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CHAPTER 3 HAD UNDERGONE THE REPARATION PROGRAM: BATCH ONE

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Chase remained motionless, his eyes nailed to the sudden visitor. The man’s sudden appearance was alarming. The previous joy he had rapidly flowed out as it was replaced by cautiousness. He slowly moved his fingers towards the dagger on his belt, towards safety.

“Ga Ha Ha Ha Ha!” The man burst out in laughter, surprising Chase and making him take a step back.

*Cough* *Wheeze* *Cough*

The vagabond choked in the middle of his hearty laugh and had a coughing fit. He desperately thumped his own chest while retching on his knees. Chase did not know what to do, whether he should help or not. He chose the latter and kept his distance.

The man eventually stopped gagging and wheezing. With one hand rubbing his throat, he lifted his flushed face and flashed a friendly grin at Chase. He shakily stood up by using the other hand as support.

‘He must not be in the best of his health…’ Chase noted. ‘Should I run?’

“Gasp! Sorry bout that, boy! Just an old man and his failing body!” Having said that, he chuckled again. A jovial air hung over him despite how sickly he looked. “You know…” He knitted his brows together and smiled “you’re a real piece o' work, boy!”

“I saw you coming over to the forest about a couple o’ hours ago with that pointy stick poking out o' your bag!” He pointed at Chase’s makeshift spear. Chase pulled another step back and reached for the long weapon with his free hand.

“Ga Ha Ha Ha Ha!” The unnamed vagabond laughed yet again, as if amused by Chase’s action. He was not the slightest bit concerned by Chase who was arming himself.

*Cough* *Cough* *Wheeze*

The man guffawed and had a coughing fit again. Locked in a painful grimace, he crouched on all fours and clawed at the green grass. ‘Don’t laugh if you are that sick…’ A bead of sweat trickled down Chase's forehead. He could not decipher the stranger's intention.

Chase did not let his guard down though. The man could be acting for all he knew. The fact that the stranger had been observing him meant that he had skilfully hidden his presence the whole time. However, he did not think the man would harm him because nothing happened when he was vulnerable.

“W-What do you want from me?” Chase blurted the sentence out nervously and tightened the grip on his spear. He had problems speaking to strangers due to the secluded life he had. Last time he talked to a girl in the nearby village he was shaking and stuttering so bad that the girl’s parents called a priest over for an exorcism.

The man’s eyes widened in surprise as he heard the question. He knuckled his forehead and made an apologetic look. “Sorry to scare you boy, I don’t mean any harm so you can stop holding that spear like your life depends on it.’’

‘’Should’ve introduced myself first, my bad.” He said. “The name is Ga… Garion! Inventor extraordinaire!”

Chase grew even more suspicious as the man stumbled while giving out his name. He lowered his body posture and prepared to strike if the man made any sudden movement.

Seeing Chase’s reaction, 'Garion' waved his hands around frantically in front of him “Wait! Wait! I’ll explain why I was observing you for the past couple o’ hours okay??”. He begged, undoubtedly worried. Worried about breaking the conversation and not about the possibility of being attacked.

He coughed once to clear his throat and began his story. “You see, here I was, resting up on a tree… immersing myself in the depths o' my soul and entering the state o' tranquility” He wiped off a trail of drying saliva stuck on his beard.

‘You were sleeping, weren’t you?’ Chase wanted to say that, but refrained himself.

“I was just about to get an inspiration for my newest invention!” He shouted. “But then, I saw you coming here from the East!” He stared in the said direction with one palm shielding his eyes from the glare of the sun.

“A lone boy, with a bag on his back.” He dramatically lifted a finger and jabbed it in Chase’s direction. “How could I ignore such a thing! Such…. Such…. Burning PASSION!!!” The man’s eyes seemed to light up in flames as he clenched his fist, trembling with emotion.

“I could see it! I could picture it in my mind..” Garion massaged both sides of his forehead, face scrunched up in a thoughtful frown. “The feeling of going out on your first adventure!” He exclaimed.

‘How long is this story going to be…’ Chase thought tiredly as the man emotionally spun his tale.

“But of course, I could see that you were too young, too.... inexperienced” Garion remarked. “I was worried for your safety, so I hid myself and prepared to rescue you!” He grinned. Chase had lost count the number of times the vagabond did so.

“I understand that every new adventurer wants to achieve something before they go home, so I decided that I wouldn't lift a finger unless you were in danger.” Garion paused for a while and his eyes rolled to the side guiltily. “And….. I was sort of interested to see what you were planning to do with all the sticks.” He grinned apologetically.

“But the moment where you needed rescue never came! You handled the fight beautifully, It was perfect! I could feel the raw emotions, your awful combat techniques combined with the goblin’s clumsiness and stupidity was a work o' art!” He showered Chase with praises. “Such splendour, such magnificence! The innovation was just awe-inspiring, I was glad that I stopped by the Forest today!”

‘You didn't have to say I’m awful at combat you know…’ Chase blushed in embarrassment as he heard the comments given. He would be a fool to deny his lack of experience.

“And then I came out to congratulate you. The End.” Garion looked at Chase with eyes that shone with expectation. He was still grinning from ear to ear, waiting for something.

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Now that the conversation was over, Chase could feel every second dragging out for an eternity, every drop of saliva in his mouth, every inch of his sweaty skin, every breath he took. The significantly long moment of silence was broken by the birds chirping in the distance.

“A-are you waiting for something from me?” Chase asked.

*Cough*

The man coughed awkwardly, he was waiting for the boy to clap after hearing his story. “No, no, nothing.” He denied it with a straight face.

“So…. What are you doing with that luggage o' yours? Taking them home as a souvenir?” He opened a new topic. His eyes gazed intently on Chase's bag.

"Y-yes"

"Hmm... a goblin armour for a trophy. Quite the minimalist" Garion commented, his eyes still glued to the bag.

"Say... I saw a cat earlier, was it yours by any chance?"

Chase stopped breathing for a split second.

'If he had been observing me all this time, then he must have saw Rie. But the question is... did he notice that the cat could speak? Come to think of it, Rie had been strangely silent since this 'Garion' showed up'

Chase's brain worked as fast as it could.

'Rie had a necklace around it--her neck, so she probably has an owner. But since she didn't voluntarily made herself noticeable, this guy is definitely not the owner. Denying her presence is not viable, but the question now is whether I should pretend that I lost track of her or admit that I have her in my bag'

"Cat's out o' the bag, eh?" Garion interrupted.

"H-huh?" Chase stuttered, surprised by the vagabond's words.

'Did he notice after all? Damn, is he going to take Rie and sell her off as a magical creature? Judging from his attire, he probably would... '

"That's not how you treat your pet, look at it! It's poking its head out probably because o' the heat inside your bag" Garion pointed with his finger.

'Eh?' Chase turned and saw a cat's head once again jutting out of his bag.

"Uhh... yeah, my bad. I thought it was tired so I gave it a ride" Chase said.

"Ga Ha Ha Ha! C'mere let me pet him, or is it a she? Well, whatever bring it over" Garion beckoned in a friendly manner.

"She doesn't like strangers, so maybe no" Chase pretended to look at the sun and added "W-well, look at the time! I need to get home now. It was nice meeting you, I'll be off the-"

"Nonsense! I'll tell you that I have a way with animals, domestic or not" Garion interrupted, and walked over.

'Eh? What should I do, should I run now? No, I'm sure he'd catch up when I'm carrying this heavy armour... but I can't just dump it and run. This life threatening trip would've been pointless then' Torrents of sweat soaked Chase's shirt as he regarded the vagabond with teary eyes.

Just as he was worrying over a suitable course of action, the cat jumped out and landed on the ground. She immediately shot a glare at Garion with her tail straight like a rod.

"Hey, wait, Rie!" Chase shouted in alarm.

"Rie, eh?" Garion muttered, his gaze interlocked with Rie's.

There was a profoundness in his look, as if deep wisdom resided within the man. There was one thing that Chase understood, the man was not as simple as he appeared to be. How could he have not noticed the great aura surrounding the man this entire time?

"I tire of this charade. I am not the answer to your insane quest, the solution you seek is elsewhere" Rie spoke to the man.

'!!' Chase's eyes bulged. 'So she wasn't trying to keep quiet about being able tot talk?'

"...." The man kept his silence, unfazed by the cat's familiarity with human tongue.

"But you are exactly what I need, in more ways than one" He said, after a moment.

'What's going on? I don't get anything' Chase could only look upon their conversation with a puzzled frown.

"You do not have the capacity to conduct the process. You should know better than anyone of your own limits. Be satisfied with what you have been given, and pay the price you've promised. Believe me, no better alternatives could exist if He did not mention them to you" Rie said coldly.

"No better alternatives? Funny, hearing that from you"

Garion gave a wan smile, then released a long sigh.

"Very well, I'll be leaving then. Don't worry, I'll do what I've promised"

He glanced over at Chase and grinned.

"You'll be up for great things, perhaps much greater than what you ever dreamt of. Perhaps we'll meet again, perhaps not"

"Good luck, and farewell... Chase Blackstone" Garion said with a tone of finality.

Chase's mind reeled in shock as the man uttered his name. He had not, even once, shared that information. He didn't even introduce himself to Rie who he had met earlier.

The man patted his cloak, brushing off the dirt in a futile attempt. The cloud of dust merely settled back onto the brown fabric.

He took several steps backward and turned around. He slammed his foot on the ground, producing a thunderous noise and vanished out of sight. Only a cloud of dust and a coughing boy was left behind at the edge of the forest.

*Cough* *Cough*

Chase covered his watery eyes, some of the dust had gotten into them.Once the dirt had settled down, he crept closer to the spot where 'Garion' previously stood. He spotted a deep, distinct footprint on the ground, showing the amount of strength exerted by Garion’s leg. ‘Holy…’ Chase was admiring the man when he suddenly remembered what he was supposed to do. He threw a glance at the sky and realised that it was going to be sundown in a couple of hours.

Without him noticing, Rie had already snuck back into his bag.

"Hey, Rie. Who was that man just now?"

"Nyaaa~? Just a man who made the mistake of getting in over his head and wrecked himself in the process"

"What was your conversation about? And what did he mean that I'll be up for great things?"

"Nothing you should care about. Now, off to your house, Nyaaaa~!" Rie raised her paws excitedly.

'Sounds like she doesn't want to share. Well, whatever. I have more pressing things to consider... dad'll turn the house upside down looking for me if I don't get back home soon'

"By the way, I've noticed that you didn't always say nyaaa. Is there a reason for that?"

"It's hard to keep in character all the time nyaaa~"

And so Chase Blackstone made his way home, along with his newly acquired proof of victory and a talking cat.