Chapter 4: Preparation

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Arthur Leywin:

Three months have passed scene my talk with grandpa. He wasn't against me becoming an adventurer, even if I'm only seven right now, but we decided that my journey to Orario would start after my eighth birthday.

During this time, I spent more time with Bella. She and Sylvie became good friends. It could be because of their similar personalities, especially regarding food. Sylvie also started calling her aunty Bella, and her speech improved from single words to complete sentences.

I haven't been completely slacking the whole time either. I continued to purify my core and broke to dark orange a few weeks ago. While sparing with grandpa. He said that the way I use my sword on instinct is good, but I should learn how to wield it properly before going to the dungeon.

I agree with him, but I wonder why he didn't teach Bell anything in the original Danmachi. That kid could have died on his very first day. So as a good brother, I asked grandpa to teach her the basics, and I taught her how to deal with boys while I was not around just to be safe.

But back to my training, now that I didn't need to hide my abilities, I started training outside the house and progressed with my Beast Will. I still could not enter the Integrate Phase, but when it came to my Acquire Phase, I successfully used Static Void stopping time for almost ten seconds.

Something that confused me was that I felt more confident and stronger every time I used it. I don't remember Beast Wills affecting someone's personality in TBATE, but I haven't finished the novel while I was still alive, so maybe something like that happened.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Another six months flew by, with me following the same routine of waking up, spending time with grandpa and Bella, meditating, and sparring with grandpa, but now I'm standing in front of Bella's room.

Well, she got angry at grandpa and me after we told her I would leave for Orario soon. She also wanted to go with me, but we told her that she was too young, considering we were physically the same age, It's stupid, but we wanted her to be older and capable of protecting herself before going.

I sighed and knocked on her door.

"Bella, it's me."

She didn't answer, but I could hear some rustling in her room, and after a moment, the door opened. She had red puffy eyes, probably from crying and what should have been an angry look on her face, but it just looked so cute.

"Listen, Bella, I know you want to go to Orario, but you still need to learn how to defend yourself and fight monsters."

"But grandpa let you go..."

"Grandpa, let me go because I could protect myself, but you still need to learn."

"But brother could protect me!"

"I'm not strong enough to protect someone yet. So that's why I'm going to Orario. But I talked with grandpa, and we decided he let you go when you are twelve."

"Really!"

She quickly stopped sulking and was happy, and before she could think about it again, I tried to divert her attention to something else.

"Of course, but we should go to the kitchen before Sylvie eats all the meat."

After I said that she had a horrified expression and ran toward the kitchen, I could only watch with a smile. I knew she would not be this little innocent Bella forever, but I won't let her suffer as Bell would.

When I stepped into the kitchen, I could see Bella and Sylvie fighting over a piece of meat, and I could only chuckle at this sight. In three months, I would leave for Orario and not see her and grandpa for a long time. We decided that I would visit them every few months, but still, some part of me wanted to stay with them, with my family.

I stopped thinking about it. This is something I need to do. What I need right now is real-life experience and a way for Sylv to get stronger. The surface monster helped her a bit. But, she would still be considered a weak monster, a level one could defeat.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Today is the day of my eighth birthday, and my journey will begin soon. My core is at the light orange stage with cracks. With this, I can break through to dark yellow during my travel to Orario.

I opened the door, and before I could fully walk out of my room, a white missile slammed into me.

"Happy Birthday, Big Brother!"

"ugh... Bella, you're too old to do this."

She giggled and pulled me towards the kitchen where grandpa was, and when I stepped in, I could see my favorite dishes and a cake.

I'm going to miss this.

"Happy birthday Arthur!"

Grandpa hugged me before we sat to eat, he gave me his present.

"Now that you have decided to become an adventurer you need a real sword."

The sword was in a matte-black scabbard and when I drew it out what greeted me was a straight narrow blade that was thin like a rapier but had a double edge, making it fit for slashing and thrusting.

"Thank you grandpa I love it."

I couldn't stop looking at it. Even if this wasn't a first-class weapon, I smiled like a child. This was my first time holding a real sword, not just a simple wooden one.

After doing a few test swings I was satisfied. It felt perfect from the handle size to the point of balance so as a last test I decided to infuse it with mana and it worked, deciding to try two elements at once it started to shake and I knew if I continued it would break so I stopped. We spent the rest of the day together having fun, and when night fell, I could barely sleep.

Now I'm standing outside our house while looking at the sky. I could not hold my excitement even if I were sad to leave grandpa and Bella.

Bella was standing beside grandpa with Sylv in her arms while crying, and grandpa had a sad smile. I crouched a bit to be at eye level with Bella and then said.

"Don't cry. I'm going to visit for your birthday and bring lots of stories with your favorite heroes."

"Promise?"

"Promise"

She was still sad but had a slight smile. Giving grandpa a hug I picked Sylv from Bella. She jumped on my head while I tried my best not to cry. I spent eight years with them, and it was hard to leave them now, even if I would visit them again. It wasn't so hard in my past life when I moved out from my parents, but maybe the risk of never returning makes it so hard? Let's not think about it now.

"You ready, Sylv?"

"KYU!"

'Yes, papa!'

And so our journey to Orario began.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Authors Note:

I was thinking about giving Arthur Dawn's Ballad but decided against it. It would be too much for a start but at the same time, I could not give him a simple sword that would break after one or two uses.