Chapter 12 - Father

"Wow, it looks so different to our village," I remarked, as I looked around in fascination.

"Careful, don't wander off too far by yourself, Larrk," Called out Rhyle in response.

Today's the 10th of November, 2009, a few days after I'd turned nine. And today's also the first day that I'm seeing an area outside of the village I live in, not counting the forest by the village.

Rhyle had brought me to the nearby town, where, around this time next year, I'll awaken my powers and come here to get appraised by the Adventurers Guild.

There wasn't any specific reason for why we were here today. It was because, a couple of days ago, I just happened to mention that I was interested in seeing what this town was like, on a whim, and now, here I am.

In the last couple of years or so, Lycia has been training me regularly, while Rhyle and Argent were a lot less involved than they used to be. Without a doubt, Lycia is the best at hand to hand combat, and the day she first started training me, she was rusty.

That became really apparent after a few days, when her movements started to become a lot sharper and a lot more difficult to deal with.

I still occasionally spar with Rhyle and Argent, but it's a lot easier against them now...I actually manage to keep them on their toes and occasionally land a hit or two, though I wouldn't say that I'm quite at a level where I'm a genuine threat to them in a fight.

They mainly help me with my Magic studying, if I come across a concept I don't really understand, I get them to explain it to me. Thanks to them, I've got a solid grasp on how Magic and Spell-casting works.

"Woah, that smells so good," I sighed as my mouth began watering, tantalizing scents wafting out as we walked past a couple of food stalls.

"Want to try something from one of those? I'm afraid I can't get you too much, your mother will kill me if I ruin your appetite for dinner," He replied with a wary smile.

"Yeah, I can definitely see that happening," I laughed in response, before looking around and locking onto a vendor selling meat skewers, "That looks pretty good...can I try it?"

"Good choice, those meat skewers are to die for," He nodded in approval, before walking over and buying two skewers, handing me one of them, "Careful, it's hot."

"Right...here goes, then," I replied, as I bit down on the piece of meat at the top of the skewer and pulled it off the stick, my eyes widening as I munched on it.

Woah, that's so tender and juicy...the texture is just perfect, and it's got a bit of spice to it, but not overwhelmingly. Ohh, and the sauce, it had a slight sweetness to it that really complemented the flavor of the meat.

"It's really good, right?" Grinned Rhyle expectantly.

"Good isn't enough to describe it, it's absolutely delicious!" I exclaimed, as I chomped down on another piece of meat.

"Your kid's got good taste, Rhyle. Here, have another, lad, it's on the house," Smiled the vendor...wow, guess he appreciated the compliment.

"Thanks a lot, mister, this stuff is the best!" I replied as I gratefully accepted it.

"Hey, no fair, you've never given me one for free," Frowned Rhyle indignantly.

"Because you're a grown-ass man. This is simply a marketing tactic to secure a future loyal customer," He smirked in response.

"It's a good tactic, I'm definitely going to be back," I grinned, as I let out a content sigh while chewing on the meat.

"Great, I look forward to it!" He replied with a thumbs up.

We then moved on from the food stall area and headed deeper into the town...it really is like my old world a few decades before the era I was born into.

The vehicles are so clunky and noisy, and based on the smoke they were emitting from the exhaust pipes, and the smell, looks like they run on the same fuel. I considered that they might run on Magic instead, but guess not.

There were also trains, but getting a ticket was pretty expensive, and usually only Nobles and rich Commoners could afford to get a ride on one.

Well, that's not really a concern for me, I have no intention of getting involved with any Nobles, so I plan to stay well away from any of them.

Most Nobles stay holed up in the capital, that's apparently the same in the other countries of the Dark Continent. Some do venture out though, but I doubt they'd ever come to a small town on the outskirts of the nation like this one.

"Move aside, Commoner, you're in my way!" Suddenly came a loud, indignant voice, as a thud echoed out.

I glanced over, to see a young boy on the ground, rubbing his chest gingerly as a man stared down at him disdainfully. The man was wearing a fancy coat and top hat, and was holding a cane, which he probably used to hit the kid.

"Come on, let's go this way," Suggested Rhyle, dragging me away from the area with a sour look on his face.

"Is that man a Noble? Are they all like that?" I inquired, feeling kinda disgusted.

"Well, no, there are some who actually act like humans towards Commoners. But yes, the majority are like that man," He replied with a frown.

"But aren't there a lot more Commoners than Nobles? Why are they treated as superior?" I asked him.

It's not like I don't know the answer to that, but I want to get an idea of how he feels about this stupid class system.

"There aren't many Commoners who are adept with Magic. Most Adventurers rely solely on their physical capabilities, Soul Weapons and Skills. But the Knights in the capital are generally much stronger than the average Adventurer," He informed me.

"Even stronger than mom?" I responded with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, definitely not. Well, at least not when she was active. The highest ranks of Adventurers, Diamond and Platinum, are typically on the same level as, or some even better than, the Knights. Your mother was the highest rank, a Diamond Adventurer when she was active, I was at Platinum rank," He replied with a smile.

"Do you miss being an Adventurer?" I inquired curiously.

"That's a tough one...there are times where I do, but for the most part, I prefer my current peaceful life. Adventuring was always a temporary thing for me, the only reason I got involved with Adventurer Guilds was to get strong enough to protect myself and my family. I quit once I got to Platinum rank, I couldn't afford to attract too much attention," He responded with a slight grimace.

Hm?

"Why is that?" I asked him, as we got to an area with a bunch of clothing stores.

"Oh, uh...it's complicated, I'll tell you about it someday," He answered, as he averted his gaze.

Wonder what that's about? But it looks like he'd rather not talk about it at the moment, so I should press him about it.

After that, we visited a bunch of stores, bought some goods for the house, stuff like jams, bread, some utensils and other odds and ends.

I've hardly ever gone out shopping in my old life, and even that was only after I moved out of the mansion following the murder of my family.

I have to admit, it's pretty fun. Seeing all the different stuff being sold in various shops and stores, it's kinda fascinating.

But I'm also getting kinda worn out. I've built up my stamina immensely, but this body is still only nine years old, it's only got so much energy to spare.

"Why don't we rest up in that cafe for a little while before heading back?" Suggested Rhyle, as he noticed me falling behind a bit.

"Yeah, okay, that sounds good," I nodded gratefully.

"They've got some great ice cream and milkshakes, but careful not to fill up too much," He remarked, as we headed into the cafe.

We walked inside and made our way over to a booth in the corner...it's nice and cool in here, with a bunch of air conditioners in the windows, the old-fashioned kind you see in old cartoons and movies.

As we sat down, a waitress walked over with a welcoming smile. Wow, she's super attractive...unfortunately, I'm not really feeling anything. Guess this kid body isn't yet capable of feeling sexual desire. Probably-...no, definitely...-a good thing.

"Good to see you again, Mr Stryker," She greeted him with a smile, before glancing at me, "And who's this young man?"

"My second son, Larrk. It's his first time visiting the town, I thought this place would be the perfect spot to wrap up this experience for him," He replied in a friendly tone...huh, I might be wrong, but I think he's doing some light flirting.

Not sure how to feel about that...

"Uh, hi, it's nice to meet you, miss," I remarked politely.

"Aw, he's adorable, and so well-mannered," She responded as she gave me a headpat, "So, what will you have?"

"Two of your chocolate ice creams, please," Rhyle gave her our order, before she nodded as she wrote it down and headed back.

I noticed Rhyle subtly glancing at her as she left...heh, he's totally staring at her ass. Well, she's pretty hot, so I guess I can't blame him, and there's nothing wrong with just looking. But maybe I can make him sweat a bit...

"Hey, I'll tell mom," I smirked mischievously.

"H-huh? About what?" He responded in slight alarm, averting his gaze.

"What indeed, I wonder?" I mused innocently.

"Uh, tell you what, how about you pick any one item from one of the stores and-..."

"Relax, I'm just kidding, dad. I wouldn't do that to you, you don't need to bribe me," I stifled a snort of laughter.

"You little brat...I'm gonna make you pay for that one of these days," He jokingly threatened me as he roughly ruffled my hair, "And aren't you too young to know about this stuff?"

Crap, was that too much? No, he doesn't seem suspicious or anything.

"I've learnt a lot from watching our neighbors in the village," I shrugged in response.

"Oh, right, come to think of it, there are a lot of quarrelling couples in our village, aren't there?" He laughed wryly.

"Yeah, you and mom don't fight nearly as much as any of the others in the village. But that's probably because you're afraid of mom, huh?" I surmised slyly.

"...guilty. No man in their right mind wouldn't be afraid of a woman like her," He sighed wistfully, "The first time I met her, she nearly broke my b-...I mean, she kicked me really hard."

...was he about to say that she nearly broke his balls? Close call, if that had happened, I wouldn't have been born into this family. And that'd be a pity, they're all such great people.

"Really? What did you do?" I inquired curiously.

"Hey, now, why are you assuming that I did something?" He responded indignantly, before admitting, "Well, that was the case, but still. I was just a bit too forward, and she didn't appreciate that."

Gotta say, I'm impressed he managed to overcome such a bad first impression and ended up marrying her.

"Huh, so that means that you must have had some good qualities that made up for the bad first impression," I surmised in response.

"Alright, brat, time to quit while you're ahead," He sighed with an exasperated smile, as he lightly flicked my forehead, right as the waitress returned with the ice cream.

"Here you go, sorry for the wait. Enjoy," She remarked with a smile, as she placed the bowls in front of us.

"Dig in before it starts to melt, Larrk," Said Rhyle, as he wasted no time digging in.

"You know that I've had ice cream before, right?" I pointed out with a raised eyebrow, as I picked up a spoonful and slid it into my mouth, letting the ice cream coat my taste buds.

Oh, wow...sometimes, when Rhyle goes into town, he brings back a tub or two of ice cream...but this is on another level. So rich and creamy, and just the right amount of sweetness to it.

"Well? Isn't that the best ice cream you've had, or what?" He grinned smugly.

"Don't know why you're acting so proud, it's not like you made it," I smirked in response, before adding, "But, yes...this is amazing!"

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