When we got back to my home, we noticed that Claire and Amelia were training in the front yard. Kale and Lilith walked past the two and headed right into the house. It was during our way to the Bounty Hall that the two wanted to get a good rest, specifically Kale who hadn't really gotten enough sleep in the carriage since we got here.
Amelia didn't seem to mind Lilith and Kale going into the house. But she did take notice of me and gave me a look. I took the time to stop and wave at her, but that only made her stick her tongue out at me and she continued to practice her wind magic.
"Good to have you back, Kota." Claire greeted me. "While you two left, Amelia wanted to practice her magic…But unfortunately, I'm not that well trained in magic."
"Ah, Alright. Well…has she made any progress?"
"Did she break anything in our yard?" Gerald butted in, he stood behind me as he watched cautiously. "Synthia wouldn't like it if you break something or ruin the garden."
Just as he said that, Amelia froze for a moment. The blue haired girl then slowly lowered her staff, dropped it and turned towards us.
"Uh…L-like accidental break?" Amelia's eyes looked down to the ground as she twiddled her fingers. "N-not that I've broken a-anything…"
Gerald raised a brow and proceeded to look around, obviously realizing something was up. I too proceeded to look around to see if anything was amiss.
Nothing seemed wrong with the yard, from what I could tell. But further out, I could see a tree that looked damaged. A side of the tree looked to be blown off by something, its branches dangling around as if it was done recently. Judging by the hole that was made, it seemed like that it was from right where we were. Gerald noticed it as well and gave out an audible sigh.
"Oy…" Gerald folded his arms, he stared at Amelia with disappointment. "Trees don't explode on their own. That was you, wasn't it?"
"Ah pfft…" Amelia looked away from us, looking at her sister. "Could've been Chris, he was out here before me!"
Gerald looked at me to confirm if Chris was able to do that. But even with my training, I wouldn't think Chris was fully able to do that sort of damage. He's still somewhat clumsy when it comes to casting the spell and actually using it. So I shook my head in response.
"Ahem…" Claire cleared her throat, she had an embarrassed look on her face as she spoke. "It was Amelia, she was practicing her wind spells and brok the tree."
"Wha-Why would you snitch on me?!"
"B-because you need to take responsibility!"
"It's not my fault the tree was there! It couldn't manage to withstand my magic!"
"Stop being immature, own up to it!"
"Grr…" Amelia gritted her teeth, she opened her mouth to say something else to Amelia. But closed it immediately, realizing that perhaps she was just trying to avoid taking responsibility. The blue haired girl began to twiddle her hands in a shy manner before she spoke, this time towards Gerald and I.
"I-it was me. I was the one wh-"
"Bonk." Gerald said as he brought his hand down onto her head with a Chop. The motion managed to make Amelia jolt and stumble backwards.
"Wha-The heck was that for?! You don't just smack people in the head!" Amelia said painfully, she rubbed her head as she angrily looked at Gerald.
"I smack kids who are being ill mannered." Gerald then looked at me. "Except you, unless you did something bad…Did you?"
"Ugh…No?" I said.
"Hm…I sense hesitation in that, we'll talk later on tonight." He then turned back to Amelia. "And you, I'm going to need you to repair that tree."
"Hey, I was trying to turn myself in a few seconds ago! Plus, I don't even know how to use healing spells!" Amelia glared at him.
"Alright, then I'll have to ask Synthia to come out here and help…Hopefully she doesn't put fear into you and teaches you how to heal."
"I heard it all from here, Honey." A female Voice came from the house. It turned my gaze to the front door and saw that Synthia was leaning against the side of the door, her eyes staring like a hawk at Amelia. "I can teach you healing spells…Let's walk to the tree you destroyed…"
"Ah…y-yes! Yes ma'am!" The trembling in Amelia's voice was heard from us all. Synthia then walked her way towards the front gate and ushered at her, to which Amelia frantically obeyed.
"Ah…Synthia is a real pusher, huh?" Gerald said, glancing at us all. "She may seem like she's all threatening, but…she's just wanting others to do their best."
"I see…" Claire nodded. The blue haired girl glanced across the fence of the house, watching as Synthia began to teach amelia. "So how was your guy's Bounty Hunt?"
"Snagged us twenty rubees! And the two kids did pretty damn good!" Gerald said proudly. "For a test, I'd say they got a stamp of approval."
"Hmph, that sounds very good to hear. I guess we're lucky to have the two to help us on our way to Ozoth."
"Oh, speaking of that." Gerald looked at Claire with curiosity. "I heard from Kale that you two are being tracked?
"Yes…By some trafficker. It's one of the reasons why Prince Chris is on his way to meet with the king of Ozoth, to handle this rising issue. I came to Prusha to bring Amelia back home before I was kidnapped, so we were brought along."
"Hmm…"Gerald rubbed his chin. "Sounds like you have a lot on your plate. Though, I do know a bit about these…Traffickings. Lots of things are said in the bounty hall."
"Like what?"
"Well as of right now, there have been more incidents around the Cascadia plains. Mostly near the border to Ozoth. All claiming that someone has gone missing in their group or a family member is looking for them."
"Around here? Oh, dear…"
"Yes, we are in the middle ground between the two kingdoms. There's no real laws when it comes to this area unless you are in town. Once you leave the premises, anything is a go for anyone."
"I see…" Claire sighed. "So the kidnappings aren't just in Ozoth. But why?"
"Beats me, but it's probably not good. See, hard labor slavery is viable down in Ithryll. But not around this area. It's most likely for some sort of production or…"
"Or?"
"…I don't know, Sacrificial stuff?" Gerald shrugged. "I've had a fair share of run-ins with some weird people, and sacrifices are always a common thing with them."
Claire looked disheartened by that remark, so Gerald waved his wand in a reassuring manner. "Hey, it won't happen with you or Amelia. You got one of the best teachers I've had and the guards of Prince Chris with you."
"One guard." I butted in. "I'm just his teacher…"
"Who has some battle experience now! Oh! That reminds me…" Gerald turned towards me. "Let's head inside, we'll relax for a bit before you can tell me what's been going on in Prusha."
Hm, Gerald seems pretty excited about hearing about what I've done there. I'm sure he's read all the letters Kale sent, but he'd rather just hear it all in person. Also…Hearing about that remark about sacrifices makes it sound like there's a whole cult in this world.
"Well if you two need to chat, I have no need to keep you two company…" Claire spoke. "I don't want to overhear what the two of you say, so I'll stay out here and watch these two practice."
"If that's what you want. Just make sure Synthia doesn't go overboard, and tell her to meet us in the kitchen." Gerald then patted my shoulder. "Cmon, let's head inside."
****
When we entered the house, I saw that Chris was sitting at the kitchen table. He was deep into writing his little stories and didn't even bother looking up at us to greet us. Kale was relaxing on the couch, his eyes shut as he was dozing off already.
I didn't see Lilith anywhere, so I assumed she was upstairs in my room.
"Alright, go relax." Gerald said, removing his waist belt that held his sword. He put the belt along a hook against the wall. "Got some things to do before we can talk, so head up the stairs and I'll call you down."
Not having much to say to that, I nodded my head and made my way to the stairs.
"Ah, My great teacher is back!" Chris stopped me in my tracks. He finally noticed me and waved at me, a smile creeping on his face "Can I ask you to look at something?"
"Erm…What?" I asked, suspiciously. It seemed obvious to me that he was going to ask me about his story he was writing. Hopefully it wasn't too off the walls.
"Here. I need you to figure this out."
Instead of presenting his bundle of paperwork, Chris held out what appeared to be a stick. A brown colored stick that had a rounded handle to it. I gingerly grabbed it and looked at it with confusion.
"…where'd you get this?" I asked, looking at him.
He smiled even more before he answered. "While you were off doing whatever, I took it into my liberty to grab a magical piece of equipment from one of the stores here. What you see there is one of the finest gears that the owner picked for me." He sounded quite proud of what he said.
I looked back at the stick and thought for a moment. It never occurred to me that any mages here ever used a wand or stick like this. In fact, I couldn't even feel my mana pouring into this stick.
Actually, This was just a plain old stick. Just with a very decorative handle to it.
"Chris, how much did you spend on this?" I asked, Concerned. The boy let out a scoff and he folded his arms.
"Five hundred rubees. And for what it does, I think it was worth it."
"Have you tried using it?"
"The owner said that using it in the town would cause havoc. So we'll have to see once we leave!"
"…" I gave Gerald a look of concern. To which the Brown haired man shrugged, smiling. I turned my gaze back to Chris, the boy looked proud at what he assumed was a great magical equipment.
Part of me wanted to say that something was obviously wrong with this stick, and how he was scammed by the owner. Yet another part of me was saying to leave it as is, since quite frankly…Chris' more positive attitude at the moment was something I also didn't want to ruin. Ruining a kid's whole mood seemed much more horrible than dying to some wolves for some reason.
"I…Sure hope you can fully utilize this!" I awkwardly said. "Don't go too crazy with…this."
Chris then grabbed the stick out of my hands, sitting back into his seat. "Of course! Now I'll just be back to my writing, I'm on a roll about the story of our adventures!"
"We've only been out here for a day and a half."
"That's enough material for a whole book!"
Not having much else to say to that, I shrugged and headed my way up to my room to unwind.
As I opened the door to my room, Lilith looked up from the bed but quickly looked back down. She was sitting at the edge of it while cleaning her black short sword, she'd also had taken off her cloak and had it messily sprawled across the floor.
Lilith tended to do this even at kales place, maybe out of exhaustion or just wanting to hurriedly get into relax mode. And usually I'd have to clean this mess up, much to my dismay.
"Lilith, you gotta clean up after yourself…" I said, disappointed. I took the time to pick up her cloak and place it neatly on the floor near the bed,
"Sorry, I just wanted to be comfy in bed." She responded back to me, continuing to clean her blade without looking up. There was a hint of annoyance in her voice that made me worried, along with a more tense expression on her face that I could see.
I awkwardly stood in front of her, unsure of what to say. I knew she was still upset over what I said earlier to her, but I still haven't even found a way to apologize to her.
She continued to avoid contact with me, wiping her blade with a rag in a slow manner. As if expecting something…
"Um…"I tried to say something, but ended up shutting my mouth once more as I continued to look at her.
"Is there something you have to say…?" She didn't look up at all when she said that. She stopped wiping her blade as if anticipating something.
I gingerly sat beside her, looking at her with concern. I don't think I've ever seen her this upset before, and I'm somewhat cautious about what might happen since her sword is still out. She wouldn't use it on me, would she? Did I fuck up this bad?
"Well…Kale managed to figure out your issue, so that's good."
"Uh huh…"
"…Maybe I could've…explained my point much better. Maybe in a way that didn't seem like I would have hated you?"
Lilith sighed, placing her short sword onto the ground. She rested her head on the palm of her right hand and then looked at me, looking irritated.
"Kota, I'm not mad at you…Well I sorta am. Maybe I'm a bit mad at you and Kale."
"Ah…Ok." I nodded.
"…why did Kale ask you to help me?"
"Hm?"
"When we were out near the trail, he had you come to help me instead of himself. Why? The two of you have been keeping an eye on me, but whenever I need help, you come to help and not him. Why?"
Oh jeez, how the hell am I going to answer this to her? I can't say everything since I already said I wouldn't to Kale. But I got to give an answer to her…
"Um…Kale trusts me to help you. He doesn't really believe he's a great advice giver."
"But he is! He's great at doing training lessons and he literally gave me a good one today!"
"Ah, well you gotta bring that up to him."
Lilith groaned. "Ugh, he won't answer me. He always dodges those sorts of questions from me…"
I stared at her with concern, unsure of what else to say. I didn't really want to meddle too much into this concern as I felt I was overstepping now. Maybe those two should really handle this on their own…
As I thought to myself, Lilith shifted her attention to me. She scooted closer on the bed and pouted. I scooted away out of surprise, but she pressed on.
"And you. You didn't even say sorry to me yet!"
"Wha-I thought Kale apologized for me!"
"I want to hear it personally from you!" Her amber eyes stared into mine fiercely as she quickly grabbed the collar of my shirt, pulling me close. "Your example that you tried to use only made me feel like I can't trust you!"
Finding myself blushing and shaking out of fear now, I sputtered out my apology to her. "S-s-sorry! I-I didn't mean anything out of it! Of course I wouldn't have left you at the tree! That's mean! A-although I think you could've beaten those kids u-Agh!"
Lilith began to pinch my cheek and pull on it, Still pouting. She didn't look satisfied. "Alright, now I need you to tell me why you helped me!"
"Aw, come on!"
"Do it!"
"Ok! At first, I wanted to test my magic spells on them! Just seeing if I was able to cast spells at all on my own! But when I saw you for the first time, something changed! I wanted to help you since you were my first friend I made! Might've been my first love at sight, I don't know!" I said honestly.
Lilith stopped pinching my cheek and pulling herself away. Pouting once more as her face was slightly reddened from her blushing.
"Is that true?" She asked.
"Gah, yes! Stop interrogating me for info now!"
"Pipe down! I got what I wanted…Thanks, I accept your apology." Lilith awkwardly looked off to the window of the room. "Thought it might've been my fault for having said more than what was needed…"
"Yeah, I felt like I was about to be killed…Again."
Lilith continued to look out the window, her eyes following something. So I took a look out the window too. I saw Synthia still training with Amelia, the tree that Amelia supposedly shot was healed. Amelia looked somewhat exhausted as she held her staff, looking like she's been casting spells constantly.
But Lilith was focused on something else, Her house. It still looked the way it was when I last saw it. It seemed like Lilith was thinking of something before she turned to me and spoke.
"I'm glad that you did come to help me, even if that wasn't your intention when we first met."
"Well…Even if my intentions were anything else, I'd still help. I guess it's in my nature."
"Hm…" Lilith nodded. "And I'm glad that you are good natured."
"I don't think all people are good natured. But when you come across one, be glad."
Lilith nodded more in agreement before she scooted her way back to the edge of the bed, she was looking away from me.
"…I'm also glad that I was your first!" She said before hurriedly standing up and racing her way to the door. "I need to use the restroom!"
Before I could respond back to her, Lilith was already out of the room. The door slamming behind her. I then heard the bathroom door close.
…Why'd she say it like that?!
Suddenly, I heard Gerald's voice from downstairs.
"She was your what?!" It seemed like he had heard what Lilith said and was utterly confused by the statement. And if he heard it, that means everyone else in the house probably did.
I just hope Synthia didn't hear it…
A/N: hey all! At the moment, I'll be on vacation for some time. So the next chapter will come by the beginning of next month. So I hope you enjoy this chapter and anticipate the next!