Craiku was running around in a dark forest at night screaming for his life and he was backed into a corner, "I gotta hope she doesn't catch me and get to Grandpa's house immediately…," he created a small flame in his hand to light the way through the forest and then he saw a small farm nearby.
"There he is, and I made it here all by myself…I'm so smart, much smarter than that stupid ugly werewolf girl Dianna, what a horrible horrible person" he said marching towards his house. He saw the door and he noticed that it was already open and the house was unusually quiet. "Hello, Grandpa, I followed the clues you left for me and I got away, it was very scary but I made it to you, uh are you asleep, I'm sorry for disturbing you but If I went during the day I'd never get out of the house" he kept looking through the house but found absolutely no one. "Grandpa…Grandpa"!? He started to panic and he went to check his bedroom and he saw that he was all bloody and beaten up.
He went to check on his pulse, "No no no Grandpa Grandpa no no no I'm sorry I will heal you just hang on please don't die on me…I need you" he tries over and over again but to no avail.
He covered his mouth, "I don't believe it…he's dead…but who could have done this to you…oh Grandpa I'm so sorry they did this to you…I'm so sorry" he heard clapping in the background as an eerie presence filled the air. "Tsk tsk tsk, little brother little brother little brother…I don't think you can talk to a corpse…they're kinda dead that's kinda their thing"
His eyes widened with shock, "You did this, how could you Dianna, you killed my grandpa you killed him and you don't even care…I'm gonna kick your head in for thi-" a blue light hit him from behind and he crashed into the ground. "Tempting but I'd never put my hands on the gods, but her on the other hand" a woman and her goddess stand face to face with him as she held him down.
"You evil vile woman, it was over a long time ago, you had no reason to do this to him, and you…how could you possibly be okay with this, doing this to me is one thing but doing this to Grandpa…Papa did the right thing by leaving you behind" the cloaked figure approached and slapped him in the face.
"If you have anyone you want to blame then blame yourself, you and your dad were the only followers he had left and he was defenseless, you should have thought about what would happen to a god with no followers. And now…we're coming for your current deity, I hope you don't miss him too much when he's gone"
"Leave Lord Ganesha out of this you hear me leave him out of-" he said, slapped repeatedly and kicked on the ground and Dianna stepped on his face and he screamed in agony. "But first we're gonna take care of the problem, this is what happens to little boys who throw their sisters in prison" she took out a wand and aimed at his forehead.
"No no please don't do this I'm begging you I had no choice she was killing people,"
The hooded woman lifted her hood, "And I don't have a choice but to take care of you…permanently, I warned you Tokun…I said mother knows best but you didn't want to listen but here are consequences for little boys who don't behave…a permanent time out-" then there was a blinding light.
"AHHHHHHHH" he woke up screaming and crying, "No please don't kill me please please I wasn't trying to be bad I swear don't kill me please don't kill me I'm begging you don't kill me."
His hand touched his chest, and he could feel the scar Dianna gave him.
He had been so close to death because he assumed his family wouldn't try and kill him. He had no falna until after his dad put an end to his abuse.
Catching his breath, Craiku looked out his window and saw the moonlight shining through. Judging by where the moon was located in the sky, it was around 1 AM.
"Yo Craiku you okay" said a boy just three years older than him climbing the ladder to the top bunk l, then he hugged him crying into his chest. "She killed him Clover she actually killed my grandpa, I was trying to check on him and see if he was doing ok and the house had blood everywhere then I saw him dead in his bed and and, Dianna approached me and my mother's goddess and she held me in place so she could-"
"Shhhh, you need to slow down a little bit, I can't understand what you're saying, just take some deep breaths and wipe your nose and then we'll get some tea to help you get back to sleep and talk about it. But I need you to understand, your mom isn't here, Dianna is in jail now, her goddess doesn't want to hurt your grandpa, it was all a very bad dream, everything is ok, I promise nobody is gonna mess with you while I'm around"
They snuck into the kitchen and then Craiku told Clover about his dream in greater detail and explained how his own mother tried to kill him. Clover was brewing a sleeping tea to calm his nerves. "Yikes, that was a pretty horrific dream, but she never really tried to kill you, although your dream could be a sign of your lack of trust in your mother" he responded. They returned to their room and both of them drank their tea.
"Dianna being in my dreams doesn't surprise me, but this is the first time I've had my own mama betray me…well not the first time in general but I haven't dreamt about it in over a year. I thought defeating Dianna would make me feel better but I honestly feel kinda guilty about sending her to Keim-batsu."
Clover shook him back and forth, "Craiku she was going to kill you and she killed dozens of people just to make a point" he clarified, "But I get it, it's not always easy just turning your back on your family, even if they're horrible people, you don't want to cut them out of your life because you want them to get better and hope and hope they'll see their terrible habit and put a stop to it themselves for your sake. Because at one point, you were their top priority"
Craiku stares at him feeling surprised how deeply he understood what he was feeling, "That's exactly how I feel, but how'd you know that" his eyes widened, "I am so wise I can tell just by looking at you. But it gets easier over time, those dreams don't define us. My brother told me that all the time whenever I had a nightmare" Clover explained as he went into the closet. "Hold on, I had no idea that you had a brother," he said, expressing his surprise.
"You have a brother, oh yeah I think you said that once. Was he an adventurer like you"? He asked, "Eh not exactly, he was stronger than me though but he tragically fell in battle earlier this year, he went to rescue some kids from a burning building…and he never came out" Craiku covered his mouth.
"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry for your loss, he sounds like he was a brave person" he said sympathetically.
"The bravest I've ever known…but enough about me, I didn't mean to take attention away from what you're going through, that's my bad" he said casually as he pulled out a chair.
"No it's ok, I'm fine with listening to you, having someone who gets where you're coming from is comforting, at least it is to me. You never really talked about him before, is it a sensitive topic"? He asked.
"Eh kinda, but don't worry about it, I'm a pretty straight forward guy so if I was going through a hard time I would have told you. Anyway the reason I brought him up is because he used to sing me a song that would always help me through the times I was going through something difficult or had a nightmare. You got both going on, and I think he'd want me to sing this to you, but I warn you my singing voice is a little rusty" he claimed as he lifted up a slightly worn out guitar. Craiku climbed the ladder and tucked himself in, and the quiet room was filled with a calm music that was both gentle but ever flowing.
Craiku listened to the melody and felt his troubles and worries melting away, but then the music slows down and Clover broke the silence with his singing voice.
"There's a city full of fear and you don't like to walk alone so hold my hand I'll walk with you my friend" he sang.
"The sounds of blades clashing, are keeping you alert, it's the call of battle telling you to rise up to the fight" he was moved by his singing and he had started to get calmer and calmer
"There are some days where you can't even cut yourself slack and it's killing me to see you this way. Because though the city may be dangerous. We'll fix it step by step and bring this dark age to a close."
He continued to play his guitar at a steady pace and made sure to not be too loud to avoid waking up the others, but before he knew it, Craiku was fast asleep. Seeing him sleeping peacefully brought a smile to his face, "Aw rats, I didn't even get to the second verse, now I know how that feels…huh big brother"? He quietly put his guitar away and yawns before he went back to sleep after he tucked himself in his bed.
Just outside their bedroom unbeknownst to them, Adree and Shakti were peeking in on them but they gently closed the door as they both fell asleep. "See I told you that he could handle it, now let's go back to bed," Shakti commands.
But Adree stopped walking and turned around to tip toe to their bedroom door, "Let me just get comfortable with Tokun so he doesn't have any more nightmares, that way no one else will be woken up" she claimed with a smile on her face before she got dragged away by her pajama top collar.
"No can do, that boy has enough on his plate, the last thing he needs is you freaking him out, I keep telling you that boys and girls sleeping together is weird" she said sternly.
"Mou you're no fun, I'm doing this for the greater good"
"So am I,"
For the rest of the night everyone including Craiku slept peacefully even Adree despite failing to sneak in Craiku's bed.
The following morning everyone was in the dining hall having breakfast and Shakti noticed that Craiku was in a better mood than he was the previous night.
"Craiku, how'd you sleep last night, I heard you had a little nightmare" Shakti asked. He looked up at her surprised she even knew about that, "Clover told you"?
"Your screaming woke us up so we went to check on you guys" Adree clarifies, but he blushes and lowers his head in shame, "I'm sorry for waking you up last night"
Adree got up and hugged him from behind, "You have absolutely nothing to apologize for Tokun, but remember if you ever need anything we're right here to help you," he nods. "Thanks Adree I appreciate that, but I'm feeling better now, it's all thanks to Clover and his amazing singing voice. After he sang his song to me I didn't feel sad anymore and I slept like a baby." He said gleefully. Clover laughed awkwardly which was uncharacteristic for him, "Well I wouldn't say amazing, but I'm glad I was able to help".
"I wish there was something I could do for you to show my appreciation, you really helped me last night, you were like the older brother I never had" he was with a small sparkle in his eyes.
"Craiku, I really wanted to help you. You can thank me by continuing to work towards becoming the best hero I know you're capable of being. And you can accompany me to the dungeon today" he grins from ear to ear.
"I'm afraid I can't allow that today," both of them stare at their captain open mouthed, "It's unwise to go into the dungeon so soon after a large scale Evilus attack like this, that's the first place they'd try to ambush us after we eliminated some of their forces"
Both of them were disappointed, "Aw but how else am I supposed to get any stronger" he inquired, "Craiku my decision is final. I don't want to do this but I'd rather have you upset than dead" he sighed.
"Oh well, but look on the bright side, this gives us a opportunity to help out the community with rebuilding after…you know all that…and I'm sure plenty of people are feeling upset about the situation with the Evilus, so we should raise their spirits a bit with a little elbow grease" Clover said with an optimistic feeling filling the room.
"How would greasing up their elbows make them feel better"? He asked with a straight face, and everyone stared at him, "Craiku, that's a figure of speech, it makes a little hard work labor, stuff like that, there's no actual grease involved" the archer explained.
Craiku's face turned red, "Uh I knew that…I was trying to be funny" he said lying through his teeth, "Craiku you're good at a lot of things but lying isn't one of them, it's okay, you didn't know, so what do you say bringing a smile to everyone's face by assisting them" he nods enthusiastically. "I shall assist you anyway I can, we'll turn those frowns upside down smiles" he declared.
"It's turn those frowns upside down, nothing else, upside down smiles are just frowns" he blushes deeply, "I'm really stupid aren't I"? He ruffles his hair, "No way, you're just naive, but enough about that, let's go"!
They head out into a broken city of Oriaro, and it was in a wreck, buildings are crumbling, blood and scorch marks all over the place. Construction work was starting to go into progress as the smithing Familia's members were called into action by the guild hall. Craiku grew more and more depressed the more they patrolled the city, "None of it is your fault, remember that"
"I know, but it's still so sad to see what Evilus is doing to the world, and we couldn't save everyone from the attack." There were people crying over covered up corpses, "Daddy of Daddy I'm sorry I said those awful things to you, I never got to tell you that I love you and I'm sorry" a small girl said as her mother attempts to comfort her. "I'm sure your father knew that you loved him very much, he wasn't the kind of man who would hold a grudge."
At another location he saw a man holding the hand of a man who was very pale and he had to be persuaded to let go. "Forgive me, I wish I had been there for you. Know you died with honor and I'm proud to call you my brother. Your death will not be in vain" his corpse was carried away.
There were a group of Amazon woman standing over one of their fallen comrades, "Ya better off dead Mai, I mean look what I turned into, at least ya don't have to put up with this crappy situation anymore, but ya could have at least bought one more drink for me before you…ugh damn you" she covered her face to mask the tears.
There was a lot of people mourning the losses, "Clover…we won yesterday, but it doesn't feel like it, so many people lost their lives, I wish I could have done more, I wish I could have stopped them sooner" he clenches his fists as his eyes started glowing momentarily.
"Woah woah let's calm down, we don't want another panic attack, but this is what we need to experience, so we know what kind of outcome we need to avoid. Turn that pain into power, power to use for good, but we can't stand here feeling bad for ourselves, right now we're supposed to be doing something to make a difference"
They started asking around to see if anyone needed any help, but not too many people were willing to accept outside help. But eventually they stumbled upon a flower shop, there was an old couple struggling to carry their plants inside. "You stubborn old man, I told you that my bones felt an attack coming and as usual I was right" said an old lady.
"And I told you that we'd go out to business if I didn't order anything, how was I supposed to know they brought extra for us to sell"! They were bickering and the two of them seemed to hate each other, but Clover thought it was an opportunity to make someone's day. "Perhaps we should go somewhere-" "This looks like a job for us," he dragged him towards the flower shop, Please kill me black dragon. The mage thought.
"Good afternoon my lovely elders, what seems to be the issue here" said Clover bowing gracefully, "Their ain't no problem, now scram" said the old man, "Now, Sorin, you shouldn't be so rude to these youngsters perhaps they are interested in helping us with the mess you made" they two elders locked eyes. "You mean the mess you made, you made the long list of flowers"
"You sent them without saying anything you old hack"!
"You're just as old as me so that doesn't even make any sense, the second I call you old it's the cane over the head". Craiku grew more and more nervous. "Look, I respect my elders and all but I think you two are both very immature about this matter. You two are business partners,"
"Hmph I'd get more peace and quiet in the evening if that was the case, but this stubborn man is my husband" Craiku tilted his head in confusion, "And do you hate him, my Mama and Papa didn't like each other, so are you gonna split up too"? He inquired. "Oh no no sweetie, he got on my nerves a little, but as much as I complain I can't imagine my life without him" she explained. And the old man's face softens up, "And I don't think I could either, I'm sorry for ordering the plants without consulting with you first Mary, I just wanted us to have a stable life." He elaborated.
"I'm sorry too for losing my temper dear, I know you mean well, I was upset and didn't express it well. I guess we're both a little pig headed." A little bit!? The two boys thought. "Uh so, do you want us to help you because we totally will, but if you want to be left alone I totally understand" Craiku said awkwardly.
"Oh right, the reason we were arguing in the first place was because we were having trouble carrying the plants, our old worn out bodies aren't what they used to be. And with those nasty Evilus running amock I didn't want to get caught up with them before we could put up the defense bars"
Clover bent down and lifted one of the large vases. "Well my body isn't anywhere near worn down and we have super strength, Craiku and I will carry them inside for you".
"Ok, you seem like a strong young man but you shouldn't make this little boy lift something so-" Craiku started to bend over and lifted up the large vase. "Huh, this isn't that heavy, you two must be tired or something, we can carry this no problem" both of them gasp in shock as the nine year old boy carried the large pot that the two of them combined struggled to move halfway.
"Younglings these days just keep surprising ya"
"What are his parents feeding him"!?
It took awhile to get all the plants inside, but they were endowed with falna which grants them enhanced strength. Even someone as young as Craiku can lift 5 times his body weight if he tries hard enough.
They lifted the plants taking them inside one by one, and it took a half hour before the boys finished, "And that's the last one" Clover lowers a large vase and sets it down. "Woah you boys did it in like a quarter of the time we would have done it" said Sorin.
"Thank you so much for the help" Mary said patting Craiku's head, "Aw anytime, we're always here for you if you need it" Clover said with a thumbs up.
"Welp let's go Craiku there's much more to be done" the two of them turned around and we're about to leave. "Hold on you two, aren't you gonna have us pay you for your service, a man should be paid for the work he does" he asked.
"Nah, we're not in it for the money, we just wanted to make things easier for you, this dark age is hard enough. Besides it wouldn't feel right charging you if we want money we can just slay monsters in the dungeon" Clover points out.
"Gah just take the money from us"
"I refuse, I am not going to charge people for my assistance"
"I will not allow you to walk away empty handed"
The archer and the old man went back and forth with the old man shoving the sack of money on his face and Craiku and Mary just watched. "That stubborn husband of mine, he never wants to accept help for free, just like his dad"
Craiku just say there quietly, but his stomach growls loudly as his face flushed red, "Oh no, looks like someone's hungry, would you like me to make some lunch for you?" she asked him.
"Uh, I mean if you don't mind, I do eat a lot and I don't want you two to have no food for yourselves" he said, twiddling his fingers. "Nonsense, you did a lot of work just now and we have plenty of food to share…here's an idea, how about we consider this payment for the hard work you boys did for us, would that work for you Sorin"? The two stopped struggling and nodded in agreement.
Deep in the dungeon, four hooded people were running through the great forest that was located in the Under Resort, a safe floor where no monsters are born, however, monsters can climb from the floors below or above.
The exceptionally high ceiling is filled with brilliant shining crystals of two colors, white crystals in the center that resemble the sun, and blue crystals surrounding it to resemble the sky. The amount of light from the crystals depends on the time and the cycles throughout the day.
At this time, because the dungeon detected the cycle of the day, sunset, the crystals began to diminish in brightness. And once the sunset ends on the surface, the sparkling crystals will emulate the night.
Inside the forest, where the four people were running, on the trees were blue crystals of different sizes that reflected the light from above, causing the forest to fill with a pale blue glow.
These four people who moved quickly and stealthily inside the forest were scout members of a terrorist group that aims to make as many people as possible suffer. Evilus.
"There is definitely gonna be a bloodbath here, but it's unfortunate that Dianna couldn't be with us to bask in the glory" said an armored dwarf.
"Eh who needs her, she was too busy obsessing over some kid who wasn't even worth her time. If she had done her damn job she wouldn't have been caught to begin with. Don't understand what our demon lord saw in her"
The dwarf held his axe at his fellow members, "He saw something you're all to blind to see, but I admit that it was foolish to go after him. In her defense, we were under the impression that he was a low level rookie adventurer, how he managed to beat her after only a month of coming here is beyond me. But since they're spending time with rebuilding the city, that'll give us a chance to get together and loot the adventurers down here…as we planned"
Clover's POV
After we had lunch we continued our patrol, and we'd go on to accept requests from people with tasks that may seem mundane but they were a lot more important than people realize.
In the dark ages the Evils could attack at any moment, so even going to the store for milk could be the last time you ever buy milk if you're not careful. "Uhh this is so boring, I wanna go around punching bad guys, how's doing chores gonna help us defeat the Evils we should either be training or fighting the Evils" said my annoyed young friend.
Craiku is a good kid and would help people at a moment's notice but lately I have noticed that he doesn't want to do anything other than fight with the Evils, not that I can blame him. But he's even younger than me and no kid should be this focused on fighting terrorists. And he had a terrible fight against his own ex sister, and I'm afraid if he went back to work right away he'd lose sight on what it means to be a hero. In an era like this even someone as kind hearted and selfless as Craiku could be led down a darker path.
I should know because I been there before, can't say that I'm proud of what I used to be, if it wasn't for my older brother, I probably wouldn't even be here today. I kneeled down to him and decided to give him the lecture my brother gave me, "Craiku, I understand you're concerned about the Evilus and you're right about wanting to take them down as soon as possible. But it's not that simple, if it was we'd have been rid of them by now, and remember that being a hero isn't always about fighting with the Evils and stopping criminals. Sometimes it's about doing the small things"
He titled his head, but he grew fustrated, "Oh that's a poor choice of words, but you know what I mean. Like that elderly couple we helped earlier today. Them being outside of their store is majorly risky, they were arguing because they couldn't bring the stuff in on their own at a fast pace and were worried about Evils forces attacking them out of the blue because. In the dark age even simple tasks that require you to go outside are risky".
His eyes widened as if he was starting to understand what I was telling him, "And besides, didn't it make you happy to see the smiles on their faces. We don't get too many of those right now. Sometimes just doing stuff out of the goodness of your heart can make a major difference. That's what my brother always told me, and he usually knew what he was talking about…except when it came to best ice cream flavors, I'll never understand what people enjoy about mint chocolate chip ice cream" I said expressing my hatred for the flavor.
"Me either, I tried it once and it made me throw up l, that was the worst day ever, but I think I understand, even if it's super boring I should always help people any way I can, I'm sorry about complaining so much." He said with a timid look that could melt a shota con's heart. I simply pay his head.
"Don't worry about it, I think you're doing great," I told him. We were currently carrying groceries for a cat woman who had to buy them but I offered to go for her and although I was fine paying for it she said she'd pay me whatever I spent for her groceries so it would be like she went to the store herself. I didn't fully agree with that but Craiku convinced me it was only fair since she would have spent that money herself anyway and it was the trip we were doing as a charity for her.
We were allowed inside after I knocked and we put the groceries away skillfully, "And that's the last of it," Craiku said, placing the milk in the fridge and closing the door. "Thank you so much you two, I really appreciate your help, but putting them away wasn't necessary, we're already inside" she explained. "Nonsense, we do more than just fight with the Evils, we bring smiles to the civilians and shine a light on this dark age" I declared.
"Well it's nice to see that even in the darkest of times there's still two kind hearted young men like you in our city, most adventurers are usually pretty straight forward about just surviving and thriving for themselves. How about I treat you as a way to say thanks for the help" she offered with a warm smile.
"I appreciate the offer but it just wouldn't feel right, believe me knowing that we helped you is enough for us right Craiku" I asked looking at him, but I could see the sparkle in his eyes. "I like treats," he said as the drool ran down his mouth. It's times like this that reminds me that he's only 9 years old.
"Don't worry I want to, I'm honored to treat the Snow Prince that saved me yesterday" his face tensed up as he got a closer look at her and he jumped in surprise. "It's you, you're the woman who my evil sister almost killed…my deepest apologies" he said bowing down in a dogza position.
"No no please stand up, I'm well aware of what your connection with that werewolf is, and I don't blame you for a second. You shouldn't be ashamed of what someone else did, blood or not. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here right now. And I would have lost my son and daughter on the same day"
He titled his head, "Wait…and daughter? But you only had a little boy with you, by the way, where is he" Craiku asked. "Taking a little cat nap in his room," I couldn't help but stare at her stomach for some reason.
"So where's your daughter, was she behind you during the attack" she giggled, "Right here," she pats her belly.
"Ooh you're having another baby, that's so cool, I'm definitely not gonna let anyone hurt you, I'll fight for you and your new baby, I'm sure she's gonna be cute" he said excitedly.
It was a little surprising to hear that she was pregnant, and now I'm really glad we went to the store for her. I heard stress is bad for pregnancies and she was definitely super stressed yesterday. But that would explain why we bought so much ice cream. "Now I can share a little ice cream with you boys, hope you like Mint chocolate chip" she said as both of us reacted with disgust. "We're not fans of the flavor," we said in sync.
"Understand, not a lot of people are, but I also have a rocky road flavor" we looked at each other and nodded in agreement. "Are you sure, I'd think the little one in your belly would want it all to herself" he claimed. We left with two ice cream cones, "Buy miss Nekoma, and thanks for the ice cream," Craiku said, waving at her.
"No thank you boys for assisting me, I'll be counting on you a lot more from now on, so take care of yourselves too" she closed the door as we walked down the street and crossed over into the shopping district. "What a day, I can't believe that's the same woman Dianna tried to fry, makes me wish I punched her even harder now" he said clenching his fist. Oh no I made it worse.
"But knowing that she's still around because I didn't let her get killed makes me understand how important our roles are. And I think I want to do this more often. I still prefer punching bad guys but this wasn't so bad, thanks for teaching me this lesson Clover, you're super smart" he tells me as he got ice cream all over his face.
It's kinda like he's my little brother, I thought having one would be a pain but he's so precious that I want to take care of him. Makes it hard to believe that he was the same kid who tore the Evils apart just yesterday.
"But I do enjoy a little combat myself, I just want you to understand there are ways to help the people in Orairo without burning yourself out." He nods,
"But I'm not on fire so how would I burn out" he asked with the most innocent smile. Oh Ganesha help this kid. Soon we finished our ice cream and I start to wipe his face, "Geez you're so messy, you can fight with technique that doesn't match your tiny body but can't nearly eat an ice cream cone" he puffed his cheeks.
"Take that back, I'm not tiny," he retorts. "No you're not I'm just messing with ya, but you are very adorable," he shoved me off guard. If there's anything this kid can't stand, it's being called cute, I don't understand why. I try not to tease him too much about it but my mischievous mind refuses to let it go.
"Say we were gonna get a new backpack yesterday before we got attacked, what do you say we cross that off our bucket list and get it done. If you don't stay mad at me I'll let you pick it" he looked at me and stopped puffing his cheeks. "Fine but I only because it's you"
We walked into a store that sold backpacks and we looked around the gallery, "Isn't this something a supporter would carry around, it would be hard to fight with so much weight on your shoulders, literally" he said as he held the large bag he picked. "Maybe but we're getting deeper into the dungeon and we'll need more space for our earnings. Especially with your strength"
After we purchased the bag, the two of us walked out and I watched in disbelief as a boy no older than 12 stole a man's entire bag where from what I can tell money is kept before running off as if his life depended on it (which it probably does), before returning to what I was doing, but one look at the man who seemed furious and he was most likely killing the brat who had stolen from him.
"Hey you can't steal from people, kid, I'm gonna be right back Clover" Craiku said with that worrying expression on his face. "No way, you're still recovering from that intense fight from yesterday, I got this, just stay behind me and follow my lead" he looked disappointed but reluctantly agreed.
So I immediately took out a rope and hook before putting all my strength into throwing it as I hooked it then I bent my legs and jumped towards a nearby roof. I landed against the wall and climbed up as quickly as I could.
I landed softly before quickly scanning in the direction the brat ran off when he robbed the angry lord. My eyes narrowed when they found him in the distance running as fast as he could from the area where he robbed his victims.
Without other thoughts, I started running to chase the boy while jumping from roof to roof with the help of my grappling rope to increase my mobility.
It didn't take long before the boy was in my field of vision. Not caring much that other people were watching me, I took out a rope with two balls on both ends and threw it at his feet causing him to trip and then I hooked my rope to another building and swung down and caught him.
The thief boy quickly exclaimed in surprise as his feet left the ground and we were both swinging through the air before we landed on top of the building. Several people around were shocked and when I landed near the boy, some people started to move away from the conflict while whispering to each other. But someone wasn't moving away from the conflict and he was doing everything except whispering.
"Clover, that was the coolest thing I've ever seen, you're so amazing, I didn't know you could move like that. See that everyone that's my good friend Clover isn't he the coolest"? He said jumping up and down.
Way to kill the moment, oh well.
I took the trap off his feet and helped him up to his feet and gave him a stern look. "You know kid, stealing is bad. Why did you do it?" Instead of accusing, I asked him, I knew that not all people steal for the pleasure of doing it, but out of necessity. I didn't know how common robberies were in this city, but I could understand these people to a certain extent.
When my parents abandoned me and left me alone in the house, I was only able to survive so far before I had to steal from places to stay afloat, luckily my older brother came to visit me and put a stop to it. He lectured me about stealing but he wasn't harsh about it since he knew where I was coming from.
"Eh, but I didn't steal anything, you got the wrong boy" he said defensively.
. "I just saw you rob a man. So I want to know your motives for that act before making a decision. I wouldn't recommend lying to me either, believe me, I'll know" I warned him as I stopped at his side, my eyes shining with a clear warning.
"Why do you have to be a busybody?!" he screamed as tears of frustration escaped from his eyes. "Why is the world so unfair?! When I need help, nobody helps me, but when I do something to survive then people do something about it and to make it worse they brand me as the bad guy!" the boy put his forearm across his eyes as he bit his lip in frustration.
My eyes looked at the boy sympathetically, but I didn't say anything yet. Pity wouldn't help anyone, feeling pity from other people is more frustrating than anything else. Can't say that I don't feel bad for him, I see a lot of myself in this young man. We may not be able to save everyone but I can save whoever I can. "Look I'm not gonna hurt you, I know you're not a bad person, you're just desperate and confused, but I can't just turn a blind eye on this, stealing is wrong no matter what your reasoning is,"
"Let's go kiddo, we're going to return what you stole and you're going to apologize to the person you just robbed," I told him as I carried him down the building and started to walk back to the area where the boy had committed the robbery.
"What? But..." The boy was about to say something before I interrupted him.
I turned my head over my shoulder, my eyes looking directly into the boy's eyes, piercing his soul.
"It wasn't a suggestion kid. I don't recommend trying to escape either" I gave him a warning before sighing tiredly. "If you do what I tell you, I'll help you with your money problems. How about that?"
"Oh really?" The boy's eyes lit up as he wiped the tears from his eyes as he decided up to follow me.
I just nodded in response.
With that, we both started walking in the direction of where the boy had robbed the man. Craiku soon joined us, he seemed confused about what was going on but he seemed to understand without me telling him that he should remain quiet for now.
"By the way, you can call me. Clover, what's your name, kiddo?" I asked him wanting to have a conversation.
The boy looked at me before sighing. "You can call me Sora I guess"
"Nice to meet you, Sora"
Craiku extended his hand, "My name's Craiku and it's nice to meet you, even if you're a dirty thief" he said without a care. I should really teach him about social cues. "Aren't you the Snow Prince" he froze up and went quiet. "I hate that name, I'm more than just an ice magic user".
"By the way why are you two wearing such tattered clothes and no armor, isn't that a little dangerous for you two guys to go to the dungeon with such worn out gear" he asked.
"Now let's calm down here, we can simply search him for any money he may or may not have taken from the bag. Now Sora, jump forward"
He looked annoyed with Craiku's demand until I gave him a hard stare and he obeyed. "Now jump backwards" he obeyed him again.
"Turn your pockets inside out" he did just that and not even a copper coin fell out of his pocket. "He's clean, no he only has two pockets so there's no way he could have stolen from you, now have a nice day and be aware of your surroundings and look both ways so you don't get hit by a carriage, believe me I've been there" he said nonchalantly. Uh, and you wonder why we don't let you go anywhere by yourself.
The men once again blocked our path, "I'm telling you that we are missing some money and I think the kid has it stashed somewhere"
"As the kiddo said, all the money is in the bag. I chased him the moment he stole it from you, my friend here literally just searched for him, even if he hadn't done that he didn't have time to hide anything. Now move," my patience was running thin, and I wasn't willing to put up with the crap of a liar who wanted to hurt someone just for the sake of it and teach them a lesson.
Seeing that they didn't budge an inch, I continued, "The money has been returned to you without any shortage. The problem has been resolved. So I won't repeat myself. Step aside, old man."
The man just laughed mockingly before taking a step forward in an intimidating manner. "And I said I'm missing Valis. So either you compensate for it or get out of the way of the kid. Move out of the way before we hit you along with the thief you're protecting."
I simply laughed with scorn and disgust toward these guys. I approached until I was face to face with him.
"I don't believe in beating up on civilians but grown ups that want to hurt kids for no reason, make me super duper mad, if you don't move out of the way I'll kick your butts" Craiku was about to draw his spear, he likely went through something like this with his no good ex sister. But I don't want him wasting energy.
"Craiku, stand down, they're not worth your strength, I'll handle this one just keep the kid safe for me, think you can do that," he nods. "But what about you, you're still recovering too,"
"I'll be fine, just ditch this place and get him out of here" he picked him up and carried him over his shoulder. "Sorry but it's time for us to go, hang on tight" he dashes off in the opposite direction. "You little punk get back here, aren't you supposed to be the good guy. You're probably a little theif too-" I drew my crossbow and pointed at him. "I'd advise you to rethink what you just said about my friend, I will never allow anyone to slander Craiku or anyone I'm close to like that."
"Well you can't deny the fact that he's a coward, choosing to run away"
"I told him to leave so that the defenseless ones don't get hurt"
"So he was all talk then." One of them said,
"Ha I think you misunderstood, I wasn't protecting him from you, but I was protecting you from him, getting on his bad side isn't a smart idea, and he tends to be a little extreme when he gets mad"
"I'll recommend you go to stand down, old man and leave the kid alone. I assure you this won't happen to anyone again, and I'll personally make sure the kid regrets his actions. Understand?"
The man tensed up, but his expression changed from disbelief to anger. It seemed a fight was about to start. I could feel my muscles tensing up.
All the men were about to draw their weapons and start a scene in the middle of the streets of Orario. I could even see people from the corner of my eye moving away from the impending brawl.
Fortunately, for the men and unfortunately for me, someone intervened before things escalated into something much more violent.
"Halt in the name of justice." All voices turned to the female voice that had interrupted the guaranteed adventurer fight.
I immediately recognized the girl who had intervened. It was Alise Lovell, one of the members of the Astraea Familia. Alongside Alise was that Pallum girl, Lyra, looking at me with a shrewd and curious smile.
"Getting into trouble again, big guy?" Lyra approached us, making the other men nervous as they whispered among themselves. Craiku was standing next to Alise and he was panting from exhaustion. "Clover I…huffs…I saw them and they were concerned…so I brought them here so nobody would fight"
"But... What's going on between you guys? You know we shouldn't be against each other when Evils is still out there, right?" Alise approached, putting a hand on her hip while gesturing with her index finger from left to right.
I looked at the men who were surrounding us before looking at Alise. "We were just having a little disagreement, don't worry, nothing serious." Then I smiled with a kind of mockery, even if no one noticed my gesture. "They were about to leave right now."
The man stared at me for a moment before clicking his tongue. He stopped near my ear and was about to say something, but suddenly he stopped and pushed past me, pushing my shoulder. "Let's go, guys, don't waste time and let them handle this."
But one of them had been hit with a strong gust of wind and tripped on the ground, then I turned around and saw Craiku whistling suspiciously avoiding eye contact. "Craiku"
"It was the wind," he said, lying through his teeth. I'll let this slide just this once.
Once the men were gone, I sighed with some relief. I looked at the boy named Sora with weariness. "So, do you have a place to stay?"
Sora grimaced as he looked down at his feet on the ground. "I live in an orphanage. I don't get along with the other kids, but I try to help out where I can."
"I see." With that, I approached the girls who were looking at us with curiosity but patiently waiting for us to explain. "So, this boy here stole from those men." Lyra sighed heavily. "How troublesome. You shouldn't steal again, those men didn't seem to have good intentions for you," she scolded Jake. "And although I understand you want to contribute to your orphanage, stealing is not the best way."
Alise nodded. "We'll let it pass this time, but make sure you don't repeat it. You never know who you're stealing from, and not everyone is as lenient as we are, so you could end up in a cell for several days." Then she smiled sweetly at the boy. "But don't worry, I'm sure you'll find a way to make money the right and fair way. And if my awesome self tells you, it's because luck will be on your side."
"Next time, I won't save your skin, kiddo," I added seriously. "And try to stay away from dark and sparsely populated areas. Those men might be looking for something against you, but it will probably pass over time, so give it at least a few days." Craiku advised. "Thank you. I promise I won't do it again," Sora promised.
I looked at the boy for any signs of deceit once again but finding none, I sighed. "I'll take your word for it, kiddo." Then I tossed him a bag with 20,000 Valis inside, and Sora caught it in his hands with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Don't spend the money too quickly. Try to spend it wisely. Maybe some people can give you a legal job suitable for your age."
"I got it, ninja boy."
"Ninja?" Lyra and Alise looked at me with confusion.
"I told you to call me Clover,"
"Well I don't blame him for calling you that, you were swinging from building to building and you have all these awesome items that made it easier for you to sneak up on people, and you wear a mask covering your mouth and nose"
"So do you" I said defensely.
"Try but I'm more in your face when I fight, you rely on sneaky tricks and tactics, total ninja material" Craiku said hi fiving Jake.
"Well, gotta admit, you do have the look," Lyra smiled mischievously.
"Not you too," I groaned. Then I took off my mask and placed it on the side of my face. "The mask is just an intimation method for enemies." I declare.
"Seriously though I hope you learned your lesson, I don't wanna have to save your butt next time I see you, or worse, kick it" Craiku reminds him.
"Don't worry Snow Prince, I definitely learned my lesson today and I am truly grateful to both of you" he crossed his arms and nodded. "Good good, because we have enough to deal with from the Evils we don't wanna have to deal with you too" he told him. "And stop calling me that, I used one ice spell it means nothing" he said stubbornly.
Alise then gave him a playful smile. "Hmm, I don't know, you still give me that feeling of an ice magic user. The same feeling that Hell Nine gives me."
My body tensed. I looked her in the face, trying to decipher what she was saying. But Craiku seems annoyed with her, "Enough, I am a user of all kinds of magic, I just can't remember the other Incantations, but I'm still learning"
I saw the girls following us and Sora, so I had to ask to make sure they weren't busy... with, well, police stuff.
"Aren't you working yet?" I asked them curiously.
"Not anymore. The day is about to end, and we were about to head back before we heard all the commotion you brought," Alise replied with a smile.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to be a bother," Craiku commented with an embarrassed sigh. one.
Alise shook her head before giving me a smile that eased my chest. "You don't have to worry about that. It's our job to help those in need and always intervene to ensure situations are fair and just. And to maintain order if necessary." Then she looked into my eyes with her piercing emerald eyes. "You did well in handling the situation, and I thank you again, Clover. You too Craiku for getting us immediately"
"You're welcome, I guess," I felt a bit uncomfortable with the praise she was giving me. I was used to being praised. "Well I wasn't even sure you were around here, I was just gonna hide the kid" she ruffles his hair. "Hey knock it off that takes forever to comb" he said frustrated.
"Looks like someone needs a haircut, you should manage your hair, if your bangs get too long it could get in front of your eyes and cause you to screw up mid fight. Then the Evils will kill you and your tombstone will have the words: Here lies a magician who died because he refused to cut his hair. Do you want that"
"No way, people will make fun of me even after I'm dead"! He said with both hands on his cheeks.
"How about I give you a haircut this evening so we can tackle the dungeon together again, we're getting pretty deep"
"Deep you say, but how deep can a couple of rookie adventurers get in a month"
"Just try not to get into too much trouble, big guy," Lyra put her hands behind her head. "And I'm curious about which floor you reached in the dungeon, considering you said your previous clothes are torn to shreds."
"Well, saying they were torn to shreds is an exaggeration, but they did get quite damaged," I replied with a raised eyebrow. "I made it to the fourth floor by myself but I can hold my own on floor 7 if Craiku and I team up which is what we usually do"
He told them, "Oooh floor 7, that must mean you two are a good team" Alise said praising us.
"Yeah we go well together but if anyone deserves the credit for getting us down there I'm gonna give it to Craiku, he's much stronger than me at this point…actually I'm pretty sure he was stronger than me since the day I met him" he blushes and looked away from me.
"Saying that I'm stronger than you is an exaggeration Clover you're a much better tactician than me, I'm pretty sure you kicked my butt once"
"Key word being once"
Craiku is young but he's incredibly strong, even without his magic he's pretty much the second strongest person in our clan.
Lyra looked at him with surprise. "Floor 7. Well, I would say I'm very surprised, but I'm slightly impressed after you faced a Level 2 on the day we met."
Alise pouted. "And I still don't know the secret to how you were able to defend against them. Although I bet it's some special magic."
"Magic?" I expressed my amusement at her assumption as Craiku looked like a deer caught in headlights.
"The men we interrogated said you had a strange magic that was like swift strike magic but it was harder to defend against because no incantation was required," Lyra clarified. "And although I'm curious about what your real powerful magic is, I won't pry since an adventurer's abilities and magics are very personal."
"I see," I said, amused and relieved. "I appreciate that." Craiku breathes a sigh of relief.
"So this tiny guy is stronger than you" Sora asked, but his face started to turn red with anger, "I am not tiny"! He yelled.
"Oh yes you are and you're so cute and huggable come here little little boy" she hugged him on reflex and he struggled with breaking free from her grips which kinda surprised me since he's so strong. Don't tell me Alise is even stronger than him.
"Aw you have very silky black hair, it almost looks like you've inherited it from a far east relative" his face turned bitter. "It's because I did, I inherited it from my mom, the only thing I'm ever gonna inherit from her" Alise slowly released him and set him on the ground and gave an apologetic look. "I'm really sorry I brought that up, it was very insensitive to do that to you, I hope you can forgive me but understand if you're angry" she told him.
"Think about it this way, you can rock that silky black hair better than she ever could," Lyra suggested, then his face lights up. "Oh yeah, that's true, I mean I already know way more spells than her so of course I could definitely pull off the far east black hair way better than she ever could."
Alise got on her knees, "Seriously I'm sorry I brought up something so painful to you, I never meant to hurt you. But you aren't defined by who your parents are but by your experiences of what you want to become. Anyway I can say sorry to make amends" he simply hugged her, "I've already forgiven you Alise I know you didn't mean it, besides I feel happy that you actually cared about how I felt afterwards. It's more than she or Dianna ever gave me. That alone means the world to me" Alise and Lyra both had grim looks on their faces.
A kid that's not used to his own mother or sibling caring about how they might have hurt him, that'll make anyone with a soul feel horrified for them.
"I feel even worse now, oh how about you two come over and have dinner with us, amongst the girls my culinary skills are the greatest"
"By the way, you've helped us a lot, and ee haven't done anything to thank you. How about I prepare a meal for you? I'm good at cooking. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I'm one of the best chefs."
Alise looked at me in surprise, blinking several times. "Ah, it's not necessary for you to do that. We didn't help you expecting a reward. We do it because it's our duty as daughters of justice and because we enjoy helping people."
"No no please, you've done so much for us since the day we've met you, let us do something for you for a change, it's true you should help others out of the kindness in your heart but those people who are always helping others should be shown a little gratitude, at least in my opinion" Craiku said taking her hand with a glimmer with sparkling eyes.
Lyra rolled her eyes. "Despite the captain being right, I'm now really curious about the truth behind your words. Plus, I haven't had a good meal in a while, so I'll hold onto your words, big guy."
I gave a confident smile. "Once you taste my food, you'll become addicted to it. Trust me. And don't worry, Alise, just as you do things without expecting a reward, it would be impolite not to accept the rewards people offer you."
Lyra gave Alise a mischievous smile. "He's got a point, Alise."
Alise looked at me with a grateful smile. "Are you going to cook regardless of what we say, right?"
"Yup he sure will, it's his turn to cook dinner tonight and he's an amazing chef, I help of course but I'm still considered too young to make any dishes on my own. Please come have dinner with us…I us to do something nice for you because you girls mean so much to me"
Alise's cheeks blushed slightly as Craiku gave her the puppy dog eyes, but above all, she gave me a curious look.
Lyra had a knowing smile. "You speak in a very peculiar way, yet at other times you talk like a kid your age, you're an odd little guy aren't you. And you're from the far east right".
He nods his head, "I figured that you were at least related to someone from that place. And it would explain why you know martial arts. That country is full of places where you could learn it. But why learn it if you already have that crazy magic of yours"
He yelps, "People always ask me that, I can be more than one thing can I. Besides my magic compared to most mages is pretty weak"
"Weak!? You froze half the block yesterday" Lyra exaggerated.
"Unfortunately Clover's cooking will be an offer for another day, I can't just leave my post, but it was very sweet of you two to try to do something nice for me, both of you"
Craiku looked upset and puffed his cheeks, "I really wanted to make you girls smile somehow." Stood there and her lips curled into a smile as she stared at him. "There' is something you can do that'll put an even bigger smile on my face" he clapped his hands together. "Yes anything"
She spread her arms out inviting him for a hug and he looked displeased, "You said anything so you gotta keep your word" he groaned as he extended his arms around her and hugged her, she lifted him up and cuddled with him as if he was a teddy bear. "Soooo cute nuzzle nuzzle nuzzle" she rubbed her cheek against his cheek and he looked like he was growing more annoyed with her each passing second. Lyra started laughing at him, which I honestly don't blame her for since it was a hilarious sight to see.
"I thought you had pretty hard skin but you feel so soft, between you and Leon I don't know who's more adorable because you both make my heart melt. All I wanna do is protect you, and for you to call me big sis" he pouts, "Alise you've embarrassed him enough for one day and it was funny at first but now you're embarrassing me" she released him from her hug of torture and he ran towards me.
Alise took a deep breath as if she was rejuvenated and all of her strength had returned to her. "Oh yeah that's good, I have full power once again, thanks for the hug Craiku I really appreciate it, and if you ever want me to feel better all you have to do is hug me"
"Sure I can't just bake a cake" he said sarcastically.
"Nope I much prefer your precious hugs, they're worth more than solid gold."
He looked at Lyra, "Don't worry about me, seeing the all mighty Snow Prince get treated like a stuffed animal put a smile on my face."
Craiku didn't seem amused to hear that, "Welp time for us to go home, good luck with getting the kid home, and stay safe, I hope you two kick monster ass" I covered Craiku's ears before she finished her sentence.
"Clover knock it off, I've heard people use bad language before"
Alise lightly tapped her head reminding her not to curse around children and she waved at us. Meanwhile Sora was struggling with not laughing at Craiku which really upset him. "Don't laugh at me, I said don't laugh"
"I'm sorry but that was just too funny," he said as Craiku was lightly punching him.
With that, we continued following Sora to the orphanage before bidding each other farewell. Once we separated from the him, we went to buy groceries and, once we had them, we both started walking back home.
"Do they actually respect me or just think I'm some kind of plushie" he asked me.
"If she didn't respect you she wouldn't have felt bad about hurting your feelings. I'm sure that Alise girl thinks highly of you, she just has a weird way of showing it."
I told him, "Other than all that, I really had fun with you today, I thought you were cool before but now I think you're super duper cool, I wish I had a sibling like you this whole time. Today it was kinda like you were my big brother" he tells me.
"In a way I kinda am your brother now, were in the same Familia- which is basically like being in a family, only with divine power and monster blood involved."
He smiled as we walked back home, "Then lead the way big brother, I'll always follow you into battle because I know you have my back and I have yours"
Mystic Otaku here, thanks for reading Chapter 8 of Is it wrong to want to be a hero in the dark age? I can't believe I made it this far, writing a story about the dark age of Orairo was a lot tougher than I thought it'd be but that only made me wanna do it more.
After such a climatic battle in the previous chapter I thought I should write something more chill, although it's the dark age the city of Oriaro back then still had it's peaceful moments. And I'm glad I finally got to give Clover the spotlight he deserved because I personally have grown fond of this character.
My goal for Clover was for him to be the kind of big brother character that had everything I would find cool in a character. I just thought about all the stuff I considered cool about different characters in different forms of media and Clover just came out.
Well thank you again for your support and I shall see you in Chapter 9