“Tell me, Feyt. How do you feel about going to the capital?”

The question caught me off guard. I blinked, trying to process what Dad was saying.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, frowning slightly.

Dad leaned back slightly, narrowing his eyes. “Kyrat, the girl’s father, said that he saw potential in you. I don’t know exactly what he means, but he wanted you to train with him in the capital. Of course, you’d be staying there too.”

My mind raced. Potential? That word again? But why would Father be interested in Feyt?

Like Dad, I wasn’t sure what Father had seen in Feyt, but the idea of training myself sounded… right.

I needed more strength, more endurance, more experience. Sis’s training definitely helped me survive that bandit leader’s attacks, but that was also helped immensely by Carine’s eyes. Had I been attacked alone, I would’ve lost my head several times.

Carine’s eyes were powerful, yes, but I wouldn’t be able to keep both Carine and Feyt together at all times. I needed to be able to defend myself without both of my bodies present.

“So, how about it?” Dad asked, his tone firm, but gentle.

I paused, considering the offer. The capital… I already live there as Carine, do I want to live there as Feyt too? To be so close to myself… I find the idea of it to be slightly comforting.

But, accepting the offer would mean leaving my home. Leaving Mom, Dad, and Sis behind. That thought made my heart churn a bit.

However, this was a chance to improve, to become stronger, I had to take it. After facing my first life-threatening moment, outside of Fray’s hugs, I realized that this world wasn’t as peaceful as my old world.

Bandits, monsters, wars, those were all constant worries everyone had, including mine.

After a moment of contemplating, I nodded.

Dad smiled, with a hint of sadness in his eyes. “Well, that’s your choice. I’ll discuss it with Kyrat, I’ll have them pick you up in a few weeks.”

“Why not now?” I asked, not wanting to waste any time. If I was going to do this, I wanted to get started as soon as possible… With a non-aching body, if possible.

Dad chuckled for a bit, as if I just said something stupid. “What? Don’t you want to celebrate your birthday with your family?”

“Birthday?” I echoed, caught off guard again. In all the chaos, I’d forgotten about it completely. My birthday…

If I remember correctly, it’s around the 43rd day of this month…

I suppose I should explain how dates work in this world first, huh? Note that I am basing this on my basic common sense of this world.

There are only six months in this world, but the year still lasts around 360 days, every month lasting 60 days or so.

As for the six months, there are Verdance, Monstrance, Solance, Cosence, Escance, and Nuevance.

I won’t go into the details for now, but just know that Cosence is somewhat in early Fall if we’re using my old world’s logic, with Escance being in late Fall.

But then, a weird similarity popped up in both of my bodies. When I tried remembering my birthdays, I realized that, weirdly, both Carine and Feyt had the same birthday.

Cosence 43rd.

This couldn’t just be a coincidence, right?

Dad stood up, took a glance at the other me—Carine—and leaned his body forward crudely, imitating a bow.

“Thank you, for helping my son.”

Being thanked for saving myself would never stop feeling weird. Besides, both Carine and Feyt worked equally to get out of that hell hole, give Feyt some more credit, dammit!

And with that, Dad left the room, leaving both of me alone again.

Dad and I rarely talk outside of the necessities or work. But it doesn’t mean we were on bad terms. But still, talking to him one-on-one like this felt rare.

—

The doctor soon returned. He performed a routine check-up on both of us, but I noticed how he was extra careful around Carine, almost as if she were made of glass.

Treat both of me equally, please.

After a few moments of silence, the doctor spoke up. “Both of you should be able to move somewhat now. If you’d like, try taking a few steps.”

Listening to his advice, I slowly moved to the side of my beds. Both of me slowly lowered our feet onto the wooden floor. The stinging sensations were still there, sharp and annoying, but they had dulled to a tolerable level.

As I took my first steps with both bodies, a strange sense of déjà vu washed over me. Taking a slow step here, pushing my leg there, it was almost like…

Oh god. I’m learning how to walk, again!!

—

The sun was setting, casting golden hues throughout the room through the windows. Both of my bodies were lying still on our beds, bored to death. Lunch and dinner passed by without anything special really happening, the doctor tried ordering Carine some more steak, but I managed to stop him, thankfully.

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I was a bit surprised Mom and Dad didn’t come to visit more, and as for Father—he hadn’t even poked his head in the room so far. What was he doing? Playing hide and seek? Come and check on your daughter for God’s sake!

But then, as if summoned by my thoughts, the door creaked open, and there he was—Father, in all his glory. His hair was disheveled, lacking the dignity that used to emanate constantly around it.

He’d changed out of his travel outfit into something more comfortable, though even his "casual" clothes looked fancier than anything anyone else in the village could dream of wearing.

“Good evening… Carine,” Father said as he stepped inside the room, closing the door behind him gently.

“Good evening, Father.”

Father moved to Carine’s bed and sat on an empty bed nearby. For a moment, he just sat there, his gaze boring into the wooden floor. The silence was awkward, to say the least.

Finally, he raised his head and, with a low regretful voice, said, “I’m sorry.”

“Father…?”

That caught me off guard. Father was apologizing, his head hung low.

“I failed you,” he continued, his gaze intense, though it didn’t quite meet mine. “I let my guard down, and because of that, I let them take you away. I put you in danger, and as your Father, I cannot forgive myself for that.”

His voice was thick with guilt, I could see that it weighed heavily on him. I… didn’t really know what to do in this situation.

I felt like any response I made would only make things more awkward. With not a lot of options, I decided to trust my instincts and go with the flow.

I offered him a small smile. “It’s alright Father. Everyone makes mistakes, even you. What matters is that you came for me. Without you, I wouldn’t be here.”

Father shook his head. “No, that’s not true at all. You fought against that bandit leader alone and escaped the cave. We merely found you by coincidence, that was all.” Father turned his head to the setting sun outside. “And there’s also that Bandit Killer on the loose…”

“Bandit Killer?”

Father nodded. “It’s a big name around here. Apparently, they appear every few months or so, killing the bandits around the village proximity, always with a spear. We found countless of his victims around the forest.”

Ah, I know that name.

Hearing that straightforward nickname jogged my memories a bit. As Feyt, thanks to my superhuman ears, I’d overheard all kinds of gossip and rumors around the village. I knew the juiciest bits of every neighbor’s drama and every rumor that floated around.

One of the biggest rumors was about this mysterious figure known as the Bandit Killer. Every few months, piles of dead bandits would be discovered, whether in an open field, at their hideout, or in the forest.

Most of them died with a gaping hole in their chest from a stab or were covered in countless slashes. Hunters around the village concluded the wounds had to come from a spear. But even knowing the weapon didn’t help much since no one knew who this Bandit Killer was.

“I suppose it’s a blessing that he dealt with the countless bandits in that forest, but we don’t know if he’s friend or foe…” Father continued.

The Bandit Hunter saved us, does it really matter? All I cared about was that we didn’t have to fight our way through a horde of bandits. Handling two was already enough of a nightmare.

“Father, all that mattered was both of us are safe. You shouldn’t worry too much about things that already passed.”

All I wanted after that whole ordeal was to go home and flop down on my soft, canopy bed. Oh how I miss them already.

Father raised his head, finally meeting my gaze. “I see… You’ve always been kind, Carine, despite your attitude.”

Ouch. Slightly offended, here. What does he mean by that?

Father stood up and pulled me into a gentle hug—nothing like the bone-crushing ones Fray gives. With a raspy voice, he spoke. “I’m glad you’re back, Carine! I’m so glad!”

His hug tightened around me, but it wasn’t painful at all. I returned the hug with my own. “I missed you too, Father.”

Releasing me from his hug, Father placed a hand on my shoulder. “Once we’re back home, help me calm down your Mother for me, alright?” Father said, flashing a weirdly gentle grin.

Ack! I forgot about Mother!

How would she react when she learned that I was kidnapped? Well, she would probably scold Father to kingdom come.

I don’t want to be involved in that!

But, she would probably worried immensely as well. Whether I like it or not, I had to be there for her… and Father.

Regaining his calm, Father gave his hair a quick swipe with his hands, slicking it back. With his usual gentle smile, Father raised his head, his gaze fixed on the other me—Feyt.

“Feyt, is it?” Father asked himself. “That bandit leader, he said you and my daughter gave him a good fight. I understand if he said my daughter frightened him since she’s personally trained by me…”

Flexing much?

“But If I may, could I ask where and how you trained?”

I raised an eyebrow as Feyt. “Why do you ask?”

“I already heard it from your father. You wanted to participate in my sword school, and I’m glad you accepted. I wanted to see it with my own eyes, the potential that bandit saw in you.”

Wait, so he was just curious?!

“But, there was something amiss.” Father continued. “I consulted with your parents and also your sister. Other than stamina training and occasional farm work, you don’t seem to have any formal training. My question is, where do you obtain combat experience that’s on par with my daughter?”

“Ack–!” The words stuck in my throat.

He already interrogated my family? So that was what he was up to all this time.

I couldn’t tell him I learned his sword techniques through Carine’s memories, I wanted to keep the two-bodies-one-soul thing under wraps. It would be a massive hassle if that got out.

To avoid suspicion, I needed to answer fast. I decided to use the first excuse I could think of inside my head. “I learned it from Carine, haha…” I lightly scratched the back of my head, trying to hide my nervousness.

Father’s eyes widened slightly. “So you’re saying, you learned my school’s techniques from Carine, and that was enough to make you be on the same level as Carine?”

Hearing him tear apart my flimsy lie so effortlessly was embarrassing. I tried brainstorming for another excuse, but then I realized I’d made a mistake. He wasn’t just dissecting my lie—he actually believed it.

How could I tell? The look of utter amazement on his face.

“Remarkable.” That was all he said before staring deep into my eyes, which, I’ll be honest, was a little creepy. Then he closed his eyes and nodded. “Yes, you will be a perfect student indeed.”

Father started pacing around the room, his eyes locked onto me—Feyt. His eyes were gleaming, as if he was a kid receiving a new toy.

“I wonder, how long will you master our basics? Will you be like Carine and master our intermediate course in a month? Hmm, no, you’ll probably finish it in a bit later than that, or maybe not? With that potential of yours, you might surpass Kirsten and Lloyd in a year. Should I put you through the regular schedule? Or perhaps something more intense…” Father went on and on, his monologue getting faster by the second and a lot more enthusiastic as well.

He continued for a while, not letting both of me get a word in. He went about how he would train me under a waterfall, have me climb mountains daily, and so much more.

I would learn later on that those were all his plans for Carine’s original training, but Mother stopped him so I could learn other things as well.

By the time night fully settled in, Father was still pacing, lost in his elaborate plans. The schedule he had planned was even crazier than Carine’s! From pre-dawn up until night, it was all training, training, and training!

I began to wonder if human rights exist in this world.

Luckily, the doctor finally came in. The moment the door creaked open, I shot him a look that screamed, Help. Me.

I was beginning to regret taking up Father’s offer.

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image [https://i.imgur.com/RdC5Gde.png]