Khadar.
The two suns had finally disappeared behind the horizon, bringing forth a blanket of mild darkness and twinkling stars over the town, and Ostaria as a whole. The darkness was mild thanks to the silver full moon that had come along with the night.
In the wooden bungalow, Richard, Hunter, and Fineas were seated around the dining table, discussing casually as they waited for Maya and Claudia to bring the food.
"A Deity?" Richard asked, placing his hands on the table. The name had greatly piqued his interest.
Hunter pinched his nose bridge as he answered, "Yes. But they were lucky that he didn't make a full descent. Achlys also played a great part in severing the connection between the Deity and the Black Meelo. If she hadn't done what she did, not only would the raid party have been killed, the Elven district would have been annihilated."
"It wouldn't stop killing if no one interferes," the ten-year-old Fineas, muttered out of nowhere. His hair was deep brown, like his mother, and the tips caressed his shoulders. His blue eyes mirrored the reflection of a clear blue sky.
"Exactly," Hunter nodded. He looked at his two sons for a second or two and sat back with a subtle smile, "But that's just me overthinking things..."
'I guess I got that from him,' Richard noted inwardly. Then his brows scrunched, 'Hold up... I've been like this since before I was transmigrated. How is it possible that we have the similar traits? Hmm... It's just a coincidence, right?'
"Alaric is a really powerful... What can we call him now? A Mage? A Berserker?" he rubbed his chin. He shrugged, "Heh. He's really powerful, and though the Deity's avatar might pose a little threat, Alaric wouldn't let it out of the Blood Forest. He would win."
"Is he really that strong?" Fineas asked.
Richard simply kept silent, taking in the new information he had learnt today. Right there and then, he made up his mind to visit the Academy library tomorrow and drown himself in history books.
He would also read more on Mages and Mage Paths. Hazel's explanation was quite concise and self explanatory, but the system of power didn't sit well with him.
"Currently, I really can't say. But back in his prime, he was no less than Tusk. Not by size, but by his frightening strength and explosive power," Hunter answered as he gazed at the ceiling in reminiscence.
"Were you also a powerful Mage in your prime?" Richard decided to ask. Chad's memories had been at a standstill ever since he returned from the Academy. There had been no event to dissolve another fragment.
Hunter simply chuckled, "The most powerful, you might say."
"Correction. The most powerful Light Mage," Claudia interjected, walking out of the kitchen with a wooden tray in her grasp.
Maya followed closely with another tray as she said, "And it was only for about a year before a more powerful Light Mage made herself known. Right, mother?"
Claudia nodded in smiles.
Watching them drop the trays on the dining table, the three males shared quick glances at each other, before rolling their eyes in unison.
Maya and Claudia were obviously frustrated at the three of them, for just sitting there the whole time and talking leisurely as they waited for dinner. It made it seem as though the two ladies were waitresses in a tavern.
"She employed Dark magic, she was a Dark Druid. That shouldn't count," Hunter shrugged whilst nodding a thank you to Maya, who placed his plate of food before him.
She served Fineas and Claudia, then took her seat, intentionally ignoring Richard.
'Is she still mad at me for what I said in the morning?' Richard sized her up with an inconspicuous gaze. He sighed afterwards and stood up to grab the only plate left on the second tray. The first one was empty.
He placed the ceramic plate before him and sat down.
'Hmm. Come to think of it, I haven't eaten anything since I woke up today,' he pondered internally, placing a hand on his stomach, that now grumbled at the sight of food.
He could see vegetables, a few pieces of steamed venison, with mashed potatoes pasted at a corner. Fineas passed him a small bowl of sauce.
'This is actually much better than I thought,' Richard sighed in thought. For one, he feared he wouldn't be able to eat the food made in a magical realm that was still in the medieval era. But more importantly, he could tell that his family was well to do. He had seen that from the size of the house and taste in furniture, but his father was a hunter and his mother a baker. He didn't have high hopes in their earnings.
He grabbed his cutleries and was this close to digging in, when Maya, who was seated beside him, slapped his hand.
He dropped the cutleries and rubbed the back of his right palm with a slight frown, "What...?"
He swallowed the rest of his words when he saw her making a star symbol on her chest with her fist. The rest of his family were also doing the same, blessing the food in Ahraha's name.
This was somewhat strange to him as he had actually never had a meal together with his foster families. He'd simply take his food to his room and hole himself in there.
He also never really believed in otherworldly beings, not until he was transmigrated.
But in muscle memory, he repeated the same gesture and whispered a few words with closed eyes. He didn't know what some of the words meant, but they just kept pouring out from the former Richard's memories... Or Chad, as he liked to call him now.
After saying the short prayer, everyone dug in and ate, whilst chipping in a few conversation topics.
Claudia smilingly teased Hunter about the fine young men that come to buy her bread every day, and always complementing her aged beauty. Hunter kept rolling his eyes at each word she said, prompting a sparse laughter from everyone.
Maya wouldn't stop complaining about school, and how tired she was. Richard paid attention to this, as he was still puzzled as to why she hadn't graduated last year.
'Or is there like a subsidiary class for those that fail to graduate?' he asked himself with no hope of an answer.
His curiosity soon became worry when he realized that his plate was empty, and he wasn't even half full. Expending so much mana on an empty stomach had taken its toll on him.
Claudia noticed this and motioned her hand toward the kitchen.
"Oh..." Richard was dazed but he masked it with a nod as he stood up. It was going to take him a while to get used to this family-friendly life.
After dinner, everyone spent the next hour doing whatever they would normally do at night. Richard, on the other hand, went outside and sat on the small wooden steps, staring at the stars as he pondered about his life here and what step he should take next.
He had only spent a day in Ostaria, but it felt like it had been a week.
He was soon called in for another prayer to usher in Mother Ahraha to watch over them as they slept.
They all went into their various rooms and shut their doors. Richard didn't even spend up to a minute before dozing off. He was exhausted.