MARO

Dad was doing a terrible job of taking care of his son.

With Mother being the angel she was, it was easy for her to care for me while Dad was on an expedition.

But now that the roles had reversed, my father struggled to be a parent.

Even with the list of things my mother gave him to read so that this job would be easier, it was not working.

I could care for myself if I wanted to, even if I were just a baby.

All I could do was watch in disappointment as my father ran frantically into our house, making a mess.

One thing was sure: Mother would talk with him once she returned from her expedition.

"Alright, kiddo!" He clapped his hands. "Who's ready for storytime?"

I cheered as a baby would do what a baby could do.

I was very limited in the things I could do.

Even though I could formulate sentences occasionally, I still needed help.

When will that cliche time skip happen, like in the movies?

But now, I would have to wait and enjoy my time as a baby.

He picked me up in his arms, plopped himself down on a seat, and looked at the shelves containing much knowledge about this world.

I could only hope that he would pick one of those books.

My father began tapping his chin, "What to read, what to read. . ." He muttered.

I knew it was time to shine, ready to use my one-word power.

"Vest! Vest!" I threw my small arms out, which could barely reach anything.

Damnit! Vest? What the hell was Vest? I was trying to Vestiga; that word was way too hard for me even to say.

"Vest?" His eyes raised an eyebrow in amusement, "Ah! Vestiga. I could probably read him something about that."

Success!

"On second thought, that's way too boring."

You've got to be kidding me. . .

"I'll just read him stuff about planets and Plantea Beasts." He chuckled proudly to himself, picking out a book from a shelf.

Okay, never mind now. Dad was talking in my language!

Father took one quick scan of the books that were on the shelf, immediately closing as he sighed, "Damn, are these the books that your mum reads you all the time? Pretty boring." He chuckled at his joke.

He excelled at his role as a father when it came to his dad jokes but not so much in everything else.

"You know what, I'll read you my own story that I made. Are you ready?"

"Dada!"

He chuckled, smiling, "Alright then, here goes nothing."

The words that had begun travelling into my ear contained information I had never heard from books.

These were things that even books had nothing to offer.

I never knew that my father had a way with his words; how they rolled off his tongue sounded natural to him and me.

His story had mythical elements, but some segments had a hidden truth.

I wish that I could have outrightly asked about the power system in Vesitga, as there was so much that I had yet to learn.

"Plantea Beasts are grand and huge." He smiled at him, "They are dangerous, but they give good resources." He declared as I listened intently.

"Of course, if one kills a Plantea Beast, they receive Solum. But if one who inherits Solum from birth and defeats the beast can take its Solum."

This was precisely the things that I needed to hear.

"More! More!"

"Huh? You like these stories, huh, kiddo? Well, I can spit some more out for you.

The stories went on and on as I listened closer and closer.

It wasn't until the last segment of his story that my ears tuned into the words of gold he was saying to me.

Something I would never hear from the books.

"As you know, Deus are the strongest beings in Vestiga, yet there's still a debate on whether or not they exist." He cleared his throat, looking at me. "But I can assure you they are genuine. I've never encountered one but. . ."

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He looked up at the ceiling, "It tends to be a good or bad omen. . . But you don't have to worry about that yet, kiddo. You probably won't meet one until you are a teenager. Even then, the chances are low if you ever see one."

The thing is. . . I already had met one.

But I couldn't even say anything to my father about it.

I would have to wait until I could tell him what I wanted to say.

However, the only thing that got me more curious was not about the Deus per se but how he knew so much about this.

As mentioned, only a few people were born with Solum and were Nobles.

That meant my family had to be noble or come from a lineage far more potent than the average family.

However, there was one thing that needed to be clarified.

Both my parents came from the nobility, but the question is, where exactly?

I knew it was a question that I would not be able to grasp anytime soon.

People

It didn't take long for the doors to open, and there was a usual guest while my mother took care of me at home and had arrived.

"Felix! You made it!" My father smiled happily upon his arrival.

That wasn't the guest I was talking about; it was the one beside Felix.

"It's also good to see you again, Rachel." My father nodded, "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It certainly has." Rachel smiled, "Believe me when I tell you the number of times that I heard Kassie talk about how you are being reckless."

My father chuckles, scratching his head, "You don't have to remind me about that."

It was always a joy to watch my father talk with these people.

After all, it was one of the few times I could see genuine adult conversations from them, not just some stupid antics.

My father pointed at Rachel, jokingly saying, "I see you brought your offspring! Naomi!"

Felix let out a light chuckle, nudging Rachel on the ribs.

All Rachel could do was sigh at hearing the banter between these two geezers.

I feel your pain, Rachel; I feel your pain.

"Well, I came here because someone is having trouble caring for their kid." Rachel grinned as that was certainly enough to shut up my father.

"Way to throw me under the bus, " my father muttered. Well, thanks for coming anyway; it means a lot that you are."

"Of course." Rachel nodded. You and Felix have essential business with Rickston, so I don't mind babysitting this cute fellah here." A gentle smile was directed at me.

"Besides, Rickston is waiting for us; we don't want to be late," Felix added, patting me on the shoulder.

"Right, " my father declared as he crouched down, ruffling my hair. I'll see you in a bit."

They left the house, and now I was with Rachel and her baby, Naomi.

I had spent a lot of time with those two people, and while my father was gone, they would usually hang out with my mother.

They were great friends who told everything to one another.

It was interesting to hear what they shared, mainly gossip, but it's still pretty interesting.

While they were talking to each other, I would usually spend my time talking to Naomi.

Well, when I say talking, I mean baby talking with her.

If I was being honest, I didn't understand a word that she was blabbering on about.

When we both get older, she can speak to me better.

But for now, all she did was pull my hair whenever she wanted to.

Man, I wish I could grow older as soon as possible.

I'm curious about what my father is doing at the moment.

LENIN

I walked beside Felix, who seemed as nervous as ever.

"You'll be fine." I placed my hand on his shoulder.

He chuckled lightly, shaking his head, "You know, you're pretty calm for what's about to happen."

I smiled, shrugging, "Someone has to; after all, who knows what creative madness Rickston has to share with us."

Our friend Rickston was on a roll with the blueprints he created for us.

The way his brain worked was abnormal; I couldn't fathom how he was able to cope with some of this stuff.

As we entered Rickston's current room, it reflected his current mind.

Everything was neat. There was no single mess in the room, and nothing was out of place.

The only thing that made the room a mess was the man Rickston himself, walking across it without a care, creating a storm wherever he went.

"He seems more nervous than you." I joked to Felix.

That was enough for Felix to sigh with relief, "That does make me feel better."

"Oh!" Rickston declared, "You guys are here." He opened his arms, and we stared at him.

"Now come along, you two!" He wrapped his arm around our shoulder and quickly directed us to a table filled with blueprints.

He quickly began scurrying like a rat to find the proper blueprint as he began to point his hands viciously.

"This!" He cheerfully declared, "This is the blueprint I've been working on."

We looked at the blueprint, examining every little detail, but the biggest question was. . .

"What exactly are we meant to be looking at?" Felix asked the question I had meant to ask after looking at the blueprint for 10 seconds.

Rickston grumbled in defeat, rubbing his temple. "Why do I have to be around uncreative individuals?" He sighed deeply. "But never mind that!" He pulled himself closer, pointing at the blueprint again.

"Tell me, what is the most important thing a person needs?"

"Inventions?" Felix commented.

"Besides that."

"Knowing how to fight?" I chimed in.

"Okay, besides that as well, you know what? I'll say it myself." He grumbled, "Education!"

"Education? But didn't we ta-"

"I know we all talked about education, but not like this." He answered us, a surge of enthusiasm that peaked.

We knew better than to question him when he was at this level of excitement.

"Schools, daycares, actual hospitals. We can construct them now." He smiled brightly, "We have the materials to do so now."

"That sounds good, but we have no space to do so."

"Which is exactly why we expand this Village. . . That is why you brought me here, right?"

I slowly nodded, but Felix seemed a bit more reluctant to do so.

"While I agree that we need these things, it's too dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Rickston tilted his head, "What do you mean by dangerous?"

Felix looked away for a moment. "We haven't explored that part of this land before, " he said, pointing at the map.

"Seriously?" Rickston asked, "After all these years, you still haven't explored it?"

Felix sighed, shaking his head, "Unfortunately, we haven't. . . We should focus on strengthening the village rather than expanding for now."

Before we could say anything else, he had already left the room, leaving us together.

"Seriously. . ." Rickston grumbled, rubbing his temple, "What's Felix's problem suddenly."

"He's just worried about expanding too quickly."

"Is that not half the reason you guys decided to bring me along?" He sighed. "I have all the blueprints to do some real good for this village, but I can't do anything without Felix's approval."

Rickston leaned on the table, "If he doesn't allow this to happen, who knows if the Village of Facia will ever improve."

He was making some pretty fair arguments about it.

If I were in his position, I would be upset. But it wasn't my place to object to Felix's orders; he was the leader for a reason.

My job was simply to listen to his decision and be ready for whatever was to come.