As for the rain, it didn't last as long as I had anticipated. I didn't want to ask why, especially when it was supposed to potentially last for months, but as the weeks went by, it began to lose its strength. First, it fell intermittently, and finally, after four weeks in the village, it ceased completely.
Here is what happened during that time.
As for Linia, she had improved notably.
Pursena, an Adoldia girl who was inseparable from Linia, started attending our training sessions.
She was shy at first, but she gradually drew closer, particularly interested in the magic I used during a session with Gyes, Linia's father.
He was the Warrior Chief of the Dedoldia tribe and, for the past few days, he had been insisting that we fight seriously. However, our combat would be intense enough that fighting on the platforms was impractical, so we decided to save it for after the rains, just before I departed for Millishion.
"Daiki, show me the green glow!" said Pursena, snapping me out of my thoughts.
She wagged her fluffy tail from side to side while tilting her head, silently inviting me to pet her. Out of pure habit, I ran my hand over her head and behind her ears.
That aside, let's talk about my name.
In my past life, my name was Hikari, a name that meant light. Now, I chose a similar name, but with a different nuance. Daiki means great radiance, and unlike light, a great radiance is something that grows, adapts, and expands.
A star doesn't exist solely for the light it emits, but for everything it is capable of becoming...
And I believe... I believe I am capable of becoming someone better. Or perhaps I already am. Either way, I was happy. Happy to have trained her, to have earned Gyes's trust, and that the chief hadn't wanted to kick me out ahead of time.
Things were chaotic when I first brought up Ghislaine. You had spoken so poorly of her that I didn't hesitate to defend her. Over the days, the accusations faded, and they realized I wasn't lying. They didn't mention her, nor did it seem they had forgiven her, but at least they no longer looked at me as something dangerous.
Especially Gyes.
Seeing how much his daughter had improved thanks to my training and the knowledge Ghislaine had passed down to me, he was deeply proud.
He understood that during those four weeks I could have killed them, betrayed them, sold them out. I had every opportunity. Yet I did none of that.
If someone you consider an enemy has the chance to betray your daughters and your trust for four weeks, and yet still doesn't do it, then perhaps he was never an enemy at all.
He was just a ten-year-old boy who lost his brother and his family. Nothing more.
"Daiki?" said Linia, so worried by my moment of silence that she didn't even add the nya. Despite having seen me like this many times, she still didn't seem to get used to it.
"I'm sorry. You know how it is, I got lost in my thoughts again."
They both nodded without saying anything.
"What were we talking about? Ah, right. Healing magic. Do you want to learn it, Pursena?"
Pursena opened her eyes wide, her tail going rigid before starting to wag from side to side. She nodded vigorously, dangerously close to getting too excited.
"Alright, then I'll show you. I won't explain it with words. Just repeat what I say, okay?"
I placed my hand on her head and closed my eyes.
"Let this divine power be as a satisfying nourishment, giving the one who has lost their strength the power to rise again!"
A green light burst from my hand and descended over Pursena, slowly stirring her hair as she watched, eyes shining, as the glow fell from my fingers.
"This is beginner-level healing magic. To use it, the only thing you need is the intention to heal. And for that, it is necessary to understand this."
I took my sword and made a cut on my index finger.
I brought my hand closer to her as the blood began to flow.
"This isn't to scare you. It's so you understand."
I closed my eyes again, but I didn't say the incantation this time.
The green light enveloped my finger, and the wound closed.
"Magic needs a guide. You must be that intermediary. If you don't understand the wound, you will never be able to comprehend the healing."
I stood up and wiped the blood away with a cloth.
"Once you manage to understand it, you will be able to heal even without an incantation."
Maybe I'll write a book someday, outlining the fundamentals and my theories on chantless healing magic. In any case, watching Pursena attempt the spell while getting tangled up in the words was an unexpectedly cute scene.
[You think it's cute? That's new.]
"Divine power...!"
"No, not like that."
She sighed, twitching her ears.
"Look, follow me. Let this divine power..."
"Let this divine power be as a satisfying nourishment...!" she repeated, rushing it.
"Exactly, keep going. Giving the one who has lost..."
"...Their... their strength... the power... How did it go?"
"To rise again."
"That's it!"
A green light flickered weakly in her hand and vanished instantly. Pursena opened one eye, then the other, disappointed.
"It didn't work..." She lowered her tail.
"It did work. It was just very faint. That means you are understanding it, even though you're still thinking too much about the words."
Linia, who was watching from the side, tilted her head.
"So it doesn't matter if you mess up?"
"It matters. Saying the right words matters. Or, over time, reducing them."
I took the sword again and cut my finger. This time the cut wasn't deep. If she was going to use beginner-level healing magic, she had to be able to cure something like this.
Pursena widened her eyes in alarm.
"Don't worry about me. I am a warrior. A small cut won't do anything to me. I can stay like this for quite a while."
I extended my hand toward her, letting the blood drip.
"Concentrate. Not on me, nor on whether you fail. Concentrate on this thing that shouldn't be here, and on returning it to how it was before."
She just nodded, her cheeks slightly red.
Over the following week, she managed to successfully execute beginner-level healing magic and start on an intermediate one. She still stumbled a bit over the incantation, as she wasn't used to the words, but even so, she managed to heal my finger several times without failing.
Every session ended the same way. She was exhausted, but satisfied.
Whenever training finished, she ran straight to eat absurd amounts of meat. To my surprise, she always offered me a portion, holding it out with a proud smile, as if sharing it was the definitive proof that she had done things right.
CRACK
The sound of wooden swords had become constant since I arrived here, largely because Linia insisted I train her as well. Jealousy of Pursena? I didn't know, but the truth was that she seemed more motivated every day.
By my sixth week in the village, she had notably improved her feints, though she still tended to get carried away by instinct. Even so, the progress was clear. She had a long way to go, but she was moving forward.
There was only one week left before departing. I could continue my journey toward the capital of the Holy Country of Millis, and look for information.
That said, I would have to walk a lot.
Rudeus Greyrat
"Wait for me here, Rudy," she said, entering some sort of clothing store.
What else could she need? I had already bought her a cloak that was more than enough to withstand the sun, and it also served to hide her hair and not attract too much attention. In theory, that was everything.
I looked at Ruijerd. He remained motionless, arms crossed.
Surely for him, this was just another problem for children. And it probably was.
Minutes passed, and passed. They felt eternal. Women seem to have a sacred space inside clothing stores. It must be a universal law that holds true in all worlds. No matter how many times you reincarnate, that doesn't change.
When she finally came out, she was carrying a...
"Eris... what did you just buy with my...? Did you buy something without consulting me first?!"
She showed what she had been hiding. Another cloak or mantle with a hood. Identical to hers, but black, with the embroidered symbol of a red-eyed crow. Looking at it closely, I understood immediately why she chose it.
"That wasn't necessary..." I commented, massaging the bridge of my nose.
"Who cares!" She crossed her arms. "He has that problem all the time. If he can endure it, so can I!"
"He? Are you referring to my brother?"
Eris looked away. It wasn't common to see her like this, so careful with her words.
Then she looked back at me, squeezing the cloak in her hands.
"Yes. I'm referring to him."
"Why? What does he have to do with you buying that?"
She took a deep breath, as if what she was going to say weighed more than usual.
"I bought it... for him. In case... in case we find him."
I stood still.
"I wanted to have something ready. Something I could give him if... if he appears... and... and... I don't want to find him with nothing to offer."
In the event we found him, giving him a cloak would be important, not just to hide his hair and avoid attention, but also because he needed something to cover his head. Although, knowing my brother, he'd be capable of walking on fire and saying something that sounded cool without even trying.
"It's about being efficient, Rudy," he would say.
I could also tell that Ruijerd was more restless than usual since we went to Roxy's village. It seemed he wasn't truly happy, even though he helped us without asking.
"Ruijerd. Is something wrong?"
He looked at me with a strange expression.
I could read in his gaze that I shouldn't insist. He lowered his spear and rested it on the ground.
"I know you carry the weight of not having found my brother..."
I had noticed it from before.
He surely thought that, having promised to help us find him, that would be his only responsibility. But he had another mission. While we busied ourselves with clearing his race's name, he would ensure we got home. I didn't want him to feel guilty. Even if he didn't find my brother on the Demon Continent or had no leads on someone with black hair, perhaps my brother had arrived on another continent. After all, it wasn't impossible to imagine.
"...I also know what it feels like to carry something you know you don't have, but you try to hold onto it anyway."
As I said it, I could feel inside me that familiar knot of responsibility mixed with helplessness, the same one I had known so many times in my past life. And, somehow, I understood that Ruijerd carried it too.
I have a theory that Eris ended up by my side because we supported each other, while my brother didn't manage to reach us. The same happened with Ghislaine, so perhaps it is something random.
"If we don't find him here, he might be somewhere else."
That doesn't leave me at ease, but at the same time, it gives me hope that we can still find him. It seemed to relax him a little, but I knew that "pretty words" weren't going to prevail against his honor. I could only sigh and keep moving forward.
"We will find him..."
I felt the knot in my chest loosen slightly. Sometimes I forget that, although inside I am over forty years old, to him I am just a scared child who lost his brother. And right now, that is exactly what I need to be.
"Thank you, Rudeus."
Daiki Greyrat
After seven weeks, it was time to continue my path. Without knowing their culture, without information or a starting point upon arrival, but with sufficient proof of the incident. Perhaps I could get some money for that, find some odd job, or even join the Adventurer's Guild, which, according to Ghislaine, she was a part of at S-Rank alongside Paul and Zenith, plus three other people.
Gyes, Linia, Pursena... the whole village seemed to have come out to see me off. And, suddenly, a... giant dog? Since when was that there?
Before I could react, it launched itself at me and licked my entire face, wagging its tail enthusiastically. It had incredible strength, but it was surprisingly cute. I could only pet its head and ears, as I did with Linia or Pursena, although I couldn't help but notice everyone's strange looks, as if what I was doing was completely inappropriate.
"Woof!"
"Good boy," I said.
Gyes coughed, and the dog backed away a little, though it kept sticking out its tongue and looking at me with curiosity, as if evaluating whether I was a good friend or just someone who needed to be licked a bit more.
"Boy, he doesn't do that with just anyone..." He approached. "Just... don't touch him like that, it's inappropriate. He is the Sacred Beast. Have some respect."
"I understand, I understand. I won't do it again." I withdrew my hands, though the dog let out a disappointed huff at losing the affection.
We had decided to measure ourselves in a duel before my departure. Gyes, intrigued by my skills, wanted to verify if I really was as strong as I had told him.
We got into position.
In that instant, for both of us, everything else ceased to exist. The forest, the people, the animals... even the ground beneath our feet disappeared from our perception.
"Woof!" The Sacred Beast let out a howl, and it was the catalyst for the combat to begin.
A sharp whoosh cut the air. The sound of impact followed instantly.
In the blink of an eye, we were already back-to-back, each with a hand on our hilt.
We had unsheathed, advanced, and clashed steel in a single fluid movement, almost invisible to anyone who wasn't a swordsman.
I turned my face slightly.
Gyes's blade vibrated so violently that, a second later, the sheer force tore it from his grasp.
For a flash, I noticed a small smile on Gyes's face. I thought he would be furious... or that he would lament it. But no. He was proud.
"Daiki... nya..."
Linia lowered her head, her tail went from animated to drooping, and her ears crumbled as well.
"Do you really... have to go?"
Pursena was the same, her eyes shining.
"Don't cry because I'm leaving. Instead, use what I taught you, and when we see each other again, I'll be able to say I was proud of you. Well, I already am, but you know what I mean."
"W-when I see you again, I'll be stronger, nya!"
"And when that happens, I promise to learn all the spells you told me about, the advanced ones. Those are the only ones left. After that, I'll see if I decide to go to university..."
I petted their heads for the last time, and this time they enjoyed it more than usual.
"Please. The last thing I want is for you to stagnate because I left. Can I trust you?"
They both looked at each other before nodding, blushing.
Pursena handed me a piece of meat.
"For the trip..."
"Thank you very much, really. You helped me calm down, even if just a little... I really needed it."
And so, I walked away from the Doldia village toward the Holy Sword Highway.