76

Chapter 76

Flange Orphanage, City: Three Prongs Fork, Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat, the Year 2030, Planet: Grimoire

Grifton glanced around when the conversation had taken a somber and distinctly depressing turn in tone and subject. It appeared they'd arrived at their destination. "Hmm, interesting." From what he could tell, the private areas were themed.

"Yes, this is similar to what we work in," Denby remarked. It is the plainest of the rooms and perfect for the size of our team."

Grifton nodded because it wasn't crowded, and he no longer felt cramped. He sighed and watched cautiously what the others were doing. The men dropped their robes and revealed plain loincloths as their only concession to decency. Otherwise, their bodies were surprisingly muscular and covered in a fair number of scars.

That made Grifton feel more relieved when he dispensed with his robes. However, he wasn't so pleased when the men stared at him in shock. "You didn't know I also had burn scars?" He shifted his weight uncomfortably. "That was there from when I was born."

Denby looked stunned and horrified. "I had heard of some stories of those events. I just hadn't known the extent of the injuries you and your cousins suffered from, though."

Grifton shook his head. "They were more fortunate. The flames didn't reach where they were located...I was more exposed and within the grasp of a creature that was evidently burned alive." He had vague fragments of memory still buried in his subconscious.

Denby nodded. "I see." He sighed.

Grifton grimaced. "It is another reason I prefer remaining farthest from any open flame." It's not the best way of handling the trauma.

The others frowned in comprehension. "Is that why you have difficulty in the arena?" They hadn't even considered why he didn't always come out unscathed. Now, they were getting a much more straightforward and unpleasant revelation.

"Yes." Maybe that was why he didn't cope well on the magic combat spars. Grifton shrugged. "I still get burned now and then despite my attempts to prevent such a thing from happening."

Denby grunted. "Well, if the new alternations are approved," his eyes glinted with anticipation to Grifton's surprise when an explanation followed. "You should be able to cast magic better by removing unnecessary vocal and hand gestures when no longer required."

Huh, that was something to anticipate if that was the case. "It should be interesting to find out what the news is that has thrown everything into utter shambles," Grifton agreed.

While the others settled into the steaming water, Grifton found a corner with lukewarm water. There, he could handle the temperature better.

Denby shook his head as he watched Grifton. "I'm just glad that you remained here after all. Though I'm not pleased that it took persuasion of possible lookouts to keep you here."

Grifton thought about what he said and winced. "I'm sorry if it felt insulting to you." He sighed after a moment of consideration. "I also realized that remaining in one place would be beneficial."

Denby frowned. "Please explain what happened to make you change your mind?" He knew how independent Grifton was. For him to remain meant something happened that he hadn't anticipated. His absence from the presence of people would potentially cause him problems if he wandered off.

Eh, Grifton saw where Denby's thoughts were going. He was almost correct in his assumptions. However, there were other ways for Grifton to find out the information he'd missed. Not that it would be easy to do so. I might as well be honest with Denby about this instance.

Grifton knew when to acknowledge common sense when remaining with others. He shrugged. "I hadn't realized it earlier. When I checked my communicator, I saw that the face of it was cracked." A sigh escaped Grifton.

Denby frowned slightly. "I see. That will be something of a problem." He conceded.

None of the others contributed to the conversation. Still, it didn't really concern them, so it didn't occur to Grifton to wonder about their silence. Denby exhaled. "So, it wasn't cracked before today?" He eyed Grifton in confusion.

"I don't know." Grifton shrugged with some embarrassment. "Not that I noticed before now." He admitted he'd been somewhat busy with projects, dodging bullies between classes, and sparring sessions when he wasn't working with Denby and the others in the orchard.

Really, that was the only time he didn't deal with obnoxious pests. Pests that believed they were superior to him. Just because they had the traditional advantages when it came to casting magic through voice and hand gestures.

"However, I'd been keeping the face covered with the flap to prevent dust or moisture from getting to it." Grifton disliked what it meant in terms of delaying receiving information quickly. "I will have to get it resurfaced since I cannot afford to replace it entirely." That would still mean he had limited access to reliable information.

"Hmm, let me look at it later when we leave the bathhouse." Denby requested. He clearly didn't care for the notion that Grifton didn't have a reliable source of information access.

"Alright, I'll do that later." Grifton agreed when he noticed the other team members blinking sleepily at him. Maybe they'd been napping this afternoon? Well, that wouldn't surprise Grifton. He was also becoming very relaxed in the soothing atmosphere of the bathhouse, after all.

~*~

Denby glanced at his supposedly indifferent coworkers, who did an excellent imitation of snoozing in the water swirling around them. He had to give them credit for managing to conceal how they really felt right now. They were boiling with rage after hearing what happened to Grifton and why his communicator wasn't working. Like hell, they would let him wander around without a reliable source of communication.

Denby recalled the latest mishap before Grifton reached them about two days ago. Something might have happened to his device then. He'd been having trouble keeping track of all his commitments since then.

Now that Denby and the others understood what was happening, they could do something for him. They hadn't always been teams working in the orchards. This was busier work since they'd retired from their former occupations. In fact, with Grifton's talents flourishing and showing them some interesting new innovations of what could be done with elements, spirits, and alternative formulas...well, some of them wanted to go back to their personal workshops and tinker around with ideas popping into their heads. It hadn't been long before their spouses caught onto who gave them inspiration and suggested they find out what they could do to help him as thanks. Since then, Denby and his crew have tried various ways to thank the aloof and wild creature in their charge. That's when they began learning more about his background, which was shocking and horrible to their hearing. It also gained their compassion and made it easier for them to accommodate him on his bad days when he'd been severely beaten in the combat sparring sessions.