Chapter 16 – Coming clean

The sun was shining bright and a clear blue sky with a few translucent clouds dotting it could be seen.

It was midmorning when Adam woke up the next day. Eyes squinting, he sat up on his bed. Stretching his hands and legs out simultaneously, a very long yawn escaped his mouth.

Breathing in the fresh spring breeze that wafted in through his open sliding doors he laid back down and squirmed in his bed for a bit longer.

…

The unruled plains of the gordian empire were perpetually in a seasonal rotation of spring, summer and autumn. Spring was the longest season that spanned for almost 8-9 month's of the year, while summer and autumn shared the other 3 or 4 months.

No snow had ever fallen on these lands as a result. The closest thing to snow would be hail that would fall only on extremely stormy days. This was a rare event that would occur once every 6-7 years.

The land was thus a paradise for Farming. This was also the reason why the unruled plains were known as the land of farmers and free adventurers.

…

After the insistent urging of the persistent Fen, Adam had finally woken up.

After freshening up and changing into a fresh set of robes he made his way to the dining area for breakfast.

Adam was dressed in a light brown coloured robe. The robe seemed to be very hanfu inspired and a black belt was around the waist.

He still wasn't used to such loose clothing. If it was in his hands he would definitely still prefer joggers and a t-shirt any day. The mobility and comfort they provided were unmatched. It was the clothing that soothed his soul.

He never thought that he would miss his clothes as much as he did now.

Regretful he let out a sigh and opened the door to the dining hall.

"Adam! Come in quick. I am already very late." A happy voice echoed through the room. Despite the words that were said, the speaker did not seem rushed at all.

Yuki sat at her usual spot, sipping on tea that was being poured for her by the maidservant girl who was standing by right beside her.

Adam was surprised. Yesterday when he had got back it was just before noon. As soon as he had gotten back, he had gone to his room and fallen asleep only to wake up now.

The fusion of the elements was exacting a higher toll on his body than he had predicted. Only after the long rest had his body adapted to the rapid depletion of energy in his body.

"Good morning, young master. Oh my! Young master how have you lost so much weight!" The girl beside Yuki was just giving her greeting to the newly arrived Adam when she caught a glimpse of him.

Hearing her Yuki who had been leisurely sipping tea also looked up and scanned him. A look of shock and worry instantly appeared on her face.

Until yesterday Adam was a pudgy 5-year-old who still had his baby fat.

Looking at him now… his cheeks had grown hollow and his face had shaped into a more defined look, his hands that were sticking out from his sleeves looked like sticks and his fingers like twigs. His robe was visibly loose and was swaying on his body as he walked.

He had never been a sickly child. In fact, he had not fallen ill a single time since he had come to this world. The body that he had now, though looked pale and frail was deceptively sturdy.

Seeing such a major drop in his weight overnight Yuki was horrified. This was her only son and this was also the first time he had ever had any health-related issue. She had no experience in this department and as such, she did not know how severe the problem could be.

Adam realized something was wrong immediately. He lifted up his arms and saw his thin hands. Pulling his sleeves up his arm's would be most aptly described as 'skin and bones'.

Adam had perfected the skill of sleepwalking. He would be able to go through a whole morning just on muscle memory alone. He prided himself on this.

Thus he had still not realized himself the changes that had occurred to his body.

Taking a look now.

He knew instantly what had caused this. The elemental fusion was a process that was changing the very constitution of his body. The activation of an element was just awakening something dormant in the body. Whereas his fusion of elements required his body to be capable of unleashing an evolution of the two elements. Even if his body was capable of adapting to this change the consequences of the process could be seen.

He knew that the solution was simple. All he had to do was consume enough food to replenish what he had lost. The biggest problem now was explaining the elemental fusion to his mother.

"Mother its nothing really…" lifting his head toward her he was hoping she wouldn't pursue the matter.

Yuki was looking back at him with fury in her eyes as if to say 'are you undermining my intelligence?'

'I'm in for it now.' He knew he had no way to back out at this point. He tightened his resolve then looked toward the girl beside his mother "Good morning big sis. It may be a bit rude but could you give us a moment of privacy? I truly apologise for the inconvenience."

The girl was stunned. She had obviously known the personality of their young master but to be spoken to so politely and also hearing the sincerity in his apology at something so trivial, her heart almost stopped.

'Young master will be a catastrophe for many girls in the future.' His personality was soft and sincere regardless of the person he spoke to. With him losing his baby fat a glimpse of what his face would develop into in the future could be seen. Him turning into a peerlessly handsome youth was all but set in stone.

The girls face flushed and she stuttered out "Y..you…young m..ma..master please don't worry about it. I will take my leave then mistress." Bowing once her footsteps were like the wind as she rushed out.

Only once she was out of the room and closed the door behind her did she start breathing again.

"Young master is formidable!" She only said this before shaking her head and walking to the side. Waiting to be called back in.

Inside the room.

Yuki could obviously tell from the girl's reaction to what she was thinking. Placing any blame on the girl was impossible too because she knew her son's charm. A son's capabilities were the pride of their mother. It was also harmless so she did not place too much attention to it.

She had a bigger concern at the moment.

Adam's animated actions and speech from earlier put her at a bit of peace though.

So she lifted her cup back up but didn't take a sip. It was as if she was saying, she would only take a sip after he began speaking.

Adam took a glance around and the only people left in the room were now Fen who had walked in with him and his mother who was already seated at the table.

"Big sis Fen, let us sit. I shall explain everything. I'm sure you are curious too." Fen was more than a big sister to Adam. She was the one who spent the most time with him. In his mind, she was family and he would treat her as such.

Adam walked ahead and sat down right next Yuki on her right while Fen sat slightly behind him to his right.

"Speak." Yuki was curt. She was already mad at him, from his earlier actions of trying to brush aside the topic.

"Okay, mother. I'm sure you already know that I spent more than an hour in the celestial enlightenment room." He knew there was no hope of remedy and any actions of delaying the inevitable would only cause more harm so he spoke bluntly.

"Yes, Fen has already reported to me her point of view while you were asleep. So what happened in that hour? It is normal to spend a few minutes in there but to spend over an hour is unheard of." She knew a thing or two about the procedure so she was extremely curious about the happenings.

"When I entered the room I did as I was told and placed my hand on the celestial enlightenment stone. After that, it flashed and …." Adam began recounting the experience. He was obviously careful not to give up any information that could relate to his sentient mind. As such he could only tell them about gaining two classes and two elements.

He did not divulge any further about the cards his sentient mind formed or his elemental fusion.

It was better not to explain something that he himself did not fully understand. He had to maintain a low profile until he could protect himself. It was the same concept as super power's in his previous life. If he were found to be special he would be shipped to some laboratory and experimented on. Of course, it may not be the same in this world but why should he risk it when he was not sure?

Fen and Yuki obviously held a special place in his mind as telling them about his classes and elements were already putting utmost trust in them.

Yuki sighed and a look of delight was apparent on her face. She held the cup of tea in her hand with both hands slowly absorbing the warmth that came through it and slouched a bit forward in relief.

"Silly boy! Why didn't you just straight up say that you gained so many advantages? Simply making me worry when there was only a need to celebrate." Adam had played his loss of weight on the changes his body was going through from all the different advantages he had gained. It was unprecedented to have two classes and two elements just at the initiation so how could anyone tell how that would affect the body?

"Young master is a genius! Fen is so happy for you." Fen said delightedly.

"Of course 'my' son is. Not only did he get the choice of all five classes but he also got to choose twice. He's also compatible with all the elements and similarly got two choices! Ranger and Monk also air and earth? Good choices!" It felt like no matter what his choices were she would say that. However, she was genuinely surprised by how much thought he had put into his choices when he explained it.

Fen and Yuki kept praising him after he was done explaining the events and he was turning redder by the moment.

"Mother and Big sis please stop!" He couldn't take it anymore and said.

"Why should I stop?! My son is already so great. Why can I not even praise him a little?" Fen seemed to stop but contrary to his expectation's he got rebuked by Yuki instead.

'What is this unreasonableness…' He lamented inwardly then let his mother continue for a while till she sobered up from her excitement.

Her face turned stern as soon as she was done and then in an authoritative tone she spoke up. "Fen and Adam! Never speak of this to anyone else. This is a secret between us. If anyone finds out about this Adam will not be in any small danger… his life could be at risk."

She then gave Fen a deathly stare and said to her "Adam has trusted you as his own big sister and divulged this secret to you. I will not say any more on this as this is his decision to make. If however you ever betray his trust there shall be no one worse than me. Do you understand?"

It wasn't that Yuki wanted to be mean to Fen. Adam's safety was just that important to her. She could not afford to take the slightest risks.

"Mistress I would never." Fen was shivering as she said in fear.

"Don't worry mother I trust big sis Fen!" Adam couldn't help but chip in his thought on the matter.

"Young master." Fen may be timid but she had never cried for anything as far as she could remember. Today her eyes turned red and her vision turned blurry. She tried her hardest to pull her emotions back in and control them but no matter what she tried she could not stop it.

Her eyes closed and two tears trickled down her face from each of her eyes.

She had not had a good childhood. She did not know who her parents were. She was raised in a dilapidated orphanage for as far as she could remember.

At the age of ten, she was sold to a merchant as a slave. She spent two years in chains waiting to be sold off. Her future uncertain, she only saw the darkest sides of humanity.

Her fate first changed when she was bought by Yuki who brought her to the lodge. Trained her and gave her food, shelter and clothing. The second time it changed was when she got assigned to take care of the young master of the lodge. Back then the girls only fought for the place because of how cute the boy was.

Today her fate changed again. Hearing his words of absolute certainty in her. The her who she herself didn't hold in any regard being praised so highly. Her heart that was locked finally saw a glimmer of light. She wanted to run and chase it, run her feet ragged to catch that light and keep it in her embrace.

"Y...Young master! F...Fen…this unworthy Fen shall follow you for life. I shall never betray you." Her sobs grew as she said this. Then as if a dam had been unleashed, tears fell from her eyes.

Her fears, anxiety, worries and doubts were all let out with her tears.

She pledged in her heart that someday she would repay this kindness, this feeling of safety and belonging.

Adam could not comprehend how his intentions could affect her this much. He was at a loss of what to do.

He also felt gratitude at the earnest response she had shown. Her place in his mind only escalated.

He did not know what to do, so he turned to her direction and slowly and gently patted her head of hair that had its face sunken into her palms sobbing.

Yuki watched this scene from the sidelines and let out a gentle smile as well.