It's been three days since Cardin, the former hero of the kingdom and now currently a broken and rusty sword with a personality, started living with Rowan and Jack.
His new life was... ordinary.
And also absolutely not ordinary.
By now, Jack no longer blinked when he saw his son chatting cheerfully with a broken sword. He did not even ask more questions anymore. He just sighed, patted Rowan's shoulder and said a lot of things.
"Son... If the sword starts telling you to burn the house, please tell me first."
"Don't argue with the sword too loudly at night. The neighbors already think you hear ghosts."
"Please avoid talking to your sword outside."
Cardin was also stuck on a shelf or chair most of the time. So he had plenty of chances to observe the two humans he was forced to live with. First, he realized Rowan was a very good lad.
He was also a stressful lad.
But still good. He was kind, helpful, responsible, respectful, hardworking and extremely polite. But at the same time, he was also more cowardly than a rabbit, as gullible as a baby chick and too talkative to the point Cardin wondered if his mouth ran on magic.
Just like yesterday. Rowan talked to Cardin about how mushrooms grow on trees for forty-three minutes straight. And yes, Cardin timed it. He had no choice since he was a sword. He couldn't walk away from him.
On the other hand, Jack was a fun surprise. Despite his huge and bearlike body, he was gentle. He laughed easily, worked honestly and deeply loved his son. He was also extremely patient. And Cardin admired that.
Cardin also watched their daily routine. Every morning, Rowan would clean the house while Jack was busy chopping more firewood outside. Rowan also asked Cardin if he slept well even though swords don't sleep. Whenever it happened, Jack pretended he did not hear them.
Every afternoon, Rowan would practiced forging and Jack was supervising him while eating some wild fruits. Cardin sometimes yelled his advices from the table at Rowan.
"Hit the metal and not your thumb!"
"Heat it, lad. Not burn it!"
"Stop screaming! It's just a tiny spark!"
In the end, Cardin was just stressing himself over that kid.
After Rowan practiced his so-called forging skills, he looked at the sword while smiling.
"Oh, right! I forgot to tell you something, Cardin. I'm going to fix you!"
Cardin, who had been quietly accepting his fate up to this point, froze inside the sword.
"...Fix me?"
'Fix me how? Glue? Tape? Magic prayers? Oh gods, please no.'
"Yes!" Rowan nodded with pure confidence. "Dad said blacksmithing is all about passion! And I have passion!"
Jack, who was cleaning the equipments his son used, made a sound that suspiciously resembled a choking cough.
Cardin immediately grew nervous.
"Lad... When you said 'fix', what exactly do you mean?"
"It means I'll forge you again!" Rowan proudly announced. "I'll heat a lot of scrap iron then I'll hammer you back into shape until you become shiny and perfect!"
Cardin felt every spiritual hair on his imaginary spine stand up.
"You... You will do that?"
"Yup!" Rowan said while puffing out his chest.
Jack quickly looked away as if trying not to laugh.
"And what exactly have you forged before?" Cardin slowly and painfully asked.
"Oh! I made something just last month!"
Cardin braced himself.
"A spoon!" Rowan happily replied. "Well... It was supposed to be a spoon."
Cardin was silent.
"...Supposed to be?"
"The truth is, dad said it looked more like a metal potato."
Jack let out a small snort at the back.
"No!" Cardin exclaimed. "Postponed whatever you are planning there!"
Rowan jumped.
"H-Huh?"
"Postpone the fixing! Delay it! Cancel it! Or better yet, forget it entirely!"
"But... But I thought you wanted to be whole again?"
"I do!" Cardin snapped. "But I also want to still be recognizable as a sword and not end up looking like a shiny and useless potato!"
Rowan was clearly offended by that.
"It wasn't that potato-like..."
Jack, who was in the mood to join the conversation, patted his son's shoulder.
"Rowan, it was very potato-like."
"D-Dad!"
Cardin let out a dramatic sigh.
"Rowan..." Cardin slowly called. "When you get stronger and more skilled... Maybe... Just maybe... You can try to do it. Someday."
Rowan's face instantly lit up.
"Really?!"
Cardin regretted it already.
"...Yes. Someday. Far, far, far in the future."
"Okay!" Rowan beamed.
And when evening came, the father and son duo would eat simple meals. Rowan would sometimes tell Cardin stories about random things. Jack pretended not to see it again.
But strangely, it was actually peaceful. For someone who spent his whole life fighting monsters, leading armies and dodging death here and there, all these calm days felt like a vacation.
A weird vacation. In a weird body. And with a weird kid who talked too much. But Cardin did not dislike it.
In fact, he almost felt relaxed.
Almost.
The days passed so fast that suddenly it was the day they needed to go to the capital for the hero's funeral. Jack stood outside the house while packing a small bag on the back of their old horse.
Rowan ran around the yard like a squirrel and preparing things he thought were super important. He even brought a tiny pouch of snacks saying it was for emergency.
Cardin did not even want to ask.
After that, Rowan carefully picked him up.
"Let's go, Cardin! We need flowers too!"
Cardin internally groaned.
'Great. I get to watch this kid pick flowers too.'
Truly the life of a legendary hero's soul.
They went toward the small forest near their home to pick wildflowers. But as soon as they entered the trees, Rowan jumped three steps back.
"Ahhh!" Rowan screamed.
"...What now?" Cardin asked.
"T-There! Look!" Rowan said while pointing his shaky finger.
Cardin expected to see a monster, a wolf or maybe a goblin. But what he saw was a frog. A tiny green frog sitting on a ground and doing literally nothing.
The frog looked at Rowan as if even it was judging him.
"Lad." Cardin slowly said. "Why are you scared of a frog?"
"I wasn't scared!" Rowan tried to argued. "I-I was just being cautious! It could be poisonous!"
The frog hopped once making Rowan yelped and hid behind a tree. Cardin wanted to pinch the bridge of his nose. But he had no hands, no face and no bridge. So he settled for an annoyed sigh.
"You're scared of frogs."Cardin said. "You are literally screaming at harmless forest animals!"
"I-I'm not!" Rowan said whilw peeking from behind the tree. "I'm just careful! That's what responsible people do!"
"You talk to a sword." Cardin flatly replied.
Rowan froze like someone had slapped him with truth.
"Well... That's different." he muttered. "You're a person. Maybe? I mean, you talk. So that means you used to be a person. And so far..."
Rowan raised Cardin and looked at the blade.
"You haven't stabbed me yet. So I'm trusting you."
Cardin felt a heavy silence fill the air.
This lad was good. Too good. And dangerously good too.
"You're too gullible, kid." Cardin muttered and feeling embarrassed for him. "I bet you woul believe it if someone would tell you that rocks magically turn into diamonds if you hug them enough."
Rowan thought for a moment.
"...Do they?"
"No!"
"Oh."
Rowan nodded in disappointment.
Cardin wanted to scream.
But despite Rowan being the most jumpy and gullible kid in this world, he had been taking care of the broken sword as if he were some wounded animal. Which made Cardin feel weirdly warm.
Not that he'd admit it out loud.
"Okay... Right, the flowers..." Rowan whispered while slowly moving through the forest like he was walking through a battlefield.
And every time a bird flapped or a leaf fell, he would made tiny noises of fear.
"Waaah!"
"Ahhh!"
"Oh no! A monster—Oh. It's just a bee."
Even Cardin would have laughed if he had a mouth. In the end, they managed to gather a small bouquet of wild white flowers. When they walked back, Jack was already waiting for them with the horse.
"Ready to go, son?" Jack asked while smiling.
Rowan proudly held up the flowers.
"Yes, dad!"
Rowan was too oblivious to see it. But Cardin could see Jack was struggling not to laugh at how sweaty and tired Rowan looked after his adventure in the forest.
Soon, Jack helped his son climb onto the horse. Then he mounted behind him.
"Off to the capital." Jack softly said.
Rowan held the sword close. He was hugging it like a precious treasure while Cardin sighed again.
'Well... This will be interesting.'
And with that, the three of them began their trip to the capital and heading toward the funeral of a hero who used to be him.
'This was going to be a long day.'