Chapter 150 - A Year's Growth

Runa held Jien in a tight hug for several long minutes, which he did not interrupt, instead leaning into the physical contact. It was only after these long minutes that his handmaiden stepped back to get a better look at him. The changes astonished her, but also warmed her heart.At a glance she could see that Jien had grown rather significantly in this time. In fact his clothes appeared to have been modified over time. She could see parts of several shirts and patches from different pants used to allow for extra coverage, each addition hand sown with care so as to not tear away easily. Beyond the additions that had been added to his current outfit, his clothes from top to bottom had been sown back together in so many places that it looked like they had been nothing but rags sown together into the shape of pants and shirts. All in all the look was rather comical, but Runa could see in those hand stitches the hardships that Jien had gone through.Runa took Jien's face in her hands, gently turning it to examine him closer. He didn't fight her efforts, letting her do as she wanted. She saw that his skin was still pale, perhaps a slight shade paler than it had been when he left. The foggy forest had done him no favors but he had always had a habit of hiding away in his bedroom to read his books, He appeared to not be malnourished which was a great relief to her, having worried day and night that they would struggle to find food or a source of water, leaving them at the whims of the woods around them and in danger. In fact he had grown a fair amount in height, his physique straying from the wiry frame he once had to a build of athletic bearing, lean but not without muscle."I missed you!" These were the first words spoken in their many minutes of being in the same space. Her tone was the usual cheery, almost singsong tone that he had remembered, even dreamt of many a time during his year away. Runa was his handmaiden, yes, but likewise a part of his family much like his father and the closest thing he had to a mother figure. Just hearing her voice again was enough to mist his eyes with tear threatening to spill free.Jien buried himself into her once again, hugging her firmly, his voice muffled but still reaching her ears. "I missed you as well. I am glad to see you." His voice nearly choked up, almost betraying how close he was to tears. Life in the warping forest had not been easy by any standards. Nearly every day was a struggle to survive, hardly a moment wasted. He often dreamt of the day he would finally make it back, it was one of the few things that kept him going, kept all of them going.After several long moments where she rubbed his back gently in a calming member she separated from him before taking his hand and leading him toward the bath, quoting that he should enjoy his first proper hot bath in a while. Earl watched his son and Runa quietly with a smile, remembering his time with Jien's mother and his fellow nobles when they had started their own preparation training. In some ways he felt that Jien had it harder given that the Warping Forest was its own enclosed space but in others that his son had it much easier, reminiscing about his days spent in the snowy reaches of the Halbus Mountains, north of Silvios City.Much to Jien's embarrassment Runa insisted on undressing him as she had done in the past. As she sid so she thoroughly inspected him, finding that his physique had indeed filled out to a great degree. What concerned her though were several light scars and still healing bruises that ran along his chest, legs and arms.She had known that such training would not leave them unscathed, just like their time on the Eternal Battlefield wouldn't. Still it pained her nonetheless to see the marks that had been left on his body. Luckily it looked like the various scars left from different cuts and scratches had been treated by alchemical means, leaving them hardly noticeable. Continued care with a few different types of salve would likely keep them from being noticed and keep his skin smooth.She took her time attending to the different bruises left from the last training session completed the day prior. None of the mentors had taken it easy on them even until the last moment of their departure. Each of the noble descendants were covered in bruises, half healed knicks, and scratches, but none of them complained about such things anymore and the parent's already understood the situation.Soon Jien was led to the large tub, filled with steaming water and slipped into it, his countenance visibly easing as his muscles finally relaxed. There were only a few short moments before a year's worth of accumulated exhaustion pulled on his eye lids and he fell asleep in the warm water. Runa only smiled at this as she went about gently cleaning him, just as she had always done before.When Jien awoke he was lying on his bed wearing a simple pair of cotton pajamas, white in color, with his long hair tied into a simple braid that laid beside him. To the side of the bed was Runa, watching over him with a warm smile on her lips and in the corner sat Anuva, her crimson hair as prominent as ever and her posture seemingly lazy, reading a new book that she had pulled from his bookshelves, having long grown bored of the small selection that Jien had brought with him on the training expedition.Though his contracted demon looked to be slacking Jien knew full well that this was not the case. During the past year it wasn't just Jien and his peers that were pushed and mentored. The contracted demons were as well and Anuva being the most powerful among them was forced to bear the largest burden.