His heart was aching, why?
Was it because he couldn't save his mother?
or
Was it because he just couldn't understand why his mother would save his life rather than preserving hers?
Even he didn't know.
It seemed that no matter how much he tried to bury the truth, the truth always came back to the surface for him to face.
He knew that no matter how weak he may be, his mom always took care of him and never blamed him for anything.
Even though she had to work alone and feed the two children, she never complained even once and instead encouraged the two that they will be able to form a mana core one day with confidence that he never understood.
To the surprise of the boy though, Arthur was now able to feel mana but he no longer had his mom to show it to. At least not until she woke up.
The boy resolved himself that he'll find a solution to her illness no matter what and save her even though it meant taking part in the trial of the World's spirit. He even had to find Claire.
The boy soon finished taking a bath and came out, finding a young lady in her mid twenties sitting across the bed on a leather sofa.
Arthur's instincts flared as he asked the woman in front of him cautiously,
"Who are you"
"My name is Ashley and I am the one who rescued you that day." The lady replied in a reserved tone, she wore a plain red shirt along with a black pants and a matching tie.
"You must be Arthur, right?"
Ashley couldn't help but glance at the boy again, it was because she remembered him boy to be very fragile looking with his eyes coloured green and even his body colour was a bit dark.
However the boy in front of her was totally different. The boy in front of him had long black hair that went past his neck, crystal red eyes with black sclera surrounding it , a pointy nose, his skin pale and a height of 5'11.
Arthur wore a casual white shirt along with black pants, his expression blank.
"Yes, I am Arthur, why might you be looking for me. Miss. Ashley?" He asked
"I just wanted to check if you are fine and Also you needn't worry about the payment as I have already paid the money for all your procedures." she said dismissively.
However the boy's eyes never left her gaze as though he was waiting for her to continue. He knew that the government officials were too busy to come upon to check a boy's health.
"Huff- Ok, fine. I came here to inform you that as you have felt mana already, you are free to come to the Contestant's Association to fill up your information and enter the trial as long as you are able to form a mana core." The lady said, sighing.
" I thank you for saving me and coming here to check my health but you need not worry as I am totally fine now. About the trial, I will surely come there as soon as I obtain a core." Arthur said while bowing his head a little.
"Anyways I also wanted to inform you that your sister is absolutely fine and she has also felt mana. She asked me to inform you that she's on her way and will be arriving as soon as possible." The lady just smiled at his response and left some last words for him.
"I will now take my leave. If you have any problems you can contact me on this number." The woman said as she gave a piece of paper to him and left the room.
Soon another lady in her peak twenties was seen coming inside the room, she walked towards the bed and asked the boy politely.
"Good evening Arthur, my name is Catherine. I wanted to ask you about when you would like to have your dinner."
"Hello there, ma'am. Is it possible for me to eat it afterwards? I actually feel quite sick staying in this room all the time, so I wanna check the place out, probably a garden if there is. Would that be possible?" Arthur asked the lady in the same polite tone.
"It is indeed possible though I honestly believe you should first eat as it is already 7 in the night, if you want then I can take you to the garden later when you finish your food. " The lady replied treating the boy like a child.
For the first time someone treated him like he was a child after he woke from his coma, first there was that grumpy old man and then that reserved lady. It seemed that the boy felt quite nice by being treated as a kid.
Seeing the dumbstruck face of the boy in front of him, the lady got worried that she said things too informally and reprimanded herself.
" I am sorry, did I say something wrong? Do you wanna go to the garden first? " she asked, feeling guilty.
However the boy soon shook his head, indicating that he'll eat first.
"No, I would like to eat my food first."
"Okay then Arthur, please wait patiently while I bring you food." The lady said walking out of the room.
Meanwhile Arthur thought about the times his mother would feed him food just because he felt lazy to eat himself, the times he cried over small things and his mother would come to comfort him.
However now he had no one he could show his tantrums to. He had nothing but her mother's memories left which left a sour taste in his mouth.
A few minutes later the same lady walked in the room while passing him the food and waiting on the side of the room.
The boy ate very quickly as he didn't care much about the taste anyway. Just after finishing his food, the lady then took him towards the garden
As the door towards the ward opened, a handsome boy in his young teen and an attendant came out of it.
The two kept walking in front of the countless gazes that were pointed at them, however it looked like...
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