Re: Ascension Rebirth – The eyes of the devil see many different colors
Chapter III
PART ONE
[Eternum Calendar - Year 988]
As the day of the birthday festival drew close, the entire village had become much busier than usual. It was during such a time I was visited by two familiar people, or should say ‘children’. I just hope this doesn’t become a repeat of Monday’s shenanigans.
“Morgant~ we’re here to play!”
“H- hello~”
Ian and Ira came to greet me. Ian shouting loudly across a distance that would’ve been perfectly acceptable for him to have spoken with a normal indoor voice. Then again, shouting was the norm for this child so I’m preaching to a brick wall with this.
‘Here to play’ he says, it’s not that I mind babysitting them, but I would more rather spend my free time continuing my experiments on my power. I don’t know when I will get the chance to leave this village but whenever it is I will have to be fully prepared.
It may seem like I was a little impatient but that’s just how much I wish to return to Erin’s side; not a moment to spare. And as much as I have come to enjoy the company of the people I am living with and this village as a whole, I’m afraid that they will never be a replacement for Erin.
“What’s wrong Morgant?”
At some point I had clenched my fists tightly in my determination and noticing that Ian calls out to me with a slightly perplexed expression.
“It’s nothing, so where do you wish to go today? Not the forest I hope?”
“I- I said I was sorry for that! Jeez, you don’t have to drag out old wounds. Anyway, mother sent us on an errand to deliver food for the people at the garrison.”
He retorts back with a flustered face. Sometimes I really do enjoy poking fun of him. Ira and I laughed at his reddened face.
“I see, well I don’t mind coming with you then.”
“Great!”
Walking through the town, the view of people hard at work setting up for the festival came to my attention. On a nice warm day like this working outside wasn’t too bad, as evident by their refreshing looks they were genuinely enjoying themselves.
I felt both envy and admiration towards these people who worked so hard. Envy, because they could work hard on something they truly believed would bring joy to the village; there really is no greater joy than accomplishing work that you wholeheartedly believe in.
This was something I understood perfectly well as I was one of the founding members of [Mobius Industries]. Back when it was a small company we would work around the clock with very little rest, trying to do our best to expand the business. Eventually the company exceeded all of our expectations and became the leading company in that world. The day I took over as CEO was truly bliss… but right now I was in the body of a child in a far, far away land.
My views on these villagers can also be summed up as admiration; in this world where everything could be lost in a single instance of random violence, be it a sudden monster raid, bandits or whatever, these people continue to live with a smile on their faces. They’re living with everything they’ve got, and I can’t lose to that. Someday I will find a way back to my own world and give it my best there as well.
On the outskirts of the village, two tall watchtowers overlooked the area outside the town. This was the place that the garrison would gather each day and take turns on lookouts. For the most part, the guards, my father included, play cards all day while drinking, since this village was quite peaceful.
They would sometimes go out on monster subjugations since the monster population does grow rapidly if unchecked. I had heard that once they left the monsters unchecked and as a result the monsters had grown too much in population and raided the village.
As we approached the watchtowers there was a strange gathering, some of the garrison and the village chief were talking with an outsider. From the looks of their clothes and carriage, they appeared to be a trader or merchant but it seems that they’ve gotten into some sort of altercation.
“Is something going on chief?”
I asked as we drew closer.
“Oh, Morgant, Ian and Ira too, what are you doing here?”
He asks. When Ian flashes a basket full of food the chief makes an ‘Oh’ face.
“So is something the matter with our esteemed guests?”
I asked once more taking a quick gander at the caravan outside the village.
“Hmm~ you see the equipment for our garrison has been getting dull recently from overuse. Since the usual merchant comes around this time we thought we would be able to buy a new batch but it seems that merchant had fallen ill and a replacement was sent.”
From those description of the situation I had gotten the general gist of it.
“I see, and there’s been a change in prices from the usual amount so you’ve yet to come to an impasse.”
“Y- yes, that’s roughly the situation.”
I took a small glance at the merchant and his caravan. This was the first time I’ve ever thought that someone could represent a stereotype so perfectly; he was a pudgy man with clothes that were slightly higher quality than our commoner ones. I know I’m technically a small time noble but with the way I’m living, I’m basically a commoner too.
I have seen our usual merchant once before, I believe he was a scrawny man with bags under his eyes. Though I don’t know much more detail than that, well it was before I regained my memories and that other me wasn’t too keen on details.
Concentrating on the merchant for a bit I was able to pull up his name, level and title. After a but the interface box popped up; it was the same as when I got the tiny Demon Lord’s stats.
[Alexi Lorenz. Level 16, Merchant Leader]
“By the way chief, what’s the name of our usual tradesman that sells us our weapon?”
“I believe his name was Alexi Lorenz, a small time noble turned merchant.”
Heh~ I see. So that’s how it was huh? It seems he’s changed his appearance with [illusion] magic or some sort of item.
“And he’s not Mr. Alexi Lorenz?”
I asked just to be sure. The chief shook his head and answered.
“No, this merchant said his name was [Zac] a rival merchant to Mr. Alexi, but since he was sick and unable to come he asked Mr. Zac to visit instead.”
“I see. So how much is he asking for the equipment he’s selling and how much are they usually?”
“Let’s see, he’s asking for 2 gold and 37 silver coins. Our usual price is 1 gold and 10 silver coins. If it was only a little more than our normal price I wouldn’t have minded too much but this is more than double and it is a little troublesome.”
To put this into perspective, 100 copper coins = 1 silver coin. 100 silver coins = 1 gold coin. It takes about 60 copper coins to feed a family of 4 for a week, so the price he was asking for a was indeed a little high.
“Oi, haven’t you people come up with a decision yet? I can’t stay here forever, I have other villages to visit after this!”
He lashes out at our garrison with a discordant voice, even his voice is unpleasant to the ear.
Now... Arms are crossed, stiff eye contact, elevated heart rate, raising his voice to an unnecessary level, overall body posture facing away from the village.
Arms cross - taking a defensive posture; he’s got something to hide.
Stiff eye contact - most liars make direct eye contact to avoid suspicion but it’s actually more unnatural to make eye contact for too long and the way he isn’t relenting makes it all the more obvious.
Elevated heart rate - with [life force sensory] I was able to feel his heart rate, and it was clearly elevated above normal levels. Today I learnt that I could use [life force sensory] as a lie detector.
Raising his voice - most people raise their voice when they’re hiding something, so as to not give the opposition any opportunities to make questions and in this situation he’s acting like he’s in a hurry to give the villagers less time to think.
His overall body posture is facing away from the village - he wants to run away, probably because his anger hasn’t dragged the villagers to a hasty decision and he thinks his plan isn’t working, thus he wants to escape.
Well I could probably pick out a few more flaws but… I guess I didn’t even need to use cold reading at all; I only did it out of habit and it was already obvious what his plans were from the moment I knew his real name.
He’s trying to make a quick profit by changing his appearance and extorting villagers. This way his true face won’t suffer a reputation loss and it also makes the villagers attracted to his business which is ‘cheaper’.
Well, from a business perspective it wasn’t too bad of an idea, but I can only give him a maximum of 3 points out of 10 due to his horrible acting and lack of a poker face. It’s oozing with blatant, subconscious confessions. Anyone with even elementary level cold reading would figure out his true intentions.
“Like we said, you’re charging too much! Who would buy these equipment from you for the amount you’re asking for!”
“W- What did you say?! These equipment are the top tier products! They’re much better than the dull swords you’re using! I should really be charging you 3 gold coins for all of this but I’m giving you a discount! Economy is bound to change and you villagers have to adapt to it!”
Well, I won’t disagree with that; economy is indeed an ever-changing force and adapting to change is important. However no self respecting businessman would ever say a line like that out aloud, it’s so Neanderthal.
“What?! You-!”
“Hey, hey~ Mr. Zac may I see those weapons?”
I interrupted their little altercation and asked ‘Mr. Zac’ the merchant.
“Huh? What’s with this kid?”
He makes a disturbed face.
“Pleased to meet you, my name is [Morgant Fallon], my father served as a [Praetorian Knight]. Anyway, since that’s the case I know a little bit about swords, so maybe I can help mediate.”
A sinister but unsure smile crosses ‘Mr. Zac’s’ face. He’s probably thinking that dealing with a kid would be easier than dealing with stubborn villagers, that would be true under most cases.
“H-huh? Sure, have a look at these weapons and tell these people the truth.”
“Okay!”
I took one of the swords from his caravan and closely inspected them, with everyone else watching my actions. Truth be told, even though I’ve trained with a fair amount of swords with father, I haven’t the slightest clue on how to appraise swords.
“Can I see one of the swords from the garrison?”
I asked one of the town guards.
“S- sure.”
He unsheathes his sword and gives it to me. I took both the used garrison sword and the new merchant sword, which was shinier since it was never used, and acted as if I were comparing their weight.
“Hmm~”
I made a sound. Truthfully I was just biding my time for a bit. What am I waiting for, you ask? Unbeknownst to our esteemed merchant guest I was very slowly casting [life drain] on him. It was very controlled and unnoticeable.
You may be wondering why I was doing this. It’s simply to wear him down because it’s easier to convince people who have no will to fight back.
“Hmm~ the merchant sword is a little lighter than the garrison sword. This means that the materials used are of lesser quality or they used overall less materials, either way this will become a hindrance to the people who are actually using them and may lead to potential danger.”
“What?!”
“See? Have a try yourself, Mr. Zac.”
I gave the two swords to him. Both swords have about the same weight and it’s not like a lighter sword always means it’s bad either, but taking advantage of the fact that at this point he was too tired to think properly I made him more susceptible to my words.
Sweat dripped from his face as he compared the two swords.
“Hmm?! Hmm… m- maybe you are right…? but still, I can only lower the price to 2 gold after this revelation…”
“That’s still too high!”
“I- I can’t lower the price any further than that! A- as I said the economy…”
He yells desperately. Seeing that, it was about time I put the final nail in the coffin.
“Mr. Zac, Mr. Zac~”
I called out to him by pulling the corner of his shirt in a disgustingly cutesy manner.
“W- what is it?”
I beckoned him to draw closer, he was unwilling to at first but he crouches down to my level where I can easily whisper into his ears.
“Your mask is slipping, Mr. Alexi Lorenz. But I consider myself a rather venerable person and am willing to let you go without much punishment, if you sell those swords at heavily discounted prices.”
As soon as he hears his own name he flinches backwards and falls on his backside. Clear terror plastered on his face as he sweats profusely. His mouth open and shut without words coming out, wanting to know how exactly I found out.
One more little push then.
I crept closer with an intimidating smile and whispered into his ears once more.
“I’m sure you have a lot of questions for me but I think you have more important things to worry about. The first being the amount of damage to your reputation if this goes public. As you know, merchantry is a very sensitive business and once your reputation drops you won’t be able to continue. If word of this gets out then the villages in this entire area will probably refuse to do business with you and eventually your infamy will spread to the point you will be looking for a different line of occupation.”
Shaking in his boots he starts to crawl back a little. I wonder what he’s seeing? Maybe his life is flashing before his eyes.
Merchantry and trade is a business that requires a little bit of charisma and intelligence, thus it’d be hard to find a person that would really be this weary of a child’s threat, even if that threat had real ammunition. In most cases even if I revealed his secrets, if he was still rational he could just cover it up by saying that I was playing around, after all I have no real way of proving that he was Alexi Lorenz.
However, that’s exactly why I had been steadily draining his health for the past ten minutes; he’s clearly exhausted and now he wasn’t able to think straight.
This level of bartering was child’s play, and my skills were much more effective in this world without proper economic laws. Really, you shouldn’t underestimate economic transactions just because it’s laissez faire, you never know if there’s a wolf waiting under that sheep’s clothing.
At his wits end he was on the verge of crying, taking pity I backed off a few steps.
“So? What do you say… Mister Zac?”
“I- I got it. I’ll sell this entire batch for 50 silver coins.”
“Eh?!”
All the members of the garrison and the chief had their eyes wide open and in disbelief. They stared at me, wanting to know what I said to the stubborn merchant to change his mind and even give an impossible discount. Of course I’m a man of my words… sometimes, well in this case I was going to let him off with that.
[New skill acquired: [Enchanting Voice(Augment)]]
[You have gained (1) level(s)]
Just as I was finished talking to the merchant a new interface box opened up informing me that I’ve acquired a new skill and that I’ve gained a level. It seems that as I’m experiencing new things it will adapt into skills.
From the skill name I got a general gist of what kind of skill it is but it was good to make sure. When I opened the [Skill List] I noticed that [life drain] and [life force sensory had leveled up.
[Enchanting Voice(Augment): Temporarily places a target of lower level under hypnotic suggestion. Entities with high mental resistances may resist the control]
So even if I’m a higher level, if the target has a high mental resistance it can resist, huh… then it’s likely that the opposite is also true, targets with higher level but lower mental resistances may be controlled.
As much as I wanted to try out this skill right now, it was kind of impossible as everyone was a higher level than me. For the most part the median level of adults in this village was around 13 ~ 15 and the garrison were around their 20s. I suppose this is also something I’ll have to make time for later.
In any case I hope our esteemed merchant friend learnt a valuable lesson in humility.
PART TWO
“Congratulations everyone!”
With the bright yellow sun high up above our small village it almost seemed to be smiling down on us, blessing us. Our small village of [Karta] was covered in festive spirits as after several days’ worth of preparation had finally paid off. Tables and tables of food were laid out for everyone to enjoy.
Today was a day in which all could play around, embellishing in delicious foods and alcohol from early midday. Many people broke out into song and dance as musicians performed on stage, adding to the merriment. It wasn’t anything too great compared to the kinds of operas that I used to frequent back in my old world but these small performances had their own charm as well.
Father was off with the rest of the town garrison, drinking and playing. If you ask me that’s what he normally does anyway but I guess he can have a free pass for today. He’s enjoying himself destroying all of the other members in an arm wrestling competition.
Mother, Lina and Lena were also hanging out by the food stalls and chatting up with different people. Actually speaking of mother, her stomach has become really noticeable as of late. The day my sibling is due is probably coming soon, a fact that slightly brought me joy.
I did have a young brother back in my old world which does make me worry a bit on how he’s doing. He wasn’t a child anymore so I shouldn’t worry too much, besides there should be enough money that I left behind in inheritance for him to indulge himself for a lifetime, though I hope that doesn’t affect his personality too much.
As for me; Sebastian and I were left behind to babysit Ian and Ira. We were walking through the festival, viewing the spectacle that everyone had worked hard on to bring. Ian and Ira ran in front of us grabbing different kinds of food and immersing themselves in the festive atmosphere.
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“What wrong, young master? Are you not going to follow your friends to taste the delicious food?”
Sebastian asks me with a smile, looks like he’s thoroughly enjoying himself as well.
“It’s fine, I’m quite enjoying the view.”
“I see, yes, I too enjoy this scenery.”
He says, looking off into the distance to see the villagers happily enjoying themselves. My relationship with Sebastian could be summed up as the kind a child would have towards their grandfather, but if you take into consideration my true age I would be the second oldest in the house so I liked to believe that I’m sharing a very professional kind of kinship of age and wisdom with him.
We walked a bit further as Ian and Ira ran ahead of us, beckoning at me to come quickly.
“Hey, slow down will you?”
I shouted back at them through the crowds, but they had no intention of following my suggestions and decided to bolt full speed ahead.
Honestly, I thought he said he would listen to me after that incident in the forest. This is what it must feel like for parents who have unruly children.
“Geez, those guys are just doing whatever they want.”
“It is normal for children to act as such, they are free beings after all.”
‘Free’ huh? I can see where he’s coming from, once you start to get older you get more and more responsibilities until it feels like you’re being tied down by them. It’s really only when you’re a child you get to be ‘free’.
“Here please accept this, young master.”
Sebastian gives me a small wrapped box. A birthday present; most of the time only young children receive them so there was no real obligation for me to return the favor, even if it was everyone’s birthday.
“Thank you very much, Sebastian. May I open it?”
“Yes, of course.”
I slowly and neatly opened the package to find a golden pocket watch. Elegant in its round design, I opened the top and was met with a soft ticking noise as the mechanism rolled behind it. It was a little big for me since I was small, about the size of my hand.
“Thank you Sebastian! A pocket watch will definitely come in handy, but are you sure it looks really expensive.”
“I’m glad you’re liking it and yes, that pocket watch has served me a great deal and now it will fall to you, please take care of it for me.”
I gave him a hearty nod.
I wonder if this counts as an [item] or a piece of [equipment]? I haven’t really tried it but I concentrated towards the pocket watch in the same manner I do with people to bring up their titles. I actually didn’t think it would come up but an opaque interface box did appear.
[Sebastian’s Pocket Watch]
+ 3 [Strength]
+ 3 [Dexterity]
+ 3 [Insight]
Oh, just like RPGs, it gives minor status boosts.
In a quick experiment, I placed the pocket watch into my [inventory], which I access through my pocket to be discrete, to see if I could still benefit from the extra stat boosts. After opening my [status menu] to take a look, it was indeed still effective. Convenient for me.
* * *
After surveying different kinds of cuisines made by the villagers we decided to gather up the family. At the end of the festival they were going to let off fireworks to celebrate the day that we all gained another year to our age.
After Ian and Ira went along with their family, Sebastian and I decided to go visit father and see how he was doing.
“Oh~ Morgant you’re here?”
He greets me with a refreshing smile, exhausted bodies piled up on the side after having lost the arm wrestle with him. That was really a given considering that he used to be a former [Praetorian Knight], even his level is leagues above the average garrison.
[Mardoc Fallon. Level 57, Knight]
Actually the only person that even comes close to father’s combat potential is oddly Sebastian. I don’t know what kind of history he has but he’s fairly high leveled as well.
[Sebastian. Level 52, Butler]
I guess I can ask him later.
“Father, you should take it easy with your games, not everyone is as strong as you.”
“Haha! Non sense! The village garrisons are plenty strong, they just don’t know it yet! But enough about that, I heard you talked a merchant down this morning and even made him give a huge discount.”
“Ah, I didn’t do anything too impressive, I may have used your name to back me up a little. Besides I only acted as you taught me, to help those in need right? And it appeared to me that the garrison were having a little problem.”
Of course I didn’t really do that, but it was more believable if I said that.
“Haha! You little brat, that’s right! Always helps those in need!”
He says as he takes another sip of his alcohol. That reminds me, how long has it been since I ever tasted alcohol? During the last few years of my life I was getting busy with work that I didn’t have a chance to indulge myself. I was going to after the wedding… but that’s become a little out of reach for now.
“What’s wrong Morgant? You want a sip too?”
He shakes the jug full of alcohol in my face.
“N- no, I’m quite fine thank you.”
“I guess you’re too young to understand the magnificence of alcohol.”
He tells with a slightly depressed tone. Come on, just what exactly are you trying to get your seven year old son into? As much as I was fond of alcohol in my previous life, I’ve no interest in turning into an alcoholic from a young age.
“Father…”
“Oh, that’s right. Before I forget, here’s your present.”
“Ah, thank you…?”
The present that father gave me was a metal rod. To be more precise it was a sword hilt, just a hilt, deathly black in color. There was no blade to it, just the sword hilt; I wasn’t exactly sure where he was going with this.
“Father, this is?”
I asked with a puzzled face.
“A long time ago, when I was younger my master also gave me the same present. Like you, I was baffled, but do you know what he said to me when I asked?”
Hmm, well I could hazard a guess.
“’I have given you the base, now it is your time to forge your own blade’… or something to that effect? After teaching father all that he knew he wanted you to learn and experience for yourself and create your own style from your own battles?”
Seemingly sobering up from my answer father stared at me a for a good while. Even Sebastian silently looked at me in awe.
“Aha, as expected of Morgant, it’s no fun if you actually guess the answer. But you’re right, as my master had given taught me, I have taught you. Of course there are still many things I want to teach you but when you asked me to train you the other day I finally felt it was time that you received this.”
“I see. Thank you father, I’m truly grateful.”
As I did with the pocket watch Sebastian gave me, I also checked the stats on the sword handle, it wasn’t very useful without a blade but as a miscellaneous equipment it might be worth something.
[Father’s Sword Hilt]
+ 6 [Strength]
+ 4 [Insight]
+ 2 [Agility]
This too, I placed within my inventory. Even though I haven’t formally assigned any [status points] into any stat I feel like I’m becoming a little more powerful just from the extra stats from these items.
“Ah, there you are.”
Just as we were done talking, Mother, Lina and Lena came to get us. As the sun was setting, the sky became darker signaling that it was almost time for the fireworks.
“Mother, welcome back.”
Mother crouched down to meet me at eye level.
“Did you have fun today Morgant?”
She asks as she strokes my hair.
“Yes, all of the food was delicious and I enjoyed myself thoroughly along with Ian and Ira.”
“That’s great. The fireworks are about to start, shall we go?”
“Yes.”
* * *
As the birthday festival was coming to a close, the final event was about to take place. The sun had already set behind the hill and clear dark skies had enveloped the skies above our small town. The air became a little chilly but with so many people outside it wasn’t a bad feeling, in fact being given a piggyback by father, which was a little embarrassing, it was fairly warm.
The large crowd of villagers gathered before the town square where the fireworks were about to be set off. Two amateur magicians took the stage and set off the fuse with very elementary fire magic.
The first batch was flown to the skies emitting a whistling noise as it flew. After a few seconds it exploded into a cavalcade of colored explosions. It lit up and painted the darkened canvas of the night sky in pretty colors.
Red, green, blue, yellow. I spent most of the time thinking about how they even managed to create these fireworks in such a feudal era, but soon gave up on thinking and moved onto enjoying the vibrant display.
Lina and even Lena, who liked to show little expressions, had a wondrous smile on their faces as their face was dyed in awe. Father was still a little drunk but he seemed to be happy as well. Mother clung onto father’s arms and watched with a smile. And Sebastian stood with us with a silent smile.
It was the first time in my life, in both my lives that I had seen such a miraculous display. Of course I had seen fireworks before, countless times in my old world but never as warm as this. I was always far too busy to enjoy the simply things in life, so standing here and enjoying the time with a ‘family’ really put into perspective a lot of things.
I made a silent vow in my heart, that when I return to my old world I will focus less on work and dedicate myself sole to my family, friends and most of all, to Erin.
I felt someone tug on the side of my sleeves. Since I was on father’s back I was a little taller than I was normally. When I turned to my left I saw Lina and Lena smiling back at me.
“Happy birthday, young master. We didn’t know what to give you so we decided to go with this. Please accept this as a gift from both of us.”
Lina handed to me a small box. Opening it I saw a small dark colored jewel, glowing with a hint of red. It definitely looked pretty, if not a little ominous.
“Thank you… but what is it?”
I asked.
“We don’t really know ourselves, it was an heirloom that our… mother gave us when we were younger. We kept it all this time but I believe you may have more use for it so please treasure it in our stead.”
“… I see, thank you very much. Lina. Lena.”
They both returned a satisfied nod.
Likewise I checked the contents.
[Shard of Tyrving]
+ 4 [All Stats]
‘Shard of Tyrving’? Tyrving as in the magical sword? Though I was curious, but with no real way to find out more information now I decided to put it on hold.
PART THREE
A few weeks had passed since the end of the festival and our family has been doing relatively fine. I still had sword practice with father, Lina was always trying to find ways to sexually harass me. All was right with the world.
Actually since then I had a few more chances to experiment with my stats and skills. Thus I shall now reveal the results! Drum roll please~ tadadadadadada~
…
Cough, cough
I had gained 6 more levels from my daily training with father, putting up my current level from 5 to 11. With 60 spare [status points] I decided to distribute my stats accordingly. Actually I felt as though I was a little naïve back then when I said I didn’t want to fight on the front lines, after a little more deliberation I figured that it would be inevitable.
Thus I decided to add the bulk of my stats; 50 into [Strength]. [Strength] directly correlates to physical strength and I’m sure it will be a massive help sooner or later.
As for the remaining 10 stats I was torn between whether I should add it to [Dexterity] or [Insight]. For the most part the difference between the two of them was reaction vs. detection.
[Dexterity] will improve my accuracy and reaction speed. In close combat this is something that will no doubt be of great help.
Whereas [Insight] will improve the detection of enemy movements thus allowing me to react and plan before they even move.
Basically the difference was that [dexterity] will help me deal with the enemy’s attack once it has been launched while [insight] will help me deal with the enemy’s attack before it has been launched. Considering I was more the type to think and plan out my attacks I thought [insight] would help me a little better.
Now, onto the improvements made to my skills.
[Life Force Sensory] was now level 10
[Enchanting Voice] was now level 3
[Life Drain] was now level 8
[Wither] was now level 4
[Decay] was now level 7
Although I do think that these improvements are satisfactory given the time and information I had, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed that this was all I could do. Without any real information about the passage of time between this world and my old world I figured that I couldn’t afford to waste time needlessly.
So I was feel a little impatient with my results.
As I was thinking to myself, something unexpected happened within the Fallon household.
“I’m going!”
“No! we have to stay here and fulfill our duties to our masters!”
Lina and Lena who usually shared a very close and friendly relationship was having some kind of argument. It was the first time I’ve seen them acting like this, thus it was slightly worrying.
So what were they fighting about exactly?
A few days ago a letter arrived to our residence addressed to Lina and Lena. The contents of the letter was about how their mother had contracted a terminal illness and wished to see them both at her last moments; such a tragic letter!
I thought that they would both immediately ask for a leave to follow the letter but unexpectedly Lena doesn’t wish to reunite with her long lost mother. She kept using us as an excuse not to go; about how they have a ‘duty to serve us’. I don’t think mother and father were that strict to restrict them from leaving though.
Personally I think they should go regardless of what kind of feelings they have towards their estranged mother. Even if Lend wasn’t particularly fond of her mother, I believe she should at least see her. It was the same for me after all.
My mother from my old world passed away when I was still in college. She had developed cancer and we found out too late, but while she was suffering on the hospital bed I wasn’t able to see her too often due to work.
When she finally passed away I wasn’t even there to see her, a fact that I deeply regret even into this second life of mine.
“How can you refuse to go see her?! She’s our mother!”
Lina shouted in a trembling voice.
“That woman… that woman isn’t my mother!”
Lena retorted, tears falling from her eyes as she shouted back louder.
Slap
Lina slapped Lena. Her face was bright red, however it wasn’t Lena, but Lina who ended up crying.
“She’s… she’s my mother! I won’t let you deny that!”
“You! How can you say that after what she’s done to you… to us!”
After watching this scene for too long, my mother tried to interject. However while they were struggling Lina accidently knocked my mother over.
“?!”
“Mother!”
“Madam!”
“Rio!”
Sebastian, father and I ran over to support her. I placed my hands on her stomach and focused through [life force sensory] and made sure that there was no miscarriage. Thankfully I could still feel the faint but definite signs of life.
I wiped my forehead of sweat with a relieved expression, but Lina had a grave, pale complexion.
“What did you do?!”
Lena shouted as she ran towards mother.
“I… I… I didn’t mean to… no!”
She was trembling and on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Before I could even tell her that everything was fine she bolted out of the house. Father wanted to chase after her but I stopped her.
“Father, I’ll go after Lina so please stay with mother!”
He gave me a firm nod.
“I got it. Bring her back safely.”
With that I chased after her. Still, I have to admit that she was incredibly fast for someone wearing a maid outfit. Those frilly dresses should really hinder one’s movements but she ran like a professional athlete. I mean, I couldn’t even see her anymore despite the fact that she only ran out a few minutes ago.
I had to run past the garrison watch towers before I caught up to Lina.
“Lina!”
When I called out to her she was visibly startled. Shaking violently as she hugged herself and stumbled backwards.
“Please… no, stay back… or I’ll hurt you as well.”
“It’s okay Lina. Mother and the baby are alright. You don’t have anything to be afraid of. So let’s go back and apologize together, alright?”
“No… no…”
She shook her head violently. Caught up in her fear she couldn’t even listen to me anymore. She dropped down onto the dirt floor as tears rolled down her face.
I moved closer to her and hugged her head.
“It’s okay Lina.”
I gently stroke her hair as she silently sobbed.
“I’m sorry… please forgive me…”
END REPORT
[Status Menu]
Morgant Fallon. Level 11
NECROMANCER
DEMON GENERAL
Strength: 68 (55 + 13)
Dexterity: 12 (5 + 7)
Magic: 9 (5 + 4)
Insight: 26 (15 + 11)
Agility: 11 (5 + 6)
[Status Points: 0]
[Skill List]
(PASSIVE) [Life Force Sensory]: Level 10
(AUGMENT) [Enchanting Voice]: Level 3
(ACTIVE) [Life Drain]: Level 8
(ACTIVE) [Wither]: Level 4
(ACTIVE) [Decay]: Level 7
[Equipment]
[Shard of Tyrving]
+ 4 [All Stats]
[Sebastian’s Pocket Watch]
+ 3 [Strength]
+ 3 [Dexterity]
+ 3 [Insight]
[Father’s Sword Hilt]
+ 6 [Strength]
+ 4 [Insight]
+ 2 [Agility]