"They took down a demon each?! A bear and a tiger at that!" Michel said, surprise evident in his tone.
"Yes, I didn't even need to help either of them." Merlin replied.
"Honestly, what are these kids? They master magic at an unprecedented rate, Shin can keep up with Michel's training and they remember enchantments in their original tongue. When it comes to making gear, David might have surpassed me when it comes to efficiency, not to mention Shin's ideas. It feels like they're not of this world" Melida commented.
"It doesn't matter who they are or where they're from, to me those kids are my own grandkids." Merlin stated.
"Oh my, to think that the "king of destruction" would say something like this." Melida joked.
"DON'T BRING UP MY DARK PAST! I beg you." Merlin yelled, losing his composure, illicting a laugh from Melida.
"Haha, these days you've become a wise man instead." Michel commented.
"To be honest, I may not be around all that much, but I think of them as my own grandchildren as well." Melida continued, causing Merlin to look at her with an understanding gaze.
"Although, that child David still seems a bit distant." she added.
"Ah yes, that child is a sheltered one after all, due to losing his parents at such a young age. He still acts formally around me as well." Merlin noted.
"Really?! I wonder if his refusal to take my swordsmanship lessons has to do with that as well." Michel wondered.
"No, I'm sure that is just him being lazy." Melida commented, causing all of them to chuckle.
"At the very least, he acts freely around Shin, which is enough for now." Merlin said.
"Hmm whenever Shin asks him something, he replies with more than a yes or no after all." Melida added.
"Shin will most likely be fine, but I just hope he has no problems making friends with other kids his age." Michel worried.
"I guess that is only something time will tell."
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"SHIN! Are you done with your training?" I yelled out.
Shin looked back, getting distracted, causing Michel-san to hit him on the head with a wooden sword, causing him to yelp in pain as he lay down on the ground.
"Shin! No matter what, you can't get distracted in the middle of a fight! In a real battle, this is a fatal mistake." Michel-san scolded.
"Sorry Uncle Michel, I'll keep it in mind." Shin replied, still laying down.
"You better! So, what caused you to come here? You know that it's too late to start learning the sword right?" michel-san questioned, changing his focus to me.
"It's not that. Grandpa said he wanted to talk to the both of us, so I request you to end his training here for today." I explained.
"Is that so? Alright then. Shin! This is enough for today. Now clean up and go with David." Michel-san told Shin, as he exited the makeshift training ground.
I helped Shin stand up, before asking "So, how was your training today?"
"Tough. Uncle Michel has been a lot tougher on me lately." he answered.
"Is that so? It's amazing you can keep up with him even with that. The day I saw your first training session with him I had decided that swordsmanship wasn't for me." I complimented him for his hard work.
"I still think you should have learnt it. But I guess you're working hard on other things. Speaking of which, how is that thing coming along?" Shin asked, as we started moving towards the forest, where Merlin-san was waiting for us.
"Oh that? It's still a work in progress. Still need to find a way to translate enchantments into code, not to mention the problem of a magic source." I replied. I needed to find some mana stones, butI probably didn't have enough mana control to make them yet. If only I could, my machine would be ready, other than a way to code for it, obviously.
The plan was to make a computer, a Turing machine, to be more specific. Only this time, it could create any enchantment we desire all on its own. I had the blueprint ready, I just needed to create a code for it. Melida-san would probably freak out once she learnt of what I had made, though that was a problem for another time.
"There you are! I was wondering why you weren't here yet." Merlin-san's voice rang out. It seems while I was pondering the code issue, we had reached our destination. It was the side of a cliff where the forest cleared a little, with a breathtaking view of the mountains covered by more forest, for as long as the eye could see. It made for a great picnic spot and shin and I came here almost daily to play some games.
"Why did you call us here grandpa?" Shin asked, curious.
"That's because I have something I need to tell you two, especially you shin." Merlin-san began. I simply watched, unamused, as I already knew what was coming.
"You see, shin-" he began, unsure of how to put it, but eventually he just decided to be upfront.
"You are not my real grandson." he revealed.
"Oh, is that so?" Shin asked rhetorically.
"Hmm, sorry for not telling you earlier." Merlin-san stated, sadness oozing from his voice, not realizing what shin meant.
"Oh, it's fine. I already knew that." Shin said casually.
"You did?"
"I always had this feeling. Speaking of, do you know anything about my parents?"
"No, after the demon attack, their bodies were beyond recognition. There was no way to identify their origin."
"Oh, that's fine then."
"You're taking this awfully well."
"Well, for one I don't even remember them. Besides, I have you and David. Grandma and Michel-san too, so i've never felt that i was missing a family"
This caused Merlin-san's face to brighten considerably, a smile on his face, and a tear forming in his eye.
"So grandpa, thank you for taking me in. you too David, thanks for being my brother."
"Don't mention it." I replied curtly.
"Shin, thank you, truly. And david?" Merlin said, turning his attention to me.
"I know that you like to keep your distance. But know that you mean as much to me as shin does. You are my grandson as well." he stated.
Hearing this sudden declaration made my heart swell a little. 'Well shit, that made me a little emotional.'
"Oh, I'm happy to hear that. I guess due to the fact that ive been staying with you for so long and the fact that my parents died when i was young. I see you two as my family more than I see them as family. So thanks for everything grandad, Same goes for you, Shin.
Apparently this was too emotional for the old man, as he soon started to bawl his eyes out, with shin trying to calm him down, only for him to say "shut up and hug me you brats!" before he embraced the two of us. And then we just sat there for a while discussing little things, like what to eat, and how our respective magical studies were going.
Eventually, after admiring the view for a bit more, the three of us returned home.
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