The sound of Marta's voice cut through the quiet hum of the evening. "Richard! Emma! Supper's ready!"
Emma slipped from her chair with quick, silent movements, her braid swaying as she made her way to the dining room. I followed at a slower pace, still mulling over the strange dynamics of this family. Felix's constant energy was infectious but exhausting, while Emma seemed to shrink away from the world altogether.
The dining room was a welcoming sight. The table was crowded with steaming bowls of hearty stew, fresh bread, and plates of pickled vegetables. The aroma of roasted garlic and herbs filled the air, making my stomach growl despite the tension in my chest.
Marta, already seated at the head of the table, gestured for everyone to sit. "Don't let it get cold now!" she urged, her voice warm and cheerful.
Felix plopped into his chair, immediately grabbing a piece of bread. "You've outdone yourself again, Marta. Best cook in the village, hands down."
Emma sat with her usual silence, ladling stew into her bowl with deliberate precision. I hesitated for a moment before taking my seat across from her. My mother, seated beside me, was already chatting animatedly with Marta.
As the meal began, the room filled with the comforting clatter of utensils and the murmur of conversation. Felix, never one to let silence linger, launched into another of his outlandish stories.
"So there I was," he began, gesturing wildly with his spoon, "cornered by a gang of marauders, armed with nothing but my trusty blade and my wits."
Marta snorted, clearly familiar with Felix's flair for exaggeration. "And how did you escape this time? With a song and a dance?"
"Close!" Felix grinned. "I charmed their leader into a duel. One-on-one, winner takes all. You should've seen the look on his face when I bested him in three moves."
Emma rolled her eyes so subtly I almost missed it. Felix, undeterred, turned his attention to me, his eyes gleaming with interest.
"What about you, Richard? Ever held a sword?"
I froze for a moment, caught off guard by the directness of the question. "No," I admitted.
Felix smirked. "Didn't think so. You've got the look of someone who spends more time reading than swinging steel. No shame in that, but let me tell you—knowing how to handle a blade can change your life."
"I'm sure it can," I said cautiously, avoiding his gaze.
Felix leaned back in his chair, his grin widening. "You should let me teach you. Swordsmanship isn't just about fighting—it's about discipline, confidence, understanding your limits."
I looked at him, trying to keep my expression neutral. A part of me was intrigued—learning to wield a sword was something I had secretly considered.
But Felix? I wasn't sure he was the right person to teach me. His larger-than-life personality, while entertaining, didn't inspire much confidence in his ability to give measured, thoughtful instruction. I could already imagine the chaos he'd bring to any attempt at training.
"I don't know," I said finally, shrugging. "It's not really something I've thought about."
Felix barked a laugh. "Well, think about it now! I'll make a swordsman out of you yet. We'll start tomorrow—early, before the sun's even up."
Emma's fork paused midway to her mouth. She glanced at Felix, then at me, her expression unreadable. "Uncle Felix…" she began softly, but he waved her off.
"Relax, Em," he said with a grin. "We'll take it slow. Nothing too serious."
Emma's lips pressed into a thin line, but she said nothing more. I watched her closely, wondering what had sparked her discomfort. Was she worried about Felix's approach to training, or was there something else she wasn't saying?
The conversation moved on, but my thoughts remained tangled. I didn't want to brush off the opportunity to learn such a vital skill, but I couldn't see myself trusting Felix to teach me properly. There had to be someone better suited to the task—someone who could teach me without turning it into a spectacle.
After the plates were cleared and everyone began to drift toward the sitting room, I lingered by the doorway, catching my mother's arm.
"Mom," I said quietly, glancing toward the others to make sure no one was listening. "Do you think we could stay a little longer?"
She raised an eyebrow, her surprise evident. "Stay longer? Why?"
"I don't know," I said, shrugging as casually as I could manage. "You're having such a good time with Marta, and it seems like a nice place. I thought maybe we could stay a few more days."
She studied me for a moment, her expression thoughtful. Then, slowly, a knowing smile crept across her face. Her gaze flicked toward the sitting room, where Emma's quiet laughter could be heard.
"Oh," she said, her tone dripping with amusement. "I see."
"No, it's not—" I started, but she cut me off with a raised hand.
"Don't worry," she said with a smirk. "We can stay. I wouldn't want to pull you away so soon, especially when you seem so… invested in the visit."
She patted my arm and walked off before I could protest further, leaving me standing there, flustered and frustrated.
It wasn't about Emma—not the way she thought, anyway. The real reason I wanted to stay was the growing sense that something was wrong in this village. The demon I'd been hunting was here—I could feel it. I just needed more time to figure out where it was hiding.
But for now, I'd have to play along, keeping my true motives to myself.
.....
The morning sun was barely over the horizon when Felix all but dragged me out of the farmhouse and into the clearing behind it.
The dew-drenched grass glistened underfoot, and the crisp air carried the faint chirping of birds. Felix, as usual, was grinning like this was some kind of game, his broad shoulders and roguish demeanor making him seem larger than life.
In contrast, I was trying not to look too irritated. I had never so much as held a sword in my life, and yet here I was, a supposed "student" to one of the most infamous adventurers I vaguely remembered from my previous life.
Felix tossed me a wooden practice sword, and I fumbled it slightly before catching it with both hands. He laughed, clearly unimpressed.
"Alright, brat, let's see what you've got," he said, drawing his own wooden blade. It looked more like an extension of his arm than a practice tool, the ease with which he twirled it making me acutely aware of my own inexperience.
"I've never used a sword before," I said flatly. "This isn't going to end well."
Felix raised an eyebrow, his grin widening. "Never? Not even once? What kind of adventurer doesn't know how to handle a blade?"
"I'm not an adventurer," I muttered, gripping the practice sword awkwardly.
"All the more reason to learn," he said, his tone annoyingly chipper. "Now, come at me."
I hesitated, weighing the sword in my hands. It felt foreign, clumsy. My instincts screamed at me to drop it and rely on what I knew best—magic. But I couldn't risk exposing myself.
Not yet.
With a deep breath, I lunged forward, swinging clumsily toward Felix. He parried easily, the crack of wood on wood echoing in the clearing. His counterattack came fast—a controlled strike aimed at my shoulder. I barely managed to twist out of the way, my grip slipping slightly on the hilt.
"Sloppy," Felix said, laughing. "You've got the reflexes of a drunk squirrel."
Gritting my teeth, I adjusted my stance. I had no formal training, but that didn't mean I was completely helpless. I focused, subtly channeling a thread of mana into my movements. It wasn't much—just enough to sharpen my reflexes and steady my grip.
This time, when Felix attacked, I reacted faster. I sidestepped his swing and aimed a clumsy thrust at his side. He blocked it easily, of course, but the slight shift in my speed didn't go unnoticed.
"Huh," Felix said, tilting his head. "Not bad for a first-timer. Let's see if you can keep up."
He came at me with more vigor, his strikes faster and more precise. I relied on the faint boost from my magic to keep pace, dodging and parrying as best I could. My movements were still awkward, my strikes unrefined, but I managed to hold my ground longer than I had any right to.
"You're quicker than you look," Felix said, grinning as he pressed me harder.
I didn't respond, focusing instead on maintaining my subtle enhancement. Too much magic, and he'd notice something was off. Too little, and I'd be on my back in seconds.
As the spar continued, I began to notice patterns in his attacks—the way his shoulders shifted before a swing, the slight hesitation before a feint. Using that knowledge, I managed to deflect a particularly aggressive strike, the force of it sending vibrations up my arms but leaving me unscathed.
Felix stepped back, lowering his sword slightly. His grin was still there, but his eyes had narrowed, studying me with a new intensity. "Not bad," he said, his tone laced with curiosity. "For someone who's never held a sword, you've got decent instincts. Almost like you've been in fights before."
"Not with swords," I said, keeping my tone neutral.
He smirked, clearly unconvinced. "You've got a quick recovery, too. Most rookies would be flat on their backs by now."
I shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. "Guess I'm just lucky."
Felix laughed, sheathing his practice sword. "Luck, huh? If that's what you want to call it, fine. But don't think this is over, brat."
I exhaled deeply, the tension in my shoulders finally easing. My arms ached from the repeated strikes, and my fingers felt raw from gripping the practice sword. Still, I couldn't let Felix see my exhaustion. Not yet.
I straightened, tossing the practice sword into the grass, just as the farmhouse door flew open with a loud bang. Marta rushed out, her apron flapping in the breeze, her face pale and her wide eyes frantic.
"Felix!" she shouted, her voice shrill and urgent. "It's Emma! She's gone to the woods again—by herself!"
Felix froze mid-step, his casual grin vanishing in an instant. He spun on his heel, his hand instinctively going to the hilt of the battered sword at his side. "What? When?"
"This morning," Marta said, nearly stumbling as she ran toward us. "I told her not to, but you know how she is! She didn't even tell me where she was going this time!"
I frowned, unease bubbling in my chest. The woods. That same place where I'd felt the cold, flickering presence days before. The same place Emma had been hesitant to talk about.
The moment Marta's words rang out, Felix launched forward like a thunderclap given form. His boots crushed the ground beneath him, splintering the earth as if it couldn't bear the ferocity of his steps. The shockwaves of his sprint reverberated through the courtyard, sending loose dirt and pebbles scattering. He tore into the woods, the underbrush snapping and splintering under his unrelenting charge.
"Emma!" Felix's voice roared, a primal cry that seemed to shake the forest itself, rattling leaves from their branches.
I didn't wait. Energy surged through me. The world seemed to sharpen around me as my mana coiled like a living thing, its pulse harmonizing with my heartbeat. I bolted after Felix, my feet gliding over the uneven ground as though the earth itself bent to my will. A soft glow followed my steps, faint motes of light trailing in my wake as I cast a subtle enhancement spell to quicken my pace.
"Richard!" My mother's voice rang out behind me, sharp and panicked. I glanced back just long enough to see her rushing out of the farmhouse, her face pale with worry. "Where are you going?"
"No time!" I shouted over my shoulder. "Stay with Marta!"
Before she could protest, I turned my focus forward again. The forest loomed ahead, its dense canopy casting an eerie twilight over the path. My enhanced strides carried me faster than any normal sprint could, but Felix's raw, unrelenting power still kept him ahead. He moved like a force of nature, unstoppable and wild, while I wove through the terrain with precision, guided by the threads of magic coursing through me.
The forest air was heavy, almost suffocating, as I plunged deeper into the woods. Each step resonated with the faint hum of mana beneath my skin, my senses extending outward like invisible tendrils. The unnatural chill I'd felt earlier was back, stronger now, clinging to the air like frost.
"Emma!" Felix's voice echoed again, farther ahead but still impossibly loud. The sheer determination in his tone sent a chill down my spine—it was the voice of a man who wouldn't hesitate to tear the forest apart if it meant finding her.
I stretched my mana farther, letting it sweep through the shadows in search of any trace of life. There—just faintly, I felt it: a flicker of warmth, a fragile presence dwarfed by something colder, darker. My stomach twisted. Whatever was out here wasn't just some wild animal or harmless anomaly.
Branches whipped at my face as I veered off the main path, my enhanced speed allowing me to leap over fallen logs and weave through the thick underbrush. I could hear Felix crashing through the forest somewhere ahead, his movements like a battering ram against the silence. I moved differently, my steps light and deliberate, each one guided by the subtle pull of my magic.
But I couldn't catch up to him. His raw, brute force was relentless, carving a path of destruction I could only follow.
"Felix, wait!" I called, my voice nearly swallowed by the forest.
No response. Only the sound of his thundering steps and the occasional crack of a tree branch as he pushed farther, faster.
The flicker of warmth grew stronger as I ran, but so did the dark presence. It was close now, oppressive and suffocating, pressing against my senses like an icy fog. Whatever this was, it wasn't natural. It wasn't human.
I clenched my fists, drawing on more mana as I prepared for whatever lay ahead. If Felix's strength wasn't enough to reach Emma in time, I would make sure mine was.