“Nicar was here? Why didn’t you tell me!”
A girl fairly larger than Shaden slammed her fist into the table.
“Your manners, young lady.”
The Commander’s wife, whose name Shaden had learned to be Perela, lowered her fork and looked at the girl calmly. The girl averted her eyes to her food and shook her head.
“There was a bug,” she muttered, putting food into her mouth with her other hand.
“A lady shouldn’t let her emotions out so easily,” Perela stated. “I’ve heard that you’ve been skipping your etiquette classes recently.”
“Who cares about that when we live here?” the girl complained. “Nicar is a soldier too.”
“Beila.”
“I already know everything,” the girl added meekly. “I went out to play with the girls.”
“You mustn't venture during wintertime. There are chores to be done.”
“I only took a short break.”
“The stick of discipline has taken a short break as well,” said a woman beside Perela. “Does it need to work, or will you help with the chores?”
“I will help,” the girl nodded.
All the while, Shaden sat uncomfortably in his seat, surrounded by faces he didn’t know. There were seven people in total, including him, and he’d been seated next to one of the women at the edge of the table. In front of him were three children—two little boys and an older girl. Benavon and Perren’s children, he remembered.
The boys couldn’t be past seven. The girl was a teenager. Shaden wondered where he’d fit in the house. It felt so empty and quiet compared to the Jakhar Kishak residence. Now that the conversation with the girl had ended, the table was quiet again. Only the clinking of silverware and dishes filled the cold air.
“Who’s he?” the girl blurted with food still in her mouth. “I thought we didn’t like strangers.”
“He will live here,” the older lady replied. “Ah, yes. Shaden, would you tell us a little about yourself? There isn’t much I’ve been told. We were expecting you to come during the summer.”
“Live here—!”
Shaden heard a slap under the table, and the girl shut up, her face writhing in pain. Another slap and she became calm.
“I’m Shaden,” he began, feeling everyone’s eyes on him. “I was supposed to learn the Nieut family’s abilities at Fort Avagal, but since I mastered everything, I’m here now.”
The girl narrowed her eyes. The boys simply stared without breaking the flow of food into their mouths.
“Tell me—how long were you there?” Perela asked.
“Three to four months.”
“You say that you learned everything?”
“Yes.”
“He must be a prodigy,” one of the women said. Her name was Ponya—Benavon’s wife.
“So he must be,” Perela agreed.
“I would like to know how our husbands are doing,” the third woman—Perren’s wife, Heina—said. “Are they well? Are the mountains not too cold for them?”
“They are well,” Shaden told them. “The Winter Trials are…”
He trailed off, remembering the stench of burning hair.
“They are?”
“Without problems,” he finished. “Everyone is well. Though the food is pretty bad.”
“Rations, right?” the girl butted in, her eyes wide with excitement. “You ate rations!”
“Yes, but we—”
“He’s younger than me. How come he gets to go to Fort Avagal and I don’t?” Beila whined, looking at the older lady. “There’s no way he mastered the technique in four months—ow!”
She grabbed her head, rubbing where she’d been smacked with a spoon. The lady who hit her—Ponya—seemed to be her mother. She smiled at Shaden, who awkwardly nodded back.
“I’m sure he has been through much more than you have,” Perela said with a frown. “You complain about having to wash clothes in cold water. Shaden, would you tell Beila what you have done?”
“Climb a mountain cliff?”
“That can’t be true,” Beila snorted.
Shaden smiled back. She seemed to be irked by it.
“Make him wash clothes as well!” she argued.
“I cleaned Fort Avagal by myself when I was there,” Shaden told her. “If you’d like, I can help around this house too.”
“Oh, wonderful!” Perela clapped.
“Handsome, and a gentleman as well,” Ponya smiled. “We always needed a proper man in the house.”
“Uh—thank you?” Shaden said hesitantly. “Don’t you have any servants to do the heavy lifting?”
“Servants? Bah, we aren’t nobles,” Perela chuckled. “Strong people are grown from strong environments. What good is a woman if she cannot take care of her own home?”
“I guess,” Shaden said.
For some reason, the girl was glaring at him. It reminded him of a certain stubborn character he’d read from a book, though Beila’s hair was brown. The protagonist in that story had done something to appease the girl.
“I can use magic if you need help with anything,” he offered. “I could teach magic as well. The boys don’t look like they have much to do around here.”
Enson and Rasso’s eyes lit up, whirling to their grandmother.
“Magic?”
“He’s a magic tutor?”
“My, that is a surprise,” Perela said. “But perhaps it will be better to not give children tools that would be dangerous for them.”
“But! A magic tutor!” Enson pleaded.
Rasso simply looked excited. “I want magic.”
The old lady’s eyes were now on him.
“A little will be fine, right?” he asked. “I won’t teach them anything dangerous.”
Thump.
Everyone’s eyes turned to the girl who had smacked the table with her hand.
“I can supervise,” she offered hopefully.
“You don’t know magic,” her grandmother said. “Magic is an unstable and dangerous thing.”
“Well, isn’t the detection ability also magic?” Shaden reasoned. “I don’t think it would be that bad.”
“Grandma, a tutor costs gold to hire,” the girl pleaded, looking at her grandmother with puppy eyes. “This is a great opportunity.”
“Hm. Well then, you may try it during your free time,” she told them, “but only after you have finished everything else.”
“What about the boy? He can help, right?” the girl asked.
Their eyes turned to him.
“Sure,” he replied. He didn’t mind helping some women and children out. Unlike the soldiers, they looked like they would appreciate his efforts more.
Goodness. They should speak more.
The quiet had returned to the table again, and Shaden couldn’t help but think about how different they were from the Jakhar Kishaks. Keyga had often left his seat to see other family members, and sometimes the talking would become close to shouting if the mood escalated. They would laugh, slap their legs, and toast about every good news…
The boys here were glued to their seats, eating silently. The girl was the same. Sometimes the old lady and her daughters-in-law would exchange a few words, but that was the extent of the conversation. He had become used to it, of course, while spending time with the soldiers. But they were battle-hardened men; these were children.
“It’s very quiet here,” he commented, wanting to make small talk. “So, what do you do for fun?”
“Fun?”
The old lady’s face had twisted into a frown, though Shaden wasn’t sure if it was because she was thinking or baffled at his question. He let out an unnoticeable sigh when she smiled.
“I like to dust the house and organize the furniture. Clothes always need mending. But I’m sure my grandchildren can tell you more.”
She waited for them to speak. The girl coughed, wiping her mouth with her hand.
“You want me to tell him?” she said in horror.
“That would be good.”
The girl pursed her lips. “Laundry. Chopping wood. Cooking.”
It sounded forced.
“I’m sure you’ll find things to do,” Perela assured Shaden. He nodded.
It seemed as if it would be the beginning of a slow life.
⤙ ◯ ⤚
Shaden rubbed his hands. It was freezing, but he was keeping his circulation to a minimum.
Sometimes, he liked feeling vulnerable. In the mountains, the environment had been too harsh to sit back and relax properly, but now that he was somewhere far away, he could enjoy not having any responsibilities. He still remembered the winter nights back at home when he would shiver under his blankets, feeling nice and fuzzy inside.
Those days were far away now. He’d come all the way here to learn, but he’d done something wrong. Even though Enthimer was supposed to be a better place than Fort Avagal, he felt uneasy, like he’d forgotten to show up for an important test. Not circulating stirred nostalgic feelings in him, but he’d never liked to disable it for long because of the tight feeling in his chest that formed whenever he looked back on his mistakes. Sitting on the porch while looking at the dark sky was peaceful; there were no problems he had to deal with. No soldiers to please, no rules to follow. But he felt tense as if something was going to happen.
He thought about the real world. His problems there were essentially nonexistent now, but the thought of returning to that world and facing Edan made butterflies crawl around in his stomach. It made him want to circulate again, but he resisted, closing his eyes. His other body could not rely on circulating. He’d have to practice thinking without it here to be more clear-minded there.
Though, it wasn’t working as well as he wanted it to. Ever since his body had transformed, mana always flowed through his veins, even when he didn’t concentrate. He was intentionally slowing it, but he would never be without it.
Even with circulating, he’d failed to solve all of his problems. Had he used too little force? Too much? The right answer felt nonexistent, which is why he’d been sent to Enthimer. He needed wisdom, but circulating didn’t give him any.
It only made him clear-minded.
“Shaden? By the spirits—boy, what are you wearing?”
Shaden turned around to see Perela behind him. Her hands clenched a thick coat around her body—which she quickly took off and wrapped it around Shaden.
“What are you doing out here?” she fussed, touching his forehead. “You’ll be sick!”
“The mountains were colder,” he replied.
“You’re freezing! Come inside and warm yourself. Heina is making the fire. Why are you awake at this hour?”
“We woke up at this time at Fort Avagal.”
“Goodness! No mercy for anyone. You can sleep until you are woken up now. Are you hungry?”
“A little, I guess.”
“There is leftover bread and cheese in the kitchen. Help yourself whenever you wish.”
The elderly lady half dragged him into the house along with the coat, touching his arms. She fussed about how frostbite would come quickly, and it was true that his skin had become cold. But he’d wanted to test out how much pain he could bear before resorting to his mana.
Looks like the experiment is over.
He let his mana flow again, instantly washing away his discomfort and unease. Sometimes he worried if he’d lose his emotions, but he could still feel excitement and joy clearly. He suspected that mana was a kind of willpower—it fulfilled what he wanted and removed what he hated. It was a tool for himself, and magic was a tool for nature. The books he’d read had mentioned something like that.
He was becoming who he wanted to be. Except—he didn’t know what he wanted to be. Everything felt aimless; everything felt dull.
“Ah.”
Heina—Perren’s wife—looked up when she heard Shaden’s footsteps. She’d started a small fire from leftover embers and was fanning it.
“Good morning,” Shaden greeted.
“Good morning,” she nodded.
She wasn’t much of a talker. Even during mealtimes, it was Perela and Ponya who spoke the most. Heina was quiet. He could see where Rasso had gotten his traits from.
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Beila and Enson were Benavon and Ponya’s children. They were more outgoing from what he could see. But Enson played with Rasso since they were similar in age, and Beila, being a few years older than Shaden, didn’t particularly mix with them. Maybe sometimes, when order was needed.
He’d only spent a few days with them. He didn’t know them well. Nor did he have the spirit to.
As he walked up the stairs, he slowed his circulation to a halt and felt the cold air seep into him. Feeling down felt comforting. It made things feel more real.
It wasn’t a dream world, right? It was a real world.
Thinking about the murmurs and displeasure from the soldiers made him want to crawl into a hole. He’d saved them, hadn’t he? And yet, they’d turned their blasting rods at him. If it hadn’t been for the shadow, he would have flattened the man into a paste. He could remember their eyes. Scowling, fearful, alert.
The same people who’d waved and smiled at him for doing the chores had wanted to kill him. Thinking back, everything had been a mess from the start. From Grak being killed by Nicar, his belongings being stolen, getting enlisted, having to learn foreign customs and rules which he thought was mostly useless, beastmen being killed, a cruel agreement between nations—
The fire. The smell. The twisted heads. It overwhelmed him, and he loosened his grip on himself.
The unpleasant feelings faded away. Remembering them was like reading off of a textbook. He was fearless now, and confident. Nothing had been his fault, and it had been a decent experience that taught him about how cruel the world could be.
Can’t even face it without mana.
Which was the real him? The anxious and uncertain or the confidant and powerful? Only in the other world had he realized that he’d been relying on circulation all the time as Shaden. Now that he was forcing himself to stop, he felt empty and hollow. And the negative thoughts filled him.
He crawled into bed. He’d been given a room for himself. The boys shared a room, and everyone else used their own. It was just him alone there, under a thick blanket.
It wouldn’t be an hour until the children woke up. The women always woke up earlier to prepare for the day. A part of him was glad that he was being treated as a child, free of responsibilities, but another part yearned to help, to show them how capable he was. For now, he would do as he was told.
He let out a small laugh. That was something that had been hammered into him. Do as you are told. He hated the phrase. Now he found himself following it when he was away from all of that mess.
Shaden closed his eyes. Things…things would get better.
It was a short while before there was a knock on the door. Beila, probably.
“I’m awake,” Shaden said after hearing it. The footsteps went away, and he got dressed to prepare for the day.
The world seemed to move in slow motion as he went to the bathroom to wash his face. He heard the noise of Beila waking the boys up, so he quickly dried himself and went to their room. Beila was pulling their pajamas off, and they clung to their blankets, not wanting to get out.
“It’s so cold,” Enson complained. But reluctantly, he let his sister clothe him and push him out of bed. Beila then turned to Rasso whose face was buried in his pillow, butt sticking upwards.
They were six and four, around ten years apart from Beila. It was the women who took care of the house. Perela oversaw everything, Ponya and Henia did the housework, and Beila took care of her brothers. The boys were too young to do anything.
He could see why Pillen had wanted to quit being a soldier and come help his family.
“Do you need any help?” Shaden asked while Beila wiped Rasso’s face with her hands. She looked at him while pulling his pajamas off.
“Hah? Uh, how old are you?” she asked.
“Eleven,” Shaden replied.
She frowned, thinking hard. “You can…fold the blankets.”
So he did. There was a certain method to everything as he’d learned during his time with the soldiers. Folding blankets and tents was one of them. While Beila dressed Rasso, he folded the blankets into neat squares, putting the pillows on top.
“Oh, that’s good. But, er, you don’t have to do it that perfectly,” Beila said while pulling Rasso’s feet to the floor. “Just neatly will do.”
Shaden nodded. “I’m used to it.”
“Um…okay. Er, follow me.”
She didn’t seem used to dealing with people his age, and to be fair, he did not look eleven. A few years older, probably. His extensive use of mana had changed his body, shaping it into what he wanted it to be, even if it was done unconsciously. He suspected that if he put his mind into growing, he could. But he didn’t want to.
Enson had finished washing his face, jumping up and down from the cold. He ran past them, heading downstairs where the fireplace was.
“Hey, careful!” Beila yelled, and her brother completely ignored her, thudding down the stairs. She sighed quietly.
Rasso’s eyes were still closed. Beila led him to the bathroom where she fetched some water from a large container and put it in a bucket. After making Rasso kneel, she rubbed his face with water, making the boy groan.
“It’s so cold,” he complained. “Stoooop.”
She ignored him, fetching a towel and patting his face down. Lifting him, she placed him outside the door and began to wash her face. When she finished, she got up and took Rasso’s hand again.
“Did you wash?” she asked.
“Yep,” Shaden replied. “Do you need warm water next time?”
“That’s wasteful,” she said. “Um, time for breakfast.”
To be fair, Shaden hadn’t touched the water in the large container. Who knew how long it had been stagnant. There weren’t any apparent impurities, but he’d used magic to conjure warm water instead. For Beila and the others, this was their life.
Now he felt bad.
There was a small swishing noise as Shaden’s magic filled the bathroom, causing the walls and water to shimmer slightly. This would do for now. He’d try to improve things as he saw them.
Beila had seen him stop. “Do you need to use it?”
“No, I’m fine,” Shaden said as he followed Beila.
“Then let’s go down,” she said with a shiver.
He knew that it was cold, but circulating made it mellow. His body was different now. He wasn’t easily affected by heat, cold, pain, sleep, or hunger. For others, it wouldn’t be the same.
Enson had helped lay out the dishes and utensils. The food was already on the table, steaming. They sat down, but everyone was still.
“How many stones are there?” Perela asked.
“Urgh. Uh…four,” Beila replied after a few seconds.
“Where are they?”
“Behind the right cabinet, under the shelf there, behind the door, and behind the window.”
“You missed one,” Perela said.
Beila’s eyes darted around. There were a few uncomfortable seconds of silence, and Shaden could see the boys play with their forks while the look of worry grew on Beila’s face.
“You’re holding it,” Shaden said. “It’s on your lap.”
Beila looked at him, as did the women. Perela nodded, bringing the stone onto the table.
“Yes, you are right.”
“That’s not fair,” Beila complained with a sniff. “You know objects on people are harder to detect. And I’m not fully awake.”
“It looks like Shaden here is better than you,” Perela commented, turning their eyes on him. “Can you tell us what my daughters are hiding?”
He assumed that she meant her daughters-in-law. “A dessert of some kind and a bottle of…syrup?”
It was hard to tell textures apart. Besides things that were alive, inanimate objects that he hadn't marked all had a bland outline. But Perela beamed, motioning to the women to take the items out.
“It’s a sweet cake and some honey,” Ponya said.
“What!”
Enson’s jaw dropped. Rasso looked at his brother, then at the dessert. Beila’s eyes had widened as well.
“You said we didn’t have any and it would be expensive to get any!” Beila said with excitement. “Grandmother, you promised I could have some.”
“I want to try,” Rasso mumbled.
Shaden looked forward to it as well. The lack of sweets at Fort Avagal had been clear; these people didn’t have much sugar. Now, before them was something that looked like it was submerged in sweetness, along with honey.
“If you had practiced using your abilities more, you may have noticed the sweet cake and honey hidden in the house,” Perela sighed, “but no matter. We have a valuable guest among us.”
She turned to him. “It is for you. Consider it a small gift from us.”
Food as a gift. That was new.
“Grandmother, please—just a bite?” Beila pleaded. “Mila said she had some at the beginning of the Winter Trials.”
“If you had found it, it would have been shared,” the elderly lady said. At that, Enson closed his mouth and Beila sank back into her seat.
“What does it taste like?” Rasso whispered to his brother.
“It’s good,” he replied.
They ate in silence afterwards. The children kept eyeing the dessert and him throughout the meal, which was hard bread, cheese, salty meat, and warm, watery soup. Shaden finished his food quickly, and the sweet cake with a bottle of honey was placed before him.
It smelled nice, like mellower, milkier cinnamon. The amount of honey was very small, not even filling half of the small bottle the size of a test tube.
“Go on. It is a delicacy. I’m sorry this is all we have for now,” Perela smiled.
Shaden looked at the sweet cake. He could feel the children’s longing eyes.
Fwoop.
With the sound of cake being sliced, the small dessert split apart into seven even pieces. After locating everyone’s plates, he made them float into an empty section on each one.
He put a drop of honey onto his spoon and held the bottle before him. “Does anyone want this?”
Enson’s hand shot up. Rasso raised his hand as well after looking at his brother’s reaction.
“If you don’t mind, I can split it,” Beila told him.
So he gave it to her. She poured first on Rasso’s plate, then Enson’s, then tucked the rest into her pocket after licking the sides clean.
“How kind of you!” Ponya chortled, touching her chest. “Then I won’t refuse.”
“Was that magic?” Heina breathed. “Did you make a contract with a spirit?”
“I think I’m a little more talented than others,” Shaden grinned softly.
“But that was—”
“Chantless,” Perela said in awe. “I am too old for cake. Ponya, can you split this among the children?”
“Yes, mother.”
“And children! Where is your gratitude?”
“Thank you!”
“Thank you.”
“I appreciate your kindness.”
He put a spoonful into his mouth after tasting the honey. Only then did he realize what the honey had been for. The cake was nowhere near as sweet as he’d thought it to be, and tough as well. Sweet cake as a gift didn’t seem that wonderful.
“Mmm!” Rasso said, his eyes bright. “It’s soft.”
“I know. Make sure to savor it,” Enson grinned.
“Savor?”
“Enjoy.”
Shaden paused and looked at the boys. Their faces were painted with happiness as they carefully chewed the dessert slowly.
“You should eat your meal first,” Heina said, wiping Rasso’s mouth.
“I like this!” Rasso giggled. “It’s sweet. Like berries. But sweeter.”
“Can I have some for my birthday?” Enson asked. “I want more.”
“Maybe if you learn your lessons, we’ll get you some,” Ponya told him.
Beila was saving hers for last, rushing through her meal quickly. When she finally took a bite, she bloomed.
“Mmmm.”
“You are such a kind young man,” Ponya hummed, taking a bite of hers. “Though I’m afraid this will put weight on me.”
“A little is good,” Heina told her, nodding once at Shaden. “Thank you. It’s been a while since I’ve had sweets.”
Shaden smiled, looking down at his plate. To be fair, the elderly lady hadn’t given him much of a choice. If he had devoured the sweet cake all by himself, he would have looked like a greedy rascal. Perhaps their customs were different like how stealing had been commonplace at Fort Avagal, but he still would have felt bad. And now that he’d tried it, he wasn’t enjoying it very much.
He was glad that he’d shared. Partly because they were happy, and partly because he didn’t have to finish it all by himself.
He felt like a fraud. They called him kind when he was simply imitating it. He didn’t know these people; he was just trying to fit in.
Shaden increased the mana flow within his body.
“I’ve noticed that it’s quite cold around here,” he commented. “There’s no warm water either.”
“Would you like some?” Ponya asked. “Though you would have to carry the hot water from here, and that is dangerous.”
Shaden shook his head. “I’m not asking for warm water. You saw me use magic. I can use it for many more things, like making the place warm. Would you like that?”
“You can?” Ponya turned to her mother-in-law. “Can he?”
“It would exhaust you,” Perela reasoned. “I’ve heard that excessive magic use shortens your lifespan.”
“Mother, you know all mages live long.”
“Because they are well-educated to control their mana.”
“Magic shortens your life?”
“It’s a superstition that Mother believes,” Ponya said. “But it is true that exhaustion and cold weather do not fit well. It is a recipe for sickness.”
“Yes, that was what I meant.”
Shaden clapped his hands twice. “Well then, I’ll assume that you are fine with it.”
He closed his eyes to spread his mana through the house. Using magic was always easier after he prepared with mana first.
“May this house be filled with comfort – Warmth.”
The chanting was unnecessary, but it added to the effect. He snapped, and the temperature instantly rose, evaporating the chill out of the floor and the air. Everyone looked around, feeling the change.
“It’s—wonderful,” Heina muttered.
“Woah, magic,” Belia blinked. “How long does it last?”
“As long as I’m in the house,” Shaden answered.
“Will I be able to do this too?” she asked, feeling the air with her hand.
He nodded. “I’m sure you could.”
“It’s warm,” Enson said with awe, “like summer.”
“Are you sure about this?” Perela frowned, looking intently at him. “I don’t want you to become sick.”
“You don’t need to worry about a single thing.”
The elderly lady pursed her lips, then nodded. “Don’t force yourself.”
Shaden smiled.
If only she knew about the extent of his power.
⤙ ◯ ⤚
It only escalated after that.
When they found out about the warm water, Everyone took baths every day. They hadn’t smelled much before, but now the mustiness was gone from their bodies. Or perhaps their clothes because with his magic, clothes and blankets could be washed and dried much more efficiently.
It didn’t mean that the work that had to be done around the house had lessened.
“Are you done?”
“Not yet!”
“Well, I’m done!”
Enson triumphantly emerged from a room with a rag in his hand. He headed to the room where Rasso was and did a funny pose.
“I’m tired,” Rasso complained, falling onto the floor. Now that it was warm, the boys spent much more time on the ground.
“Me too,” Enson agreed, falling beside him.”
“Kids! We’re not done cleaning yet,” Beila scolded after seeing them.
“But Shaden is here,” Enson whined.
“Yeah. He can use magic.”
“That doesn’t mean you can be lazy.”
“You can join them if you want,” Shaden chuckled. “I can finish the rest.”
“Grandmother won’t like that.”
“We can keep it a secret.”
“Hmm.”
She seemed to think about it. Eventually, she shook her head.
“We’re almost done.”
“Alright.”
So while the boys rolled on the floor, enjoying their rest, Shaden and Beila quickly went through the rooms, wiping all of the dusty spots. Perela’s inspection was very thorough, and only through their detection ability could they make sure that each room was clean. It was good that they were only tasked with the second floor.
“We’re supposed to warm up while cleaning, but now I’m sweating,” Beila exhaled, wiping her forehead.”
“We could open the windows.”
She nodded.
A blast of fresh air blew into the room the moment they slid the window open. Beila breathed in deeply, then closed it.
“Er, it’s too cold,” she laughed. “Aren’t you ever cold? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you tired or cold. Or sweaty.”
“Thanks to magic,” he shrugged. It was a convenient excuse.
They finished everything and went to Perela for confirmation, who nodded. Shaden knew he’d gained her trust during his short time with the family. It was strange. At Fort Avagal, it had seemed so difficult. Here, every moment he used his power was a step forward. They liked what he did, and he helped them willingly.
“Grandmother? I would like to invite my friends over,” Beila asked. “They want to know how warm our house is.”
“How do they know? “ the elderly lady questioned. “I’m sure Shaden doesn’t want many people knowing about him.”
“They already knew about it,” Beila pouted, “but not about Shaden. People think there is a spirit blessing our house.”
“That explanation is good. What do you think, Shaden? Should her friends come over?”
“You’re asking him?”
“I don’t mind if people know about me,” he told them. “There are many people who know about me in the south.”
“The south?”
“The Jakhar Kishaks. The previous family that I stayed with. And there are soldiers who know who I am and what I can do at Fort Avagal as well.”
“Why, of course. Then you will not mind if I brag to some of my fellow ladies?”
“Huh? I mean…”
“I’m joking,” Perela chuckled. She patted him on the head. “You’re a wonderful young man.”
“I—”
Shaden felt something warm inside of him. “Thank you.”
“Well, I’ll tell them to bring food,” Beila said. “Could they stay for the night?”
“Only if their parents allow it.”
“Yes! Thank you, Grandmother.”
She gave her a tight hug, then gave Shaden one as well. He hadn’t expected it, and she pulled away before he could react.
“Um, thanks. I hope your magic is still working.”
Shaden grinned. “Don’t worry about it.”
After Beila left the house to visit her friends, Shaden went to Enson and Rasso who were sleeping on the floor. Gently picking them up, he moved them to their beds and pulled a blanket over them. Finding nothing else to do, he headed downstairs.
“Do you need something?” Ponya asked after seeing him in the kitchen. “Maybe some cheese?”
“I was wondering if there was anything else I could help with,” he said.
Ponya smiled. “We’re done for the day.”
“I see.”
He strode through the hallway to the room where Perela was. She was knitting on a couch, squinting at her hands.
“Do you need help with anything?” he asked. “I could clean the first floor.”
“But today is a second-floor day, is it not?” the old lady said, looking up. “Were you not done?”
“I am.”
“Come sit next to me.”
He did. Shaden watched the lady knit.
“Now, this is a hobby of mine, so you can’t take it away from me,” she joked.
Shaden nodded. Honestly, he was bored. He’d practice magic later on. After dinner, he’d teach the children some easy spells then do some more practicing before he fell asleep. There was also the issue of teaching magic to Riley and Rhyne without the existence of a chanting system in that world. Right now, he felt out of place, having nothing to do.
“Rest, my boy. Rest. You’ve done enough.”
Shaden looked up at her. “Have I?”
She nodded.
He looked down at his hands.
Everything was calm. Everything was peaceful.
Shaden closed his eyes and rested.