(My longest chapter to date)

The New Leaf Festival was a yearly holiday celebrated not just in all of the Arcanus Territory, but also the Allied Cities of Remnant. It was created in respect for the leader of the late Council of Heroes, Julius Fall. While it was mainly the Cities' celebration, the reason the Arcanus Territory also celebrated was because this was the city where the Hero King Julius' legend started. It was said that this place was previously a slavers' hideout that was annihilated by the king. The ones liberated by the hero began to tell tales about his bravery, while some of the younger ones remained with him to learn of his ways. The hero Julius, who considered all of them as his own children, taught them all great power and responsibility. When they grew up, they also became heroes of their own. Because of this, he decided to form an organization named the Council of Heroes. Julius claimed that he was the branch of the tree, and the heroes after him were the leaves that grew on his branch. Hence, the name New Leaf Festival.

That was what Jack explained to Rimuru. At first, the boy said he wanted to sleep through the festival. When asked why, the boy's reason was that the festival was usually celebrated by parents and their children. In other words, families and the like. Many games and entertainment needed one to have either a parent or an offspring to participate. It didn't take a genius to figure out what his disciple felt about all of this. The godly demon couldn't stand to see the boy's shoulders sag as he dragged his feet into the inn's room, so he decided to do the obvious thing.

Right now, the both of them were walking side to side on the road, with the moonlight shining from above them and the lights from stalls shining from the side. Jack was holding onto his hand tightly, his smile matching the shine of the moon. The boy was wearing a black yukata with white trim, while he was wearing a black one with golden flower decor. While he liked crafting things on his own, tonight was a special occasion. Rimuru had conjured these with Ciel's help.

They went from stand to stand, playing, buying souvenirs, and eating delicious food. Jack felt like this was one of the best moments in his life. Many people other than him felt the same. One of which was a scamming vendor of a rigged game. The man was having the time of his life. Getting Folde coins while seeing children cry was just full bliss for a still single money earner. He couldn't imagine having a family like these fools. He thought that they could've earned much more money if they didn't start a relationship. He snorted, sneering at them in his heart.

The game the man rigged was one that needed the player to knock down a wall of upturned wooden cups stacked on top of each other with a rock. The problem was that the man had imbued these cups with sticking and gravity magic so that even if the ball hit, the cups wouldn't fall. He hid this scam by adding many cups to make it seem that they were weighing down on each other.

As the man was counting his coins with his hands below the stall, he saw a boy with tanned skin and black hair walk to him. He was accompanied by someone even the merchant thought to be the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He shook his head. No, don't get distracted by women. He hardened his heart and tried to unattract himself to her. He thought to himself that the woman was too flat for his taste anyway.

The man did his best to offer a friendly smile to them and asked, "Do you want to try out my game? We have prizes!"

He pointed at the toys and food littered on his prize table. He looked back to see both the boy and the woman eyeing only the food.

He continued, "You can try it for only a few Foldes! What do you say?"

The boy looked at the woman who the vendor presumed to be the mother with bright eyes. The woman chuckled and patted his head before she turned to the scammer and said, "We'll try them."

She gave him the right amount for three tries. The boy quickly got into a good throwing stance, and within almost an instant the rock flew to the wall of cups. Just when they thought it would hit, the ball bounced off of the cups.

"Huh?" the boy let out a questioning sound.

He grinned as he passed a new rock to him and said, "Great first try, kid."

The boy went to throw again, only to fail once more. The scammer was near the point of laughter this time. He offered another rock, which the kid took immediately. He saw the kid take a deep breath and then stayed still. After about a minute, the boy finally made his move. The vendor could almost feel the drag of the wind as the rock flew straight at his wall. For a moment, the scammer was unsure if his cups could stand against it, but it still ended with the boy failing to knock down a single cup.

"Damn it!" shouted the boy and he grit his teeth as his hands folded into fists.

The vendor nearly lost it when he saw the boy's expression. He wanted to see more of this.

He then said, "Hey, kid. Tell you what. Because I liked that throw very much, I'll give you one free throw."

He offered one last rock, to which the boy took hesitatingly. The brat was no longer as confident as the first time, biting his lips as he stayed on the spot. Though, soon after his mother put a hand on his shoulders and spoke to him.

"I believe in you," she said as she smiled.

The vendor almost sneered at her. What bullshit. This is the reason why people keep getting scammed by him. It wasn't his fault; it was theirs for being so gullible. He was going to enjoy the look on the boy's face when he failed.

The woman suddenly turned to him and said, "Thank you for giving him another try. You're so kind."

He nodded, but she continued, "For that, I will bet all my money on this last throw."

Say what now? The woman explained, "...but, if we were to win, we get to have all the food."

The man thought about it before agreeing. He almost laughed thinking how easy it was to steal money from these dumbasses. The scammer was so high up there that he didn't even question how shady that deal sounded, and didn't even see the ominous smile that the woman offered.

The boy took the same stance. Though, this time something felt different. Looking at the boy's eyes felt like staring straight at a campfire; bright and blinding. The boy then moved. In what seemed very long yet was actually nearly an instant, the rock flew out of his hands much faster before. This time he could actually feel the drag in the air. The rock neared the cups… and shattered.

The shattered parts not only knocked the cups down; they went through it. Right into the wooden back wall of the stall. The scammer's jaw dropped.

"I did it! I did it!" he heard the boy scream.

He turned to look at the boy hugging his mother as she twirled him around in congratulations. The man complained, "Y-You cheated, didn't you!?"

How else would he have won? The man couldn't accept it. He wanted to expose these cheaters to the other stands. The woman then put the boy down and looked at the man worryingly.

"I knew it. Maybe someone cast a spell on those cups with weakening magic? I'm fairly good at sensing magic, so let me check," she told him her suspicions and then offered help as she walked to the behind of the stall's table.

The man panicked and walked in front of her. This was bad! His reputation would be ruined if they found out and told it to everyone! Nobody would buy from him ever again in this place. He couldn't just change places; this place was practically his best chance of earning money.

The woman suddenly smiled at him. Though, this didn't feel like a friendly smile. It was a smile that foretold the owner knew something he didn't.

She said, "Then I guess there is no magic involved, right?"

He could only shake his head begrudgingly.

She continued, "We'll be taking the food now. Please prepare us something to carry the food with."

"W-What? You can't do that! I'll lose my money if you do!" he tried to reason with her.

But she tilted her head and asked, "Are you saying that you're taking back your word after you've just said it?"

Shit. This woman knew what was up. Fuck! She had played him into this corner. If he took back his words, then he would be recognized as untrustworthy! All he could do now was comply with the woman's wishes.

Rimuru nodded and walked back to Jack. The boy smiled at him and said, "Thanks for believing in me, teacher."

Seeing the boy smile so happily had made him happier than he had been in a long, long time. Of course he would believe in his own student. It's what a teacher should do. Of course, he did give a helping hand in that last throw, but because the idiot scammer himself cheated, he figured it would be fine.

They walked around some more until they once again bump into a familiar duo.

"Thomas!" Jack exclaimed.

"Hey, Jack," the prince greeted back.

While the boys haven't talked that much with each other, both could feel the sense of camaraderie between one another. Perhaps that fighting was its own type of communication.

"Rimuru," the Blade nodded.

Jack's teacher greeted back and asked, "Are you enjoying the festival, Blade?"

The Blade shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm just waiting for the real festival to start."

"Real festival?" the boy asked.

The man elaborated, "It's when you kids go to bed. We'll be able to drink booze and party all night at this spot."

His teacher, to his utter surprise, said, "That sounds nice. I think I'm going to stick around."

The Blade nodded in acceptance before he turned towards the other boy and said, "You're free to go wherever you want. Just don't cause too much trouble."

The young prince grinned and nodded. He turned towards the other boy and said, "Hey Jack, wanna test our strengths?"

Jack was predictably interested, but he didn't know how they would do that.

After he nodded, the boy continued, "There's a stall over there that tests how hard you can hit something. Let's go."

Jack wanted to go, but hesitated. He looked over to his mo-- teacher, he meant teacher, and she nodded at him, saying, "Go and have fun. I'll be right here. Just don't get into too much trouble, okay?"

He grinned and said, "Okay!"

And with that, both boys walked side by side to the place.

As they were on their way, Jack suddenly asked, "You having fun with the festival?"

"Meh. It's all right," Thomas answered.

He then continued, "I just think you're more fun to be with."

Jack smiled at him, "I think you're fun to be with too!"

Thomas blinked, before he offered a smile. This time not a challenging grin, but a genuine happy smile.

He said, albeit a bit unsure, "Thank you... friend?"

Jack's smile brightened and he said, "Yeah! Friend!"

They kept walking until they suddenly yet again ran into a couple of familiar faces.

"Mr. Rodrick," Jack waved as he greeted.

The man turned to look at them. He offered a smile and answered back, "Hello, Jack. Greetings, your highness."

From his side, his daughter Felicia curtsied, "Greetings."

Thomas grunted in acknowledgement.

"I take it you're searching for single player stalls, or just having fun at the festival?" the man asked.

Both nodded. The man looked back at his daughter who was still holding his hand and looked back at them.

He said, "Say, why don't you three go have fun together?"

"Father?" his daughter tilted her head and asked confusedly.

"Sure!" answered Jack.

Rodrick turned to his daughter and said, "Come on, now. Dad has something to attend to soon, and he doesn't want his baby girl to be left alone in the inn while the other kids played."

He turned to the other kids, "But please, make sure my daughter is safe."

He turned back to his daughter, who answered him unsurely, "All right, father."

He heard the boy say, "Don't worry, Mister! Thomas and I are plenty strong. We'll keep her safe!"

He nodded and said, "Very well. Now, I will take my leave. Once again, I'm really sorry Felicia."

His daughter offered him a smile, "It's alright father. Just don't come home too drunk!"

He froze in his steps. Drats. His daughter read him like a book. He would need to make up for her tomorrow, he thought as he walked away.

Jack suddenly said, "We're going to have a hammering contest! You wanna join?"

Felicia just smiled awkwardly and said, "I-I'm not sure I can do that. But I'll come by and watch!"

Jack nodded and continued, "Alright! If that's so, then we'll do something you like next."

"What do you say, Thomas?" asked the boy to the prince, who just shrugged and said, "Fine by me."

They walked until they reached the stall without any other intrusions.

The stall had a short platform that could sink in, with a tall pillar behind it and a wide, thick ring on the floor circling the pillar. How it worked was one needed to hit the short platform so hard that the mechanism behind it lifted the ring upwards on the pillar. How they determined which hit the hardest was by measuring how high the ring jumped up.

As the kids waited in line, they saw other kids at the front of the line younger than them. They looked like twins of different genders. The boy was participating with a hammer that looked too good to be used just for this game. The boy managed to reach the highest part of the pillar, where the ring was stopped by a big stone ball on top of the pillar used to stop the ring from going over the pillar. The twins then cheered. After that, they talked to some people and went somewhere else.

After waiting a few more turns, it was now Thomas' turn. The boy picked up the somewhat large wooden mallet that was intended to be used for this purpose and prepared for his strike. Then, he struck down quickly. The ring went up and up until it finally stopped when it hit the stone ball. Highest score!

After that, it was Jack's turn. He held his bokken in a stance. They had found out earlier that any weapons were allowed as long as they could be used to bash or hammer down an opponent. He prepared himself for a few seconds, and finally struck down. The result was also the highest score.

"Looks like it's another tie," Thomas said as he grinned.

Jack nodded and replied, "Looks like it."

Felicia, who had been following them silently this entire time suddenly spoke nervously, "Umm, guys? I think there's something wrong over there."

She pointed out to the behind of stands, away from the crowds. Jack was instantly suspicious. While he was able to keep a friendly attitude with the girl, he still hadn't forgotten what the last girl did to him. He looked at the other two. If it were somehow a trap, then he believed that he and Thomas would be able to get out of there quickly.

"Alright, lead the way," he seemingly agreed.

Thomas just stayed silent and followed. Felicia walked slowly towards their destination. As they got closer, Jack was able to hear what was happening.

"...ou can't have my hammer! It's mine!" a young boy said.

Smack!

"B-Brother!" a girl screamed.

Jack instantly ran towards the sound.

As he reached the place, he was able to see what was happening. A group of men were laughing over the fallen form of the boy twin he saw earlier and the kneeling form of the girl crying and shaking at her brother.

"We told you, give us the hammer and nobody gets hurt. It's your brother's fault he was too stupid to understand," one of the men said.

The girl countered while still crying, "But it's-- it's my brother's! He… He made it him-- himself with mom's help!"

"Wahh! Wahh! Who cares?" another man suddenly said.

The scene reminded him of the time when he saw Alice, his friend who he treated like a little sister at the orphanage, getting bullied by other kids. The girl and boy were in a very similar position with him and Alice after he got beat up by said kids. Being reminded of that scene and looking at the scum hawking at the siblings had boiled every bit of blood in his body.

"You fucking monsters! Why don't you pick on someone your own size!?" he jumped at them, bashing the nearest ones.

"Shit!?"

"What the fuck!?"

"Skill user!"

At this point, Thomas was right behind him. He saw the whole scene. The boy didn't bring his weapon,so he extended his hand forward. The ground beneath him shot upwards. He grabbed at it, turning it into a staff made of earth. And with that, he jumped into the fray.

Felicia looked at the fight from the sidelines. She'd felt negative emotions coming from here earlier and felt thankful she decided to come. She silently cheered for both boys to kick the mean people's butts.

It didn't take long for them to finish. The men on the floor were groaning, some even crying loudly. The ones that were had their limbs bent in an unnatural shape. Jack was merciless in his onslaught, uncaring for the bastards who dared to go against little children for their own gain.

"T-Thank you," said the young girl.

Jack nodded and asked, "How's your brother."

To answer his question, the boy sat up, staring at him and said, "Thanks for saving us, big brothers."

Only then did Jack smile. He replied, "It isn't just us. Without the big sister over there, we wouldn't even have known."

Felicia walked out of the sidelines and nodded at them. The young girl hugged her brother, and they once again thanked, albeit with the girl half crying, ""Thank you very much!""

A moment later, Jack heard something approaching their direction very quickly. He turned to see a man dressed in all black, right from his face mask to his boots. Jack had heard the man come here very quickly.

""Uncle Voltaire!"" both kids shouted as they ran towards him, though the boy picked up his hammer beforehand.

The man named Voltaire quickly swept both children up to his arms. He looked over the injuries the boy had. With a low voice, he asked, "What happened?"

The twins recounted what exactly happened to them earlier to the man. The man looked at the group of three and thanked, "For saving them, you have my highest gratitude."

The three nodded back. The man then looked over to the fallen men.

If looks could kill, then the glare the man shot towards these men would have killed them tens of times over. Jack, for the first time in his life, felt danger all around him. It made the air feel heavy all around, though it wasn't directed to him. After a moment, he realized what it was.

Aura. Or, to be exact, killer instinct. His teacher had taught him about it. Killer instinct was something someone could do to instill fear into his enemies. It involved them manifesting their auras with the intent to harm and directing them to their targets.

Everything went quiet. Even the crying men. Then, it suddenly stopped.

"Let's go home," said the masked man suddenly.

Both twins nodded as the man carried them away. They waved at the three before they disappeared from view.

After a few moments of silence, Jack said, "Well, I certainly didn't expect my night would go this way."

Thomas had a serious look on his face as he nodded.

Felicia had finally stopped shaking from fear. As an empath, she felt the man's killing intent very clearly. She tried to calm herself down. It wasn't her that the intent was directed at, but at the thugs beside them.

Jack then said, "Let's go back."

The two readily agreed.

They travelled back to where their teachers were. Felicia followed because she had a hunch her father was there too. To her expectations, he was.

The three looked at their own guardians, appalled at what they were currently doing. The three were currently shoulder to shoulder singing loudly in public, with booze on their hands. The men had red faces and looked like they were about to fall at any moment, while the woman was smiling widely, seemingly unaffected by the alcohol. They waited until the three finally realized the younger three were there.

They suddenly stopped. Both men suddenly looked much more sober, while the woman was chuckling at their current predicament. After a bit of talking between both sides, they each went off on their own way. Jack held his teacher's hand as he talked about what he did when he left. It was a refreshing experience for everyone.

When they reached the boy's room at the inn, the boy opened the door and went inside. He looked back at her. Today had been both fun and exhausting. He was very glad she decided to do this together.

He tiredly said, "Thanks for everything. Good night, mom."

A few seconds of silence went by before he realized what he said. He felt his heart jump, and he looked at his mo-- his teacher, he meant his teacher! - her face. Her eyebrows shot up high, and her mouth opened slightly. Jack, in his embarrassment, slammed the door on his teacher's face.

Rimuru was dumbfounded by what his student said.

"Mom," he repeated, "He called me mom."

"C-Ciel. Did I hear that correctly?" he asked, still shocked by what he heard.

{Affirmative.}

A mom.

Rimuru wasn't sure what he was feeling, but from the way he wasn't able to stop the smile coming up to his face, he knew it was a good feeling.

Rimuru opened the door. Inside, he saw Jack trying his hardest to hide under the blanket. He chuckled and went to sit on his bed.

He stroked the boy's hair, stopping his squirming and calming him down. The boy slowly lowered his blanket to look at him, his face red. Rimuru smiled and got closer to him.

He kissed the boy's forehead before he said, "Good night… son."

To say the boy's face was one full of shock would still be an understatement. He laughed at this as he stood up and walked towards the door.

He turned around and said, "Sleep tight. And don't let the bedbugs bite."

Smiling at him for one last time, Jack's m-m-mom closed the door. The boy laid there on his bed, thinking over what the fuck just happened. He called her mom. And then she called him son. Jack could feel his lips stretching so wide that it hurt. He was happy. So very happy. He felt his eyes sting as tears ran down his face.

Jack had never believed in tears of happiness. He always thought that people only cried when they were sad. He now fully denied this notion. People did cry when they were happy.

"Mom," he said quietly. He repeated the word until he fell asleep.

All he dreamt that night was everything that he experienced with his mom.

(Thanks for reading!)

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