Feeding himself with a variety of food, Allan stuffed his mouth and satisfied his stomach. Every food tasted good, as always. Sarey felt smug about her skills, which she threw away as Zigmund came for a breakfast in the kitchen as well.
“You have quite a feast here.” He said as he sat there and took some food for himself.
Sarey did not mind it at all, since it was the food provided by him and his contracts. There was a special delivery of goods which would come either here or to his restaurant every week. It would end all sorts of food and ingredient across the dozens of regions right to his restaurant, or here, to this building.
Since he had a long history of friends and contacts, he had plenty of chances to gain some advantages. This was one of many.
“I've never tested this sort of meal before. What is this?” Allan asked as he bit into a toasted piece of white bread with some toppings on top. Egg, some sauce, and ham were on top of it.
“This is something I made from the leftovers. I am glad you like it” Sarey paid him not much regard. To her, this was all normal, but to others, this could be a meal of their lives and dreams. It was clear that it was not the case for Allan, who did not have even much common sense about certain food and meals. It made it somewhat awkward, but after a certain period, Sarey no longer thought about it.
“Food is a source of power, after all. Allan, eat well. I will be well prepared this time against you.” Zigmund said with confidence, while the small bruise around his eye is completely healed from yesterday.
“I will, I will. There are some things on my mind today, as well as the need to get a new shaft.”
“Why not use a sword or that blade of yours? I can assist you with carving the wooden blade if you need to. Or you can forge a metallic pole or sword with a very dull edge.”
“That is not so good idea. I don't want to waste your materials, and metal is metal. It could be dangerous no matter what.”
“Danger? We used much worse tactics in our military camps. You have no idea what you are talking about.” Zigmund said.
“Yes, I don't. This is based on my feelings.”
“Fair enough. I will be waiting whenever you will be ready.” Zigmund quickly finished his food. It was one of his habits from his military as well. Be quick, ready, and not waste anything. Although he no longer needs to care about it, it felt right to go by this all his life.
“Sarey, as for your request, I will help you. Sending some messenger across some more important shops and merchants is easily done, but be prepared to put some capital into this. I don't want to hear you complain afterward.” Zigmund told her his decision over her request about the page from yesterday.
“I know. Make sure to give more information about the prices. If there are some available, that is more than enough.”
His quick reply did not surprise her, since her father was someone she could rely on. If the price is outrageous, she will think of a solution. Knowing whether this world has access to higher grade ingredients means a way to other resources. 36 wanted to know about this, and it is precisely something he planned for, but Sarey was faster than his scheming. Fiery Tulip and the rest were just common herbs in the eyes of 36, if even that.
In truth, he put more ingredients on the page, because he could, while not providing any context to them. Sarey was still unsure what they even were, or what they do.
Although 36 was a little secretive about it, he still had to ask Sarey to gather things for Allan, since he could not do such things himself. If she knew or not, was very important, otherwise, 36 would need to make some further adjustments. He was lucky that Sarey did not question him too much. She did not see his true intentions, whether they were good or bad.
“What is this about?” Allen asked, as he was finishing his meal as well.
“I asked my father to gather some information for you. He agreed.” Sarey told the truth.
“Don't get me wrong. It is not my business to care what you need this for. If it's only this favor, I have no problem with it.” Zigmund seriously lacked his sense of touch with those two. He could force himself to deal with their problems, but it was not his place to do so too much.
He had certain beliefs when it came to dealing with problems and the upbringing of his daughter. Sometimes, these problems intersect with each other, but it was not all bad most of the time. Allan was a dangerous sparkle, which made him somewhat nervous about Sarey's future.
Allan silently nodded, and did not continue with the topic Sarey started. He never considered Zigmund's involvement before he became his instructor. Unlike Sarey, he had not much regard for involving him in his current mess. He had no choice in this matter. He could only be glad that he even met such wonderful people.
If he ended up meeting someone else, it would have been the start of a whole new difference in fate. He could have ended up dead, starved to death, as he would not be able to move. That, or being eaten up by predators. Allan could also even end up stranded in some unknown and rural locations where are no people. The possibility of falling to the sea was likely too when he reached this planet without any knowledge or choice in this matter.
There were several variables in this. Effects of fate that no one could understand. But, there are always some individuals who fight or go against it. Such as the hand which saved Allan or changing something that was meant to happen or not.
All of this was unlike anything Allan could imagine. He never knew the involvement of that orb of red, the fights of powerful individuals who were near-immortal, or the things which happened after experiencing an attack of an ancient dragon, who was pissed about his livelihood.
Allan did not think about it, since he was clueless about any of that. He had certain pictures and memories in his mind about the scenes of the red orb, but he had no time to worry about that. He had a full plate of stuff he needed to go through at the present.
Getting his life together was one thing. It was without a question that it was his main priority. Afterward, he would have a whole variety of additional problems he needed to take care of too.
Zigmund, after saying what he wanted, felt no need to stick around for longer than he should. He left without dealing with this pair.
“Are you trying to get him some more materials? What for?” Allan asked n curiosity after he notices Zigmund's absence.
“I just did in a fleeting moment. He has a quite big variety of contacts. If what you need is something beyond this world, there are always some underground places where are done a lot of transactions. Outside of the view of nations, kingdoms, and strong organizations on the outskirts of the continent. I suppose what I did was the correct choice.” Sarey said with confidence.
“It sounds convincing, but are you sure it is truly safe? Having some unwanted attention from anyone is not a good idea. I still trust you with this. I do.
“It will be fine.” She did not move her stubbornness away, ans shushed Allan away.
With the finished meal, Sarey cleaned the rest of the food for later. There was now a time for summoning, which was soon interrupted by Allan. He wanted to do the exercises first, so he went right at them after having his meal. He can do them, while Sarey would do her own things.
Although he knew there was something wrong the previous night, he couldn't shake the urge to work on himself. To wake up and shake that feeling away. It could all be because of Sarey's mistake, but that wouldn't explain the heat she had told him about. He noticed some slim shimmers of warmth and that was about it.
Sarey unwillingly agreed since it was hard to persuade Allan about other things. She thought that when he started something; it was hard for him to get distracted. He was focused on the things he was doing. Especially the forging and working in general. Sarey experienced the whole ordeal of him making the sword of good quality. It was fast, and he seemed like he did it quite a few times. Being this skilled at a young age was something respectable. She never excelled in anything in particular.
It was further worsened since Zigmund mostly did her upbringing, while... being not exactly a perfect parent himself. She had very few memories of her mother and she didn't know why. Only the pleasant scene of her embrace and a few things which she still remembered when she was older were on her mind. It put a smile on her face until she remembered that her mother was no longer around.
Outside, in the courtyard. Allan was pushing himself around in stretches and moves to feel his body. He made some pillar-like pole from the material left outside. They were mostly sticks and piles of long wood to make handles for all sorts of weapons. The new one was not as bad as the previous one. Around 180 centimeters tall, and a handful thick for a good grip.
It will be sufficient for now. He would make some special one later when he would have time, and a spark of an idea after getting more familiar with the way shaft combat felt.
He kept his body going. Stretching his arms and swinging the wooden stick around him. It kept his muscles tight and ready to move around. Swing, trust, and other moves were done for around 20 minutes before he kept going with exercises. Pull-ups, sit-ups, and push-ups kept him going for 2 hours in the middle of the day.
After dealing with everything she wanted, Sarey laid down on the ground in the backyard with an upset face. She once again did not land any punches or strikes with her wooden sword when she tried to spar with him for a few moments. Allan was specifically doing defensive stances to see if he had what it takes. He felt he was doing better and better, but who knew what sort of opponents would be able to force through his stance without a problem? Zigmund would easily force him throughout the backyard with a flick of his sword or other moves.
There were a lot of things left out that he wanted to try. Sarey even told him about additional exercises to do. They were harder and, to his surprise, much more extreme. It included hitting his bare body to a tree, himself, or others who would do it for him. It would later go to stones and eventually metals, reinforced materials, and so on.
Hands, fists, knees, head, elbows, and feet were used for this practice. Fractures, broken bones, and bruises were the most common issues. The pain was usually what stopped most of the people who tried to do this. Allan did not feel anything after hearing about this. He felt calm about his pathway, as he already decided upon this.
There was no going back.
It was still some time left until he starts this sort of torturous training. He shouts towards laying Sarey.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“You improve much faster than I would like to admit.” She coldly replied.
“I don't feel like it at all. I can't see my improvements. There is no progress without some failure.”
“Then try something more extreme.”
“That is for another time. We have another goal for today, do we not?”
“Heheh... Summoning 36!” she said with a giggle and reached into her pocket. Knife in hand, she looked forward to punishing Allan after messing with her.