8 Chapter 7

I stayed there in the yard with Mr. Hiel and Johan for the next few hours until my parents returned to the tavern, then we were shown to a room by Mr. Hiel. After my parents and I put all of our things away we went down to the commons for dinner. Every other time in this life and the last, dinners here had been a joyful reunion in which my father and Mr. Hiel would drink and share stories while discussing life or politics.

Twice in my short memory of him and, if I was right, once in this life I had gotten to watch my father get into actual fights. Some people just did not agree with his views and they were often people from countries outside the continent that my father was talking about. Johan himself had taken part in the second or future fight, holding off the friends of the two men my father was fighting.

Tonight, though, the talk was calm and casual and, something that surprised Mr. Hiel, my father declined the bottle of some expensive liquor that was brought out. Another surprising thing happened, though. Without our parents drinking and commandeering all conversation, Johan actually talked to me a bit asking about the farm and answering a few questions about the tavern and city.

Eventually, he asked me, "Your mom is an alchemist, right? Do you know any magic?"

Unlike my mother who was born with a talent for nature related magics, which was how we could grow and care for so many different types of herbs, I had no talents or affinities whatsoever. Everybody in the world was capable of learning to use magic on some level, though. In my past life, I had picked up a few useful tricks at the academy and as a mercenary, such as lighting fire, generating electrical currents, drawing water from the air, and a few other basics.

However, without any talent, it took months just to learn how to make a candle sized flame and even as an adult I could only sustain a short-range burst of fire for a few seconds before draining my mental energy.

Surprised by the question, it took me a few moments to think about it. Even though this Hugo had never attempted magic before, a brief check for familiar sensations allowed me to find the omnipresent mana in both myself and the surroundings. The response of the energy coursing through every fiber of my being was sluggish, so it took a few moments to gather it in my hand.

Once I had it, though, it was a simply matter of generating some friction by snapping my fingers to create heat and an invisible spark that ignited the energy around my hand into a dull red flame. Even though the flame covered my entire hand, it was of such a weak color and heat that it did not really even disturb the air around us. Cutting off the guided energy to extinguish the flame, I smile sheepishly as my face started to coldly sweat from the concentration and say, "Only a little."

Mr. Hiel and Johan both were taken aback by this display and magic, with the current holiday by association, soon became the topic of discussion. What they did not notice, though, was the surprise my parents also experienced at my display. I had never even considered using magic until now, but it quickly absorbed my thoughts. For one simple reason.

I had already lived a life mastering weapons and fighting and I was using those experiences to prepare myself in this life. However, I now had to opportunity to focus on and build up my once limited magical abilities. A few minutes spent evaluating and familiarizing my inner energy even revealed that I had roughly the same mana reserves as I did at the end of my past life. Maybe even a little more, as if adding to the tiny bit of this life's Hugo.

Even though this was still only enough to sustain an offensive magic like fire or electricity for a few moments, it was far more than I had started with in my last life. If I were to actually put effort into it, within a few years I could at the very least double my current capacity. By the time of the raid, I would have a new weapon and probably fighting style to work into my strategies.

I honestly wanted to get to work on it this very moment, but I was not at the farm and did not want to draw attention to myself shooting flames into the air until I was close to blacking out. Even if it was a magic holiday, the day for showing out with public magic was already passed. Besides, the most artistic or entertaining thing I knew how to do with magic was run electricity through a stream of water and play with the lighting.

Training my magic would just have to wait for until I was somewhere with the freedom to do what I needed to.

Dinner itself did not last as long as usual without the past drinking and camaraderie and so my parents excused us for the night with explanations of being tired from traveling. I myself was fairly tired not only from the brief workout but also from the brief usage of mana. Therefore, I had no problems with calling it a night early.

Once back in our room, though, my mother surprised me by asking, "How long have you been practicing magic?"

Wondering if this was a test or not, I decide to be honest and simply say, "The Hugo in my dream had learned how to use a few spells, mostly just simple spells for lighting fire and filling a canteen. He had this one trick for dealing with troublesome beasts where he would run lightning through his sword, but that was only strong enough for a temporary paralysis. Here, though, I can improve on what he knew with a little extra effort."

"Why haven't you been practicing magic this whole time?" My father asks with honest curiosity in his voice but an overall blank expression.

"He used magic so little after the island countries to the south started a rebellion near the end of his life that I myself forgot he could use it," I reply just as honestly, or as honestly as I could safely manage. "As it turns out, even though I never tried using magic in this life, I still have as much magic and knowledge of it as he did."

Surprised by my answer, my father asks, "Y-... he went to war?"

"Straight to the front lines," I reply almost casually. "It was the last thing he planned to do before settling down. There was a young lady who was sweet on him and he was fond of as well, but she lived on the southern coast in the city of Port Vulca. Since she was on the coast so close to the rebelling countries, he went to war to try and keep it from spreading to the mainland."

Neither of them said anything as we all prepared to go to sleep in the large suite Mr. Hiel reserved for us every year. Then, my mother said, "It's nice to knew there were some good things in his life… I'm sorry he did not get to enjoy them, though. I'm sure he would have been a good husband and father."

An odd sense of both cold and warmth filled my chest at her words. I was touched that she would say such a thing in my favor despite the strained relationship I had created, but I could do nothing to claim it and show my appreciation. Instead, I could only smile softly from my small bed and say, "I think they would have been a happy family, too."

We awoke early the next morning to enjoy a breakfast shared with Mr. Hiel and Johan in which our parents continued catching up with one another. However, breakfast did not last very long because today was the day of Gai'ha and my mother would be traveling the inner streets of the city to sell or gift the herbs she had prepared. Unlike our past trips to Rama, though, I asked if I could join my parents under the childish guise of seeing what the city was actually like during this holiday.

Mr. Hiel and Johan were once again surprised by the change in my usual stay-at-home behavior but were both in favor of 'letting the kid enjoy the holiday'. In fact, Mr. Hiel wanted Johan to join us after the bonding he and I had shared over dinner. I personally had no problem with this, developing a better relationship with the two of them would only help me in my plans.

Johan might still be little more than a child himself not even in his true teens yet, but he had a physical endurance built up from years of hard work and with a little training could become an actual asset.

A marketplace that would have normally been an overpopulated area of shouted wares and tightly packed bodies was surprisingly calm and peaceful. Many vendors and merchants were still open for regular business, but today these people were more focused on selling wares based on the health of their customers and even helping to fund healing services. Today was the kind of day where people from all over who suffered from troublesome issues that could not be perfectly treated to stock up on most of their curatives for the year.

My mother herself walked around wearing a large white vest or small robe on which hung her bundles of dried herbs to be displayed to the public. Even before we reached the market, people would stop us and ask her about the different plants she carried. Even if these people were just curious and not going to buy any of them, she would patiently answer their questions with a smile while explaining their various uses and how to make use of them.

My father walked along beside, pulling a small handcart which contained the cask of curds and whey to which the goats were tethered. Johan and I walked on either side of the goats, keeping them in line while Johan acted as a tour guide. He would see a place or people of interest and tell me about the different merchant or magical factions that operated in the city, keeping up a steady stream of conversation and information.

By the time we made our way through most of the aisles and streets of the marketplace, my mother had sold quite a few of her herb bundles and I had learned which merchants in the area were actually reliable and who to avoid doing business with. I doubted I would actually put any of this information to use, but I still asked questions now and then and maintained an earnest interest. All for the sake of drawing Johan, and his father through him, to my side.