"I am tired. Can I go?" Auren said to Dante, Dante one evening. He was being taught swordsmanship.
Auren stared at Dante's face. There had to be something—a twitch, a worry, confusion, a disappointment.. But there was nothing. Maybe he was too good at concealing such things in front of his son.
Sometimes, when Sable and grandma complained to Dante in the evening after he came back from the forest—about Auren running around too much and doing physical things far surpassing their neighbor's kid—Dante would hand him a wooden sword and play with him. Which was more like Dante teaching the basics of swordsmanship to Auren.
Hearing say it, Dante didn't try to stop him at all and just smiled while patting his head, filled with black, dense hair. He took the small wooden sword from Auren's little hands and let him go without saying a word.
If this was acting, the guy was too good at it.
Auren wasn't really tired. He actually liked swinging the wooden sword around. This was a test, though—to see what happens if he outright refuses to do things they want him to do. He had already tried performing poorly with a wooden sword in hand on purpose, to see if Dante would get angry at him, yell at him.. But the guy seemed to have endless patience. Today, he even said outright no, and still, there was no reaction.
This world didn't have any other magic other than the summoning crests. Fighting was an essential skill every man should somewhat learn here. It wasn't just a hobby or profession. Dante was a knight who spent most of his time in the forest hunting. So was his grandfather before him—it was kind of a family gig. It should matter a lot to them that he too would show interest in becoming a fighter.
All day he spent with Sable and grandma. Sometimes, he mentioned things about their neighbors and the villagers he had seen on his occasional trips into the village—things that might start a not-so-positive conversation about other people. But both his grandma and Sable simply replied in one or two sentences, explaining why maybe someone might have said that or done that—they probably had their reasons, and things like that.
Once, he had seen them exchange glances when he asked a similar question, but they never took what he said and went into a lengthy discussion of their neighbors or other villagers.
Despite being in a village where literacy was a privilege and a luxury to be had, the women in his new family didn't bitch about others in front of him. They understood it was the wrong thing to do. That was the one thing Auren had found common in all his previous life's relationships—no matter how old he was, people were weak. Speaking badly about others was too easy, and quite enjoyable and relaxing.
It wasn't definitive, though. Maybe they thought he was too young for expectations or hearing such negative things, so they controlled themselves. But.. if a person had serious flaws, Auren knew he would never miss it, and neither would they be able to hide it with such perfection. It was both a blessing and a curse for him—he always noticed stuff. Good things, bad things, tense situations.. untold hatred and hidden frustrations. He always knew how people around him felt.
Auren walked near the fence and climbed a little until he could see the full view. Holding it tight, he stayed there. His mother was preparing to cook—she did that outside their small house. She could do it inside too, and she did when it rained, but when it was clear, she always did it outside. Their bathroom and lavatory were also outside, in the far corner of the square fence surrounding their small house in the middle.
Grandma was helping Sable with preparation. She mostly remained seated on a wooden bench outside the house, cutting vegetables and doing other things. They had both seen the small conversation he just had with Dante.
Maru came running behind Auren and seated himself right beside his face on the wooden fence. After a while, Dante also came near and just stood beside him, leaning on the fence while looking far into the distance—not saying anything at all. So Auren asked after a few silent minutes:
"Why did you become a knight?"
It had to be a surprise for Dante—for him to ask something so directly. He didn't show it on his face, though. He replied without looking at him,
"When I was young, our village was attacked by some bandits one day. My father and most of the other men who could fight were away from the village, fighting for Lord Audrey. They took our things, and did bad things to some villagers. Some of them were my friends.
I could do nothing as they hurt them. I trained day and night as I waited. When my father and the others finally came back and were about to go after them, I begged them to let me come and teach those people a lesson. We found them. Punished them..
But things had changed. I just couldn't put down my blade. There were others. Always are. I trained and continued training to be strong enough."
"Did you?" Auren asked, looking at him. He, too, met his eyes. "Become strong enough?"
Dante smiled. "Not yet. Maru and I are still not done. Ain't that right, Maru?"
The red-furred fox got up and curled up beside Dante's face, touching it in a show of affection.
"When will I get a summon?" Auren asked, even though he knew he wouldn't get a straight answer.
"Summoning is not an easy task. Only a person able to control his Chi perfectly can do the summoning. It requires training and focus. You are too young for that."
Auren's eyes widened. The energy! Of course. How could he be so stupid? It wasn't just for him to play around with—it had a purpose. This was the first time anyone had explained to him how a summoning truly worked.
He smirked—it was about time he checked what his dual crests were capable of.