I walked behind my parents toward a carriage said to be waiting outside the castle.
The weakness they had shown at Instructor Raide's words was already gone.
I had not looked this carefully at their backs since I started pushing back… no. Not since people started calling me a hero's son.
Entering the academy, Instructor Raide's training, meeting all kinds of people. That must have changed me.
Now I was startled by how large my parents' backs were. How large were they?
There are good teachers, he said… I had not even noticed that, Instructor Raide.
The me from before would have thought I would catch up someday, that I would pass them.
But Instructor Raide and the academy classes taught me it was fine to grow as myself.
Then I would burn my parents' figures into my eyes and study, as Instructor Raide and King Adom had said.
Father, walking ahead, suddenly turned only his eyes toward me behind him and smiled, fu.
