"So, Farah, now that we've all eaten, let's talk." the large man in a semi-formal suit starts the conversation once the little girl finishes her meal.
"What is it, shopkeep?" the girl asks curiously, since it is a topic that has been bothering her even before she started eating.
"I will be blunt, will you come learn magic under me? Also, my name's Carter though you'll have to call me master from now on if you accept." Carter spoke up, letting the other two adults explain the rest while Farah still hasn't processed the information.
"Farah, mommy and daddy talked about it and we thought we will need to explain our reasons for not letting you be a mage until now, what you will gain, and what you will lose for studying magic." Barbara said in a shaky voice, reluctant to let her child go.
"Eh? Ah?" Farah is very confused by the suddenness of the reveal. Thankfully, she is quick to accept and listen to her mother before thinking any more.
"You see, Farah, twelve years ago, daddy and mommy were soldiers-"
"Mercenary!"
"...and daddy was a mercenary. We both worked under commander Alden during the great war between Reinos and Sakland. We fell in love, resigned, and married each other. Such and such happened, and now we live in this village with our cute little daughter." Barbara gave a brief explanation of their work life which explains their ability to fight.
"The war gave us an idea, Farah. the idea that mages are living weapons. They were really scary. The whole strategy pretty much revolves around them! That's why we can't see mages doing something other than fighting wars, which would put you at risk, and we don't want our sweet little girl at risk, that's why we didn't allow it." David explains in a hoarse voice, though not from trying to act cool but from negative emotions caused by recalling the memories of the war.
"But we talked to Carter after the battle three days ago. We know now what mages can do, things like magitools, construction, education, those kinds of jobs. We let our previous experiences with mages influence us and stop you from achieving your dreams, we're sorry about that. But now is better than never, right?" Barbara spoke again, seamlessly continuing where her husband had left off, explaining the reason for allowing the study of magic now, of all times.
"You two are done, right? I'll take over." Carter asks for permission and continues talking once the parents nod in approval.
"Farah, you will learn a lot of fire magic if you study under me, I specialize in fire. You will have to put in hard work, read a lot of books, and go through dangerous situations though if you want to be an excellent mage.
It all depends on your willpower which I believe you are not lacking in. Now, for the real question, will you be able to live like a wanderer? You will have to travel around a lot as a mage to learn new things to apply to your magic. You won't be able to see your family and friends often unless they decide to take the same risk as you. You will be alone. Can you accept this for the sake of magic?"
Suddenly, Carter's figure seemed much bigger than it actually is. He said everything in a grim and serious tone, his expression devoid of emotion, unlike the kind shopkeep Farah used to know. The pressure exuded by the mage and the thought made Farah shiver. "I... won't be with everyone?"
"No, no, Farah, we'll still be able to meet. We just won't be living together. Sometimes you'll also have to take trips! Even then, we can still write letters to each other. You won't be alone." her parents tried to comfort her, wanting their child to follow her dreams even though they knew what the man said was completely true.
'I... will have to move out?'
'I... I'm not ready for this...'
'Mommy... Daddy... I... I don't want to go away from them...'
'Why do I have to move out to learn magic? What's with what shopkeep said? I'll have to be alone? Mommy and daddy said I won't be alone but why did shopkeep say that? Can't I learn magic and stay with my family? Why?'
Many thoughts and questions flashes past Farah's little mind, confusing her even further, causing her to freeze in place for a little while.
"Why... why can't I learn at home?" Farah asked, hoping to find a way to continue staying with her parents. Her expressions still smiling, frozen in the face of a person who just had a satisfying meal.
"You'll have to go to a real school, get real combat experience, and experience in life. You won't be able to stay here because this village is far from cities, there is no choice." Carter repeats what he said earlier in a calm tone, understanding that he's talking to a child. As Farah is about to interject, he said something more, something that made Farah happy.
"But for now, you'll be fine studying in the village, you can't enroll yet anyways, just come to my shop every morning instead of hanging out with the kids. Don't worry, you'll still have time to play on your days off, but you can also come to my place to read.
I'll let you talk to your family about it. If you want to learn magic, come to my shop tomorrow at sunrise. Dave, Barb, the meal was delicious. Thank you for your hospitality, it is about time I take my leave." Carter stands up, bows to the parents, glanced at Farah for a moment, said his goodbyes and left.
"Honey, do you have anything you want to ask us?" Barbara asked her child with a concerned expression since she has not moved or spoken anything since Carter made his offer and left the house. After a while, Farah asked them a question with tears in her eyes.
"Mommy, daddy, will you two be lonely?"
"...Farah, thank you. You're such a good kid. Whose kid is this! Of course, we'll be lonely with you gone! Of course! W" Barbara, moved by her child's concern for her and her husband, answered passionately without being able to hold back her tears.
"Farah, we'll be lonely but we're adults, don't worry about me and your mom. We still have each other. Again, you aren't really gone. It'll be fine. Everything will be fine. Hey, Barb, let's not freak her out, okay?" David tries to calm his wife and his daughter down after seeing them close to bursting into tears. Though if you pay attention, you can sense a little shaking in his calm voice.
"That's right, both of you, breathe in... breathe out... slowly think of what we are talking about... I'll wait until I see both of you calm and collected. Only then, would we continue this. Remember, this is about Farah's future. Do not let sudden bursts of emotions influence it."
"Sigh, we know, Dave. Just... let us have our moments, won't you? You ruined it. Learn to read the room better, you... cool-guy-wannabe!" A little while after David spoke up to calm the situation down, Barbara scolded him in a small voice at first, but it got more power in it as the speech went on.
"Ah, now this is the wife I married. At least you're not crying now, see? Won't you give me a reward tonight?" David replies to his wife in a playful and lively voice, showing his true nature. He winks knowingly after finishing his sentence and jumps from his chair, predicting his wife's attack.
"Hehehe, you two, stop it!" Farah tries to stop her mother from beating her father up again. But this time, with a smile on her face and happiness in her heart.
'Ah haha, these two will just live on as normal once I go, won't they?'
"Mom, dad, I decided." Farah said in her usual energetic voice. Her parents froze and turned around at the same time, staring at Farah, waiting for a follow-up.
"I'm going!" She shouts while smiling, her voice, clear like ringing bells resonated through the house. She laughs at the sight of her parents being frozen in place for a long time and walked in to separate them.
"Daddy's so heavy! I will have Carter teach me a magic to move people!" she said while trying to pull her father away from her mother, but he would not budge an inch.
Currently, in the parents' heads:
'Ahhhhh?!?!? So easily???!!! What do we do now?!'
'Wait, she's going to learn magic, she'll need some clo- we already gave her that!'
'Food! Money! Wait, we're still in the same town she can just walk back home!'
'Let's just roll with this for now and wait for Cart to tell us what he needs!'
""Okay! I got it!"" After making many funny faces while panicking, the couple reached the same conclusion of 'Let's wing it.'.
"...Well, now that that's done, Farah, help me clean up the table, won't you? I'll do the dishes tonight." Barbara returns to normal quickly and asks in a nonchalant manner.
"So quickly?! And you told me to read the room earlier!" David retorts his wife's attitude.
Of course, Barbara chases David down for this. Their daughter laughing at the situation, starts intervening as she always has. It seems as though today was simply another ordinary day for the members of this household.
Later, after Farah has gone to bed, two figures could be seen sitting in bed together. It's David and Barbara talking about Farah's magic education. Both of them look down and sad as they will have to part ways with their child soon. The area around them is quiet as they are both thinking about what will happen from now on, and how they will handle it.
"Hey, babe."
"What is it, dear?"
"How many days do you think Carter's going to let Farah stay with us? I'm thinking half a year, tops." David asked a question, disrupting the silent atmosphere. He knows that learning magic will require plenty of moving around and journeying, even at an early stage.
"Mn, probably somewhere around that. She's probably going to move in maybe two months in though. That'll be rough, wouldn't it? Heh, we gave her the word but now we're regretting it. Isn't it funny?" Barbara replies in a slow, sleepy voice, mocking herself with her husband taking collateral damage.
"Sigh, just sleep if you want to, I'll be stargazing for a little while longer."
"Okay, then. Don't sleep too late. Good night, my most handsome husband."
"Good night, sweetest wife. Sleep well."
David, seeing his wife go to bed, starts thinking about things around him while looking at the stars in the sky. 'How should we send Farah off? What do I do if she ever brings home a man? How do I recover from my vegetable field burning down? Should we go with her tomorrow? What makes the sky blue?'
'This is no good, my thoughts are scattering, just as the lights reflected off the f- gah! I need to go to sleep.'
'Maybe I could try to really go for a second child ...I hope things will go well for Farah.' as he thought to himself, David tucks himself in and falls asleep.
'I can't sleep! And I thought I was the one who went to sleep first. That damned husband, always snoring so loudly!' a while after her husband goes to visit dreamland, Barbara opens her eyes which betray her irritated mood.
'This little fool, why did you fall asleep before I did? Didn't you want me to reward you tonight... Hmph, fine. I'll ignore you tomorrow.' she grumbles to herself a little more before she slips into dreamland herself while hugging her husband.
'Good night, my love.'