17 A somewhat predictable surprise

Starting from my previous story, Dad's hometown got wrecked, we defeated a somewhat sub-boss that was left. I also discovered that I'm able to form skills and magic, but not to the point where I could control them properly yet, but soon...!

After that we met my parents amidst the chaotic situation, and even met my Aunt that took quite a liking to me. Since Dad's home got destroyed, we stayed for a while longer, my parents helped just enough to see that everything was back to normal.

Then one day Dad suddenly got a military draft and... I think that jogged up the memories even for a little bit.

...

Now that it's come to this, I expect them to know that I'll also be leaving soon.

I can't just leave without notice because I know Aunt will be sad, so I informed her of when I would be leaving.

This fact even surprised my grandparents, as they didn't expect me to be different from my own parents. Now that I realize it, that husband and wife duo didn't really tell people whenever they were leaving, even to me.

First I asked about where Dad might have been to, and based from their reactions, they also don't have a clue as to where he could be right now. The only clue was that the last war occurred between the lands on the northeast of Phione, and around somewhere west of the northern icy region.

I could ask from the Merchants where the drafted soldiers would be sent, but it would be giving away their advantage if it was readily known. Also, they may also just give false or misleading information instead, so that people would stop pestering them. So finding Dad in the meantime won't be easy.

I have no clue or idea what the curse on his body does to him, but all we know is that his life's in danger as Mom risked herself to go to some place she doesn't even want to. I could somehow imagine hearing her curse inside far away, as she travels towards where she plans to.

In summary, Mom is easier to find, but it will be harder to overtake her, and her life isn't immediately somewhere dangerous. So she will have to be after I find Dad, whose life is currently in question. I hate to do it in this order and if I could just do both at the same time, then why not? But since I can't, I can only just go with it this way.

Also I have this feeling that Dad will just rush right away when he knows that Mom went to their 'friend' because of him without hesitation.

I then drew a little map on a parchment and tried to scale how much I'd be able to do all the things I planned.

"Crap... Now that I measure it, it's quite a distance going at Mom's place."

Aunt leaned over and saw the map I was drawing.

"How about if you rent a flying mount?"

"A flying mount... How much would that cost?"

"Ugh... I forgot that you can't really rent one, and just buy one instead for about 10,000 silver coins... Tehe."

"10,000 SILVER COINS?"

That cost about thrice this house including the farms and greenhouse, and we were only able to make it because I sold a few fly swatters out of the blue. I even had to demo it in front of a lot of people, and almost remembered tha presentations that I made back then.

Forget buying one, I'll just catch one myself or maybe learn how to fly. Thinking about it, why didn't I try and do that sooner?

Kaff Eric you stupid piece of... fine, I'm not stupid, and I rarely even saw people flying all over except for people at Three's level.

Now that I think about it, what is her level? She must've been a scholar-level Vates but now I bet she's already at the mage-level. Following that, I also wondered how strong my current Origin is compared to the other magic users, but there are still a few more important matters at hand so I delayed the thought.

Over the past days that both my parents left, I've been preparing things that I should bring. Aunt Arc helped me when she wasn't busy, and she always enjoyed being with me.

***

Meanwhile, inside the main branch of Merchants Union inside the capital city of Phione...

Over a few thousand mercenaries gathered in front of the highest tower within the base.

However, there was a group of distinguishable soldiers lined up at the very front, and each of them had the same set of equipment: a sheathed sword on the waist, a small round shield that glowed in silver, and a grey set of armor that covered the whole body. Their armor were dull in color and did not have any luster on it, making them seem old. These armored soldiers just stood there, waiting for commands.

Above, there was a person with a short gray hair, floating in front of them which wore a golden armor that glinted one's eyes. He also had a cape which swayed with the updrafting winds that blew along the tower. He looked at the massive number of people below him and nodded to himself.

"Enjil, what's our headcount?"

A man with gray armor then neared him, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. He had a long scar along his cheek that stretched near his ear.

"Reporting, sir. We have exactly 5,132 mercenaries, 300 Vates, and 300 Civil Corps. Both factions seem to take this seriously, and also want to vanquish the Void Emperor."

"I hope this time we get to stop the unending struggle with the Northern Region. How many Grandmaster-level Vates and Civil Corps do we have?"

"Not including the ones we invited from beyond Allpeak Capital, we only have twenty, sir."

"That's bad. I heard the Void Demon Anri almost reached the Legend-level."

"If it's just 'almost' the Legend-level, then we'll suffice," suddenly, another person joined in the conversation, and it was Virol, one of the Beast God's aides.

"Seeing one of the Beast God's aides here, it seems the Beast God really wants to go all out this time."

"Enough of that, but I heard you also invited an old friend?"

"Were you referring to me?" This time another person's voice echoed, then the trio looked over distance and saw a nearing golden dot from the horizon. It was Three's father, William Flairfly.

"Is there a message the god Hamion wanted to deliver this time?" Virol asked with a frown.

"None at all. I'm even wondering why he's not responding to our summons, it seems he's quite busy."

"That's strange, the Vates faction are the ones to be spearheading the war yet Hamion doesn't respond? Seems fishy to me."

The general, William, and the knight Enjil had their eyes widen as Virol let that out of his mouth.

"You can sure speak bluntly about a god, don't you fear their smite?" The general firmly said with a grim expression.

"If I did then I wouldn't be here. Besides, he wouldn't even come here if he could."

"As expected of the Beast God's aide, you fear none at all." William replied as he looked to the soldiers down below, then he continued. "I still don't know why you call them mercenaries when these people that you have are literally all within your faction."

The person in the golden armor chuckled and then said, "If they were only really my soldiers, then I could call them as such. The only same thing that binds them to our Union is mainly coin. Without coin you wouldn't even be able to draft them forcibly."

"Are you sure about that? I've heard that the Fastest Sword User is joining the war. Surely he has a wife and child, and is also living peacefully already. For what reason is he here then?" Virol smiled with a smug look, and the others looked at the direction of his eyes.

"He's already here?"

"Now you wouldn't call him the fastest for nothing. I bet he didn't even ride a mount to get here."

"Oh, he's looking at our direction."

The people that continued to float above the air seemed to be enjoying their conversation, and Meltor was calmly estimating the force of the army in front of him. He had a different leather outfit from his usual only casual look. Even the long dagger that he used back at Illa was different right now, and was replaced by a more thicker sheathe.

(Doesn't seem like anyone I know is here, except for the old fellows above.)

He still observed everything, and after a while he put his hand on his chest, and whispered something in a very low volume.

"Is what that Void Demon said true?"

His eyes held a glow of orange as if there was a sun inside.

...

After a few days, at a certain manor about north of Illa...

***

The two suns were slowly rising from the horizon, and my grandparents were sitting at the porch at the front outside the house. My time of departure is soon.

"Gas... Check. Lamp, check. Matches... Where are my matches?"

"It's here Kaff, here."

I'm nearly done. There's only so much a child could bring, so I had to pick every item carefully, unless I had an inventory system.

Sadly, whatever swipe or gesture I did in the air, I just can't seem to summon up anything that's related to a game. It's gonna be for a different world I bet, with different physics too. Well if a system were to appear, I'll be trying to just rush every quest anyway, rising to max level but seeing as there are no really such things here, it doesn't matter.

But I'd really like an inventory though.

... I could just stare at the bag that I'll be carrying on my travel.

Yep, that big backpack will be quite the load. I could carry it, but it would attract a lot of attention. Is there really no way to minimize my luggage?

"This is quite heavy Kaff," Aunt tried to lift up the bag with one arm. As expected, she really has a lot of strength.

"Did Dad also teach you about swords?"

"Eh... Just a bit. Also he doesn't want me waving a sword. I just watched him and copied a few times. After seeing my mistakes, he decided to teach me about a few things and that's it. It's true that he's not a good teacher, but he would give you good pointers."

Aunt also woke up very early today. She really helped a lot, as I could even hear her trodding steps echo through the hallway as I tried to sleep last night. I bet she made sure I have every item I need.

She's all smiles today and I haven't seen her usualy worrying face as I continue to prepare for my departure.

"Since everything's ready, I'll be meeting granddad and grandma. I'm pretty sure they will have their messages before I leave."

"Oh... Okay," with that message, her smile disappeared. Then she suddenly walked away and saw her hands shook for a bit before she disappeared from the corner of the room.

"I also don't want to leave, but..." I also left the room and sighed before going outside to greet my grandparents.

Upon seeing them outside, they apparently don't look too sad or strained, but they were instead smiling.

"Thought you'd leave us before the sun rose. Turns out you're more like your grandmother here!"

"And what do you mean by that?"

Grandma stared at Granddad, and they locked eyes for a while before she sighed and soft said, "I really can't win against you huh? Even after all these years... And now, not only you, but your sturdy grandson here can also take me on. I just hope that he doesn't meet his end before us old folks."

"Hrm... Right. By the way, where's Arc?"

"She just took off when I said that I'll be greeting Grandpa and Grandma. I hope she isn't too sad after I leave..."

"Heh. There's a reason why a few people don't let others know when they leave, and it's probably that their heart can't take a parting. But I, as there are only a few friends of mine that are still alive and kicking..."

"Shut your trap. We should instead make a good memory before he goes." It seemed she was whispering that to Granddad but I still heard her.

Is everyone awkward when making a farewell?

"Grandfather, Grandmother, I'll be going." I went near them and held both of their hands. This time I won't be overly emotional. I've prepared a lot for this departure.

"Take care son, and tell your Dad this: 'Don't make your woman wait, or it'll be too late.'"

"I'll be sure to tell that to Dad when we meet."

"Tell him for me that I want to have a granddaughter."

Both Grandfather and I spit to the sides as we heard her message. That was quite a shock. I mean, yeah I'm six already and they could do with another child but that was really so sudden I don't even...

"What, you're all guys. I don't dislike Pisa, and Arc has yet to meet a man that could stand before me. That's not too much to ask for from an old lady... is it?"

Grandma's parting words sure seem like a threat rather than a request. Oh boy. Or girl. Yep. I bet Dad's holding back so much at our previous house anyway so it won't be an issue for them. What am I thinking?

But a sister? It made me quite excited instead. Another addition to the family.

"His smile is similar to his Meltor when he heard about Arc too."

"Just another reason for me to want to have a granddaughter..."

With that, we exchanged a few more words... it really looks like Aunt won't be going out to meet me. I should get going then. Even I do feel sad about leaving her here after all, but she has to take care of her parents, that I understand. This journey will be a bit daunting too, to say the least.

I entered inside the house to carry my large backpack and leave, only to be met by Aunt in front of me.

She wore this fitting metal armor that made her look a bit more bulky, yet the curves were finely made. It looks like a custom made for her frame, and her breastplate will make a lot of guys disappointed. That helps me too, I guess.

"Eh?" Now that I think about it, why...

"You guessed right! How can I leave such a cute nephew on his own as he travelled the world of danger? But...!" She held her finger as if making a point, then pointed towards me, "You'll be the captain of this ship. I hope you aren't disappointed having a crew member, captain."

"But---"

"What but? Imagine a six year old all alone, travelling to find his parents. What do you think about that idea?"

I tried to imagine a smaller version of Three travelling alone, with her Vates power at the scholar-level. She was happily striding until she got cornered by a lot of bandits, her source power exhausted and then..... NO!!

I unknowingly panted in the imagination and fear crept me. Whew, since when did my imaginations got that vivid?

"See? Now what if this big sister was with this kid? A big and strong sister that's accompanying her brother? What do you say?"

"Sister? But---"

"Enough the buts, genius or not, let's just go."

She carried the large backpack that I was supposed to carry, and I heard the weak clanging of metal as she walked outside then I hear her say 'I already got permission from Mom' without paying attention to me.

Aren't I the captain of this ship?

Seeing another bag that was fit for my size on the ground, I realized that Aunt Arc was also preparing for this. How could I have not thought about that?

Finally I resigned to her willingess to join me and picked up the bag.

"Wait for me!"