Chapter 4

Her father strode up to us with a fuming look. Sophia forced a smile, “Hello, Papa. What have you been up to today?”

“Me?” Her father snorted, “What about you? I woke up to find my iron sword gone and my little girl nowhere to be found! Your mother and I have been worried sick.”

“Sorry, Papa,” Sophia said while taking out her iron sword. She handed it over to her father and said, “I’m back now, so don’t worry.”

Just as her father was about to store the iron sword in his inventory, his eyes glanced over the blade. He froze and brought the blade close to his eyes to take a better look. He lowered it and pointed at a red spot on the blade, “Sophia, what is this red mark here?”

“Uhh,” She swallowed loudly and followed his finger. After figuring out what he saw, she said hesitantly, “It’s just some dried blood, Papa.”

“D-d-d-dried blood!?” Her father stuttered while taking a few steps back.

He looked behind us and saw the horses galloping in the distance. He looked at the sword, then the horses, and then the direction we came from. He seemed to be struck by lightning as he came to a realization. He shouted, “You went to Pinewood Forest, didn’t you?!”

Sophia winced at her father’s realization. She nodded hesitantly, “I just explored it, that’s all.”

Her father scoffed and pointed at the dried blood, “Then what’s this blood doing here?”

Just as Sophia was about to explain, her father suddenly froze. He rushed up to Sophia and inspected her clothes. He grabbed her arm and looked for anything unusual. While doing this, he said with worry, “Oh, my little girl. You got wounded, didn’t you? My poor little girl. While all alone in the forest, some monster must have attacked you.”

My mouth gaped open at her father’s 180 degree turn in personality. At first I thought he was going to reprimand her, but it looked like the situation was unfolding differently than I expected?

He put his arm around her shoulder and gently pushed in the direction of the village. He rubbed her arm while saying, “Don’t worry, my little girl, Mother will patch you up and cook your favorite. The world is a dangerous place, but it’s safe at home.”

I followed behind them as we walked through the small village. I ignored her father’s rambling and took this chance to inspect the village. The houses were made out of planks of wood. They seemed to be in good condition. We approached what looked to be the center of the village. There was a stone statue of a female warrior in the center of the village square. She held a giant kite shield in her hand. I couldn’t make out the details of her face because the quality of the statue wasn’t the best. Behind the statue was a windmill. That must be where they store the grain. A shout broke my concentration.

“Enough!” Sophia shouted while pushing away her father.

Her father paused for a moment before saying, “My little girl, the monster that attacked you must have scared you silly. Don’t worry, you’re safe here. Papa will protect you.”

Sophia jumped backwards to avoid her father’s embrace. She landed next to the statue and looked up at it. Her eyes became unfocused, but only for a moment. She took a deep breath and gathered her courage.

The same resolve I saw when she was fighting Little Fang appeared in her eyes. She said calmly, “Papa, the blood on the iron sword wasn’t from me, but from Little Fang!”

“L-l-little Fang?!” Her father gripped his chest in horror. His face paled as he said, “Oh, my little girl, Little Fang attacked you? It’s a miracle you survived.”

“No,” Sophia shook her head and held out her hand. With a flash of light, a stack of meat and a bloodied black leather pelt appeared in her hand. She smirked as she said, “I killed Little Fang!”

Her father’s eyes locked onto the items in her hand. His eyes became cloudy as he said, “Sophia…? What is the meaning of this…? Don’t you know how dangerous it is in the outside world…? Little Fang… that’s a boss monster! It would be suicide if you fought him, suicide!”

“Papa!” Sophia shook her head and said quietly, “This isn’t fair.”

“Fair?” Her father repeated, unable to understand what she meant.

Sophia looked up at the statue of the female warrior as she explained, “Don’t you remember reading to me the stories of the six heroes? Whenever I went to bed, you always tucked me in and told me one of their stories.”

Her father nodded. A smile appeared on his face as he remembered them. Sophia continued, “You told me about the battle between the six heroes and the dragon knights. The story about the fairy race’s plight, and how the six heroes rescued them from being wiped out. You told me so many stories about the outside world. But now when I’m all grown up, you forbid me from going out there to experience what the six heroes experienced! That isn’t fair, papa! I want to walk in their footsteps, I want to help people in need just like the guardian, Elnora!”

Sophia looked away from the statue and stared at her dad with resolve. She held up the items dropped from Little Fang and said calmly, “To prove myself to you, I went to Pinewood Forest. Yes, it was dangerous, but I did it! I killed Little Fang all by myself!”

Her father was silent as he listened to her speech. When she was finished, his eyes became cloudy. He struggled to say, “I…”

Unable to say anything, he turned and walked away. As he disappeared around the corner, Sophia collapsed to the ground. I walked up to her and said, “Good job!”

Sophia looked up at me with tears in her eyes, “He loves me. He just doesn’t want to see me get hurt, that’s all.”

Footsteps could be heard behind me. I turned around and found a beautiful middle aged woman. She had blonde hair and blue eyes just like Sophia. She must be her mother. Her mother walked up to Sophia and clasped her shoulder, “I heard everything, honey.”

“Mama,” Sophia stood up and embraced her mother. She buried her face into her mother’s shoulder and cried.

Her mother caressed her back and whispered, “There, there. Your father is all right, he just needs some time to himself. We’ve been dreading this day for years now, he just didn’t want it to happen.”

After a few moments, I coughed awkwardly, “Uh, Sophia, I’ll just explore the village and leave you two alone…”

Sophia shook with a start and took a step back from her mother. She wiped the tears from her eyes and shook her head, “No, don’t go. I’m fine now.”

She grabbed my hand and pulled me over to her mother. She said with a smile, “Mama, this is Tristan. He helped me out in Pinewood Forest. He’s a Brave and we’re going to travel to the next island together!”

“Oh, wow, a Brave? Hello Tristan, I’m Sophia’s mother. Call me Josie,” Her mother grabbed my hand and gave a firm shake.

When her mother introduced herself, I noticed Sophia giving me a strange look while shaking her head. I figured she didn’t want me to tell her I saved her from bleeding out. Her mother looked at the stack of meat on the ground and picked it up. She stored it in her inventory as she said, “Why don’t I cook this meat for dinner?”

My mouth gaped open and a little saliva fell out as I said, “Ooo, sounds good!”

I love meat! I’ll eat it anytime, anyday!

Her mother laughed at my reaction before saying, “Follow me, I’ll show you around the village.”