CHAPTER 20 - "Who are you?"
This web novel is a draft of the story. Please expect frequent changes and updates as I see fit. Enjoy! -Cloki
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-Siegfried fused with Camriel, and used her power to defeat Rigel, one of Hasher's "Void Stars", and force him to remove his curse. Shortly after, Siegfried fainted, and Rigel teleported away, narrowly escaping death. Azure and Jurgen emerged from the weapons shop, armed with numerous questions for Siegfried...
-Azure continued to cast her healing spell on Siegfried, and Siegfried closed his eyes. The mana flowers were providing enough mana to gradually fill up Siegfried's Vat, as well as provide a consistent stream of mana for Azure to cast her spell.
Siegfried: "--Azure-san, are you and Jurgen okay?"
Azure: "Yes, we're unharmed. I'm just glad you're safe, Siegfried."
Siegfried: "a...azure-san..."
Azure: "Yes, Seigi-kun?"
-Siegfried looked at Azure, let out a breath of air, smiled, and closed his eyes. He seemed to have fainted.
Azure: "It's okay Siegfried, you rest for now. Let your mana vat replenish itself..."
-Suddenly, the numerous buildings in Oakheart opened their doors, and out came the people who had hidden inside. They wore expressions of shock. One man approached the party-
???: "You there, with the blue hair!"
Azure: "Me?"
???: "Yes you! Who is that boy in your arms?"
Azure: "His name is Siegfried, he's my partner for our adventure. Why?"
???: "You're a very lucky girl... my eyes may be deceiving me, but I'm pretty sure he's a god or something. He saved the town!"
-Azure looked toward Jurgen, confused as to who the man talking to her was-
Jurgen: "Indeed, he did save Oakheart. Azure, this is Norman, he's a traveling merchant that lives here in Oakheart!"
-Norman was of average height. He wore green merchant's clothes and a green hat. He had the aura of a traveler who's been to every land imaginable.
Norman: "If it wasn't for that boy, the town would surely have been raided! Has he ever considered joining the League of Knights? Seeing him handle the sword reminded me so much of Jurgen's son Klaus!"
Jurgen: "Oh ho ho! Well Norman, I'm sure Klaus would love to see Siegfried in action. I have to agree, his technique and sheer power would outclass nearly the entire league! It was truly unbelievable, however, I'm not so sure he could defeat Klaus, you don't realize how truly powerful my son actually is when he gets serious."
[[[Klaus Lamberdt is the current leader of the League of Knights. He's been dubbed "The Lord of the Sword" and his skills are considered to be equivalent to that of an entire army and then some.]]]
-Jurgen then gazed at Norman with a serious expression in his eyes. You could feel the tension emerging between the two as if they were business rivals-
Norman: "What are your plans with Siegfried now Azure?"
Azure: "Well, we were actually going to go back to Formai whenever Siegfried recovered so that I could teach him magic..."
Norman: "-- --"
Norman: "what, you're going to teach HIM magic? Sheesh, he should be the one teaching YOU magic! Did you see what he did out here!?"
Jurgen: "Norman, be nice. You don't know what their situation is, she could be even more powerful, who knows?"
Azure: "Well, it's kind of hard to explain now, but when I met Siegfried two days ago, he seemed to just be a brand new adventurer. My father, Daichi, who works in the Formai Guild House said that his magical capabilities were close to none, however, he did mention something about Siegfried being a "god in disguise"..."
-Azure looked down at Siegfried. His eyes were still closed, but he was smiling. A huge weight had been lifted off of this shoulders, and his curse had been removed. Siegfried was simply recovering.
Jurgen: "Well, I'm sure you have just as many questions for Siegfried as I do, Azure-sama. Please take good care of that boy, he's a very special lad."
Azure: "I'll save the questions for when he wakes up. Whatever his explanation is, I'll trust it. I trust Siegfried, he's a good person."
-Suddenly, two more people emerged from their residence-
???: "Jurgen! Is everything okay?"
[???]: "Yeah! We heard lots of loud noises and saw lots of bright lights!"
-These two people were children who lived in Oakheart. They looked to be brother and sister, and each looked to be about 8 years old.
Jurgen: "Connie! Erica! Yes, everything is alright. The evil shaman is gone, that man over there saved the town! (Jurgen pointed at Siegfried).
Erica: "Is he okay?? He looks like he's dying!"
Connie: "Erica, look, that blue-haired girl is casting a healing spell on him, I think he's gonna be okay."
Jurgen: "Indeed, Connie, very good! You're picking up spell identification nicely, and yes, he is going to be okay, Erica."
Azure: "Who are these young children, Jurgen?"
Jurgen: "Ah, these are Norman's kids! Their names are Connie and Erica. Connie is studying magic right now, in hopes of one day being a part of the Mage's Corps! He has an affinity for Natural Magic. Erica over there is also studying magic, and has an affinity for Air Magic!"
Erica: "Yeah! I wanna be an Air Mage and fly one day! *Wheee* (Erica started running around)"
Connie: "My name's Connie! When I grow up, I wanna join the military and be a part of the 25th Mage's Corps, in the Natural Division! Check this out!"
-Connie when drew his wand, made of oak wood, and cast a spell toward a tree-
Connie: "Ligna!"
-Suddenly, the tree began to tremble, as a small branch emerged from the side. Ligna is a growth spell that influences the growth of trees and plants, however, it uses a lot of mana.
Connie: "eugh, hah, ah, did you see that? I made that branch appear! ah, I'm tired." *plop*
-Connie fell to the ground. He is still very young, so using a spell such as Ligna now uses about half of his mana.
Erica: "Ugh, get up Connie! You're always using these crazy spells all the time!"
-Norman walked over to his children, and walked them back into the house-
Norman: "I've got two energetic kids to manage. Azure! Take good care of Siegfried! Okay? Return to Oakheart anytime!"
Azure: "Thank you, Norman! I will!"
-Azure looked at Jurgen, and then down at Siegfried, whose eyes were still shut. Siegfried was still recovering.
Jurgen: "Azure-sama, is there anything you need from me before you and Siegfried continue your adventure? Perhaps I could give Siegfried a stronger sword?"
Azure: "That would be nice, Jurgen. However, would it be okay if we stuck around here until Siegfried wakes up? I want him to choose the sword."
Jurgen: "Absolutely. Take all the time you need here. The Oakheart Inn is right over there, you can take Siegfried there and book a room for the day. I'll be here too, if you need me."
Azure: "Thank you, Jurgen. Stay here with Siegfried while I book us a room. Okay?"
Jurgen: "Sounds good, Azure-sama!"
-Azure got up and walked toward the Oakheart Inn. Meanwhile, Jurgen and Siegfried remained outside. Jurgen turned toward Siegfried, and began to speak to him-
Jurgen: "Siegfried, I think I'm starting to understand what's going on... now, correct me if I'm wrong, but, do you possess divine connections?"
Siegfried: "d-divine..connections?"
Jurgen: "Yes, the ability to talk to the goddess.. Siegfried, who are you?"
Siegfried: "..what do you know, Jurgen?"
Jurgen: "You see Siegfried, in the past, there have been people like you who have come around. People who have spread the word of the goddess Camriel. They were all about your age, and all seemed to have the same goal... You appear to be another one of "those people..."
-Jurgen appeared to be aware that Siegfried had been summoned to Provincia by Camriel, as he has seen a person like him before.
Siegfried: "w..what? You know?"
Jurgen: "I believe so. Siegfried, tell me, what is the goddess like?"
Siegfried: "s..she's beautiful.. long rose gold hair, hazel eyes...beautiful voice..she's the epitome of beauty.."
Jurgen: "Ah, I see. She sounds lovely..."
Siegfried: "h-how many others before me were summoned..?"
Jurgen: "I am not quite sure, I'm only 58 years old. But, I think I've seen about 4 of them by now. I was good friends with a recent person who claimed they could talk to Camriel. His name was Hiroshi... he died about a month ago, unfortunately, and now, here you are... I believe that this is no coincidence."
Jurgen: "They all start in the same place, in Formai, and end up here when they start their journey..."
Siegfried: "i-i'm going to have to talk to camriel soon... I have questions."
Jurgen: "If you do see her soon, tell her to watch over Oakheart, and keep it a blessed place..."
Siegfried: "Sure thing, Jurgen-sama."
~~IN THE OAKHEART INN~~
???: "Welcome to the Oakheart in, ma'am! My name is Linore! How may I help you today?"
-Linore looked the same way that Jinore did in the Formai Inn, the only difference being that Jinore had green hair and Linore had black hair, could they be sisters?
Azure: "ahh, a room for two, please? Two beds are fine."
-Unlike last time, Azure had gotten a room with two beds.
Linore: "Alright! Here is your room key, which will be 3,250 Provi for the day!
[[-Provi is the currency used in Provincia. It is the only form of currency and is split into 10 different denominations, each totalling 10, 25, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 2500, 5000, 10000, and 25000 Provi Notes]]
-Azure slid 3,250 Provi to Linore, and grabbed her room key. She then emerged from the Inn. Siegfried, laying on the ground still, closed his eyes again, not because he had to, but because he secretly wanted to be in Azure's arms again.
Azure: "Alright, Jurgen, I can take it from here. Thank you for watching over Siegfried for me! Alright, Siegfried, let's go."
-Jurgen got up, saluted to Azure, and retreated to his weapon shop. Azure picked up Siegfried's body and walked him into the Inn, and to their room.
~~IN THE INN~~
-Azure brought Siegfried into the room, and sat on the ground, on her knees. She then proceeded to gently rest Siegfried's head on her lap and continued to cast her healing spell. Siegfried slightly opened his eyes-
Siegfried to himself: "So, this is what a lap pillow feels like? I must say, it's quite pleasant. Thank you Azure-san, I will forever cherish this moment."
Azure to herself: "I sure hope Seigi-kun recovers quickly... he's protected me twice now, once at the camp, and now in this town..."
Siegfried aloud: "a-azure-san?"
Azure: "Oh! Yes, Siegfried? You're awake again!"
Siegfried: "thank you... I really appreciate your healing.."
Azure: "You're welcome, Seigi-kun, any time. I'm here for ya."
Siegfried: "You don't realize how much that means to me. Together, you and I are unstoppable. let's work extra hard to defeat Hasher, mkay?"
Azure: "Absolutely, Siegfried! However, now that you're awake. I have a few questions that I'd like to ask of you..."
Siegfried: "I expected as much... ask away, Azure-san..."
Azure: "Siegfried.... who are you really?"
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