Click clack
The doorknob of the León family home clicked just as Sebastián used his copy of the original key to enter his house.
A short, thin squeal accompanied the door as it opened.
Taking a few steps inside, Sebastian entered his home while closing the door behind him.
Several swords placed on stands and even hanging from the walls adorned the interior of the warm home that is also two stories, it is more than obvious that the Leon family is made up of true swordsmen, obviously except for Rachell who is not someone who likes to fight, at least not physically.
Various pieces of furniture were placed around the house, and on top of them were visible decorations such as flowers, flower pots, cold spheres and other gadgets that were floating and spinning without moving beyond their field of control.
Sebastian touched the wall looking for something, more precisely towards where a circle with strange runic writings could be seen which served to illuminate the house. –Mom and Dad are not here and Diana must have already arrived, she must be in her room. –He said to himself.
He walked through the living room towards the stairs. On his way he glanced to the side, towards the cabinet where all the photos were placed inside frames.
With a smile on his face, he looked at a cute photo from when he and the others were still little kids, and with them was his little sister smiling tenderly. “You’ve grown so much.” He said quietly, remembering how she always followed him everywhere. “You were always behind Christopher.”
He also saw some more special photos, which were located inside two spheres a few centimeters from the place they used as a base. Inside the sphere on the right hand side, you can see a photo of his family, this one was more recent, since it corresponded to when Sebastian had turned fifteen years old.
In that photo, the whole family hugged Sebastian who smiled radiantly.
In the other sphere, there is a photo that was very important to her mother. A bit old but very well preserved, it was a photo from when Rachell was still a child. –When that time, Mom was about six years old.
In that photo Rachell was warmly embraced by Valentina who was smiling and showing her all the infinite love she had for her. –In this photo you can see Mom's happiness, although how could she not be happy if she had been saved from a miserable life of slavery. If it weren't for Lady Valentina, Mom would still be a slave. Who knows what would have happened to her? Surely Diana and I wouldn't exist.
»Now that I think about it, it's thanks to her that we exist. Lady Valentina hasn't changed at all, she still looks the same as she did back then.
»It really is incredible – said Sebastian thoughtfully – This photo is from several years ago and yet Lady Valentina has not aged at all, although it is obvious, she is an Elf-.
Suddenly he heard a noise coming from the first floor, just above where he was. “Right, I have to talk to Diana.” And without wasting any more time he hurried to his sister’s room.
...
Despite being the room of a still-growing teenager, Diana's room is not as colorful as some would think, or at least not as someone who doesn't know her would think.
She has a few stuffed animals sitting in some corners of her bed, her furniture, and even placed on her nightstand, but they are very few.
While the walls of other girls her age, or at least most of them, would be adorned with paintings and other girly things, on the walls of her room hung a few double-edged swords and some katanas.
Most of them were just for decoration as they were dull, but if she wanted to use them she would have to take good care of them and then they could be used later. The problem was that those katanas and swords were from when Diana was younger, due to her height and the length of her arms, those small swords and katanas would no longer be of use to her. Unless she practiced with them again.
The most notable thing that the aforementioned possessed was a kind of mannequin located next to the wardrobe, the mannequin was used as a way of leaving the armor that Diana used to wear when she secretly went hunting. Before doing what she is doing now, she dressed the mannequin in her current adventure clothing. Because the previous one was totally destroyed in that battle to the death that she had had.
Diana was practically dying to start her life of adventure, and secretly going out to hunt magical beasts and secretly asking her friends to request quests was a clear sign that she couldn't wait any longer. Diana wanted to start that life of adventure and quests right away.
"Why do I feel so depressed?" She said out loud as she looked to the side and noticed some paintings on a piece of furniture next to her bed.
In these pictures are framed photos of her family, of her with her friends, highlighting one in which she was hugging Christopher. At that time she was about ten years old and the young lord about twelve.
I also had some with Selestia laughing with those who were seen laughing.
She looked down at the ground, she was sitting on some cushions placed on the floor. Recently and before her spirits and attitude fell, she kept contemplating the work of art captured on her Katana that was made by Alrika.
It was a forged weapon, his new Katana and as he has always liked it, it was completely silver with a black hilt.
She gave another sigh and this was the umpteenth sigh that Diana let out, drowning in the bitterness she felt.
"She is the most beautiful thing in our family."
"You are more important than his own life."
Again and again, what Sebastian had said and Alrika's words resonated in her mind and penetrated her heart. "I know they love me, I never doubted that." Diana closed her eyes and covered them with her forearm.
"I know that I am a treasure to my family." He uncovered his face again, now focusing all his attention on the katana.
–And above all, I know that if I really did what I had planned to do, I would be a real burden for everyone. It would only cause my family to worry about me. Dad and Sebastian would not be at full strength on the mission trying to find me and if they found me, they would focus more on taking care of me than on fighting. Mom would surely cry like never before.
»In the end, it would only cause trouble and worry for everyone, and could even jeopardize this very important mission.» Diana smiled bitterly. «I know him very well, and he has always tried to keep me safe.»
»I know he usually follows me when I go hunting for Magical Beasts that don't pose a danger to me and he watches over me from a distance – she curled up to herself feeling a bit down – if I accompany them on the mission, I'll just cause trouble. Although I really want to go. – She sighed again and this time very heavily just at the moment when she covered her eyes again.
»I want to go on that mission, I don't understand why but something tells me that I should go, that my help will be important at some point. I don't understand it, but I want to go. –Diana sighed and looked back at the ceiling. –But, even though I feel that way, I know that I will only be a hindrance and everyone will worry about my safety more than completing the mission. Especially Sebastian.
–It is true that if you go I will be very worried about your safety. – Diana heard a voice, a very familiar voice. As she raised her head the voice came again. –But you should know that I never thought of you as a hindrance or anything like that.
–What, Sebastian? When did you get home? – Diana asked with a hint of nervousness in each of her words. She was so lost in her thoughts that she was not able to realize that Sebastian had been watching her and listening to everything she said for a while now. – Weren’t you with the others?
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
–Yes, but as you know, we all have to make our final preparations. – Sebastian entered the room and decided to take a seat on the free cushion next to his sister. – But before I finish with my business, I must have a talk with my beloved little sister regarding a few things.
He looked at her seriously, but his face did not reflect even the slightest hint of annoyance. “Have you already taken back your katana? Alrika told me that you had made a request of her.”
–Yes. –Diana answered.
"If I'm not mistaken, and according to everything I've heard and what I already know," Sebastian said, looking into her eyes. "You were planning to sneak out on tonight's mission, even though you haven't been summoned, you don't have permission, you lack experience, and many other reasons, right?"
–That's right. –Diana just looked away trying to hide her brother's eyes, she knew that lying to him was not an option. –You already know everything.
–I thought that Dad, Mom and I had already talked to you about it –Sebastian looked serious–. You are still a minor, you don't know how things are and you don't belong to any division, and you are not a member.
»You know very well that this is not a game. – His cold gaze penetrated Diana's dark eyes and she didn't feel like even mentioning a word. – And the fact that you have requested a new Katana is a clear sign that you have ignored everything we have talked about, apparently you haven't even listened to us.
–It’s not that I haven’t heard them. –Diana lowered her gaze.
–Besides, –Sebastian continued speaking with his arms crossed. –How do you plan to join the mission without even being aware of the plans, the formation of the teams? What unit would you belong to? Diversion, attack or rescue unit? Do you even know about the plans that all the units have?
»Do you know who each unit is and how each unit was distributed into teams? Do you know that each team has its own attack plan and is made up of people so that it is perfectly balanced? All teams are already assigned a certain area of the enemy base that they must take and conquer.
Diana didn't know what to answer to everything her brother had said, she was so surprised trying to process all the information her brother was spilling and to top it off there was still more to spill. – Are you aware that there are traps around the enemy base? Do you even know where the enemy base is located?
Diana shook her head, realizing she knew practically nothing.
–Please tell me your plan wasn’t just to try and infiltrate one of the teams. – Sebastian watched as Diana lowered her gaze again.
With her gaze downcast, Diana nodded and said in affirmation, with some shame and even melancholy expressed in a single word. –Yes.
"I assumed so," Sebastian concluded. "Diana, it wouldn't be wrong to say that you would simply go to your death. Remember everything I said, each team formed has its own job, way of proceeding and that includes each person who makes up those groups. What would yours be? What would you do? Besides being lost."
Diana remained completely silent, saddened but not taking her attention away from her brother. Although her gaze was focused to one side, towards the ground, all her senses were completely focused on every word her brother said.
Recording it deep within your being.
–I do not deny and will never deny your skills in combat and especially in combat with the Katana. You are good and you are going down the right path. But you still lack experience. I am not saying that Christopher, I and the others have accumulated experience in this type of situations, but we are still much more experienced than you.
»I won't deny that you've already had your first fight to the death where you almost became a slave. With that you should know how hard and dangerous this mission would be. The reason why we were included is because it needs all the strength of the city and as adventurers we must answer the call.
"Yes." She replied, remembering those moments of despair. "I know."
–From now on, if in the future a situation similar to this occurs again and you are not yet an adult, at that time make sure you analyze all those points that I have mentioned and I hope that this time you have listened to me.
-Yes, wait, what!? From being pensive and melancholic, Diana looked up, turned around, looking at her brother very strangely.
He thought that at least he would be much harsher with her because she was trying to do something tremendously stupid and expose herself to danger, but he was literally encouraging her in the future. –Sebastian, are you encouraging me?
–I encourage you to become stronger, but above all to acquire more knowledge, but to go on a mission you must take into account several points.
»And that's even though it's a PORCELAIN rank mission, don't be fooled by the difficulty of the rank, everything could get complicated in the blink of an eye. Try to remember that mission you went on with Mathias.
»It went from a simple collection mission to both of them having to fight for their lives. Life takes too many turns and you always have to be prepared. – He reached out and caressed his sister's head with his hand. – If something were to happen to you, Mom, Dad and I wouldn't be able to bear it. We love you too much.
"And I love all of you." Diana approached her brother and immediately hugged him, while he patted her on the back.
Now it was Sebastian's turn to sigh. –Then we must go, as we have already talked and made everything clear, it is time for us to finish our preparations and I must inform you of everything we would do.
Diana nodded at this but, blinking in surprise, she looked at her brother, not understanding. –What? What do you mean by “we have to go”?
–I thought I was clear, you will come with us.
–WHAT? BUT WHAT?
–It's because of your unique magic, it will really be too useful – Sebastian nodded –. Even though we are in the rescue group, we are aware that we will still fight against the mercenaries and possibly many of them are stronger than us.
»In cases where they are stronger, our leader, Neledia, will take care of them. But we will have to face everything that is on par with us because we cannot let Neledia do all the work.
–But. –Diana looked at her brother strangely–. Don't they have everything covered like that?
–No –Sebastian answered very seriously –our group is missing a member, but it can't be just anyone. It should be someone our entire group trusts.
"Sebastian," she called out to him, "you're joking, right? I don't deny that I'd like to go, but it's also true that I'm very careless, because I still don't think I'm capable of analyzing the situation like you do, and I'm not even an adventurer."
"That's true." It was like a bucket of cold water pouring over Diana.
»But you are skilled and we take that into account, that is why I would like you to be the last member of our group. –And Sebastian was not joking.
"I would be a hindrance to you!" She clenched her fists. "Aren't there other adventurers more efficient and more experienced than me?"
–I won't lie to you and tell you that we didn't think about it, but we don't have time anymore and almost all the BRONZE and SILVER rank adventurers living in Gignit already have a team they belong to-.
–Y. –Diana.
–There are not many people who are aware of what is happening in the city, and even less so if they are people from outside. –And again, what Sebastian said was true.
–What about the others of PORCELAIN rank.
–Besides us, –referring to himself and his inseparable group of friends– there are no other PORCELAIN-ranked adventurers as strong, and as I've already told you, they all already have a group.
–And what about those two, the ones who are about to ascend to BRONZE.
–I told you, everyone already has a group. –Sebastian thought about those mentioned, it was true that he and his group were among the strongest PORCELANA in the city, but they were not.
There were two other people who held the title, the true strongest PORCELAINS.
It was a human woman and a beastman. So far, they are the only ones of the PORCELAIN rank who had killed one of those mercenaries between the two of them.
Both had faced the aforementioned mercenary, perhaps one on one they had not been able to defeat him, but working together they had a small opportunity and they took advantage of it.
"What would my job be?" She smiled. After just a moment of conversation, Diana had already changed her way of seeing things. The reason was that now she at least thought more and began to analyze the situation, because as Sebastian said, everything already had a role imposed on them.
So it was obvious that there had to be one for her already. I wanted to congratulate her, but that would ruin the atmosphere and the moment. –You will be in charge of taking care of all the people we rescue, according to all the information that Lady Valentina has given us, the hunters like to go overboard with all the victims that cannot be sold, such as a woman who does not have an arm or perhaps who has too many scars on her body-.
He thought for a moment. “It seems that these slaves are given to everyone to satisfy their needs.”
Diana nodded, she understood completely, so she was able to complete the idea herself. “So it is more than obvious that there will be many of these people, they will be so lacking in energy that it will be impossible for them to move freely.”
–Exactly! –Exclaimed his brother with a look full of joy and even some pride. –And that is where you come in, you will occupy that place and you will be in charge of keeping the others safe-.
Diana now looked somewhat undecided, something that was easily noticed by her brother. “What’s wrong?” Sebastian asked. “Are you now hesitating whether to go or not?”
–It's just that, I think this is getting out of hand, what would happen if I suddenly found myself having to face an opponent who was very strong.
"I trust you." Her eyes opened again and now they were at her brother's words, something she wanted to hear. "I know you'll do well, I trust you'll be able to hold on fighting at least until one of us is free and can help you."
»But, –Sebastian smiled again – I would think that it would not be necessary, since you are a user of Unique Magic and your Unique Magic, as I said at the beginning, your Unique Magic would be an advantage to anyone who is a man and attacks us, in fact you would be an asset to be taken into account in this mission.
She jumped at her brother, hugging his neck and rubbing her head against his chest. She always knew he loved her, but she didn't know he held her in such high regard and had such a good opinion of her as a person. "I promise not to waste your time."
"I know you won't." He stroked her head again. "Now let's finish our preparations and not let Dad find out about this."
–Of course, because if something happens to me I will castrate you – Diana laughed.
"Don't say it like that," Sebastian complained. "But yes, you're right about that."
–If that were to happen, Selestia would probably be very upset with him. –Diana laughed again. –Because they would never be able to make love like that.