Turning Sixteenth

Eid lays on a grass bed in the cool shade of a tree. His eyes relaxedly closed. This is his favorite spot to collect his mind or pass the time. Right now, there's a smirk on his lips that he cannot hide.

"Eid!"

Hearing a familiar young girl's voice, Eid forcibly removed his smirk to hide it from the approaching, rather energetic, young girl.

As she got near, the young girl jumped down on him, landing on his belly with her belly.

Eid groaned slightly but continued his passive expression. He was already used to his little sister doing this to him when his lazing around- and he was lazing around a lot.

The young girl then turned her head to him with sparkles in her eyes, "Eid! Come with me!"

"Where?" Eid feigned ignorance while keeping his cool.

"Hehehe, it's a surprise." the young girl snickered with a mischievous smile.

Eid's brow twitched.

'She does this every year as if expecting me to be surprised every single time.' he internally commented, 'I have an idiot as a little sister.'

This is one of the few times Eid was glad he didn't share her genes.

"Alright, I wonder where you want me to go." as a response to his little sister, Eid acted stupid.

"You'll see! You'll see! Also, carry me on the way!"

"What--? Ner, you're already eleven years old, almost a lady! And you still want to be carried by your older brother!?" Eid scolded her but the little sister doesn't care since he was already piggybacking her.

"Yeah, you don't even have a job, and you're already sixt-" Ner immediately slapped her noisy mouth shut with her eyes wide open.

'This girl...' Eid didn't know if he should laugh or cry.

"Eh? What was that? I didn't hear you."

"Ah! That was nothing! I said nothing!" Ner proceeded with the next step of her plan by covering both of her big brother's eyes.

"Now, walk!"

How was he able to walk properly if he couldn't see? Eid wanted to ask, but remembering last year, just like the year before that, he already asked that question and received the answer:

"I'll be your eyes!"

So, Eid just shut his mouth and walked.

Today is a very special day for Eid if that's not obvious enough. Not just because today's his birthday but also his sixteenth, well, at least this is the day he thinks he'll turn sixteen.

Every person's sixteenth birthday is very important, not just to Eid, because this is the day when they will unlock what the people in this world call "Allknow."

Allknow is short for the all-knowing fairy. This fairy is a manifestation of a demigod's blessing for humans to have the power to protect themselves against the other creatures of this world and the creatures from the dark.

Depending on one's culture, All-know is called many names around the world: Olno, Oln, Alk, Fairy, the Blessing, and so on.

Upon unlocking the connection to Allknow, people will finally be able to manifest their power depending on what Deity they have put their faith in.

There are four Deities: the Founder, the Judge, the Order, and the Fate. These four Deities are known to be the most powerful beings in the world- no, in the universe. Although no people have seen these four Deities, faith in them is strong because of the demigods' words. The demigods are the true ruler of the mortal realm, the world where Eid and Ner live. Their might go unchallenged, and if they say red is blue, it is blue. When they preached about the four Deities, mortals immediately revered these higher beings.

However, it's not like the demigods are any better. They don't show up often as well. These beings only show up when something big happens- a few in every century. Because of this, the people of this world are more familiar with the mystical existence of fairies. They are the will of the demigods, thus, the will of the Deities. They are said to be everywhere at all times.

The most prominent of them is Allknow.

*****

Eid, with Ner on his back, arrived at their home. Their house is a big villa in the middle of nowhere. Although there are few residences inside, anyone nearby can already feel the festive aura of the villa.

Needless to say, the festivity is because the only son of the Iron Kingdom's Duke is turning sixteen today.

Ner looked at the servants positioned at the gate. With smiling faces, they opened the black steel gate and welcomed the birthday boy.

Eid resisted sighing since he was completely aware of what would happen. Upon arriving at the main hall with his little sister's directions, his eyes were finally free, and what he saw was a fancy banquet on a long table. Around it were the people he knew the most in his life. In the center was his mother. Besides her were some of the family's relatives and friends lined up. On both sides of the hall, the servants formed two lines—one headed by an old head maid and the other by an old butler.

"One, two, three-" his mother lightly clapped with each count. By the end of the count, everyone greeted in unison:

"A happy birthday be to you, Eid!"

As if all hell had let loose, a cacophony exploded in the hall, accompanied by loud horns and whistles.

A few excited servants gave a more exploded greeting, "Young master, happy birthday be to you!"

The only person who seemed out of place was one servant girl with a cold expression as she looked at Eid, she did not utter a single word in contrast to her festive surrounding.

Towards their joyous reception, Eid made an uncomfortable face. Even if he expected this from miles away, he couldn't help but cringe.

"Gah! This is so embarrassing, why do you always do this!" he raised his arms, covering his face.

"Hahaha," the duchess was the first to laugh, followed by the relatives. But the duchess' were reserved and elegant as her hand covered her lips.

"He cried again! Hahaha!" Eid's grandfather roared with laughter, completely contrasting with his daughter-in-law.

"The young master can't be honest!" some servants laughed. The family neighbors joined the fun and teased Eid.

None of them were offended by Eid's words. That is because everyone in this hall knew that Eid really appreciated what they were doing, and that's why he's crying.

"This is why I hate it when it's my birthday!"

"Hahahaha! You're already sixteen, an adult! But you're crying! Stupid Eid!" Ner pointed at her big brother and laughed, happy to get back at him.

"No, you're an idiot!"

"What!?"

Both siblings then fought by pulling each other's cheeks.

"Stop fighting and eat!" the duchess said with a smile. Although this is his special day, that doesn't mean he can ignore his mother's words.

Eid immediately listened and went to his chair beside his mother, chatting with others who gave him the best wishes. He received them all with smiles and thanks this time. Meanwhile, Ner persisted in their "fight" by continuing to pull on his big brother's cheeks like a monkey atop his shoulders. When she met retaliation no more, the young girl maniacally laughed, thinking she had achieved victory.

The servants assisted the family and guests first by serving the dishes. Soon, the servants finished their tasks, sat down, and began to eat as well on the same table. They were loud and joyous, but neither the family nor the guests minded them as they were as loud, if not louder.

Now that all pretense was dropped, Eid let loose and laughed with them.

After eating, there were games prepared by the duchess and the family servants. As the birthday boy, Eid was the first to participate in such games. Holding a pin attached to a donkey's tail- well, artificially- two identical servant boys spun Eid while he was blindfolded.

The moment he gained his footing after a momentary dizziness. The crowd shouted instructions.

"Left! Left!"

"Go straight! Wait, no, left!"

"Ah, stop, not there! Right!"

"Go up!"

Of course, with how unsynchronized they are, they only made Eid scratch his head. Their instructions only created a cacophony that no one, even themselves, could understand clearly.

'Who shouted up!?' he internally retorted, knowing that some intentionally give wrong instructions for fun.

However, Eid smirked. These false and unclear instructions couldn't fool him. Before being blindfolded, he saw where the flat wooden donkey was. Spinning him and making him dizzy was not enough to disorient his directions.

'Next time, give me harder challenges,' Eid thought before confidently walking in the direction completely opposite to the wooden donkey.

Seeing Eid was about to spectacularly fail, Ner laughed before she noticed a figure near the wooden donkey.

Her long black hair was tied in a bun beneath her head. With her outfit the same as the other servants, Ner immediately knew who this slender figure was and what her intentions are.

"Toko, stop! I know what you're going to do!"

Toko was the quiet maid with a cold expression. She is Eid's personal and most loyal servant. Although she appeared distant, almost everyone knew that she has the highest affection towards the young master. So high, in fact, that many felt it was unhealthy.

"Young Master Eid cannot fail," she said with a grave expression before dragging the wooden donkey towards the birthday boy with great speed.

Meanwhile, Eid couldn't hear them as he was the center of the noise.

"It's just a party game, you psycho!"

Ner entered the scene and stopped Toko's advances. The latter looked at her with a heavy expression.

"You stand in my way again, Young Mistress..."

"Hehehe, indeed, I am!"

Seeing the new development, the crowd cheered loudly.

"Here it is! The annual Young Mistress Ner vs. Toko match is here!"

"As expected of Toko, she's getting crazier every year! We are just at the first game, but she already provoked the young mistress!"

With the noise reduced because of them creating a scene, Toko found a chance to give clear instruction to her young master.

"Young Master, that's the opposite way!"

Hearing this, Eid immediately knew it was from Toko. Since he had never doubted her, letting a tinge of redness appear on his cheeks. He was so confident in his walk, but he seemed to be in the wrong direction!

Feeling embarrassed, Eid determined to finish what he had started.

When Toko saw that her young master ignored her, her face paled and revealed pure shock.

'Young Master had never doubted me before. What is happening?' but through mental gymnastics, in a split second, she arrived at a conclusion, 'No, the young master's trust in me is so deep that he believes I'll bring this donkey to him- no matter what direction he goes!'

Feeling warmth in her heart, Toko became determined.

Ner raised an eyebrow upon seeing the changes in Toko's complexion. Even after living with this maid all her life in the same villa, she never knew what this psycho was thinking.

Feeling time was of the essence, Toko initiated the combat as she threw a punch.

In this world, martial arts were highly sought after by almost every living sentient creature. With dangerous creatures appearing at night, people needed something to protect themselves. And martial art is one of the primary means of protection.

No one stopped Toko from approaching the eleven-year-old girl with a fist. No one there saw Ner as a weak and vulnerable young lady, after all.

The moment Ner was able to stand on her own a decade ago, she was already being taught the basics of martial arts by the most brilliant mentors in the Iron Kingdom.

Ner or Nera Ida Rohde's father is the Duke of the Iron Kingdom. Besides the King and the High Priest stationed there, the Duke has the highest authority over the kingdom and its nine cities. Only the best of the best could come and have a chance to tutor his daughter.

In fact, it was unfair for her to fight a mere servant who didn't have access to such education. Fortunately, Toko is no ordinary servant. She calls herself the Sword of the Young Master Eid and is stronger than most people her age. Furthermore, she is three years older than Ner.

Thus, this fight seemed fair in the eyes of most people. Granted, they did not use any real weapons, so no one intercepted them.

Upon being locked in a flurry of exchanges between the two fighters, the crowd's cheer got more excited.

After some time, and as the fight got intense, Ner won by overwhelming Toko, letting the latter feel exhaustion before her. The crowd's cheer peaked, and the game's rewards were given to the young lady.

Eid felt like something unfair happened but didn't know what as he was kept in the dark.

Unbeknownst to everyone, throughout the small fight, Toko had seen more than a dozen openings in Ner's offense and defense. Yet, she restrained herself from taking that chance. Because if she did not, she may have killed the young lady of Rohde's and the younger sister of her young master.

Toko's specialty was killing people. Through rigorous training and experience, since she was little, her fighting style developed and relied mainly on killing the enemies as fast as she could, and in cold blood. No person who had fought her came out alive.

Well, except for two people: Ner, who sees her as a rival in martial arts, and her master who taught her those skills and is ironically the master she serves, Eidol Rohde.

Even though it's not her fault she lost against Ner, Toko gritted her teeth, thinking that she failed her young master.

At that moment, Ner reached out her hand for Toko to take and stand up. With a bright and charming smile, she said:

"Good fight, hehe. Don't take it too hard, I'll share my winnings with my dumb brother. It's his special day, after all."

Hearing this, Toko's tense expression softened...

"Umm, what is happening to the game?" Eid was left there, oblivious to the fight and everything.

The fun and games continued. Ner and Toko find themselves competing again, but when either Eid's mother, Judith Eva, or grandfather, Frodo participates in any of the games, they instantly dominate and win the rewards.

There was even a game where the winner is the one who could lift the Mountain Sword- a sword that is imbued with fairy magic, making it as heavy as a cow- the highest. The grandpa who seems like he would even struggle to stand on his own lifted the Mountain Sword as if it's a piece of stick. Even the strongest guard there couldn't lift that sword pass their knees so everyone was left stupefied...

When it was already late afternoon, the last party game ended with Eid not winning anything. Not because he can't win anything but because he doesn't want to show he's capable of winning. After the first game, the following games were competitions in strength, power, and intellect.

Since the duchess hosted the games, the rewards were not something to laugh off. The rewards can be money, an imbued, or even scriptures!

The servants and family friends' eyes shone at these rewards. The Duchess' pocket money is already a large sum to them. Not to mention an imbued which can be a powerful item or weapon. The best of them all, of course, are the scriptures. Absorbing the contents of a scripture will improve their connection with the fairies of the world, making them more powerful than ever before.

This world is all about who has a stronger faith in the deities. Thus, this world is called Deiterra.

So, these competitions may be party games like what Ner proclaimed them to be, but for the servants and family friends, they are a serious matter.

In the end, though, it was all fun since everyone got to laugh. There was no envy or enmity between each other. Even when a person loses a game, they accept it with a smile. This is because everyone in the hall has a kind heart, and that's not a coincidence.

Even though he didn't win anything, Eid hummed in joy because of the comfort and peace he felt and because Toko offered him all her winnings. He denied it and patted the loyal maid as thanks since Eid was already satisfied.

When the party seemed to be coming to an end, that's when one of the family guards took everyone's attention by ringing a bell beside the grand entrance.

"The master, Duke Rholes had arrived! Together with Priest Cerviel of the Great Sanctuary and the Prince Frederick of the Iron Kingdom!"

Hearing this, everyone became orderly as the front doors opened. Two lines of white knights were formed on each side before the entrance, with Duke Rholes walking in the middle. Behind him was a bald man in white robes with golden embroideries, holding a rod with a symbol on top representing one of the four Deities: the Judge. Then, behind the priest is a handsome young man who seems to be around his twenties. He wore a bright and kind smile that smitten a few maidens.

Seeing the third person, the edge of Eid's lips twitched. But he hid his true feelings by maintaining his facial expression. The only person who noticed the slight change in his demeanor was Toko and Duke Rholes.

However, none of them mentioned it since the main event is about to start with the priest's arrival. Eid is about to receive the blessing from the Great Sanctuary so he can safely unlock the connection with the fairy Allknow.