Eres couldn’t keep the grin off of his face as he packed up his various belongings into a large leather rucksack. It had been a gift from his mother and had a minor spatial enchantment on it to increase how much could be carried inside it. It was no infinite storage like some of the protagonists from the fiction of his last life had acquired, but it quadrupled how much could fit in the small space and made it so the pack was only maybe five kilos when fully packed. It made packing his entire life into one bag much, much easier.

Truthfully, Eres had thought he would feel some trepidation or sadness about having to leave his family’s manor and lands to set out on his own. He had known it was coming for years, so he was pretty sure that he would be prepared when the time came, especially once he started his training with Brom, but he still thought he would feel bad about leaving.

Yet he didn’t.

Honestly, the only thoughts going through his head were excitement and adventure. When he had been given the slip of paper by a sneering servant yesterday, the rush of joy and adrenaline had nearly spiked his Magic Core into action. It was a perfunctory statement, stating that now he had come of age Eres had to decide between leaving to create a branch family under his father's name, or striking off his last name entirely and leaving the ranks of nobility for a commoner's life. It had, of course, been signed by the Baron, but Eres was pretty certain it had just been another piece of paper coming across the desk for a signature.

Since Ellsa had left a year or so ago and his mother was having to stay in the Capital for the social season, the only person in the household he had spoken to with any regularity was Freya, so he wasn’t really sure what was going on with his older brother and father, but he was pretty sure he didn’t care. This little bit of paper gave him permission to give his last name the finger and ignore all the parts of his family he didn’t like. In fact, he didn’t even need to do anything to do it. It specified he should present himself to the “Master of the House” if he wanted to start a branch family.

The rest of the letter treated it as a foregone conclusion that is what he would do, talking about all his responsibilities as the head of such a branch. There was more than a small amount of vindictive joy in Eres’ heart when he thought of the surprise and shock when he just walked out of the house and didn’t look back.

He managed to get the last of his books shoved into the backpack and buckled it closed, before turning to look at his room. Truthfully he didn’t have many memories here, and he hadn’t updated the room since he regained his memories of his past life nearly 8 years ago. The same luxurious furnishings, drapes and nearly floor-to-ceiling windows. The same bowl of water to wash one's face in the morning. He strode over to the bowl, swirling his finger through his reflection.

Truthfully, Eres was far happier with his appearance at 18 than he had been in his last life as Adrien. He hadn’t fretted over it too much, but the long silver hair framed his face nicely and the features were something he considered attractive enough, and if the not-so-subtle passes a few of the town girls had made when he had been out in disguise were anything to go by then he wasn’t the only one. He didn’t look quite as rugged as he had in that one glimpse of the future he had seen, but he could see he was on the way to looking like that man, though as of now he didn’t have any of the scars. Looking back at the deep blue eyes in the water, Eres gave himself a wide grin.

“Alright. Fuck this place, let's go find some trouble,” He laughed at his reflection as he shouldered the pack and gave his room the finger as he walked out, happy to be moving on.

He hadn’t seen Freya yet today, and she had been avoiding him the past week. It was strange, because the young woman had been the only constant in his life for the past eight years, and she had barely missed a day of work. It had only been two years ago that Eres had managed to convince her to take her own birthday off of work, for god's sake.

Still, he wasn’t too worried. He knew what she was planning, no matter how well she thought she was hiding it, and he was assuming that her avoidance had been in prepping her surprise and in trying to make sure he hadn’t caught on.

Well, Eres thought as he strolled through the halls, gaze flicking across the various pieces of art, I will need to pretend at least. After how well she has looked after me the last few years, might as well let her have her fun.

He did a cursory sweep of her usual haunts on the grounds to make sure he wasn’t entirely off base with his assumptions but didn’t catch sight of her. Finally, he headed out of the large main doors at the front of the house, onto the drive where he had waited for his parents to arrive and take him to his blessing ceremony those years ago, and began to head down the long pathway towards the main gate. He was maybe halfway there when he could see two silhouettes standing in the open just beyond it, waiting.

Two people being there surprised him. Eres knew Brom wouldn’t be there, as he had left nearly six months ago after declaring Eres had a solid enough base to stand tall on his own and could learn the rest on the road and through actual practice. The only other person that Eres could think of was…

“Myla, what a surprise,” he laughed as he approached the pair of young women. Freya had a slight grin on her face, and Myla was looking around uncomfortably. Looking over the pair, Eres had to take stock of himself for a second. He was very aware that his two friends were attractive, but it wasn’t until he saw them there that he really thought about just how much they had changed.

When he had met Freya, she had been a few inches taller than him and had barely been able to meet his eye. Now she barely reached his shoulder, but her bright green eyes met his with the ease and comfort of years of friendship. The dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks highlighted just how fair her skin was. Her long, dark brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail that just brushed the top of her shoulders. She was dressed in travelling clothes, thick trousers tucked into well-worn leather boots and a long staff clasped in her left hand, while her right gripped one strap of a travelling pack much like his own. Her lips had curled into a wider smile as he drew closer and she had noticed his surprise.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

While he had seen Freya nearly every day for the last eight years, seeing Myla had become much more sporadic as he got older and more recognisable. As sneaking out from the manor became harder and harder and his visits became less and less common, he had needed to rely on Freya to go and make sure Myla knew he wasn’t just bailing on them because he was lazy. This made the beautiful woman standing in front of him even harder to identify as Myla, as he was sure just a few months ago she had still been that little girl who cried after saving them from a goblin.

Time sure does fly, Eres thought as he looked at his other friend. Gone was the short blonde tomboy with scuffed knees and wide eyes. Instead, the woman standing before him looked like a warrior or adventurer. Her blonde hair was still shorter than most, in fact, it was shorter than Eres’ own hair, but it barely brushed along her collarbones where it wasn’t pulled back from her face with a leather band. She was wearing heavy leather vambraces over her own travelling clothes, and a suspiciously familiar pack was slung over both of her shoulders. Unlike the grin that was pasted across Freya’s face, Myla looked a little nervous, ice-blue eyes darting around as she shifted her weight back and forth between her feet.

“Good morning, Master Eres,” Freya smiled as she spoke, giving Eres a small bow, “I hope you have been having a good morning?”

“You know what, Freya?” Eres put a hand to his chin as he pretended to ponder, “It was a very good morning. I woke up a little late, got to leave a house I never really fit in at, and now I find two of my friends waiting for me.

“However I have to say, my maid must have been slacking because she didn’t come to wake me up like usual, and I couldn’t see her anywhere in the house. I wonder what that is all about?”

“Ah, I see,” Freya said, her grin widening, “Well, Master Eres, I regret to inform you that as you are no longer a member of the Hytheiem household, you are no longer eligible to have a maid, and all of your privileges as a noble have been removed. I apologise for any confusion.”

“Well, why are you still calling me “Master Eres” then?” Eres laughed as he reached out and flicked her in the forehead, “Go on then, tell me whatever you have planned. I know both of you wouldn’t have been here to greet me as I leave unless you were planning something devious.”

“Devious? Not at all, Eres.” Freya smiled sweetly as she stressed his name.

Eres cocked an eyebrow as he looked across at Myla, who was still shifting her weight from side to side, eyes flicking between the two of them. “Hey Myla, sorry about not being around much recently. You managed to stop this one from getting you in trouble?” He smiled as he shoved a thumb in Freya’s direction, getting a sound of mock offence for his troubles.

“Hey, Eres,” the blonde girl laughed a little at their antics before she answered his question, “As for Freya getting me in trouble… Well…”

“Ah, ah!” Freya interrupted, “No spoiling it! Come on, let's go and have a late breakfast and Eres can tell us where he plans to go from here, now he isn’t one of the lauded noble scions.”

Eres and Myla both looked at Freya wide-eyed. She had got more and more talkative as the years passed, but it was rare that she would poke fun at Eres. The fact she was teasing him, and the emphasis on his name let it all come together. He knew she had planned something, but he wasn’t quite prepared for this, and he couldn’t stop the outburst of words.

“By the Gods, you actually fucking did it, didn’t you.” He muttered, staring at her.

“Hmm? Just what is it you think I did, Eres?” Her eyes glinted with mischief as she hefted her staff and pack.

“You just up and quit on them, with no warning, didn’t you?” Eres stared harder now. Freya’s family all worked for his father, so quitting with no warning would mean she wouldn’t be able to come back. They wouldn’t let her after an insult like that. Freya’s shoulders slumped down as she glared at him.

“You couldn’t just let me spring it on you?” She whined, poking him with the rounded end of the staff before she stepped closer before Eres’ eyes could drift away from her face.

“Eres, this was my choice. I’m coming with you, as you knew I would, and I’m not going to use any sort of trickery of your family to make it technically part of my job for a while. I'm going to be sticking around and keeping you from killing yourself with harebrained schemes, magical experimentation or anything else. This is what I'm going to do, so you need to deal with it because if you start moping or complaining, I am going to politely ask Myla to pick you up and throw you to the top of the nearest tree. Are we clear?”

Eres kept looking at her for a minute or two, looking for any signs of hesitation, doubt or anything that might tell him she was making a really big mistake. All he saw in those green eyes was confidence, and a spark of something else, something he had been ignoring for the last couple of years. Something he didn’t know how much longer he could ignore.

“Yes, yes we are clear,” Eres finally huffed, before looking over at Myla, who was now very focused on a stone she was nudging with her toe.

“Judging by both of your clothes and packs, my Mother had something to do with this too?” He asked, not really needing the answer, “Which means I can assume I can’t talk you out of this either, Myla?”

Her eyes darted up to his with a movement so sudden Eres felt his training preparing him for a strike. Her face was strangely blank for a moment before a serene smile appeared.

“Eres, I have been planning to follow you since the day you told me you were going to be an Adventurer, and that hasn’t changed. Now, if you are going to try and dissuade me, I am going to do far worse than just throw you to the top of a tree.”

“Well, that settles that,” Eres shook his head as he laughed a little, “What a start to my new life, both of the women in my life threatening me!”

As he walked down the dirt road, shoulders still shaking with gentle laughter, he didn’t catch the look or the smiles his new companions shared. If he had, he might have been less surprised about how his life turned out.