"See you later, Venie," Vars waved as he left Miss Sinu's shop.
"Bye, Vars. Please tell more of those 'stories' if you can! They are so… nice to listen to!"
William must be worried about me. I said I was just going for a morning walk and the afternoon is almost ending, Vars thought as his stomach gave an angry, protesting growl. I'm really hungry as well… The loaf of bread I ate earlier didn't do much.
Vars made his way back to the small wooden hut. William saw him and gave him a displeased look. "Where were you? You didn't even have a proper breakfast. I was worried, you know? Come, have some bread and milk." He opened the hut door and Vars sat inside. On a plate made of straw, a large loaf of bread with some butter on top and a big glass of milk were presented to him.
"Thanks, William. You're always taking care of me. I'll have to pay you back sometime!" Vars said, his mouth full of bread.
"The people of Glammow are very kind," William said, repeating the line he had used multiple times. "I don't want any repayment! I think we've already had this talk. You have already made my mundane life very eventful with that 'story' of yours. I won't accept any sort of compensation now!" he said firmly.
He's not the type of person to back down... but unlucky for him I'm even worse, Vars thought. I'll just leave him a bag of coins when I'm about to leave this village.
"Fine, William. I will drop this topic," Vars said, lying without the slightest hesitation.
Vars happily munched his food while William watched him, smiling. The look was very reminiscent of how a father looks at his son playing for the first time — a look of joy and love.
Vars gulped down the milk in one big motion. The milk here sure is fresh — probably the best milk I have ever had, he thought, impressed. Then he went outside and washed his mouth with water from a nearby bucket.
I should probably think about my next course of action…
He went back inside the hut. William was preparing to take a small nap, and Vars sat opposite where William lay.
"Okay, so 'Cinderella' seems to be working wonderfully on the people here. I mean, if they are this moved by something so simple, I can only imagine their reaction when they experience a good novel, a manga, a comic book, an animated show, a movie, a painting, a video game, or a song… I can't even imagine! Maybe I'm getting a little too far ahead of myself here.
First, there is no way I can do anything that requires technology — this world seems to be in a Middle Ages, as far as I can tell. The Full-Hearts are also a very big variable I will have to research. Some of them may have powers that can help me out. The races seem like something I can ignore for the time being since the continent I am on is mainly human.
I think I should just continue with a few more classics like 'The Frog and the Princess', 'Beauty and the Beast', etc. They seem to be working fine currently. I should probably schedule a similar event. I can't make them too frequent; otherwise they might lose their value. Overexposure lessens the value of things, as far as I know. Maybe three days from now. After that I can start charging a small amount for shows — a single copper coin per family. Something cheap that everyone can afford. After all, I can't stay in the village for too long if I want to spread my craft. I assume I will need funds in a town or bigger human settlement."
Vars pondered his future a bit longer; a seemingly important topic he had overlooked resurfaced.
"Am I not a thief? I can't keep using classics or art from my time period and branding it as my own. I have to come up with my own pieces — my own stories created from my imagination and not a retelling of someone else's. I am an artist at heart and I almost forgot that for a moment. My stories may not be received as well as the proven stories of my time, but failure will teach me more than any success can. I have to experiment, because that's where the true joy of creating lies," he thought, smiling.
By now the sun had set over the horizon and a comfortable low light covered the village. He saw a group of children walking back to their homes, some riding on their fathers' backs and some hand-in-hand. He had asked Venie some questions when they were still back at Miss Sinu's.
"So, you mentioned you are taught about Pulse from a young age in case you do awaken... But I never heard William mention a teaching institute — could you elaborate?"
"Okay. A teaching institute can be attended by children as soon as they reach twelve, but most parents only start sending them when they reach fourteen (they believe fourteen is the sweet spot where the child starts to mature enough to handle the real world). Children only spend about two to three hours there. They can also choose what they want to study. Now, these subjects vary from institute to institute. In this village the topics taught are:
Farming
Basic medical care
Cooking
Craftsmanship
Weaving
They are based on things that are useful to children upon reaching adulthood. A minimum of two and a maximum of three subjects can be chosen. The timing is usually from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Basic combat was also included a few years back, but as wild animals and dangerous beasts became fewer and fewer, the course was removed altogether. If any dangerous animal is found, 'Big man Bosto' takes care of them."
"Who is 'Big man Bosto'?" Vars asked, confused.
"Oh, he's like a guardian spirit of the village. At forty he's a half-heart like Miss Sinu, but unlike her he can't move objects with his limited Pulse. He can channel some of his Pulse into his muscles, allowing him to deal powerful strikes. This is complemented by the fact that he is about 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs as much as a large wild boar."
"About 125 kg (275 lbs), I think, is a reasonable assumption," Vars thought.
"Hmm... Can you give me an example of what a Full-Heart ability may look like so I can better identify them if I come across someone who possesses one?" he asked.
"There are the really famous ones... Yeah, I'll just tell you about the second son of the emperor. He is a Full-Heart and he possesses the ability 'Safeguard' (named by him). The ability is well known. It allows him to avoid injury twice a day. For example, if an assassin snuck up on him and was about to cut his neck, he could choose not to receive the injury. If he chooses so, the attack will be stopped in some way: the sword could slip out of the assassin's hand, an invisible force could push the assassin away, or the prince's neck could shatter the blade altogether."
"Isn't that like... really strong? Like overwhelmingly so. It basically lets him cheat death, and that too twice a day!" Vars asked, clearly impressed and shocked.
"Yes, it absolutely is. It's probably one of the strongest Full-Heart powers currently known. I heard it's become a strong point of contention in the royal court. Debates take place on whether the first son should become king due to his seniority or the second because of his innate gift."
"Do you know any ability that's not too powerful? Like the average Full-Heart?" Vars asked.
Venie shrugged. "I'm afraid not... I only heard the news about the second prince because a young traveling merchant mentioned it to me one year ago. The chief may know since he is old and wise. You should probably ask him if you wish to know more..." She trailed off.
...Vars then snapped back to the present. "Lots of things I need to do. Should probably start small... It's an good time to tell an story I think. " He said look out the small window. He then got up and slowly opened the door ready to tell more stories.