Blake's home

"HAHAHA! TAKE THAT YOU LITTLE DEMON FUCKER!" Blake yelled loudly, shooting upwards with a fist in the air. "Huh!?!" But to his surprise, he wasn't laying on the ground outside but in his bed back at home.

"...Wait? I'm home?" Blake questioned all too confused and looked out the window to see that it was early in the morning. "Ugh..." Then fell back down to stare up at the ceiling. "Wasn't I fighting that little Demon kid?" He thought, thinking back to last night.

Those Hellspawns, crashing into town...Reiner, telling him to take the girls away...that Demon kid who summoned a Dread Beast...the three Hellspawns that beat him to near death...Risabeel, turning into a sword and him getting horns.

"That was a freaky moment," Blake muttered, ranching up to the side of his head and let out a sigh of relief. "Phew! The horns are gone, I hope that means Risabeel's back to normal..." He was about to get up and check on that when a soft knock came from behind his bedroom door. "Huh? Come in!"

Coming through the door was Risabeel with a tray of food in her hands, but Blake's eyes went right to Risabeel's head seeing a pair of black Demon horns on either side that looked exactly like the ones Blake had last night but only a bit smaller.

"Good morning, Sir Blake, are you well?" Risabeel asked with a cheerful smile on her face as she walked over to Blake's bed setting the tray down on a small desk next to it. "Excuse my concern, Sir Blake, but is something the matter?" She asked when she noticed Blake staring at her intensely.

"Uhmm, yea, I'm good, but uh..." Blake started but trailed off as he just stared at Risabeel's horns. "...I uh see that you've got some new accessories there, huh?" He finished, pointing to the sides of his head.

"Ah! Yes, these came about after I reverted to my normal self they are quite odd." Risabeel said, thinking to herself for a moment along with touching her horns then she looked around Blake's room. "Hmm? Sir Blake, have you seen Marius by chance? She said that she would come here to check on you earlier?" She asked, changing the subject with a curious look on her face.

"Hmm? If Mari came to my room? And I was sleeping? Then the only place she could be is...?" Blake grabbed his blanket and threw it off his bed. "Right here!" He found Mari in orange pajamas with black polka dots, sleeping with her arms wrapped around one of his legs. "Well, no wonder I was feeling a bit more comfortable than usual...hey Mari ~wakey~wakey!~" He sang out, poking Mari in her cheeks but she just crawled up and dug her face into Blake's stomach. "Hey, that tickles, haha!"

"Hehe, is this something that happens a lot with her, Sir Blake?" Risabeel asked, giggling at Blake as he played around with Mari's face.

"Pretty much, she's just the cutest little thing ever," Blake answered, pinching Mari's cheeks now with a mischievous smile on his face. "So? Uhm? Do you have any idea what happened last night?" He asked with a serious look and stopped playing with Mari's face only for her to let out a groan of disappointment. "You're awake, aren't you?" Blake thought, looking down at her and for a second, he saw one of her eyes open just a bit then quickly close.

"I am not sure myself, Sir Blake, after you had gotten attacked by tho-...those Demons...all I wanted to do was to...save you..." Risabeel started answering only to go silent, remembering Blake laying on the ground covered in his own blood, putting a solemn look to her face and a hand reaching for Blake's right hand.

"Hey! Hey! Don't get like that! Look! I'm fine! And it's all thanks to you! Risabeel!" Blake quickly tried to cheer up Risabeel putting her hand on his chest so she could feel him breathing, and it worked as she put on a warm smile for him. "That's better. You're a lot more beautiful when you smile." After he added that bit, Blake got red in the face, and his heart beat went up. "Crap! Now's not the time to be flirting, Blake!"

"Ah! Sir Blake, are you well!?" Risabeel panicked, leaning over to touch her forehead to Blake's. "You are not burning up, but your face is still very red, and your chest!" She commented with her face inches away from Blake's which wasn't helping him right now.

"Ri-Ri-Risabeel, you're little too close rig-OW! Mari! What gives!?" Blake cried when Mari bit his hand hard, making Risabeel back away from Blake.

"Cheater! Cheater! Cheater!" Mari yelled, hitting Blake on his chest with her small fists that didn't hurt.

"Geez! Mari, calm down, Risabeel was just making sure I was alright." Blake tried explaining to Mari, but she just kept going. "...If you stop, I'll let you sleep next to me tonight." Blake offered, and Mari instantly stopped and was about to lay back down on Blake until he stood up carrying her in his arms. "I said tonight, and I'm hungry." He dropped her off on his bed and rubbed his stomach about to dig into the food Risabeel brought for him, but a loud banging sound came from behind his door. "It's open! You old fart!" He yelled at the door, knowing that it was Reiner.

Then the door was kicked off the wall by Reiner who had some bandages on but he still had that huge toothy grin of his while staring at Blake who glared back him. "GOOD YOU'RE OFF YOUR LAZY ASS NOW COME HERE!" He yelled in his usual booming voice before walking up to Blake and grabbed him by the head with one of his big meaty hands. "Up you go!" He lifted Blake off his feet, and he turned to the girls. "I'm borrowing him for a while girls you can follow us if you want."

"HEY! PUT ME DOWN, OR I'LL KNOCK YOU THE FUCK OUT! AND WHO'S GOING TO FIX MY FUCKING DOOR!" Blake kicked and screamed as Reiner walked towards the stairs, then his stomach growled. "...AND I'M STILL HUNGRY!"

"BAH! IS THAT REALLY ALL YOU GOT IN THERE!?" Reiner chuckled as they went down the stairs giving Blake a good shake making him dizzy. "That's better!" He smiled as they got to the kitchen and sat Blake down in a chair at the dining table while Reiner took the seat opposite to him with Risabeel and Mari taking the seats on either side of them. "So I've got some things to explain about the both of you." Reiner pointed at Blake then Risabeel with a serious tone coming through his voice. "And you don't need to explain anything to me, Mari did that when I came to last night."

"Oh? Uh, well, that's good, but what do you need to explain to me, old man?" Blake asked, confused and surprised that Reiner wanted to talk about him of all things right now instead of the Demon girl sitting next to him.

"I'll get to you in time but first let's talk about Risabeel..." Reiner started then pointed a thumb at Risabeel. "...So let's deal with the elephant in the room, she's a Demon thanks to those horns on her head."

"I came to that answer when I woke up this morning," Blake answered blankly then looked at the horns again. "But my big question is what kind of Demon can turn into a weapon that gives the person using them horns and some of that Demon's mana?"

Reiner smiled at Blake's question. "To be completely honest and accurate, there aren't any Demons like that, the reason why Risabeel can do that is mainly 'cause of you, runt." He answered, pointing at Blake who didn't understand what Reiner was talking about at all.

"Uh? I'm going to need some more information on that to believe you," Blake said, trying to think of any way he had something to do with Risabeel being able to turn into a sword and couldn't find anything. "Nope, I've got nothing."

"Well, remember that post-stone thing I told you about?" Reiner asked, and Blake nodded. "Huh? I thought you would have forgotten about that by now? Well, anyway I lied about it, post-stones are real, but you didn't find one yesterday what you found was an Ore but not just any kind of normal Ore like the ones we would usually forge with, that one was a bit...special since it was made by a...Smith-Knight."

"A Smith-Knight? What the hell is that suppose to be?" Blake questioned, interrupting Reiner for a moment getting a smack on the head. "OW! What was that for!"

"Don't interrupt me, runt..." Reiner pointed a thing at Blake before he continued. "...to start, there aren't that many of them around, in fact, there's usually only a hand-full of 'em each generation. Most of 'em make some of the most powerful items ever forged, and the Ore that they use is acquired by using some weird type of magic called: Orefication. It lets them compress a monster's entire being or soul into an Ore that can be used to forge items like any other kind of Ore, but the monster can live on inside the item which allows 'em to change in between an item form and their original body. The good thing about that is they can share some of their powers and traits when someone is using their item form, which is why you got horns and dark mana last night." Reiner explained thoroughly and paused to see if Blake got what he said and if Blake had anything to ask but by the look of things Blake was more surprised by the fact that Reiner sounded like a teacher for once.

"..." Blake let that information sink in for a while before speaking again. "...Alright, I got that much but could that Orefication thing causes memory loss for the monst- I mean the person it's used on?" He asked, changing his words in the last part as he took a glance at Risabeel. "You're not a monster."

"Well, Orefication is something that can either be accepted by the one it's done on or focused on by the Smith-Knight. Which does cause a lot of bad things to happen to the one getting turned...memory loss could be one of 'em, and I don't know any way of helping, Risabeel," Reiner answered with a sad expression on his face looking at Risabeel. "Sorry to say that to your face, girly,"

"It is all right, Sir Reiner, simply knowing what caused me to lose my memory is worth knowing, you have my thanks." Risabeel thanked Reiner, bowing her head to him.

"Hah! Runt, you're so lucky! I hope you treat her, right!" Reiner laughed while winking at Blake.

"Whoa! Whoa! D-don't listen to him! Ri-Ri-Risabeel!" Blake shuttered out, waving his hands in Risabeel's face hoping to the Goddess on high that she didn't get the wrong idea, but Risabeel just tilted her head at him not seeing what was so wrong.

"BAHAHAHA! Look at you stuttering like an idiot and to think that you're a Smith-Knight yourself! Hah!" Reiner laughed as Blake kept trying to blow off his last statement.

"..." Blake slowly came to a big realization after hearing what Reiner said and froze in place for a second then slowly turned to Reiner. "WAAAAAAAIT!? Hold on!? I'm a Smith-Knight!?" He yelled, slamming a fist on the table.

"Of course, you are! Only Smith-Knights could use Ore that was made through Orefication if you weren't one your hammer would have shattered into a million pieces at the first hit, runt." Reiner said, looking at Blake like he was an idiot.

"Give me a break, old man! This is big news for me! I'm some kind of special smith, awesome!" Blake exclaimed, looking at his hands and imaged making some really powerful items with Ore made with Orefication, but there was one problem with that. "...So? Uh, how do I do the whole Orefication thing?"

Reiner just shrugged with his hands in the air. "Hell, if I know, I ain't one of those Smith-Knights, but I'm sure you'll find out on your trip." He answered, waiting for Blake's reaction with a grin.

"Huh? Trip? What are you talking about now, old man?" Blake asked, confused again by Reiner, and it was starting to get way too much for him now.

"Well, we need someone to deliver all those weapons we finished for the army to the capital, but right now everyone else is fixing the town up, so I'm sending you out there to deal with that for me, plus can't have two blacksmiths in a small town likes this, eh?" Reiner answered with a big toothy grin on his face.

"Wait, you mean that I'm...?" Blake started then trail off waiting for Reiner to confirm what he was thinking.

"Well, you did cut my Garlan in half last night, didn't you? With that sword you made, right? Although that sword was a girl before I'll allow it since you saved the town's ass by getting rid of that Demon brat." Reiner answered, leaning back in his seat while pointing over to a wall where what was left of Garlan was hanging off a wall mount. "Congratulations, runt, you're a fully trained blacksmith now!"

"...Hehehehehe..." Blake quietly giggled while lowering his head then suddenly shot himself into the air. "...HAHAHAHAHAHA! IN YOUR FACE OLD MAN! I FINALLY BROKE THAT DAMN SWOR-" He was quickly silenced by Reiner grabbing him by the head and slammed his face into the table.

"WHAT HAVE I SAID BEFORE!?! THE ONLY ONE WHO GETS TO YELL IN MY HOUSE IS ME! BAHAHAHAHA!" Reiner laughed and threw back his head until Blake grabbed onto his beard and pulled him down. "Oh? What's this? Do you want a beating, boy?"

"That hurt a lot you know, old man?" Blake glared right at Reiner and made a fist with his free hand. "Maybe I should pay you back for that one!"

"HAH! You want a real good beating then, runt?" Reiner just glared back Blake with his arms crossed.

"Sir Reiner! Sir Blake! Now is not the time to be fighting!" Risabeel tried to stop them, but they kept glaring at each other, and now Reiner was making a fist in each hand. "Marius! Do you have any way of stopping them?" She asked Mari who was sitting there looking at Blake and Reiner with stars in her eyes.

"Come on! Blake! Kick dad's butt!" Mari cheered, punching the air a few times.

Blake and Reiner were about to go at it when the sound of the front door opening stopped them. "Everyone, I'm back from the market! Is Blake up yet?" Blake's mom Isabelle greeted the house in her usual warm and happy voice.

"Crap!" Both Reiner and Blake whispered scared of their lives and broke off from each other then sat back down, looking as normal as possible just in time for Isabelle to walk into the kitchen with a basket filled with things she got from the market in each arm. "Oh? Hello, dear/mom!" The two greeted her having fake smiles on their faces while Risabeel just looked surprised at how fast they moved, and Mari had a disappointed look on her face.

"~Aww~! It's so nice to see my family sitting down peacefully, hehe!" Isabelle giggled with a small smile while walking past the table with Blake and Reiner slowly sweating. "~Mmm~" She placed the baskets down on the counter and turned around. "So? Marius? How close were they to fighting this time?" She asked Mari with her arms crossed.

"..." Both Blake and Reiner stared at Mari with eyes that begged her to lie for them.

"Hmm?" Mari stared back at each of them then back at her mom. "They were ready to smack each other! Until you came home and stopped all the fun! Blake was even holding dad's beard this time," Mari answered, causing Blake and Reiner to sweat waterfalls and neither of them even tried to look at Isabelle nervously whistling in an off key.

"~Ohhhhhh~" Isabelle hummed out looking at Blake and Reiner with a somewhat surprised look and a hand going under her chin to think. "~Hmm~? Well? Since my little man is leaving today, I'll let it be just this ~once~" She added, putting on an apron then grabbed a wooden spoon. "Now, could all of you leave, I going to be preparing Blake's send-off feast!"

"Alright! Then I'm off to show Risabeel something!" Blake cheered mostly because his mom wasn't going to kill him and offered a hand to Risabeel, but Mari was instantly there to take it for herself. "Uh, I guess you can come too, Mari." Blake groaned under his breath. "Kind of wanted this to be just the two of us, though."

"~Sorry~ Marius, but I'm going to need your help in the kitchen today ~please~?" Isabelle asked as she grabbed some pots and pans from around the kitchen and set them aside for later.

"NO! I want to spend Blake's last day with him! MOM!" Mari yelled loudly, latching onto Blake's arm in protest and stomped her feet a few times.

Isabelle just walked over to them then kneeled to Mari's height and leaned in on her. "Well, would you rather I ask Risabeel to cook something for Blake? I'm sure he'd like that a lot, hmm?" She whispered deviously into Mari's ear.

Mari thought it over a bit. "...Okay..." She answered, slowly letting go of Blake's arm then stared up at Risabeel. "...if you try any moves on Blake. I'll get you for it understand, Demon girl!" She warned, pointing at Risabeel getting sweat to roll down the faces of everyone.

"Mari, be nice please," Blake told her walking out of the kitchen but turned around to her. "But if you cook me something good, I'll give you a treat?" He winked at Mari, causing her to go into cooking mode running around the kitchen without skipping a beat. "Heh, come on, Risabeel there's something that I didn't get to show you last night."

"Hold on there, runt, make Risabeel wear this just in case." Reiner stopped Blake by tossing him a short purple cape with a black hood. "People might get a little bit suspicious after a night were Demons attacked and the new girl has black horns the next day." He warned grimly, pointing a thumb over to Risabeel.

"Yeah, you're probably right about that." Blake agreed, moving behind Risabeel then placed the cape over her shoulders and brought the hood over her horns, making sure it looked as normal as possible. "Good! And if anyone wants to know why say you aren't good in the sun."

"Right...but what about at night, Sir Blake?" Risabeel asked, leaving Blake to think for a good minute.

"...Ah! I'll think of something when that time comes around, and besides, we wouldn't be out that long." Blake answered, shrugging his shoulders at the thought and continued out the door followed by Risabeel when he got outside he noticed that a few of the buildings had either claw marks or chunks of them ripped out caused by all the Hellspawns that crashed through town hours ago.

"Now then, Sir Blake, where is it that you wish to take me?" Risabeel asked, looking around as well seeing some town's people repairing the damage done and carrying away some of the dead.

"...Oh? Uh, up there." Blake took a second to answer, pointing up at the big hill in the back of town. "Come on. It's kind of a long walk from here." He added, beginning to walk with Risabeel at his side.

One hour later at the hill

After going through town, Blake and Risabeel were near the top of the hill taking their time for the most part and once they ranched the top. "Oh, my!" Risabeel came to the sight of Fairmaw and was able to see every house in town from this spot but with the light from the sun hitting each of them in just the right way that they glowed back to show an all too beautiful sight for the eyes.

"Sir Blake, this is...magnificent!" Risabeel cheered, taking in the view with a held breath. "Hmm?" But when Blake didn't answer her, she turned around to find him looking down at a small stone. "...Sir Blake?" She walked up to him and saw one-half of a golden pendant that had an ornate design to it with a red gemstone inside of it. That was wedged inside the stone with an empty spot for the other half next to it.

"Hmm? Oh! Yea, I hope you liked the view, it's the best in town," Blake said, pulling the pendant out of the stone and walked over to the edge of the hill to look over the town but it seemed like he was looking at something else beyond it all.

"Sir Blake? Do you mind if I ask the meaning of that pendant?" Risabeel asked her curiosity intrigued by the piece of jewelry and even more so by the way Blake was acting.

"This...?" Blake looked at the pendant before answering. "...well...it's part of a bet I made with an old friend of mine." He started, showing the pendant to Risabeel. "Reiner made the whole thing for the both of us back when we were kids and let's just say we didn't want to share it..." Blake smiled, thinking back to the past.

"...We came up with so many games to see who should get it for themselves but as we got older our games for 'hide and seek' or 'you're it,' turned into duels of fists, swords, spears and the like. Every time it ended in a draw between us until we came up with a bet the first part is getting out of Fairmaw and taking one-half with us, the second is making our dreams come true..."

"Your dreams?" Risabeel asked in the middle of Blake's words.

Blake gave her a nod before continuing. "...Yep, in my case it's becoming a master blacksmith, and for them, it's becoming a knight, and the last part; is one last fight with no do-overs to settle everything once and for all, and right now I'm behind by about two years..." Blake held his half of the pendant tightly to his chest.

"...But now I've got some headway, and once I meet up with them I'll show them just how much I've grown! HELL YEAH!" Blake yelled out to the town, striking an epic pose with the hand holding the pendant in the air.

Risabeel just watched Blake having his moment before walking up to him and took his free hand to get his attention. "I am sure you will be able to win this wager." She told him, pulling back her hood to let some her hair blow gracefully in the breeze.

"Whoa!" Blake forgot about his bet for the moment dropping his pendant in one of his pockets, and he just stared at Risabeel for awhile thinking about only her. "Y-yea as long as you're there with me, I-I mean if you want that is?" He asked in a nervous tone.

"Mmm!" Risabeel was taken aback by Blake's offer. "...Sir Blake, last night you risked your life to protect me, someone you had only just met and knew nothing about..." Risabeel paused to collect her thoughts, turning her back to Blake. "...and though, if it were not for I, you would have likely died on that night, I am a Demon the same as that boy and those creatures that caused such pain to you and your town, yet both you and your family still treat me as if I am a frie-!" Risabeel froze when a pair of hands grabbed her and spun her around, seeing Blake with a serious look on his face. "...Sir Blake?"

"OKAY! First off! If I want to help someone, I help them! It doesn't matter if I know them or not! Secondly, you are nothing like that little asshole that attacked the town. You are Risabeel an all-around nice girl as far as I can tell, even if you are a Demon! That's just another reason for me to like you!" Blake started yelling in Risabeel's face without giving her any time to butt in not even realizing that he said that he liked her. "And finally you have to come with me cause you're a weapon that I made so you can't say no! Got it?!"

"..." And with that, Blake left Risabeel completely dazed until she just rested her head on Blake's chest. "...As you wish, Sir Blake."

"Ok, it worked! Now's my chance! Just stay calm and put my arms around her then if I'm lucky, I might get a kiss out of this." Blake thought about to put his plan into action when the annoyingly happy neigh of Nash broke him and Risabeel apart. "Goddess dammit! I am going to kill that horse someday!" Blake yelled inside his head while hiding his rage as Nash came up to them. "Hey, Nash, what 'perfect' timing you have, bud." He greeted the horse holding back a groan,

"?" Nash just came up to Blake with a letter in his mouth which got Blake's attention.

"Huh? What's this?" Blake took the letter and opened it, seeing some fantastic handwriting.

Hey, runt! Isabelle and Mari are done making that feast for your lazy ass, so get back here, or else I'll eat everything there is!

P.S Did you kiss her yet? If not grow a pair dammit!

"Oh? Is it a message from someone back at your house?" Risabeel asked, trying to see what was on the letter from behind Blake.

"AAAHHHH!" Blake screamed and quickly tore the letter to shreds then threw them into the air to get carried off by the wind, leaving Risabeel very confused. "Uhm? Yea, yea, it was! It said that my mom's done with cooking, so we should head back! HAHAHA!" He laughed nervously then rubbed the back of his head and jumped on top of Nash. "So, let's just go already, alright?"

"Yes?" Risabeel agreed but was wondering what got Blake in such a state maybe she should ask his mother about it.

Back at Blake's home

Thanks to Nash getting back was quick and easy, but when they got to Blake's home, there was a large cart next to the house. Well, it was more like a small house on wheels than a cart. Dark oak was used for most of its contraction with the back end being an outdoor furnace made from red bricks complete with a chimney that was puffing out smoke. Its roof was painted red, and a door was on either side of the cart with small stairs that almost touched the ground, and finally, it stood on four large wooden wheels.

"Whoa! That's cool!" Blake cheered, hopping off of Nash and took a closer at the cart when he walked up to the driver's seat in front he noticed a sign that read: Blake's Blazing Smithy in a stylish font. "And it looks like it's mine! Sweet!" He smiled at the thought of having this as a new workshop while he was away from town.

"Like what see you, runt?" Reiner asked, coming out from behind the cart with his usual toothy grin in full view.

"Yea, I do, but how did you make this thing on such short notice, pops?" Blake asked, taking his time to inspect every inch of the cart.

"Hah, wasn't too hard I might have put aside some of my gold to make it in secret, and it also helps when you tell everyone in town that the person who got rid of those Demons was little old Blake, eh?" Reiner answered, crossing his arms with pride.

"Huh? Never thought doing the right thing came with this kind of benefit! Heh, I should do it more often!" Blake joked now finished with his little tour of the outside of the cart and was about take a look inside when Reiner grabbed him by the head and lifted him off the ground. "HEY! PUT ME DOWN!"

"Don't worry you'll get a lot of time to stick your nose in there after you're long gone," Reiner said, carrying Blake inside with Risabeel following them trying to hold back a giggle.

After getting inside Reiner brought Blake to the living room which was rearranged to look like a dining hall with the mouth-watering sight of masterfully prepared food from, succulent roasted meat to freshly prepared vegetables to ripe fruit and of course baked sweets, all laid out on a grand dining table that Blake didn't even know his mom had.

"Wow..." Blake was in complete amazement and let his mouth hang out open until he felt a small tug on his arm, looking to his right he found Mari. "Hey, Mari, you and mom did a fant-!"

"Hurry up and taste something! And tell me if it's good or not!" Mari demanded, pulling Blake towards a chair near the table, focusing him to sit, then she grabbed a spoon and dipped it into a bowl of soup. "Taste this! I made it! By myself," She ordered, bringing the spoon to Blake's face.

"Ok, ok! Not so rough you'll take my eye out with that thing," Blake took the spoon from Mari and brought it to his mouth having a taste of the soup. "~Mmm~! Great job, Mari!" He approved of Mari's cooking and dug into the soup, but Mari stopped him by tapping his hand. "Yea?"

"My treat, my treat, treat! Treat!" Mari cheered like the brat she was and jumped into Blake's lap to stare up at him with wistful eyes.

"Uh, right? Hmm? Here you go!" Blake patted Mari on her head as a reward, after a few moments of that Blake stopped when Mari gave him a dull but hate-filled look. "Mari what's wro-!" Without giving Blake any time to think Mari shoved the entire bowl of soup in his face.

"Hmph!" Mari then jumped off Blake's lap and stomped away.

"Did I do something to upset her?" Blake asked, annoyed as he wiped some of the soup out of his eyes.

"Please, let me help with that, Sir Blake." Risabeel offered quickly with a wash rag in hand.

"Thanks, Risabeel, at least someone is nice to me!" Blake thanked her extra loudly, giving Mari a small glare that she returned.

"Excuse me but do they act like this way normally?" Risabeel asked quietly to Isabelle while Blake and Mari were having a staring contest as Reiner was neck deep in food and drinks.

"~Oh~ Marius just wanted something more from Blake is all, I'm sure they'll be in each other arms later on," Isabelle answered then took Risabeel by her arm. "And as for you girly! Come on! Enjoy the food, hehe!" She giggled, pulling Risabeel along with her to enjoy the festivities.

Town Gate

After Blake's going away party, everyone headed for the gate to see Blake and Risabeel off along with Nash who was pulling the cart for them. "Alright, food...? Check, clothes for Risabeel and me...? Check, smithing tools...? Check, wood for the furnace...? Check. And that weapon delivery for the army...OK! All set to go!" Blake declared after making sure everything was in place then he turned to Reiner.

"..." They stared at each other for a bit until Reiner held out his arm, which Blake took in his.

"Thanks for the years of torment old man, I'll make sure to put you out of business soon enough, once I get everything set up in the capital." Blake mocked his father and teacher one last time.

"HAH! I hope they kick your sorry ass out once they see your ugly mug!" Reiner mocked back, giving Blake's arm a good shake then he and Blake shared a look of respect between them.

"Whoa!" But suddenly Reiner brought Blake in for a massive bear hug. "Uh...?" Blake couldn't say anything and just went with it hugging Reiner back.

But then Reiner pushed Blake away forcibly. "Listen here that! Didn't happen! It was just your imagination! Forget it or less!" He warned, shaking a fist in Blake's face while a tear was trying to come out of one of his eyes.

"Dear, can't you just admit that you're going to miss him, hehe!" Isabelle teased, giggling and hugged Blake as well. "Be safe, my ~little baby~, ok?" She told him, pinching Blake's cheeks.

"MOM! I am seven-freaking-teen! And OW! THAT HURTS!" Blake screamed when Isabelle was trying to rip off his skin all with a loving smile on her face. "Let ugh Gooo!" until Blake was able to pry her away from him then looked around for a little girl with black and orange hair. "Where's Mari?"

"When we were leaving I asked if she wanted to come, and see you off, but she said 'she didn't want to see your dumb face and you should go far away with that vile Demon woman' and then locked herself in her room," Isabelle answered, shaking her head after repeating Mari's words. "That girl can be so troublesome at times."

"Well, maybe that's for the better I don't need her crying and trying to stop me from going," Blake muttered a little halfheartedly then went over to the cart and jumped into the driver's seat to wait for Risabeel to say her goodbyes to his parents.

"Thank you both, for treating me with such kindness, I will always remember you," Risabeel gave a curtsy both to Reiner and Isabelle.

"Oh! You don't need to thank us Risabeel now come ~here~" Isabelle quickly pulled Risabeel in for a hug then let go for Reiner to put in his words.

"I ain't got much to say to you, girly just make sure that the runt doesn't get himself killed." Were the only words Reiner said to Risabeel before patting her on the head.

"I will try," Risabeel assured him before walking away from them and took a seat next to Blake.

"Alright, Nash, move out!" Blake yelled, giving the reins on Nash a light crack causing him to pull the cart off and out of Fairmaw.

1 hour of travailing later

Blake and Risabeel were slowly going through the countryside without anything much happening. "Man, this is boring, hey, Mari, mind getting the map for me? So I can see how long it's going to take us to get to the capital?" Blake asked while keeping his eyes lazily on the road.

"Sir Blake, Marius is not here with us currently," Risabeel gave Blake a questioning look, but before she could ask Blake if he was going insane, Mari with a map in hand popped out from behind a curtain that led inside the cart from the driver's seat. "Marius? When did you get here!?"

"Here you go, Blake." Mari ignored Risabeel and handed Blake the map then went back into the cart do whatever she was doing before Blake called her.

"I asked her if she wanted to come with us and her answer was as you can see 'yes.' Sooooo? We made a plan, and now she's here, simple," Blake answered, looking at the map in one hand while the other was used to hold Nash's reins. "Hmm? It looks like it might take us about a month maybe a little bit longer if we keep going at this pace." He muttered, turning and twisting the map around a little to make sure he was looking at it right.

"But Sir Blake, how did Marius get into the cart in the first place when your mother went to see her?" Risabeel asked, trying to guess how Blake and Mari pulled this off.

"Easy, she went out the window and climbed down to the cart after Reiner and I were done loading it with that weapon delivery," Blake answered, leaning back to take a load off.

"But I am sure your parents will be quite worried or in Sir Reiner's case, madly furious with your decision of taking their young child on a journey such as this one!" Risabeel argued, raising her voice to get her point across.

"~Oh~ Risabeel, calm down, everything is going to be fine and besides I left them a letter saying that I took her, so it's ok," Blake told her having a completely laid back view on the thing he just did and even patted Risabeel on the head to calm her down. "I bet they're about to go and check up on Mari, right now."

Back at Blake's home

"Hmm?" Reiner was sitting in the living room with a mug of ale in one hand and a long list of items people wanted him to make in the other when Isabelle came up behind him with a small letter in her hand which she dropped in Reiner's lap causing him to look at her. "Huh? What's this more work orders?" Reiner groaned not wanting to look at the letter.

"No, something that I found in Marius' room when I went to check on her and dear try not to get too angry," Isabelle answered, taking a few steps back for what was to come next.

"Why would this make me angry...?" Reiner trailed off as he started to go through the letter, and slowly veins began to appear on his bald head, and his face turned red with rage. "...THAT LAZY ASS! DISRESPECTFUL! LITTLE SHIT! SON OF A BITCH! I AM GOING TO RIP HIS FUCKING ARMS OFF FOR THIS BULLSHIT!" Reiner yelled, shaking the entire house with his voice. "RAAAAH!" Then picked up the chair he was sitting on and tossed it out a window which was followed by someone outside screaming in pain about their leg. "SHUT UP AND TAKE IT LIKE REAL MAN!"

"Dear, I said; try not to get too angry." Isabelle shook her head at Reiner's outburst. "He really didn't take this well." She thought, picking up the letter after Reiner dropped it. It was written in Blake's handwriting and read the following;

Dear mom and old fart,

Marius, your daughter, that you both love with all your heart and would do anything to keep her safe is coming with me on my long and likely dangerous trip across the land to the capital. Since I'm going to be starting up my own blacksmith business there, she is probably not coming back for a while so I hope you guys can understand that and thanks for all the years for putting up with us!

Your son,

Blake.

"I knew, I should have checked the cart when we were done instead of letting that runt do it! GRRRR!" Reiner growled like one of the Hellspawns ready to storm out of town and hunt Blake down with the intent of mounting his head on a wall right next to his Garlan.

"Reiner, don't you think you're acting just a tad bit unreasonable if I remember right you and I did the same thing back in our younger days, hehe!" Isabelle remarked, giggling to herself with her hands on the sides of her face as she remembered her pas with Reiner.

"Yes, we did, and at the end of it all we got married, but this time it's Blake and Mari! Our little girl!" Was Reiner's retort, shaking Isabelle because she was taking things too easy.

"~Oh~ they're brother and sister we have nothing to worry about, dear." Isabelle pointed out, causing Reiner to stop shaking her and gave her a blank stare. "Hmm? What's with that face? You're making me feel dumb, and that's not very ~nice~" She put on a pout.

"Isabelle, did you forget that we adopted Blake?" Reiner asked, and Isabelle's answer came in an 'Oh' face. "Exactly! *Sigh* Sometimes, I feel like you don't even have your head on right."

"Hmph! You shouldn't talk to your wife like that Reiner, but they're already gone. So what's the point? Even if we go after them right now, who knows which road they took to the capital," Isabelle explained with a pouty face at her husband's earlier remark.

At that Reiner let go of her and ran a hand through his beard. "I hate it when you're right...I'll try not to think about how that runt tricked me off while I work..." He muttered about to go out back to his smithy when Isabelle let out a small cough stopping him. "Huh? What is it?" He asked, and Isabelle pointed to the broken window. "...Right, I'll get on that one first."

In the middle of a forest somewhere close to Fairmaw

Valac sat under a tree with his grimoire resting open in his lap on its pages was a bird's eye view of Blake's cart on the open road. "So that mortal is not staying in his little hole and is out and about, eh?" He said to himself, thinking deeply for a moment. "Ngh!" But a surge of pain from his chest brought him out of it. "*pant* I should not have given him such a chance! This wound is more annoying than I thought it would be." He looked down at the large slash Blake put in him when they last met. It was healing slower than Valac would have liked due to the dark mana coming from it. "But it is good to see that lady Risabeel's power has not gone away along with her memory...at least part of it."

While Valac was thinking about this, the orb of blackness appeared above him. "Valac, report to us." Its malevolent voice came full force as it floated down to Valac.

"I have found lady Risabeel, but there is a problem," Valac answered his master as that uneasy feeling came over him while the orb stayed close to him.

"This problem? Is it the fact that she has lost her memory and has been turned into a weapon by that boy with the red hair and hammer?" The orb asked, seeming to know what happened without Valac saying a word.

"I see, you already know that much my lord, then you must know that I was defeated by said boy correct?" Valac asked, choosing to lower his head as not to meet the gaze of the orb's non-existing eyes.

"...Yes, we do, we saw as you allowed the boy to use Risabeel's power to defeat you and how you did nothing to stop him, Valac..." The orb answered, releasing a small amount of itself that floated to Valac's wound and went into it. "This will help with that."

"!" Valac was forced off the ground and into the air. "AH! RAAGGHH!" He screamed in pain as the dark mana from his wound was ripped out of him and collected into a ball. "GUAH!" Afterward, Valac was dropped back down, and in moments, his wound had closed up like it was never there. "T-t-thank you, my lord, I would have done so myself if I had my full power," Valac said, waving a hand over his body to fix his clothing and wipe away any sign of his dried black blood.

"Valac, we warned you before your departure from the Underworld in order for your mission to go unnoticed, the sealing of your power was necessary, so do with what you have." The orb ordered while it absorbed the ball of mana that it took from Valac.

"As you wish my lord." Valac obeyed, making his grimoire fly to his hands then opened it to make sure he could still see the cart. "And now I shall have my revenge on that boy for causing me such a disgrace!" He declared, letting his wings flap out from under his cape but the orb went above him as he was about to fly. "My lord? Is there something you wish of me?"

"Yes, we want you to watch them for now..." The orb ordered, leaving Valac confused to which it noticed. "...do not question us, there is simply something we wish to know about this boy, and once we are sure of it, you may act out your mission as you see fit understand, Valac."

"Yes, I shall do as I am told, my lord." Valac agreed, putting his wings away.

"Good, until next, we meet again, our servant." The orb bid Valac farewell as it disappeared into the nothingness, leaving Valac to himself.

"Hmm? Red hair and a hammer." Valac said, zooming in on Blake with his grimoire. "Where have I seen such a combination before?"

Chapter End