The training went on. Though the boy had to take some breaks here and there since his lungs were not strong enough to withstand the breathing method for a long time.

“Huft…. Finally! Although it’s only a small bit of neutral mana that I can absorb for now, I think it’s good enough to be a guide for me to improve further… I need to keep repeating this so I can do it without the need to be a hundred percent focused on trying to absorb the neutral mana, maybe trying to use the breathing method when I’m moving around…” the boy was mumbling on his own, trying to analyze what was the best thing to do to improve faster.

So, as the training continued, the boy lost his sense of time. It was already past noon, around 3-4 PM when suddenly the sound of someone calling out for him was heard, making the boy stop his training.

“Summer!”

“Bro-brother… I’m glad you are okay…”

The boy now had bandages all over his body after getting treated by Lady Jade. Summer was relieved to see that he had gotten the treatment he needed, and she quickly took a look around.

“Brother… I only see George here… where are Roxel and Adle?”

The boy bit his lips real hard, he clenched his fist and finally spoke with difficulty.

“They… didn’t make it… I’m sorry…”

“Th-that’s a lie, right, brother…?” Summer was trembling nonstop. She was devastated to hear the news. She couldn’t hold her tears and started crying loudly.

Her crying woke George up, George asked the boy why both of them were crying, and when he heard the reason, he started crying himself too. The boy walked toward the two kids and hugged them gently. For a while, the room was filled with sorrow.

…

The grimoire just stayed quiet the whole time. It stood beside a small table in the corner of the room, hiding behind unused wood planks until the boy finally spoke up.

“Don’t force yourselves, okay? You can visit their graves later. Here, have some water first,” said the boy as he walked to the small table in the far corner where the grimoire was.

The boy had already told the grimoire to conceal itself from the kids for the time being, not because he didn’t trust them, but because the grimoire was really a huge thing.

One, the grimoire was a peculiar existence. It possessed the ability to fly and converse with others, which was completely unheard of. Not to mention, it contained breathing techniques that no one had ever heard of, which was also the greatest reason why the boy decided not to tell the kids about it.

Second, grimoires were quite pricey. The boy heard about it from a party of adventurers when he was passing by that a grimoire took a fortune to buy.

Grimoires were divided by tiers just like other equipment. The better the quality of the materials and so the price would follow suit.

Even the boy who was living in the slums for his entire life knew that this grimoire was made by extraordinary materials. If other people were to know of its existence, only God knows how many people would try to steal it from the boy, not to mention if he were to tell about it, they would be in danger as well.

That was why he kept quiet about the grimoire.

...

The boy continued to tend to George and Summer because they were fast asleep again not long after they visited the graves of Adle and Roxel. When it was almost mid day, both of them woke up again.

“How are you guys feeling?”

“We are fine now, brother.”

“Yeah, we are fine… uh, but what about today’s quota? Me and George can still walk around a little, but I don’t think that we’ll be able to get the money…”

“I never plan to get the money anyway. We are going to escape.”

“What?!” Summer and George were shocked, then Summer hurriedly asked, “But where to? We don’t have any money.”

“I will explain, but we have to start with how you guys got treated then…”

The boy explained about the doctor, Lady Jade and everything that happened when they were unconscious.

“I see… so that kind lady was the one who treated us…” George said, feeling thankful.

“But… Why did she go so far as to treat us? Not to mention, she even said that we can leave with her.”

“I don’t know either… but one thing for sure, leaving with her is the best choice for us than to stay here.”

“... Okay!”

“We will be leaving thirty minutes from now after I finish preparing what we need.”

...

“Okay, we are set!”

Since there was nothing much for them to bring, it was done earlier than expected, and so the boy decided to move as soon as possible.

The Grimoire was hiding inside his robe as usual, but now, he didn’t let it peek outside since it was dangerous.

“Let's go!”

The boy and the kids walked out from the house, wearing their tattered hoodies, the three of them set off.

“Be careful, just walk slowly and let’s take the farthest route so we wouldn’t meet Ted’s gang members.” The boy said in a low voice as he led the two kids walking toward the back of the house.

“Okay, brother!”

The boy nodded his head. “Come here, we will go this way.”

There was a hole in the back wall of the house that was only big enough for kids to go through. The boy found it before, it was in the least place people would go around to, so Ted and his salted fishes didn’t know about it.

The boy and the kids went to the promised place with the most safe route they knew, they wanted to avoid Ted’s men completely.

After over forty minutes of trying to avoid the gang members, they were finally near the meeting place. They had already gone to the adventurers guild but didn’t find Lady Jade, so they headed to the clinic in the marketplace area.

“Okay, you guys stay hidden here, I’ll find Lady Jade first, okay?”

“Okay, brother!” the two kids answered in unison.

The boy nodded and headed in toward the clinic, leaving the two kids in a back alley and hid themselves.

The boy walked in, he saw a receptionist desk, along with some chairs and a small table at the side with people sitting on it, waiting for their turn. The clinic was quite crowded, since many people were injured everyday.

Of course the people who visited this small clinic in the marketplace area are all from poor families, since wealthy nobles and merchants would just invite a famous doctor or healer to treat them.

This clinic was built as an emergency clinic at the time of the raging fire that happened a long time ago that almost burned down the capital of the Eglustan Kingdom.

The clinic was such a place full of history, but now, it was just an ordinary place to treat the unfortunate people of this capital city.

The ruins of the city where the boy fell into the river before were the remains of the old city that was burned down.

“Uhm, is Lady Jade here?”

The receptionist was a young girl, she wore a white long sleeve shirt. The girl looked below toward the desk, since the boy wasn’t tall because of his age, the desk was taller than him.

“Ohh, yes, but if you want to get treated, dad can also do it for you since Miss Jade is now looking at a patient, so you might have to wait for a while.”

“Ah, no, I’m not looking to get treated, I have something to deliver to her, but it has to be personally given to her, I was ordered to.”

The boy decided just to tell her that he had an errand to do. Since he had to tell Lady Jade about his decision as soon as possible.

The girl thought that it was completely a usual thing because Lady Jade often had these kinds of kids getting paid by her to do errands everyday.

Of course the boy didn’t know about it. It was just a coincidence.

“Okay, wait here for a while, I will inform her and when she is done treating her patient, I will tell you.”

“Thanks.” The boy nodded his head.

He waited for ten minutes and finally, the receptionist called him to go to Lady Jade’s room.

“Good afternoon Lady Jade.”

“Ah, so it’s you, child. I was confused when I was informed about an errand boy that’s been waiting for me.”

“Ah, yes… about that…”

“Haha, it’s alright.” Lady Jade giggled while her left hand covered her mouth, she was so beautiful. The boy was mesmerized for a second. “So, have you decided?”

“Yes, me and the two kids will be going with you… but...”

“But?”

“I have to settle the unsettled business first.” The boy said with unwavering eyes.

Lady Jade looked toward the boy and sighed. “Have you thought things through?”

“Yes.”

“...well, it’s your decision.” Lady Jade shook her head. “Okay, but I won’t be waiting for you. I will head off tomorrow morning without exception. So if you are late…”

“I will make sure not to be late even if I have to drag myself.”

She sighed. “Okay. Let the two kids go here, I’ll keep them safe.”

The boy heaved a relieved breath. “Thank you so much, they will be in your care.”

…

The boy had introduced Lady Jade to the two kids and told them that he had something to do, he lied to them so they wouldn’t come with him by saying that he will be running errands for Lady Jade in preparation for their departure tomorrow and whatnot.

Finally the boy had all the time he had to train and be sure to exact vengeance for his dead siblings. He just had to be sure that he wouldn’t be late before tomorrow morning.

He went to the ruins of the old city and found a nice hidden place there and started his training.

“I’ll make you pay for it today, just you wait!” The boy said in his heart, determination in his eyes.