Coming back to the table, I sit down. It looks like the mood has improved considerably.
“Seems like you guys are getting along now, can they join us, ane?”
“Sure, I don’t mind.”
“Really!? How about you two? Do you want to join?”
“I do. How about you Sherry?”
“Well…I guess we do have a lot more in common than I thought. I don’t like going for big commitments until I’m entirely sure but we can certainly work together for the foreseeable future. Do you have any quests you plan on taking?”
Rayla skwardly scratches the back of her head, “Eh…Yes and no. We have agreed to a quest to accompany a group of merchants back to Rostock but we’re not allowed to leave until the guildmaster here is done with his investigation.”
Sher Aka raises an eyebrow, “Investigation? Did you two get into trouble?”
“Eh…Well…Some asshole was badmouthing me and then got into a conversation with Thoma who completely misinterpreted the situation and consistently kept accidentally insulting the guy back. The guy then walked up to Thoma with his hand on his weapon, so Thoma sweeped his legs and pointed a dagger at his neck. So…Yeah we’re kinda under investigation for assault, haha.”
“Sigh Alright, so when is this investigation going to conclude?”
“We don’t know. We were going to go check this afternoon.”
John gives us a smile, “How about we hang out until then? Sherry and I don’t have anything planned.”
“Hmm I’d like to but Thoma insists on getting his training done everyday. So how about we meet again here for lunch? Thoma is probably done by then.”
“Probably? How much does he train?”
“I train about six hours on my off days and three hours while traveling.”
“Wow. Isn’t that a bit too much? Training is important but usually two hours per day should be more than enough to keep you combat ready.”
“I need that much training though. If I want to make sure that ane’s dreams come true I need to put in that effort. If I’m just training half haphazardly I won’t be able to learn Uli’s fighting style.”
Sher Aka asks, “Oh? What fighting style are you going for?”
“Hmm, I don’t know if the fighting style I’m learning has a name.”
“He’s learning the fighting style of the Dancing Ballista.”
“Holy shit, no way.”
“Language, John.”
“Sorry. How are you learning it? I thought the Southern Lotus split up a hundred years ago.”
Rayla explains, “The Dancing Ballista is the guildmaster of Rostock. She’s teaching him personally.”
Visibly doubtful Sher Aka interjects, “Wait a moment. The Dancing Ballista is the guildmaster of Rostock? And she is taking your brother of all people as a disciple? I’m sorry, I might have warmed up to you guys but this is too outrageous of a claim for me to believe without proof.”
“Would you like to watch me train then? You just have to promise me you won’t try to copy the ritual, it’s dangerous to do without proper training.”
“I’d be more than interested.”
“Same!”
“Alright follow me to the backyard then.”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Together, we go to the backyard and I start dancing. I’m nearing a breakthrough with my dark mana absorption, thanks to that the shadows are now partially forming into orbs and not just surrounding me on the ground.
Then when I’m done I look at them and ask, “Do you believe me now?”
“I dunno Thoma Ahad, that was some nice dancing and I have no idea how you managed to control the dark element like that but it didn’t really seem like a fighting style. What do you think, Sherry?”
Looking both in awe and immensely confused Sher Aka answers, “I have seen this ritual before we met, John. You might not even have been alive at the time. I was staying in Naturia during the Spirit King festival. The head priest was performing a dance just like this. I am convinced now Thoma Ahad, though in a way it leaves me even more confused. Why is the Dancing Ballista teaching you a Woodelf ritual? Non-Elfs aren’t even allowed to attend seeing it and it is only passed down to Woodelves. She could be excommunicated from Naturia for teaching you.”
“Really? Woah, I didn’t know that. I don’t know why she is teaching me, all she told me is that she decided it’s appropriate for me to learn it.”
“I…I don’t understand.”
“Hey oki, can you put your hands over your ears for a second? I need to tell them something, you shouldn’t hear.”
“Okay.”
—---------------------------------
“In short, the guildmaster basically treats Thoma like a son and all but said she wants to adopt him. Don’t tell Thoma though, he is too dense to pick up on it and it’s her job to tell him in a way he understands.”
“Uhuh…Fascinating.”
“Man, Thoma Ahad is surprisingly lucky.”
“I wouldn’t call it luck. He’s just a very open and lovable person and he works really hard. He also gets attached very quickly to people that show him a bit of kindness. Some people really dislike that and others like the guildmaster and I adore him for it.”
—----------------------------------
Rayla gives me a signal that I can take my hands off my ears again and so I do.
“You can feel free to watch me during my training, I don’t mind. Then afterwards, maybe you two could show us around to some places we haven’t been to yet. We’ve only been to the touristy places. You probably know a lot more cool places where the locals go to.”
John answers, “Oh, we’re not from here.”
“You’re not?”
“Nope, I’m from Skar and my sister is originally from the flower kingdom Tera Fora. It’s the Highelf kingdom in the south.”
“Where is Skar?”
“Right next to Berk? How do you not know this?”
“Oh well, I’m not sure if Thoma has ever seen a world map. Or any map for that matter.”
“ I do own a cheap world map, would you like to take a look, Thoma Ahad?” Sher Aka asks me.
“Sure!”
“We are currently here, in the top left. Skar is right next to it. My home country is wayyyy, over here in the bottom right corner.”
“Woah, that’s like on the other side of the world. How did you get here?”
Taking a deep breath, she answers, “Well…To keep it short, I went through the Dolch Empire to visit a relative of mine in Naturia. I naively thought I’d be safe as long as I stayed with a group of travelers going the same way. It turned out I might have been safer alone because they sold me out and I was captured by slavers. I was then smuggled to the north where I met John. He was just a kid back then and his human father had made him attend to me. Then, over the years, we got close and when I had the chance I escaped, killed his father and freed the rest of the slaves. We’ve been together ever since.”
“Why did you kill his father?”
“Because he was a slaver.”
“And you were okay with that, John?”
He seems a bit conflicted when I ask him but he doesn't seem sad, “Well…It was a difficult time. My father and I weren’t close, I was just an accident to him. Because Elves aren’t very fertile, elven slaves are often being-”
Rayla then holds my ears closed making me unable to hear the rest of what he’s saying but I can tell that it’s a sad story from their facial expressions. After they’re done, Rayla puts her hands off my ears again.
“Sorry about that oki but it was a very sad story that you’re not mature enough to hear.”
“It’s okay, I understand. Do you need a hug John?”
“Ah, no thank you. It doesn’t affect me that much anymore, it’s been sixty years after all.”
“Sixty years!? Man, Elves sure are something else. How old are you John?” Rayla asks.
“I’m 88 years old. Sherry is 356.”
“How long are you guys gonna live?”
“Uh…Well, I’m half Woodelf so I’ll live till about 400 to 450 years, Sherry could live up to 3500 years.”
“I thought Highelves can’t die from old age.”
Sher aka answers, “We can, though it is very unlikely we make it that far. The likelihood of dying from disease, war, famine, crime or accident increases the longer you live. Spirit Elves technically do not die from old age at all and still the oldest one that was ever recorded lived only till she reached 6327 years. She died in the war four hundred years ago when the Dragon King launched his surprise attack, destroyed an entire country and made the mountain elves almost go extinct in one night. She was a great advocate of peace and contributed a lot to charity and helping the civilians, thankfully due to her region being hit during the night she most likely died in her sleep.”
“Huh… I guess living that long comes with a lot of problems I never thought about.”
“It does, but I’m still glad I have the potential to experience a lot of good in my life, even if it means suffering on the way… My apologies, it seems we have dampened the mood a bit. How about we zip our mouths for now and just watch Thoma Ahad train? After that we can go ‘hang out’ as John suggested.”
“Sure!”
