Once inside, Leon got to work immediately, cutting up fresh vegetables and reheating yesterday’s broth. Cara tied up her hair and took out some smoked meat from the pantry. Maren and the children instead were sitting in the dining room while he told them stories to pass the time.

“I swear I think I’m the one who married into the family. You and Dad are so alike.” Leon said to his wife with a sigh.

Cara giggled and replied, ”Why? Just because we like teasing you? It’s because you look too cute when you get embarrassed, dear.”

“He does, doesn’t he? I remember, whenever I got home after a long day in the office, I would just tease Leon a little and his face would just lift up my spirits.” Maren said, joining the couple in the kitchen. The children were sleepy after their walk so he decided to let them get some rest before dinner.

At this, Leon gave a prime demonstration, earning another laugh from his father and his wife.

…

After dinner, Maren pulled Evan aside, saying he wanted to have a little talk with the soon-to-be birthday boy. When they entered the guest room, Maren shut the door and after making sure no one was eavesdropping he pulled out a package from underneath the bed.

“Happy early birthday, Evan. Here’s your present!”

Curious, Evan ripped the wrapping open to discover: a lantern forged from black metal, cold to the touch with light red soot on the bottom that seemed to light up periodically.

‘W-what? The Nightmare Lantern?! How is this possible?’

Tears welled up in Evan’s eyes as painful memories began to resurface, memories he had long repressed. His grandfather from back on Earth had given him this same lantern. It was the last gift he had ever given Evan before he passed.

The memories of how his grandfather had taken care of him and his mother after his father died in an accident. How he had cared like they were his own family, how he had died struggling to breathe the sweet air that would allow to live just a few seconds longer. The helplessness as one of his few connections towards reality faded right in front of him without being able to do anything about it. The very same helplessness that fueled his passion for medicine back on Earth. Back where he still had Erin.

Erin.

‘I wonder how she’s doing back on Earth. Is she still grieving my death? Has she moved on? ‘

‘Has she found someone else to care for?’

‘After all, I was the one holding her back from her dreams. Now that I’m gone, she should be happy,’ Evan thought with each statement stabbing his heart, unaware that he had been crying silently the whole time in front of his grandfather.

Maren felt uncomfortable to say the least. He did not expect the boy to break down in tears, however, he could see the pain in Evan’s eyes and simply decided to hold the boy.

“There, there. Just let it all go. It’s fine to not be alright. I’m here for you.”

At this, Evan began to cry in earnest, letting out all his grief that he had bottled up over losing Erin, his only friend, his ray of sunshine when he had been depressed, uncaring about the world.

‘I should be happy that she’s happy, so why gods does it hurt so much? When I come back, if I even come back, would she still remember me? Would she still look the same?’

As if in a trance, Evan began to create a hologram of his childhood friend using magic. Shaping her long black hair, her fringe, her supple, lithe figure, her long slender legs. Maren watched in awe as the sniffling boy began to perform magic unlike anything he had ever seen.

“Who was she?” He asked softly.

“She was someone who cared for me for a long time, even sacrificing her own dreams for my sake. The most beautiful woman I have ever met, giving up her own dreams for me when I had nothing to give in return. She-”

“Sorry, I should have phrased it better.” Maren said with a chuckle, cutting Evan short. “I meant, who is she to you?”

Evan thought about the question for a while before answering, “She is someone I want to be with but I am scared. I don’t know if she’ll reject me, if she already has someone else, heck I don’t even know if I can even reach her, or if I’m good enough for her.”

“Woah, calm down there. First of all, if you’re scared of being rejected and don’t ask her out, then what was just a maybe will happen for sure. Second, if you’re scared about not being good enough or you can’t reach her, then at least you’ve tried to reach her, haven’t you?”

Evan nodded in reply.

“Then, that’s good enough. As long as you try your best, you’ll be good enough for her. I mean she did stay as long as she did when you had nothing. How much more would she stay with you if you had something?”

Evan pondered his grandfather’s words before nodding again.

“See, you’re a smart boy, Evan. Don’t worry about the small details and focus on the bigger picture so you don’t lose sight of your goals. And finally, if she does already have someone else, you could always just steal the girl from him.” Maren said with a wink, getting a laugh out of Evan.

“Pervert.”

Maren laughed and patted him on the back before saying, “Remember, just try your best and you’ll get her.”

Evan nodded, “Thank you, Grandpa.”

Maren grinned and added. “Oh and you don’t need to worry, your secret is safe with me. As long as you don't tell your parents I gave you your birthday present early."

Freezing, Evan's brain started thinking.

'Wait, he doesn't know I'm from another world and I just showed him a hologram of a woman and told him I loved her. Does he think…'

"Grandpa, I swear it's not what you think."

"No need to be embarrassed, kid. We all have our own interests and look for our own ways to satisfy them. Back in my day…" He said with a sly grin. Evan turned beet-red at the allegation and Maren roared with laughter.

"Anyway, Grandpa, what is this thing?" Evan asked, pointing to the lantern.

"Trying to deflect the conversation, huh? Oh well.”

“This, Evan, is what is called a magical artifact. You've probably seen them around the house, although you probably haven't realized it. They are powered by mana crystals and can do just about anything, provide water for the sink, heat for the stove, and so much more.”

‘So this world isn’t completely medieval, huh.’

“Before people discovered magical artifacts, their lives were a lot harder. Can you imagine, without magical artifacts, your mother would have to light a fire, burn firewood, and control the temperature just to cook you a meal?"

Evan simply nodded politely.

In truth, no one in the house trusted Cara with cooking anything other than stock or something that was precooked like smoked meat. If Evan knew how to contact the authors of the bestiary he owned, he would have called them and alerted them to a new species of monster every time Cara tried to make something for the family. This was why Leon usually cooked while Cara sorted the paperwork for the Galien Trading Company.

"So how do I use the lantern, Grandpa? And what can it do?"

"For your first question, it's simple. You just have to channel your mana into it to form an imprint. Doing so will let the artifact recognize your mana and allow only you to use it."

Evan immediately tried to imprint the lantern. Closing his eyes, he activated his breathing technique to observe the mana inside his body. As he touched the lantern, he channeled the mana from his body into the lantern.

Under his breathing technique, he could see several veins growing in the lantern to accept his mana. Suddenly, the bottom of the lantern began to glow and with it a searing pain branded itself on his palm where he had touched the lantern. Hissing softly, Evan yanked his hand away from the lantern. He could see a mark appear on his hand before fading away as quickly as it had appeared.

Maren was ecstatic when he saw the mark on Evan's palm.

"Gods, you are lucky, Evan. Only high-grade magical artifacts mark their owners like that. Those usually signify that the artifact is special and can do amazing things."

"I understand, Grandpa but do you know what it does?"

"That I'm afraid, I do not know. I just happened to find it at a shop near a tavern called The Laughing Hag."

“Let’s go back now, your parents must be worried.”

Wiping the least of his tears, Evan nodded and asked.

“Grandpa, can you pick me up? I’m tired.”

“Sure thing, Evan.” Maren said, smiling.

…

“Alright gang, listen up. We got a job from the boss.”

“Yeah, yeah. You always say that Jerry. When are we getting paid?”

Jerry sighed. Being the middleman between a gang of thugs and their source of income was never an easy job. Luckily, the Boss had told him some good news.

“We get paid with the job. We raid the Galien house, get a package for the Boss, pick up a few trinkets on the way, and we get out. Simple, and pays well.”

“Galien? As in Galien Trading Company? I heard from a guy in the tavern that there are a lot of people looking for dirt on them. Looks like this’ll be a good job after all.”

Everyone present had a malicious grin. If there was one thing they had left in their hearts, it was money.

“Hey, do you think the boss would notice if I got to play with that slave he got a few days ago? I mean as long as I pull out, it shouldn't matter, right?” One of the thugs whispered to his friend.

“I don’t know, “ He said with a shrug. “But if you’re planning on doing the deed, invite me.” He said with a perverted smile.