck questioned him.
"E-Eh?"
"Seriously, old man. Show some respect. Her name is Lisa Alliere, from the Alliere house."
"Urgh! My sincerest apology, Lady Alliere. Forgive me for not recognizing who you are." Veldrey bowed in front of her.
"Eh? Haha, don't worry about it Mr. Veldrey. It is not a big deal." Lisa smiled as she approached the two.
"No, that was really inappropriate of me. I didn't know that there is a noble visiting my workshop. Our place is pretty dirty and I didn't even offer any hospitality."
"It is fine. I didn't introduce myself earlier. And also, I'm not really that kind of a 'noble'."
"I see. I understand, I apologize for the sudden change. But, how may I help you for tonight?"
"Oh um, I'm not really the one who has a business here. It is Aran but he seems to have left to get something. I'm not sure." Lisa answered.
"Huh? That's fast!" Huck reacted as he went outside to see where he is going.
"While we are waiting for him, let's just sit down. I'll go get some tea." Veldrey removed his apron and went upstairs. Huck closed the door and the two of them sat down on the table.
"Hey, sorry about the sudden intrusion." Lisa apologize.
"No, it is okay, Lady Alliere. It is rare for my father to have visitors anyway. Oh yeah, where do you think Aran go at this time?" Huck asked.
"Knowing him, I have a slight idea of what he is going to do," Lisa answered with a dubious expression.
"Idea of what he is going to do?" Huck leaned back.
"Aran is an honest and genuine person. He has a soft heart that whenever he is hearing something sad or bad or if there's something that unqualifies his mindset, he will do something to prevent that. I knew that he is going home to bring something here." Lisa started explaining.
"Bring something here?" Huck asked.
"Yes, for your father." Lisa continued. Huck gasped after hearing Lisa's guess.
"Here you go, lads. Some tea." Veldrey walked downstairs with a tray of teacups and a pitcher of tea. He placed the tray on the table and Huck distributed the cups and gave one to Lisa.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Veldrey." Lisa gratefully said.
"No problem, keep yourself comfortable here. It is been a while since I've had visitors anyway." Veldrey said.
"That guy seems to be taking his time, huh? Did something happen? Oh and by the way, how did the examination go?" Veldrey asked then went to sip the tea.
"Me and Aran fought together–"
"PWOOOSH!" Suddenly, Veldrey spits an ample amount of tea from his mouth and it splashed within Huck's clothing.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing!?" Furious about what happened, Huck stood up from his chair and started wiping his clothes with a dry napkin.
"Sorry! I was just surprised!" Veldrey defended himself.
"Come on... You don't have to shower me with tea just for getting surprised! And I mean, why the hell are you even surprised about the fact that me and Aran fought?" Huck asked, still rubbing the dry napkin on his clothing. Veldrey coughed a few more times before opening his mouth once again.
"I just couldn't help but wonder, how did that happen? And what happened?" Veldrey asked.
"I beat him up and he almost killed me, so we both ended up winning," Huck answered nonchalantly.
"What? What do you mean he almost killed you? And isn't winning together a prohibited verdict?" Veldrey asked with a serious tone.
"Yeah, well, we've been picked for some reason. For the first three minutes of the match, I literally dealt a lot of damage to Aran. But then he started acting like an assassin and he literally almost killed me with his unconscious mind. I think the reason why the board members allowed us to win is that they saw our potential and we've survived the match without dragging anyone down" Huck recalled what happened and explained.
"I see, that explains your wounds then. Seems like that boy literally just smacked your ass." Veldrey laughed hard. Hearing this made Huck furious.
"Hey, I beat him, in the first round. If it weren't for his adrenaline-crap, he couldn't have survived my fists." He defended himself.
"That boy is really something else, isn't he? Like, you said he just turned into an assassin all of a sudden. He is not a normal warrior, but rather, a perfect candidate to inherit the most lethal style to ever exist in this world." Veldrey said.
"Most lethal style... Did you mean the Shadow Blade Art Technique?" Lisa asked.
"Yeah. I didn't get the chance to explain this but that style is pretty dangerous. And that boy has the potential to pull it off. You've fought him, right? Huck?"
"I did. He was really different. The way he avoided my close-up barrage is pretty surprising. And then he countered me."
"I see. Well, in that case, it is not surprising if he were to slit your throat. With his speed and reflexes, he can kill Dhekaids easily. But he is not yet refined."
"Refined?"
"The way he uses his skills and potential is far from what the original style executes. That's why I'm going to ask that guy to train the boy. In the near future, my guess is that he would be far surpassing almost every strongest fighter in this kingdom. Even the two of you won't stand a chance against him if he were to attain that power." Veldrey closed his eyes.
"Why do you sound like that's a bad thing?" Lisa asked.
"That's because... for every power he obtains, comes a price that he must sacrifice." Everyone gasped as Veldrey revealed it.
"Then why would you even suggest that to him?" Huck was getting a bit uncomfortable.
"I saw his determination to fight. That's the only reason. But you know, in this generation, young ones like you have the potential to change the custom. That boy might discover a way to stabilize his strength without sacrificing anything. We can only hope that he can master it."
A knocked on the door immediately broke the conversation between the three.
"Oh, he is here. Come in!" Huck shouted.
The door opened and Aran can be seen holding a large sack with a black ribbon tied on the hole.
He struggled to enter and as soon as he stepped inside, he tripped and fell on the floor causing the sack to drop. The ribbon slipped in and because of that, the stones and jewels that have been enclosed inside rolled through the floor.
"Ow!" Aran dragged his body upward while rubbing his neck. Lisa stood up from her chair to help him stand up.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'm just feeling a little bit dizzy. Anyway, Mr. Veldrey!" Aran grabbed the stones and placed them inside the sack one more time. He carried the sack and dropped it on the table.
"Mmm? Aran, what is this?" He asked as grasped the whole sack.
"Damn, this weighs a lot of pounds!" He commented.
"I heard everything about what happened for the last ten years. You have been tricked by a lot of people and someone literally stole all of your finest works. I-I couldn't help but get mad and, I just couldn't let that happen to someone." While Aran was explaining, Veldrey's eyes widened. He realized that Huck must've told them.
On the other hand, Huck shifted his gaze to Lisa who's been looking at him for a couple of seconds. She smiled and nodded her head indicating that her guess earlier was right and accurate. Huck smiled as well.
"That's why, here! Take all of this. Here are all of the jewels, minerals, and stones that I have gathered from the cave for the past five years. I know that most of it won't amount to the work that you have successfully created, but please take all of this as my payment for the dagger and take it as help for continuing your career." Aran said while bowing.
Moved by this, Veldrey smiled and slowly approached him. He placed his right hand on Aran's head.
"Thank you, Young Aran. Although there's no need for you to do this, you still gave this many treasures because of what happened. You're really something else, everyone would be lucky to have someone like you on their side." Aran gazed at him and nodded with a smile.
Veldrey placed the sack on his counter and opened it up.
"Now then, let us see what we have here..." He grabbed a pair of metallic tongs from the cabinet and using it, he slowly panned out every stone in the sack until it was left nothing.
There are a lot of stones and most of them differ in color and luster. A few of them can be seen with a dark color while the rest have a common characteristic when it comes to hardness and size.
Veldrey examined each stone with a magnifying glass that is attached to a metallic bar. It is quite big enough to fit and to see the gems closer in detail.
"Heh... This is so awesome, man. You've spent five years in that cave just looking for stones?" Huck asked while analyzing the stones as well.
"Well yeah, I told you while I was scraping my knife there, I am also collecting these kinds of stones. My prior objective was to bring them home and study them, but since I have collected tons of it, I didn't even bother reading things about them." Aran explained.
While they are busy looking at the stones, Lisa noticed something on the end of the counter. A couple of stones can be seen glowing and their color is somewhat changing.
"Hey! Look at this!" Instantly, she grabbed the stones and showed them to everyone.
"Here! They are changing colors!" She claimed.
Seeing what happened to the stones. Veldrey gasped hardly, dropping the metallic tongs on the floor. He stepped back while squirming.
"Hey! What happened, old man?!" Huck asked in concern.
"T-That... That stone is..." His body was shaking as he pointed out his finger on the stone. Everyone looked at it seriously with a confused visual.
"It is blue earlier, but now it is kinda turning red to purple. Isn't that rare?" Lisa asked.
"It is indeed rare. That stone is... An Alexandrite! One of the strongest and rarest gems in the whole world!" Everyone froze in their position.
"EHHHH?!" The two screamed.
"W-W-What?! Oh my god, are you even for real?" Huck cannot believe what he said.
"Mmm, well I think he is saying the truth." Aran seems to be rather composed and collected even after knowing the jewel.
"Why do you say so?" Lisa asked him.
"I think I have read something like this color-changing scheme in a book, but they didn't classify what kind of stone it is. In the daylight, the color of the stone becomes blue and at night, whenever they are exposed to fluorescent light they switch from blue to red and then to purple depending on the source." Aran said.
"If you know that, then why didn't you tell us?" Huck asked.
"As I said, I didn't really study nor examined them. They are just hanging around in my sack for a long time now." Aran answered. Huck was about to cry.
"Hey, Mr. Veldrey, how much does an Alexandrite costs?" Lisa asked.
"If we are following the rule of nature, this one is not that exactly pretty common. Only a few people from the west have gathered gems like this. I'd say this one will cost about five hundred gold!"
"FIVE HUNDRED?!" shrieking from the breakthrough, everyone dropped on their knees.
"Aran! You could have just used this to buy a whole country!" Huck suggested.
"What are you talking about?!? I-I-I..." He stuttered.
"Aran, this is a precious stone that we are talking about here. Are you sure you're just going to give it away?" Veldrey approached Aran and helped him stand. Aran smiled at him.
"As long as if it is you, I don't have any problem! This could pay for all of your work for the past ten years and you can even make another high-quality weapon with this one or sell it. Whatever you do about it, as long as it is beneficial, I am okay with it!" Aran said. Veldrey couldn't help but smile as he embraces Aran.
After a few moments, all of them have started cleaning up the place. Veldrey made a cabinet for all of the stones that have received from Aran while Huck was cleaning the floor with a mop. Lisa on the other hand washed the dishes. Huck and Veldrey felt bad for a noble to clean but Lisa scolded them as she insisted on helping. Aran helped Veldrey in the building.
"By the way, Aran." Veldrey suddenly immersed himself in a conversation. Aran placed down the tools on the other drawer and he started rubbing his hands with a cloth.
"Mmm? yes?" He asked as he leaned back.
"I've already talked to the guy that I said earlier who will be helping you with your training." He said with a smile. A piece of good news indeed.
"Wait! Really?!" Aran reacted. He was squirming himself while having a joyful expression.
"What? what? What do you mean by that?" Huck asked.
"Aran's abilities are not actually limited. The way you told me earlier that he suddenly became an assassin was actually a symptom or an indication of a certain fighting style." Veldrey explained.
"A certain fighting style, an assassin, don't tell me!? That guy?!" Huck realized what his father was referring to.
"Yeah. That guy is pretty absurd when it comes to sleight of hand tactics and shadow performances." Veldrey said.
"Aran!" Suddenly he called Aran.
"Yes?!" He responded.
"I told him that you have the proper aptitude for doing this kind of training. Since you passed the examination, I think it is good for you to spend the rest of the week training under him. However... Are you ready to take the pain?" Veldrey asked him. Aran gulped for a little but he straightened himself afterward
"Yes! I'll do my best!" He responded loud and clear.
"Though, we still have some problem though..."
"What is it?" Aran asked.
"Well, the thing is, I don't know a place where you two can go practice or train. This land is pretty packed with a lot of people." Veldrey said.
"Huh? What the hell are you talking about, old man?" Suddenly, Huck interrupted them. Veldrey gazed at him.
"We can just use that backyard we have near the farmland! That is three times bigger than the field around here. Everyone can train there and you haven't even opened it for the last three years. It is getting wasted." Huck said. Aran and Lisa looked at Veldrey with a concerned look.
"Oh... OH! Now that you mentioned it! I think we can use that instead!" Veldrey laughed.
"Come on..." Huck sighed.
"Well then, Aran, I expect you to go to this place early morning tomorrow. We will guide you there until we reach it. Of course, that man who will train you will be here as well so don't worry." Veldrey finally announced.
"Umm..." Lisa stepped in as she finished cleaning the dishes.
"Yes?" Veldrey asked.
"If it is okay, can I also train within your field as well? I haven't found out any secluded place for my training all this time and I am having trouble concentrating." Lisa asked as she fidgeted.
"Aren't you going back to the Dojo?" Aran approached her.
"If it is possible, I want someplace where I can feel the fresh air and concentrate even more. If you are going to train on that place then I'm coming with you." She answered.
"Of course! Of course! You guys are all welcome, our land is pretty big so it is the perfect place for training. Huck can go there and train as well." Veldrey accepted her request. As soon as she heard it, she started to become excited.
"Really? Thank you so much! I'll make sure to come here with Aran!" As soon as she said that, she grabbed Aran's neck with her arm and pulled him outside.
"Gugh!"
"Come on, we are out of here, we need to prepare for tomorrow!"
"Thank you so much again for letting us in and making our stay." Lisa bowed.
"Hey no problem, good night!" Huck greeted them as he closed the door.
As he closed the door, Veldrey looked through the window.
"Those two are pretty close. It is rare for a noble like Lady Alliere to accompany a commoner like that boy."
"Yeah, though, I pity Lady Alliere." Huck replied.
"Why?"
"Aran Crossford is dense."
"Oh... Well, we might have to do something to man him up."
"I agree."
And with that, the two closed the workshop.