* * *
Father arrives at the door, looking quite tired. Although he's tired, he stops and looks at me before opening the door. His eyes seem to shine, yet feel so dulled from the downpour of life.
"Come inside before it gets cold," He says, looking down and then forward with a sigh. He sets his axe down inside, a thud resounding before the door closes.
I remain standing, a bit shocked by it. Even if it was a rough day, shouldn't you spend more than half a second talking with me? Come to think of it, this what I acted like in my past life when my day was hard. I guess there's a reason I didn't have friends. I should probably work on that in the future. I look back to the horizon, deciding not to think much of it.
"Good talk..." I say blankly to the door, fully aware that no one can hear me.
So what if he brushed me off? He's probably had a hard day. Besides, what little he did say clearly had good intentions. And his face just always looks grumpy, so that part didn't surprise me. I sit back on the ground, deciding to lay here a while longer. I wonder how long I'll stay here, nice and sheltered away from any danger...
I'm too fragile right now to get out and explore, but I'll never be any less fragile if I don't get out and explore. Maybe I wait a few months for my body to rebuild my muscles and then start doing actual stuff.
I yawn deeply, looking at the sky again. All this thinking is making me so tired. Soon enough, I end up falling asleep again on the lawn.
* * *
Thomas Ishviel POV...
Entering the house, I set my axe down and promptly follow with my coat. I'm being quiet since I already noticed Sandra passed out when I walked in. I slowly walk over to the table, my boots practically dragging on the ground.
I sit at the table, grabbing her hand softly. 'My beautiful wife... you've been through so much. I wish I could just shield you like I did when we were young, but it's a bit harder nowadays. There's only so much a man can do.'
"Haa..." I let out a deep sigh, rubbing the center of her palm with my thumb. "Even when you're asleep and stressed out of your mind, you're still beautiful..."
Sadly, I relinquish your hand and stand up. I walk over to the fireplace and start the fire, putting the pot on the hearth of the fireplace. Sandra already did most of the cooking for me, the beautiful woman. I add some I turn around and look at her, knowing I've got pretty good time before I have to do anything.
I set forth and go up the stairs, turning left and walking into my bedroom. I grab a light quilt she had made and walk out of the room, closing the door behind me and going back down the stairs. Making sure not to disturb her, I carefully drape the blanket over her shoulders. I lightly rub her head, a barely visible smile on my face.
I walk to the hearth again, tossing in some various vegetables. I pour some chicken broth in the pot and stir it lightly, my face returning to neutrality as I slightly burn my finger on the side of the pot. I swear quietly. I leave the ladle in the pot and walk away, figuring I should probably see what Arthur is doing.
I stand in front of the door, my hand hovering in front of the door handle. What if the Blight has finally taken him? What if I walk out here and he's dead? It's entirely possible. Marsha said that he should've already died, so I wouldn't be surprised.
I open the door, pushing it forward and walking outside. Please don't be dead, Son.
"Arthur, are you-" I pause my sentence, looking down at the ground. More specifically, my Son laying in my feet. For a moment, I think he's fallen down dead, but he's just napping.
I let out a relieved exhale and return to my usual demeanor. It's not like I can just leave him napping in the dirt outside, so I lightly pick him up in my arms and go back through the doorway, letting the door swing closed behind me.
* * *
Arthur Ishviel POV...
I yawn slightly lifting up my head from the table and... hey. I'm inside now. I wonder if Dad carried me in from my little nap. Mom is sat at the table with a bowl in front of her, as is dad.
"Good evening, sleepyhead. Your father made us dinner, make sure to eat," Mom says, taking a spoon to her mouth a few seconds after speaking.
What she's eating looks to be potage again. At first, I wasn't familiar with Mom or Dad's cooking, but it grew on me surprisingly quickly. I stand up from the table walking over to the hearth and bending down, grabbing my bowl and beginning to fill it with potage. Wait, did I just walk without help?!? I knew it would eventually happen, but isn't this a bit quick?
I turn my head only to see both of my parents staring at me, paused halfway through taking a spoon of potage to their mouths. My mother drops her spoon into the bowl, whilst my father just stares. For once, my face isn't blank either. I look just as surprised as them, if not more. Just earlier today I needed extreme help walking and now I just... do it?!?!
"..."
Silence. Total silence. I think we're all waiting to see if I fall over, but I don't. My eyes skip from my dad to my mom and back again. Out of just sheer shock, my mother simply screams. It's a short scream, not particularly loud or anything. My father stands up and walks towards me, grabbing me and pulling me into a hug. This is the most I've seen from him in a while... rightly so.
"I'm so happy..." He quietly mutters, his chest heaving slightly.
My mother walks over to us and joins the hug as well, literally crying. I feel constricted by the double hug... but not really in pain. My heart beat is fast, but not at all painful.
"Thank you, Gods..." My mother says, wiping her eyes before returning to the hug.
I feel kinda awkward right now, not having know either of them long enough to feel comfortable in the hug. Regardless, I attempt to appear as if I am since I know how much I mean to them.
"So... does this mean I'm cured?"
* * *
It's been a week since then. As it turns out, I actually AM cured. Blight is a disease that affects people without mana, feeding on them until husks. What happened was my body finally figured out how to do the sensible thing and absorb mana. I'm not dying anymore, rather I'm stronger than a normal human... not by much, but the point still stands.
I can walk by myself and hold my sword properly and breath without issue and... it's so good. My body is a late-bloomer, only utilizing mana at 15 when the average age to utilize mana is 12.
"Hmmm..." I groan, looking at myself in the mirror.
I'm currently trying to decide which of 5 outfits I should wear on my first trip through town. I've got it narrowed down to a white cloth shirt and brown pants or... a black shirt and black pants. I don't really feel like black today, but the quality of the black clothes is a bit better. The brown pants hold up my belt better, though...
To think that my issues have shifted from dying of Blight to an outfit in a week... how the time flies. I guess I've got some of that protagonist magic in me if I awakened my mana without really doing anything, although you don't really have to do anything to awaken your mana in this world anyways.
I decide on the lighter outfit since I'm already wearing it, stepping out the door and into the corridor outside my room. Neither Mom not Dad are home right now, an empty house. I trod down the stairs, remembering how difficult this was a mere week and a half ago. I'm so privileged, being able to walk now.
I have my sword on the belt on my waist, no longer needing to use it as a crutch. I'm in proper adventuring state, although I'm starting small by simply going through the village. I walk over and open the door, stepping out and letting the soft breeze sweep upon me. I close the door behind me, my blank expression having a small smile for once.
"The first step... at least, the first actual step,' I say to myself, setting down the road.