As soon as Red left the workshop, he saw Domeron sitting in his rocking chair and waving him over. The boy sighed and approached.
Domeron snorted once he saw his expression. “What’s with that face? Are you truly so reluctant to speak with your instructor?”
“That depends. Is it good news?” Red asked.
“It’s not really news of any kind.” the swordsman shook his head. “I just wanted to praise you.”
The boy frowned. “Praise me for what exactly?”
“For guiding Young Master Allen.” Domeron said. “We didn’t have the time to talk about it at the meeting, but he told me some of the things you told him. It left a mark on him.”
Red shook his head. “I said nothing of note. Allen just didn’t know much in the first place, so everything must have been revealing to him.”
“That might be the case, but I don’t think you understand how he feels.” Domeron shook his head. “I see it in the way he talks about you. He trusts and admires you from the bottom of his heart and even told me he wants to be more like you in combat - confident and unafraid.”
The boy frowned. “I don’t think I’m a good example to follow.”
“I don’t think so either, but Young Master Allen is just a kid.” Domeron shrugged. “Actually, you are just a kid too, which is something I forget very often. In any case, I think you should keep that in mind when you interact with him. For better or for worse, he now thinks of you as both a companion and an idol of sorts, so you better to not disappoint him.”
Red’s frown deepened. “Why is that my responsibility now?”
“It isn’t your responsibility. However, keeping good relations with your companions is conducive to a better working environment. Shouldn’t that be in your best interests too?”
The boy sighed. “I suppose so.”
Domeron smiled. “It’s not as hard as it sounds, kid. You’ve impressed him not by pretending to be a different person, but by just being who you are. All I’m asking of you is to not turn your back on him when he needs you.”
Red nodded. “I suppose I can do that.”
Domeron’s smile widened. “Good. Now go to the library! Eiwin was asking for you earlier.”
Red was confused. “Aren’t we going to train?”
The man snorted. “Training after you’ve exhausted yourself helping that big oaf? No, just leave that for tomorrow once Allen is feeling better, too. Just focus on resting for now.”
Red nodded and walked away.
He soon found himself in front of the library building. The door was open and he could see Eiwin sitting at the table inside. As he approached, the boy noticed she had a lot of books open in front of her and many others piled to the side.
Red announced his arrival. “You asked for me?”
“Oh.” Eiwin looked at him with a smile. “You’re finally here. I thought you were never going to leave that workshop.”
“I was helping Goulth smelt the dark iron ore.” Red said.
“Ah, I see.” the woman nodded in understanding. “I asked you here to share our reports with you.”
“Reports? About what?”
“About our preliminary investigation into the bandits, the imperial, and the forest in general.” Eiwin said with a smile. “Master Hector insisted I share this information with you. I already planned on telling you about this, but seeing this request come from our Grand Elder itself made me both surprised and excited. I assume this is Master Hector finally showing his trust in you.”
Red was also surprised by this, but he supposed it made sense. Since the elder had given him a new position, it would come with some benefits, too.
“It seems like your conversation last night went better than you previously led us to believe.” Eiwin said.
Red shrugged. “I just didn’t imagine anything would come out of it.”
The boy, of course, couldn’t tell Eiwin about the position Hector had arranged for him. Of all the people in the sect, he was certain she would react the most negatively to it.
“I can see why. Master Hector's compliments are not always very clear.” she pointed him to the chair across from her. “Sit. There is a lot to go through.”
Red did as he was told. He examined the title of the books spread around the table. The majority of them seemed to be tales and biographies of cultivators of the past, while a few of them still talked about specific topics - such as inheritance grounds.
When the boy saw that, he had a bad feeling.
“What are you researching?” he asked.
“I was looking to shed some light on our experience in that trial.” Eiwin said. “This is not the first time in history a cultivator wiped the memories of a trial’s participants. Of course, most cultivators do this due to the fear of their enemies hunting their inheritor in the outside world. I can only assume the person who set up that inheritance ground had a similar fear.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Red frowned. “Do you think it’s safe to look into this?”
“Well, I wasn’t expecting to find many clues in these books.” Eiwin shook her head. “There are too many cultivators in history, so it’s impossible for me to find out which of them that inheritance trial belonged too, much more so when I can’t remember any of its details.”
“Then what exactly are you looking for?” the boy was confused.
“I was looking for any recordings of individuals who managed to recover their wiped memories. Seeing as the Empire took an interest in that hidden realm, it would serve us well to know the reason.”
Somehow, that was even worse than Red’s original assumption.
“And did you find anything?” he asked.
“I did.” Eiwin nodded. “Some people succeeded in recovering their memories, but they had the help of incredibly strong cultivators or medicines - neither of which we have right now.”
“That’s a shame.”
Red actually couldn’t be more relieved.
“It is.” Eiwin nodded in disappointment. “But who knows? In the future, it might not be beyond our reach.”
‘I hope not.’
“What did you want to report to me?” Red changed topics.
“Ah, right!” Eiwin seemed to have forgotten the reason for being here in the first place. “The baron’s men have been moving towards the bandits’ hideout. However, they are still only finding abandoned camps and very light resistance.”
The boy was unsurprised. “The majority of them must have died in the trials.”
“I think so too.” Eiwin nodded. “We still don’t know if Rickard is around, though. Of everyone in the trial, he is the one most likely to have won.”
Red knew that all too well. He wondered whether the man had managed to recover from his wounds after their confrontation at the end of the trial.
“Either way, that’s not the most important thing the baron’s men have found.” Eiwin said. “They have seen signs of monsters in the forest.”
Red was surprised this time around. “Really?”
Eiwin nodded with a smile. “Yes. We can only assume that their disappearance had to do with the trial, and now that it’s done, they have been seen reemerging from the tunnels. It seems we won’t have an environmental collapse just yet.”
“What about the tunnels? Have they explored it?”
“Not yet.” she shook her head. “There are still a lot of monsters in there, and their initial delves into the tunnel network shows that it might extend throughout the entire region, as Rimold told us. In any case, I doubt they will find anything of value down there, or anything that might point us towards the trial’s location, anyway.”
Red had to agree. Someone as thorough as his master seemed to be would never leave behind those sorts of clues.
“And the imperials?” Red asked. “Any signs of them?”
“No.” Eiwin shook her head. “If the remainder of them are still alive, they have yet to be spotted in the forest or in town.”
Red knew that those people were dead, but he was more worried about what he had heard from them before they died.
“Do you think they have any more of their people in town?” he asked.
“If they do, they’re very well hidden.” Eiwin shook her head. “If our initial investigations failed to uncover them, I doubt they would give themselves away right now, much more so if they have won the inheritance as we think they did.”
Red nodded, but his mind was spinning with the possibilities. If there was an imperial spy still in the region, they would definitely know they didn’t win the inheritance, seeing as none of their companions came back. The boy could only imagine that person would try to get to the bottom of this matter if the inheritance was as important to the Empire as he thought.
Thankfully for him, Rickard would probably be their prime suspect. It wasn’t far-fetched for their investigations to eventually lead them to their sect, though. This was something the boy had to be on the lookout for.
“Reinhart hasn’t returned to town either.” Eiwin said with a bitter tone.
The boy looked at her, noticing the woman’s struggling expression. “Are you afraid he will do something? Even with Hector here?”
Eiwin sighed. “You were with us when he betrayed us. Did that look like a man concerned with the possibility of death?”
Red shook his head. “He gave up on the Parting Sea Pill when we didn’t agree to help him. He doesn’t seem to care for riches or anything else other than revenge.”
“Indeed.” the woman nodded. “Not only that, but he is a wise and patient man. Master Hector’s presence here gives me some security, but what about when we are outside the sect? He can’t be there to protect us forever, and I don’t think any of us can defeat Reinhart in combat. If he finds out about Allen too…”
“Then we stick together.” Red said. “He might be strong, but I doubt he could take all of us at once.”
The boy actually wasn’t completely confident in that assertion, but it was the best plan they could stick to at the moment.
Eiwin nodded with a troubled smile. “You are right. I can only hope we find him eventually, though. Until then, we will have to live with this sword above our heads.”
Compared to what Red had to face, Reinhart’s threat felt more like a dagger.
“Master Hector also told us to be prepared.” Eiwin said. “Monster movement in the Skycrown Mountain has been increasing, so it’s likely the horde could hit us within the year. He said it’s a priority to increase the sect’s strength right now.”
Red had almost forgotten about the monster horde with all he had been facing.
“I will do my best.” the boy nodded. “Are you about to finish opening your veins too?”
Eiwin's expression became troubled. “After what happened in the trial, I might need to delay it for a bit more.”
Red recalled the power she had displayed in their fight against the parasite. It seemed she hadn’t overcome its consequences just yet.
He considered asking Eiwin about what that power was, but seeing her expression, he decided to forgo his idea. She had the right to keep a secret, and the boy would be a hypocrite if he put her in a position where she felt pressed to reveal it.
“Is that all?” Red asked.
“It should be.” Eiwin nodded. “We can continue your reading and writing lessons tomorrow, if you wish. Although, I don’t think you will be needing it for much longer.”
“It’s fine.” the boy nodded. “There are still things I wish to study further.”
Now that Red was about to try his hand with Arcane Writing, he needed his calligraphy to be perfect. His practice with Eiwin was sure to help.
“Then I will be going.” Red said before turning around and walking towards the exit.
“Wait!” Eiwin called out to him. “There’s something else!”
"Hm?” the boy turned around in confusion.
“I never thanked you before.” Eiwin said with a sincere tone. “So thank you. For everything. It might not look like it, but since the day we decided to take you into this sect, things have been changing for the better around here. Narcha, Allen, Goulth, even Hector… I think they all benefited from your presence, no matter what kind of risks they think you might have brought with you.” she smiled at him. “Just know this, Red - you can always trust us, no matter what kind of troubles you are facing. You are one of us now, and we would put our lives on the line for you.”
Red fell silent. A few seconds later, he nodded. “I understand.”
Then he turned around and left the room.
Narcha, Goulth, Domeron, and now Eiwin too. Every kind word and trust thrown his way weighed more on his back than the constant threat of death. Those words that were supposed to raise his spirits up felt more like anchors to the boy, as much as he tried to tell himself they weren’t.
Red wasn’t sure he could live up to their faith. In fact, he wasn’t even sure it was a good idea to.
The boy knew in his heart one day he would need to leave this place.
By then, he was afraid he would have made too many promises and would need to make a choice of whether to live up to them or pursue his dreams and ambitions. It wasn’t a choice he was looking forward to making.
Yet, there was still a long road ahead of him. For now, he would focus on each step.
He still was far from being a proper cultivator, after all.