X783 (September 25)

As I ran through the roofs of the streets, I couldn't help but smile; today, I had obtained a good amount of money after selling a last batch of swords to the rune knights making my bank account grow even more.

What do you say? How can a bank exist in a slightly medieval fantasy world full of magic, creatures that only existed in myths and the like?

Well, I hadn't the faintest idea, and to be honest, I had long ago given up trying to apply common sense to everything in this world, and yet there were times when I thought things here were too convenient for human life.

It was like someone was striving to make everything medieval-looking but adding things that would make the lifestyle here relatively similar to modern society.

But that hadn't hurt me, so at least in my books, it was a good thing until now.

Jumping from the roof of a five-story building, I pointed my palms down, and many small swords appeared on each of them.

Then, as if I were a comic book character wearing red and gold armor, small propelling impulses were emitted from my palms, slowing my fall until I landed without a problem.

The moment my feet hit the ground, the mini-swords in my palms disappeared, and I entered the shop in front of me.

"Mom, I'm back". I greeted loudly, and a second later, a voice sounded from the back room.

"Welcome home; how did it go with Michael?" She said, coming out to greet me with a hug.

"Pretty good; he said he'll come for the farewell party in one hour"

"I see; then go take a bath and change your clothes quickly; you can't show up to your farewell party smelling like that". She said as she took my arm and led me towards the stairs.

"Fine, ok, don't worry, I have the appropriate clothes for the occasion". I told her as we walked up the stairs we had built in the back room a couple of years ago.

A little less than a minute later, my clothes were in a basket while the water from the shower fell directly on me.

After all these years where I had depended on my divine protection, I had developed a natural affinity for water; being in contact with the liquid was somewhat comforting and helped me think more calmly.

The problem was that I began to take too long in the shower, and a couple of times, my mother had to knock on the bathroom door to snap me out of my trance and get out.

That didn't happen very often, but the 2 "altercations" I had were enough to motivate me to buy an alarm clock and put it next to the shower.

The alarm would sound when my shower extended to 30 minutes; that way, I would know that I was too delayed and it was time to get out.

Luckily, this time I was too excited for my mind to wander and spend more time in the shower; after all, today would finally be the day I would go out to start my trip!

At first, I was planning to go out the same day I turned 18, but then I thought better of it and decided to postpone it for a little more; after all, I didn't want my mother to celebrate her birthday alone.

Now that three weeks had passed since her birthday I decided it was time to leave, but before doing, my mom wanted to organize a small meeting to say goodbye.

It would be just my uncle, his assistant, and my teacher in the art of throwing daggers, Bobby, and Lucy.

It was a real shame when the mansion workers like Mrs. Supetto, old Belo, Libon, and Eido told me that they couldn't come, so I took some time from the last time I went to the mansion to say goodbye to all of them.

And it was more embarrassing when Lucy made me go into her mother's room to say goodbye to her too.

I really didn't know what to say to a person in a coma, I remembered from my previous life some cases where the person could hear the voices of those who spoke to them.

But considering that in this case were fantasy things, like life force depletion, holy swords created by abilities that defied logic, and some strange metaphysical energy that kept the person alive, I doubted this was anything like any case my previous world might have seen.

But still, I couldn't say no to Lucy and ended up alone in the room with Miss Layla for a few minutes.

######

"Um, this is a bit awkward". I said, looking at Miss Layla lying on her bed before taking a chair and sitting next to her.

"Good morning Miss Layla, I don't know if you're listening to me, but if you are, I'd like to apologize for not coming to visit you in a while". I started while I averted my eyes a little.

"I... I know you asked me not to blame myself for what happened, and I promise I haven't, but it was a bit hard for me to see you when I couldn't give good news about my training, I've improved, and I've gotten stronger, much more than I thought I could be a few years ago, but not on the things that could really improve your condition"

"It was a bit frustrating, you know?" I explained before letting out a short laugh that contained no amusement.

"For a while, I was really stressed because I thought I won't meet any of my goals, and I acted recklessly; it was lucky that my uncle and Lucy were the only ones who saw me at that time; my mother would probably have had a fit although I'm sure Lucy told you what happened"

"In a couple of days I will finally go on a trip, but don't worry, the deposit they made in the back garden is completely full of swords to maintain your condition, I left at least 2600 swords, so there will be no problems, although Lucy must have told you that too, right? But do you want to hear something that definitely no one else knows?" I lowered my voice until I was sure that no one more than a meter away would hear my words.

"The place I'm going to could give me a clue of the right path I have to take in my training to wake you up"

"I'm not going to lie, it's a bit dangerous place, well, maybe more than just a bit dangerous." I corrected myself, knowing that if she were awake, she would have narrowed her eyes as she stared at me until I told the truth.

"But like I said before, I've also gotten really, really strong, though it took more than just doing squats, sit-ups, push-ups, and running 10 Kilometer every day". I told her, letting out a small laugh that this time it was sincere.

"And if all else fails, I've one last trick up my sleeve, though if I use it, I'll probably end up as a rag doll later"

"So don't worry, and if you remember this conversation in the future, please don't scold me too much; remember that I'm not a child anymore, though most of the time it's kind of hard to stop acting like one"

After saying that, the room was silent for a few seconds, where I just looked at her sleeping face, and for a brief moment, for less than the millionth fraction of a second, my right hand had the impulse to place itself on her cheek.

But like every other illogical urge that anyone has ever had, like the fleeting thought of jumping from a clearly deadly height or running into a speeding car, the urge was gone.

I got up and left the chair where I had been before walking towards the door, my hand took the knob, but before leaving, I looked at the unconscious woman one last time. "See you miss Layla; I will do everything possible so that the next time we see each other, I have good things to tell you"

######

Stopping thinking about the last few days, I walked around my room in my underwear while looking at the clothes on my bed.

Garment by garment, I began to dress, black shoes, semi-formal black pants adjusted by a black strap with a silver-gold buckle, a simple white shirt, and a sleeveless formal black vest with a fabric strap in the back to adjust it.

This was the suit that Capricorn, Lucy, and Miss Layla had given me so many years ago.

After wearing it on Lucy's birthday, I talked to my mother, and she introduced me to a friend in charge of enchanting clothes.

So I asked him to enchant this outfit so that it would stand the test of time, have some minor magical defenses, and change the size.

I had only worn this suit a few times, but somehow I felt it would be right this time.

Looking in the mirror to check that everything was alright, I nodded at my reflection when the sound of knocking at the entrance to my room caught my attention; turning, I saw my mother knocking on the door as she peeked out.

Letting a Cheshire grin spread across my face, I put on an alarmed expression and pointed at the mirror. "Mother! Quick, call the rune knights; there is a handsome guy in the house"

Seeing my act, my mom smiled for a second before playing along, her eyes widening in false surprise and her right hand covering her mouth. "Oh no, what are we going to do now Jean? We must run away immediately"

"Oh, wait a second, never mind, it's only me". I said with false relief and then laughed along with mom.

"Are you still making that joke? The last time I heard it was about three years ago". A voice said between amused and skeptical as the owner came out from behind my mother.

"Hey, Lucy, when did you get here?" I asked the girl as she waved her hand at me.

"A few minutes ago, Claire went upstairs to let you know I was here, then I heard you scream, and I went upstairs too"

"You should not enter a boy's room without warning, Lucy; what if something like when we went to the beach happens? When y-". My words were interrupted when a hand covered my mouth to prevent me from finishing speaking.

"S-shut up; you promised that you would never mention that to anyone or even talk about it when we were around someone". The blonde said in a low voice to prevent my mother from hearing her.

And since her hand still prevented me from speaking, I responded by nodding as my index finger and thumb came together while I raised the other three fingers.

She sighed with relief and finally released me, until my mother intervened. "What happened on the beach?" She asked innocently.

Lucy didn't waste a single moment, and her entire face turned red as she began to stutter. "N-no, y-you see, what w-happened was... uh... we were… and then Jean". She said in a panic until I put my hand on her shoulder, making her stop, and I spoke in the most amused casual tone I could.

"I had the idea to fish using swords, and Lucy stopped me because I was scaring people there while I kept throwing swords into the water". I explained as my free hand rubbed the back of my head.

"Y-yes, that was what happened! You already know that Jean always exaggerates when he gets serious, he kept creating swords to throw into the water on the pier, and people started freaking out". She was quick to back up what I said, which wasn't technically a lie since that also happened that day, although it wasn't the reason Lucy was so embarrassed.

"After that, we got into a fight with some kind of giant squid, and after defeating it, I gave it away to one of the restaurants in exchange for letting us eat for free"

"Oh, so that's where the huge squid tentacle came from when you came back.". My mother said as her fist landed in her palm. "It was quite tasty, especially in the soups"

"I know, right?" I replied as I remembered how delicious the foods prepared with the animal's tentacles were; next to me, I heard Lucy mutter about never wanting to meet anything with tentacles again.

Apparently, this world fulfilled the cliché of tentacles and girls; that was one more thing to check off my list.

"Well, then we go downstairs? Bobby and Michael should be here soon". I told both of them as I left my room, and as we walked back downstairs, I could see a bracelet on Lucy's right wrist; it was made of golden chains, and from one of them hung a small sword of the same color.

"You haven't taken it off since I gave it to you, huh?" I asked, getting the blonde's attention.

"Well, although I'm not the type of person to wear jewelry, it's pretty simple, so I don't see a problem with it"

"I see, and how are you doing with your whip training?"

"Better, I found a book with some interesting moves"

"Oh? Interesting moves, huh?" I asked, preparing to tease her a bit. "I didn't expect you to be that kind of girl". I said while I laughed.

"H-hey, that's not what I meant, and why does the conversation always go in that direction with you?" She said with a bit of blush.

"It's because you always give good reactions". I replied without a hint of embarrassment. "But if I'm being honest, Capricorn told me a bit about your advances; I'm not an expert on whips, but as far as I understand, they offer more versatility than raw power, and I particularly prefer versatility if I have to choose between the two"

"Yeah, I heard that too, but it only applies when you're a master using it, and I'm still far from that."

"Well, that's one more reason to motivate you to train, isn't it?"

"If you say it"

######

"So the day has finally come, huh?" Time had passed really fast; it seemed to him that it was yesterday when Captain Michael asked him to help his nephew with the throwing of knives.

That surprised him a bit; the training the boy had been having with the captain was well known to everyone on the station, but going from that to giving a boy real weapons?

At first, he didn't know what to think, but the captain asked him to see one of the training sessions he had with the boy in secret.

And it was… quite impressive, to say the least, a child who was not even half his age moved as well as an excellently trained cadet of the rune knight force.

If the opponent were an average rune knight and not his captain, who had graduated as the best of his generation in almost every aspect, Bobby was sure the match would end in victory for the boy.

He had been considered a promising talent when he was still training, too; that's why he could notice it.

The boy's abilities did not come from any remarkable talent; that kid was not a combat genius; everything was clearly the fruit of constant practice.

In silence, he wondered how much the boy had practiced daily to reach that level.

Knowing this, the only question on his mind was. "Why? What would force a child to become so strong?" They had crossed paths a couple of times before when he came for his daily training, and he always saw him excited or happy, so he doubted anyone was forcing him.

When the hand-to-hand training ended, they both approached the benches for a moment to drink water and exchange a few words.

He assumed that the captain was giving him some advice to improve, but then, a light shined on each child's hand, and a pair of swords appeared.

Bobby's eyes widened, the story of the boy who defeated the serial killer was known to all station members; after all, the squad members that had found the boy and the madman were very accurate in their description of Jack and Jean's injuries.

And in addition to that, the captain himself was the one who collected the statement from his nephew and the murderer, but nowhere was it mentioned that the boy had magic.

Moreover, the report emphasized that the boy only used his physical abilities because he couldn't use magic, all supported by the medical report that declared the total lack of ethernano in the child's body.

But none of that could refute what he saw in front of him; the boy had used magic, probably re-equip; after that, they both walked to the center of the arena, and the boy handed over one of the swords to Michael before they both took fight positions.

What came next was… a little less impressive than he expected, the boy was good, more than a kid his age would have a right to be.

Still, if he compared Jean's swordplay to his hand-to-hand combat, Bobby could say that the boy's body had been formed with the idea of fighting with his fists and not with a sword; and most likely what he was doing now was training to correct that.

When it was finally over, and the boy was gone, he came out of hiding to talk to his captain.

"Then? What do you think?" The man asked, looking at him with a smile.

"The boy is strong, too strong for someone his age". He answered.

"Yes, but even if so, he is still determined to advance further". Michael responded with a slightly proud tone.

"Why did you ask me to come to see this?" Bobby went to the question directly since; although it had been an interesting sight, he did not understand how this could influence his decision to teach the boy.

After all, he was sure that if he continued as until now, in a few years, Jean might be able to do just fine with his hand-to-hand combat and swordplay alone.

"Did you see what he could do? The thing with the swords". He asked directly.

"Yes, although it's quite rare, I'm sure the report said that he wasn't able to use any magic, is it that he had a late awakening with re-equip magic?" When he finished his question, he saw a soft smile on his captain's face.

"That would be what would be believed, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"That child has no magic, Bobby; I'm completely sure; there is not a single particle of ethernano inside his body"

"WHAT?!" His eyes widened at the statement; that was not possible; something like what the boy had done only could be possible with the intervention of magic.

"Yes, I also had a similar reaction the first time." He said while letting out a light laugh. "But I'm pretty sure about that, I even borrowed an ethernano gauge and used it on him, the reading showed a resounding 0; that boy has no magic at all"

"B-but if that's the case, how can he summon swords?" He asked, still shocked.

"That's the thing, Bobby; Jean doesn't summon his swords or store them in a separate space like re-equip magic; he creates the swords"

"That's even worse, something like item creation isn't common even with magic, and now you are telling me that your nephew can create swords without using magic?!"

"That is the case, yes"

"Then we must immediately report it to the magic council; an ability like that is almost miraculous; it could greatly benefit the kingdom"

"That's where I'm going to stop you, Jean has no interest in serving the kingdom, the rune-guard, or the council, and if he is forced to do it, it could be bad in the long run; can you imagine the implications of someone with that skill resent the kingdom? Someone who is constantly improving and will probably further hone his skill in the future?"

Bobby felt a chill as the idea crossed his mind, but he quickly suppressed it and replied. "B-but then what do you plan to do with the boy?"

Michael rubbed the back of his neck and spoke. "I also had the same thoughts as you, but he is still a child, I asked him a few days ago, and do you know what he said? That right now he is not attracted to something like money or fame, and that he would probably get bored quickly after making swords for a while, but that he would think about it and not rule out the option of doing it in the future"

Bobby was impressed and a little skeptical. "And you believed him?"

"Of course I did; if I've realized anything in the time I've known Jean, it's that a boy is a person who keeps his word"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Do you know why he is training so much?"

"Excuse me?"

"I ask you if you can think of any excuse for a child trying so hard to get stronger?"

"I do not know". Bobby answered honestly.

"The day he walked into the station talking about Jack, he was extremely worried about his mother, but he still chose to come here first to tell us about the injured old man, and after talking to his mother I confirmed it, the boy is empathic, but not only that". Added the man with a thoughtful look.

"Jean is also analytical; any other child with enough courage could have run to look for his mother without coming to tell us before, endangering his own life, that of the old man, his mother, and the population in general, when I spoke with he told me that he told us first because maybe we would go out and if so, someone could find his mother if he couldn't"

Michael paused for a couple of seconds to catch his breath before finishing speaking. "Not only did he ensure that the confirmed victim received help, but he maximized the chances of someone finding her mother while minimizing the chances of the killer escaping"

Bobby's eyebrow shot up as his mind produced a guess. "So he trains because he wants to be strong to protect his mother and other loved ones?"

"Surprisingly not, he loves his loved ones, probably more than his own life, but he is still a dreamer; the goal he set for himself the day after the incident with Jack was to travel as many places as he could while he lives adventures"

Bobby was genuinely surprised. "Is that his dream?" He asked in disbelief. "It's a bit…" He said, trying to think of a suitable term.

"Childish?" Completed the captain. "You're right, it's a childish dream if I've ever heard one, and that was exactly the reason why I suggested training him, I thought that after seeing the difficulty of the training and everything he had to improve, he would abandon that dream"

"But he didn't, did he?" Bobby said while he understood where his captain wanted to go.

"No, every day I trained him a little harder, pushing his limits more, watching him overcome every barrier as he smiled and said that something like that was nothing; it even seemed insane at one point, so I confronted him, and the answer he gave me earned him my full support". Michael stopped for a second while showing a completely proud expression.

"He said that despite being selfish enough not to give up on his dream no matter what, he also wanted to give his mother some peace of mind and that the only way to do that was to become strong, to the point where his mother thought he wouldn't lose to anyone"

"That… is a very ambitious goal". Bobby said, after all, it implied that Jean wanted to become the strongest man in the world.

"Yeah, but somehow I feel like if it's that stubborn brat saying it, maybe he could pull it off"

Bobby really didn't know what to say; in his eyes, the boy was strong, he could defend himself quite well in hand-to-hand fights and with swords if he continued training, and if Jean also mastered knife throwing covering medium and long distances? How far could he go?

"That's why I want you to help him". Said the captain, pulling him out of his thoughts as he leaned 90 degrees. "This isn't an order; I am not asking this of you as your captain; this is a favor I ask of you as that boy's uncle; I will not force you to do anything, but you are the best at throwing knives, and I trust in your judgment"

Bobby paused as he considered his options, and finally, after several seconds, he sighed and answered the request. "Okay, you don't have to worry, Captain Michael; I'll take care of instructing his nephew as best I can". After all, it wouldn't hurt to help the kid, would it? He was already being trained, and maybe in that way, he could convince him to stay to work on the rune guard or for the magic council.

#######

"Yeah, I definitely underestimated the little rascal's stubbornness". Bobby said quietly as he laughed a little; he was out of the Faure house with his captain to attend Jean's farewell party.

"Hmm? Did you say something, Bobby?" The captain asked.

"Nothing important, I was just wondering what the lady you chat with in letters wrote to you this week". Bobby decided to tease Michael a little.

"W-what, you, I told you not to talk about it in public and to stop checking my mail". Michael blushed and tried to divert the subject.

"That's not possible; one of my duties is to review the letters that arrive at the station". Bobby replied stoically.

"I swear you bribed the postman to deliver those letters to the station instead of my house". Michael growled.

"I have no idea what you are talking about". Bobby said as he looked away and knocked on the door of Jean's house.

######

"Do you have the food I prepared for you? Are you sure you have enough jewels? Don't you think you should have another change of clothes? And do you have your toothbrush and the spare?" Claire's questions flew like bullets from a machine gun toward an overwhelmed Jean; it was clear that the woman was worried about her son, and her way of expressing it was by checking that her firstborn had everything he could need.

"I have everything I need here, don't worry, mom". Jean spoke calmly as he pointed to the small swords that hung from a chain around his neck. "We already checked everything at least a couple of times a day for a week now". He finished saying as he gave his mother a few seconds to calm down while he looked at someone else.

"Thank you for everything you taught me and did for me, Bobby, I really appreciate it". He said as he held out his hand to the one who was his teacher in the domain of knives.

Bobby smiled and held out his hand to Jean. "Don't worry about it; I got to enjoy the training sessions, remember not to overdo it too much, and don't do anything too risky"

"I'll try". The chestnut answered without promising anything before looking at his other mentor.

"Uncle Mike, everything I know how to do today is thanks to you; I don't know how to thank you for training me all these years"

Michael interrupted his nephew by putting his arm around his neck and laughing. "Don't talk nonsense Jean; we're family, and that's what we do, support each other, but if you want to pay me, when you come back, take Bobby and me out for a drink and tell us all about what you went through outside, okay?"

Jean responded with a happy tone. "Take it for granted." And then his uncle let him go.

"So you're really leaving, huh?" Lucy asked as she looked at Jean with a slightly sad smile.

"Hey, come on, don't get sentimental; it's not like I'll be gone forever, I'm going to come back; besides, you're going to go on your trip too; you want to join a wizards guild and write about your adventures, right? Just focus on improving your draft a little more, and you will have something interesting; besides, who knows? Maybe when we meet again, we can exchange some stories that might give you some good ideas to add; that doesn't sound bad, don't you think?"

"Yes, I guess so". She answered before walking over and giving Jean a big hug which he returned. "Take care"

"Noted, and you take good care of Amy and Lili". He responded jokingly, earning a start from the blonde; she broke away from the hug and took a step back with red cheeks and an embarrassed look.

"You are a perverted idiot". She told him with a small smile.

"I know, but at least that made you smile, right?" Jean replied with a sincere smile. "See you, Lucy". He finished saying goodbye to then see his mother.

"You're not going to try to convince me to stay, are you?" The boy asked with a nervous smile as he looked into his mother's glassy eyes.

"No, I know how long you've waited for this, so even if I wanted to, I won't do it"

"Thanks, Mom". He said before giving the woman a big hug which she reciprocated, putting all her love into the action.

"I will miss you"

"Me too"

"You know you should write at least two times a month, right?"

"Yes, the letters will arrive without fail"

"And Jean"

"Yes?"

"I love you, son; please take care of yourself"

"I love you too, mom, and don't worry, no matter what happens or who comes, I'm never going to lose"

"I know you won't do it". Claire said before she let go of her son and for him to turn around to start walking away as she waved her hand goodbye.

---

Jean has been unleashed on the world; what will be his destiny?

Well, that would be a spoiler, so I'm not going to tell you, but I can tell you that he's not going to Magnolia.

Did anyone understand Jean's prank on Lucy? I hope so.

Remember that if you want to read what follows right now, you can go to my P-a-t-r-e-o-n (Rosasola); there are more chapters there, as well as some extra benefits, Ciao.