Chapter 13 – The end of my adventure and the beginning of the new misfortune.
The merchant's shrill lament echoed off the stone walls of the cave, making my head throb.
— Three hundred gold coins. All this is crumbling in a matter of days? It can't be. — I thought, until I saw the deplorable state of the carriage.
It had been overturned, probably when the rear wheel detached from the rest of the carriage. The reason for this was right before my eyes: there were about ten gelatinous and translucent masses scattered all over the structure. The smaller pieces of it were simply swallowed, while several other slimes attached themselves to the metal parts, releasing a reddish goo. The smoke around was extremely abrasive, scratching my nose which, although used to bad smells, was not used to such dry air.
Meanwhile, Elara was doing a quick inspection to see what type of slime that was, because "it would greatly change our cleanup".
— Lycon, this problem is huge! — Elara said, alarmed. It was hard for her to get so alarmed, so I was quite scared. — This slime is a type of acid slime that is quite... Difficult. — she gave a slight sigh. — It's an Acid Blob Slime. It literally eats everything — she pointed to the carriage's wheel pin, where there was a metal beam. — even metal is on its menu, as you can see. —
Next, Elara asked everyone to step away from the carriage and threw a stone at one of the slimes. The stone made a wet impact on the slime, piercing its "skin" and going inside it. The stone began to be enveloped by a large "cocoon" while the skin glued itself back together.
After that, all the slimes began to shoot a barrage of acid projectiles in several different directions. Some, unfortunately, hit the merchant's carriage.
— If we were there, all of that would have hit us... — I gave a slight sigh. — I think I have an idea. —
I took my wind gust circle and aimed specifically at the carriage.
— Lycon, NO- — She tried to interrupt me, but it was in vain. A torrential gust of wind radiated from my circle to the carriage, even stronger than the one I used in the coliseum. The slimes went flying, throwing acid everywhere. Because of the stone Elara threw, one of the slimes was split in half, generating two smaller slimes.
— There — now instead of 10 slimes, we have 11 of them scattered all over this cave. — Elara replied, seeing the whole gale I had made.
— But at least I got them off the carriage. —
— You didn't. First look at the carriage before wanting to talk to me. —
While her expression showed the purest indignation, I went to look at the carriage... It was in one piece, but completely collapsed because most of the iron beams had turned into a reddish mud.
When I saw the back of the wagon, where the ores were, I came across an even worse scene: There were about 5 slimes corroding the merchant's entire stock of iron at a surprising speed, turning them into a huge reddish paste right next to it.
In a desperate act, I put away my mana cut magic circle and shot at the slimes, trying to directly control the spell so that it would hit all the slimes without damaging the carriage too much.
Although I managed to cut the slimes in half, the only practical effect was spilling a lot of translucent goo on the merchant's ores, besides creating 10 more slimes.
Hearing the noise of the shot, the merchant and Elara came to check what happened.
— YOU IDIOT! — Elara shouted and immediately slapped the back of my neck. — Didn't you see that they multiply if attacked?! —
— No... but... It's just that I did it out of desperation, I forgot about that. —
— Now the one who is desperate is the merchant, who besides seeing the carriage overturn, saw the problem get worse instead of better! — She gave a big sigh, before turning to the merchant.
— I apologize for this little boy here. He is very spoiled and doesn't know how the world works. —
— What?! I'm not spoiled, you... — finally after a long time my magic, "the millions of curses", decided to activate in my thoughts.
— O-O-O-Okay... I just hope you solve this... — The merchant replied, almost falling to the ground.
Elara took all the ore that was there and decided to put it in a place further away. She managed to save about a third of all the ore that was there.
— I feel a little guilty. — I told her, while watching Elara do all the work of moving the slimes while my cut had disoriented them.
— But you are guilty — well, at least you left this opening for us. —
As soon as she moved everything out of the carriage, Elara uttered, — Now you can use your circles however you want. —
I took my Mass Fire circles and aimed at all the slimes, repeating what I did with the rats, but without the chance for them to fight back. In the first volley, more than 100 projectiles hit the various slimes that were on the ores, killing them all. In the second, I focused on those scattered around the rest of the cave, killing all the slimes causing this mess.
I fell backward from the effort I had to make, while Elara just looked at me with a disapproving face... Probably because of what I did.
— W-W-Well... I don't even know what to think. — said the merchant, already handing the 3 gold coins to me. — Can you at least take the rest that's left to the city? Maybe I can sell this iron for something to cover the carriage's repairs... Right?! — he asked me in a passive-aggressive tone.
Elara was almost going to deny the request but then I said, — O-Ok, we'll take your wagon's load as an apology. —
A slow smile appeared in Elara's eyes upon hearing this. — What a noble attitude on your part, Lord Lycon — she said with a sweetness loaded with irony. — Since you so kindly offered to fix your own disaster, the least I can do is leave all the honor of this logistical transport exclusively to you. —
I widened my eyes. Panic replaced my feeling of guilt very quickly as I realized the trap I had just gotten myself into.
— W-Wait a minute. You're going to help me, right? —
— I am your bodyguard, not your pack mule — she countered, crossing her arms and leaning against the cave wall. — Besides, you need to learn that thoughtless actions have physical consequences, not just magical ones. Come on, start filling the sacks with what's left. The sun won't wait for your goodwill. —
The merchant, not wanting to miss the miraculous chance to save part of his profit, quickly found three heavy burlap sacks and helped me load the pure iron ore that Elara had saved from my brilliant "strategy". When I tried to lift the first sack from the ground, my skinny twelve-year-old legs faltered and I almost fell face-first into the rust mud. The weight was absurd.
To crown my absolute misfortune, the day was completely sunny and stuffy, making me cook as if I were roasting.
With a groan of effort, I threw the sack over my shoulders.
— Keep walking, or do you want to lose to the earthworm in front of you? — ordered Elara, walking lightly and freely beside me, her hands resting casually near her daggers as she seemed to enjoy the scenery.
— I... hate... you... — I muttered through my teeth, panting with every tortuous step. Sweat dripped into my eyes, my legs trembled, and I was feeling a strange sensation of weakness that made everything worse.
Thousands of curses were firing against the sun, against Elara, against the slimes, and, especially, against my own big mouth.
It took us the entire afternoon to bring everything the merchant wanted. When I finally finished unloading the last sack, I wiped the sweat from my forehead.
— Congratulations, did you learn to keep your mouth shut? —
— I learned to never again take missions where I need to save or fetch something. I'll only take monster defeating or cleaning ones from now on. —
— Impossible. The entire royalty has its eyes on you, if there is any specific mission from them, you will have to accept it and cannot refuse. In other words: It's better to suffer now than later. —
— Damn world that only makes things go bad for me! — I ranted before slipping in a puddle of water, in the middle of a sunny and stuffy day, and falling on my butt on the ground.
Elara let out a loud laugh seeing my situation.
— Well... Now we have a more important matter to resolve. —
— What is it? —
— Look at the time. —
I looked near the sun. It was currently 19 hours in the afternoon, almost night.
— It's already seven in the evening, what about it? —
— It's incredible that you know how to read the time so young. —
— It's not that incredible. —
— Anyway... Did you forget that we haven't told your parents that you are here yet? —
A mix of anger and regret swelled inside me. — Wow, I really can't have a day of peace even in this MISFORTUNE! — I thought, however, the contrast between my thought and my speech was notable. — Well, let's go back home, right... It will be worse if I decide not to say anything. —
The journey to the upper part of Aritel felt like it lasted three entire lifetimes. Every step on the streets was a living reminder of everything I went through this day.
When we finally crossed the heavy iron gates of our castle, the guards almost crossed their spears to block the entrance, probably mistaking me for a beggar or a swamp monster. They only recognized me, and hurriedly cleared the way, when Elara shot a deadly glare at them.
The double oak doors of the main hall were opened. The familiar smell of polished wax and floral incense of the castle was instantly murdered by my personal aroma: an exclusive blend of rat puree, midday sweat, gastric acid, and crumbled rust.
My mother, Lady Ísis, was descending the main stairs at that exact moment. She stopped halfway down as if she had hit an invisible wall. Her face completely lost its color, and her hand instinctively flew to cover her nose with a fine silk handkerchief.
— By the gods of Valia... Lycon?! — her contained scream echoed through the hall, mixing shock and indignation. — Where in the name of sanity were you?! Shouldn't you be in Aluvia Magna?! And what is this... this smell of rotten metal and sewage?! —
— Well... I was banished from there so I came back and... It's a long story, can I just take a bath? — I stammered, afraid of a possible punishment right off the bat.
— A bath?! — Lady Ísis repeated, descending the rest of the stairs with firm steps. Pressing the silk handkerchief against her nose while her half-closed eyes measured every inch of my deplorable figure.
She stopped a few steps away, refusing to advance further against my aura of sewage and rust.
The word "banished" seemed to hit Lady Ísis like a physical slap, but the unbearable smell exuding from me prevented her from stepping forward. She closed her eyes for a second, as if my mere presence caused her an instant migraine.
— A bath? — her voice came out dangerously low and controlled, muffled by the silk handkerchief. She took a step back, unable to bear my fetid aura. — Nella! — Her shout echoed sharply, tearing through the silence of the hall.
As soon as the maid appeared in the corridor, her eyes already wide upon seeing my state, my mother pointed at me with her free hand, as if I were a piece of toxic trash.
— Take this... this walking disaster to the hot springs. Boiling water, triple the purifying salts, and burn these clothes. — She then fixed her eyes on me, cold and implacable. — We will talk about "banishments" and stupid decisions as soon as you smell like a human being again. Get out of my sight. —
— You're in trouble — commented Elara as she lost her posture laughing. Even so, my mother's "scolding" was a salvation for me, after all, I would be able to take a bath and stop smelling like everything bad in the world.
Before I could reach the bathtub, I heard some fragments of her conversation with Elara. — And you? Who are you, what are you doing in my house and accompanying my son? —
Elara, from what I heard, answered, — I am Elara, bodyguard and watcher assigned to take care of your son. —
I heard some murmurs that I couldn't understand, and I also heard a — I am a Rank A adventurer. —
— Rank A?! A person of that level is accompanying me?! No wonder Sophia didn't ask anything. — I thought while heading to my bath.
As soon as I sank my body into the hot water of the bathtub, I felt an immediate mixture of relief and burning. My muscles, destroyed by the ore sacks, seemed to let out a collective sigh, while the clean water infused with herbs and perfumes quickly turned into a murky puddle, tinged with rust mud and dirt.
Nella had no mercy whatsoever: she took a cloth moistened with a mixture of herbs and perfumes to scrub my skin forcefully, scraping off every crust of grime that seemed to have permeated even into my soul.
When I finally managed to get up and out of the bathtub, my skin was burning from being so red, and my arms felt so heavy that even the act of putting on a clean tunic felt like calisthenics training.
Finally, well-dressed and reasonably clean, but still with a lingering trace of the smell, I went to the dining hall, where my father, my mother, and Elara were gathered. For some reason, Alistair and Cassian, my teachers, were not there.
— Where are my teachers? — I asked my parents, because usually they stayed with them during important meetings, so it was weird they weren't there.
— E-Er... So... Sit down, first we have to talk about some "things". — stammered my father.
At no point in my life had I stood for so long. Sitting, although a little uncomfortable because, once again, my backside was on fire, was an even greater relief for my muscles, especially my glutes.
— Well, first of all, who is the lady that was accompanying you? I just wanted to remind you that you're still too tiny to have her as a suitor, right? —
I was stunned in a mix of embarrassment and anger, while Elara, although bothered, didn't show much emotion.
— By all the gods of Valia, Horus, have a minimum of decorum! — she reprimanded him, with that perfectly polished tone of voice, but which carried the weight of an anvil. — The boy is twelve years old, just came out of a bath after almost destroying his own life, and you make tavern jokes in our living room? —
The Baron shrugged slightly, looking away with a restrained smile, while my mother turned all her attention back to me. As soon as she noticed how much I had sunk into the seat to relieve the pain in my legs and backside, she tapped her index finger lightly on the oak table.
— Straighten your back, Lycon. Exhaustion is no excuse to sit melted like one of those slimes you were apparently hunting, — she ordered.
I straightened up almost by reflex, swallowing hard. Lady Ísis then turned her face to Elara, analyzing her from top to bottom with a clinical and unforgiving gaze.
— Father, first of all, I wanted to know where you got the idea that she is my suitor. — I answered my father's question, even though I knew I didn't need to. Then, I turned to both of them. — The story of why she is with me is quite... Complicated. —
Immediately after, Elara used my pause to speak. — If I may, my lords, I am your son's bodyguard assigned by the royal family after he won the presentation tournament for young nobles... Or more accurately speaking: After he blew a hole in the princess's arm. —
The only thing I could comment was, — Yeah... In short, that was it. —
The color drained from my mother's face so abruptly that, for a second, I thought her impeccable composure would give way to fainting right there on the upholstery. She brought her trembling hand to her chest, her wide eyes alternating between me and Elara, before firing off with her voice in a frightening mix of terrified whisper and pure fury: — A... hole in the princess's arm?! By the gods, son, please tell me this is an extremely tasteless joke of your father's that you are helping to tell! Do you have any idea of the diplomatic disaster, the offense to the crown, and the irremediable shame that you just confessed in my living room with the casualness of someone talking about the weather?! —
— Calm down, Ísis, we are not embarrassed, on the contrary... We are on par with the royal capital now... — He thought a bit about what to say, surprised by the situation that came with his son. — Besides, it's normal for someone to get hurt in a tournament, right. I expected that to happen to him, not to the princess. — He gave a forced laugh, before turning his eyes to me. — Just tell me, Lycon, you didn't use any dishonest tactics, did you? —
— No... I didn't! — I stammered in a tone of voice slightly higher than I wanted. — I just used everything I had when I was about to lose... It's not wrong for me to try to win, is it? —
Lady Ísis's expression transitioned from pure shock to a cutting coldness in a fraction of a second. She glared at my father with a look that would make even a dragon recoil, summarily refusing to accept that forced laugh.
— "On par with the capital," Horus? — she repeated his words with icy disdain, digging her nails into the fabric of her own dress. — Tearing a piece off the heir to the throne is not diplomacy, it is a certificate of savagery! What do they think of us now? That we are southern barbarians incapable of putting a leash on our own power? —
She took a deep breath, forcing herself not to completely lose her aristocratic composure in front of a royal bodyguard. When her unforgiving eyes turned to me, I felt a shiver run down my spine, completely ignoring the fact that my skin still burned from the recent bath.
— Trying to win is not the mistake, Lycon. The mistake is losing control, — she sentenced, each syllable sounding like the strike of a hammer on an anvil. — If you needed to use "everything you had" to the point of almost dismembering the princess of our kingdom, it proves that your magical power is colossally greater than your reason. A noble who attacks guided by desperation is an unacceptable danger to himself and to everyone under the roof of this house. Your magic teacher should be teaching you limits, not carnage! —
The only thing my father could do at that time was ask for "calm", but the only thing my mother managed to do was remind me of the terrible moments I had back at the tournament.
— It's not my fault if the court mages didn't think that mana shields are bypassed by mana attacks! And besides, you were the ones who sent me to the tournament and told me to win all the championships! I'm already sick of these "tournaments" or anything else that can penalize me because I'm good! — a rebel tear rolled down my face, ruining the composure I was trying to maintain.
— Besides... Besides... There was still that "trial" just to inflate the nobles' egos. Commoners can have a lot of wrong attitudes, but, in my humble opinion, the one that is the most wrong of all is the unregulated ego of the nobles. —
I turned to Elara and noticed that, deep within her inexpressiveness, there was a hint of concern for me. She also seemed to agree with what I had said, even though I was absolutely sure that my parents, as nobles, would punish me for it.
The room plunged into a tense silence. My mother looked at the tear rolling down my face, and the implacable coldness in her eyes gave a tiny bit of space to genuine concern. Without getting up, she leaned slightly forward in her chair, holding out a clean silk handkerchief toward me with a firm but careful gesture.
— Dry your face and pull yourself together, Lycon; an heir does not crumble because the world is unfair, — she said while her voice lost its cutting edge and took on a heavy, instructive seriousness. — We demand excellence, yes, but the true excellence of a noble lies in knowing how to measure their own strength. The unregulated ego of the nobility that you so abhor is exactly the board on which we play, my son. If the court mages were incompetent in raising the shields, the mistake is theirs, but the political mistake of exposing that weakness before the entire kingdom was yours. In the real world, being right does not protect you from the guillotine. Keep that indignation of yours and learn the lesson: royalty does not forgive those who wound their pride, and now you have the living proof of that vigilance sitting right next to you. —
Elara finally broke her silence. — Unfortunately, the only solution to this is to focus on being an adventurer. At least that was my solution before joining the royalty. — She let out a long sigh. — It's funny to talk about this now, but I was from a noble family in Eldoria. I followed steps similar to yours, but I was exiled after thwarting an ambush by a higher-ranking noble. I don't want to go into too much detail, but my family specializes in bronze. — Then, she unsheathed a dagger from her pocket. My father went on alert but decided not to intervene, while my mother held herself back from screaming hysterically. — My brother made this for me... A ceremonial dagger. Don't worry, it doesn't even have an edge. — to prove this, Elara ran the blade over her hand. No blood came out, much less any cut mark. — See? Anyway, I advise hiding your powers. Practice, but in an isolated place where no one can see. That way you can use your powers without anyone punishing you for something. —
My father calmed down and immediately replied. — A very sad story yours, Elara. I'm glad to have someone as serious as you guarding my son. Anyway, I think that is a sensible proposal... Especially seeing that my prodigy here doesn't know how to moderate himself, right? — he let out a loud laugh, but not a hysterical one, so as not to make my mother even angrier. — I will arrange a place for that when Cassian and Alistair return from their trip. —
— What trip? — I asked.
— Do you think your mother would let you go alone? If it were up to her we would have gone together... Ugh, it took a while to convince her that I have better things to do than watch you at the tournament. —
My mother shot an icy glare at my father, before glaring at the adventurer. — And I ask that you put away that blade, Miss Elara, for this is my living room and not a mercenary guild, — she reprimanded, her voice loaded with polite indignation, before letting out a heavy sigh and turning her attention back to us. — And saying you have "better things to do" than honoring your own heir's first tournament shows an absurd lack of consideration, Horus. Since I ended up having to yield on this matter so you would travel only with the royal guard, the least I demanded was that Monk Alistair and Master Cassian follow you secretly; their mission was only to observe from a distance, without intervening, how you would act outside our supervision... And I confess that I am deeply disappointed, Lycon, for I never expected you to make so many consecutive irresponsible decisions, which forces me to question if there is still any other atrocity you committed behind my back that we still do not know about. —
— Uh... There is. — I commented softly, hoping no one would hear. However, to my misfortune, my parents managed to hear it as if it were loud and clear.
My mother was stunned; stunned enough to give my father room to put his hand to his forehead, and say, — What else did you do? —
— After that I was summoned to an audience with the king. — Everyone, except Elara, who already knew the story, was shocked. I had finally managed to break Ísis's aristocratic pose, replacing it with an expression of the deepest dread.
— T-T-T-T-T-T-The King?!! — stammered my mother.
— What else did you do?! — vented my father, along with Lady Isis.
I swallowed the lump in my throat that I had remembering it, trying to maintain the mood of the conversation. — Initially they wanted to disinherit me — but I said that "if you punish me for being good at something, I will have to reevaluate my points with the nobility"... And as a consequence I was almost executed. At least the king went easy on me and gave me Rank C and Elara... My bodyguard... And... I was also banished from the capital because of this... I didn't want to go back there anyway. —
My mother's breath hitched, and for the first time in my life, the impeccable Lady Ísis sank into her chair as if the gods themselves had dropped the weight of the castle on her shoulders. — You... you threatened the crown?! — her whisper came out shrill, as her fingers gripped the edge of the oak table so tightly that her knuckles turned white, her eyes overflowing with absolute political terror. — By the merciful gods, Lycon, you not only almost mutilated the princess, but you had the suicidal audacity to blackmail the King of Valia on his own throne, were almost executed, banished from the entire royal capital, and you end this nefarious confession saying that you "didn't want to go back there anyway" as if you were declining an invitation to tea?! We are ruined, Horus, our own son just declared war on royalty out of pure childish ego and still thinks he came out ahead! —
That specific speech reminded me of Arthur's: "social suicide executed to perfection."
My father tried to comfort my mother as always, but in this specific case it was difficult. When she calmed down, my father turned to me, more serious than usual, even making my hairs stand on end.
— Come here... Do you want to break your mother? — my father asked. — You clearly deserved the punishment after that! Well, whatever happens you'll be executed and I'll say I have nothing to do with your actions, especially since I raised you well. — he began, sarcastic, but soon returning to his earlier serious tone. — But not with your mother. You will stay in the castle for a week to learn how to behave in front of royalty, and I forbid you: F-O-R-B-I-D you from going to any other city for a year, as well as speaking with any noble, even if they come here. — His voice returned to its usual sarcastic normal. — If you can't even speak properly in front of royalty, let alone a duke, right, bigmouth. — I wanted to smack your bottom so you'd learn but your mother won't let me. —
Then, a look of fury mixed with concern aimed at Isis. — I know you are generally against very drastic punishments, but you are not going to alter this. —
— Alter? — her voice sounded dangerously low and cutting, crossing her arms as she glared at me with a look that made me want to sink into the floor. — I wouldn't take a single second off this punishment, Horus. In fact, I think you were merciful. If you think, Lycon, that carrying buckets of water for Alistair was hell, prepare your soul. During this week, and for this entire year of exile within our walls, I will be your shadow. You will have classes in rhetoric, diplomacy, and court etiquette from morning until nightfall. And if I hear a single stutter, or if you dare to answer with that suicidal pride of yours again, your ban on leaving Aritel will last until the day the King forgives your existence... which, by the gods, could take your entire life! —
Elara, seeing that the situation had worsened, and greatly, for me, intervened. — Dear sir, unfortunately I cannot agree — the king himself, when giving him Rank C permission, made it so he is obligated to do guild tasks to refine his potential. Therefore, may I suggest we divide the period? —
My father was about to refuse promptly, but he censored himself at the last second he was going to speak, reviewing his words. — If that is the case, he will stay two weeks without being able to leave Aritel, and the rest of the year without being able to go further than 5 kilometers from Aritel's walls. It is enough and I will not accept objections. —
She initially made a gesture of disapproval, but thought a bit and then agreed to the terms. After that, my father called Nella to get our food. He was clearly stressed by the situation, even taking out a bit of his anger on her.
Our meal was tense, although Elara continued with the expression of someone who has seen the same situation a thousand times, everyone else was stunned, and couldn't even speak properly.
— Good thing I didn't come back straight away... Otherwise I wouldn't be able to do the two missions. — I thought constantly while eating.
