Chapter 8: A Reencounter
Underbrush rustled as barks and growls filled the air. The shifting brush burst aside, a pack of six full sized wargs bursting from the tree line and rushing into the open field. The size of a full-grown man, the canine monsters shot across the field with strides so fast some would hardly even keep up with them as they ran from something pursuing them out of the woods.
An arrow whizzed out from the leaves, striking one of the canine monsters dead in the back of the skull. The remaining five halted as their companion went tumbling to the ground, forced to come to a stop as an earthen wall blocked their escape.
"Nice shot, Leyland! Oscar, good on the earth wall!"
From the woods, the lead trio of the Blue Roses emerged, Nyle bouncing his sword on his shoulder as Oscar and Leyland exited the tree line.
"Uh… did Aegir fall behind?" Leyland knocked another arrow, noting the lack of a particular red-headed magic knight.
"Rather he went after the pack's leader…" Oscar sighed as he shifted his staff to under his arms, aiming it at the wargs starting to circle them. "If I had to guess…"
"COMING THROUGH!"
"… he'll be here in a moment. We may want to move."
As the three adventurers jumped aside, a deep yelping sound boomed from the trees. And a second later, an even larger warg came crashing through and went tumbling to the ground. Atop it was a small figure with a flaring, tattered robe, sword driven into the warg's neck while their left hand was driving an icy dagger in as another hold. Even as the giant canine went rolling around, the figure held tight until it stopped, ending up atop the beast as it finally spluttered out its last breath.
"Aegir, you good!" Nyle called out, Aegir standing atop his downed prey and tossing aside the hood of his cloak, hair flying free as he tossed the ice dagger aside and let it shatter against the ground.
"All good! Big guy only got a cut in!" Aegir turned, showing a still rather fresh cut dripping some blood from under his right eye, and aside from the bruises from the tumble didn't look winded at all as he ripped his sword free of the dead warg. "Mind if I deal with the rest too? This guy sent me sprinting all over the damn woods back there!"
"He was sprinting after that thing while we chased the rest of the pack?" Leyland groaned as Nyle chuckled. "That kid's becoming a monster… two years training with that Sword Saint and look at him."
"Haha, hard to believe he's only twelve!" Nyle laughed, raising a hand to project his voice. "All yours Aei! Those are the last ones from the pack anyway, so go to town!"
"Roger that!" Wiping the blood from his face, Aegir dove in as soon as the remaining wargs charged, clearly intent to avenge their pack leader.
The first warg that charged was vaulted over, Aegir blasting it with a burst of point-blank flames from his left hand as he sailed over it. As soon as Aegir landed, he met the next one with a swing of his blade that sliced deep into it's side and right along to the flank. Ducking past the last three as they lunged all at once, Aegir hopped back, giving his sword a spin and bringing it into both hands.
"Let's try that new idea of mine out," taking a breath, Aegir adjusted his hold, flames beginning to run along his sword as he raised it to his shoulder level, swirling around it until they burst around it's edge like an extension of the blade. "Hahaha! It worked! Gonna have to tell Ingo later."
The last three wargs scrambled around to charge again, Aegir shooting off hard enough to dent the dirt beneath him. The flames around his sword trailed like a ribbon as he slashed through each warg in turn, leaving a brief trail behind his path as the wargs fell. A quick swipe extinguished the flames, the sword glowing a bit red for a few moments.
"Ahhh damn, that's gonna be an issue," with a sigh, Aegir ran his hand over the metal, flecks of ice along his palm in order to cool the blade off. As he brought his hand back, his fingers brushed over the gem he'd roughly affixed to the guard, the same one that had once been part of his old wand. "Thing's getting worn out anyway…"
Looking back to his party, Aegir gave a wave as he laughed, the three grown adventurers having varied reactions to what was just the twelve-year-old showing off a bit. A swordsman and mage with two years of proper experience despite only being a child. Hair left to grow wilder, a scar marking the left side of his jaw, and growing into an athletic build as his body neared puberty proper.
One hardly would have thought him to have been born from nobility.
"Cheers to the Blue Roses! Cheers to their Scarlet Wolf!"
"CHEERS!"
"I seriously got a nickname already?" I couldn't help but feel my expression slant as the bar filled with cheers of men and women hefting their tankards high. Nyle laughed as I just fiddled with the mug of water before me. "Has word been spreading around these countryside towns that fast?"
"Well, hard not to have word get around about the young adventurer as fierce as a wolf carving his way across the Asuran countryside," Nyle snickered, rubbing the top of my head as I elected to put my mutters into my mug. "Word can be slow sure, but after two years most people have picked up on it by now. You ever hear the bardic songs about the blue-haired magician?"
"The ones I am positive the bards blew out of proportion over time?" I leaned on a hand, snickering at Nyle as he tilted a hand. "Come on, I've been at this since I was ten and I've just hit C. No way I'm gonna believe someone my age spent just as long and somehow shot their way up to A Rank. So, it's either the bards are exaggerating, or we're talking about some once-a-century miracle child."
"Anyone ever mention the fact you talk like someone twice your age?"
Probably because I've got the memories to technically count as such. Though at this point not sure it matters anyway. "Was always told I was a lot more mature than other kids. And besides, isn't that a good thing since I'm out here adventuring all the time?"
"Hahaha, can't argue about that," Nyle took a long swig from his tankard, slamming the empty item to the table in hearty fashion. "Ahhh! So, not gonna let Oscar heal that cut up? You keep telling him not to whenever you get one.
"I want some scars!" I chuckled as I put a finger to the bandage under my right eye. "Sure I could just have everything healed, but a minor cut's not worth the spell I say! And it's no fun going through all this if I don't get something like a scar out of it every now and again."
"Just don't go and do anything so reckless you end up with something worse than some thin scars," Nyle chuckled. "Also, what should we go after next huh? A pack of wargs is a step up, but I think we're ready for more!"
"Let's not go and get in over our heads," Leyland approached the table, setting down several plates of searing meats and breads in front of me and Nyle. "Besides, we won't start running into anything really nasty unless we start heading out of Asura. Things are pretty safe here for the most part."
"Yeah, but we wouldn't be getting work if the monsters weren't acting up," Nyle was quick to bite into a hastily made sandwich out of his serving of meat and bread. "It's actually getting a little odd, don't you think? Especially here in Fittoa."
And there was a clincher to all of this.
Ever since I'd made my deal with James and left Ars with the Blue Roses, we'd been up and down Asura for the past two years. Kings, Fittoa, Donati, Millbots, Wishiru. At this point I don't think there wasn't some portion of the Asura kingdom I hadn't gotten a chance to see at least some of. Getting to explore forests, plains, coasts, even the edges of the Red Dragon Mountains that formed Asura's northern and eastern borders.
Mostly because of Nyle's policy when it came to taking work. If there was a job within our range of ranks, whether it was simply lending a hand for menial work around town or our monster hunts, he took it rain or shine. All in an effort to make sure that at every town we visited, someone would hear about our party, and following that, that the merchants we tended to tag along with would also spread said word.
It wasn't like word spread quickly of course. But, by being constantly on the road and getting word along the routes we took from town to town, it meant things were getting out there. Two years of effort had to start paying off at some point or another. Also came with the added benefit I'd been able to get a good grasp on main travel routes and other necessary information for travel. Being able to get around quickly as a must, even if the average carriage ride took a few days.
And then there was the winter. We got caught up in Donati's northern border during our first winter out from Ars and let me tell you that was a time, basically couldn't go anywhere since the snowfall from the mountains made roads difficult to use. Further south wouldn't have made it much of an issue, and I can't imagine how it'd be further up north in regions like Ranoa.
On top of that, of course, was the training. When it wasn't simple menial jobs and what not, it was actual, genuine adventurer work like hunting monsters or investigating activity in things like caves and other remnants of the old war some four hundred years ago.
As you can imagine, in two years I'd been making a lot of progress. Being able to fight actual monsters was giving my field experience, figuring out how best I wanted to fight as a mage knight. How to blend spells in with my swordplay, be it to augment my own movement or trip up an opponent. Or like I'd been testing, using magic to boost up my sword in different ways or use it to craft weapons on the fly. All these tests had been what ended up breaking my wand and resulting in my current method of just strapping the gem to my sword and working from there.
And whenever our trips brought us back to Ars, Renault was always my first destination. With him I'd been training even further in Sword God Style while continuing my lessons in Water God, and Renault even knew some North God to pass one. Which was useful for getting in some survival tricks or bits of field knowledge I could make use of. Handy stuff.
So, what's my progress been in two years you might ask?
Magically… I'm stumped. While I've been doing well with Ingo in getting the methods for silent casting down to a natch, Advanced magic seems to have turned out to be my stopping point as a magic. Anything more advanced would probably be interesting to learn, but hardly practical for what I intended to do. I was buffing out some of my weaker points, but it seems like I was about hitting the end of my potential there. Not to bad all things considered, since by now I was more focused on swordsmanship anyway.
And as for that. Progress is good. I'm working on trying to see if I can't achieve Water Saint in that path. To achieve it I need to master one of the school's Five Secret Arts and… well let's just say information hasn't exactly been forthcoming and being on the road all the time means sources aren't all that easy to come across. Clive seems he'd rather tell me about them when Renault is done training me, but I've been poking and prodding.
As for Renault's training, two years was enough to get me from Intermediate to Advanced rank in Sword God Style, and like with Water God am working my way to see if I can't achieve Saint. Not that it's perhaps any easier. It's all about mastering one technique, the Longsword of Light. In short, a more advanced version of the Longsword of Silence. Not being able to pull of that is what differs the Advanced Rank from the Sword Saints… and I've been working my tail off trying to nail it, since it isn't like I haven't had plenty of practice on the monsters I've been hunting for two years now.
Renault always tests me on it first and foremost whenever I get back to Ars, and then it's onto normal training routines to refine my other skills. This has also gotten me up to Intermediate in North God, though Renault's been clear I won't likely get much further than that until I happen across someone better than him at it, we shall see.
And that's perhaps enough for the progress report. As for current times…
"So, where too next?" With Oscar having joined my, Nyle, and Leyland at the table finally, and our meals about done, I elected to be the first to ask our party leader the oh so regular question. "Heading back to Ars, or heading a bit deeper into Fittoa again?"
"I say we head to Roa and see what work's come in around there," And that got me to perk up immediately. "We've been across Fittoa a couple of times sure, but we've barely seen Roa except for the outside of it, right? And there's gotta be work aplenty to find there, heck maybe some requests from other parts around it. And besides, with spring rolling back around, as good a time as any yeah?"
"Sounds like a plan to me," Leyland chuckled as he swirled his mug of ale. "Aei, you good? You're looking a little spaced out."
"Huh? I am?" Putting a hand to my face, instinct made me feel like readjusting my mouth a bit. "Ahehehe… sorry. Guess my thoughts wandered a little. Roa sounds good though, I've heard it's pretty nice this time of year."
"Yes, though it's also the seat of feudal power for the Boreas Greyrats," Oscar's note got Nyle and Leyland to give hums. "Not a problem if we're passing through of course. Though perhaps we'd be best to minimize our time there."
"What's the problem with the Boreas?" I felt a slight twinge of offense, though Oscar didn't seem to catch it. All for the better really.
"It's the Greyrat clan in general, to be honest," said the priest. "Though ask most people and they typically don't have high opinions of the nobility. Right, Leyland?"
"Would say the same myself," Leyland took a swig, his face getting flusher from the buzz that was no doubt kicking in. "There was an incident some years back home in Milbots, hell it's actually why I became an adventurer. That region is overseen by the Notos Clan, and their head is a right fuckin' piece of work. We country folk had been dealing with monsters for a good while, made hunters work almost impossible. We tried for ages to get some help… and bastards didn't come until it was too damn late. Me and some other kid were some of the only survivors when monsters attacked us. Tch… you live out in the country, and if the nobles don't feel like posting some low ranked knight they'll hardly bother. It's why I ended up leaving, didn't have anything to go back to. Same as that girl."
"Being in a city Ars tends to mean you're more lucky," Nyle chuckled, clearly noting how I was running my fingers along my own mug. "Most smaller towns are overlooked by some kind of protection, just in case… but, sometimes things happen. And you can only hope to be prepared for when they do, even if it's a surprise."
"To be honest with you Aegir, I didn't trust you much at first," Leyland chuckled, and I raised a brow. "Sure you scruffed yourself up, but that sword and wand? Plus being weird enough to give yourself a last name? I wasn't convinced for a second you weren't some knight's kid who just wanted to play adventurer for a few years."
"You didn't say anything about that at first," I said, Leyland nodding.
"Cause I trusted Nyle's judgment. Honestly at this point I don't care if you're secretly some knight's kid or not. Far as I care you're the Scarlet Wolf of the Blue Roses."
"Aye to that!" Nyle and Oscar raised their mugs, and I chuckled while following suit.
"Well, I'm glad I proved myself to you guys. Here's to more adventures!"
"TO MORE ADVENTURES!"
Ten years… it's really been ten years since I've been in Roa.
The closer we'd gotten to Roa since leaving the last village, the more anxious I felt myself getting. I may have made a deal with James to not go near the lord's manor, but returning to my birthplace still felt… odd. I hadn't seen anyone from there in a decade. Not Sauros, not Philip, Hilda, and not Eris. Not Ghyslaine. I doubt I would be likely to run into any of them, but with the old fortress city finally within sight, I couldn't fully hide the sense of anxiousness surrounding it all.
To the point I'd drawn the hood of my cloak up on the off chance I could possibly end up being recognized. By this point in time, I was sure I was starting to resemble my parents somewhat, so who knew what chance some worker from the manor could pass me by and notice? Even after ten years the chance was there.
"Why you looking all riled up, huh Aei?" Nyle lightly pat my shoulder. "Compared to Ars Roa here can't be that intimidating."
"It's not that," I stiffly chuckled the words out. "It's just some… other reasons."
"Well, why don't we take some time to relax and explore a bit?" Oscar chuckled. "I'd like to see if I can't find a Church to Millis here, since I've some of my fellow followers are here in Roa. And it isn't like we'll be able to just leave immediately even if Nyle does find work off the bat."
"Hahaha, true, we'll need to get some supplies depending on where we're going to be headed to," Nyle leaned back on the wall of the carriage rumbling all the closer to Roa. It was hardly the finer carriages of nobility, just the simple, rugged and reliable sorts of countryside transport routes. You get used to using them all the time as an adventurer. "Still, while it's nothing compared to Ars, Roa's still impressive enough. Plus, the city's got tons of history!"
"It was a key fortress during the Laplace War 400 years ago. The final line of defense during the war against the Demons," Nyle nodded as I dropped that well known bit of knowledge. "But, despite being so important to Asuran history, the nobles back in Ars consider the place a backwater out in the sticks nowadays. Full of nothing but those scruffy adventurers and lesser nobles trying to look better in the capital."
"Hear that kind of talk up in the noble district when working with the mages?" Leyland laughed, and I returned it with a chuckle and a shrug. Of course, that had been something James had made sure to drill into my head ten years ago, hard to forget something like that. "I'm sure those snobs got… uh… hey, anyone else something in the sky?"
"What do you…?" I was the first to turn as Leyland pointed upwards. Nyle and Oscar followed suit, all of us straining our eyes to make it out. "What in the…"
Floating high in the air, well within sight for anyone near the citadel was… something. From this far away it was hard to fully make it out, but it was like a red blot in the otherwise clear country skies. A deep, dark red orb surrounded by two glowing red rings of flowing light.
"Oscar, you feel that?" As I glanced back, the priest nodded. "It's like…"
"Like all of the mana in the air is being drawn into that thing," Oscar shuffled forward a bit, tapping the carriage driver on the shoulder. "Sir, do you know anything about that thing in the air?"
"Hm? That?" The driver shrugged his shoulders. "Nobody knows what it is, and Lord Sauros hasn't made a fuss over it. It showed up in the sky a few years ago, and, well, nobody's said much since. Best to keep it out of mind really. If it hasn't caused any harm so far, no reason to notice it, right?"
"If that's the response that's been had," Nyle sighed and leaned on a hand. "Still, wonder if it could be an omen of something. Whaddya think Aei? Your senses are pretty sharp with these kinds of things."
"I can't really tell," closing my eyes to focus on the flow of mana, from what I could tell, it was exactly as Oscar said. Mana flowing from all directions and into that sphere. "It's like… it's pulling in anything that's ambient. Not just from around here but… further out, I think? I can't really tell… but it's also dense. Like all the mana it's taking in is compressing inside of it."
"That kid with you a mage?" asked the driver, glancing back, narrowing his eyes to try and get a better look at me. In response, I drew my hood down a bit further.
"A Mage Knight is what he calls himself," Nyle snickered. "He's our party's ace in the hole. And just a little bit shy out in public is all."
"Well, then he must be a sharp one if he can sense something like that. Always good to see more capable sorts finding their way here to Roa."
"Ahaha, we've been in Fittoa for a while actually, but it's our first time in Roa!"
As Nyle and the driver talked on, I looked back to the sphere in the sky. I couldn't drag the feeling it gave me away. It being there felt like it had to mean something. Just putting it out of mind until it actually did anything felt… wrong. But then again, what could be done about it? Nobody in this world likely had the means to tell someone what some dense ball of floating mana was or did.
But who knew just where something like that could lead given time?
Once we were in Roa properly and set up at the local branch of the adventurer's guild, that was when the Blue Roses one and all took to going about our own business. Nyle and Leyland were going to get a lay of the land while Oscar went to visit the Millis Church. As for myself, I was doing something I'd hoped to get to do years ago when I was first reborn into this world.
Explore Roa.
Hours easily passed as I wandered the outer neighborhoods. From the market square leading up to the affluent quarters near the wealthier district that bordered the castle. To the densely packed alleyways of the outer area where the commoners stayed and mingled about. Unlike the sterling streets of Roa where you were met by knights and those tied to royalty, Roa really did embody something more rugged.
The city guards and adventurers alike walked the streets alongside the civilians, not an oddity in sight within the streets and squares with an eclectic mix like that. Bards were playing their songs along the different landmarks.
And in something I couldn't help but want to try, I got to clambering my way up from the streets to the rooftops. Being a fortress city, Roa's buildings were the sort to be densely packed, rooftops joining together to create their own kind of pathways if one was brave enough to clamber up onto the sloped rooftops.
And from up there, even more of the city was free to see, all the way from the wall that ringed it all and to the towering palace at the top. And beyond the wall was the rolling countryside going as far as one could see.
"Hehehe, it may not be Ars, but the view here is pretty good too," shading my eyes to block the sun, I took it in for all it was worth.
It was odd to think about now. Even if things had been different ten years ago, this view still wouldn't have been the one I'd grown up with. The only difference would be that instead of the colder home James set, using me and Leonel more as hostages, perhaps it would have felt warmer.
Maybe rather than barely even knowing Romeo, Leonel and I would have treated him more like a brother. Maybe it would have been us and Eris, growing up together in Ars as the proud children of the Boreas clan. And not this situation. Where one son is sent to marry off into another family, and the other screws off to do his own thing as an adventurer.
I mean, I still would have become an adventurer no doubt about that. But maybe in that difference, I'd be doing it because I knew who'd be better fit to take over the Boreas instead of me. Maybe I'd be learning Sword God style from Ghyslaine instead, maybe even alongside Eris…
"Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing up here? If you're going to skulk around on rooftops, I don't think broad daylight is the best time to do it."
My senses fired off as soon as the air shifted a bit. I hadn't felt anyone approaching, but things fired off the moment something that felt like a threat got close. My hand flew out, blocking the hand attempting to grab me. But the same second I tried to slip away, that hand grabbed ahold of my arm, wrenching it around and stopping me before I could even try to reach for my sword too.
"Ohhh? That was a Water God Style technique," with a moment to think now, the voice was a woman's but also on the huskier side. Strong… and familiar. "Guess you're a swordsman and not some common thief."
"I was just looking for a better view of the city is all," I chuckled it out, and while I tried to crane my neck, I couldn't get a good look at the woman restraining me. I just knew she was way larger than me, and strong enough that unlike with James, her grip was like a vice on my arm. "Sorry if I gave off the wrong impression…"
"Hmph, then at least be more careful. People will get the wrong impression," I was released, and boy my wrist was not feeling all that good as I got to step away.
"I'll be sure to keep it in mind in the future. So, if you could tell I was using a Water God technique, that means you're…"
My voice trailed off as I turned. It wasn't just the voice I found familiar. A beast race woman, tall and well-muscled under her black coat and light clothing, prominent scars marking that sculpted form. A messy mane of hair and scarred face, one eye covered by a white eyepatch, and a thin sword sheathed at her hip.
"Ghyslaine?!" I blurted the name out, clapping a hand to my mouth the second I realize it.
"How do you know who I am?" Ghyslaine raised a brow at me, leaning down to try and peek under my hood. She also gave a quick couple of sniffs. "Wait a moment… you smell like Eris."
"Hagh… no hiding it from you I guess," with a chuckle, I lowered my hood. Ghyslaine's eye widened, even her tail swished out as a quick realization clearly set in. "Hehe… hey there Ghyslaine. It's me, Aegir. Been a long time, hasn't it?"
"So… what are you doing in Roa? You didn't run away from Ars, did you?"
"Ahahaha, not at all. I'm actually here with an adventurer party I'm part of."
After the initial shock of seeing me again, Ghyslaine and I took to finding spots in the alleyway below where she'd seen me. I'd taken a crate as a seat while she leaned against the wall. And hearing I was with adventurers made the beast woman perk up.
"You became an adventurer? At your age?"
"I started a couple of years ago, actually. Been on the road for about two years now, though I go back to Ars pretty regularly between jobs."
"And you uncle is fine with this?"
"Ahhhh… not exactly?" I tilted my head, Ghyslaine raising a brow. "Ahem… James and I cut something of a deal. I had two years to basically do what I want… but I gotta stay out of family business. Not that I was interested in all of that to begin with."
"Wait, why only two years?" Ghyslaine folded her arms. "If you wanted to do whatever, couldn't you have just left?"
"Haha… then I wouldn't be useful in keeping Sauros and Philip from trying anything… I only got away with it because I'm the only card in that deck James has left."
"What do you mean?" Ghyslaine's hair spiked up a bit, her eye shifting to a glare. "He didn't do anything to Leonel, did he?!"
"Ah… First, promise that whatever you hear from me right now, you won't tell anyone at the manor. Nor Sauros, and especially not Philip," My hands bunched up on my sleeves. Ghyslain sat for a moment, letting out some frustrated mutters. After a moment, she nodded.
"Alright, fine… I won't tell them. So, what happened with you're brother?"
"He's in Donati, with the Zephyrus Greyrats," I sighed as Ghyslaines tail thrashed against the wall, her lips taut from aggravation. "It's the games nobles play. I got two years because that's when Leonel comes of age… when James and the head of the Zephyrus are going to announce Leonel's marriage to the Zephyrus' daughter. Going by timing… I've got one more month before I gotta head back to Ars and figure things out from there."
"So what are you planning?"
"Probably to tell James to fuck off and go back to what I'm doing right now," I snickered as Ghyslaine looked rather nonplussed at my choice of language. "Look, I don't really care about all of this noble stuff. Was never for me, and being in Ars for the last ten years has only taught me that. I get along way better with the mages and knights I'm learning from than stuffy court nobles."
"Hagh… I suppose that's just how it is. I don't know much about that stuff anyway, not my place to comment," With a sigh, Ghyslaine relaxed a bit, her eye then moving to my sword. "So you decided to take up swordplay as well."
"Yeap. I'm blending it with my magic, though so far it seems I might be better with a sword than I am magic. I'm Advanced rank as a mage and swordsman, hehehe."
"Advanced rank at twelve years old? Impressive, though as a mage I've seen better as of late. What styles are you ranked in?"
"Water God and Sword God, mostly. I'm learning North God, but my current mentor can only get me so far in that himself."
"Ohhh?" Ghyslaine was looking much more amused now, and part of me was glad that ten years on I could be holding a casual conversation like this with her. "Did you learn from some stuffy tutors at that school in Ars I heard about? Or did you branch out?"
"I was smart enough to look beyond the academy!" I gave a faux offended huff, Ghyslaine chuckling. "I've been an apprentice with the Water God Style dojo since I was around eight. And I was taken under the wing of a Sword Saint two years ago. Renault. Do you know him by chance?"
"Renault…?" Ghyslaine put a hand to her chin, mulling the name over. "Ah… yes, actually. He was also a student under the Sword God like I was. If I remember, he was aiming to becoming a Sword King like myself. Perhaps he left the Holy Sword Land to continue his training… haha, seems fortune smiled down on you. I'd quite like to see how you've grown… but I don't think we'll have the chance. You're not going to be here too long, are you?"
"Ahaha, yeah, we're probably going to leave by tomorrow, depending on what work my party leader finds us. Besides… I don't wanna be seen around the noble area anyway. Part of my deal with James is that I don't go to the lord's palace."
"You thought this through," Ghyslaine's gaze followed me as I hopped from the crate. "Then… would you like to hear how Eris is?"
"Huh?" I chuckled as the realization set in. "I really wasn't thinking of asking about her. Please don't tell me Sauros has been spoiling her rotten her whole life?"
"Ahaha, your grandfather is as doting you might remember," Ghyslaine placed a hand on her sword. "Eris has her… quirks. She's wily, forceful. The guards made a game for years about how many times your father tried to hire a tutor to teach her as she was growing up."
"So she ended being a brat… oh boy… and I'm sure Philip didn't help much there," I put a hand to my forehead, Ghyslaine snickering.
"Bratty for sure. But, she's started to have some turnarounds lately. Despite all the times it failed, she did actually settle on a tutor. You might be surprised to hear it's a boy younger than Eris even," Ghyslaine chuckled as my only response was a surprised guffaw. "His name's Rudeus. He's the son of one of your relatives, Paul. He technically works for Sauros as a knight and watches over a village a few days out from here. He's only eight, but the boy's a Saint class mage and smart enough to teach Eris and I both."
"Saint Class at eight?!" I let out a splutter from the surprise of that. "I was barely hitting Advanced by that time! What kind of genius did Philip get ahold of?!"
"Ahaha… I do wonder if you and Rudeus would get along," I raised a brow there. "You're both a lot more mature than other children your age. And despite Eris's wild nature, Rudeus has been able to get her to learn things nobody else seems to have been able to. He even helped her do well during her tenth birthday a few days ago."
"Right… Eris would be ten by now. Hahah… and I bet she doesn't even know or care she has brothers out there," I leaned back against the wall, and felt a twinge of guilt as Ghyslaine gained a somewhat downcast look. "It's not your fault. And much as I'd like to get a chance to meet her… now isn't the time for that."
"Right… well, if things ever change in Ars… I'm sure Lord Philip and Lady Hilda would gladly welcome you back here to Roa," Ghyslaine stepped over, putting a hand to my head and ruffling my hair. "Hmhm… you and Eris look so alike, yet just by talking to you for this long you're also so different. I suppose living in Ars taught you some things."
"Taught me how to talk my way out of things and play it smart. Oh… this, Paul. James mentioned him when I first left. Do you know him?"
"Know is an understatement," Ghyslaine huffed, stepping away as she crossed her arms. I had the sudden feeling I'd hit a sore point. "He's a scumbag through and through… but, also strong. He used to an S Ranked Adventurer, the leader of the party I used to be part of, the Fangs of the Black Wolf. We got up to a lot together… fought a lot. Until Paul settled down with our healer Zenith when she got pregnant, and they went off to live in a village. He had to cash in a favor with your grandfather though, since he'd cut ties with the Greyrats until then."
"Ah… no wonder James called him a disgrace…"
"If you ever meet Paul, don't be fair with him," Ghyslaine leaned down, and I couldn't help but give a slow, understanding nod. "He may have a family now, but I doubt he's kicked any of his old habits. In fact, I know he hasn't. Whatever you do, don't end up like him."
"Got it," Ghyslaine looked pleased as I affirmed that idea. No idea who precisely Paul is still, but I'll keep that all in mind in the event I do somehow meet the guy. "So… till next time I find myself in Roa?"
"Hm, of course. Next time, let's find a chance to spar. I may have some things to teach you afterwards."
"Hehehe, looking forward to it."
Ghyslaine and I bumped fists, and left the alleyway from there, heading out separate ways. There was an uplifted feeling in my chest. I wasn't at all sure what it would be like if I'd ever met anyone from Roa again, especially after this long. But knowing I'd been recognized by someone like Ghyslaine, and maybe even still had a place here?
Something about that just felt… nice. Nice to know, nice to keep in mind.
Yet for now, I was fine continuing to live ruggedly as an adventurer. Hell, I kind of prefer it.