Author's Note: SPOILER WARNING. This chapter contains details from Sword Oratoria Light Novel Volume 13. Read at your own risk.
Beautiful Mistake Chapter 4: Learning
Alya's foray into womanhood fortunately ended after a few days, with the bleeding slowly stopping along with the aches throughout her body. With knowledge that elf women only get their periods rarely which happen between years, the young elf could breathe a sigh of relief at not having to go through the process every month. But her frustrations at entering womanhood had only just begun.
Now that Alya has started maturing into a budding young woman, Grandma June started doubling down on teaching her granddaughter to become a proper lady, with one particular topic of contention between grandmother and granddaughter being clothing.
Grandma June had forbidden her granddaughter to wear anything other than dresses or other conservative feminine clothes outside of training. That meant Alya could no longer wear her comfy shorts and pants when she sometimes goes into the village, always being forced into long dresses and to always cover up.
Seeing as dresses and the other modest clothes her grandmother forces her to wear would restrict movement too much the young elf tried to plead her case and said she would rather wear a short skirt for more freedom.
Grandma June vetoed it as she stated young ladies must dress modestly as well as fashionably. This had gotten the young girl riled up and began rebelling at her grandmother's insistence on using restrictive clothes for something as insignificant as being "ladylike". She claimed that she didn't care if anyone ogled her for showing some skin or being buck naked anyway since people already stare at her since she was a kid.
Grandma June exploded into a rant about how shameful her granddaughter's line of thinking is. In the middle of her lecture she started drifting and the examples that she listed sounded too specific and seemed to be aimed at other girls that Alya's grandmother knew in the past.
"If you think I'm going to let you wear shorts so high up to your buttocks that they might as well be considered underwear then you are sadly mistaken! I will not have you raiding the taverns and drinking yourself to a stupor before vomiting all over my dresses! And short skirts?! Might as well you wear a mismatch of cloth that barely even hides your modesty and call them clothes. You know nothing about love just because you flaunt your body like some common streetwalker and attract a bevy of ruffians who profess their 'love' for you!" ranted Grandma June, being oddly specific with her examples.
Both of them kept going back and forth on the issue of Alya's clothes before a final compromise was made; tights. She supported her choice by saying how practical they are for any occasion, whether it be formal with pantyhose or even sturdier material that she can also use for casual events.
In the end Grandma June caved in and let her granddaughter have her skirts, to be paired with the appropriate tights. The remaining headache from this argument is grandma sewing up a storm and even ordering some specially designed tights for her granddaughter to have variety of the garments to choose from and for every occasion.
"They were a bitch to put on at first but really are comfy once you get used to the snug feeling." thought Alya as she put on a pair to go with her new wardrobe.
To be honest she had doubts in recommending tights in order for her to skip on wearing dresses. While the garment does provide a sense of modesty and stylish formality that goes in line with Grandma June's obsession with being ladylike, they can be just as erotic as not wearing anything at all.
"Meh, what am I worried about? It's not guys will line up for me just because of some cheap cloth covering my flat ass. There's no way I'm going to grow up curvy enough for the tights to actually accentuate anything."
The young elf felt immense relief when learning that she won't be growing a pair of breasts the size of melons and may stay as flat as a board. To her "disappointment" when being consoled by grandma, many elf women are incredibly slim and dainty throughout their lives.
Even after getting her period nothing has changed much about Alya except for growing a few inches and her voice changing tones slightly. She has high hopes for her to keep her slender build as getting boobs as big as grandma would be a literal pain to have.
Now finished with putting on her clothes, she proceeded to head out into the village in order to get ingredients to cook tonight's special dinner for Bell's 11th birthday.
Alya could hardly believe how fast last year passed after her "bloody" experience into puberty. Everything just seemed to become a blur from finding herself bleeding out of one of her holes where the sun doesn't shine. Maybe it was because of her attempts to tune out grandma being especially more irritating than usual that time was also ignored and next year rolled in swiftly.
The little village where the Cranel Family lived nearby hasn't changed much since she was reincarnated over a decade ago in this strange world that apparently had magic, with her coming back as one of those fantastical beings in fairy tales. She felt as if it was yesterday when she crapped her diapers and cried who knows how long for the life she lost and this new weird one born out of a mistake.
As the years passed since her arrival here, the memories of her past began to slowly fade until it became an afterthought. It seemed funny how the only memory that sticked with her is how she was formerly a guy in a past life and was a regular human in a more mundane world. Any other titbits she could recall is that her previous family sucked balls compared to the loving one she had now, with siblings that she didn't treat as tenderly as she did Bell.
But in all honesty she was glad for losing those memories and would hope to completely forget in the near future. This is her life now, with a family that she really loves and a simple existence of living with said family at a farm in the middle of nowhere. While the loss of her familiar bits is a bit regrettable and the weird feeling of being a girl still lingers at the back of her mind, it was a pretty good trade-off for this new life.
"I know who I'm supposed to be and where my place is. My name is Alya Cranel, granddaughter to June and Peter Cranel and younger sister to the human bunny-boy Bell Cranel!" thought Alya resolutely.
The words that she uttered in her heart made Alya feel a little woozy and lightheaded before a heavy feeling deep inside her was lifted. It was a very pleasant feeling, almost as if she was levitating and the euphoric feeling made her stop on the way to the village to savour the experience. She didn't know what just happened but its almost as if something missing inside her was finally complete, the strange niggling of self-doubt always in the back of her head that's been writhing and scratching at her very being vanished.
"Okay… that was trippy…"
Shaking off the weird feeling she felt, Alya made her way into the village and waved to a couple of the villagers while sighing at the kids who still ran away when they caught sight of her.
Despite making some progress in being more social in the village, the process of connecting to anyone not part of her family was progressing at a slow pace. The adults still acted like she was an exotic and beautiful thing to compliment and hand treats to while the kids her age and younger lack the guts to interact with her. Recently some boys did approach her and seemed to want to talk but ended up stuttering and then dashing away without forming words.
She'll never understand kids and probably never will.
But she'd rather deal with the boys than the girls, who had also undergone changes and didn't run away like the boys but instead seem to glare at her like she was doing something wrong just by breathing. None of the girls dared to voice out their mysterious displeasure with her but the gutsiest ones glared directly into her eyes when she looks their way. Even if she was also a girl now, she will never be able understand women.
Not wanting to dampen her mood thinking about the new attitude of the villagers in her age bracket, she completed the tasks of gathering a couple ingredients and items from the village's small market. It took a couple more hours to complete her tasks as she had to humour the various adults that still fawn over her and more boys running up to silently stare and then run away in a mad hurry but she was able to make it back home just in time before Bell came back from his training.
It was decided that for this year the family was going to plan a surprise party for Bell, seeing as it's been quite some time that the boy had been flustered or caught off guard since he started training. The once clumsy young boy had truly taken to honing his senses and battle instincts to near perfection that resulted in nothing frazzling him anymore.
Indeed, Bell had truly outgrown his once timid behaviour all those years ago and had even tested himself against several surface monsters. While taking down goblins and kobolds were nothing impressive, it was incredible for an unblessed human child especially when Bell had taken to fighting many of these monsters at the same time by himself and walk away without a scratch.
"I don't think Bell has anything left to learn from grandpa now that he mastered the basics and learned all of the tricks grandpa knew." Thought Alya as she contemplated having to say goodbye to her brother when he left to expand his horizons, possibly for a very long time or forever.
Alya understood that Bell isn't obligated to stay in a no-name village with his family holding him down from pursuing greatness. He's proven to be really handy with those daggers of his and will only become greater if a god gives Bell his or her blessing so that he could get awesome powers. But a part of her would really miss Bell and would be tempted to come along on his journey while the other chastises herself for wanting to cling to her brother and not let him live his life.
Shelving the thought of her brother's future departure for later musings, the young elf opened the door to the house and quickly set to work on preparing Bell's party before her brother comes home.
The party started off great despite Bell not even being a little surprised, with him trying and failing to feign being caught unaware and chuckling as Alya poked his sides for being cheeky.
Both grandparents proudly presented the usual feast and gifts for their grandson's special day, with Bell receiving a new pair of steel knives as backup weapons from his grandfather and indulging in his grandmother's culinary wonders. Alya gifted him an embroidered handkerchief with a crude stitching of a rabbit which became the gift he cherished most along with the other handknit items and clothes of his sister that he exclusively wore and used.
Needlework was one of the more difficult lessons that Grandma June tried to teach to her granddaughter, with many a pricked finger and lost needle developing Alya's ability to knit decent quality clothes that were slightly frayed and clumsily stitched but still usable.
But despite their inferior quality to the works of other seamstresses in the village and his grandmother, Bell cherished the creations of his sister and exclusively wore them regardless of their poor quality. It was fortunate that Alya had gotten better at knitting and stitching that the clothes she made no longer look like it was barely hanging by a few threads.
Her embroidery still needs some work though, as Bell confused the rabbit on the handkerchief as a deformed dog with three eyes before being corrected by his slightly embarrassed sister.
The birthday celebration lasted throughout the late afternoon and into the night with the family sharing many laughs and reminiscing past birthdays. Humorous tales were told such as when Alya dug into a cake literally by faceplanting into hers or when Bell rushed into the house without looking where he was going, crashing into his grandmother and made both of them fall on the ground with his face buried between her breasts.
With the celebration now taking up most of the excited energy that they had, Alya and Bell were about to start cleaning up the mess and head to bed when their grandparents bid for them to wait as they had one more gift for Bell that also applied to Alya.
However while grandpa called it a gift, grandma had a very pained expression with the force smile that she had making her discomfort even more obvious rather than hiding it. The Cranel family gathered in the living room which has now been dubbed "the bad news zone" with so many serious events that were discussed and had taken place in the area.
"Children. Before we reveal the surprise, I think its time that both of you know the full story about your parents." Declared their grandfather, to the shock of the Cranel siblings as they nervously turned to see their grandmother stiffen slightly.
It had become an unspoken rule to never talk about the past among the Cranel Family. The children has seen how distraught and broken their grandmother looks when small titbits about their mothers were mentioned, with the opposite happening when their fathers are even slightly mentioned that fills grandma with so much anger.
Even Grandpa Peter, who loved telling stories of the past and never hesitated to answer any questions from his grandchildren, also refrained from sharing much about the history he has with grandma about their parents in respect of his wife's feelings.
Both children waited with bated breath before the silence was broken by their grandmother, who let out a soft sigh and proceeded to bring to light the truth of their family history.
"As you know, your grandfather and I have no blood relation to either of your parents. Your mothers were adopted by me years ago and were members of the Hera Familia, while Bell's… father… was part of Zeus Familia." Said Grandma June who was able to keep her composure before growling out at mentioning Bell's father.
While Grandma June was getting herself ready to continue the story both children were processing the giant bombshell about the truth of their parents sans Alya's father.
The Cranel children had been taught the basics about familia while undergoing training by Grandpa Peter. He had explained about how the gods who descended to the mortal realm granted the powerful blessing called a "falna" to a few chosen mortals in order to empower them, both to fight monsters rampaging in the surface and become the adopted children/servants of the gods.
Hera and Zeus Familia stood out as two of the most powerful familia to have ever existed, with both familia having plunged deeper into the dark underbelly of the dungeon and slayed two of the legendary beasts that wreaked havoc on the surface… before being annihilated by the last of them. Before their imaginations could go wild about their parentage, Grandma June put a damper to it right away.
"Now don't get any wild ideas, children. While your parents were part of Zeus and Hera Familia, they were not part of the elite force or even notable enough to warrant attention that other powerful members of their familia had. Meteria and Liane were average girls that the goddess Hera took a liking to and adopted, while the less said about Bell's father, the better!"
Once again Grandma June needed a few moments to calm down when the talking about Bell's old man. Alya and Bell could only guess what type of man the latter's father was for their grandmother to despise to the point of losing focus just by mentioning him.
"..Your mothers were truly the most wonderful people to have ever graced this world, my darlings. Liane was quite the spitfire, always looking for the chance to partake in an adventure and Meteria was sweeter than honey and was incredibly kind. While both of them are no longer here, I'm certain their spirits watch over you two in pride and will continue to do so until you reunite with them in the heavens."
Grandma June's voice hitched when finished her eulogy of the girls that she viewed as her daughters, blood related or not. But her tears didn't stop falling and only increased as she hoarsely continued the tale of their mothers.
"…Meteria was born with a rare disease that made her extremely ill and it had only gotten worse as she aged. The blessing that the goddess bestowed on her was just a temporary solution and only delayed the inevitable. As for Liane, she didn't let her inferior skills compared to her familia stop her from also joining battles and suffered greatly when facing the cursed dragon. While she survived, the wounds inflicted on her person festered and made her experience great suffering that drained her health slowly." Said grandma, who needed to lean against her husband for support and to gather strength to finish the sad tale.
Alya and Bell didn't receive any closure or comfort from knowing more about their parents. The only thing it revealed was how pathetic Bell's dad was and that their mothers suffered throughout their lives until the very end. Both siblings also knew how Zeus and Hera Familia's fall from grace was a hard one and that was probably a factor for their moms to kick the bucket early.
But thinking on the subject of their mother's illness, the siblings came to a horrifying conclusion that their own birth must have been what killed their mothers. This realization caused Bell to start tearing up and Alya having a hollow look, both siblings feeling guilt at killing the ones that brought them into this world.
"NO! None of that! Don't you dare think for one second that their deaths were your fault!" Grandma June roared her command while swooping both of her grandchildren in very tight hugs when she had noticed how her grandchildren started to blame themselves for the deaths of their mothers, Grandpa Peter following his wife's actions and hugging her while she had the children in her embrace.
"Both of you are the last gifts left behind by your mothers. They didn't have long to live, with Meteria already slated to die young and Liane's wounds reaching critical condition. Having both of you in their lives made them experience peace, to bring such wonderful children into the world and dying with no regrets. Don't ever think that either of your births was a mistake!"
The family continued to hold each other for a while before the grandparents slowly released their children. Grandma June gave her grandchildren a kiss on their foreheads before continuing her story, the warm smile she gave her babies replaced with a scowl as the next person she would talk about his Alya's mysterious absentee father.
"…Liane was always an outgoing girl who sought out to befriend and interact with everyone, which was very odd since she was an elf. It was even stranger as she was from the Ryumilua Forest where the elves who live there abide by traditional elven values and attitude such as having no physical contact with those who aren't elves. She wouldn't hesitate to show her love to everyone that earned it…and I suppose her getting together with a man she initially hated shouldn't be a surprise."
Grandma June proceeded to speak of how Alya's mother had been tasked by her goddess to harvest branches from the mystical trees that grow in the elven forests, in order to treat Meteria's sickness and hopefully improve her way of life and extend her lifespan even by a few more years.
As outsiders are not warmly welcomed into the forests of elves and even less likely to be allowed near their sacred trees, Liane was the obvious choice for this endeavour as her status as an elf and being a former guardian of the sacred trees in her native forest made it easier for her to gather the branches.
"Your mother had met your father while on transit between the other elf forests. In the beginning they had not gotten along, that man was every bit the typical elf who looked down on the other races and thought being an elf meant that he was perfection personified. Liane had even admitted to hating him on the day they met and they always argued whenever they met up between her trips."
According to Grandma June, Alya's father was beyond pompous even by elf standards but also strangely curious for a conservative member of the long-lived race. Despite having a strong dislike of the world outside the elven forests, he had decided to undergo a journey to explore the world and made regular stops at nearby forests of the elves to "recuperate" from interacting with the other races.
"But slowly the friction between them wore down and a close friendship bloomed between your mother and father to the point where he sometimes accompanied Liane when on trips to gather more mystic branches. When they were apart, your mother often wrote letters to him but largely kept her relationship with him private. That friendship eventually developed into something more…and that's how you were born."
Grandma June's severe expression began morphing into something less heated and more pitiful as she spoke more about Alya's father. "To be honest, your father was not at fault for being absent, as I had suspected Liane kept her pregnancy a secret from him. Her abruptly stopping from writing letters to him and being tight lipped about what had happened between them for her to quickly cut ties gives credence to this. That foolish girl…" said Grandma June sadly. Grandpa then rubbed his wife's back to comfort her while she recovered from her sadness to continue talking.
"But perhaps Liane had good reason to not reveal the truth to your father in the end, so that she could keep me company after Meteria's passing and to help raise you. Elf children are traditionally not allowed to be raised outside of their native forest or even among those who are not elves. Because of the low birth rate and population of elves, children are especially precious in their culture and your grandfather and I wouldn't be allowed to see you ever again since we are… human." Said the older woman as she completed her tale.
Alya was still processing the fact that her mother and Bell's parents were once part of the most powerful familia in the world and truth of her conception. It turns out her dad wasn't such a deadbeat after all and her mom just kept her pregnancy secret so that she won't be separated from her grandparents and Bell.
The young elf didn't know what to think of this development but trusted her mother's choice as best. From what little she knew about elves from grandpa's stories and grandma's rant, their attitude would grate on her nerves and her personality and traits is largely human despite her new elven physiology. She would have felt trapped and alienated even among her own people and wouldn't have been at ease with them as she is with her grandparents and brother.
The Cranel siblings thanked their grandparents, especially their grandmother, for sharing everything about their family background but had a few questions of their own specifically the fate of the gods that led the familias that their parents were part of.
"Zeus and Hera had… disappeared after the destruction of their respective familias and banishment from Orario. Your Grandma June and I quickly took your mothers in as they were about to give birth at separate locations before grandma brought along Alya to this village so that we can be together as a family." Explained grandpa as he grasped his wife's hand to steady her shivering form, probably from having to feel the emotional pain after telling stories of the daughters that she lost.
"This is our last question, grandpa. How do you know so much about adventurers and their training? Were you and grandma also adventurers or had a falna too? Were you in the same familia as our parents? Asked Alya.
The Cranel children never asked how their grandfather knew the inner workings of familia and how adventurers fight. They chalked it up to grandpa's enthusiasm for heroic tales that the modern adventurers mirror as well as various heroic groups who mirrored the organization of familia combat doctrine. But with this new revelation of their family's past affiliation with the Zeus and Hera Familia came renewed curiosity at their grandfather's deep knowledge.
"Ha, ha, ha! Quite the curious bunch you are, my adorable grandchildren. Your old grandpa just happens to know a thing or two about fighting monsters since you're bound to run into them on the surface when you live a long life and I do like to dabble in topics that overlap with matters concerning adventurers." said grandpa joyfully, whose excuses were readily accepted by his grandchildren.
With their curiosity sated and having no more questions to ask their grandparents, the siblings proceeded to ask about the surprise for Bell that also involved Alya for some reason.
"As you both know, your training has gotten to the point where I have nothing left to teach either of you. But the world is vast and you never stop learning new things. So to help you both expand your horizons… we enrolled both of you in the School District!" revealed Grandpa Peter who took the expressions of shock on his grandchildren as excitement, which was right on the money.
Alya and Bell had learned some titbits about one of the great powers in the world which could rival the might of the Dungeon City Orario. Established and operating on a magnificent boat of gargantuan size, Hringhorni, that sailed around the world, the School District lived up to its name as a centre of learning for many who aspire to be adventurers and other professions in business, administration and research of magic. This could also be their chance to receive a god's blessing, the falna, and become adventurers.
Ever since the beginning of their training, the siblings had some thoughts on how to capitalize on the martial knowledge that their grandfather had imparted on them. Becoming adventurers had been a promising idea before being shot down as it would be unlikely for a god to accept two children who knew how to decently fight over renowned, experienced warriors and learned mages.
Personal reasons for dreaming of becoming adventurers was different for the Cranel siblings. Alya wanted to become an adventurer in order to explore the world outside their village. While she enjoyed humble life with her family and small village, a small part of her wanted to reach for the sky and perhaps learn more of who she is by discovering the identity of her father during her journey. She could also obtain more useful abilities to help her brother in his own adventures if he would want her around since elves are always guaranteed to obtain some impressive magic as a result of their innate magical potential that the falna manifests.
Bell's aspiration for adventure isn't too complicated to understand as it was the same reason for why he pursued combat training at a younger age. He wanted to achieve more strength to never falter against threats to his family like when he was young. The young boy could care less for any prestige that comes with adventuring or being part of a famous familia, he just wanted to care for his family better than he could as an unblessed weak mortal and perhaps improve their way of life by working in the dungeon.
While the siblings were excited about attending the School District, they realised that Hringhorni isn't scheduled to dock near Orario for a few more years. When asking their grandfather if they were going to move to Melen and prepare for the next intake once it arrives there, the old man reassured their worries and built up their excitement once again.
"No need to worry about that since the surprise isn't stopping there. By chance, the ship had run into a few difficulties and docked earlier than their usual schedule. Also, we were able to get in touch with the headmaster of the School District and he agreed to come here to personally evaluate you both. Once he deems you worthy of attending the school, he'll bring both of you along to where the ship is docked at Melen." Reassured their grandfather.
While Bell was busy being giddy at meeting a god for the first time, Alya wondered how their grandparents were able to contact such a prominent god who was probably busy running one of the most powerful and influential familia in the world. But then the young girl remembered how her grandparents revealed their family's affiliation with Zeus and Hera Familia, and everything clicked in her mind.
It was no secret that the great ship that Baldr commanded formerly belonged to Zeus and Hera Familia, in order for them to fight the sea monsters that inhabited the oceans around the world and confront the one of the legendary beasts of the Three Great Quests, the Leviathan. With the revelation of their parents being affiliated with the familias that once owned Hringhorni, grandma and grandpa probably used an old favour that Baldr Familia owed to their former allies.
"They really are looking out for us from beyond the grave. Thanks mom…and you too, Aunt Meteria." thought Alya, who uttered a silent prayer for her mother and honorary aunt.
Grandpa Peter clapped his hands, bringing everyone's attention to him. "You'll have a few days before the headmaster arrives for your evaluation. In the meantime you should prepare for whatever test he would come up for both of you, and the first step is getting plenty of rest!" said their grandfather, he shooed them away to bed.
Once the children left for their early rest to practice tomorrow, Hera stood up from her seat on to walk to a nearby window and stare listlessly at the night sky. Her husband followed behind her and proceeded to embrace his wife to calm the raging emotions she was feeling after such an emotionally charged talk.
"You didn't reveal to them the whole truth. What changed your mind, my love?" asked Zeus, slightly puzzled that his wife didn't want to reveal the whole truth to Alya and Bell.
Hera had been incredibly stressed out about unveiling the truth to their grandchildren since the start of the day, from when Bell's birthday began to the announcement of their pending enrolment to the School District.
Zeus had wholeheartedly agreed to let the secret of their identities and more information of their familia's fall from grace, even letting his wife to reveal it all when she requested to do the talking. But in the end, Hera decided to keep the truth from their grandchildren and didn't seem keen to revealing it to them anytime soon.
But decades of marriage, from when it was a loveless partnership to when true love blossomed between them, allowed the Olympian King to understand his wife's choice without her voicing it out.
The couple continued their silent embrace as they watched the stars in the night sky, with doubts of the future and resolute determination to see things through conflicting in their minds.
The Cranel Family were in the middle of having breakfast when someone was knocking on the door. Not expecting anyone to bother them at this time of the day, Zeus went to answer the door and found two familiar faces.
Two men stood outside of the humble home of the Cranels. One of them wore a crisp black suit with a black cravat and a head of orange hair that gave the young-looking man a wild yet dignified look. At his side was equipped a simple blade with an elegant design, suited for accessory and battle.
The other man looked as if he was made of light with the golden locks of the beautiful man reflecting the morning sun, his light blue eyes shined like stars. He wore a simple robe white robe, the man having a soft smile which enhanced his ethereal looks. Even if the man in question wore rags and dirtied his flawless appearance, the divine aura he emitted revealed his true nature.
"Lord Baldr! Professor Vardenburg! We weren't expecting you until this afternoon. Please, come in." greeted Zeus cheerfully, happy to see the god and his companion.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Mr Cranel. We apologize for arriving in short notice but the journey here turned out less obstructive and let us arrive early." Said Baldr, with his captain also showing an apologetic smile.
Any more words that the three men could exchange was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Hera's gentle smile while breaking fast with her family was replaced with her stoic mask, less intense which indicated her mood not being ruined but showed her being prepared to deal with those outside of her loved ones and not revealing weakness.
"I beg your pardon, Mrs Cranel! Where are our manners. It is good to meet you again after so long, my lady." Bowed Baldur and Professor Vardenburg, both men approaching the lady of the house to kiss her hand and mutter more apologies for not greeting the former queen of Orario sooner in her own home.
After a few more pleasantries where Zeus kept us his oblivious charade and Hera's mask of stoicism slowly chilling the warm atmosphere of the house, Zeus introduced both of his grandchildren who were in awe at finally meeting a god.
Alya and Bell were very surprised to see that the stories of the gods that descended in the lower world were true, with Lord Baldr's divine aura and beautiful appearance matching the common description of what a god would look like.
As the children continued to be awestruck at the beautiful god before them, Baldr introduced himself and his captain to the Cranel children.
"Greetings, dear children. I am Baldr, headmaster of the School District and head of the Baldr Class. The one who accompanied me here is the captain of my class and a teacher in the school, Professor Leon Vardenburg. I've heard many praises from your grandparents and was so impressed by their stories of your prowess and development that I decided to personally evaluate you for the school's new batch of students this year."
Baldr then went on to explain how the school's usual schedule had been altered this year because of the emergency repairs that the ship needed, which forced them to dock early in Melen and allowed him to make the journey here with Leon. He then talked about the curriculums available in the school's lesson plan that would fit in well with whatever interests that Alya and Bell would want.
"Before I can make my decision, Professor Vardenburg will observe what you have learned during your training while I have a talk with both your grandparents. Do both of you require more time to prepare for the evaluation?"
The Cranel Siblings shook their heads vigorously and requested the elegant professor to follow them to the training grounds. All three gods waited for a few more minutes for the children to be at a decent distance away before starting their conversation.
"It is good to see you again Lord Zeus, Lady Hera." Said Baldr, the god humbly bowing his head to rulers of Olympus and dropping his act towards the couple.
"The feeling is mutual, lad! I can't believe its been years since we last saw you and Little Leo. How's the boat holding up? You didn't really wreck it on purpose just to fulfil our request, did you? That thing cost a fortune to build!" said Zeus cheerfully. While the god was jovial and relaxed towards Baldr, his wife continued to maintain her queenly façade despite being in the presence of trusted company.
It wasn't that Hera disliked Baldr, far from it. The God of Light is perhaps one of the few decent and honourable gods that descended to the lower world and unarguably the only Norse god who the divine husband and wife can fully trust. The tension in the queen's being stemmed from what his presence meant; her babies being taken away from her for a very long time if not forever.
However, the Olympian Queen is not one to continue being rude to a trusted confidant and stiffly greeted the Norse god. "It is good to see you again, Baldr." Said Hera briefly, a bit of warmth seeping into her cold expression which lessened the tension in the air.
Baldr's discomfort disappeared when Lady Hera was revealed to be in a good mood and he responded in kind to the greetings and questions from his Lord and Lady.
"I'm honoured to meet you again my lord, my lady. No, no of course not, Lord Zeus! I would never dare to purposely damage the ship you entrusted into my care. It was simply the best excuse I could come up with to justify docking Hringhorni before the proper timeslot. The ship truly is a marvel of engineering and only needs basic repair and maintenance. Your foresight in creating such a magnificent vessel is truly ingenious, My Lord." Answered Baldr, once again bowing his head slightly to the elder gods who he worked with closely in the past and deeply respected.
The gods continued to chat more about the recent happenings in the world, with Baldr providing much information to the husband and wife. While Hermes could be trusted to deliver information as his own network of connections is one of the greatest in the world, Hera never trusted the god from when he was in heaven to when he descended to the mortal realm.
She understood that Hermes was completely loyal to her husband and shared the same goal as the King of Olympus, but the messenger god always had a fickle nature. His preference for completing a goal no matter how horrendous the action taken also rubbed Hera the wrong and that made the goddess to keep her distance to the distrustful deity.
"Nothing much has happened in a few years, to be honest. Aside from the increased migration of elves to Orario following the high elf king's proclamation, everything has been peaceful in the Dungeon City. But forgive me for any perceived impudence, may I know the reason that you called in a favour now? You refused my assistance years ago and I assumed that staying in exile and raising the children would be your plan for the foreseeable future. Why send them away now and at such a young age?..." questioned Baldr.
The God of Light had been prepared to make his loyalties known and support Zeus and Hera, even offering to return Hringhorni to them so that they could begin gathering back their strength in order to tackle the final quest and punish those that betrayed them.
To his mild surprise, the Greek gods refused any offers of sanctuary or the return of the grand vessel that they had financed for it's creation. Hera had outright declared that her days of ruling are over and Zeus followed his wife's decision. But Baldr insisted that he remain in contact to them in case of anything even if the former rulers of Orario would remain hidden forever.
In the end he was wrong and now the gods are offering their final legacy to him, to raise and care for while they wanted to disappear from the world once again.
Just as Zeus was about to answer his wife patted his hand softly while giving him a look that told him to let her do the talking. Hera looked directly into the eyes of the Norse deity and spoke in a soft but firm voice.
"Let's not waste our time stating an answer you already know, Baldr. My husband, you, me and every single deity from every pantheon knows it. Personally I don't give a damn about Ouranos' deal or whatever sort of nonsense Gaia has been brewing. The most important thing that I want to know from you now is this; will you care for the children and guide them to the best of your ability?"
Baldr is no stranger from receiving a direct order from the Queen of Olympus, as he and every other deity find themselves faltering against the iron will of the powerful Greek goddess. Her words are always a command and never a suggestion, spoken with no hesitation and a response to it will always be aligned to her desires.
But this time he was not facing an unyielding goddess of absolute authority. He was now facing someone whose command can sway even the will of the gods.
He was speaking to a mother asking him to care for her children who are her heart and soul, the reason for her still living in this world.
Faced with such an honest request from a grieving mother that is about to lose everything, Baldr swore on his honour as the God of Light and Peace to support the Cranel Children in their training to surpass their mortal limits and ascend to greater heights. Hera's grandchildren will not want for anything under his care and may his divine essence be dragged into the Ginnungagap if he broke that vow.
Satisfied with the honourable god's promise, the goddess revealed a dazzling smile that fully displayed her divine beauty. Baldr and Zeus were frozen in awe at the true smile that one of the most beautiful goddesses in all of the divine realm possess. The smile turned sad but still no less beautiful as the gods continued their plans for Alya and Bell's future, with more promises that Baldr agreed without hesitation.
"What do you think grandma and grandpa are talking about with Lord Baldr, Alya?" asked Bell who continued walking ahead his sister and Professor Leon, the trio on the way to the training grounds in order for the School District teacher to evaluate their full combat abilities.
Alya scratched the side of her head slightly before grinning at the imaginary talk that her grandparents and the god would have. "Grandma is probably nagging Lord Baldr on the proper etiquette for ladies in his school and grandpa might be giving suggestions for 'improving' the girl's uniforms." Said Alya, picturing the god cowering at Grandma June's intense lecture and Grandpa Peter arguing for skirt length being reduced.
Both siblings chuckled at the antics of their eccentric grandparents while Leon had a polite smile hiding his discomfort, knowing the truth of the disguised gods' intentions and what they are discussing.
Leon had already learned the full plan from his god and the choice for him to accept the children regardless if they met the expectations of the school. Normally the professor would be against such a breach of integrity of the School District, but with this request coming from the old allies of his god he had no choice but to accept it.
In all honesty, Leon actually had a feeling the Cranel Children will perform above and beyond the usual standards set anyway and the professor is eager to begin teaching them to hone their skills further.
After a few more minutes had passed with idle chat between the children and Leon, they had arrived at the old training grounds which has seen better days. Rather than being put off by the ramshackle appearance of the area, the Knight of Knights was impressed with how dedicated his future students are in training based on the well-worn but constantly maintained equipment.
Taking off his personal sword and placing it against a tree, the professor grabbed one of the wooden training swords and requested one of the siblings to try and attack him.
The one who decided to go first was Bell, who had also discarded his steel knives and had taken up the practice knives made of wood and wrapped leather. The young boy dashed so fast that he became a white blur, quickly closing the distance between Leon and stabbing his knives quickly.
While it would have been very impressive if Bell had faced against a low level monster or unblessed person, he was incredibly slow in the eyes of Leon. His peak level 6 status allowing him to observe the young boy as if he was moving in slow mode.
Rather than being bored with how easy the fight has started, the professor was quite impressed with the level of strength that Bell has for such a young child and unblessed too. The boy's form was clearly a sign of constant practice to limit his openings and for maximum efficiency in movement as he went in for the kill.
"A hit-and-run style. Very suited for his build and could also be adapted for other weapons. Smart of him to capitalize on his smaller size rather than try to be something he isn't."
It was a common mistake among beginner fighters to try and push past their weaknesses rather than accept them and build around it. Small and nimble fighters would rather try to match the strength of an opponent, while stronger but slower fighters try to match the speed of their opponent. While experience can always knock this attitude out, it was a good sign for someone to accept their weaknesses early and take advantage of it to make it a strength.
Having had enough time in analysing Bell which took less than 10 seconds in real time, Leon grabbed hold of the young boy's knives and quickly disarmed him before shoving him away with enough force to knock the boy off his feat but not injure him.
Bell landed on the ground with an "oof" and stayed splayed on the ground, surprised at how easily he was defeated. He took pride in his ability to be untouchable during battle, with no one ever getting close to hitting him and being the first to get a strike in. Rather than be discouraged, Bell became excited and wanted to fight Leon again before being told that he passed.
"That's enough for now, Bell. You passed the assessment with flying colours!" said the professor who was greeted with a bright smile from the young boy. The sight of pure happiness on the white-haired boy's face reminded the knight of a sickly yet extremely beautiful woman whose smile still haunts his dreams.
"He's Meteria's boy alright. You may be gone but your son is continuing your legacy, dear Meteria." Thought Leon sadly.
The knightly professor was friends with and had a small crush on Meteria when he was a young lad himself. His interest in academic affairs stemmed from wanting to teach the bed-ridden maiden of the world and alleviate the despair of a short life by teaching the wonders of the world to her.
It pained him that Meteria had chosen a cowardly supporter over him, giving that undeserving man her love and even bearing his child. But his passion as a man in pursuit of knowledge refuses to let the grievances of the past colour his future, and the man accepted Bell as his own person rather than the son of the man he envied and woman he loved dearly.
Now that Bell has completed his turn he set his sights on the daughter of Liane, another one of his old friends when the Hera Familia was still whole.
Alya had taken another training sword and readied herself in a stance to combat the professor. Just by the way she positioned herself, Leon knew that direct combat with weapons would not be for her.
"While she does possess some experience in using a sword, it's more akin to her swinging it around with the correct amount of force and technique rather than let it be an extension of herself. I guess Liane's swordsmanship wasn't passed down to Alya, but perhaps she would excel in the field of magic better than her mother did."
Liane's magic was underwhelming in comparison to the fantastical and unique spells available to other elves that received the falna. While she had filled all three of her magic slots, the type of magic that she could perform was simple and plain. The first two were moderate length chants for basic wind and lighting blasts while her final and most powerful spell merely enhanced the previous spells.
Despite lacking in firepower and exotic magic common for her race, Liane was a peerless master of the blade. She had continued to train up the skills she obtained as guardian of the sacred tree in her native forest, combining her mastery of swordsmanship with the simple yet effective spells she had in her disposal.
The elven swordswoman had become monstrously talented in the concurrent chanting technique, with the ferocity and grace of her sword skills being further enhanced by the literal shock and awe of her spells cast in the middle of battles. This fast paced, simple yet destructive fighting style had led to Liane obtaining the alias, "Tempest".
"And quite the tempest she was, blowing fiercely and beautifully in life before dissipating and fading away…" thought Leon poetically, remembering the chats and friendly banter he had with the beautiful elf like it was yesterday. He then focused on Liane's daughter and thought that she looked a bit off when being compared to her mother.
"Not that Alya isn't as beautiful as Liane, far from it. I have a feeling this girl will break more hearts than her Liane did. She has her mother's hair and eyes…but the rest of her face is very different."
Leon started to study the girl's face as she started to make her move, in his eyes, very slowly. The young elf's features indicated she would possess beauty that could rival goddesses, with Alya's expressions being delicate yet well defined. Seeing none of Liane on the face of the girl, he concluded that the young elf has inherited her father's looks with the colouring of her mother.
"It's hard to say who her father is since all elven males are also incredibly good looking. But whoever that man is, he possesses a beauty that surpasses all of his fellows…"
By the time Leon had finished his inner musings, Alya was about to hit a perceived blind spot when he disarmed her with just a flick of his wrist. The only solace that Alya could take from the easy defeat was that he didn't decide to strike her down like he did with Bell.
"You had the basics of swordsmanship down to the minute detail but I can tell that using swords wouldn't be suitable for you. Perhaps with more training you could breach the limitation and grow a true foundation in the art of the blade, but we'll see other options that you can take to maximize your potential." Said the professor, finishing his evaluation in a straightforward but respectful manner.
Alya and Bell didn't calm down or release the tension in their bodies despite the compliments to their work. They waited for the final answer of the professor to see if they are eligible to join the School District or become another failed aspirant and try again a few years down the line.
Professor Vardenburg closed his eyes and stayed still for a few more minutes. After that, he slowly opened his eyes and gave his answer. "Based on what I've learned, both of you…pass!"
With feeling of overwhelming success filling their young bodies, Alya and Bell ran back quickly to the house with their future professor easily catching while also happy for the children's enthusiasm. Once they reached the Cranel Home, Professor Vardenburg gave his evaluation to his god who also agreed without hesitation.
Baldr had actually claimed to know that the children would succeed and meet his expectations, saying that his eye had seen the light in their souls and judge it to be worthy. The Cranel Siblings immense joy made them ignorant of the eye rolls of their grandparents and the Leon rubbing the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
Not wanting to dilly-dally any longer, Baldr told the siblings they would leave immediately and to pack all of their belongings. With the help of their grandparents, the siblings had quickly packed everything in moderate sized luggage that held their clothes, leaving behind any other sort of possessions since they still planned to return home.
With all said and done the Cranel Family had big hug as a family, with the children giggling at how tight their grandpa was embracing them and grandma making half-hearted protests at the silliness of her husband.
Grandma June proceeded to place long kisses on the cheeks of her grandchildren, who remain ignorant of the growing sorrow in the eyes of their grandmother from how excited they were at attending school.
The children waved goodbye to their grandparents from the carriage that would bring them and their escorting god and teacher to the city of Melen. The old couple continued to wave goodbye as the vehicle that held their hearts drove further away until it disappeared in the horizon. After standing there staring at the far distance, husband and wife separated for a while to indulge in reminiscing their incredibly short but meaningful time in the village and the small house that served as their home.
Hera went back into the house to enter the rooms of her grandchildren, remembering the times she brushed Alya's hair and helped tie it in many different styles to the girl's annoyance. She also remembered how Bell lost his first baby tooth and humorously comforting the boy that he won't lose all of his teeth, kissing the boy's cheeks with kisses to make him feel better.
Zeus walked to the training grounds that had allowed him to relive the glory days of his own familia, where his boys tumbled around in the dirt and sparred in passionate mock battles to mimic the heroic tales of old. But seeing the simple straw dummies where Alya had learned to swing her sword and the simple obstacle course that Bell weave around and jump through with ease, he knew that a simple afternoon of playfully chasing around his grandchildren in the training yard and treating their bruises and scratches from training would be one tale he would keep in his heart for all time.
Night had fallen once the god and goddess finished their final preparations to disappear once again, to wait for the next hero of the age to appear and work in the shadows to help prepare the world for the day of reckoning.
Zeus decided to read a book in the house one final time about his favourite tale of the heroic clown, Argonaut. "The tale of Argonaut, a man who made himself a fool to inspire others and bring smiles to the faces of all… I hope you regain your smile again, Bell. And if you don't, I have hope that Alya would bring a new one for you that won't disappear ever again…"
He closed the book about the tale of the great fool and placed it on table once again. He patted the book a couple times before taking the candle he used as a light source and walked out. Once he reached the door, he threw the candle to a small pile of cloth at the end of the room which quickly spread fire throughout the house.
The old man walked away from the home he once shared with his family as it was engulfed in flames, the light of the fire alerting the villagers and distracting them long enough for him to disappear into the night and meet up with his wife at the border of the village.
"That's quite the inferno that you started, husband. Did Baldr hand you a magic sword to burn down our home with?" asked Hera who emotionlessly stared at the scene of panicking villagers trying to put out the fires burning down their house.
"He didn't pass me anything to start the fire. A couple jars of oil and bundles of cloth did the job well enough, perhaps a little too well". answered Zeus squinted his eyes when staring at the blaze reducing their house to ashes.
While he was about to comment more about the effectiveness of the fire in covering their tracks and faking their deaths, he noticed how his wife continued to unflinchingly stare at the bright flames that refused to be put out no matter how much water and dirt that the villagers threw to put it out. Just as he was about to comfort his wife, she quickly turned away from the burning remains of their house and walked away in a lifeless manner.
Pushing down the guilt he felt at having to trick their grandchildren that their grandparents died in a fire that also burnt down their childhood home and forcing Hera to lose another home and family, the god followed his wife into the darkness of the night. Even as the guilt bore down on his old shoulders, the god squashed down the feelings of regret and tried to justify his actions as necessary no matter how much the pain in his heart refused to subside.