004 (1/2)

“…the dwarven blacksmith had finally figured out how to make Bloodsteel. He would marry a new woman each year and on the night of their anniversary he would plunge the Orichalc.u.m sword he painstakingly made the past year, into her heart. You see, the Bloodsteel could only be made by tempering it in the heartblood of a dear one. That is why, you should never make cursed weapons. Powerful they might be, but every power has a price…”

– Tales From The Mines, Orgax Bloomfax, 1456 B.C

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I woke up with soft sunlight on my face. I slept in late, but luckily, no cold water today. Maybe she wasn’t so annoying after all? I dressed myself in a loose s.h.i.+rt and ill fitting pants that I had been given by grandma.  I wonder whose those were. Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen Arin’s parents.

I came down from the 2nd story loft. The room was tiny, but very cosy. I loved the fact that it had a circular large window through which I could see the forests beyond the hills and the single moon at night. Yep, 1 moon at night, 2 at day. I did think the ones in day were planets, but they were too close and yet not cras.h.i.+ng, so had to be satellites. Then there was the beautiful Ring across the sky. At night, the edges of the Ring would glow with reflected sunlight, making a wide swath of light extending upto the sky at both horizons.

I walked down the stairs extending from the upper floor to the first. Arin heard me and poked her head through the open doorway, and asked, “are…alright”?

I smiled at her, remembering the scene last night and replied, “Yeah It doesn’t hur….” WHAT THE ACTUAL f.u.c.k? How did I understand what she said?

She looked at my thunderstruck face. She came close and asked, “..trouble?” I shook my head and patted her head with half a mind.

“Don’t pat…not… kid” protested Arin, drawing away.

Oh yeah, I forgot. That head pat gesture  is pretty much demeaning outside j.a.pan.

First, I needed to calm myself and figure things out. For that, I needed food. I gestured towards her.

“Alright, wash …hands…not sick”. She was totally treating me like a kid.

I went to wash outside, and heard a fragmented song in grandma’s voice. So I can understand other’s voices too.

While eating, I tried to deduce what was different today from yesterday. I realized with a start, I wished for this. Last night, when I wanted from the core of my heart to understand Arin, the gift had probably activated.

These gifts are real sketchy. I want a talking s.h.i.+eld with explanations!(1)

The comprehension wasn’t total yet, I was still understanding the language in fragments, much like learning a new language back on earth. Listening more and more would probably increase the comprehension.

“Arin! Obaa-san!”, a loud hail was heard outside in a gruff voice. It was the Knight Ossan. Probably came to check on me. Grandma came round the garden, and opened the door for him. “..Morning, Gustaf”

So his name was Gustaf. I waved at him. He came in and asked grandma how I was. Grandma just pointed at me and said “Ask the kid yourself”

I lifted up my s.h.i.+rt and tapped myself on the ribs, “No problem” I declared.

They stood with their mouth open.

I knew why. I spoke up in their language. I did consider hiding that I roughly understood them, but it would be counterproductive. I needed information. I needed books, knowledge and hiding my ability would hinder all of that.

“You…know language?” Asked Gustaf.

“No. Heard everyone…know little” I offered as best as I could. Even if I could speak better, I wouldn’t. It would be suspicious to have learnt a language so fast. It is quite suspicious even now.

“Oho. Quite a fast learner, aren’t you?” Gustaf beamed, “So, lad, where did you come from?”

“Don’t know. Forgot everything. Remember nothing”, I lied through my teeth, my face revealing nothing. Oh yeah, I picked the easy amnesia route. Now I just need to make them believe it.

“Nothing except name”. I pointed at myself, “Rigel”.

“Rigel, I don’t believe you lost your memories. But, everyone has things they want to hide. I won’t probe unless you give me a reason to. Understood?” Gustaf saw through my lie at once and replied sternly. I could hear the veiled threat in his steel like voice.

“Okay. That would help a lot. I promise I won’t harm anyone” I came clean. There was no point in fighting a lost battle.

“I am only giving you a chance as a thanks for taking care of the Grilnder problem” Gustaf said.

“Grilnder?” I asked, honestly confused. What was more confusing was that the language perception suddenly seemed to skyrocket. All hail plot armour!

By now, even Arin had gathered in the room. She and Grandma heard my confession about my memories. She didn’t seem alarmed though. They took me in knowing full well the risk, so it isn’t surprising for them.

“Oh yes, I forgot that you don’t actually know the language”, replied Gustaf. “The monster you killed before pa.s.sing out. It lured men away from the neighboring villages and ate them. We made a group from our Guard corps to kill it and found you grievously injured beside the dead body of the Grilnder” he said in one breath.

“One question” I said, “Why did you believe I don’t know the language but didn’t when I said I forgot everything?”

“Because, kid, I verified it by trying to startle you many times when we were together.” He replied coolly. “Not reacting when I asked you to take your pants off in a deserted place was what finally convinced me” he added.

I stared at him agape. No one said a word. After a few moments, Arin broke down in hysterical laughter. I underestimated these people. Even if they were kind, they were not reckless.

Gustaf continued, “Besides, you were on watch the entire time, kid. Our Village Head is kind, so she would took you in so as not to trouble anyone, but we can’t very well have her harmed, do we?”

“Oh okay” I managed to reply back, “So Karro was on guard duty?”

“Yes, he practically begged me to be a part of the a.s.signment when he heard you were living with Arin”

“Uncle Gustav!” Arin protested with an indignant face and then looked at me and said “I don’t li…”

“ Gustaf, I want to learn Swordsmans.h.i.+p and Magic” I cut in, not even paying any heed to what she was going to say.

“ I see. Yes, I almost forgot what I came here for. I heard that you were loitering around the practice sessions and finally even got into  a brawl with Karro. If are going to pick up a weapon, might as well train. We need every hand we can get, and you too need back to give to the village”

Gustaf replied.

“Yes. I would love that. But what about magic though?” I asked.

“Eh. I dunno about that, you need apt.i.tude for it and not many have that. You will have to test yourself and see.”

“When do we start?” I asked eagerly.

“Eager, aren’t you?” Gustaf said, “Is your injury even okay? The healing magic healed the cracked ribs but there should still be pain”

“Nah, I am okay” I beamed. My mind was screaming, Magic Swordsman! Magic Swordsman! Magic Swordsman!

“That’s a bit on the quick side” he looked troubled, “but not anything abnormal, isn’t it”? He asked the last part looking at grandma.

“No, it’s okay. Brats just heal fast” grandma replied smiling.

“Yeah, idiots heal fast” Arin said scathingly.

“Come on now, kid. Lets beat you u…in shape” Gustaf said with a suspicious glint in his eyes, walking towards the exit.

“If anything happens to me, you all know Gustaf is responsible” I told those two half-jokingly. With my luck, they are gonna get Kenichi on me(2)

“Don’t kill him”, said grandma.

“stay away from Karro. He doesn’t like you”, Arin offered as a way of advice.