Free Web NovelChapter 73: At Home Again
"..."
Sitting on a boulder expressionless was Ain Sacra, a girl from Mika’s village, who watched her older brother, Eric Sacra, practice some lance thrusts.
"Ha!" the shirtless Eric, who was drenched in sweat, yelled as he targeted the thick scarecrow, which he built on his own for practice usage.
The lance he used was just a roughly polished long wooden staff with no actual spearhead.
"When are you done? The sun is setting, you know?" Ain asked bored as she looked up at the color-changing sky.
"Not yet... I still need to do 100 thrusts!" he replied while he gasped for air.
Ain sighed.
Even though she was not interested in her brother’s training, she still waited for him to finish.
The two were currently in front of the eastern entrance of their village as it was the spot where Eric made his personal training grounds. There, multiple staff were scattered around the ground.
"Hm...?"
She squinted her eyes when she saw a carriage heading to them.
"Brother, someone is coming." she said with a tint of surprise in her voice.
"?"
Eric, who was immersed in his training, turned around.
Coming in their direction was a carriage more noble-looking than any other carriages they had ever seen before. It was shiny black with no dirt or scratches on it. The wheels were golden and spotless as well.
The horse-like monster wore warm black coats, which had a golden emblem on them.
"This emblem..." Eric muttered pensively.
"That’s a foreign carriage." Ain said tensely.
The carriage came to a halt and a door opened.
"..."
The two siblings looked nervously at the person, who was about to exit.
"Huh?"
They simultaneously turned baffled after the person was in full view.
"Long time no see!"
It was Mika who greeted them with a smile.
"M-Mik-"
"Mika!"
"Uff!"
Ain instantly jumped into him and hugged Mika tightly.
"S-seems like your training paid off, huh...?" Mika commented strained, feeling the enormous pressure around his waist.
"My brother trains every day. It would be embarrassing if it didn’t pay off." Ain replied playfully.
"N-no... I didn’t mean him..."
Eric sighed.
"Ain, you’re doing it again."
"Woah!"
Eric pulled his sister away from Mika.
"Yo, good to see you again." Eric greeted Mika, returning his smile.
"Brother, what was that for?!"
"So? What brings you here?" he asked, ignoring his sister’s nagging.
"I just came back from a mission and as the village was on the way, I thought that I’d come and say hello." Mika explained.
"I assume that you will leave tomorrow then?"
Mika nodded. freēwēbnovel.com
"I see. Well, this time we will say goodbye before you decide to leave without saying anything like last time." Eric teased.
"S-sorry about that..." Mika said apologetically with an awkward smile.
The last time he was here, Ophelia, Lily and Sylvia were with him. They stayed a night in the village before continuing their trip to the Great Jungle. Because they left so early in the morning, they only bid Mika’s parents farewell.
"..."
Eric looked back to the scarecrow.
"Hey, how about a little spar? Just like the good old times." he suggested with a wide excited smile.
It was then that Mika noticed Eric’s small training ground.
"Jeez, he just arrived here. Why do you have to challenge him now? Let him rest." Ain complained with a pout.
"It’s fine, Ain." Mika responded with a confident smile.
He went to the scarecrow and picked up a random wooden staff.
"Sure. Let’s do this, Eric!"
"Hm? You’re not using your sword?" he asked confused.
"Well, let’s say that I learned a lot during the time I was away."
"Heh... Let’s see how much you learned."
While the two created some distance between them and prepared themselves, the carriage driver led the horse-like monster to a nearby stall.
Mika inspected the staff.
Without its peaky spearhead, it was just a normal staff. However aside from mastering the control with spears, Mika also gained knowledge about how to fight with staffs and other similar long-shaped weapons.
"Oh, whatever. I don’t care anymore."
Ain shrugged her shoulders and sat down on the boulder again.
Unlike a few moments ago, she watched the training grounds with a sentimental smile as she hunched her upper body forward and rested her head in her hands.
But she was not the only one who smiled.
Both boys stared at each other with a cheeky smirk.
Then, the two of them leaped to the other at the same time.
Still maintaining a good distance, they launched multiple thrusts with their staff. However, they also blocked each one of them. And with each thrust, the material of their staffs chipped away.
"Amazing..." Ain muttered impressed.
Being by his side all the time, she knew how much Eric trained his lance art. And yet, Mika, whom she never saw picking up a staff-like weapon, was on equal grounds with him.
No.
He was more than just on equal standing.
"!"
Mika swung the staff from the side against Eric’s staff, sweeping his arm away. Following that, Mika switched hands, rotated on his heel and swung his left arm and the staff at Eric’s side.
"Geh...!" he groaned in pain.
Eric got on one knee and clenched the place he was hit.
"Haha... Are you kidding...? How did you become so good in such a short time...?" he asked with a strained voice.
"Hahaha, well... The syst- Hmpf!"
Mika shut his own mouth suddenly.
The punishment was still active. Therefore, he was about to say how the system rewarded him with the skills needed to wield something like a staff.
"Mika?"
"I-I guess because of h-hard work...?" Mika stuttered while averting his gaze from Eric.
Mika dodged a bullet. His answer was closer to the truth than to a lie.
In retrospect, it was due to him completing challenging quests from the system that he was rewarded with those skills.
"Hard word, huh? Haha, I see." Eric said with a relaxed smile.
He stood up and patted the dirt from his pants away.
"That was amazing, Mika! I can’t really put it into words, but your skills with the staff were incredible!"
Ain meddled in and drowned Mika with her compliments.
"T-thanks." Mika replied with an awkward smile.
"Want to head back now? We will escort you to your house." Eric asked while he put a shirt on.
"Sure."
Thus, the three entered the village.
"How is life in the academy?" Ain asked, smiling curiously.
"How it is?"
Mika thought about all the things he experienced in the academy. He pressed his hand against his mouth in order to not say anything unnecessary.
The matches he was forced into, like against Ophelia or Belian. The challenges he had yet to face, like the upcoming fight against the Maystra brothers. And the missions he had to complete at least once a month.
Especially the faces of Zantar and Yater flashed in his mind.
"It’s hard but it’s doable for me." he replied bluntly.
"And what about your friends? Where are they this time?" Eric asked.
"They’re at the academy. Because of my injuries, I had to stay behind a bit longer."
"Oh, sh-" Mika closed his mouth again with his hands in panic.
"Injuries?" Ain wondered.
"..."
Mika did not want to make them worry. That was why he had to be careful with his words.
"W-well, everything is fine now as you can see, haha..."
"Hmm..."
Ain was not fully convinced yet as she stared daggers at him.
Obviously, he noticed that, but he decided to avert his gaze.
"..."
Some people were still outside.
"Oh, Mika, is that you? We will have fresh food tomorrow again so come visit us!"
An old woman shouted from a small food stall.
"Of course! I look forward to it!" he replied kindly.
They kept walking.
"Mika!"
"Hey, guys! Mika is back!"
"Come play with us soon again, Mika!"
This time, a couple of children approached Mika.
"It’s already late, guys. But I promise that I will play with you all again soon, okay?" he said while crouching down.
The kids nodded happily and ran away.
"Hey, Mika! Let’s go hunt together tomorrow!"
"Oh, you sure became more handsome than the last time I saw you."
"Mika, how is the city life?"
"Hey, Mika!"
"Mika!"
The longer they walked, the more villagers talked to him.
Unable to answer them all, Mika just waved his hands at them.
"They all miss you, you know?" Eric remarked.
"Some were really heartbroken after hearing that you went to Loogam." Ain added.
"..."
Mika cast his eyes downwards, but his smile remained.
"Is that so?" he murmured, feeling touched.
"But the ones who miss you the most are here." Eric stated.
He stopped in his tracks and stared at the building in front of them.
"..."
Mika lifted his head up.
"Heh..." he chuckled slightly.
"We will go home for today. But we will definitely see each other tomorrow again!" Ain said.
"Yeah." Mika replied softly.
"Until then."
Eric waved his hands and went home with his sister.
Meanwhile, Mika stared at the building.
"I’m home."
