Leus and Blaze

Leus told Blaze how he met Meli, how he went home with her and healed her father, And how he was interrupted by Scar and his group in the middle.

Blaze was surprised to hear that.

'He was able to go back to the slums after the last time?'

Blaze didn't expect Leus to recover from that incident this quickly.

'It just shows how different Leus is'

From Blaze's experience, People usually take a while to recover from their first kill, especially if it was unintentional.

Considering Leus is just a child, Blaze found it surprising how easily he seemed to overcome the matter.

Nevertheless, He didn't say anything about it.

'It would be stupid if I remind him about it now'

So he kept quiet.

Leus had something in mind, so he asked

"How is it in the military, Dad?"

"As always, Bloody and boring"

" ... Are people free to leave anytime?"

"Depends, Once you're Elite you gain some freedom, But you still need the Commandant's approval"

"What if you don't agree with him?"

"You have to work it out.

Worst case scenario there would be a trial, and the judges would be biased toward the Commandant, but it'd mostly end with a fine and transportation to another camp"

"What if you aren't Elite"

Blaze instantly replied

"You die"

"Oh .. That easy?"

"Even easier than you think"

"Is it possible for a Soldier or a Knight to escape?"

Blaze scratched his chin in thought

"Well, I haven't heard of a Knight escaping before.

By the time you reach Knight there isn't much left in your contract anyway, After it's over you can refuse to renew it and walk away as a free man.

But Soldiers don't have it that easy, They often die.

If a Soldier escapes then it really depends on the Commandant, He can easily organize a chase or just put him on the wanted list, The latter is the most common."

Blaze didn't think that Leus had any ulterior motives for his questions, As he knew that Leus had had a thirst for knowledge since he was young.

Blaze's answers helped Leus confirm some details of Scar's story, And he wanted to ask something.

First, He elaborated on his meeting with Scar, Explaining how he was waiting for him outside Meli's house, and told Blaze a short version of the story Scar told him. Then he asked

"So is it okay if I help him train to evolve?"

Blaze looked into Leus' eyes and said

"With power comes responsibility.

It's not an issue if you help him train or tell him the methods.

Matter of fact, the way to evolve isn't really a secret, You just have to search for it and you'll find it.

For example, there's a school in the city that trains Soldiers to become Knights, for a price of course.

So the idea of training someone isn't an issue.

But do you really want to train a thug? Do you believe him? Are you sure that if he actually evolves he won't abuse his power?"

Leus replied with resolve

"If anything like that happens, I'll take care of it myself."

Blaze asked in a solemn tone

"Are you sure? Once you decide something like that there's no turning back"

"I'm sure, I thought about it."

Blaze looked in the distance

"If that's how it is then it's not an issue.

Let me know if you need help or if things spiral out of control, but you can't teach people spells that you learned from Arno, if that's something you want then you can buy spell books and give them to anyone you want, just like anyone else."

Leus nodded

"I understand, Thanks for everything, Dad!"

Blaze faintly smiled

'Leus is all grown up already, Soon enough he won't need me'

That thought made Blaze happy and a bit sad at the same time, But he was ultimately proud of Leus

'He helps people even if he won't gain anything from doing it, And he's ready to take care of the consequences of his actions.'

Blaze asked

"So you're going to train that Scar guy for the rest of the week?"

"Yeah, That's my plan"

Blaze nodded

"Just make sure to come back home before you go to Arno, Alright?"

"Hmm? Yeah sure"

'I wasn't planning to stay all the time there but who knows'

They were done talking, so Leus was about to say Good Night and go back inside but Blaze stopped him

"Uh, Leus, There's also something I need to talk to you about"

Blaze was scratching the back of his neck and looking at Leus

"What is it?"

'Why does dad seem .... Embarrassed?'

Blaze smiled wryly and said

"Uhm ... I'll be honest with you, You're very young but your body is way bigger than your age, So ... Your mother told me about how you called that girl pretty and went to her house, Do you like her?"

'MOM!!!!!!'

Leus was at a loss for words

"That's ... Not how it is ... She just seemed in trouble"

Blaze had an awkward smile on his face

'I didn't expect to have to talk about this with Leus first, But that's how it is'

"Is that so? Well, If there's something you need to talk about you can tell me"

"Don't worry about it dad, Now Good night!"

"Wait a second, Take this"

Blaze put his hand in his pocket and took out some Bronze and two Silver coins

"Since you spent everything on the dagger, Take these, And think before you spend, Alright?"

"Ah yes, Thank you, Dad"

"Don't worry about it"

Leus went back inside, and Blaze stayed in the garden

He had some things to think about

'The kids are getting older ...'

'Soon, I'll need to have a conversation with Amethyst about what she wants to become ... If she wants to go to the Magic Academy in the Capital then I have to do my best to fulfill her wish.'

'Merlin is still clumsy but now that he likes to play with wooden swords, I need to help him to better distribute his weight, But if Amethyst wants to go to the Academy then I'd have to work more, Which means that I'll have far less time for Merlin'

'If I can't train him myself then there would be no option except sending him to the Knight's school, Which would also cost money ...'

'At the same time, if I work, Leus stays in the Library, Amethyst travels, and Merlin trains, then there would be no one at all for Viorica ...'

'It's not good to leave her alone with nothing to do ... She told me if that happens then she wants another baby...'

Blaze sighed

'Man ... There's a lot that I gotta do'

'Being the head of the family is truly difficult ...'

He smiled wryly

'At least I don't have to worry about Leus'