3.4

“John, John. John! Hey, are you listening to me?”

Miril got up from his chair and waved his hand in front of the unmoving John. He had been staring straight at Miril ever since the question was posed, almost lashed out at the younger male for asking that question.

Thankfully, he kept his emotions in check.

“Oh yeah, no. No way I am a demon, that’s absurd,” John finally replied the prolonged silence.

“Right, as I expected, you are just a normal human that somehow is able to use powerful magic,” Miril’s face loosen, somewhat relieved by his answer.

Calm down, calm down, it is just a question.

John released the fist that he had been holding under the table, remaining a neutral expression under the rapid beating of his agitated heart.

“Exactly,” John let out a silent exhale, the blood pressure that spiked from his conversation with Miril whittled gradually. “Demons are just the stuff of the legends.”

I almost punched him…

“Now that you have explained yourself, I, Miril Harvest, will accept you as someone who lives here, no more, no less,” Miril extended his hand to John.

John rubbed the sweat that accumulated on his palms on his pants, then shook his hand with Miril.

“Ah, yeah, glad that you understand.”

“But if you do anything sneaky. I’ll be sure to catch you in your act, demon.”

“…”

“It was a joke, John. By the Angels, I suck at this, please don’t make it more awkward then it needs to be,” Miril placed a hand on his head trying to hide is embarassment.

“Pfft, you think I didn’t notice your joke? You just got counter joked, amateur!” John let out a wry smile.

“Hahaha! Well played, well played, I certainly did not expect that.”

“Now, if you would excuse me, I would like to use the washroom,” John stood to make his leave.

Before I stop taking that shitty attitude of yours, Miril.

He needed time alone to himself, to process the recent events that led up to his exile. It was not that he had been avoiding the subject intentionally.

They were simply too much.

“Hey, John.”

Miril called to John before he left the dining room, stopping him in his tracks.

“Sorry about that joke, something terrible must have happened… You saved my mom and I was being an idiot, interrogating you like that,” Miril had his head craned and looked to the ground, unwilling to look at him.

“Don’t worry about it, Miril.”

John speed walked through the dimly lit corridors, thrusting one leg after the other towards the restroom. Only when he had finally entered the said washroom, he let the frown appear.

Of course he noticed, who wouldn’t? Even an idiot will be able to spot my hostility.

John had his hands at his face unsure how to feel, his lungs itched for him to vent his frustration out as loud as he can into the lonely sky.

It’s unfair!

With a precise motion, he turned the faucet, he cupped his hands under it, shifting them into a scoop and filled them with cold water and splashed them on his steaming face.

“Don’t overthink this... Once I have settled down… Then, then I would think of something. T-that’s right, it’s all just a misunderstanding”

Splash.

Another series of cold water hit his face, he repeated this process of cooling himself down until he cleared all thoughts about his exile from A’vetheas all the while water would trickle down that oval face of his, numbing out his thoughts along with the feeling in his heart.

“B-brother J-John...i-is that you?”

John froze, no longer moving his hands to his face. It was Meli, the girl’s gleeful chirp made him hurriedly turn off the running water and exited the washroom.

He was supposed to have his meal with the Harvests, getting worked up about something trivial Miril said almost made him forgot about it.

Meli stood in front him, her hands clutched together as she shifted her gaze shakily around the place. Though the area was dimly lit with the moonlight from the window panes, Meli’s cheeks were painted in scarlet.

“Sorry Meli, did I keep everyone waiting?”

“No… They just finished setting up the table...”

Meli twirled her fingers together as she shifted her feet.

“Is there anything wrong?”

“C-can...can you l-let me ride on your shoulders, b-brother John?”

“A ride?”

John was puzzled. In the first place, he wasn’t even sure that if Meli was joking about riding on his shoulders.

“Y-you don’t have to do it i-if you don’t like it… Daddy and Miril said they don’t w-want me to fall...but brother John is different right? You can use magic if I get hurt…t-that’s why…” Meli stared at her wriggling toes as her voice became smaller. “…maybe not…”

Looking at Meli, John slumped his shoulders. He understood why her father refrained letting her, even with the overly inquisitive Miril, they did not want her to get hurt, they could not afford the consequences of it.

She had the courage to ask something as embarrassing as this to him, going so far as to request this in private.

What else could he do but oblige.

“Alright.”

“Thank you! You are the best, brother John!” Meli drove into him and threw her small arms around John’s torso staring at him with her ruby eyes. “Hehehe.”

He lowered his body opened his back and signaled her to climb on him. Using his hands as stepping points, Meli carefully climbed onto him and raised her legs over his neck, sandwiching him between her small thighs.

“Ready, one, two, up!”

With one hand on the wall, John slowly pushed himself with the little girl on him to stand.

“Let’s go, they are waiting for us.”

“Mhmm!”

John smiled as he carried Meli back to where the smell of food was prominent. On top of him, Meli hugged his head tightly as she swayed her head from left to right.

“La-la-la…”

The atmosphere in the dining room that awaited them was inviting. Mera was busy arranging the tableware while Miril busied himself with bringing out dishes while urging his mother, Itzella, to take things easy.

The cheerful atmosphere was enough to purge him of the negative emotions that welled in him earlier.

“It’s all thanks to you, John. I haven’t seen this scene for a very long time,” Miros appeared to his side and placed a hand on Meli’s head. “Even little Meli here, you won’t see her having a limitless supply of energy on a daily basis. More than healing Itzella, you eased up everyone’s worries. So don’t you worry about having a place to stay.”

“How did you know?”

“Mera told me,” Miros folded his hands smugly. “She had taken quite the interest in you, John. Did you seduce her with pretty words? I was planning on giving her and Meli to you anyway. That is, if you find village people like us attractive,” Miros chuckled amusingly to himself.

“Mr. Harvest that is not—”

“Call me Miros. You don’t like it when people use honorifics on you too, isn’t it? It is the same as me.”

Mera… Just how much did you tell your father?

“Miros, that is not what I have in mind. I have my own feelings to sort out at the time. I still am thinking…”

“Some girl you know, was it?” Miros raised an eyebrow at John.

“…That’s not...”

“I am a married man. That somewhat stoic expression of yours is easy to read for someone like me. Whenever you look at my daughters, your face change at the slightest amount. Undoubtedly, they remind you of someone you know.”

John could feel his face burning up in embarrassment.

“While I understand your personal feelings, all I want you to know is that you are considered a part of this family. No matter how things may or may not turn out, you will have a place among us. Isn’t that right, Meli?”

“Yes! I like brother John a lot!” Meli declared

“Don’t bring the little girl into this situation!” John shook his head.

“Brother John, I am not little anymore. I am already eleven years old.”

“You heard the little lady. Once she’s made up her mind, no one will be able to say otherwise.”

John rolled his eyes at the prospect of getting married to people he barely knew.

The Harvests bore no animosity towards him, but getting married in the first place was something that John had never taken into consideration, Soul Oath was all that is needed for him to be partnered up with his beloved…

Until the exile happened.

He remained silent, entertaining his thoughts was better than getting teased by Miros.

After the conversation came to a halt, Mera came up to him.

“John, w-would you mind taking a seat beside me?” tucking her hair behind her ear as she politely asked.

“Sure, if you insist.”

“Me too, me too, brother John!” Meli rocked her body back and forth.

“You have to get off my shoulders first, Meli.”

“I’ve got her for you, John,” Miros quickly lifted his youngest child off him and placed Meli to the ground as she squealed in delight from being carried by her father.

Just as the girls showed John to the table, Miros nudged an elbow to his ribs, winked mischievously and gave him a thumbs up, approving the development of the situation between them.

“You’re the one who planted the idea into her head weren’t you, Miros?”

Miros had glanced away from him and started whistling innocently. “What’s that Itzella? You need my help? In the kitchen? I am coming right now,” he bolted and disappeared from John’s sights before he was called out for his suggestion to Mera.

John let out a sigh and rolled his eyes, he shook his head and rest his fingers on his face.

“Miros, please. Your wife is right here in the dining room…”

The meal on the plates before him was simple, it consisted of potatoes, broccoli, bits of meat on the sides and in the very center, a hemisphere of rice coated with thick gravy. His nose involuntarily scrunched a few times at the before he realized that the girls to his sides were observing in earnest.

“Go ahead, don’t stop enjoying yourself because of those two. They never had the chance of meeting someone like you. Girls their age can be fairly curious if they want to,” Itzella who sat across him said with a smile.

“I made the gravy with Meli, please give it a try, John,” Mera confessed.

“Yes, we made it specifically for you, brother John.”

“Wait, what about me? I don’t see my beloved little sisters putting up a feast for me for returning home after a long journey.”Miril who sat beside Itzella grumbled, he placed a hand firmly on the table with a slam and raised the other in objection. “You two never do this for me.”

“I suppose you can enjoy it as well, Miril. All thanks to John,” Mera dismissed Miros with a flick of her wrists.

“Brother Miril, why are you saying that? We get to see you everyday, we don’t need to celebrate because of something like that,” Meli placed a finger to her lips and cocked her head, face puzzled.

“That’s not it!” Miril stood up from where he sat.

John stretched his lips into an unnatural smile while he kept his unblinking eyes onto the meal that was set in front of him.

Ah yes, what a nice meal we are having.

He tried to ignore the sibling drama that was going on, poking his spoon at the

Don’t get me involved in this please.

“John, John, listen to this. This selfish brother of mine who always teased me about my height wants me to serve him home cooked meals like his personal servant just because he came back meeting with someone important.”

Yup.

“Brother John, tell brother Miros about the blue lights that you can make from your hands. He won’t believe us until you have shown him.”

“He showed me that! You two are missing the point!”

John looked at Itzella and signaled the mother of the three children for help. However, Itzella was nodding excitedly at each of her children’s arguments, enjoying the bickering scene with a longing look in her eyes.

Years of illness had prevented her from watching her children being haughty with one another in front of her eyes, this was probably the life she had wanted to live for the longest time.

John then looked to Miros who had, somehow unnoticed by him, taken a spot beside Itzella and signaled him with his eyes. Taken note of his unusual body movements, Miros cupped his hands and whispered to John.

“Miril is overprotective over his sisters. He teases them a lot so that they don’t go out of hand, or so his reasoning.”

“You are just jealous.”

“No, that is not it. I am not saying that John doesn’t deserve to be treated well,” having had enough of his sisters rejection Miril stood from his chair. “I am saying that I should be congratulated for becoming a pharmacist!”

A loud gasp came from Miros at Miril’s announcement.

“Congratulations Miril! I knew you could do it!” Miros shouted with glee.

“Brother Miril, a pharmacist?”

“Isn’t that great, Miril?” Mera replied sarcastically and turned her head away from her brother.

“Miril, your talent has finally been recognized. I have always told you to pursue your dreams, you finally did it,” Itzella giving the boy a warm hug.

“Hey, mom...not in front of…”

Based on how Miril was struggling to break the news to his family and Miril’s character, it was likely that this new found occupation of his was meant to relieve his family’s burden.

John watched the Harvests congratulating Miril and his accomplishment with bright, crinkled faces, he ate in silence.

People try their best for the community around them in hopes to be accepted and loved. Effort is nothing without people there to understand and appreciate.

However, not everything that is done will be valued for it. He knew that first hand.

“John, don’t mind that idiot brother of mine,” Mera called to him with a spoon full of rice, attempting to feed the brooding John “Here open your mouth, ahnnn…”

“Hey! Mera, at least acknowledge me! What are you doing feeding John instead of me!”

“Miril.”

“Y-yeah, John?”

“Congratulations. I am glad that your effort doesn’t go unacknowledged,” John smiled.

“Ahaha, coming from someone like you… That is a compliment,” Miril scratched the back of his head nervously, completely forgotten about Mera.

He really wanted to congratulate Miril with all his emotions.

But it still nagged at him. His exile.

Nobody needs to know this past of his.