"Look, you're obviously looking forward to becoming a great adventurer like your parents told you," Ellis pinched his brow. "Sure, I can respect that, but you wouldn't contribute anything here. Maybe you can train real hard and come back later?"
"I was hoping you guys could train me instead." Michael muttered.
Ellis looked at Stefan like he was a bad influence.
"We're not going to train you," Mave said. "We signed up to become an adventurer, not to teach kids with dreams."
Michael imagined Evelyn's voice in his head. "If it wasn't for you guys, I would have definitely died that day. I knew it was stupid for me to take a dangerous quest without any real practice. It's not my dream, it's my choice. I want to get stronger and help the people around me. And there isn't anyone else that I would rather learn than you guys."
"You're inexperienced. If we take you on our quests, you wouldn't even last an hour on the outside."
"I know and I want to learn. I'll do anything if you help me."
"Anything?"
"Anything," Michael repeated. "If you can let me join your party."
They exchanged looks around the room. Michael didn't want to look them in the eye but he could tell they were contemplating about him.
Stefan cleared his throat. "He has a little girlfriend he wants to provide for."
Michael felt a shiver around his neck.
Mave scoffed. "I don't want to hear about his sob-story."
"I'm just saying," Stefan raised his hands. "It would be a real shame if we didn't take him in now. He would have been going on quests that are way too good for him. What happens then, does he end up dying? Nobody would even know he's gone. And his little girlfriend—"
"Alright, I get it."
"So," Stefan looked around. "Do we have an agreement?"
Michael raised his head. He even thought they felt some type of pity for him. If that meant for them to teach him, then he didn't care what they felt. He would do absolutely anything to become stronger for Evelyn.
"Kid, listen to me," Ellis said. "What happens in our party is nothing like the Adventuring guild. We're our own party, we're our own team, and the guild appoints us our own quests. Killing the lich is just a small fraction we do in our day. We travel outside of Wilmere, take campaigns that take days to complete. And what we encounter on the way, isn't fit for some newbie trying to learn. Do you understand?"
Michael nodded.
"And you still want to join our party?"
Michael nodded again.
Ellis turned to Mave. "He said he would do anything."
Mave folded her arms. "I'm not training him."
"About that," Stefan cleared his throat. "There isn't a better person I can find for that role."
"You're kidding."
Stefan fit the rest of his silver armor on. "Nope, I need you to train the kid."
"I'm not staying here," Mave refused. "You can't make me."
"Come on, I just admitted you're better than me."
"Anyone is better than you."
Michael watched them fight back and forth again. From the looks of it, he would even first think Ellis was the child with the troubled parents. But Michael didn't like the idea either. He thought Stefan would be the one to train him, not the other woman that obviously didn't like Michael.
Ellis headed outside first. "I'll be out at the stables then."
Stefan tried to stop her from following. "Come on, woman, I thought you liked taking it easy! For the first time in forever, I'm giving you a break!"
"Becoming a teacher isn't a break!" she pushed through. "You brought him in here, he's your responsibility! Don't push your problems onto me!"
Stefan chuckled as she followed behind Ellis.
Michael was still there.
"Give her a second, kid," he told him. "Just make yourself comfortable."
Then Michael was alone in a nobleman's house. It wasn't like the manor he was at but this felt more suitable as a home. He felt wrong to explore the place but it felt like they wouldn't be back soon.
He pulled his sword out.
They all hate each other, the voice said, how can you find anyone that's willing to help you if they act like that?
Michael looked around the home, admiring how many rooms the place had.
The sword flashed in his hand. "Are you listening to me?"
"Sorry, I just—never been in a house this big."
Evelyn walked alongside him exploring the rest of the house. Michael assumed this was where he was going to stay if he had joined their party. From a slave sleeping in stables to someone with the luxury of their own room, he couldn't wrap his head around it. He still couldn't believe a house had a second floor.
There was a kitchen with a dining room, one living room that took up half the house, stairs to the second floor, three bedrooms, and one bathroom on each floor. Michael assumed that the biggest bedroom was where Mave slept so he didn't enter without her permission. He also assumed the only one that looked awfully messy was Stefan's room.
Evelyn studied his face. "Where are you going to sleep?"
Michael didn't know. Just judging on their demeanor, none of them wanted to share their privacy with a child they didn't even want. He could ask Stefan but his room looked the most filthy and Michael hated to be reminded of the union.
He forgot to mention the back of the house, an enclosed yard with racks of weathered wooden swords. He also noticed the texture on the dry ground had drifting footprints, some indented, which must have came from the constant and repeated training.. At least he had the guarantee that they could teach him how to properly fight.
They headed back downstairs as Evelyn started to look around on her own, opening drawers and cabinets in the kitchen. Michael thought she was tired of being a sword for the day so he didn't feel like stopping her.
He watched her snack on biscuits with jam. "Are you hungry?"
"No, not really," she said with her mouth full. "I just wanted to see what they tasted like."
"What do they taste like?"
"Pretty sweet."
Michael wondered where the food went whenever she turned into a sword. He also wondered how biscuits filled with jam tasted too.
Evelyn laughed as she opened up the wrapping and shared more with him. Somehow the care of rummaging through other people's pantry of snacks went completely out the windows when he looked at her face. She squished the jam out of the biscuits and smeared it across Michael's face.
He pulled his face away and laughed, trying to grab her arms in the process. It felt like they were in an entirely new world. He thought he would never be tired of her. She was so carefree and Michael was her only concern in this world. Evelyn was just as special to him as he was to her. It was a bond that they formed together. But Michael thought he formed something more than a bond.
Evelyn made fun of the mess on his face, licking the residue off her fingers. He didn't care how messy his face looked to her. He liked the way she laughed and how she smiled.
Michael watched her look for more sweets. "Hey, Evelyn?"
She turned, unwrapping more candies she found.
"What if I told them about you? About our bond and you're a magical sword that can transform into a human. Are you okay with that?"
Evelyn popped the candy in her mouth. "They don't know about ego swords, remember? They would freak out. You told me that you wanted to keep our secret alone."
"I know, but I'm worried about you. You're going to stay as a sword every time I'm going to be with this party. The only time you're here is when we're alone and nobody's around."
She grabbed a handful of candies through the wrapper.
"Isn't it suffocating, Evelyn? Being a sword all the time? I don't want your only moments as a human is hiding away with me. I want to be stronger with you, not just using you only for your power."
Evelyn knelt down in front of him. "Michael, I can still see you if you're not holding me as a sword."
"But—"
"I'm still here, Michael," she cupped his face. "Even if I have to spend my time alone with you, I really don't mind. You're my ego master."
Michael had trouble meeting her eyes.
"Open your mouth."
He strangely listened to her.
She popped a candy inside. "Good?"
It tasted like heavily concentrated juice of a fruit, mixed with sugar. He wondered when was the last time he had a piece of candy.
Michael nodded his head. "Yeah, it's pretty sweet."
Evelyn playfully smiled. She was so close to his face. She even wiped off the jam off his cheeks.
Then they heard a door slam down the hall. Michael quickly grabbed her hand and flashed her back into a sword.