("I can't believe it, tomorrow's my graduation as Gadi's student, I mean I didn't expect it to be so quick. I've only known him like what... Two years or so? There's still a lot I can learn from him dammit! This sucks!")
Archibald fell on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He was scared of people leaving him, and if Gadi left it meant that Milim would leave as well. That'd mean he'd be back to his life of solidarity soon.
"At least Velrossaʼs still here.." he spoke to himself.
Just then, Milim walked into the room and saw him in a depressed state. She could tell it was due to the news he'd heard from Gadi earlier today.
"So he's already told you.." she muttered.
Still and all Archibald could grasp her words clearly "Yeah.." being a Swordsman also demanded being attuned to your surroundings.
"And...?" a subtle voice that eagerly awaited an answer.
He abruptly rose from his bed, "Why didn't you tell me? I mean it'd have made things easier for me if I knew you guys were leaving soon.." to him, the news was just so abrupt he didn't know how to wrap his head around it.
"I suggested that... But papa said he didn't want you to get distracted from your training." this was true. If he knew prior it may have caused him to focus less on training and more on how he could get them to stay.
An exhausted exhalation escaped his breath, "Yeah... Whatever," Gadi was so right he didn't know how to counter that statement. "So what do you guys plan on doing next when you leave?"
("Ugh, it's just not fair! I mean, seriously, why does Milim have to leave? We're practically inseparable as kids. I always thought we'd grow up together, get married, have a bunch of kids and name one the number of times I stole her panties. But no, life had to go and mess everything up. And now here I am, stuck without my childhood sweetheart. It's a missed opportunity Archie-dono! But hey, what can you do? I'll just have to find someone else to steal panties from. Kidding, kidding...kind of.")
"Well, I'll probably travel a while with papa until I'm old enough enroll into Xercraft Academyʼs middle school division.." her plan seemed so simple but enrolling into the academy and graduating was like a fish trying to climb a tree.
The academy itself had a graduating rate of 8%, of a thousand student per generation only a handful would graduate.
"Woah! That's awesome!" Archibald commented.
"Really?!" she was glad he liked it. This even drove her to sit next to him on his bed.
("No way, man. Those joints are filled with snobby rich kids. I'm too talented to deal with that kind of bullying again. Plus, the girls there have never seen a gym in their lives. Sure, they might look good, but all it takes is a few cheesy pick-up lines from a dating sim and you can get them in bed. And let me tell you, when you finally get them naked, you realize you got a two-for-one deal... except that extra one is fifty percent fat. Trust me, you're better off staying away from those places...")
"Y-Yeah!" he spoke.
"Also, you should enroll there Archie, I'm sure they'd even accept you on a scholarship. You're an Advanced-rank Thunder God Swordsman after all.." she assured him.
Still, he wasn't too keen on the idea of leaving the Berkyl Region "Yeahhh.. No, seems like too much work."
He could already read and write. He was well-versed in arithmetics and excelled in four other languages aside the default language. Add Japanese and that'd make it five. The only thing he wasn't big on was geography and knowledge of the world beyond the Azapita Mountains.
"Sounds just like you.." she mildly smiled.
He scratched the back of his neck, "Haha! I guess you're ri--"
Milim ambushed him with a hug. She closely embraced him with teardrops rolling down her cheeks. "I really will miss you Archie!" her hug became even tighter.
("Wow, would you look at that? I just gained some more affection points! Milim is going to be a total knockout when she grows up, but I should remember that she's also the first friend I've ever had. I mean, stealing her panties is definitely not okay, but I can't help but chuckle at the thought. Overall, I think it's important to cherish the friendships we have and not take them for granted. And hey, a little bit of harmless teasing never hurt anyone, right?")
Rather than speak, young Archibald chose the antonymical alternative, silence. He felt words would spoil the moment, rather let their gesture of affection speak boldly for itself.
All he did was to gently pat her head and smile.
In the sky, the beautiful moon watched in serenity, crickets chirped and wolves howled. The night before his graduation.
...
The morning came and every member of the Pendragon household was out in the fields. Michael, Amara, Archibald, Milim and Gadi. The odd duck was Velrossa but he'd also come to say his goodbyes to Milim.
It was a sentimental moment but aside that Archibald wondered if his parents would recognize Velrossa as a victim of Azazoth. He didn't want any controversy on what was going to be his perfect day.
"So! What's my final exam?!" Archibald asked.
His parents, Milim and Velrossa observed from a short distance as he excitedly inquired.
("If I know anything about Shonen Manga, which I do, then I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have to fight him and prove my worth with a sword..")
Having used his index finger to clean his ear, Gadi sighed right after, "Final exam? Oh yeah, I said graduation exam... Nah, I meant graduation ceremony or whatever.." he sounded uninterested. Typical.
"Huh?" his excitement diminished, "But didn't you say we'd have an exam?" the zest his voice once had was no longer present.
"Yeah, but I'm too tired, gotta hit the road hah!" the laziest reply in history was birthed that day.
"Eh?" everyone uttered this same word, from parents to friends to Archibald. Their shock was simply put, indescribable.
("Are you friggin' kidding me?! After all my anticipation I get this?!")
Archibaldʼs face exuded disappointment. "Or maybe you didn't want to set an exam cause you're tired of being around me huh.." he head was as low as his self-esteem.
Michael and Amara felt sad for their little boy, but if they interfered it wouldn't be best for Archibald. They wanted their boy to be strong by all means, because he was the only one who could restore their own branch of the Pendragon family.
In order for him to grow, they had to let him handle certain things on his own.
Gadi placed his hand on Archibald shoulder after he'd knelt on one knee to address the small statured boy.
"Look... You're getting it all wrong. Aside from how graceful and undeniably beautiful I may be, you're my one and only student. Why wouldn't I enjoy having fun with you kid? You're a semi-graceful boy and talented at that, you've earned the right to be a bit arrogant you know... So trust me when I say this: I cherish the moments we spent together."
It was the first time Gadi had ever been open about his feelings. He mostly does this with women he wants to deflower but those words were empty. But these words, they were veritable. Genuine beyond the shadow of a doubt.
"That means a lot Master.." Archibald said. "But two things, that was super cheesy and really? Semi-graceful?" his sadness diminished as quickly as it came.
"Shut up..." he sharply replied, he felt a bit embarrassed his student tagged him as cheesy; excessively emotional. "And yeah, there can only be one graceful being, and that's me... So that makes you semi-graceful little one." a grin preceeded his words.
"Typical, I should've expected it."
"But... You can challenge me for that title when you have enough faith in your abilities. You'll never improve in the Thunder God Arts if you don't learn to picture yourself as above every other person.." in essence, he had to be as proud as could be.
"Haha! I guess you're right.." even the lad knew he had to be more confident about his abilities. A deduction he'd made some few months ago.
"Finally.."
Gadi searched his bag until he found it. He handed Archibald a real magic sword in its sheath.
"Since your my student it's imperative I give you your official Velgrynd. It's already enchanted with the most expensive manastone you can imagine and the blade itself was made from a Black Dragonʼs scale.."
He handed it over to the boy who stared at it in amazement.
"Wow, it must've cost a fortune... I hope it wasn't much of a bother." Amara mentioned.
"It's fine, it only cost ten gold pieces, only the best for my student.."
Hearing Gadi say such words lit a flame in Archibaldʼs heart, and he silently vowed to cherish this sword and carry it in his heart for the rest of his life.
Well, he did toss it in the garbage some few days later. The manastone in the sword was exhausted meaning it wasn't even a magic sword. Also, Gadi found the sword some few days back. It was covered in a pile of horse poop but some little polishing up never hurt anyone.
...
They paid their goodbyes that morning and even the villagers had come to send them off. Gadi saved their village so this was their way of doing the needful.
("Gadi and Milim will always have a special place in my heart. Despite Gadi's occasional scummy behavior, he's actually a pretty decent guy when he wants to be. And Milim, well, she did something that no one had done in years - she got me out of the house and away from my couch. The last time that happened was on a Black Friday, but let's be real, who has time for that chaos? That's when I discovered the beauty of Cyber Monday and never looked back. But thanks to Milim, I got some fresh air and a change of scenery. So yeah, Gadi and Milim, they're alright in my book.")
During the time he was wrapped up in his thoughts, Gadi and Milim had traversed a far distance.
He tripped but kept running. His legs tensed up with every stride as he tried desperately to catch up to them but they'd gone too far.
"Archie wait!" Velrossa uttered. He knew trying to catch up to them at that point in time was futile.
Instead, he screamed from where he was, "Thank you both!" teardrops fell from his eyes as he said so.
A simple wave without looking back, that was Gadi's response.
'You're such a smart boy Archie. I know you'll do great things. Sure, I'm worried about you, but I'm still hopeful... Not in my teachings, but in what you've learned. Make your parents proud and rule the world not only with your blade but also with your heart.' Gadi thought peacefully.
Maybe he should've said those words, but it didn't matter. Knowing Archibald, any sentence was of sentiment value if it came from a friend.