After cooking their dinner, Rowan and Jack sat at their tiny wooden table. They were sharing a pot of half-burned potato soup that Jack had proudly cooked earlier. Rowan had managed to save it from complete destruction mostly by scooping out the blackest and burned chunks when his father wasn't looking.
In the end, the potato soup smelled a little smoky, tasted a little smoky and looked very smoky tonight.
But Rowan still smiled while he ate and pretending everything was fine.
During dinner, Jack ate his food in silence. But he kept glancing at something beside Rowan. It was the broken sword that was sitting on their extra chair and positioned neatly like it was an invited guest.
Soon, Jack gave Rowan a long stare. It was a look from a father who was silently telling his son that, 'My son... You are tired. And now you are talking to sharp objects.'
When Rowan saw the way his father stared at him, he quickly looked away and panicked. He needed a distraction.
"Uhh... Dad!" Rowan said. "Are you... Uhmm... Ah, right! Are you planning to make swords again?"
Jack blinked his eyes in surprise before he shook his head.
"No. And maybe not anymore." he said. "I am getting old. I don't want to make weapons that could be used for violence."
Then he sighed and poked his soup with his wooden spoon.
"Kitchen knives are enough. They only attack carrots."
Rowan nodded seriously.
"Yes. The carrots are dangerous when used as a weapon so we need to cut them."
Jack paused and blinked his eyes again.
"What?"
"Nothing!" Rowan said before he started drinking his soup again.
Cardin, who was now placed on the chair, let out the faintest sigh.
"If heaven truly exists, please take me now..."
Soon, Jack cleared his throat.
"Oh, by the way. Our neighbors from across the river visited earlier."
"Really?" Rowan asked after swallowing his food. "But why?"
Jack reached beside him and placed a small basket of fruits on the table.
"Here. They brought us some fruits. Cut them once we're done eating." Jack instructed.
Rowan beamed when he saw the ripe apples in the basket.
"Fruits!" he happily exclaimed. "Yes, Dad! I will cut them carefully!"
"I swear I felt your excitement. Just because of a fruit basket." Cardin commented on the side.
But Rowan ignored him.
Jack took another spoonful of soup and winced at the taste. But he bravely swallowed it.
"And also, do you want to go to the capital this weekend?"
Rowan looked up and tilted his head.
"The capital? But why?"
Jack wiped his beard first before he replied.
"There will be a funeral for the hero who killed the Demon Lord. The emperor arranged everything. I heard from our neighbor that a lot of people will come from all over the kingdom to see the hero for the last time."
Rowan's shoulders softened.
"Oh..." he whispered. "It's a pity he died."
Jack nodded his head in agreement.
"Yes. But we owe him a lot. If not for the hero, we wouldn't have peace. We should at least go thank him."
Rowan lightly smiled.
"Even if he can't hear it now, I still want to say thank you."
Cardin, who was still on the chair, stared at Rowan.
'Kid, you literally picked up that hero this afternoon.'
But Cardin did not say that.
Instead, he said something different to Rowan.
"Ah yes. The hero. He was truly a majestic person. A handsome, talented and strong warrior."
Rowan nodded his head to the sword.
"Right? He must've been so strong."
"Yeah. Really strong. And handsome."
"Hmm? Have you seen him before, Cardin?"
"Of course."
"Wow!"
Jack, who was watching his son talk to the sword again, quietly let out a sigh.
'Yeah... My boy really needs a lot of rest.'
After their dinner, Rowan stood up and grabbed the bowls before his father could.
"Dad, you should rest now." Rowan said with a smile.
But Jack still tried to reach for the dishes.
"I can wash them tonight. You cooked... Well, you saved the soup I made."
But Rowan quickly shook his head.
"No, no. You worked all day, dad. I'll do it."
Jack paused and stared at his son. He looked strangely emotional for a man whose beard could probably hide small animals.
"Rowan." Jack slowly called.
"Hmm? Yes, dad?"
"If you ever feel tired..." Jack slowly said. "Just rest, okay? Take it easy. You are still young. Don't push yourself too much."
Rowan blinked his eyes at him.
"...Dad, I'll just wash the dishes."
Jack stared at him for a moment longer. Then he sighed deeply as if Rowan had said something tragic.
"But still, take a rest." he said before heading toward his room.
But before stepping inside, Jack turned around one last time. He looked at Rowan then at the sword sitting on the spare chair. After that, let out another sigh. This one was long and heavy as if he had already prepared himself for years of seeing his son having conversations with metal objects now.
Finally, Jack closed the door.
Although he was confused, Rowan still rolled up his sleeves and began washing the dishes. Meanwhile, Cardin was now lying on the table and carefully angled so that he could see the pot and Rowan's back.
"So anyway..." Rowan started. "I heard the hero was super strong. They said he defeated the Demon Lord all by himself! Can you imagine that? He must've had huge muscles. And a scary aura. And maybe he was tall, right? Maybe taller than Dad. Just wow... Just imagine waking up and thinking, "I will save the world today!". That must be cool, right?"
Cardin internally winced.
'Actually, I woke up that day while thinking I'd eat the leftover bread in my cupboard.'
But Rowan continued without a pause. His words were bubbling like boiling water.
"And I bet he had cool hair. Heroes usually have cool hair, right? Do you have cool hair? I mean, when you were human? I wonder if you..."
But Cardin suddenly went silent.
The hero... The talk of his funeral... The capital...
It hit him.
'My funeral, huh?'
Of course Eustace would arrange one. That stuck-up emperor always loved grand gestures when it made him look good.
Cardin suddenly scoffed in his mind.
'As he should. He better give me a grand one. If he doesn't put at least twenty banners up, I'm haunting him!'
Then Cardin paused. Another thought slammed into him.
Their deal!
'....Even if Eustace was a bastard, he would never break a promise we made, right? Right?!'
According to their deal, all of his assets like lands, gold, equipments and every last thing he owned would go to his only child if he died.
His child...
Cardin hadn't seen them in years.
'I wonder if they are now living a comfortable life.'
All of a sudden, Rowan suddenly leaned toward him.
"Hey, are you listening?"
Cardin snapped back from his thoughts.
"Yes." he quickly said while trying to sound normal.
Rowan smiled wider at him. He was happy that someone was now listening to his endless babbling.
And Cardin... Well, he just lay there and trying to process the fact that his funeral was already being planned while he was sitting on a kitchen table in a small house and listening to this lad talk about soup and cool hair.
Life was strange.
Death was stranger.
And being a talking sword was by far the strangest in Cardin's second life.