The next day, after classes had ended, Henry and Brody, Hayden's twin brothers, rushed to his dorm.
They had just heard about Hayden's sparring match with Graham and how their little brother had not only held his own but also won 50 gold coins! The news had already spread like wildfire, and the twins were both shocked and proud.
To be exact, everyone in the manor would be extremely surprised if they ever heard something like this.
When they arrived at Hayden's dorm, they found Troy, Hayden's current servant, waiting outside. The dorm was actually shared with another student. He was also a son of another baron, but only the baron's servant was present at the moment.
"Where's Hayden?" Henry asked. Of course, he couldn't hide the excitement from his voice, so Troy already knew why they were here.
Troy bowed slightly after seeing the young masters before he replied. "Young Master Hayden should be back soon. He mentioned he had some errands to run after class."
Brody nodded as he crossed his arms. He also couldn't hide the grin that was spreading across his face. "Errands, huh? I guess many professors wanted to become his private tutor or something."
"That's true… They definitely want to be included in his future achievements." Henry wryly smiled as if he already knew what kind of mind their professors had.
Just then, Hayden appeared at the end of the hallway, carrying a small stack of books. He looked up and saw his brothers standing outside his dorm.
"Henry? Brody? What are you two doing here?" Hayden asked… However, he immediately realized why the two suddenly came after not being visited for quite some time.
Well, he knew that graduating students were busy but he couldn't really believe that he hadn't met these two after he advanced in his class...
Thankfully, he was unlike any seven-year-old kid, so he didn't mind it at all.
Henry then stepped forward as he ruffled Hayden's hair.
"What are we doing here? We heard you took down Graham in a sparring match and walked away with 50 gold coins! What's this about you being a swordsmanship prodigy?"
Brody laughed, clapping Hayden on the back. "Yeah, little brother! I heard you just used the basics against him. We thought you were weak and sickly, but here you are, beating up bullies twice your size. When did you get so good with a sword?"
They could still remember how Hayden could barely carry a wooden sword. Not even a year had passed and he was already beating up a student that was similar to their stage.
Of course, they could also beat Graham with their swordsmanship skills but that was because they were harshly trained back in the manor. On the other hand, Hayden was known for being sickly!
Nonetheless, Hayden knew that there was no need to explain too much to these two.
He was aware that they weren't really that curious about how he changed and became capable of winning against someone their age. Hayden knew that they just wanted to make sure about the rumors they heard, whether it was the truth or not.
He then shrugged and gave them a carefree smile. "I've been practicing. The basics are more powerful than people think."
Henry raised an eyebrow. "The basics? You're telling us that it's true that you beat Graham using basic stances? The 12 stances that Sir Roland taught?"
"That's exactly what happened," Hayden replied. "He underestimated me, and I took advantage of it."
Brody shook his head in disbelief. "Unbelievable. Graham's not exactly a pushover. He's not that good since he gets easily pressured but he doesn't hold back with his strength. He uses heavy strikes to overwhelm his opponent... And you, a seven-year-old, just wiped the floor with him."
Hayden's smile widened. "I had a good teacher."
Henry and Brody exchanged a glance, clearly impressed. "Well, color us surprised," Henry said. "Our little brother's all grown up."
***
Hayden gestured for his brothers to follow him into the dorm.
Once inside, he set his books down and turned to them. "So, where have you two been? I haven't seen you around much lately."
"We were at the marketplace. There's this new stall that sells these amazing meat skewers. You've got to try them sometime." Brody replied.
It seemed like it was not something important but Hayden's Ocularis Lens noticed something. It seemed that he wasn't telling the truth. However, Hayden was not bothered with it as they must have secrets they wanted to keep for themselves.
Henry nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, and there's this blacksmith who's been making these custom daggers. Brody almost bought one, but I talked him out of it. He's got enough weapons as it is."
This time, Hayden realized with his Lens that they were just hiding something from him and not really lying to him.
That was perfectly fine.
In any case, Hayden's eyes lit up at the mention of the marketplace. He hadn't been there before since he didn't really have that much money with him.
"What else did you see there? Anything interesting?"
Brody leaned back in his chair as he thought for a moment. "Well, there was this merchant selling these weird glowing crystals. He claimed they could test people with an innate talent for magic, but I'm pretty sure he was just trying to scam people."
Henry chuckled. "Yeah, and then there was this lady who sold these handmade charms. She said they could bring good luck. Brody bought one, but I think he just wanted to impress her."
Brody glared at his twin. "Hey, it was for research! You never know when a good luck charm might come in handy."
Hayden laughed as he somewhat enjoyed the banter between his brothers. "Sounds like you two had fun there... I'll have to visit the marketplace soon."
At this time, Henry finally changed the topic. "Speaking of which, about the 50 gold coins you've won from the bet… Do you still have it?"