Chapter 31:

Rine squinted his eyes as he savored the warm taste of his grandfather’s cooking. Though lacking in complexity, it more than made up for it in bold flavor. The tender yet juicy texture of the meat exploding forth in a heavily seasoned flavor followed up by the crunchiness of the meat’s grilled outer layer all culminated in an umami sensation that left Rine awestruck.

Coming home to Paramin was worth it solely for this feast.

“So, what have you got to tell me?” Earl asked as he watched his beloved grandson devour the meal he prepared.

The young man nearly choked as he heard the question he’d been dreading. But soon he reaffirmed his resolve and took out a pouch before tossing it towards the old man.

The bag landed on the table with a heavy thud as its lid opened to reveal shimmering red crystals, causing the old man’s eyes to widen.

But before Earl could ask, Rine already began telling his story.

The young man knew that in order to successfully deceive this village head, he would have to weave a tale with just enough truths to back up the lies.

According to Rine, just after he failed the test he began wandering the streets aimlessly. Suddenly, he happened upon a man who offered him a job. Rather idiotically, the young boy accepted and was thus introduced to the man’s team as a porter. After a tragic series of events which included the sacrifice of most of his team, Rine found himself furiously running back to Phentar in hopes of meeting the guild behind the team. Fortunately, the guild known as Heaven Fall cooperated and the matter was dealt with swiftly. One of the guild’s team leaders after seeing potential in Rine, or perhaps after taking pity in him, offered to let the young man join his team as a mainstay porter.

Of course, Rine embellished the story in places where he thought it was appropriate. In particular, he spent a long time describing the fight he had against one wolf and how he managed to ingeniously use his only spell to blow the beast up from the inside.

As Earl listened to his grandson blabber, traces of a smile could be seen in his eyes.

“Well, I see you’ve had a fun time…”

“Yup, yup.” The young man nodded vehemently.

“So the purpose of you telling me all this, I presume, is so that I may allow you to join the guild?” Earl hit upon the heart of the matter.

Rine blinked and the brashness of his grandfather's words, in truth he expected the old man to be glad that he managed to join a guild in the first place. “Y-yeah I guess.”

The old man eyed Rine solemnly before asking. “Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you in such a rush. It would be considerably easier for you to sit tight in the village and train for another year. If what you said is true then you could already be considered to have crossed the threshold of being a Magician due to you being able to reliably cast the spell now. So why risk your life joining a guild?”

It had to be known that joining a guild was not a matter to be taken lightly as they often issued missions that involved a fair amount of danger. Guild work ranged anywhere from common escort missions to full-fledged mercenary work. While it was an efficient way to gain experience, it was also fraught with danger. So why would anyone join in? The answer was simple, for power.

And what did a young man barely on the cusp of adolescence want with power?

Earl knew the answer to that and he couldn’t help but look over to a certain wall in the house where a certain secret was buried. And he sighed because of it.

Silence permeated the pair as the young man struggled to answer the question posed.

The old man did not seem to care as he abruptly made his way towards the wall. Lifting his fist gently he took in a sharp breath before ramming it into the wooden wall.

Rine stood up in a fluster as he watched this. “G-grandpa what are you doing?”

But the old man did not seem to listen and merely carried on with his strange behavior. Now sticking his hand inside the wall, the old man seemed to be searching for something.

Finally finding it, the old man pulled a wooden box out of the wall and returned to the table.

Rine’s eyes were glued to the box and his heart began to inadvertently throb.

“We never talked about your parents have we?” The old man asked as he fondly wiped the dust off the box.

Rine’s body grew stiff at his words. The matter concerning his parents seemed to be a sore spot for both of them. In his youth, Rine tried countless times to get Earl to reveal the truth to him, but every time he was met with either silence or adamant attempts to change the subject. One particularly sour exchange ended with the old man rebuking him for asking too many questions.

“Your mother, my daughter, was by all accounts a happy child. We provided her with everything a growing girl needed, but soon we learned a fact that left us equal parts proud and concerned. She was so very curious.

She wanted to know everything, she wanted to see everything. The greatest joy of hers were our trips outside the village; if only you could see the gleam in her eyes as she studied every minute detail of the other villages we visited. Pretty soon she knew just about all there was to know about the surrounding land. She knew all of the villagers' names, their jobs, their families. She knew the land like the back of her hand.

Which is why she began to grow bored and started pestering us to visit Phentar,” The old man paused as his eyes grew hazy. He swallowed his saliva and seemed to almost brace himself for what was to come.

“I can still remember that day, you know. So clearly in all its grotesque vividness, I can still recall it. I had just secured the funds necessary to have a nice trip to Phentar, and I was more than excited to share the news with my two beloveds. Soon enough we had packed all the things we needed and were on the next carriage out of the village.

The bandits killed her quickly, which was kind of them,” The old man said venomously as hate radiated from his eyes.

“Halfway through the trip, we were assaulted by a group of bandits who viciously tore through the carriage’s defenses. Try as I might, I was simply too powerless to stop them. So, before my very eyes and before the eyes of your mother, the men slaughtered my wife in cold blood, and nearly did the same to us. Thankfully, nearby warriors heard the ruckus and came to our rescue, fending the assailants off. Thus peace was restored.” He issued a hollow laugh that carried traces of mockery and self-loathing.

“After the incident, your mother, Charlotte, grew distant from everyone and everything. I could feel it. Deep down she grew to hate me. The years passed and she grew to become a beautiful woman.

During this time we barely spoke and I had thrown my entirety into my work, leading to me rising through the village ranks. This is why I held the honor of hosting an honored guest in my home. That guest was your father. He came to the village wounded and seeking assistance, and when the village heads discovered that he was a powerful Magician of the fifth grade, they welcomed him with open arms.

And so it came to be he stayed at my house. He was a fine man, if not a little conceited, but him being a powerful magician earned him the right to be so. So naturally, the Magician and Charlotte fell in love. Time marched on and events unfolded, leading to the birth of our very own Rine.” The old man offered him a thin smile.

“Charlotte and I still barely spoke, but I was ok with that. She seemed happier, and that was enough for me. Her smile as she held you was mesmerizing Rine. For once in far too long a time, I saw my true daughter again.

Which is why it shocked me when, not a week after you were born, they vanished without a trace. Well, not exactly without a trace.” The old man fiddled with the box, before opening it.

Rine, stunned silly by the story, remained rooted in place. But he was forced to look downwards as Earl turned the box towards him. Inside the seemingly simple box was an elegant looking emblem. The head of a golden lion was depicted bearing its teeth in a prideful snarl. The emblem caused the young man to tremble.

“This was the only thing they left behind; It was in this very box beside your crib. Rine, I realize now that I have made many mistakes in raising you. Chief among them being my attempts to stifle your curiosity, but in truth, I was just afraid. You see, I hate myself. I loathe how weak and utterly powerless I was to prevent your grandmother’s death, I hate how complacently I stood by and allowed your mother to leave you. I hate myself so much, I resolved to turn you into something better than I. It is for that reason that I pushed you so hard in youth to study the ways of Origin. In some vain hopes of perhaps preparing you for the journey, you would undoubtedly take I pushed you to learn.”

The two were crying now.

“And now the time has come for you to leave. Just like your mother.” Earl stood up and held his grandson’s face, gently caressing it. “I will not stand in your way, my boy. I merely ask you to know this: I love you, and this will forever be your home.”

Rine Immediately stood up as he pushed the box aside, he leaped into his grandfather’s embrace and hugged him tightly. Between sobs, he said.

“No, you did nothing wrong grandpa, I love you, thank you, I love you. I’m the one who is being selfish, you’re enough, you are all the family I need. I just want to know why. Why did they leave us? I am not trying to replace you, I don’t want to leave you.” The boy’s words came out in a nervous fluster as he rattled on trying to convey his complex emotions.

The old man smiled as he stroked the back of the young lad’s head. “I know. I know” He said.

After a few minutes, the two men cooled down and the atmosphere grew awkward. They had attempted to navigate the complex mire that was human emotions, and as a result, they were both sufficiently embarrassed.

The old man faked a cough before asking “So… When are ya leaving?”

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“What an odd question to ask~,” Sally said in perfect English. If not for the cutesy tone she decided to adopt on a whim, she would have sounded as if she spoke English throughout her entire life.

“I guess it is huh?” Cort agreed as he skimmed through a book. His use of Phentin was also well-practiced, though he lacked the fluency inherent to native speakers.

“What’s the difference between guilds and gangs” Sally restated the question as she twirled a curl of her hair. “Well, I can see where you are coming from. They do seem to function similarly and at their core, they do seem to take on the same tasks. But they are totally two different things dude.”

Cort flinched at the young maiden’s wording. It took his all not to start laughing.

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