Typer’s room: Hello guys. Time to start discussing Lia’s first work!
Well, this chapter is mostly some discussion between the characters and some preparations for what is to come. Some of you might have noticed, but I don’t plan on having Lia go all the way with Spiritualism right off the bat. This way I may be able to put some interesting things besides battles, as well as explore some things that usually aren’t all that explored.
As I said before, this is VASTLY a work in progress, and wasn’t made to be posted initially, so there might be some inconsistencies. If so, please do tell me, as I want to make it an enjoyable read ^^
May your reading be enjoyable.
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“Please, be at ease. You are our guest today!” Bo said solemnly while father looked around in worry, taking careful steps to not touch anything too expensive looking.
“Even if you say that...” Father said a bit wryly.
Well, not that I blame him. From what I found out, Tian’s family is second only to the village’s elder in power here, and even then, they only are behind because they do not have a spiritualist amongst their ranks, for now. Master Roshi is only a guest while Tian is still only in the beginning stages of her training.
When I stopped to think about it, the fact that instead of one, two new spiritualists would join their ranks, both with surprising talent from the looks of it, was probably a huge boon to their political power if I take in consideration what father said to me about the clans and all.
Hmm… I think that accepting to become Tian’s aide might have changed the power games a bit too much. Luckily, I’m just a kid, so no need to worry about that.
Being irresponsible is so good!
Back to my situation, Bo invited father inside so that they could discuss a bit better how my aide/apprentice situation would work. He guided us to a room where a large table was served with abundant food. Father and I stared at it with our mouths watering as we stared at it. Seeing this, Tian covered her mouth with the fan and started to laugh proudly.
“Ho ho ho! It seems that the plebeians are excited at the sight of the food they would never be able to eat in their life!” She said with her haughty tone, making father frown, but already getting used to her usual self I waited for her next words… “So it’s my duty as a member of the higher class to treat you to something like this for free!”
Father raised an eyebrow confused, while Bo simply smiled awkwardly at the scene, probably a bit troubled by his daughter conflicting personality.
After recovering from his surprise, father and I quickly dashed towards the table and sat on it, already taking up our cutlery and picking some pieces of food from the table. The others stared at us shocked for some time, but we didn’t really care about it that much.
These last two months we have been eating simple food like cooked rice because Fen Ywan, mother’s friend, became pregnant and stopped cooking food for us as her baby threatened to come out at any time. Since father knew nothing about cooking and he never really let me try to learn since staying near the fire is dangerous, we had to settle for stupidly simple food that he could cook.
So, for us who were suddenly seeing such a feast, our gluttony became uncontrolled and we darted in not really caring about manners.
“I had my doubts… But they really are related...” Bo said wryly.
“Such a healthy appetite! That’s a good sign for a youngster!” Roshi laughed while taking the seat besides me.
“Fu fu. Eat for your hearts content, Plebeians! It’s my duty as a noblewoman to make sure you have enough food!” I don’t really need to say who is this, right?
With father, Roshi and me sitting on one side of the table, Bo sat on the head of the table while Tian sat right in front of me laughing merrily.
With a wave of his hands, Bo summoned a bunch of aides who came carrying some other things, like drinks, water and even a few other dishes completely different from anything I had seen before.
I was tempted to simply ignore everything and dig in on the delicious food, but remembering that I might end up becoming Tian’s aide, I managed to redirect twenty percent of my food-focused mind to noticing the way they acted.
It was surprisingly shocking how precise they were, after quickly approaching their master, they would put the food on the table in a way that wouldn’t interrupt him before discretely taking a step back and waiting for further orders.
If it wasn’t for the fact that I was taking notice of them voluntarily, it was almost like the food simply popped on the table.
Isn’t that surprisingly difficult to do?
Well, there goes my twenty percent, back to the food.
Or so I thought, but before I could immerse myself into enjoying the food, Father turned towards Bo and asked.
“You said that my daughter have talent as a spiritualist...” His voice had a slight tone of doubt. “What exactly do you mean by that?”
Instead of answering, Bo simply turned to master Roshi who cleared his throat before starting his explanation.
“Well, while I was training young master Tian, your daughter approached us and, during her basic spirit senses training, completely overwhelmed us with her abilities.” Roshi said with a nod and a proud tone. “It surpasses even the best masters I know of! And if what she says is true, not only her range, but her sensibility is also on a whole new level! To think that she could even sense the spirit of non-practitioners! It’s unheard of!”
Eh? Really? I felt my face cramp up a bit after hearing that. Not that I mind getting famous and all, but showing off too much isn’t exactly a good idea either. I didn’t let it linger too much though, and quickly looked back to my father who was shocked.
He turned to me with an inquiring gaze, I simply replied with a nod. I could go and try to fool him, but I decided against it. Lying to him just felt wrong, so since I was younger I decided to never lie to him. But this doesn’t mean that I told him everything, so my sense, memories and what mother did were some secrets I kept.
“So, the first time she trained, her senses were already better than a master’s?” Father asked, but Roshi shook his head lightly.
“No. If what I understood was correct, your daughter had this without even the need of training.”
“Since when did you have this?” My father asked while turning to me shocked.
“Hmm… Don’t know?” I replied innocently. “I’ve always had this since I remember.”
“And why did you never tell me?” He asked with a slight frown.
“Should I have told you?” I asked confused, and he blinked for a moment before sighing.
“Fair enough...” Father turned back to Roshi, seemingly satisfied with my answer. “Okay, you say that her senses are good, but… What about her own spirit?”
“That’s… Actually a good question.” Roshi said with a nod. “I was so shocked with her own sensibility that I didn’t even think about checking her spirit! Young lady, come closer and let me check you.” He said while waving his hand telling me to come closer.
I gulped down a last forkful of food before jumping down from the table and approaching him. He told me to stand still for a moment while resting his hand on my forehead, after taking a deep breathing he started focusing, and I felt as his energy moved a bit strangely for a brief moment as he started to send his energy through his palm.
His energy clashed with mine for a moment. But not a violent clash, it felt more like they were simply hitting it other for a moment before separating again. It didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. In fact, it felt surprisingly comfortable.
After removing his energy from my body, he took off his hand and had a slightly confused look in his face. I turned to him with a slight frown, worrying whether it was bad news or something.
“What bothers you, master Roshi? Is this plebeian’s energy far too little?” Tian asked with a slight tinge of worry, but Roshi quickly shook his head.
“No, far from it.” Roshi said while shaking his head. “She has abundant energy, comparable even to someone who already began his path on the ways of spiritualists.” He said with a proud tone while nodding his head.
“Then why do you look worried, master?” Tian asked in doubt.
“It’s just that… Her spirit is… Different.” Roshi said while frowning slightly, as if searching for words to explain. “It feels a bit too… elemental, compared to a human.”
“Is that bad?” I asked worried, but Roshi simply shook his head in a reassuring manner.
“Not exactly. I heard about it happening to other people before.” He explained while trying to remember what he had learned. “You see, all beings have a natural affinity to a certain spirit element. Us, human, tend to stay in the middle ground, not really leaning much towards any element unless we train our spirit to do so.”
“Heeh.” I said interested. “And what does that mean?”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“Mostly, it will make you better at techniques based around your element, but worse at the opposite element.” Roshi nodded as he explained that, and I took some time to process the info he told me.
So, does that means that my energy… Spirit, is more focused to a certain element than the usual? Now that he told me, I did notice a certain difference between my energy and the others, was that it?
Taking a second, I focused on my sense on feeling the energy of those around me, this time not focusing too much on the amount but rather on quality this time. Bo, the aides and father all had a spirit that, as usual, felt a bit hard and shapeless.
However, when I focused on Roshi, Tian or me, there was clearly a difference in the feeling of our spirits. Roshi’s spirit felt sturdier, harder, more resistant to changes. Tian, although she didn’t have as much energy as me, I could still feel it just fine. Hers felt, energetic, unstoppable and almost erratic.
In comparison, mine was much similar to Tian’s, and almost opposite to Roshi’s. Mine was just as energetic as Tian’s, but instead of unstoppable, mine felt a lot more unpredictable, free spirited.
When I opened my eyes again, only a second had passed, so I turned to Roshi.
“If it’s so rare, why does it feels like Tian already have her element?” I asked confused.
“Oh, so the cute plebeian can tell?” Tian said with a proud laugh. “You really are something! Recruiting you really is a good idea! Ho ho hough! Cough!” Midway through her laugh she started to choke on her food.
Me and father turned to her in a hurry wanting to help, but one of the aides simply smiled and signaled for us to wait. She quickly went behind Tian and hugged her tightly. The sudden pressure made the choking noble to cough out the food.
“You have my gratitude, Ping.” Tian said while catching her breath.
“It’s a pleasure to help, milady.” The aide said with a smile.
Does this always happens here? The aide seemed to already be used to doing that. While thinking such thoughts, Tian quickly recovered herself and cleared her throat.
“Well, since the Cute plebeian is ignorant of such matters, let me explain to you, as it’s my duty as a noble.” Tia spoke while smiling. “You see, since father knew that I was going to become a great Spiritualist ever since I was a young baby noble, he have been preparing me to earn my element.”
“I thought you would need to be a spiritualist to train?” I asked confused while walking back to my chair so that I could gorge myself on the food once again.
“For training your affinity, there’s no need for that, as long as you know what to do, of course.” Roshi said with a nod. “Since your spirit inhabits your body, you can prepare it by training your body the right way. This include things like controlling what you eat, training routines and so on.”
“Then it isn’t so rare to find someone like me?” I asked, feeling a contradiction in their words.
“The fact that you had an element wasn’t what really surprised me.” Roshi said after taking a long sigh. “What surprised me was its purity. Your wind element is so strong that I think that you might be downright incapable of using earth techniques.”
“I’m not an expert, but that doesn’t seem something usual...” Father said with a slight frown. “How much purity are we talking about?”
“Very high purity.” Roshi said with a surprised look. “I believe she would need to spend her whole life using earth element techniques to change it towards the element.”
I frowned a little at his words. If I had earth element, maybe I could create some kind of technique to help me when forging. That is, if it actually worked like that. Stopping to think about it, I know literally nothing about spiritualist.
“Then, from the looks of it there doesn’t seem to be any problem with her becoming a spiritualist, then. ” Father said after some time before turning to me. “Then, I guess what’s left is the matter of becoming an aide?”
Bo, nodded while signaling for one of the aides to come closer. It was the same one that had helped Tian with her choking. Wearing a simple black robe without many accessories, she looked old, around thirty or so years old with her black hair tied into a bundle.
“It’s my pleasure to meet you.” The woman said with a gentle tone. “As you may have heard, my name is Ping, and I’m the head of the aides of the household.” She bowed slightly. “And if you have any questions about her training, you might ask me.”
“The pleasure is mine, Ping.” Father said courteously. “So, when would she start her training as an aide?”
“We could begin immediately.” Ping replied, and when she saw my and father’s surprised expression, she went on to say. “You see, it’s actually better to start training when they are young, as they absorb the information a lot easier. So the fact that she’s so eager to start training even at this age is actually a good sign.”
“I see…” Father said before sighing loudly before turning to me. “I guess you are giving up in being a blacksmith, then?” He asked me with a slightly sad smile.
“No! I will still be a blacksmith!” I said stubbornly, shocking father.
“You want to be a spiritualist, an aide AND a blacksmith?” He asked me, and I nodded. “Isn’t that a bit too much?”
“Not a problem!” I said with a smile.
Bo and Roshi chuckled a bit while Tian covered her mouth with the fan once again. Probably smiling beneath it. Father simply took a helpless sigh while rubbing my head. I giggled a bit at his reaction before he turned towards Bo and bowed.
“You have my gratitude, master Bo.” He said with a sincere tone. “I wish I could find a way to repay you for doing such things for my daughter.”
“There’s no need for that.” Bo said while shaking his head. “This will greatly benefit my family, so there’s no need for you to repay us.”
“I can’t accept that.” Father flat out rejected him. “Not only are you offering to accept her to your family, you are also giving her a chance to become a spiritualist. This is much more than I could ever hope to give her. It’s also the best thing that happened to her ever since my wife went missing.”
Upon hearing his words, Bo couldn’t help but sigh loudly as he noticed that father wasn’t going to change his mind any time soon. If something, that was one of father’s bad points, as he can be pretty thick-headed once he decides on something.
“Then, how exactly do you plan on repaying us?” Bo asked with a slight hint of a challenge in his voice.
Father widened his eyes before leaning back and frowning deeply. Bo touched a sore spot now, as even if father was the head blacksmith of the village, he still didn’t have much he could offer to a noble like Bo. Thinking for a moment, I decided that I had the perfect offer to make for father.
Lifting the hem of my dress, I picked up the small cross-bow slingshot I tied around the shorts I wore underneath. With a quick motion, I got father’s attention and saw as he widened his eyes, getting what I meant with that.
He took the toy from my hand, which suddenly looked inoffensively small on his large hands.
“What about this?” Father asked while showing them the slingshot.
Bo frowned confused at the sight of the toy while Roshi looked at it curiously. The duo exchanged glances for a moment, but seeing confusion on each other’s eyes, they turned to father.
“And what is that?” Bo asked confused.
“This is a small toy that my daughter made with the help of my mother.” Father said while showing them how it worked.
“An interesting toy, but I fail to see how it might repay us...” Bo said with a frown, but Roshi widened his eyes.
“Master Bo. I don’t think he wants to give you a toy.” Roshi said while stroking his beard. “I guess that what he wants to sell you is something bigger than that.”
“What do you mean… Oh.” Bo suddenly changed from confused to shocked as he started to understand. “This… Are you willing to give me monopoly of this weapon?” He asked while leaning forward so he could look my father in the eyes.
“Yes. For as long as my daughter is treated well here, you have my word that I won’t sell these weapons to anyone else.” Father said with a fierce look in his eyes. “This might not be enough against Spiritualists, but against a normal opponent, this is almost unbeatable.” Father said with a nod.
“I see...” Bo said while looking at the toy once again. “When can you deliver the first units?”
“I have already began working on some of the pieces. I should be able to have a dozen complete before next week.” Father said with a nod. Bo stared at him for a moment and extended his hand.
The two shook their hands as the negotiations were complete. Afterwards, the banquet was pretty much uneventful, and by the time we finished, father left to go to work on the smithy. Since Ping said that we could begin immediately, I was left at Tian’s home to start my training on being an aide.