Chapter 9 - New Friends

On a sunny day, Lyle visited the kids playing on the grounds. He wasn't reclusive and wasn't devoid of feelings any normal kid his age would have. Thus, he also wanted to play and make friends with other kids.

Though what he saw at the scene halted his steps.

This ground wasn't real ground, but just a combined yard of several houses. Little kids played marbles and whatnot.

And Daisy was cornered by two boys relatively older than her, one named Luth, the other, Derek.

Daisy had a pot of a bellflower plant held close to her chest as if it was her most prized possession.

"Hehe. Why do you always carry that plant, little Daisy?" Derek said.

"I heard it's her dead father in that pot!" Luth jeered.

"Pfft! Hahaha!" Both laughed, holding their stomachs.

"Let's show her how dead her father is," Luth said, closing the distance between them. Daisy retreated back several steps until she was backed up by a wall.

"No, let's bring her father out of that flower," saying so, both of them cackled and closed the distance.

Daisy raised her pot to them, tightly shutting her eyes as if she had left everything to the flower.

Just when Luth was about to snatch the flower pot, a punch landed on his cheek and he staggered and fell on his butt.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing? Mind your own business," Derek said, just to receive another punch from Lyle on his chin and fall on his rear.

"Pathetic! Can't even handle a single punch, and you go bullying little girls." Now it was Lyle's time to jeer at them.

"You! I will tell my elder brother!" Reaver was Luth's elder brother, so his threat wasn't lousy.

"No, you should tell your moms." Lyle didn't care and feigned a dash towards them when they ran away.

Lyle then looked at the dazed Daisy and gestured to her. "Let's play somewhere else."

Lyle could resonate with Daisy's loss, a loss he never wanted to experience. The least one could do was to show some pity and compassion towards her. Seeing her getting bullied angered him to his core. And fighting was his forte for having a muscle head for a mom. Every inch of her body seemed to scream muscle, and it was a good punching bag. Not to mention her regular fighting lessons that improved his skills.

When Lyle departed, Daisy stared at his back, and her feet involuntarily moved to follow him.

"Boss, wait!" A cheerful voice came from their back, and they halted their steps.

A chubby boy soaked with sweat was dashing toward them. "I saw your fight, and it was so cool! Those two always bully me. They don't even let me play with them. I'm Goru. Can I join you two?" he said.

"Fine. Let's go to the garden." Lyle answered.

"Boss, what are we gonna play?"

"Let's see…"

Thus began the friendship of three, though rather in an unusual way. In the name of playing, Lyle would make them observe plants and insects and whatever new he fancied. Daisy was content observing her bell flower, while Goru played with the butterflies.

Thus, their friendship prevailed in a rather unusual fashion.

One fateful day, they shared their feelings…

"I... I don't think I will ever be able to face beasts or monsters ever again," Lyle said.

"Monsters? Beasts? Pfft! What are those?" Goru munched on a carrot and cackled, jiggling his belly.

Lyle looked at him with a poker face.

"I don't need to fear anything. My dad will save me like always." Daisy spoke, looking at the bellflower in her hands with a cute smile.

The boys directed gazes full of pity at her.

Goru slapped his thigh. "Then, my carrots will also save me. Mom said I need to eat a lot to become big enough till the beasts start fearing me," he said, smiling widely, showing the munched carrot poking out his teeth.

Lyle now split his pity for Goru as well. The more meat he gathered upon his body, the more delicious he will look to the beasts. Lyle must make sure to spend some happy time with him while he still can. Otherwise, once he becomes a potato, even vegetarian beasts will drool at his meat.

…

That day, an announcement was made: Whoever wanted to learn the basics of magic or just wants to improve their understanding of it can gather at the ground the next day.

And the teacher would be none other than the witch Barbara, since she possessed a profound understanding of magic, the human body, and the workings of mana.

"Lyle, your training starts tomorrow. Don't worry, it will be fun and easier than you can imagine," Barbara had said to Lyle.

Lyle grumbled to no end, and she had to explain how she would make magic training a breeze.

On the other hand, when Lyle visited the water Nymph, she asked him the reason behind their settlement so deep into the wilderness, where the risk of death prevailed to no end.

"A pestilent plague broke out in the town, and everyone began transforming into abominations of death. We had no choice but to escape where our destiny led." Lyle repeated his village chief's words with a smug face.

"Abominations of death?" Her eyes widened as her form undulated to no end. The three words shook her to her core, and she splashed down into formless water, no longer interested in further conversation. She even sent Lyle away. Yet, she didn't understand why she had such an exaggerated reaction for no reason when she was so far away from the calamity. If that wasn't enough, she was perfectly capable of protecting herself.