Chapter Thirteen: A Gift From The Past, And Start of The Journey To The New Future

That day was a chaotic day, the kids had been kidnapped, every able man went out to fight against the Goblins only to find out there was a Goblin Lord, something that could have killed them all with the Goblins if it hadn't been for Danno's thinking.

But in the end everything worked out. The kids were back. All the Goblins were dead, as well as the Goblin Lord. And although many were injured, everyone survived that fight.

That night everyone in the village celebrated in their own way. Some families just cuddled together, proving to themselves that the kids were okay and with them. And others had noisy parties that involved multiple people from the village celebrating together.

It didn't matter which group people were in, they were all celebrating in some way.

And that night Kenjiro and Eisen had that chicken that he was boiling. And Kenjiro was happy to say that it was definitely the most filling food he had since he got there. And it definitely tasted like the best food Kenjiro had ever had.

Eisen and Kenjiro both had their own little party with Eisen drinking a little, with Kenjiro refusing to have some. He might be in another world but it still didn't feel right to him to drink under the age of twenty.

They had the most fun they could have together and although Kenjiro couldn't talk due to his voice being damaged he still wrote down stuff he wanted to tell Eisen.

They grew closer together and although it was a little weird for Kenjiro he did admit to Eisen that he saw him like a granddad to him.

Eisen didn't object to the status Kenjiro had given him, instead he accepted it happily, smiling and laughing with a little bit of crying that he passed off as dust getting in his eye from the bottle of beer that had been lying around for a while.

Of course Kenjiro didn't comment on that obvious lie but found it funny.

Kenjiro had also explained what had happened when they went out there, about how many Goblins there were and how there was a Goblin Lord. And Eisen had to explain that Goblins rarely carried weapons so when Kenjiro came across a group of them before all with clubs was rare, but with the Goblin Lord in the picture it made more sense, as Goblin Lords always make sure there were weapons for the Goblins.

They discussed what they were going to do with the dead body of the Goblin Lord and the Goblins.

Apparently around a month from now a merchant would come and sell them items from nearby towns and cities, along with anything big that had happened.

Kenjiro knew that when that merchant came to the village they were going to learn about the heroes, although he wouldn't stop that, he didn't really want to stop that news from spreading. Although the villagers weren't worried about the Demons attacking them because they were out of the way of the path they would take, as the village was right at the edge of the country, if the Demons did conquer the country they would eventually make their way towards the village at some point. So having them told about the heroes would give them reassurance about the war.

During the time that the merchant would be there the villagers were planning to sell the corpses of the Goblins to him, as though they were not used much, beginning alchemists used them as ingredients for their potions. They wouldn't go for much but with the amount that they had they would be worth more. And then with the Goblin Lord added to that it would amount to even more.

By now all the celebrating was over as everyone was worn out. Either by the fatigue of the battle or the stress of worrying if your kid, lover or family was coming home alive and not someone else coming to tell you the bad news.

And as Kenjiro lay in his bed awake, he thought about the dilemma he was facing. How was he going to get enough of the Goblin Lord to get his skills and stats? He couldn't do it now, even he was tired after the fight.

And then once he got the stats and skills, what would he do? He knew he couldn't stay here, as much as he wanted to he needed to go so he could get stronger and get home.

He decided to think about it in the morning as he couldn't think straight with all this tiredness. So he closed his eyes on the night sky that he could see out the crack of a closed window in the kitchen. With dreams of being with his family again.

When he woke up the next morning he was still a bit tired. Combined with just waking up and fighting the other day he didn't want to move, but he felt if he stayed in the village with everyone he would get more attached than he already was and wouldn't have the heart to leave.

So with Kenjiro still being half asleep and having a lot on his mind, his body reflected that perfectly as he got up and got ready for the day. His footsteps heavy and his body clumsy as he tried to get his arm in the hole of the leather jacket.

When he finally got out of his bedroom he saw Eisen sitting at the kitchen table with a serious look on his face as food was in front of them, although they were now back to what he was having before for breakfast with water, but Kenjiro didn't mind.

As Kenjiro sat down in front of Eisen, the old man he thought of like a granddad, looked at him, reading him like he was an open book. And he seemed to get a little saddened by what he was seeing, although even Kenjiro didn't know what Eisen saw on his face or what he himself was thinking.

"So you made your choice, huh." Eisen said a little dully. He sighed before he took something that he had at the leg of the table that was wrapped in a brown but well kept cloth.

He put it on the table between the both of them but pushed it towards kenjiro. "It's yours now, I want you to have it." Eisen said, a little bit of pride and happiness in his voice, but also regret and sadness.

Kenjiro took the cloth in front of him and felt something heavy and solid within it, although it was heavy it wasn't anything Kenjiro couldn't lift because of the strength he got from the Goblin.

He shot a confused look at Eisen, who only smiled in an encouraging manner, which prompted Kenjiro to unwrap whatever was in it. When he did he was shocked by what was in it, it just wasn't something you would expect Eisen to have.

It was a sword. But clearly it wasn't any old sword, it was well made and even had its own design on it. It was a Jian sword, it was eighty centimeters long, not including the handle. The blade was silver but it had a golden sheen to it when the light hit it right. It had a unique guard with it being a golden lion head that had its mouth open with the bottom half of the blade popping out, it was a very intricate design. The grip of the sword was a regular brown leather that was wrapped around the metal of the grip. The fuller of the sword wasn't that deep and went in a unique design that looked like a swerving like that didn't affect the overall shape of the sword.

Although Kenjiro didn't know most of the details of the sword, like what it was and the specifics on it, but he could tell this wasn't an item that everyone in the village had in their houses.

After admiring the sword he looked back up at Eisen in confusion. Why did he have this sword? And why would he give it to Kenjiro?

It seemed Eisen understood his confusion as he explained it to Kenjiro. "It was my wifes. She was an adventurer, a very high ranked and well respected one as well, a B-Rank adventurer. And on one mission… she and her party at the time, came across a high ranked Demon terrorising a village… she sacrificed herself to buy time to let her party get away… they later returned there with every adventurer they could gather in hopes that she might still be alive or… that they could kill the Demon to avenge her…" Eisen was taking deep and shaky breaths as tears streamed down his face. "They could do neither… by then it was too late… and then i got the news from her party themselves.."

He could still remember that day, it was an ordinary day, and he was waiting for his wife to come back to the inn they were staying at while they traveled back to his village, as they were planning on settling down and starting a family.

But when the knock came on his room and he opened the door expecting to see his wife with a big smile on her face, happily running to bring him in a tight hug as her bright hair would flow behind her, that's not what greeted him behind the door.

Instead it was the members of her party, standing there with his wife nowhere in sight. They didn't say anything at first until they handed him something wrapped in a cloth. Only giving him looks of sadness, regret and pity as they saw his confused look.

When the young Eisen opened the cloth inside was his wife's sword, with a little bit of blood at the edge of it.

Eisen's mind wanted to deny it but he knew what this meant. So with his tears beginning to build he started to beg them that it was some sort of sick joke.

Instead they only said they are sorry and that they wished they could do more.

The rest of that journey Eisen had to travel alone.

"It was supposed…" Eisen stopped as he tried to compose himself, wiping the tears off his face and shaking his head when he saw Kenjiro about to get out of his seat to comfort him somehow. He didn't need comfort, he just needed to do this… to properly let go of her. "It was supposed to be a gift to our child once we had one, but we never got around to it. So I want you to have it instead… you are my grandson now after all."

Kenjiro stated in shock at Eisen at the story and that Eisen had actually called him his grandson. Yeah he had accepted being called his granddad, but he had never been called his grandson.

Then Kenjiro got up and walked over to Eisen to hug him. He hugged tightly and Eisen hugged back. "Don't worry, I'll take care of her."

Eisen just nodded his head. "If you want to leave, you should do it today." He said before chuckling a bit. "Stay any longer and I might force you to stay."

Kenjiro nodded his head even though Eisen couldn't see it.

That was the last day he spent in that house.

After that moment with Eisen and talking for a bit, promising to come back eventually. He eventually started leaving but also planned on making a stop at the corpse of the Goblin Lord.

He managed to convince Eisen he needed to check out something in the forest before going there and eating a bit of the corpse, although just enough to get the stats and skills.

When he came back and was going to leave the village he was allowed to Eisen to take the leather armour that held his iron sword before.

And when he was going to leave the village with everything ready he heard someone call out his name, and when he turned around he saw an injured Danno coming towards him.

He had bandages around most of his body and was using wooden crutches to limp towards him.

Kenjiro walked towards him to shorten the distance between the two and when he was near enough Danno brought him into a brief hug before letting go. "Just wanted to wish you good luck. You've definitely got potential." Danno said as his accent was still thick in his voice.

He then reached forward and wiped something away from Kenjiro's shirt. And when Kenjiro saw what it was he panicked. "Just make sure no one finds out about your eating habits. I don't know why or how you're doing it, but… just make sure the next time the old geezer sees you it isn't with you in the ground."

And with that he limped away and Kenjiro stood there stunned before turning around and leaving the village. Although he was leaving, he was sure this wasn't going to be his last time visiting.

And although his goodbye with Eisen might seem distant. The only reason they didn't make a bigger deal out of it was because they both knew Kenjiro wouldn't leave if he stayed any longer.