Originally this should have been three separate chapters, but I thought it would be more enjoyable and easier to read if I put this all in one chapter instead. Hoping that it will give you readers some entertainment, I hope you all fun with this.
Some info:
Spoken words are between " "
Thoughts are between ( )
Septian Year 1202 Ymir
A figure could be seen in a clearing, swinging his sword in accordance with the basics stances of his sword style, while counting each move and sweat trailing down his face. "998…999…1000" Finished with his training in this morning, Rean sheathed his tachi and picked a towel to dry his face. "Okay I am done for now, next I should take a quick shower, it is nearly time for lunch and I did promise Mom that I would help her later with her garden."
Finishing cleaning his face, he took the rest of his stuff and returned to the town, while walking towards his home Rean greeted the habitants of the small town. Hearing a dog barking behind him, he turned around to find his father walking with both his horse Arthur and dog Badeaux into the town square, "Hey, Dad", Rean called out to him. Noticing his son, Theo made his way to him, "Hey Rean, are you done with your training for this morning?"
"Yeah, I am finished for now. I also promised Mom that would help her with her garden after lunch. What about you, done with your patrol?" Falling in step with each other, they continued walking towards their home. Taking a side glance at his son, Theo replied "Yes, but surprisingly for the last few months, I didn't see or meet with a single monster in the vicinity of Ymir. While we usually don't have many problems with monsters in our surroundings, it is the first time that no one has even seen a single one in weeks. I wonder what could have happened, that would lead to this."
Throwing a glance at his father Rean thought, (Busted, huh. Well I knew he would notice sooner or later so, I better come clean.) Taking a deep breath, Rean explained, while scratching the right side of his face with a finger "Well, I may have something to do with that Dad."
Not really surprised at admission, Theo just nodded at him to continue, "I told you and Mom that would go to the outskirt of the town for combat training against the monsters and at the same time I thought that I would help you out with your patrols, by trying to eliminate the ones that were close to town." Arriving at the stall for Arthur, Rean helped his father with feeding and grooming the horse, while at the same time he was continuing explaining his actions for the past months.
"Rean, while I'm grateful and proud that you want to help with my duties, you should still be careful while you are outside training." Holding his hand to stop his son from speaking, "I am aware that you are more than strong enough, to take on the monsters around here, but it doesn't mean that I and your Mother want you take risks. I went nearly over 20 selge outside the town and I still couldn't see a single monster, I can only imagine how many you had to take out during the last months, for it to be so devoid of them." Shaking his head at that thought, Theo finished with taking care of Arthur and put him in his stall while he went on speaking to his son.
"I want to be perfectly clear Rean, I am not scolding you for what you did, but at the same time I'm also not praising you for it, because you did all that without talking to me or your mother first. I know you only wanted to help and didn't want us to worry, but you have to understand that we are your parents and that means, we will always be worried while you are training outside on your own. So at the very least we would like to know what exactly you are doing, even if you think we won't like it, ok son?"
Finished with his speech he put his hand on Rean shoulder while looking him in the eyes. Sighing, Rean looked back "Sorry Dad, I didn't want to worry you or Mom. The next time, I will talk with the two of you."
"Like I said we will always worry, that is what parents do, Rean. On an another note, the reason why Lio was able to make so many quartz and repair so many orbal machines in town was because you gave all the sepith, you got from the monsters to him, right?" At his son's nod he continued, "Knowing you, you took that money that he gave you in exchange and paid for the repair and the upkeep of the town, while saying that it was me that paid for it, right? At the same time you took the rest of it and added it to the money in the house and didn't keep any of it for you, I'm right?"
(Triple busted) was the only thought in his head and Rean couldn't even denied because it was all true be it about the sepith or the money, so he tried to defend his actions the best way he could. "Well, I didn't know what to do with all the sepith I got, so I gave it to Lio for him to use. At first I didn't want him to give me the money in exchange." at that Theo just rolled his eyes and whispered to no one, "Of course you did."
Ignoring the side comment, "But he was pretty stubborn about it, to the point where he said that I either take the money and he the sepith or I can keep it. So I took the money and gave the money to Father Bernard in your name, so that he could use it for the town upkeep and the rest went to the funds in our house." While talking the two had entered the house and went to the living room and asked Lucia if she wanted help with lunch and hearing a "No, thank you." In return the two sat down at the table.
"Rean, I appreciate that you want to help us and the rest of the town, but you shouldn't do it behind our backs and you should use the money that you earned on yourself and it isn't like that we are lacking in money. Besides did you really think that the townspeople don't know you, Rean? The first thing Lio or Bernard did, was to talk to me that you were overworking yourself again for the sake of others and that I should keep an eye on you, so that you don't collapse like the last time you overdid it."
Embarrassed that he hadn't even considered the possibility that they would talk to his parents about his actions he rubbed in neck while looking away. Satisfied at the effects of his actions, Theo smiled at his son until Rean turned to look at him with a mischievous look in his eyes, "So Dad, how long was Mother working on that little speech of yours and how long did you practiced it?"
Eyes widening at that question, Theo coughed behind his hand to regain his composure, "Why do you think your mother was involved with it?" At that Rean just shoot an amused look at him as an answer, "Fine, fine your mother came up with it and I just repeated it to you. I know that I'm not good with words like your mother." Theo finished while crossing his arms and sulking.
Chuckling at the display before him, "Dad, it isn't that you aren't good with words, just that Mother is better with them and you are more a man of action than words. I think that is why you and Mom are so good together, you complete each other. Like two different pieces that were made to fit together to make something whole."
Embarrassed at the words and at the seriousness that Rean had said it, Theo rubbed his neck while looking away, while sporting a goofy smile at the thought of wife. Regaining his composure he looked at his son, who was looking back at him with a smile. "Rean, one of these days you are going to cause some trouble with your speeches, especially with girls. People aren't always that frank or straightforward or like your mother likes to say speak directly from the heart." Shaking his head at his son, "Your Mother is right, you are going to have some serious trouble with the ladies, if you keep up with that."
This time it was Rean's turn to roll his eyes while throwing his hands up, "Why does everybody assume that I'm some kind of Casanova, be it you, Mom or even Master? I don't remember ever trying 'to pick up girls', as Master so elegantly put it. I don't even know how to do that and I doubt I will have ever as much luck with girls as the three of you believe. Honestly I really, really would like to know what gave you guys this absurd idea."
Looking amused at his son who was now pouting, Theo just asked, "So you while you were traveling with Yun, you didn't make 'friends' with some of the young girls over there?"
"I did make some friends over there, but it was with boys and girls alike, nothing like what Master said that I was breaking hearts left and right." throwing his hands up again Rean explained it for the hundredth time since he came back and his Master started to make jokes about that.
(Oh Rean, I don't know what is worse, that you don't realise what kind effect you have on the girls, be it with your actions or speeches which you say come from the heart or that you think you won't have luck with them, from my point of view, you will have too much but that will be your problem then. I just hope that I will be there to watch it and let's not forget what Yun told us about. You may not have realised it, but you definitely had a lot of success in eastern Zemuria, in that regard. Now that I think about it, I have a lot to look forward to, especially when Lucia drops that Yun told us about the marriage proposals Rean got there, now that will be a fun conversation, maybe I should talk with my wife to coordinate with her. Because a good show like that, deserves some fine sake and snacks..) Lost in his thoughts Theo didn't notice the amused smirk that was forming on his face.
Suppressing a shudder, Rean didn't know why he suddenly got a very bad feeling but he ignored it, as he noticed that his mom and his sister entered the living room with the food. Standing up to help them, he just sat down again as his mother shook her head to indicate that he didn't have to. Putting the food on the table and sitting down to say grace, Lucia started to fill the plates for her family, "So what were the two of you talking about?"
Thanking her Rean took his plate to start eating and answered, "Dad and I just talked about why there are no monsters around the town." Nodding, Lucia just looked at him "At what do you have to say about that, young man?" Managing to look at least properly admonished, "Sorry, next time I will talk with the two of you, about what exactly I am planning on doing."
"I would prefer that there isn't a next time, but I do know you Rean." After that, what followed was silence as the family of four continued to eat, with the occasional bit of conversation between the adults, noticing that Elise hadn't say much until now Rean tried to speak to her. "So Elise how is St. Astraia? Did you manage to make some friends?" Elise stopped eating for a short moment but resumed eating without looking at Rean.
"Some of the class are little bit though but nothing too difficult and I have made some friends in my class." Waiting to see if she would continue it became clear that, one sentence was all she was going to say to him. Sighing internally Rean tried to respect her wish of him not talking to her, (I guess it was too early to try talking to her, she must still be shocked about it. Not like I can blame her, who wouldn't be after finding out that the person who you grew up with, was just some kid that her father found lying in the snow and then adopted. I just hope that she doesn't blame Mom and Dad for not telling her earlier.)
Noticing the awkward air between their children, the adults exchanged some glances with each other, as if to see if the other had an idea how to dispel the awkwardness that had appeared in the room. Thinking that if these two spent some time together where they can't avoid each other, would help them realise that it doesn't matter if they are blood related or not they are still brother and sister who grew up together, Lucia thought of an idea. "Rean do you have any plans for tomorrow?"
"Just the usual training and studying, if no one in town needs any help that is all I will be doing for the day."
"Could you do me a favour then?"
"Sure Mom, what do you need?"
Taking a glance at her daughter, Lucia decided to just go ahead and hope that her plan wouldn't make this worse, "I was wondering if could come with me and Elise to Roer, to do some shopping for her. I was thinking of buying her some new clothes and school materials that she will probably need, but if you come with us I can also buy you some clothes too, that way we have to do the trip only one time, what do you think?"
Surprised at what his mother was asking, he stole a glance at Elise who was also looking surprised at their mother, thinking that he probably shouldn't go with them he looked at her, but before he could open his mouth he saw the expectant look in her eyes and just said, "Sure, I don't mind coming with you tomorrow.", at the same time he was thinking, (I will just try to give Elise as much space as I can so that she won't be bothered by my presence.)
After everyone was done eating, Elise was the first to leave, seeing her leave Rean turned to his mother, "Do you think that it is a good idea for me to come with you two tomorrow?" While asking, he was taking the dirty plates to the kitchen with his mother right behind him; Theo was already walking towards his study to do his paperwork for the rest of the day.
"While I think that it is a good idea, that you are giving her space to come to terms with the news, I also think that the two of you should spend some time together. Especially since Elise will be here just for a week and then return to school for the rest of the year." Starting to wash the plates, Rean was still not convinced that it was a good idea, but he had already said that he would help them out, so that what was he going to do and try to give Elise some space if she was uncomfortable with him there.
The next day
After waking up at sunrise the trio set out on two horses towards Roer, Rean rode alone on one and his mother and sister together on another. Besides some small talk, the journey was spent in silence after arriving at an inn which was on their way; they left the horses there and made the rest of the journey on foot. During the walk Rean, remembered the last time he had been in Roer, (I think the last time I was here, was when I returned two years ago to Erebonia and I was quite surprised at how much it had changed. It really deserves the name of the city where there is a new invention or breakthrough in oral science every week.)
"When was the last either of you were in Roer?" Elise didn't even glance at him as she answered, "I was just here three days ago when Father picked me up which you apparently have already forgotten." Realising that she was right, Rean just sighed at his blunder at trying to talk to her. Lucia frowned at her daughter, (While it may not have been the best way to start a conversation, Elise isn't making it easy for him either. Maybe it was too soon for me to try to solve the situation between them.)
To make it at least, less awkward for him she decided to answer his question, "For me I think it was last year when I came with your Father and Lio to help with buying some orbal parts and some newer machines for the town." Sending a weak smile as thanks at his mother for trying to lessen the awkward air, Rean thought to himself, (Seems like I really shouldn't try to talk to her at all, I will just be silent while accompanying them and carrying the bags.)
Seeing the gate approaching Rean suddenly remembered what had happened the last time he had been in this city, (Last time I was here I gave Alisa the books which she was missing though she hadn't notice it at the time, I hope she enjoyed them. Considering what I saw of her last time, I'm pretty sure that she wasn't very pleased with my 'gift', especially after she offered to pay for them and I didn't accept her money. Now that I think about it, isn't there a possibility that she lives here in Roer and that we could perhaps cross paths again.)
Amused at the direction his thought were going, he just chuckled, (Even if she lives in Roer with the size of the city the possibility of us meeting, is pretty small and she probably wouldn't even remember me, after all it has been two years since then.) So lost in his thoughts was he that he didn't notice the questioning glances that his family threw at him.
After entering the city, they made their way to their usual store only to realise that the clothes store wasn't there anymore, in its place was what looked like to be a storehouse. Confused at that, Rean asked a passing elderly man what had happened, "Oh that store. Well, six months ago the Reinford Company bought the building to use it as a storehouse for one of their divisions. If my memory serves me right, I think the store relocated somewhere else, I think it was to the south of the city." Thanking him, Rean asked for the direction to the new location and after the old man explained it to him; he thanked him again and turned towards his companions.
"Hey kid, I think you should go buy a map of the city, because that wasn't the only store that this happened to. Reinford has been expanding a lot during the last few years because of that a lot of stores were relocated, at least the company paid them a very good price for the buildings and so everybody was happy. Though the changes of the locations are very confusing for the people who are coming outside of the city like you." Having finished, the old man turned around to go on his way.
Rean explained what the old man had told him to his mother and sister, "Well, seems like a lot has changed, so should we go directly to the new location of the store or should we go buy a map?" Thinking about it Lucia, decided to go the store and from there ask where they could buy a map.
"How about this, while I and Elise are choosing the clothes, you go and try to buy a map?" Seeing the logic in the suggestion, Rean agreed to it after arriving at the store Lucia and Elise went inside while he asked around to find where he could purchase a map of the city. He entered the recommended building only to find out that they were out of maps and were waiting for the new edition to arrive tomorrow and the storekeeper told him that the other stores were also waiting for the edition too.
(Wonderful that means no map for today and if we have to ask the people around for directions every time we are looking for something that will result in a lot of wasted time.) Dropping his head at the situation, Rean made his way back to his family, (Maybe we should only do the minimum for today and come back for the rest another day.)
Approaching the store he saw someone carrying multiple bags that were full of ingredients coming down the street, the problem was that there were way too many bags for just one person to carry and that said carrier couldn't even see where she was going. Rean first thought at the sight was that it wasn't going to end well and as if to prove him right, the person lost their balance at that exact moment which led to the bags beginning to swing around which in turn caused their carrier to lose their balance even more.
Acting on reflex Rean stepped forward to help catching a bag that looked like it would spill its contents and put his hand on the shoulder of the person, to steady her. After making sure that nothing had fallen out of the bag, looked at the person before him, "That was a close one, are you alright…" Before Rean could finish his sentence, he got his first good look at who he was speaking to. The person had long blond hair with pigtails on both side, a face that could only be described as beautiful (to him at least) and ruby red eyes looking at him in surprise, "Miss Alisa?"
A few minutes earlier
"Geez, I really should have listened to Yuuna and let her come with me or made the trip two times instead of trying to do everything in one go." Taking bag after bag in her arms, Alisa tried walking forward while taking a glimpse of the road ahead, between the bags. Finding that it was not a problem she began walking forward to deliver the ingredients, at the same time she began thinking to the reason, why she was out today besides wanting to help out her friend.
"Hmph, I can't believe that Sharon would take her side again, would it kill her to support me against Mother at least just one time and Mother isn't much better. Who works so much that she only sleeps five hours a day and eats only nutrition bars during the day? I swear that woman will work herself to death one day."
Alisa was so lost in thought that she didn't notice how the bags were begin to lean toward one side when she notice what was happening it was already too late with the bags beginning to sway left and right. Trying to regain her balance as quickly as possible before everything fell down, she didn't realise that someone was quickly approaching her. She noticed it only when said someone grabbed a bag, which was beginning to lose its belonging to prevent it from spilling on the ground and put a hand on her shoulder to steady her.
After regaining her balance and making sure that nothing was lost, Alisa heaved a relieved sigh at that and turned her head to the person who had helped her, to give her thanks only to find a young man her age looking at her with a surprised look on his face. For a short moment Alisa was stunned with a slight felling of annoyance welling inside of her when he called her, 'Miss Alisa', which caused she to remember why she would be annoyed that he was calling her like that and just who was standing before.
She remembered a time where she met a boy on a train who gave her his book to read during the ride, some short conversations between them (along with some teasing from Sharon) and the kindness he showed her for accepting that she didn't want to say her family name and still treating her like a normal girl afterwards.
"What did I say about calling me Miss, Rean?" Was the first thing she said to him after two years while narrowing her eyes at him.
Realising that it truly was Alisa standing before him, left Rean so stunned that the only thing he could do was to look away sheepishly while saying sorry to her. Recovering from his surprise Rean looked at her and at the bags, "Do you want some help with those, Alisa?"
Satisfied that he had dropped the Miss from her name, she nodded at him for that which Rean mistook as a yes to his question. Taking the heaviest looking bags from her, which left her with only some bags in one arm and perplexed that he was taking her bags, "What do you think you are doing?"
"I'm helping you carry your bags." Was the answer to her question while tilting his head at her question. Alisa understood then, that he mistook her nod to him as the answer to his question.
"You know, I didn't nod to answer your question but to indicate that you had dropped the Miss."
"Oh, sorry then." Now he was a bit embarrassed that he had misunderstood her while looking at the bags he was already carrying, "Well since I am already took them, I might as well help you with them don't you think?"
Surprised at this, she just sighed "You don't need to help me with this, I'm sure you have better things to do; besides I can carry all of them by myself."
Smiling at her Rean adjusted the bags and took a step forward to her side "I'm sure that you can, but I'm not sure that it is safe for you to do that." At that her cheeks coloured a bit as she remembered what had happened just moments ago, "So why not borrow a bit of help for this?"
Alisa opened her mouth to respond to him, but the word borrow made her remember something else, the books that he had given her without her knowledge and her promise to give him a piece of her mind if she ever meet him again. Straightening her back at that memory, she glared at him and wanted to start to give him a piece of her mind right away when she was interrupted by the honking of a delivery truck. Noticing that they were in the middle of the street, Rean chuckled, "I think it would be better if we go to the side, wouldn't want to block the traffic."
Turning around he began walking towards the clothes store, narrowing her eyes at being interrupted she followed him arriving at the side walk; Alisa wanted to start scolding him. Only to miss a step this once again, caused her to lose her balance. Seeing that, this time she was falling backward, Rean's hand shoot out to grab her waist and pulled her toward him to prevent her from falling. To stop her head from colliding with his chest, Alisa put her free hand to his chest as a reflex.
Checking once more if anything fell from the bags, Rean found that luckily nothing had dropped from them, "Seems like today is just not your day Alisa…" looking down he found that her face was extremely close to his which stopped him from continuing with his sentence.
"Geez, what is it wrong with me today, I'm normally not this clumsy. Huh?" Looking up to him she too found out that his face was really close to hers. The situation that the two found themselves in left them too stunned to do anything or even think about separating from each other. Before either one could regain their bearings or do something, they heard two different voices calling out to Rean.
"Rean?" / "Big Brother?"
At the same time they turned their heads to the voices their situation momentarily forgotten, Rean found his mother and sister starring in shock at him. Lucia couldn't quite believe the scene in front of her, she had just stepped outside the shop with her daughter only to find her son, carrying bags in one arm while the other one was around the waist of a blonde girl, who looked the same age as Rean and their faces so close together, that it looked like they had just been kissing each other.
If this was happening to someone else, she would think that it was some young couple that were shopping together and enjoying each other's company but since it was her son, her really dense son, who doesn't even realise when a girl is trying to flirt with him. To say that she was shocked would be the understatement of the century. Some time passed, while the two groups were just starring at each other, Lucia was the first to regain her composure.
"So Rean, care to introduce this young lady to us, please?" She may have tried to suppress the smile that was forming, but she couldn't because after the shock passed, she just found the scene in front of her quite cute, like the ones from one of her romance novels and to be honest she was quite curious who the girl was, for her to be that close to her (the situation deserved to repeat it again, incredible dense) son.
The only way to describe his mind right now was blank, Rean couldn't neither think nor react for a while and if his Mother hadn't spoken who knew how long the situation would have continued like that. Trying to find his voice again, he turned his head towards Alisa only to be reminded of their current situation; likewise Alisa too turned her head to him. As one their faces turned bright red before they separated from one another, Rean tried to calm his racing heart while trying to come up with an explanation how this had happened.
Looking at Alisa she had her back turned to him from what he could see, her ears were still red, groaning in his head from the awkwardness, he tried to think of a way to explain the situation to his mother who was now sporting a smirk instead of a smile and whose eyes shined with mirth at him, his sister on the another hand was the complete opposite, she was downright pouting at him while her eyes were full of anger at him.
Suppressing another groan he tried to win some time to organise his thought better, "Hi Mom, Elise are the two of you done with your shopping?" Was the best he could come up with in this situation, Lucia just raised an eyebrow at her son while still maintaining her smirk, "Yes we are done with this shop, so we thought to visit the next one, only to find something far more interesting outside of it."
Taking a glance at Alisa, he found that she had turned around to face them though her face was still somewhat red and she was avoiding looking at him, thinking that it was better to explain now before his mother could come up with some teasing remark which would make this situation even more awkward than it already was.
"Well, this here is an acquaintance of mine Alisa before we continue this conversation", at that Rean threw his mom a glare to stop whatever she was going to say, "Let me explain how this happened."
So he explained the order of events that led to that with Alisa nodding beside him. After finishing he found that his mom was almost disappointed at his explanation while Elise seemed somewhat relieved, filling that observation for later, Rean tried to introduce Alisa properly this time. "Like I said this here is Alisa, I met her two years ago on the train to Roer."
At that she stepped forward while curtsying to his family. "Nice to meet you Ma'am and Miss, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Which both his mother and sister returned. "It is nice to meet you Alisa, I'm Lucia Schwarzer, this here is my daughter Elise Schwarzer and of course you already know my son over there. You can just call me Lucia; there isn't any need for formalities between us."
At first Alisa wanted to decline that it was only polite to address her as Ma'am which she nearly did if hadn't she thrown a side glance at Rean to notice the amused light in his eyes and the slight smile on his face, remembering the times where she told him to not be so polite with her, she swallowed what she was going to say and just nodded at Lucia and Elise to express her thanks for it.
"So Mom would you mind making a detour, I said that would help Alisa with the bags?" Lucia only smiled, "Of course I don't mind, maybe we should come with you to help with them or do you think we would be in the way of your alone time?" Rean just glared at her for that remark while red returned to Alisa's cheeks, "Mom, I know that you are teasing and normally I don't mind because I'm already used to it but Alisa isn't, so please drop it." Recognising that he was right, Lucia gave an apologetic smile with a slight bow to her. "So where do you want these delivered to, Alisa?"
"You don't have to help me with these. I don't want to disturb you and your family from your shopping" Shaking her head at her, Lucia just smiled, "Don't worry about us Alisa, we have more than enough time to help you with these and still do our shopping besides knowing my son, I'm pretty sure that he has already offered to help and he can be pretty stubborn about these kind of things, so just lead the way." Taking a glance at him, Alisa just snickered "Yeah, I got that impression from him."
Rolling his eyes at both of them, Rean just kept quiet while waiting for Alisa to show them the way. Accepting their goodwill, she told them where they were going and led them through the city. For a while no one said anything, so Lucia took it upon herself to try to break the silence, "Rean did you manage to get a city map?" with that, he remembered what had happened before he met Alisa.
"No, they were sold out and apparently they were waiting for the new edition which they said would only arrive tomorrow. Maybe we should buy everything for Elise today and for the rest we can come another day." Lucia seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding to his suggestion; Rean noticed that Alisa was frowning slightly.
"She is probably thinking that we are wasting time with helping her instead of continuing our shopping.", Seeing that she opened her mouth, to presumably trying to insist she didn't need their help and that they should prioritise their business instead of wasting their time helping her, he cut her off before she could say anything, "Say Alisa, you were trying to say something before we were interrupted before?"
Alisa remembered what she was going to tell him but since his mother and sister were here, she couldn't exactly start to scold him like she had planned to, so she decided to take a more subtle approach just to see how he would react, "Ah right, I was going to tell you about some books I read." Surprised that it was only about books, Rean ignored the nagging feeling that he was forgetting something.
"Oh, read anything good lately?"
"I just finished re-reading the entire series of Red moon, I especially liked the volume nine, thirteen and fourteen, they seem to be especially entertaining to read, you know?"
"Huh, it has been a while since I last read them but I don't recall anything special about those volumes…OH!" It was then that Rean recalled what was so special about those books and what that nagging feeling had been about. Rubbing his neck he looked at Alisa who looked like a cat that got the cream, "So did you like them?", was the only thing that he could come up with which he soon regretted as he saw her narrowing her eyes at him while the smile got more a touch more predatory. "Is that all you have to say about it?"
"In my defence, you looked so sad that I felt that I had to do something and that was the only thing I could come up with at the moment. I am sorry for not asking your permission before." Finished with his sentence he bowed his head to her.
"I wasn't that sad, I mean I wasn't sad at all. Still you shouldn't have done that besides I offered to pay you for them, so if you wanted to do something, you should have just let me buy them." At the beginning Alisa was flustered as he described that she had been sad but she regained her composure mid-sentence and glared at him at the end.
Straightening his back, he tried to defend himself, "Well I can't accept your money for something that was given to me for free, so that option wasn't something I could take." Alisa wanted to say something in return before she was interrupted by someone coughing, she and Rean looked to the side to find Elise looking at them with some displeasure and a hand before her mouth and Lucia too was looking at them, but in contrast to her daughter with amusement and curiosity.
"Brother could please explain what you are talking about, it isn't very polite to engage in conversation where the rest of us can't follow what it is you are talking about."
Taking a glance at the girl beside him, he explained what exactly had happened back then, how they had talked about the books, Rean trying to gift her the books she was missing, Alisa trying to pay for said books only for both of them to deny each other offers and lastly how Rean had slipped the books inside her bags without her knowing. After finishing both the mother and daughter shared a knowing look and just sighed out loud.
"Brother that was very pushy of you, if you just wanted to give her your books then you should have just let her pay for them." An angry looking Elise started to scold him but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder from going further, said hand belonged to her mother. "Elise is right Rean, you should always respect other people's opinion, even if you think otherwise but at the same time I know that you just wanted to help her, you never could stand seeing someone sad. Why I can still remember what you did for Elise when you both were still so little and she was so sad that she lost her favourite doll."
Her curiosity getting the better of her, Alisa couldn't stop from asking "What did he do?" Lucia looked at her with amusement written all over her face, "When Elise was little, she had lost her favourite doll, she loved to play dress up with it and so after the doll disappeared she was just so sad. She wouldn't stop crying no matter what we did, so Rean told her, that she could just play dre.."
"MOM! I don't think that you need to remember that story or even tell it."
Now it was Rean's face that was beet red from embarrassment, shooting a pleading glance at his mother to stop her from telling that particular story which prompted Lucia and Elise, her displeasure temporarily forgotten as she remembered that fond memory of her childhood, to giggle at him. Sighing Rean just ignored them and turned to look at a now confused looking Alisa, "I'm sorry, I didn't think that it would cause you so much trouble, I just wanted you to stop looking so sad."
"For the last time, I wasn't that sad!" Retorted a flustered Alisa though her red cheeks told another story, taking a deep breath, she just continued as if nothing had happened, "So since it has come to this, are you going to accept the money, for the books or do want me to return them to you?"
Before he could respond, Lucia quickly stepped in, "Alisa, do have any plans for the rest of the day?" three pairs of confused eyes looked at her, for the unexpected question. She didn't understand why Lucia was asking that, but she answered nonetheless, "No, after dropping these off, I don't have anything planned for today." Clapping her hands, Lucia suggested "So how about this, since I know my son will never accept the money and he would feel bad for making you give the books back, so how about you be our guide for today in exchange for them and help us navigate the city while we are shopping?"
"Mom, you can't ask something like that of her, she may not have plans but that doesn't mean that she has to help us" argued Rean, while his sister was nodding behind him to support his argument. "Oh does that mean you will accept the money then or will you make her give the books back to you?"
Realising that she was right, neither were an option that he could accept, he shoots Alisa a glance, "Fine, the decision is yours but please don't feel obligated to accept it, I'm sure we can find another solution for this." Rolling her eyes at him, she thought about it for a moment, (Well, that doesn't sound too bad besides I really don't have anything else to do for today and the only thing that will happen, if I go home is me getting angry at Mother again.)
Looking at Lucia, she gave her answer, "Sure, I don't mind, just tell me what you need, and I should be able to help you out with finding the right shops."
During the time they were talking, they arrived at what was looking like a tavern with the name Dvance's Diner written on the top of the building with a girl outside sweeping, upon seeing the girl Alisa called out to her, "Yuuna, I'm back." Looking up the girl called Yuuna saw the blonde approaching her with three people that she didn't recognise arriving quickly before her was Alisa and a guy with bags filled with ingredients, "Hey Alisa, looks like you got everything I asked of you and seems like you got someone to help you. I was worried that you were going to try to carry everything on your own, but it looks like you finally learned to ask for help."
Alisa averted her eyes while giving her the bags, "Of course, I asked for help. It would have been foolish of me to try and bring all these alone.", only to give Rean a warning glare to keep him for commenting while taking his bag though it wasn't enough to prevent him from snickering at which resulted in her stepping on his foot to make him stop. To prevent Rean from explaining what really had happened, she pushed him back to on the street while telling Yuuna, "Sorry, but something came up, we can talk later, and maybe I will be back for lunch." Waving at her until she disappeared from her sight, though she was quite puzzled at her friend's weird behaviour, she just shrugged it off and returned to sweeping.
With her friend out of sight, Alisa shot an annoyed glance at Rean, who just looked amused at her, "What?" deciding that it was better to be quiet, he just raised his hands and shook his head at her though his eyes betrayed his amusement. Ignoring him, she began walking forward to join his family before he could do the same, he suddenly got the feeling that someone was watching him, looking around he couldn't find anyone looking at him, thinking that it was maybe just his imagination, he walked quickly after his family.
The feeling that was someone was watching however didn't disappear rather he became quite sure that someone was following them, though he couldn't find who and where they were. While waiting inside a store, he closed his eyes and expanded his senses like his Master had taught him and he was lucky enough to find the person that was tailing them, even though he couldn't see who it was at least he got the general feeling for that person. He tried to keep his senses on their follower while the rest of his group continue with shopping.
"Let's see, I don't think it is a pickpocket since he is always keeping his distance from us but if he isn't one why is he following us around? I better keep quiet about this, I don't want to worry them and there could be a reasonable explanation, on why we are being followed still I should make sure of it." The problem was that he couldn't exactly slip away without explaining why, looking ahead of him, he saw Alisa talking and laughing with his mother and sister, at the beginning Elise wasn't too thrilled to have Alisa accompanying them, though he couldn't think of a reason why, she had opened somewhat to her and his mother was talking to her as if she had known her for years, he just wished that she would stop bringing some of his embarrassing childhood stories up.
Even so he was glad that all three were having a good time. The opportunity to slip away arrived quickly and in the most unexpected way, seeing the next store for their shopping, he coughed loudly to get their attention, "I think it is obvious that I shouldn't enter this particular store, so if you don't mind, could I leave the bags to you for this and let's meet here half an hour later?"
With a slight smile on her face, Lucia couldn't resist teasing him a bit, "Really Rean, don't you think ..…" Stepping back from them he quickly saw where that question was going, "Mom, there isn't enough Mira on the continent for me step inside a underwear store, so don't even think about it." he deadpanned, before she could finish her question, though he made his intentions clear, the rest of the girls still glared at him.
Seeing that she couldn't tease him, she took the bags from him and gave him half an hour to stroll around. Heaving a relieved sigh that his mother had stopped, he saw them enter the store and nonchalantly turned around to enter the crowd of people while keeping his senses honed on the person tracking them. Sensing that said person wasn't moving from his spot, he concluded that it wasn't him that the person was after, he took a big detour around the block while approaching their stalker from behind without being noticed, he looked around trying to discover who their follower was, only to find out that it was someone he remembered meeting once, though he couldn't understand why that individual was following them without approaching them.
"Well at least it isn't someone dangerous, though I don't know why she is following us, or rather Alisa, without talking to her. Let's just see where this is going."
Since it wasn't anyone dangerous, Rean strolled around doing some window-shopping until it was time to return to meet the others, making his way back to the underwear store while once again taking a detour to not alert the person following them, he found his family and Alisa waiting outside the shop for him, he wordlessly took the bags back, though Alisa and Elise were keeping each a bag, sending embarrassed glares his way when they saw him looking at them. After that they visited some more shops until they had everything they needed for Elise and even some new clothes for Lucia, looking at the time Lucia suggest that they should go eat lunch and then continuing afterwards.
"How about we go to my friend's place, it is the same place where we dropped of the ingredients, and I can guarantee the taste and the prices are reasonable." Deciding that it wasn't a bad idea, they followed Alisa back to the tavern, while making small talk with each other or rather the ladies did since Rean was walking behind them, keeping a certain distance, since he was looking at them while walking, he noticed Alisa sneaking some glance at him. Though she turned her head quickly every time he caught her looking at him, not understanding why she was doing that confused him, thinking that he could perhaps ask her at lunch, he put that thought away for later.
Also noticing Alisa's glances, Lucia quickly understood the reason for them, "Don't worry about him, Rean isn't walking behind us because he is bored or anything like that, but because he doesn't want to disturb us while we are talking." Startled Alisa was quick to deny, that she was worried, "I'm not worried or anything, though I was thinking that it can't be much fun following us around, while carrying the bags." Taking yet another glance at him, she added," Is he always like this, putting other people before him?"
This time it was Elise who answered her, "Yes, he is always like that, he could stand to be more selfish and not try to make everyone else happy besides him." Surprised at the resentment in the young girl voice, Alisa didn't know what to say to that. "My son has the habit to put other people before him, even if they are strangers that he had just met. I'm proud of him, make no mistake, it is rare nowadays to meet someone like him, that is always willing to help without seeking a reward for himself."
Taking a glance at her daughter, who was frowning at her brother, "We just wish, that he would try and make himself happy too or like Elise said be more selfish with himself." Looking at Rean, Alisa couldn't have imagined that someone like him even existed, someone so willing to help others, "I may have known him just for some hours in total, but I did get the fleeing that he was far too kind to someone he just meet."
Noticing that they had arrived at the diner, that saw the girl named Yuuna, put the open sign on the door, walking toward her Alisa, asked her if they could have a table for four people, giving her friend a yes she began leading them inside, (I don't know if this is the right thing to do, but I would feel bad for her, if she just stood outside watching us eat, so let's just hope that this doesn't backfire.) were Reans thoughts as he threw a glance at the corner of the street.
Sighing he quickly asked, "Sorry, but would it be possible to have a table for five people instead of four?" Surprised at his question, Yuuna still answered, "Sure we have a table for five, but..." Not finishing her sentence, since she could only see four people standing in front of her, three who were also staring at him in confusion, "Is someone else joining us Rean?"
Lucia looked around but couldn't find anyone else besides them in front of the diner, "Well, I would feel bad, if we are eating and she was waiting for us to finish outside the restaurant while watching us." Seeing that they were still looking at him rather confused, he raised his voice while looking at the corner of the street, "I'm not sure if I'm overstepping, but I think it would be better if you joined us for lunch, what do you think Miss Sharon?"
His mother and sister were still confused, only Yuuna and Alisa recognised the name, which prompted Alisa to shout out "What?" and to look at the direction of the corner only for moments later to see her maid step out of it, bowing in their direction, "Well Master Rean, since you were so kind as to extend an invitation to this humble maid, it would be quite impolite of me to refuse." Was her answer as she was walking towards them.
Stopping before the group, she curtsied before them while introducing herself, "Hello everyone, it is nice to meet you, to those who don't know me, please allow me to introduce myself, I'm Sharon Kreuger a humble maid in the services of Lady Alias's family, it is a pleasure to meet you and as always it is lovely to see you again Lady Yuuna and may I add that it is truly a pleasure to meet you again, Master Rean."
Even if they were surprised by the sudden appearance of the maid, his mom and sister quickly returned the greeting, while introducing themselves. Meanwhile, Alisa was still shocked at her maid unexpected appearance, she could only stare as Sharon introduced herself, as soon she was finished, she stomped forward to put herself before the maid with her arms crossed and looked directly in her eyes, "Sharon, what are you doing here?"
"Why my lady, Master Rean here invited me to lunch, so here I am as it would be quite impolite to refuse such an invitation." Was Sharon's explanation to the question though she had a teasing smile, as she gave her answer. Not in the mood, for the usual teasing from her, Alisa nearly growled, "Sharon!" Seeing her charge like that, she decided to stop teasing her, "After, you left home this morning I was quite worried, since you and Lady Irene didn't have the most pleasant conversations before leaving, so I did my duties as fast as possible and came after you since I knew you had made plans with Lady Yuuna, I came here in the hopes to catch up to you." After hearing her maid's explanation, Alisa appeared to be mostly mollified, just to find Rean looking at Sharon with a raised eyebrow finding that odd, she voiced out her question, "Is something wrong, Rean?"
Startled he looked at her not sure if he should mention, that even though what Sharon had said was strictly speaking the truth, she had been following them around for a lot longer than she had just told her, deciding that it wasn't his place to meddle, he just shook his head at her question. Alisa frowned thinking that he was hiding something from her, but believing that they had already wasted enough time outside, she put that for later if there was an opportunity to ask.
The group followed the young waitress inside, where they were sited at a table and given menus to choose from, after listening to Alias's recommendations they choose their meals while waiting they made some small talk between themselves, the most talk came from the two adult women while Alisa and Elise tried to include Rean in their talks too.
Being the only guy sitting with a group of women, made it awkward for him to talk, so he just answered when he was asked something, or the conversation went in his direction. He could tell that, his mother and sister were surprised that Alisa's family had a maid and were quite curious, if she belonged to a noble family or was just from a very wealthy family, he caught them glancing at her when she wasn't paying attention, remembering how hesitant she had been to tell him her family name, he shook his head at them to indicate, that they shouldn't ask. Afterwards they spend their time savouring the dishes while talking about where they should go shopping now.
They also asked if they could leave their shopping bags at the tavern while they went shopping which Yuuna gave her consent, as they were leaving Alisa pulled Rean aside, "I just want to say, well I mean.."
Not sure what was going on, Rean waited for her to finish, taking a deep breath she said, "I wanted to thank you, for helping me back there with the bags, I realised that I hadn't even thanked you for it, so thanks for helping me back there and.." At this point she averted her eyes, "and for covering for me, I noticed that your mother and sister were curious about me after Sharon appeared."
Holding a hand up to make her stop, he shook his head at her, "You don't have to thank me for anything Alisa, I just did what anyone else would have done and my mom and sister are just curious, they don't care much about ones background, they just care what kind of person one is, no matter what their name is." Seeing that they were being left behind, he began walking while making sure that she kept up with him, Alisa just rolled her eyes at his display of humbleness, even if she had a small smile on her face,
"You know it wouldn't kill you, to just accept someone thanks and not try to downplay what you did." Noticing that she was just teasing him, he replied in kind, adopting a tone like a servant form the last century, "Very well, this humble servant accepts your thanks, Lady R." Which prompted her to laugh only to put a hand before her mouth to stop it while the other smacked him in the shoulder, "Very funny, Rean." Holding his hands up, he smiled at her, "It got you to laugh, so it had to be funny."
Still giggling she just raised her pace to quickly join the others only for someone to bump into her, the man quickly apologised and began walking away as fast as he could. Narrowing his eyes, Rean stepped forward to grab the man's arm, with lightning-fast speed, his actions surprising both Alisa and the man before either could speak up he spoke harshly to the man, "I don't think that belongs to you."
Squeezing, the arm he was holding hard caused the hand to open and something fell down, realising that it was her purse, Alisa quickly checked just to be sure that it was really hers just to find that her purse was really missing. Bending down, she grabbed it and glared at the thief, in the meantime the others recognised that something was wrong and began walking back to them. At the same time, Rean's action had attracted the attention of the people around, looking around the thief jerked his arm out of grip it was in, rubbing it he raised his voice while making a face like he was hurt, "You damn brat, what do you think you are doing, grabbing a honest man out of nowhere and nearly breaking my arm, are you trying to rob me, I tell you the law won't stand for it."
Appalled that he was trying to accuse Rean of the crime he was trying to commit, Alisa yelled back, "What the hell are you saying, you were the one who tried to steal my purse and run away, you thief!"
"I was trying to steal your purse?! That is ridiculous you brat, I was just walking by as he grabbed me, trying to force me to give him my money." The people around them began whispering to each, not knowing whom to believe while some were just enjoying the show and the rest of their group tried to make their way back to them. Before Alisa could retort, another man stepped forward with a loud voice, "I saw everything that happened, poor Miguel here is telling the truth, it was that boy over there who went after him, trying to rob him of his hard-earned money, it is saddening what today's youth are becoming."
"Thank Aidios, there are still brave people trying to do what it is right, in this world. I have never met you my friend, but I thank you nonetheless for standing up for righteousness."
"Of course, we may be strangers but I just couldn't turn a blind eye to this wretched display of greed."
Seeing that a lot of people were beginning to glare at Rean, thanks to this clown's show, she was ready to explode and give them a taste of her arrows, she was halfway there to grab her bow only to see Rean calmly walking towards to them, "Are you done? Because if you are can you explain, why if you are total strangers, you just called him Miguel?"
Flinching the two glanced at each other, not caring about their reaction, he continued walking forward, "Besides, I don't mind waiting for the provincial army to arrive, so that they could investigate what truly happened here. So should we call for them to clear this up?" Now both of the men were steeping back while their faces were white, seeing the reactions of the two the crowd started to realise that something was off. The two thieves were seeing that the situation was turning against them, so they tried a new tactic. "We are honest people; we don't have to stay here and take your false accusations."
They tried to quickly leave, only for Rean to block their way, "I don't think so, we are waiting here until the army arrives, if you are truly 'honest' people as you claim to be, I'm sure you will have no problem staying here." Putting emphasis on the word honest, he crossed his arms and glared at them. Sharing another look the two thieves reached in their back pockets, one was holding a small dagger while the other was putting brass knuckles on and started running towards him.
(You have got to be kidding me, are they seriously that stupid to pull out weapons in broad daylight, in this crowd of people? I better stop them, who knew what they are going to if they reach the crowd around us and I can't exactly use my tachi in the city, seems like I will have to rely on the eight form.) Were Rean's thoughts as he uncrossed his arms and widened his legs, to react faster to his approaching opponents.
Seeing the two man pull their weapons and charging towards Rean, Alisa first reaction was to pull her bow out, but before she could even nock an arrow to shoot, she saw Rean sidestepping a stabbing attack form the dagger wielding man while at the same time tripping his attackers legs with one of his own and since the man had put his weight forward as he attacked, he went flying forward and judging from the painful cry, he probably landed face first.
Rean faced the second man, who threw some punches at him which he dodged with ease until the thief tried to hit him with a straight which he dogged by stepping forward to his opponent chest. There he grabbed the outstretched fist and turned around while bending over, pulling the arm forward only to finish throwing the man at the ground, after that he steeped away after performing a textbook shoulder toss.
Though it took some time to describe this, it all happened in less than ten second. Alisa could only stand there with her bow unfolded and gaping mouth while staring at Rean as he bends down to pick up his opponents' weapons from them and keeping them out of their reach suddenly Rean jumped aside as a gunshot was heard shortly after he moved.
(Master was right, I should always trust my instincts.) Having a bad feeling caused Rean to jump aside which resulted in him dodging the bullet. Looking up from his crouching position, he saw a man pointing a gun at him, (Great, he must be an accomplice of these two, seems like I can't avoid drawing my sword now. I will keep him focused on me, can't let him aim his gun around. He could hit other people, so I will run toward him in zig zag and as soon I'm close enough. I will use the fourth form Autumn Leaf Cutter, to cut his gun in two.)
Deciding his course of action, Rean tensed his body to start running only to see an arrow hitting the hand holding the gun, which the man dropped, looking at the direction where the arrow came from, he found Alisa holding a bow in a stance. Seeing an opportunity, he abandoned his previous plan and ran straight towards the wailing man holding his hand to use his Destructive Impact on the man's stomach, the power from the blow caused the man to faint.
Rean stood up looking incredulously at Alisa, she responded with a raised eyebrow and asked, "What? I wasn't going to stand still while letting him shoot you." At that moment the rest of their group arrived beside them and that was the moment where the provincial army appeared demanding to know what the hell was going on.
Three hours later.
"I cannot believe this! The army kept us for over three hours just to interrogate us for what happened, even a blind person could see that we were only defending ourselves, it was clearly self-defence!" An enraged Alisa could be seen leaving the post of the army while Rean tried to pacify her. "You have to admit, they are just doing their job and given the state the three men were in, we can't blame them."
Thinking back as the army arrived, one man lying on the ground groaning in pain, another crying while holding both his hand over a bloodied mouth and what looked like a broken nose, while the third had an arrow sticking from his hand and had fainted while a boy was standing next to them holding a gun in his hand while nearby was a girl holding a bow, nobody could blame them for arriving at the wrong conclusion.
"I know that, what is pissing me of is that even after we explained the situation to them and even the people around us, verified what we said was the truth, they still tried to put handcuffs on us." Even the people on the street made way for a stomping Alisa, he quickly stepped next to her still trying to calm her down. "In the end, it all worked out after the captain of that squad arrived, sure the waiting time wasn't pleasant, but in the end the three thieves are going to get their punishment, for attempted stealing and carrying weapons and using them in the middle of the city." What Rean didn't mention was that only after the captain saw Alisa, was he willing to listen to them treat them with some respect.
As if reading his mind, Alisa glanced at him from the side while speaking in a softer tone, "Aren't you going to ask?", noticing what she meant, he answered with another question while giving her a smile, "Do you want me to? I mean, sure I'm a bit curious, but if you don't want to talk about it, I'm not going to force you."
A brief look of guilt flashed through her eyes, before she turned away. Seeing that she was struggling he kept going, "Honestly Alisa, if you don't want to talk, you don't have to. Like my family, I judge people based on their character and not on their status or name. The girl I am seeing before me is, someone who likes to read the Red moon series, speaks her mind and given recent events is actually a pretty good at shooting with a bow, so who cares that she is someone who a captain has to treat with respect and flattery, that doesn't mean anything to me."
Now she was looking away for a whole different reason, calming herself she turned to look at him with her eyes narrowed, though there was a trace of red remaining on her face, "Is there even a filter between your brain and your mouth? Honestly, who says stuff like that?"
Chuckling Rean, just shrugged his shoulder, "I don't think I said something that wasn't true?" Resigning herself to it, Alisa just rolled her eyes and kept quiet, he noticed that at least she wasn't feeling bad anymore, "Still I'm sorry for what happened, if I had handled it better, you wouldn't have had to act and come with me to deal with this."
That stopped her in her tracks and made her glare at him which caused him to stop too, "Are you kidding me?! You stopped someone for stealing my purse, beat them at their own game and took them on as their pulled out weapons, just to take them down, as soon as possible. Besides what were you going to do against a gun, run towards it and hope he wouldn't manage to hit you?"
Now it was his turn to look away with a guilty look on his face, seeing this she felt pure disbelief at first, but it was soon followed by her temper flaring hotter than before, stepping in front of him she grabbed his shoulder and made him look at her while looking right in his eyes. "You can't be serious?! You were going to run straight at him, are you out of your mind?!"
Even when he was facing down a gun, Rean hadn't broke a drop of sweat but now he could feel it running down his back, as he tried to step backward but she held him in place, so he tried to explain himself in the hope that she would calm down, "To be fair, I wasn't going to run in a straight line, but in zig zag, it makes harder for someone to aim, if you're fast enough. Besides if he was concentrating on me, he couldn't aim for other people."
Which proved to only add oil to the flame, which was seconds away from exploding, if the furious look on her face was anything to go by. "You are unbelievable! Who in his right mind tries that, while facing a gun, just that no one else gets shoot. You…"
She would have continued, if Rean hadn't chosen that moment to put his hands on her shoulders, to try to distract her and stop her from continuing. "Alisa, I'm fine. Nothing bad happened and because you took take care of it, I didn't have to try do anything like that, so if anything, I should thank you, so that is what I'm going to do. Thank you, Alisa for helping me out of that situation and probably saving my life."
Several emotions could be seen her face, as he finished speaking, anger, embarrassment, irritation, surprise and shyness, just to name few. Deciding that she couldn't look at him, she turned her back to him to hide her face, although that didn't stop her from at least trying to scold him for his suicidal actions. "You…You…" taking a deep breath, she tried again, "You are just impossible. I can't even imagine what would happen, if I hadn't been there." Taking another deep breath," But you are welcome. Did anyone ever tell you that are far too reckless?"
Seeing that the danger had passed, he tried joking with her to alleviate the rest of her anger, "Just on days that end with a Y, why?", Wisely he at least didn't add that it wasn't his first time facing a gun and that he had faced far worse, when he had been training with his master in eastern Zemuria. Seeing her glare return, he was glad that he didn't speak that last part out loud while he took a step back and put his hands up in surrender, shaking her head she just began walking again.
Feeling that he had dodged a bullet (or in this case rather an arrow, if her twitching hand was any indication), he soon followed her, even if he maintained a certain distance from her, as she was murmuring ahead of him. After a few minutes of silence, Alisa looked back sighed again and asked, "Do want to meet up with the others now or do want to buy something first?"
Relief flooded his body as he saw that she had calmed down, "Well since Mom and Elise are with Sharon, they should have finished with everything they wanted to buy, I really should thank you for that by the way."
"You don't have to thank me for that, it was the most logical step after the army insisted that we go with them, I admit that I didn't expect that it would take so long though." Seeing that they were taken away, the rest wanted to go with them, if Alisa hadn't asked Sharon to help them with shopping while Alisa and Rean went with the army. The captain had assured them, that it was just standard procedure and they were just going to ask them some questions, at that his family had calmed down and reluctantly agreed that they would meet later at Yuuna's, when they were done. "So meeting with them or shopping?"
"Honestly, the only reason I came with them was to help them by carrying the bags, so I don't anything to shop for." He was going to suggest that they should regroup with rest, if he hadn't caught sight of a bookstore and remembered that soon he was going to talk with his parents about his plans for his future, "You wouldn't happen to know a good place to buy study books for higher level education?" Surprised at the unexpected question, she nodded as she led the way to one such store.
Inside a bookstore, Rean was looking around for the books that could help him study, seeing the selection of books, he was choosing she couldn't help but ask, "Are you planning to prepare for some exams for an academy?" Nodding at her, he continued looking while answering her, "Yes, but I'm not sure for which one yet, but I think that it couldn't hurt to begin preparing for it. What about you, got anything in mind?"
"Me? To be honest, I didn't even think of that, I mean we have the Institute of Technology here in Roer, so I had been thinking of studying there, as soon as I was old enough. Do you have anything specific in mind on what you want to study or do later on?" Taking his time, he tried to explain what he had in mind, "No, I don't have the slightest idea what I want to do, but I think that I will chose one where it has a general education, that can be built on if I decided to study something more specific, but it will probably be a place where they have dorms,"
Seeing her questioning gaze, he answered the unspoken question, "Don't take this the wrong way, I'm no trying to leave home as soon as possible, I just think that a place where I have to focus on studying without having to come home, is what could help me find out my path in life." Though if he was being honest, he already had made his choice and some general outline for his future, but given her reaction to his actions earlier, he thought that it was better he didn't mention that it was a military academy he was hoping to get in.
Thinking on his words, an idea started to form in her mind, "Leaving home to seek out my path in life, huh. You know that possibility hadn't even crossed my mind, maybe you are right, that it is indeed a good idea. Guess I have to thank you for that." She gave him a small smile, as she kept thinking about it, seeing that he seemed to have helped her without meaning to, he just shrugged his shoulder, "I don't think I can take credit for that, you would have probably thought of it sooner or later."
She was getting used to him being so humble, so she just told him, "Honestly, just accept my thanks, you are far too humble for someone your age, you know. I think I'm going to follow your example and buy some books for me too, so got any recommendation?" Not bothering to even let him answer her remark, she threw a question at him. Seeing what she was doing, he decided that he had already angered her enough for a day, so he showed her his selection so far.
Sometime later, they left the store with each one holding a bag full of books, they made their way back to the tavern to meet up with the rest, on the way they talked about their studies that they had done until now, how they were going to prepare for exams and so forth. As soon they stepped inside the tavern they were soon surrounded by their companions, asking what type of questioning had taken so long, if there had been problems and why they had taken so long to come back.
Looking at the two, Lucia saw that they were alright, releasing a relieved sigh, "Aidios, it was quite the shock, seeing what had happened, especially the gunshot and the army appearing but what matters most is that you two are alright, although I would appreciate it that next time something like this happens, that you don't try to scare me this much, young man."
Looking sternly at Rean which caused him to rub his neck and look sheepish at his mother. Finding the wording in that sentence odd, Alisa asked, "The next time?" which prompted Elise to answer, "My brother has the unwelcome gift of finding trouble, in the most unlikely places or how he likes to put it trouble likes to find him." Remembering what he had planned hadn't she intervened, Alisa could feel her anger (and concern though she wouldn't admit it even at gunpoint) returning.
"So that wasn't the first time something like that happened?"
"I think we are easily past the two digits, for the cases that we know of, I can't even imagine how many more there are that we don't know about."
(And I hope you never will or I will be grounded for the rest of my life, if Mom and Dad ever find out about some stuff that happened back there.)
Seeing the both of them glaring at Rean, Lucia intervened before it got worse for him, "Still, I have to thank you, Alisa. You really helped him out, I shudder to think what would have happened if you hadn't, knowing my son as well as I do he would have most likely try to charge at the man, to try keep him the gun focused at him or something else reckless." Seeing a vein popping up on Alisa's head, as his mother had guessed at what had been his original plan, Rean knew he had to say something before this spiralled even more out of control.
The one to save him was Sharon, "In my case, I would like to thank you Master Rean, although the following events were unpleasant, if you hadn't intervened that thief would have got away with Lady Alisa's purse and they would have most likely continued to steal form other people, so as a servant of Lady Alisa, you have my deepest gratitude."
She thanked him, while bowing her head deeply, calming down Alisa realised that after all that had happened, she hadn't even thanked him until now, "Sharon is right, though I have some reservations of some of the things you were planning to do, it doesn't change the fact that you once more helped me, so thank you."
Rean got flustered at their thanks, "It wasn't anything special, anybody would have done the same." Three pairs of eyes were rolled and one chuckling was heard, following his words. Deciding that it was better (for him), he changed the conversation, "So do we have anything left to do?"
Noticing that he was changing the topic Lucia let it slide, she would have more chances to scold him later anyway, "No, we are done on our side, what about you?" He shook his head at her as an answer, "So if we are done, we should be on our way home." Realising that they had to leave, Alisa was frowning, "How about we accompany you until the city gate, I mean I did say I would show you around today, besides it isn't very far from her."
Seeing what her Lady was trying to do, Sharon decided to help her out once, without teasing her for once, "My Lady is right, it would be quite impolite as your guides, if we don't give you a proper goodbye." Lucia found that they had already inconvenient them enough, but Alisa insisted that they should. Accepting their goodwill, they left in the direction of the gates, on the way there, everyone made small talk, though it was mostly Lucia with Sharon and Elise with Alisa with some occasionally input from Rean.
After arriving at their destination, Lucia gave Alisa and Sharon a hug and thanked them for all their help while Elise and Rean thanked them with only their words and a handshake, seeing that it was time to leave, Rean stepped to Alisa's side, "So thanks again, Alisa for everything today. I'm pretty sure that, we would have had a lot more trouble finding our way around town and Mom and Elise look like that they had also a good time while talking with you. I know I'm repeating myself, but I'm grateful to you, especially with Elise, I was afraid that she wouldn't enjoy this trip with me there but in the end, I can tell that she enjoyed herself."
Blushing from hearing his gratitude, she turned her face away from him. "Geez, you are exaggerating, all I did was show you guys around, to pay you back for your books, which by the way I still don't think we are even concerning that." Hopping that the blush had passed, she looked back at him. Chuckling at her, "We are more than even Alisa, if anything I'm the one owing you now."
Turning around he began walking towards his family, who were already on their way to the inn to get the horses, "If we have the chance to meet again, then I will invite you for lunch. See you later, Alisa." Bowing to Sharon, he left to re-join, his family, not noticing the struggle on Alisa face, "You know my lady, you could still catch up to him and ask him for his contact info, though you may not live in the same town, there is nothing against becoming pen friends." Her blush returned with a vengeance, as she heard what her maid was suggesting.
"What are you saying, I can't do something like, it would be so embarrassing, if…." Coughing she tried to calm herself, only to glare at Sharon, who had teasing smile on her face and murmuring "Besides it should be his job to ask me, not mine." Alisa thought that she had said that quietly to herself, but Sharon heard her nonetheless.
"I don't think that would happen, considering what I have seen so far, Master Rean seems like a person to respect other people wishes." Seeing the confusion on Alisa's face, "Lady Alisa, you do realise that if he had asked and had you agreed to his request, you would have to tell him, that you are the heir to the Reinford Company?" Understanding what she meant, Alisa gave a quiet sigh and began walking back home.
"I understand that growing up with the Reinford name, didn't make it easy for you to form true friendship with other people, but you shouldn't close yourself from forming bonds with other like that. Neither Master Rean nor his family struck me as the type to care much for background of other people, you could have…."
"You are right, maybe I should have tried being honest with him, but..." Rubbing her other arm in silence, they continued walking, taking a glance at Sharon, who looked at her worried, "Tell you what, if and that is a big if, I meet Rean again, I promise you, I'll tell him my family name and ask him to become my friend, alright?" That brought a beaming smile on the maid's face, "Really Lady Alisa, do you promise that?"
Stunned at her sudden reversal, she just shrugged her shoulder, "Like I said that is a big if Sharon, but sure I promise, ok?" In her thought, she was thinking something else, (Oh Sharon, I don't think that we will meet each other again, given that he is apparently going to study somewhere away from here and I think that I'm going to do the same because he was right maybe I should try to find what my path in life is.) Unknown to Alisa on their way back to Ymir, Rean was having nearly the same conversation with his mother.
Later that evening in Ymir
The Schwarzer family was eating their meal at the same time Lucia was telling her husband about their day, Theo tried to summarise what he had been told, "So let me see, if I got this right, you went shopping, meet a pretty girl who was in my son's arms, who later showed you around Roer, her maid appeared later to join you, Rean got into trouble with the provincial army, who took my son and said girl away, both who appeared much later together and said that the army had been holding them for 'hours' and then you went home. Did I get this right?"
A nod from his wife told, that he did, "So just a normal day for Rean, huh." You could see a muscle twitching in his face, "Dad, I think you didn't get some things right." Looking up from his plate, Theo smiled at his son, "Sorry Rean, I'm just pulling your leg." Seeing that his father understood, he went back to eating only to groan and facepalm himself, as his dad added, with a smirk on his face," You don't normally go shopping." Which prompted his wife to laugh and even Elise giggled a bit at the remark, Rean just continued to eat while sulking.
After everyone was finished eating, Rean cleared his throat to get his parent attention, "Mom, Dad, could we talk for a moment please?" Seeing his parents focusing on him, left him a bit nervous considering what he was about to tell them, "I'm turning seventeen next year, so have been thinking, that I should further my education and I would like to enter an academy for that propose."
Theo and Lucia exchanged a look, when they realised that he was serious, "Well, your mother and I will support you of course, with that. We have been expecting, that you would want to study more considering, that you have been asking Father Bernard, for more material to study. So do you have some place in mind or do want me to ask around which school are in this region, though the way from school and home won't be easy, but considering it is you we are talking about, I'm sure you won't have a problem getting up early."
Taking a deep breath, Rean looked his parents straight in the eyes, "Well, I was thinking on trying the entrance exam for Thors Military Academy in Trista." You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed until Elise exclaimed, "What?! You want to join the military?!"
"No, I mean, I don't know, one of the reason I want to go there is because Thors is the best academy in the Empire, I think if I want to find out what to do with my life, I should try to absorb as much knowledge and experience as I can and Thors is the best place for me do that."
"But Trista is even farther away than Heimdallr, how are you going to commute from home and there?"
"The students of the academy are required to stay in the dorms, so I would stay there all year and come home only on special much like your school."
"But, but..." Shooting a pleading look at her parents, Elise asked them silently for help. Exchanging another look, Theo's face took on a stern look, as he directed his gaze at his son, "Well, that came out of nowhere, if I'm being honest Rean, like I said we were expecting, that you were going to an academy but that it was Thors Military Academy? That is something we weren't prepared for. So, Elise already asked but do you want to join the army?"
"Nowadays, most graduates form Thors don't join the army, thanks to the modern mechanisation in the military. I don't have to join the army, even if I go to Thors but if you are asking if I want to, then my answer is that I don't know, maybe yes, maybe no. I only know that I don't know what to do with my life right now. So, I thought why not try to get a good education and training while trying to find an answer."
Looking at his son's determined eyes, he already knew that nothing would change his decision and he was right Thors was the perfect environment to learn and train. Glancing at his wife, he saw that she too had reached the same conclusion and gave a nod to him as support.
"I think you already made a decision and me and your mother will support in i, but I have two conditions, if want to go and they aren't negotiable, young man. The first is that you will write at least once a month to us and second, we will pay for your tuition fees as long you are at Thors." Holding his hand up, to stop him from speaking, Theo continued, "Like I said these conditions aren't negotiable, Rean. I know that you have set enough money aside to pay for it, we already talked about that yesterday, but we are your parents, so I don't see why we can't pay for our child's education." Rean knew that he could be stubborn but so could his dad and he knew that couldn't change his stance concerning paying for him, so gave them his thanks.
"Looks like we have come to an agreement then Rean, so you are going to take the exams this year and enter Thors next spring?"
"I think you are underestimating the academy Dad, it isn't called the best in the empire for nothing. I was planning to prepare for a year and take the entrance exams next year, so if I pass, I would enter the year after." After learning that Rean wouldn't go directly to the army, Elise was mostly mollified, and the rest of the evening was spend talking, about Thors and Rean's plans. No one could have known then, that this one decision would set in motions the wheels of fate and lead Rean Schwarzer to an adventure of a lifetime.
Hope it was enjoyable. Next chapter will the beginning at Thors.
