I was getting Verei ready for the duel against the B-rank known as "Steel Boned" only to feel blood rush to my head. I grit my teeth and tried holding back the words coming out of my other's mouth.
Unfortunately, I ended up putting a crack on the table in my attempt to hold it in. I heard Sapheir ask through the door, "E-everything alright?"
I slip back to Verei's perspective, regaining my composure as I bury the burning resentment as deeply as I can in order to regain control over myself. "Yeah, just some bad memories."
With a deep breath, I lean back to take a second. 'I have to control my emotions, especially when it involves my other's perspective. I need to separate myself or I'll look insane.'
I finished preparations before opening the door. I noticed the group grow stiff as I came out so I must've been exuding a nasty aura. I try to forget about the man standing before my other and lighten the mood by shrugging it off with a grin. "Alright, I'm ready to see what a B-rank adventurer is capable of."
Sapheir's face softened, Floris also breathing again, but Jikani was worried but didn't say anything. On the way to the Guild Hall to reach the training room, Floris was giving me a rundown of Gradon's fighting style.
"Try to remember that Gradon likes to do wide sweeping strikes and uses a shield stance specialized in deflecting attacks more than taking them himself, something you wouldn't expect from his size..."
I'm a little too occupied by what's happening to my other to stay focused on everything he's saying so I mostly just shrug it off. "Thanks for the advice but while I may not be at my peak, I'm not that invested in winning."
I hear Jikani raise her voice. "He's just trying to help you win! Or at least warn you of what attacks you shouldn't take!"
I shrug. "And I don't think I need to worry about losing a duel. It isn't a fight to the death so if I lose, I lose."
I want to enjoy this fight but this anger I'm getting from having run into someone I'm learning to hate with every word that comes out of his mouth is trying to take up my focus. 'Win or lose, I more just want this training to be a good way to vent this growing frustration.'
We enter the adventurer's guild only for the guild to grow quiet upon my arrival. Miri waves us over. "Welcome, Mr. Deidura. The training hall is the door to the left. Gradon's been boasting about you accepting his challenge the last half hour, riling everyone up."
So, Gradon's been hyping everyone up like this is meant to be a spectacle. They must really want to see Uldrei's Bloodline in action...
'Did it suddenly get chilly in here?'
Miri brings us to the set of double doors that opens up to an enclosed training ground. Weapon racks full of wooden weapons circle along the outer walls of this room except for the furthest wall that's full of targets for shooting practice.
Though the weapons on the racks are the more basic variety that was mass-produced, there also seem to be many padded variants mixed in. People wouldn't want cracked bones before a mission after all.
In the center of the room are five circles, four are smaller circles with the biggest being a ten-foot radius sitting in between them all, currently surrounded by the crowd that's come to watch.
In the big circle stands Gradon, grinning wide at my arrival. "So, you showed up! And rather early. At least you're confident!"
I notice Gradon's wooden sword and shield that seem to be custom-made. 'Does he do this often?' I walk to the ring with some light stretching. "Yeah, I wasn't going to miss this. It's only the second time I get to practice against someone who isn't a pack of hobgoblins. O-or the old man."
Even if I haven't 'Fought him,' I'm supposed to of been living in the forest for 'many years'.
Gradon grins before gesturing to the racks. "That's great to hear, then go ahead and pick your poison!"
I go over to the racks to glance over them, but before I grab any, I think of a remark before gesturing with a smug look. "Is Wooden fine or do you need them padded?"
--------
"An apology? I guess it's for our vote back then." muttered the Keeper of Arms.
My glare deepened with my shoulders shaking from frustration at how he's brushing this off like it's of no importance. "You found your artifacts! Even if you didn't get it, it wasn't with us!"
He doesn't bat an eye. "I didn't think my vote was wrong. You can't convince me you and your brother never went to the crater because you two were in the right environment to look for adventure. And something as mysterious as an object falling from the sky right to your yard would be nothing if not an adventure."
Seems my identity is solidified but he's running too wild with his own views of my life. Just before I continued arguing, the princess stepped in. "Hektr, apologize. Regardless of whether she had it or not, it's the Keeper of the Home's job to investigate the home, not yours. You gave an order completely out of your jurisdiction as the Keeper of Arms."
Hektr stares at the princess for only a second before turning to bow his head to me, "I was wrong and I'm sorry," then bows to the princess "Sorry for overstepping my authority."
With that, he leaves the dining room. That interaction was the first I've experienced this level of rage. His apology felt so hollow as he spoke for 'overstepping his authority' all the while disregarding the very reason he was made to apologize in the first place.
Frustration escapes the princess's lips before turning to me and bowing on his behalf. "I apologize for his actions. He has always been more of logic than of emotion, affecting his moral compass tremendously in the process."
I'm uneasy as I frantically wave my arms about. "No No No No No! YOU have NOTHING to apologize for! An apology from him will be enough but you haven't done anything to wrong me!"
She shakes her head as she tries to get me to understand her view as the next in line. "We are the ones who appointed him for his ability to lead. We know he has many flaws but getting rid of him would be weakening ourselves, something we can't afford right now. So, we can only ask for your forgiveness." The grip on her dress rightens as she appears to be lost in thought, thinking of someone specific.
The sound of metal hitting a plate takes our focus, as we look back to our guest. "A truly dramatic performance but could we return to the topic at hand. Every moment I'm away from my cart is another possible customer lost."
With the Peddler's remarks, we apologize before returning to the topic at hand, the peddler taking the initiative. "Now then, since I have been here for a while, I will get straight to the point. If you can cast a powerful spell right now, I will accept the deal, tell you the date of my departure, and we can continue about our business till then."
I was suddenly given short notice to show off my magic. I left my book back in my room next to my grandfather's sword so I'm made to think of a powerful spell from the top of my head. I try to think of something to cast that won't set things on fire or turn the floor into liquid. That's when I thought of the spell that had failed me once before. "I... think I have a spell I could use to convince you. Let me just."
I look around before locking onto a whole cooked chicken that hasn't yet been touched and pull off the leg before casting the spell.
[[Use the body to recover from death's g-grasp]]
My hesitation to use this spell made the cost worse than it should've been, but the activation was a success. The chicken began regrowing the torn-off leg, from the marrow and bone to the meat and fat before finally returning the skin. Unfortunately, the chicken itself is ruined as that part of the leg is still raw.
The peddler quickly stood from her chair, slamming the table in the process. "Holy shit! You grew back a limb!"
I was exhausted from that one spell, less so from the mana cost and more due to the mental strain from having to use that spell again. But her reaction to it gave me some relief. "It did take a lot out of me but that was High Heal. It is one of the spells I can remember off the top of my head from my grandmother's book. Besides that, I can probably cast many other spells that would..."
She cuts me off then and there before I blow her mind further. "Alright, alright that's enough! You're powerful! I will take you to the City of Oriel as a passenger as long as you're willing to be a guard on the journey. I'm Farmi Satris, a Peddler from the Jiiruno Kingdom. We have two more days of preparations before we head out so you're free to do as you will so long as you're ready on the third."
With a nod, the matter was settled. As the Peddler, Farmi, stands to leave. "Now if you will excuse me, I'm heading back to my cart as I left the other bodyguards in charge for the last hour to talk business. So, I will see you in three days Ms...?"
I stand straight and give her a bow. "Veda Deidura. A pleasure to meet you Ms. Satris." We shake hands once before she bows to the princess once before walking out, Princess Maridia and Serci giving a bow in return.
Staring at the chicken I had just regrew the princess laughs off the image of the chicken having regrown its raw limb back with a joke. "Well... I guess chicken is off the menu for now." I felt a bit embarrassed. It was the only spell I could think of that wouldn't tear this room up.
"So, Veda. If you don't mind me calling you by your first name?" asked the princess.
"Not at all."
She sits back in the chair, the platter with the raw chicken getting taken away by a server. "My mother has spoken often about Uldrei. It was back when she recently become Queen, she had extended an Invitation for him to become a Keeper. Though it's obvious he declined."
As I listened, I could see him doing that having met him myself. He still leaves a major impression wherever he goes. From the little to no worry, the attempts to brighten the mood, his ability to sympathize with another's plight, and his unwavering willingness to jump to another's defense. He's inspiring and probably would've made a good leader.
I shrug. "If you are going to ask me to become a Keeper in the future, I will also have to decline. At least for now while I figure out what I want to do with myself till I reunite with my brother."
She laughs at my quick response. "Thank you for telling me now, but what I'm interested in currently is listening to some of his stories from his granddaughter. If you wouldn't mind."
I give a light laugh myself when I hear that. Talking about Uldrei as I continue fabricating some of our tales within the valley. One of the main things was the fabrication of being born in one of the villages in the east, his son, our "father" dying fifteen years ago becoming the reason for Uldrei's disappearance from all of society to raise me and my counterpart.