At night, the moment I’d been waiting for finally arrived. I’d smoothed things over with Trent, with a big thanks to the letter from the missus. He said I still wasn’t off the hook, but when I told him Ernie wanted me shearing his sheep full time, I thought I almost saw a tear coming down Trent’s eye. His son was all grown up. As a final nail in the coffin of Trent’s anger, I gave up my dinner so the maids could eat more and recover their strength since they were still under the weather. I left out the part where I’d already eaten at Ernie’s place. It wasn’t important.

I ran to my room and shut the door. I didn’t have a lock, so anyone could burst in at any time. Therefore, I hid under my covers. That way I could pass off my actions as a gentleman’s parry.

The spellcards lit up as I stared into them.

This isn’t going to be easy. The chief clearly spent a long time trying to figure out how to use these with no luck.

First I tried the obvious like, “Hocus pocus!” and “Shazam!”

I waved my hands under the covers and said, “Water!”

Nothing.

I let go of the card, keeping it close to me. I noticed the card would no longer shine.

Could this mean I have to be physically touching the card?

Though I’d already been doing that.

I spent the next hour in frustration. I gave up.

I hid them and went outside to chat with the others to clear my head.

Trent and the maids were eating dinner. It was a helping of steamed potato, green beans and unseasoned beef. Nothing too fancy.

“Looks good!” I said, with a floating hand dancing around my belly.

Trent smiled and waved. “Ah, Alster. We were just talking about how you would hide under the bed when you were little. Care to join us?”

Matilda and Granny Eleonore chuckled.

“Sure. By the way, how was your trip?”

“Well, the chief and I stopped by Lord Fiurol’s estate in the city of Lancaster. Thanks to your little stunt, we got an earful. But other than that, it was a nice change of pace. Still…. Never mind.”

I noticed a change of expression in his face, like he’d noticed something odd.

“What? Tell me… father.”

“It’s just. I can’t put my finger on it, but the chief’s changed. It’s like he’s a whole different person now.”

“The stress is getting to him, maybe?”

He shook his head. “No, this is different. He was even trying to use a spellcard. He’d never do that. I just don’t know what’s happening to him.”

He sat down, resting his chin against the table, letting out repeated sighs until he suddenly remembered something. “By the way, you never told me how you found it.”

There it is. I practiced for this.

“See, I’d gone out of the village before and found it by the river close to the mountain. I didn’t know how to use it, so I kept until I could figure things out. But the chief caught me first.”

He seemed more surprised than angry. “And you’re telling me this, just like that? You’d usually try to cover it up until the last possible moment.”

“Well, I’m really trying to change, Father.”

“Right. You mentioned that,” He nodded, perking up at what I’d said. Trent’s mood changed. “In any case, the trip wasn’t all bad. Lancaster’s famous for its wine, and I was able to get a whole bottle of white grape!”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The maids cupped their mouths.

“But my lord,” Matilda said. “Wine is terribly expensive!”

“Yes, I agree! This is simply not a luxury we can afford right now.”

Trent waved his hands. “Now, now. Ladies. I promise I didn’t spend too much. I used the money I was going to spend on my wedding anniversary. So it was already accounted for.”

Matilda’s gaze sank. “Oh, of course. Forgive me.”

“That’s not the face I wanted to see. This is wine! Let’s enjoy ourselves for one night, okay?”

Trent started fetching four cups and joyously poured wine into each. When he was finished, he brought everyone their cups.

I almost felt bad as he extended his hand. “I can have some, too?”

“You’re my son. And I am truly relieved to witness your change in attitude. I’d almost given up hope. But you brought it back. I’m proud of you.”

Fuck.

Trent started cracking jokes and the maids laughed. I simply stared down at my cup. For a second, I felt frustrated. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go! I was supposed to get my revenge on this fool for letting people smash tomatoes in my face and sentencing me to hard labor.

So why?

Why was the fire in me dying?

Trent got a little sentimental with me and that was enough to throw away all my hard work?

Trent is… a pretty good guy. He lost his wife. And he’s worked pretty hard, too.

I shook my head.

Don’t decide anything yet. I busted a nut today, so maybe I’m still mellowed out.

I’d decide once my head was on straight what I would do with these cards.

* * *

I found out Trent was a very happy drunk. Granny Eleonore was the kind to nod her head and recline in her chair, while Matilda was a sleepy drunk. I hadn’t had much, so I was still sober. Seeing as the party was dying down, Trent looked to me to keep things going.

“Son! What would you do if you could use magic? What’d be the first thing?”

“Like a spellcard?”

“Of course! Oh, man. If we had one, I bet we could have all the wine we ever wanted. I’d buy Lancaster right off Fuoril’s hands. Yes, sir!”

Trent started shaking the hands of an imaginary person like he was sealing a deal, imagining he was confirming the transfer of ownership of lordship to himself.

I laughed. “I’d probably just like to figure out how they work. Seems impossible.”

He loopily turned to me. “Impossible! Naw! Y-you just… you just… you know. Register! And boom, magic! You can be anything you want to be! A Holy Knight! An adventurer! A noble!”

I put my hand around him. “Wow, Father! You sure know a lot about this stuff!”

He huffed out his chest and straightened his collar. “Your old man’s been around. I saw my share of spells back in the day. Let me tell you, it always takes my breath away!”

“Hah, I bet! So all you do is register? What do you mean by that?”

He scratched his head and waved his hands. “Eh…. You know. Register! Don’t know how else to explain it. Just shout to the gods they’re yours!”

In one quick bout of dance, Trent overestimated his balance and fell over. I helped him up. I entertained him for a while longer before he started getting sleepy. He brought a chair next to Matilda and started trying to cuddle with her. Matilda was surprisingly receptive to his advances. I left the two to their own devices and slipped back to my room.

Register, huh?

I held the skill card in my hand and looked into it. Once again, the picture and description flashed.

“Register! Hear me, gods! The card is mine!”

Suddenly, a cone of pale red light shot up from the card. A hologram of the card sat atop the cone, like a bigger version of the card I held. Instead of only lighting up when I looked into it now, the card glowed permanently.

It worked! Trent, you drunk genius!

I instantly felt healthier, lighter. My head was clear, like an invisible fog I didn’t know I had was suddenly lifted. I also felt a burst of strength.

I quickly registered the other one. As the other started glowing and a blue cone of light and hologram appeared, the other card began to subtly shine as well. Registering the second card seemed to have an effect on the first. The colors of the picture were much more vibrant, and I felt even stronger by just having both cards.

The General Skill Mastery card makes me improve at stuff, and the other one lets me use water, right? So why do I feel stronger with both than just the first? Using water wouldn’t have an effect on my strength…. I mean, I don’t think.

I thought the light would settle, but the cards continued to get brighter.

Hey, chill! Any more and I’ll be blind!

Finally, the lights around the two cards reached an apex and a single beam shot up from both, centering on a rectangle hologram in front of me.

Words started appearing in the middle.

[Wielder is now in possession of two unique Spellcards…]

[System requirements met…]

[Accessing system dialogue…]

[…]

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[COMPLETE]

[Processing system bootup… COMPLETE]

[Acquiring System Slot…]

[…]

[…]

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[COMPLETE]

[Processing system assignment…]

[…]

[COMPLETE]

[System registered to Alster.]

[Initiating system interface…]

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[COMPLETE]