One year later…
"Hey Yuri, wanna go out to the forest to hunt for dinner?" Yuu asks, grinning while tossing a glance at Yuri.
"Sure Yuu, just let me finish my homework then I'll get ready." Yuri replies steady without looking up from his books once.
Yuu groans loudly."Ugh, Yuri, you're always buried doing homework. Just skip it for now and come on." Yuu says impatiently.
Before Yuri could respond, Violet's voice rang out stern, "Yuu leave Yuri alone ! He's a good kid, doing his work unlike some people!" she says, sounding like a scolding mother.
Violet was the third member of their trio, the "big three" of the village. She had long light blue hair, shimmering like the sky after rain, and bright blue eyes that always seemed to sparkle with energy. At about 5'5, she was small in stature but radiated a brilliance that made her hard to miss. Positive and upbeat, she was always the voice of reason between the two boys.
Yuu smirks. "Violet, you're always defending Yuri. Is he your boyfriend or something?" he teased, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Yuu, cut it out." Yuri steps in.
Yuu grinned and held up his hands in mock surrender. "Sorry, Yuri, just messing with you."
"Anyways let's go out to the forest now, I'm done with my work."
Shortly later within the forest…
The air was thick with the scent of lumber, and the sound of creatures inhabiting the forest echoed. They had just begun their hunt when Yuri's focus suddenly snapped to the sky.
"Yuri, above you, watch out!" Yuu shouted.
A monster above Yuri was coming down fiercely with a burning hunger in its eyes. Before Yuri had a chance to react, Yuu dashes over and quickly slashes the monster in a single horizontal swing but is fatigued from the constant rate of monsters.
Yuu staggers slightly. "Yuri, reinforce me with magic and recover my stamina if you can!" he calls out with urgency in his tone.
"You got it Yuu, but I'm running out of mana!" Yuri, steps forward and exerts what little mana he has left.
"Just keep me going as best as you can, Yuri!" Yuu gritted his teeth, already preparing for the next wave of enemies.
The two boys fought relentlessly, battling wave after wave of monsters that seemed to come from every direction. They were starting to tire, but there was no safe retreat in sight. With every swing of their weapons, exhaustion mounted.
Suddenly, from a distance, they heard a voice ring out clearly, slicing through the chaos.
"Lightning Fall!"
A bolt of blinding lightning comes descending down, illuminating the entire forest for a brief moment. The cackling energy clears all the monsters pursuing after the boys.
"Hey, you boys okay?" a voice called from behind the smoke caused by the lightning.
As the smoke began to settle, a figure emerged. A tall, handsome man clad in shining silver armor, his physique sturdy and commanding. His blonde hair glowed faintly, even in the fading light, and his sword—massive, nearly as tall as the boys—was slung casually at his waist. His presence alone demanded respect.
Behind him stood a shorter girl, dressed in robes, her purple hair flowing around her shoulders. She had a bright smile that contrasted with the battle-worn forest and an emerald ring on her finger that glowed soft but bright.
Yuu froze for a moment, his jaw dropping. He was clearly stunned. "Uh..." was all he could muster.
Yuri, who had regained his composure faster, took a breath. "Yes, we're fine. Sorry about my friend; he's just... a little shocked by your appearance. But thank you for saving us. I'm Yuri, and this is Yuu."
"Hi, Yuri and Yuu. I'm Isabel, and this is my partner, Damon. We're both adventurers just passing through. We were wondering if you know of a place nearby where we could take shelter for a few days?" She smiles brightly, her eyes glowing with kindness.
"Um..." Both the boys stutter.
"Don't worry you can trust me and Isabel, we're registered adventurers, we'd never harm anyone innocent. And we have money to pay for a place to stay." He pulled out a small sack of gold coins, offering it with a nonchalant but sincere gesture.
This was more gold than the boys had seen in their entire lives. It was something common to nobles, high-class adventurers, or prominent knights/mages but to the two it was like seeing a gold mine for the first time.
"It's not that we don't trust you..." Yuri started cautiously, his wariness clear. "We're just being cautious, especially considering the situation."
Yuu hops in front of Yuri cutting him off, "Aw Yuri, don't be so stuck up. Follow me, I'll take you to the village and give you a grand tour too!" Yuu says this with a mischievous smile.
Shortly later…
The boys finally reach the village with the adventurers. Yuu was clearly plotting something the whole way back to the village, a mischievous glint in his eye. As they approached the village, he begins to put his plan into action.
"Alright, here's the deal," Yuu began, turning to Damon with a grin. "I'll give you the grand tour in exchange for you teaching me some new sword skills. You know, the cool ones."
Damon, looking at Yuu a little hesitantly. "If it's alright with your parents, I'll gladly teach you… What was your name again? Yuu, right?"
"Yup, that's the name! You won't forget it once you make me your disciple!" Yuu laughs loudly. Now, turning over to Yuri, "Hey, since you're already so good at magic, don't you think Isabel could teach you a thing or two?"
"I can't dare to ask her something like that." he says stubbornly.
Isabel chuckles softly, "You're so respectable, Yuri. But I'd be happy to teach you some magic for as long as we're here."
"Oh, really?" he said, then caught himself and coughed awkwardly. "I mean... okay, yeah, that would be appreciated."
Yuu couldn't help but laugh at Yuri's flustered response, but the two boys continued showing their guests around the village, introducing them to locals and their friends. After some time, they finally reached their home, where they now lived together, following the recent marriage of their parents.
"This is our house! The grand finale!" Yuu turns presenting the house to the adventurers.
The door swung open, and their mother, Emma, appeared, stepping out with a smile.
"Hey boys! Who are your new friends?" Emma asks warmly.
"Mom, this is Damon and Isabel," Yuu introduced them with pride. "They're adventurers passing through, and they agreed to teach us some new stuff in exchange for the tour!"
Just then, their father, Kano, appeared behind Emma, smiling as he scratched his head awkwardly.
"Glad to meet you both," Kano said, his voice a little nervous. "And sorry if our boys have been a bit of a burden to you."
"It's no problem at all!" Isabel responded with a sweet smile. "Damon and I had a great time on the tour. The boys were excellent guides."
"Tomorrow can we start training, Damon? Isabel?" Yuu asks excitedly.
Damon nodded "Sure, we'll meet you here at dawn and head to an open area."
With a wave, the adventurers took their leave, leaving the boys standing in front of their house, barely able to contain their excitement.
"Hey, boys," Emma asked casually, looking over her shoulder as she turned back into the house. "Did you manage to catch anything for dinner?"
Yuu and Yuri exchanged a glance before they both awkwardly scratched their heads.
"Oh..." Yuri began, his voice trailing off.
"Um, Mom," Yuu added hesitantly, "we kind of forgot..."
Emma sighed, though she was clearly trying not to laugh. "Well, I guess it's vegetable stew and bread tonight, then."
In perfect unison, both boys groaned.
"Ughhh..."