I found Naty laying on the ground nearby. 

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Doesn’t seem that she was hurt. Good.

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I didn’t quite know what to do, so I just put her in my old bed and continued reading the notes as if nothing happened.

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“Mix!”

Ah, Father!

He probably saw blood outside and started panicking.

“Everything is okay, I’m here!”

It’s better to yell as soon as possible so that Father doesn’t worry.

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“Were you hurt? Where is Naty?”

“She is sleeping in my bed. I was hurt a bit, but it’s just small scratches.”

My wounds were mostly healed by Naty.

“Tell me what happened.”

And tell him I did.

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“...I see… I’m sorry, it’s my fault.”

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Father isn’t supposed to bow his head to his son…

“Why? You shouldn’t blame yourself baselessly... You can’t protect me all the time…”

And I can take care of myself.

I’m not a child.

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“...No. It is my fault. I knew that repellent was going to wear out soon… I just thought it wouldn’t yet.”

“Repellent?”

“Yes. My acquaintance made it for me. He said that it should last for 10 to 12 years… And it’s been 10, so I assumed it would be fine.”

That explains why monsters rarely bothered us.

“Now… About how you killed that B-ranked Blood Wolf.”

About that… 

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Good thing I have that hood on.

“Yeah, this hood does miracles. Although I’m pretty sure I could kill it without that trick. It’s just that my sword couldn’t cut through its skin.”

“... That means you’re just not strong enough yet.”

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What? Shouldn’t you be praising me?!

“You can’t yet fight such strong opponents. You simply have an undeveloped body. You are still 10 after all.”

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Soon to be 11…

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But he’s right.

I might be stronger than some, but my body is still developing. Eventually, I will be strong enough…

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But I don’t have that much time… 

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Good thing I have my “hood”.

“And… You might think you have something that can make you win almost any fight…”

“Well… Isn’t that so?”

“Wrong. That might work against monsters, but humans are different… Tell me, what do you know about Killing Intent?”

Hmm… I definitely heard about it… But I know only that it can cause fear.

“Basically nothing.”

“Then listen. Killing Intent is, in a way, similar to Aura. Some even say that by… training it to its maximum, you can awaken Aura. But that is a lie. The only use that Killing Intent has, is to cause your opponent to fear you. If your Intent is strong, you can even kill a person. I-”

“But how is this connected to my-”

“Mix. I know I haven’t taught you much etiquette. I always thought you were a smart child that wouldn’t need to spend hours learning it. But here is one lesson for you. Interrupting when someone is talking is very rude.”

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You just did the same though?

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He is too serious… He is like this only when we are training…

Does he consider this to be training?

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Training is similar to learning… I guess…

“I’m sorry, Father.”

“Then, I’ll continue. As I was saying, you can control your Killing Intent with… some training. But you can’t hide it completely. Although there are rumours that a few Titled actually can do it. Everyone emits some Killing Intent when attacks, even if you don’t actually possess it… Some can start tracing this intent from inanimate objects to find avoid traps and such, though it’s very vague and I can do it only slightly… It may sound strange now, but you’ll understand how to use and feel it when you’ll gain your own.”

I see… I’m not sure if Loki’s Gift can hide it. And I won’t try to test it. I might have a bit of an advantage in a fight as I will be almost undetectable under Loki’s Veil and Gift, but… Leon’s training… He does it with a blindfold on… while evading traps in the ruins… And I only refer to it as  “training” because he once called it like that… Honestly, everything Leon is doing right now almost perfectly falls into the category of “Training Arc” in a story… If only he wasn’t already strong as hell.

“Do you understand now why thinking you are invincible will be dangerous?”

“Completely.”

Though I am a bit disappointed.

“Good.”

“But… How do you obtain it?”

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“That…”

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That…? That what?

“...By killing…”

“Huh? But didn’t I kill that Blood Wolf? His corpse is still outside?”

And I also killed about 20 more monsters in the Arena.

“...No… You need… to kill a person…”

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…Ah… That makes sense.

“…Maybe even a few to awaken it… The more you kill… The stronger it becomes…”

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Yeah… I knew the day when I will need to kill a person would come…

“But you are still too young… Mix, not all people are good, I think you know that. And there will be some who will want to kill you… or your loved ones.”

For a moment he looked at Naty who is sleeping peacefully on the bed.

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But I know that already… It’s just that-

“When such times come you’ll need to be prepared. But for now, you don’t have to worry about it. It’s too early.”

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Father’s right. 

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The day will come.

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But that day is not today.

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“Thank you, Father.”

*Grrrrr*

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That was not another monster, but my belly.

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Kinda ruined the moment.

“I’ll make us a meal.”

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Soon, Naty woke up. She hugged me and started asking me if I am uninjured. Because of her, I wasn’t. While we had a neatly cooked steak, I read the last page of Mother’s training. I was about to ask Father a few questions about it when I noticed something. Underneath all the papers lies a necklace… A beautiful string with a beautiful yellow gem, it also has some engravings on the back and its sides… Runes… I know how to read them, though only a bit, it can be useful inside a ruin…  I have no idea from the string is made, but I think the gem in the middle is a topaz… And I feel a bit of magic coming from it… Then it is an artefact. Wonder what does it d-

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Wait for a second… 

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..

No way. 

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I quickly checked the bottom of it, and read what is engraved there.

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A rune that means…

“Prayer”

Sh*t.

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If only this was a simple word... No. This is a family name. Prayer family is the family that has the entire Church of Light in its palm! Every archbishop is a descendant of theirs!

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This artefact is an heirloom of the aforementioned family. It does nothing but multiply your divinity. Divinity is something similar to mana or aura, but to gain it, you need to have Light affinity and go through a ritual that is somewhat similar to baptism. So it is useless to someone who has none, as zero multiplied by any number, is still zero. Although, there is a rumour that says if you wear it, you become closer to God and can start hearing angels whispering you some advice. But that was never confirmed.

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And the most important fact about this artefact, and also the reason I know so much about it… Is that… This is the third heirloom that Susen stole on her mission.

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Haven’t she and Father were supposed to return it to the Church?

The only reason I researched about it was out of curiosity. I also know about the other two a lot, and as a matter of fact, I know about a lot of artefacts.

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And what am I going to do with this anyway?! Returning it is obviously late! Selling it might cause some problems! And I have no actual use for it! If it was somebody else who returned it, it might be okay, but… They will definitely do a background check on that person, and we don’t need that… It’s also a waste to just give it away…

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I should probably ask Father.

“Father… What’s this?”

I said that as I showed him the necklace.

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“...”

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Why are you silent?

“I forgot about it.”

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You forgot about it!?

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That means you know what it is!

You want to say you forgot to return it!?

How can you forget something like that?!

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“*Sigh* Father, you know how much trouble you got us into?”

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“I just have to return it.”

As he said that, he tried to take this amulet from me, but I didn’t let him.

“It’s too late for that! You know what will happen if we try and return it!?”

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Father isn’t dumb, so he’s not trying to take it anymore.

“...What am I even supposed to do with this now?”

I can sell it on the Black Market. But the Church is much more powerful than it is. They will eventually get every bit of information they can on me, and that might not be much, but still can give them some leads… Church of Light is known for its merciless attitude toward enemies… They won’t leave me alone…

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I see that Naty doesn’t understand a thing from what is going on at the moment…

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Hmm, come to think of it…

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What date is it?

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Should be the 10th of March right?

“Naty.”

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“...Me? Y-Yeah, what’s up?”

“Here, you have it.”

Without giving her a choice, I put it on her.

“W-What?! Isn’t it something important?!”

“It kind of is… But you don’t have to worry about it.”

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“I can’t take it… Didn’t this belong to your Mother?”

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Well…

“...You could say that.”

“Then I definitely can’t take it!”

She started taking it off, but I stopped her.

“Naty, isn’t your birthday soon?”

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She looked at me, and her expression started slowly changing. 

.

I think she gets it

“...W-What do you mean by this?”

“You know it. Consider this as an untimely gift. Besides, it looks good on you! Even fits the colour of your hair!”

Give her some compliment, and she will never say no.

“... I guess I don’t have a choice… But… What is it anyway? Is it an artefact?” 

“If it was useful, I would not give it to you. So don’t worry and wear it.”

*Thump*

I got hit… Again… What for?

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It hurts more than usual.

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Wait! Naty didn’t move an inch!

“Be mindful of what you say to women.”

What does that suppose to mean! Father! Are you betraying me!?

“Naty, consider it to be a gift from me as well. But… Try not to wear it in the Church of Light. Okay?”

“O-Okay”

“Good.”

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Why does Naty get a pet on the head, but I get a hit on the head!?

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I don’t even know why I got hit…

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Life is unfair…

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After that, we returned home. A few days have passed and I booked a table in a restaurant, after all, her birthday is near, and what kind of birthday it would be without a tasty meal? Though I didn’t warn Naty, I wanted it to be a surprise. Meanwhile, I continued training steadily, even made some progress on Father’s style… Not a lot, but… My magic improved a lot in recent months. You could say I mastered the third circle entirely. I probably could cast a four circled spell a long time ago, but I don’t have enough mana for that… I need to do something about that, and quick… It’s a shame that all prices for strong healers are so high, and my situation is even worse… I don’t want to catch anyone’s attention, so I need to be anonymous in the process. The only way to do that, at least the only one I came up with, is to use the All-Seeing Eye. Although they sell only information, for VIP customers, they can do some services. Finding and bringing a person there should pose no problem… It’s not like I’m asking them to kidnap someone… I’m sure some corrupted priests will work illegally, right? I even have a few dozen of platinum coins, they are equal to ten golden ones, and are mostly used by merchants or nobles… Waiting is too bothersome, so I’ll just try and find out the price, if I don’t have enough, I’ll take a loan. It can’t go wrong as contracts won’t work on me…

.

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16th of March.

Today is Naty’s birthday.

I know when she comes to her room in the dorms, so I warned Father to wait for us in the restaurant itself.

Though it doesn’t really matter, I took my good-looking suit, put a hood on, which is not very fitting, and went to surprise Naty.

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Recently I started using my Sixth Sense in situations where I wouldn’t use it before. Just as a way to train my concentration a bit further. 

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And now…

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I can see two people other than Naty in her room.

It’s Mary and Natan.

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It seems that I wasn’t the only one to surprise Naty huh?

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They are congratulating her and after, they gave her a present.

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Immediately after hugging them, Naty asked about everything: their journey, well-being, what’s new… and about Lance.

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I know it’s bad to eavesdrop, but I didn’t want to interrupt.

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So they started…

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I hope it won’t take too long.

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Surprise, surprise.

-Lance PoV-

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Some time ago I was brought to the capital to become a Hero. More specifically to enrol into Hero’s Academy. Here they would teach us everything a Hero should know, and how should he act. On my way here I asked Robert many questions, as the road was long, he answered every one of them. On the day of enrolment, the king himself came to congratulate us, he said that although only one of us will become a true Hero, all 35 of us would have a bright future ahead of us… Which is strange… As Robert said that there would be 36 of us… Did he lie? I think not, probably he just got it wrong. There were many people near the king, some young, some old. There was even a kid younger than me there. Nobody there was introduced, so I have no idea if she is a princess or somebody else, and it doesn’t really matter, but… I felt that she is important, so I just couldn’t take my eyes off of her. She was really beautiful, I was certain even at this distance… After the king was done talking, we were led to our new rooms. The one who led me was once again Robert, so I asked him a few more questions. It seems that all heroes have their own section in the castle. We get not only a room to sleep in, but a personal bathroom and a training room too. Also, we could choose anything to eat. I didn’t quite understand what he meant by that, so I asked him to explain. And without a pause, he said that a chef would make any dish I’ll ask him, and servants would bring it to my room… It seems that we are truly treated like future Heroes… I was scared a little, that commoners would not get much attention… When I entered the room, I was surprised by its size. It is probably as big as the whole house I lived in. There is a lot of furniture too: drawers, tables, chairs and a big bed. There is also a door there. It leads to the bathroom. As I was looking around Robert suddenly screamed to call for a servant. I was shaken, but he soon looked at me and said in a calm voice that he will return after I had a meal. Without explaining further, he left. And the servant came running with a notebook, he then asked me what I would like to eat. He was a young teen, at best in his twenty’s. I could see how nervous he was, so I told him to relax. But he didn’t. I didn’t know what to say and just asked his name. His name is Maxwell Roling. I don’t like his way of talking. It was too formal. Though we both are young, he is clearly older, so it bothered me. I even asked him to drop that, but he simply asked me what I want for dinner again. I had nothing in mind and was in no mood to think hard, so I said anything will do.

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They brought a lot of dishes… Too many in fact… I couldn’t eat it all even if I tried. But Maxwell assured me that I don’t have to eat everything and just choose what I want.

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It was very tasty. I think even mom’s cooking wouldn’t taste this good… But… Among the thing I ate… Was a piece of cake… And… Darling’s father made a cake much better than this, unbelievable.

.

After I finished, Robert took me to a doctor for a full body checkup. They even tested my mana, and it seems that I am quite lucky, as I have an A-ranked capacity. I know little about magic, but I do know how rare it is. Darling always complained that he doesn’t have a big amount of mana… If he could cast spells with little mana, can I become better than him in magic…? Well… I don’t really want to learn magic… Reading is bo~oring…

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I wonder how is he doing…

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After my enrollment began the worst days of my life.

I did nothing but train, eat and sleep. Although it is called Hero’s Academy, the only times when I see my “classmates” is while sparring once a week. On the other days, I trained. We all were provided with personal tutors. Robert became my Sword teacher. He said that I would need to have a sturdy body before learning Sword. But I already went through years of training, so following this was a breeze. When we started actual Sword training I could understand from the very beginning… It was better than the one taught by Gerda…

.

.

I also have Ethics lessons. My tutor is very strict and says that I will never become a hero if I won’t read books. I don’t really understand the need for those lessons, I already know about what is wrong and what is good… Well… I also am forced to learn etiquette in those lessons.

But… There was a strange question once… I went like… “What crime should a person commit, so that he can be put to death on the spot.”... I didn’t know what to say… There are many situations a Hero could be in, but… I don’t want to kill. Mother always said that I should never kill with my sword. That I must only protect. So on that day, I swore to her, and I never break my promises. So I gave my answer to the teacher. He didn’t say if I was right or wrong, he just noted something and continued the lesson.

.

.

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Days went by. It was almost a month already. I never got to speak properly with other Hero candidates. And I don’t really want to either… The look in their eyes… It’s as if they would cut each other's throats given a chance. And on the spars, they try to win as if their life depends on it. So far, I always won. I always get those spiteful gazes… And I know why. I am the only commoner in here. There are quite a few fallen nobles here, but those are still nobles. And for some reason, I never get paired with proper nobles. There is even a prince here. He too never lost. Although I can see that his opponent never even try to win. They only make a hateful face when the prince is not looking.

.

.

The only person I can call a friend here is my personal servant Maxwell. I don’t really like that title, but each time I try to make a “friendly” atmosphere, he reminds me that he is but a servant. So I used that to my advantage, I asked him to speak to me whenever I have some spare time. As he is just a servant, he couldn’t say no… It is the only entertainment I have in this place…

.

.

We do get a day off on Sunday, but we are still forced to train in the morning. And I say we only because Robert always says that every Hero candidate has it the same way.

Sunday would be my favourite day… If not for the fact that we are forbidden from leaving the “Academy”. As I don’t really want to meet other Hero candidates, I spend my time bothering Maxwell. I can see how nervous he is around me, but that tension slowly disappears with our every interaction. I found out that he is a son of a noble family, that is almost on a verge of falling. He isn’t talented in anything, so all he could do was find a job. And he considers himself lucky to be able to serve one of the Hero candidates. I ask him to tell me different stories on Sundays. About what is going on in the outside world too. It’s fun but… Too little…

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.

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I miss the old times…

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.

Today is the fifth Sunday of me being here. Maxwell was acting unusual today, I, as always, asked him to tell me a story, but he told me if I would want to change locations today. I didn’t understand why but didn’t mind either. He then took me to a garden where only servants could go. I was a bit surprised, as I couldn’t understand why he would break the rules but I also asked nothing because I could tell he wasn’t a bad guy, and wouldn’t do something like harming a future Hero… And it was so refreshing going out of that damn place…

.

.

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We were almost out of the garden, only a few apple trees could be seen nearby, if we go a bit further through a small man-made forest, that encircles the whole Academy, we will get to the city.

.

.

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Then I noticed… Two people are standing not too far from us.

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Is that…?

“Young Hero Lance, you have about 2 hours at best. This is all I can do, I already am in big danger because of this. So please don’t get caught.”

“S-Sure, thanks, Maxwell”

“I will excuse myself then.”

As he was leaving I started running toward the two people nearby.

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“Mom! Dad!”

“Lance!”

I hugged them.

.

.

.

I thought I wouldn’t get to see them soon. I even started writing a letter yesterday. 

We recently got our allowance, but I have no way of spending it, I decided to mail the two gold coins I got to them.

“How can you be here?! I thought nobody was allowed to enter the Academy!”

“Son, there is nothing money can’t get you.”

*Thump*

Mom just hit dad.

“Don’t teach him something like that!”

.

.

.

This brings back memories.

Even though it was only a few months, it felt much longer.

“Lance, dear, tell us, how is it in here?”

.

.

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I told them everything. From what I eat to how I train. I also told them how hard is it. While listening they didn’t look surprised, but had a warm smile that pitied me…

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After I was done, I asked them if Naty came too.

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Then, they told me everything concerning Naty… and Darling.

.

I was surprised to hear that his real name wasn’t Darling, but Mixen. Though what surprised me, even more, was the fact that he enrolled at Magic University. I knew that he can use some spells, but… He was on par with me on Sword skill! Will all that time spent on training go to waste?.. No… I know him. He will continue improving on both Magic and Sword.

.

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Wait…

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Didn’t he do that all this time before?

.

That means he was on par with me even though he was spending his time learning Magic!

I can’t believe it!

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So… If he continues at this rate… He will become stronger than me if he uses Magic!

I can’t let that happen! As I can’t use spells, I need to become better than him in the Sword. That way I will close the gap!

.

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“Why are you making a strange face?”

“OuchOuchOuch, don’t pinch me, Mom! It hurts!”

.

“Fine. So, as I was saying, we decided to open up a pharmacy in the capital. That way we can live here and visit you every Sunday.”

“You will come again!?”

“...Did you not listen again?”

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This is awesome! At least Sundays will be fun!

.

But…

“Mom… But how about Naty…?”

“Don’t worry about her. Although she is younger than you, she is much smarter than you. And she also has Darl, I mean Mixen with his Father there. They will take care of her.”

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That was a bit painful to hear, but I’m glad that Naty’s alright.

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I miss her…

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-Mixen’s PoV-

“We then visited him every Sunday, while running a pharmacy on other days. He kept whining about how boring it is for him. We usually talk about various things.”

Hmm… It seems that Lance has it hard…

“Doesn’t he have Exams of some sort?”

“Well… It’s not like an exam, but a simple test of strength. To get the highest mark, you need to be an Intermediate Swordsman. If not, you get stripped of the title Hero Candidate.”

Wow, that is pretty extreme.

“Will… He be alright?”

I’m sure he will, I know how hard he trains. Though he probably doesn’t improve as quickly as I do. If what they are saying is true, then he is sparring only once a week. While I do that almost every day.

“Don’t worry. He said that he is already at the Skilled level.”

“What!?” ”What!?”

Oops, I said that out loud too. 

But it’s okay, I wanted to show myself an-

“Ha!”

*Boom*

“Aunty! Do you want to kill me or what!?”

She launched an actual attack. With her leg at that. 

.

.

There is a hole in the wall…

.

If I didn’t evade that…

“Darling?”

“At least Naty is quick on uptake.”

As I said that I removed my "hood".

“Hello, Mary! Hello, Natan! It’s been a while.”

“I-I’m sorry about that… Wait, why are you here? Were you eavesdropping…? And why are you wearing a suit?”

“Well… Although I was eavesdropping, I came here for Naty.”

“For me?”

“Isn’t your birthday today?”

“I-It is… But haven’t you given me a present already?”

“O~oh, what kind of present?”

“I did, but I didn’t come to give you another one, so don’t worry.”

She had a hard time taking that one, she would definitely decline another one.

“Than why did you come?”

“I booked us a table in the restaurant.”

“No wa~y, then we will not intrude on your busyness and go to the inn.”

“Huh? Why? There is enough place for you two, and my Father is there too.”

.

.

What kind of expression is that?

Why you are looking at me as if I raped a kitten?

“Mary… You remember that Naty is turning 11 today, right?”

“What kind of question is that Natan? Of course I… Ah, right they are still so young…”

.

.

Did you think I was…

No, It doesn’t matter.

But, how can Natan so easily deal with Mary’s rage?

I need some advice for when Naty is sulking.

.

.

They are becoming more similar by the day…

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.

Let’s stop right there.

“Anyway… Naty, although you look good as it is, you need to look the best for your birthday. So I’ll wait outside the room while you’re putting your dress on.”

“How do you know we bought her a dress? The gift is still wrapped.”

“Huh? You bou-”

“I understand! Please leave already! I’m about to undress!”

*Boom*

I was literally shoved out of the room.

.

.

.

After that, we went to the restaurant. Naty was dressed in a green dress this time, it had a different design too… Still cute though.

We were a bit late, but it seems that nobody dared to even approach Father. So he was just sitting there the entire time.

We ordered a few dishes and started talking about various things.

.

.

Mary and Natan are a lot more sensitive than Naty is. They didn’t ask any risky questions. Nevertheless, I can tell that they are really curious. It was a great experience overall.

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Soon after that, we had our yearly exams at the University. I can’t say how it went for Naty, but I passed them with ease… Though I was exempt from the practical part.

Father told me that it is time for him to leave again. I was a bit sad because of that, but I knew this merry time would eventually end. He said that he would be back to my birthday, so I shouldn’t worry... I wanted to follow Father anyway, however, I remembered his recent words, and decided to become at least a Master before following him… I need to somehow awaken Killing Intent too… 

.

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It’s too early…

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I’m not ready to kill…

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After Father left I decided to finally try and hire a healer. For that, I visited the All-Seeing Eye facility.

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“Welcome.”

“Do I need to repeat the password?”

“N-No, I recognized you…”

I already did quite a few transactions, and I always come when this girl has her shift.

*Thump*

I put a heavy bag full of gold coins on the table.

“I need you to find someone.”

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.

She slowly opened the bag, looked inside and even though I can’t see her face, I can guess that she has her mouth agape.

“...You are our VIP customer, so we can do that. Can I know more detail?”

“I need to find a mage with Light affinity, who would be able to use a fifth circled healing spell for a prolonged amount of time.”

.

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“Can’t you just go to the Church?”

.

.

She’s not that smart, is she?

“*Sigh* I want to hire that person via a contract. So that they would do their job perfectly, and my identity would be kept secret. Do you think priests in the Church would randomly sing suspicious contracts?”

.

.

“I am deeply sorry for my ignorance, I hope I didn’t offend you…”

“It doesn’t matter, just find a person that is willing to sign a contract.”

“I understand. But before I take your money, I would need to report this to my superior.”

“It’s okay, I’m sure he heard everything clearly.”

“Huh?”

Her father… No, grandfather… Whoever he is to her. Is the supervisor. He is also too overprotective of hers, so I know that he always listens when she is on her shift. 

.

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I usually sit beside him on a comfy chair.

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Anyway, it’s time for me to leave.

I left the bag there and was already near the door, when.

“Wait! Sir! How can we contact you upon the completion of the task?”

Sir? She should know that even gender is supposed to be kept secret in a place like this.

“You don’t have to, Miss. I will know.”

This fool always keeps a notebook with tasks that she is supposed to do in her drawer.

I come here at least twice a week, so I can just check.

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She haven’t said a word, so I just left.

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We have our summer vacation at the University. At first, I thought that Naty would go with her parents to the capital, but she said that the road there is too long and she doesn’t want to spend half of her summer on the road. 

Mary and Natan decided to live here for a month and then leave… It seems that they want to leave after my birthday.

Although it was summer, my schedule didn’t change. But Naty started pestering me to play with her on days other than Saturday and Sunday. I said no at first, but it appears that AL is having trouble finding me an opponent. He even asked me if I want to try a B-ranked one… I don’t think I’m ready. But soon, after I finally expanded my mana. I will.

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It’s my birthday soon. Father returned with a gift. It was a sword. Not a regular one, but an artefact. He said that it has the ability to become sharper by using the mana of the wielder.

Honestly, it would be a great ability for a regular swordsman with a bunch of mana… But for me, it isn’t. I don’t have that much mana and I need it to use spells. So this isn’t a very good gift… Though I won’t say that to Father. And in the end, it doesn’t matter what kind of a gift you get, what matters is the intention behind it.

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Wait…

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Did Father leave for his things… Or to find me a gift?

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How sweet.

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Today I decided to check if the All-Seeing Eye were done with my assignment. 

And lo and behold it only took them a month to do it.

I immediately went inside.

“Welco- Eek!”

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“Is that how you greet your VIP customers?”

“I’m sorry!”

She bowed 90 degrees.

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A bit excessive.

“I assume you found the person?”

“Y-Yes!.. B-But…”

“...But?”

“T-That person… Wants to be anonymous.”

Is that why you so nervous?

“No problem, the contract is not yet written. I can include that in it.”

“Hooo, then do we bring them here now?”

“No. 3 days from today, I will come at exactly 7. Contact them till then.”

I left.

My birthday is in two days, so I’ll do that after it’s done.

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And I need to ask Master for his elixir too…

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On the next day, I had training with Master, so I invited him to my birthday and asked for an elixir as a gift. He started worrying at first, but when I said that I found a trustworthy person who can use a fifth circled healing spell, he quietly nodded.

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Today is the day!

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I’m one year older!

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Still a kid though…