Chapter 9 Rain and Bread

The debate between Professor Lupine and Klaus went on for a long time, but Klaus was very stubborn. The bespectacled man was no longer a magus soldier, just a former magus soldier who now served as the head of the Magical Academics. It's no public secret that Klaus was sent from the royal capital, along with hundreds of other magus soldiers, to be stationed in the Hill Valley district.

What I heard from Father's story was that Klaus really hated Horaces. It doesn't matter if this is a time of peace and the two kingdoms have signed a peace treaty. But the war in the Dark Ages left a deep impression, and Klaus couldn't forget that terrible event after losing his wife and daughter. Dark times, wars that made people suffer.

The war ended with the two great kingdoms agreeing not to fight each other again. There will be no more wars that kill magus soldiers, with the return of The Magus Games as a form of honor for young magus to fight in the arena. In fact, they were only thrown into a new battlefield under the pretense of competition.

But war broke out again. The spark ignited by the massacre of The Magus Games ignited the anger of the people of the two kingdoms, and war broke out again.

Exactly sixteen years ago, I was not yet born. My mother was pregnant, and I was still in her womb. My father lived his household in a dangerous atmosphere and had to experience war situations. A war that makes people feel fear and cannot be described.

The first thing you hear are dark stories. The war made people sad, they had to lose their beloved family, loved ones, life was very miserable after the second war.

But I don't like that kind of discrimination. Klaus was vehemently opposed to Helen becoming a Hill Valley Academic student, especially since Helen was a citizen of the Horaces Kingdom. There is much debate and consideration. Professor Lupine calmly convinces Klaus to accept Helen at Hill Valley Academy. Note that Helen is completely devoted to the Kingdom of Andalus and does not care about the citizens of her country.

I had to watch the drama of endless debates, but eventually Helen was accepted to Hill Valley Academic. I'm not the only one who's happy, Lyra is very excited to make new friends. There was also a new family in my house.

Mother had two daughters to take care of, father had little problem with Helen being part of the family. There was something strange that kept bothering me, even though my father didn't mind Helen staying home and being part of our family.

Father's eyes looked very strange every time he saw Helen, even when we ate breakfast together at the dining room table. Sometimes Father would look at Helen and then look away, sometimes Father would just talk to Helen occasionally and then walk away. In contrast, my mother really cared for Helen and considered Helen to be her second daughter.

"That's very natural, I'm just staying at your house until I can meet my mother."

Me, Lyra and Helen spent some time in the forest. We are looking for the animal we want to hunt, while Lyra is setting an animal trap. The girl with the braided hair is very agile and very skilled at setting snares to trap hunted animals.

Helen and I stayed behind and walked through the forest, past the tall trees. I was looking for signs of animals that I might be able to hunt and sell directly to Hob. Mother complained that there were several medicine stashes that were empty, especially medicines that were very rare. They will not be found in the town market or in Hob. The medicine you are looking for is very rare, and not all districts distribute this rare medicine.

"Not really. Mom and Gisella are very happy with your presence, and so is Dad. My dad is very scary." I'm not good with words and jokes. But the pale girl laughed.

I don't know where the humor is in my words. I'm telling the truth, my father has a scary look, with thick black hair and a big body. Who wouldn't be afraid to see my father?

The people of Hill Valley knew my father very well, not only because he was the greatest magus, but also because he was the hero who saved the people of Hill Valley during the Second War.

"Yes, your father is scary. But what about you?"

"Which part?" I looked at Helen, who suddenly appeared before my eyes. The pale girl's face was very close to mine, I could see the sparkle in her black eyes.

"You look just like your mother. Long blond hair and your eyes. So what is similar between you and your father?"

My face was a little red, I couldn't even concentrate on the black eyes staring at me. "He was shy and whiny when he was little. But now he's very annoying and not good at socializing." Lyra was suddenly standing next to me. The girl just came without me noticing, I gasped and was surprised of course.

"Really? You know Morgan so well?"

"Of course. I've known the boy for a long time," Lyra said, puffing out her chest. She was like an older sister exposing her younger brother's mistakes.

I snorted, feeling annoyed when Lyra happily talked about my bad things. That girl with the braided hair really likes to embarrass me in front of other people. Lyra acted like an older sister, even though I was five months older than the girl, of course I should have been the older brother.

I turned my back on the two girls who really enjoyed making fun of me, while I seemed to be alienated from the two girls. My blue eyes glanced here and there, looking for traces of animals I could catch, but my ears still heard the two girls talking.

Lyra told me about our long friendship, the girl with the braided hair still remembered the first time I met her.

At that time, heavy rains drenched the Hill Valley district. My father finished hunting and caught a deer, of course I was only eight years old at the time. Accompanying dad on the hunt and teaching me how to shoot the bow, even though I'm still really bad at it, father is really great. I always admired my father as the backbone of the family and of course a hero to the people of Hill Valley.

My father and I would go to the town market to exchange a large deer for dry bread, sandwiches with fruit jam, or nuts. The food supply at home was running out, there was nothing to eat.

So my father went back to the forest to hunt. Besides dry bread, jam sandwiches and nuts, there will probably be more than a few gold or bronze coins to be won. Father was very good at finding excellent hunts. Uncle Howard was an old man and a rich merchant. The old man peddled his wares in the town market.

This time my father didn't go to the Hob. The people in the town market also knew my father as a hero. Sometimes I'm really jealous and want to be like my father. Unfortunately, I don't have the courage of my father. I was just a scared and whiny boy who always hid behind my father's big body.

Uncle Howard was used to his father's cold attitude, and the old man kindly gave him a large bag of nuts, a box of dry bread and fruit jam sandwiches, and, of course, five hundred gold coins and thirty silver coins from the moose trade.

Apart from accompanying my father to the city market. My eyes wandered around the market, looking at the merchants selling their various wares.

"GO AWAY! THERE'S NO FREE FOOD HERE!!"

The voice of someone who was angry, his yell was very loud, but it didn't make the people in the town market look at what was happening. They don't care what happens. Curious, I moved away from my father who was still bartering. Adults passed by until my eyes caught a beautiful little girl, her long hair braided, a pink flower pin pinned to the girl's head. The girl's clothes were very shabby and what I saw. The girl was being violently pushed by a man and a woman who were staring at the little girl with hatred.

The girl fell to the ground, her firm and sharp eyes looking at the man and woman. Undeterred, the little girl turned around and cursed. The two adults left the little girl outside the market door, outside the rain began to fall. The little girl snorted, stuck out her tongue, and stamped her feet on the ground. Regardless of her wet clothes, not a single person in or out of the market cared or felt sorry for the little girl.

But how could anyone feel sorry for her while she was staring at the people coming in and out of the market.

Feeling tired and needing shade, the girl sat under the shade of a tree. The girl's eyes were no longer focused on the crowd in the market. Her head was bowed, her legs were bent, and her head was buried.

I thought the girl would show such a unique attitude, but apparently not. On the other hand, I really felt sorry for the little girl, I don't know what made the little girl fight with people in the market and get kicked out. Seeing her shabby clothes and her tiny hands holding her belly. The girl seemed to be starving. I can't imagine being in that little girl's position. Having no money, no food and feeling hungry.

It occurred to me to help the little girl. Father was still talking to Uncle Howard, or rather, Uncle Howard was talking very enthusiastically and Father was just silent. I didn't want to interrupt Uncle Howard, who was telling the story with great enthusiasm. My chance to see my father, who had to endure Uncle Howard's story.

I secretly took two sandwiches with strawberry jam without my father knowing, there were several sandwiches with jam that were missing. When I saw that the girl was still where she was and didn't move an inch. I looked back. Uncle Howard had finished telling his story, I had just thrown two sandwiches with strawberry jam.

The girl realized that someone had thrown two boards of jam sandwiches at her, saw two strawberry jam sandwiches lying on the ground.

"Let's go home." I was almost surprised to see my father's sudden presence, but he didn't notice that I had given the girl a jam sandwich. Back home. Before that, I looked behind me. I saw that the girl was very happy with the strawberry jam sandwich that I gave her for free out of humanity.

That wasn't the end of it, my first encounter with Lyra at the town market. When I accidentally broke the trap of a hunted animal in the forest. Lyra was beaten by thugs for protecting me. Apart from that, I often meet Lyra at the town market, with her mother who sells hunt at the town market, sometimes I meet Lyra at the Hob. The longer we met, the closer she and I became friends and have remained friends until now.