“What are you doing here?”

“Yeesh, is that any way to greet a concerned friend!?”

Trey quickly replied as he leisurely approached the scowling Jenyx.

“How’re ya feelin?”

“Just fine. I heard you helped carry me home. Thank you.”

“Naww, don’t sweat it. It was nothin!”

Trey replied bashfully, waving his hand back and forth.

“I’m sure you didn’t come here just to check up on me, right?”

“Yeah, hahaha. But I sure am glad that yer up and running already!”

“...Why is that?”

“What do ya mean ‘why?’ Come on, dude, it’s summer vacation! What else are we supposed to do other than have fun!?”

He didn't like the way how Trey’s eyes shimmered like a child's. Chances were, Trey was going to invite him to play outside, but Jenyx wasn’t too keen on coming with him after just experiencing a near-death situation in the woods. All he wanted to do was eat his breakfast and lie down on his bed in peace. However, he did owe Trey for carrying him back home during the Magic Combat Simulation event.

(“What a pain…”)

“Fine… but first, I’ll eat breakfast. If you haven’t eaten yet, you can eat with us. Mom always cooks a lot after all.”

In the end, Jenyx relented, believing that he had to show his gratitude one way or another. This way, he wouldn't have be to concerned about being indebted to Trey and be free from his self-imposed obligations.

“Ah, yer too kind, but I’ve already eaten my fill back home. I’ll just wait for ya.”

Jenyx nodded in acknowledgement before reaching out to the handle. Suddenly, the door swung open, revealing a pouting Meri standing at the entrance.

“Big brother! Where were you!? You’ve been going out so often recently!”

“Good morning, Meri.”

“Hmph!”

Meri angrily turned away from her brother. The sight of her puffing her cheeks so much reminded Trey of a time when he saw a squirrel while resting beneath a tree.

“Heya, Meri! Do ya remember me? I was here last week!”

Behind, Trey greeted her with a wide smile. Rather than welcome him, however, Meri hid herself with her brother’s body as she timidly eyed the stranger before their home.

“Eh? C-could she possibly be… scared of me?”

“Don’t take it to heart, Mom taught her not to talk to strangers.”

“That’s mean! I ain’t no stranger! Didn’t ya tell her about me?”

“I’m doing it now. This is Trey, Meri. He’s my classmate, and a friend.”

In response, Meri vacantly looked back and forth between her brother and his friend. Jenyx then held Meri’s hand and continued into their house while Trey was scratching his head, looking at Jenyx as if to say, “That’s all?”.

“I’m home.”

“Welcome back- Oh, Trey, welcome!”

“Hello! I’ve come to play!”

“I see. Have you eaten? You’re welcome to join us if you’re hungry, ok?” Jullsariah greeted Trey as he was setting down plates on the table. Jenyx greeted his father who in turn provided him a plateful of food as he sat down on the table with his mother and sister.

“Yer too kind, sir, but I’ve already eaten! I’m actually here to ask your son to come with me to town today.” Trey spoke as he sat comfortably on the living room couch.

("Figures.")

“Oh, will you be visiting the wandering carnival?”

“Yes! I’ve heard they have a lot of fun games and prizes, so I thought I could bring Jenyx with me, since I’m sure he’s bored outta his mind too!”

“What kind of prizes?” Jenyx's eyes wandered to Trey as he stopped short of eating his spoonful of rice.

“Ohh, I’m glad you seem interested! They have a lot of prizes ranging from stuffed toys, sweets, and even livestock!”

“I see.”

Jenyx’s interest waned upon hearing the possible prizes. He wasn't a fan of toys or sweets, nevermind the livestock. Perhaps it could be chalked up to puberty, but the wonder-filled experience brought about by toys and sweets seemed to have been all but washed-away from his being. If there were cash prizes for the games, then it might have sparked his interest since he needed it to fund the tools he uses for his training. And because he wanted to buy a bunch of other stuff he had his eyes on some time ago. Taking a nap wasn’t an option now that Trey was inviting him out, so he decided to instead plan out his course of action in the future.

(“Gathering herbs for the apothecary is a good way to earn money, but… there’s no telling when I might have another dangerous encounter in the forest. Maybe it would be a good idea to find a much safer job for now.”)

Training in the forest did wonders for his body. Now, he could see and hear further than he was ever capable of, and he found out that he could isolate a smell if he concentrated enough. But what he was most happy about was the significant rise in his physical abilities which he very much enjoyed as he journeyed the forest. His strength, speed, stamina, and reflexes had undergone rapid improvements, though not quite yet at the level he was when he fought Brad. All of it was a cause for celebration, but reality struck him down hard in the form of the wolf and the hunters. There were plenty of monsters in the world who could murder the current Jenyx without any trouble, so he had to figure out a way to grow stronger at a good pace, but with less risk of death. Being too safe would make his chances of growth nearly zero, but too much danger would flush all of his hard work down the drain.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“We’ll come with you. We were just about to open up the restaurant anyway, and besides, Meri seems like she wants to visit the carnival too. Nyx, you can take your little sister and watch over her, right?”

Maya spoke as she placed her utensils down her plate.

“Mm! I fwanna gow wif big bro!”

Meri excitedly replied, though her mouth was full, upon hearing Maya’s remark. Unfortunately, she was quickly reprimanded for doing so because a few chunks of her food sprayed on the table.

“Sure. But don’t go too far away from me or Trey, ok, Meri?

Meri nodded enthusiastically and hurriedly devoured her food to maximize her playing time for the day. Their mother seemed like she had something else to say to her, but just sighed and took her own plate to the kitchen sink and called out to Jullsariah to come help her once he was done. Jullsariah quickened his pace upon hearing her.

“You can leave the plates, Dad. Go help Mom, I’ll wash the dishes.”

“Alright then, just wait for us in the living room while we pack the ingredients and we’ll be on our way!”

Jullsariah promptly left the table after he was done and followed Maya inside a room in their kitchen.

“Meri, do you want to help me?”

“Ok!”

Jenyx stood up while carrying the plates in his hands. Meri picked up the glasses and followed Jenyx to the kitchen sink.

“Make yourself comfortable, Trey. We’ll be done in just a minute.”

“Got it.”

He was frankly starting to get bored so Trey went and browsed the bookshelves. Luckily, he chanced upon a book he found interesting while waiting for the family. Before long, everything was set and they left for Daflen.

**

“Well then, we’ll be going this way. Meri, do you remember what I told you?”

“Don’t go with strangers and stay close to big bro all the time.”

“Good! Oh, and don’t cause too much trouble for Nyx too, ok? We’ll see you guys later!”

The parents left the three on their own and made their way to another road. The three kept walking down the road, and soon they came across a variety of booths and tents swarming with people who enjoyed the merrymaking brought by the games, shows, and merchandise of the traveling carnival.

“Alright! Where do ya guys wanna go first!?”

“There, there! I want to play too!”

Evidently, both Trey and Meri were caught up in the atmosphere of the carnival as they hopped up and down with excitement. The two practically dragged Jenyx with them as they went to the numerous game-filled booths that littered the place.

“Alright, kid! You get three tries! Step right up!”

The old man at the ring toss booth handed Meri three colored rings and stepped to the side, revealing 12 colorful bottles placed on the ground.

“If you can hook one ring on a bottle, you get a prize!”

The old man showed her a candied apple on a stick as a prize.

“However, if you hook three in one, you win a special prize! Now remember, you can’t use any of your abilities in the games to ensure fairness. Good luck!”

After explaining the rules, the old man gave Meri the go ahead. When Meri tossed the first ring, she hooked one already. Unexpectedly, on the second try, she got it again. However, something peculiar happened on the third try. Just as Meri was about to throw the third ring, she suddenly lost her balance and the ring was flung far from the bottles.

“Oh! Too bad, missy! But don’t worry, here you go!”

The old man clapped his hands together as if he was also disappointed that Meri missed and handed her a candied apple.

“Aww, I slipped! Can I try again, big brother? Please!”

Meri took a bite out of her candied apple as she pleaded to Jenyx.

“Fine, but only one more. We don’t have a lot of money and you’ll probably want to play at the other stalls.”

“Don’t worry, I brought money too!”

“Oh… thank you.”

Trey gestured with his hands, which he believed meant No worries, and so he looked to his little sister. Again, Meri hooked the first ring at one of the bottles. And then, she hooked two rings in one bottle once more. His sister seemed to have impeccable aim, which made Jenyx smile a little. Just then, his eyes wandered a bit and he noticed that the old man looked irritated.

(“I guess dealing with someone with good aim in this kind of business gets you pissed at times.”) He thought.

As Meri was about to toss the last ring, she suddenly slipped again and missed.

“Awww!!”

Meri looked below her, right where her foot was, but she saw nothing but plain dirt. She had no clue why she missed.

“Hmph!”

Meri puffed her cheeks as the old man handed her another candied apple, while Trey was beside her praising her aim. Meanwhile, Jenyx was eyeing the old man like a hawk.

(“That wasn’t a coincidence, was it?”)

Jenyx thought internally as if he was expecting an answer. However, nobody replied.

“Hey, Meri, why don’t we try the other stalls? You’ve had your fun here, right?”

“Mmgh, ok…”

Though she didn’t want to leave yet, her brother didn’t seem like he was going to budge with his decision so Meri gave up without much trouble. However, she walked ahead of them at a quickened pace in protest.

“Hey, it’s ok if she wants to play again. I told you I’d help out.”

As they were walking, Trey spoke to him in a hushed tone.

“It’s not that. I think that guy was cheating her.”

“Huh!?”

“I don’t really know how yet, but he looked at my sister like he was annoyed and then she missed at the third try again.”

“Uh… I guess it was kinda weird?”

“You don’t think so?”

“Maybe you’re overthinking it. Relax, dude!”

Trey chuckled as he lightly slapped Jenyx's back a couple times. Perhaps he was right. Jenyx might still be a little tense after what happened in the forest.

“Alright.”

“Why don’t we play at the next one? I’ll pick something that looks easy!”

Trey ran ahead and talked to Meri. He seemed to have been able to convince Meri as she decided to follow him. Jenyx stayed closely behind them and they soon ended up in front of a stall with a bunch of molded candy and toothpicks.

“Ya gotta calm your mind and focus on this game. Wanna try?”

“Sure. What’s the prize?”

“Just your sculpted candy. Choose whatever design ya like!”

“Right.”

Jenyx carefully observed the molded candies displayed. Finally, he decided on taking the design which looked like a dog’s paw.

“Ah, over here, Ria!”

Just as he was about to trace the candy, he noticed a familiar voice at the nearby stall.

“Rose?”

“Eh? Nyx! There you are!”

Rose beamed as she waved at them. Seeing her like that, Jenyx felt fuzzy inside. He thought it had been some time since he saw her smile like that.