"You must become strong, stronger than any monster alive. That's when you will have conquered all your fears," his mother had said, and he knew she was right. If he could just become the strongest man in the world, there will be nothing to fear.
So then he asked, "How do I become the strongest?"
"Of course, by training. Train till your throat runs dry, your body goes limp, and you no longer have any juice left for the day!"
And Lyle would shudder at this scary regimen. He couldn't understand her reasoning. Couldn't she just drink water if her throat runs dry? Take a break when she needs to recover? What about playtime? Most of all, what about the pain? He knew her training was excruciating—evident in the villagers' morning drills.
It was an absolute no!
Surely there could be other ways to become stronger? So off he went to another strong man in their group—Captain Renard.
"How do I become the strongest?"
"How—doesn't matter. It's what you do when you have no strength left. When you are weak. When you are helpless." He paused, and then his gaze intensified, scaring Lyle to death. "When you are on the verge of death!"
Shivering a bit, just a bit, he took his leave. He wanted strength to prevent himself from being in such a scary situation in the first place. That was no answer to his question, so off he went to Captain Alron, to ask the same question again.
"How do I become the strongest?"
A spark lit up in Alron's eyes. Such enthusiasm! Goddess, bless the youth!
"How—is simple. Keep the desire lit ablaze and put in simple efforts every single day. Be persistent in your endeavor—that's the key to success!"
Lyle liked this man's gentle approach, but it was too simple to be called the key to success. Everyone he saw was persistent. Did that make them the strongest?
So he went to Zypher who gave him a meaningful smile and cracked a joke.
"Do what you can and leave the rest to fate. If you still can't, leave it to someone else! Hah-hah-hah!"
"Wa-ha-ha!" Lyle also tried accompanying him with an awkward laugh and then left in dismay.
Did it all rely on fate? It seemed to be; because if any of their methods had worked, why weren't they the strongest?
Face hanging loose, he made his way toward his home.
While performing her household chores, a mature woman noticed his lonely figure.
"Oh my, Lyle, what happened to you?" His eldest aunt led him by his hand and sat him on her lap. Gently cupping his left cheek, she softly asked, "Won't you tell your aunt?"
Indeed, he didn't want to. How could she understand? But he couldn't resist her affection and felt he could share it all.
So he did just that.
Hearing his dilemma, she advised, "Remember, Lyle, everyone is unique. If someone cannot, that doesn't mean you cannot. I know someone who defied her fate, yet no one understands. You know her too."
"Who?"
"Isn't it your aunt Barbara?"
"Aunt? But she isn't the strongest…"
"Who says?! She is the strongest unit our band has. Without her, we wouldn't have made it so far."
"How?" This single word carried all his frustrations.
"How? Without her, we won't have the advantage of our enemies being weakened even before the battle starts. Without her, we cannot keep fighting after our mana runs dry. Without her, we cannot fight the diseases that might very well take our lives! And you say she isn't the strongest?"
"But she cannot defeat a monster by herself."
"Indeed. But surround her with her companions, and the group becomes the strongest."
Lyle looked at her charming smile. "Is it because of her magic?"
"Yes! But that's not what makes her the strongest."
"Then?"
"It is what she had done with it."
"What?"
"Do you know she is the weakest witch?"
"I can imagine." He gave her a cheeky smile.
"Alone, she is the weakest, that's right. Even in a group, she was once considered the weakest. She was not fated to be the strongest. And maybe she still is."
His face fell.
But then, "But still, she is the strongest."
Lyle looked at her with an annoyed gaze this time.
"If you could figure out 'why', it might very well lead you to your 'how'."
"Oh!" He stared at her face for any falsehood and then kissed her cheek with a blooming smile. "Thank you, aunt. She has the answer to my question, right?"
So off he went towards his sweetest aunt. To see her in a new light. The strongest fighter of all. And then he paused and frowned. Strongest fighter? He still had his misgivings. He just couldn't wrap his head around this idea.
The strongest fighter in their group was his mother. Everyone acknowledged that fact. Then why was his eldest aunt stating something else? Was that a trick? Another falsehood of the adults?
Only his aunt Barbara will be able to tell. So he strode towards her house and slammed her door open with his super-beast might—only to find it dark and quiet.
Dust and hay, and trash littered the floor. His every step made crunching sounds. Rotten stenches of various kinds assailed him, and he crinkled his nose.
"Aunt?" He called her several times until he found her lying on a bench in her lab. Hair and robes disheveled all over the place, she slept limply like a rag doll.
How could she? Here he was struggling with important matters of life, and she was sleeping like a little kid? How could she be the strongest? So he fiercely shook her awake, until she groggily sat up on the bench.
When she was done yawning and rubbing her eyes, he asked her with all seriousness, "Aunt, are you the strongest fighter?"
"Pfft! Who told you that?" She asked with a puffy smile, still not out of her sleepy daze.
"Aunt Malinda!"
"Hehe. What did she say?"
"That, you are the strongest, and you know how I can become strong."
She blinked twice and wondered why her sworn older sister had told him that.
"The strongest is obviously big sis…" She muttered under her breath, and Lyle seemed to nod. "As for the way to become strong…" She looked at him with a smile. "Why don't you ask big sis?"
"I already asked everyone. Aunt Malinda sent me here at last." He said with frustration etching on his face, his hands reaching out to pull his hair, and she had an instant urge to quell it from his face.
"Maybe I have an answer to that…" She muttered again, not quite sure.
He looked at her quite expectantly, like always, softening her heart. Her heart was weak around his innocent presence. It was the reason she doted on him the most. Not that she had anyone other than him to dote on.
"Well, not yet. But I am working on making an ultimate potion that will do just that. And when I do, you will be the first one to become super strong!" She said, with her enthusiasm shooting over the roof.
"Really?" Lyle beamed like an afternoon sun, whose radiance could harm one's skin if they basked in it for too long.
"Of course! Trust your aunt!" She stepped in that sunlight anyway. How could she let it dim even a bit? She'd rather let it burn her skin.
She then pulled him onto her lap, cuddling him like a baby—much to his annoyance. He wanted to protest that he wasn't a little child anymore, but was smothered by her bountiful breasts. Only then did he calm down.
It was fine being a little child as long as he was cushioned between these pillows.