Dignity Regained

BLOW BY BLOW, Hausen became a city free from monsters. There

was just a little farther to go. Aaron and I had successfully cleared the

southern, eastern, and northern districts of their skeleton denizens, and we

now fought through the monsters of the western district. To get to this spot,

we had carved through more than a thousand skeletons. In doing so, we'd

accumulated a vast amount of hate. This was all new territory for me. I'd

never before hunted such a profound number of monsters without taking so

much as a break.

"These skeletons are swarming, Aaron. Is this ever going to end?"

"Yes. Mind you, hunting for this long would normally be

extraordinarily dangerous and therefore best avoided. But, with you at my

side, we've got nothing to worry about."

As he spoke, Aaron's golden sword—charged with holy energy—

chopped five skeleton knights into pieces as they leapt toward him. This

was the kind of maneuver that made me think that, despite his words, he'd

have been perfectly fine without me. He practically overflowed with energy.

I figured we'd been fighting for around fifteen hours, and that was if I

began my count after we'd defeated the lich lord. No rest, no sleep. Just

battle. I examined the height and position of the sun to double-check my

estimate, and I realized we'd actually been fighting for as long as eighteen

hours, through the night and into the next afternoon. The relentless hunting

had skewed my perception of time. I had a feeling that, at this point, sleep

would only bring dreams of battling skeletons.

Surprisingly, my Gluttony seemed unimpressed with the feast. I got

the feeling it wanted a little more variety in the menu.

"Fate, once we've cleared out this area, we're finished. Can you keep

going?" Aaron asked.

"Of course!"

I dodged a sudden rain of arrows, quickly transformed Greed into the

black bow, and fired back at the archers. Earth magic coated all my arrows.

My marksmanship had improved by leaps and bounds through the course of

this battle. The lessons I'd learned from Aaron about the basics of combat

had lent themselves to my abilities.

I also had a living example of unparalleled combat experience right

before my eyes. Just watching Aaron provided me with more lessons.

Fighting alongside him was like reading a textbook in motion. While I

watched him at work, the skeletons became textbook exercises upon which

I could try what I had just observed.

I leapt into the air, twisting myself to dodge another volley of

incoming arrows. As I did so, I released my own arrows while my body was

still in flight. A few of my shots headed off the mark. Since the arrows

came from the black bow, however, they self-corrected in midair and found

their targets anyway: the thick skulls of the skeleton archers. A familiar

metallic voice rang in my head.

Gluttony skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +1,290, Strength

+1,440, Magic +1,110, Spirit +1,230, Agility +770.

Yes, I thought, now this is a technique I can use. Until yesterday I'd

considered evasion and attack to be two separate movements, but by

watching Aaron I'd discovered a new concept—that I could pull both off at

the same time.

I was sure this was the last time Aaron and I would fight together, so

I wanted to remember everything he did: how to attack without wasted

movement; how to stay focused, yet keenly aware of the enemies

surrounding you. I watched Aaron execute his deadly swordplay as I fought

my own skirmishes, studying him for techniques that I could make my own.

Once Aaron and I parted, I'd be left to my own devices once more. I

needed to cram in as much learning as I could. Greed was a weapon, but he

couldn't stand at my side and teach me the finer techniques of wielding his

variations. And because of Myne's fickle personality, I couldn't see her

teaching me any of the more particular details of adventuring any time

soon.

In that sense, I considered Aaron to be both my first and my last

teacher.

"I took care of the archers," I said. "Once we finish the knights, that

should be everything in the city."

"You've fought with me this whole way, Fate. For that, you have my

thanks." Aaron briefly glanced over and smiled. Then, with the holy charge

building in his sword, he unleashed the Grand Cross tech-art onto the last

few skeletons.

"We're done," he said.

The holy light carved through the ground upon which the skeleton

knights lumbered like lightning, bursting on contact into a radiant magical

energy that cleansed them all to ash, then air. Nothing was left in the

aftermath of the burning charge. After the burst faded, the only light was

the ocean of evening stars glimmering above.

"We fought right through into a second evening," said Aaron, looking

at the stars himself. "You're going to be late for your departure, Fate. I'm

sorry."

"No, I should be thanking you, Aaron. You've taught me so much."

Aaron laughed. "I don't think I taught you anything special. Besides,

there's nothing left for me to impart, Fate."

"But…we've barely even started!"

"In the end, it's all swordsmanship," Aaron said, his voice slipping

naturally back into a teacherly tone. "There are clear limits to how much we

can polish your stances and form. From now on, what matters most is how

you take those basic stances and refine them into your own art. You've far

surpassed my expectations already—I can tell you're making them your

own."

I had never imagined the Blade of Light himself would praise me

with these words…but at the same time, I felt like Aaron was pushing me

away. "I still have so far to go, Aaron… Watching you, I feel like I've only

just begun to understand combat tactics—how to fight."

Aaron placed his left hand on my head gently, a deep kindness in his

eyes. "No, Fate. You've learned enough from me. You are special—you

wield a weapon that changes form. If I continued to teach you

swordsmanship, your fighting style would skew too heavily toward that one

form. You aren't meant for that. You must fight as you feel, Fate, without

the limitations of others. I believe that if you do, you will arrive at a style to

call uniquely your own."

That…was a good point. So far, Greed had three forms: the sword,

the bow, and the scythe. And Greed had hinted that we would continue to

unlock others. To focus on only one weapon style would be the wrong

approach.

So, to make my own style meant… "You mean, I need to develop a

style that blends all the weapon's forms into one?"

"Exactly. And that, I cannot teach you. As the Blade of Light, all I've

ever known is the way of the sword." Aaron lifted his hand from my head.

By meeting and fighting alongside Aaron, I felt like I had come to

understand what battle truly was. But the longer I walked this path, the

more I realized how long it was. Greed really is an amazing weapon, I

thought. But there was no way I could tell him that. It'd go straight to his

head.

"You called for me?" The black sword's question sprang out of

nowhere.

"Nobody called for you, Greed," I muttered.

"How strange. Yet here I am, so certain you just called my name."

I definitely needed to keep an eye on Greed's uncanny intuition.

Meanwhile, Aaron placed his holy sword in its sheath and turned to

the castle. "Well, let's grab that old gold out of the coffers and head back to

the village. We probably don't want to be much later than we already are,

right?"

"Nope! I have a feeling Myne's fuming."

"In that case, let's be quick about this!"

We ran through the now empty streets of the city, and with our

footsteps echoing on the worn cobblestones, I hoped that someday Hausen

would return to being the lively place it once had been.

***

We took the gold from the castle treasury and headed straight back to

the village, where—as expected—Myne waited, steaming mad. Her scarlet

eyes were an intense, bright red that brought to mind an explosive inferno.

"You said you would be back yesterday! Yet here you are, a whole

day late! Explain yourselves! Now!"

"W-well, I mean, we had such great momentum going after we killed

the lich lord," I stammered. "We kind of thought maybe we'd…just go

ahead and clear out the whole city, you know…?"

"It was my idea," said Aaron humbly. "The fault is mine."

"Children, the both of you!" Myne snarled. "Don't you know how to

keep your word?!"

I felt awkwardly helpless, standing there being berated by someone

who was, by all appearances, a petite young woman. Even Aaron, who

usually appeared so staunchly courageous, wilted before this maiden's

piercing glare. Then again, the Aaron I'd seen after he reached his limit

break had been basically a child with a new toy. Perhaps here, standing

before Myne, he was reflecting on his actions with a child's shame.

"Hey, Aaron," I whispered, motioning with my hand. "Hurry up and

give her the bag."

"Ah, of course!" Aaron brightened. "Myne, we brought these back

for you. They're a small token of thanks for protecting the village while we

were away."

"A token, you say?" asked Myne. Her expression transformed when

Aaron held out a fat bag of gold. She snatched it from him. "Oooooh."

The bag held double the fifty coins she expected. With the near

overflowing bag in her hand, her rage vanished. Myne looked like

happiness personified. Surprise and joy replaced her wrath as she opened

and closed the bag, admiring her coins and exclaiming "Oooooh!" each

time she saw them.

"Looks like we're in the clear," I said to Aaron.

"Indeed. We're lucky we know her weakness for coin. In any case,

let's have something to eat and get some rest. To be honest, I'm exhausted."

"You and me both."

The villagers had already prepared food for Aaron's return. A

wonderfully enticing scent wafted from his house. Myne had told them

about Aaron setting out to put an end to the lich lord, and the villagers had

wanted to support his efforts as best they could. That support was the food

that now waited for us. Myne said that when Aaron failed to return the day

before, the villagers had been beside themselves with worry. The only

reason they weren't out to greet Aaron right now was because of the

lateness of the hour. Aaron decided it was better not to wake them. Instead,

he would inform them of his safe return at first light.

"In any case, let's head inside, shall we?" said Aaron, ushering us

into his home. "The night isn't getting any younger. Hah!"

Myne was still utterly engrossed in her bag of coins, so I took her

hand and gently led her into Aaron's house. Inside, I ate my fill of the

villagers' welcoming banquet, then sank to the floor, ready to sleep like a

rock. I didn't even have the energy to ask Myne not to use my stomach as

her pillow.

On the morning of our departure, Aaron and the villagers came to see

us off as we readied our newly repaired cart. Many villagers thanked me

profusely. It turned out that most of the monsters that regularly attacked the

village rolled in from Hausen, so the villagers considered my going with

Aaron to clear the city out a great service. It wasn't just me; Myne was also

showered with gratitude for protecting the village from about thirty

monsters while Aaron had stepped away.

"Fate," Aaron said, that same gentle kindness in his eyes, "when you

finish what you need to do in Galia, make sure you return here. I have

something important to tell you."

"Something important?"

"Indeed. Very important. We'll talk about it upon your return, so be

sure you survive and come back safe!" With that, Aaron reached toward

me. "Until we meet again."

I grasped his rugged, battle-worn hand in my own and nodded. "Until

then."

I decided then that if I survived the ordeals of Galia, I would indeed

return. I'd only spent four days with Aaron, and there was still so much I

wanted to learn and share.

"Fate, it's time to go," Myne said, a little bored and not afraid to

show it.

"Right, okay," I said. "Aaron, everyone, thank you for everything.

Until next time!"

I hopped aboard the cart, then popped my head out the window as we

rattled down the road. I waved back to everyone as they faded away into the

distance, and I felt a tinge of sadness at having to say goodbye.

Aaron and his villagers would go to work rebuilding Hausen. It

would once again be an estate bustling with life. For me, a person who had

never before had a thought of what awaited me after Galia, this future had

become one I looked forward to.