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Weapons of might, items of convenience.
The rightful bearer shall gain the people's reverence.
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The next day, when Grisia saw Kairo's injury, he asked if Kairo would like him to cast a healing spell on his forehead wound.
"NO!"
Surprised by this loud and energetic objection early in the day, Grisia asked, "Why? If... you're worried about a scar forming, I heal myself all the time. I can guarantee it will look good as new."
This rang true as Kairo hadn't seen any scars on Grisia's face or hands. Though, those were the only places where his skin showed as Grisia usually wore long-sleeved tunics and a cloak.
Nevertheless, Kairo answered, "I... I think scars... have a certain charm to it!"
This behavior received a raised eyebrow from Grisia. Such a shallow and half-hearted reason didn't fit Kairo, he thought.
Meanwhile, Kairo was sweating buckets and tapping the soles of his foot, trying to hide the truth that it's all to have a reason to be treated by Esmeralda.
"I see. If that is... your wish...? Personally, I think showing off scars as a trophy is... vain."
"I can be shallow...!" Kairo huffed.
"V-Very well, it was merely my opinion. No need to concern yourself with my words. I'll let you have your way since you seem to have your... reasons."
"Phew. Many thanks, Grisia."
Grisia walked away momentarily, heading back inside the mansion, scratching his head. Kairo let out a sigh of relief after being left off the hook. He was beginning to run out of barely reasonable excuses.
"Hey, what happened to you? Did you trip and fall like the clumsy moron you are?" from behind him, he heard the voice of the person who he least wanted to see while he had this scar.
Aisia appeared with a huge grin on her face. Perhaps she was already aware of his scar, gossip of it must have already circulated throughout the mansion, save for Grisia.
Kairo pursed his lips. He didn't want to admit it, but Aisia's thoughtless question was on point.
Seeing his reaction and his lack of a retort—not even outright denying the claim as he usually does—her grin formed into a devious one.
He took notice of this and was already wincing in preparation for Aisia's barrage of teasing.
"Hey, hey," she poked him on his shoulder with an impossibly cheeky smirk. "You did, didn't you? You tripped and fell face-first, didn't you?"
"So, what?!" he shouted with a flushed face.
"Nothing," she shrugged merrily. "Actually, it makes me sad," she said, her tone turning somber all of a sudden.
Kairo felt surprised that she didn't take the low-hanging fruit.
He began to think to himself, "Huh. I guess she can be mature some—"
But before he could finish his thought, she continued, "Because I didn't get to see you embarrass yourself!" she said, almost falling down from belly laughing.
Surprised by this, he growled at her.
"At least you didn't cry, right?"
He flinched. Aisia audibly gasped.
"You did! You're a crybaby too!" she laughed harder.
She started running as Kairo chased after her. She couldn't find something to tease him about for a long time, so she was cherishing this moment by going hog-wild.
She found Grisia emerging from the mansion door and hid behind his back.
Kairo knew he couldn't touch her once she was behind Grisia. She made a silly face and Kairo squinted at her.
"Let's go," declared Grisia.
These days, Grisia saw it fit to move to the next step. He started instructing them on strength training. Apart from training their speed and stamina with advanced jogs, they were working on their muscles to pack a heavier punch.
Alongside this, he wasn't letting up on their armed training. Every time they adapted to his regimen, he added another thing on top of it. The two would groan, but they would never quit from the challenge.
This time, he added balancing training after hearing about how Kairo's head injury was caused by a fall. He made them stand straight on only one foot for a long time.
Each time they failed, they were to switch to the other foot. In addition to that, he made them practice one thousand strikes with their weapons every day.
"Plant your feet firmly on the ground."
"HA!" they replied soundly in unison.
"Use your core more."
"HA!"
"That means using the ground to support your swing."
"HA!"
"Swing faster."
"HA!"
"Hold your weapon tightly."
"HA!"
"Don't even let them pry it free from your cold, dead hands."
"Ha...?!"
One day, Grisia joined them using his sword. They rarely got to see him use it. A thin, dark blade with a mesmerizing scaley pattern. A beautiful obsidian blade.
And so, after they finished their training, on their way back home, Kairo asked, "Your sword looks fantastic, Grisia! The blade reminds me of... snake's scales in a cloudless night with a hint of... blue? No, purple! As if it was a fragment broken off from that scenery. Is there a story for its exquisite color?"
Grisia unsheathed his sword to observe it, sunlight gleamed on it blindingly.
"My dwarf friend who made it named it, 'Grievous Night'. This sword is considered an artifact," Grisia told them. He eyed the blade as if his memories were hidden there and was searching for it. "Forged with the silky blood of a sickly one-horned horse, the sap of an evergreen tree, and fairy dust gathered from a... consenting... fairy. It was forged into an obsidian blade by a skilled blacksmith near an erupting volcano."
"A fairy?" Aisia's eyes sparkled.
"A consenting fairy?" Kairo questioned.
"That's what interested you? Not the erupting volcano part?" Grisia asked with a disappointed look.
"That too is very interesting," Kairo replied. "But I'm more so confused with the consenting fairy."
"What does consenting even mean?" Aisia snuck in a question.
"It means giving someone permission to do something to you," Kairo answered, "Like allowing them to hit you!" he playfully landed a hit on her shoulder.
"Oww! Ohhh-ho-ho, so like... this?!" Aisia retaliated with a harder punch. Both of them giggled.
"Well, it's more convenient to just ask for their dust rather than to take it by force," Grisia explained. "As magical as it sounds, they're merely the glowing scales from their wings. They shed those constantly as they fly around."
"Oh..." the two kids were slightly disappointed by that revelation, but Kairo continued his queries. "Then what about the sickly one-horned horse?"
"Many call it a unicorn. There was one nearby, so we used it because why not? It seemed like a waste not to. It was an experiment after all."
"Oh! A unicorn— one-horned horse. I see."
"Apologies. From where I came from, that's how we usually call it. I forgot that in this land, people call it a unicorn."
"Not from this land...?" Kairo thought about that phrase for a while. Grisia still hadn't told Kairo about his origins, but he felt like it wasn't the right time to pry about that right now.
"What's an artifact?" Aisia asked.
"They are rare objects that grant immense power," Grisia answered. "Their true potential is unleashed when used a certain way. There are other ways to force that awakening, but for a lesser effect. Though, if you ever find one, I advise you to exercise caution, as some of these artifacts are forbidden, or worse, cursed."
"What sort of special power does your sword have?" Kairo asked Grisia.
"I only said it is considered an artifact. But in truth, it is far from it. The ingredients I listed weren't anything special. They immediately burned up when they came into contact with the lava. And this obsidian blade," he held it up to show to the two. "While extremely sharp, it is also extremely fragile. I'm essentially carrying a glorified glass sword."
"Then... what's the point of it?" Kairo asked.
"Do I look like I really need it?" Grisia replied.
"No... then why bother carrying one?" Kairo asked further.
"Brandishing it can de-escalate senseless fights. Just a slight show and it'll quickly intimidate foolish bast..." Grisia looked at Aisia before continuing. "...ahem, troublemakers. Basically, it prevents most people from trying anything funny around you. You would think a measly bandit is easy pickings, but if they had a sword, it's a different story."
"I... guess that makes sense," said Kairo.
"Since the common folk cannot perceive ki, they began to spread rumors and considered my sword as an artifact to explain my feats." Grisia said, slicing the air. It was so swift that they barely saw his arms move as it made a sharp whistling sound.
He continued, "It's convenient for me as well, I won't need to explain「 Ki 」to people. And that blacksmith friend of mine knew that this experiment of his was a failure. But he wanted to play a prank on people and parroted that it's an artifact," he returned his sword to its sheath.
"You have a random, yet impressive band of friends, Grisia," Kairo commented.
"I don't even see half of them! Last time we were on that dragon quest was the first time I even met Chad!" barked Aisia.
"Well, that's what happens when you go around travelling."
The two children both understood that he was talking about his still ongoing pilgrimage. His search for something.
"Even if the ingredients burned up in the lava, did they at least affect your sword?" asked Kairo.
"The unicorn blood didn't do anything," Grisia responded. "Nor did the sap of the evergreen tree and the fairy dust. In fact, evergreen trees are common. There are a lot of them in the woods near the manor and outside the city."
"The more I hear about your sword, the less impressed I am," Aisia snarkily commented, but Kairo agreed with her.
"As you should," Grisia agreed. "It's a shoddy one. The weapons that I conjure for you and Kairo are much more reliable, even with the time limit."
"Do you have more friends, pops?" asked Aisia. "Or other interesting acquaintances?"
Grisia blushed a little. Aisia realized she was unintentionally indulging him by asking that question, as if she was showing interest in her old man. But she let it slide for now because she actually was curious.
"Hmm, let me think... I suppose apart from the blacksmith and dragonknight friends I told you about—and you've met Chadrhaad—I do know some otherworlders."
"Really?!!" Aisia exclaimed in childlike wonder, her voice echoing throughout the empty prairie. "R-Really...?" she repeated in a quieter voice.
Feeling like he was not on the same page as the two, Kairo asked, "Otherworlders?"
The two turned to him.
"What in the Drowl is an otherworlder?" Kairo asked.