Chapter 76: Brandish
Seeing Noah enter, Lucy quickly waved him over. "Big Brother Noah, come here!"
Noah walked over to the bed. The little green-haired girl had already opened her eyes and was sitting next to Lucy, hugging her stuffed animal and looking at him.
"This is my new friend, Brandish μ. Brandish, this is the Big Brother Noah I was telling you about," Lucy said, introducing them.
Noah smiled at Brandish. "Hello. I'm Noah. It's nice to meet you."
Brandish had straight-cut, emerald-green bangs, with a blue-purple cross-shaped ornament on either side of her head. She was very cute and looked to be about the same age as Lucy.
"Hello, Big Brother Noah," Brandish said, greeting him with a curious look. Ever since she met Lucy, she had heard Noah's name mentioned many times and was very curious about this "big brother" Lucy always talked about.
"Alright, you two, hurry and get up. Your mothers have already cooked dinner and are waiting for you."
"Mama cooked?" Lucy looked at Noah with a surprised and happy expression.
Noah nodded and then said to Brandish, "Your mom helped cook too. Let's go."
Lucy excitedly pulled Brandish up, jumped off the bed, put on her shoes, and ran out with a thump, thump, thump. Brandish, looking a bit dazed, was pulled along behind her. They could hear Lucy's voice from the hallway, "I can't wait to try Mama's cooking! I didn't know Mama could cook!"
Noah shook his head, closed the door, and also headed for the dining room. As he reached the entrance, he could already hear Lucy's voice.
"Mama, this looks so delicious! Did you make it?"
"Your Aunt Grammi made that one. But you have to wait for your Big Brother Noah to come before we can eat."
"Why is Big Brother Noah so slow!"
"It's because you ran too fast."
Noah walked into the dining room and found that everyone was already seated; he was the only one missing.
"Noah, you can sit next to Lucy. Help me watch them," Layla said. Noah nodded and sat down. Brandish was on Lucy's other side, and Jude was on Noah's.
"Then let's begin!" Layla, as the one with the highest status in the family, announced the start of the meal.
Lucy immediately took a piece of the dish she had been eyeing and put it in her bowl. She eagerly took a bite, and a smile immediately spread across her small face. "So yummy!"
"Aunt Grammi made that. Her cooking was always delicious. This taste brings back so many memories," Layla said.
"Lady Layla, you exaggerate. These are just some ordinary dishes," Grammi replied humbly.
Hearing Lucy's words, a smile appeared on Brandish's cute face. She also picked up a piece of food, put it in her mouth, and chewed with her eyes closed in contentment.
After finishing the first bite, Lucy took a piece from another dish. "This is delicious too!"
"Mama made that one. Do you like it, Lucy?"
"I love it!"
"Then Mama will make it for you again next time!" Lucy, her mouth stuffed with food, nodded vigorously.
Brandish, on the other hand, didn't say much. Her hands were constantly moving, picking up dishes from the table and putting them in her mouth, her eyes also眯眯ing in enjoyment.
Seeing that Lucy wasn't asking any more questions, Layla began to chat with Grammi about all sorts of things, especially about her life on the western continent, Alakitasia. Jude would also occasionally join their conversation, asking about the economic and cultural situation there. Lucy would, from time to time, share a dish she thought was particularly tasty with Brandish, who accepted everything without refusal. Noah, seeing them all eating so happily, also began to enjoy the meal.
After dinner, Layla formally introduced Grammi and Brandish to Noah. Noah looked at Brandish and said to Grammi, "Has Brandish started learning magic?"
"You are correct, Young Master Noah. Brandish has indeed begun to learn magic."
"Please don't call me Young Master, it feels strange. No wonder I could sense that Brandish has quite a bit of magic power, only a little weaker than Lucy's." Noah then turned to Brandish. "Do you want to learn magic with me? I'm not that strong myself, but I can still teach you a thing or two."
"Not that strong? Most wizards can't even beat you," Layla couldn't help but correct him from the side. She always felt that Noah was too modest, never saying how strong he was and always insisting he wasn't good enough.
"If Lady Layla says so, then it must be true. Young Master Noah's strength must be immense. Are you willing to teach Brandish magic, Young Master Noah? That would be wonderful," Grammi said, pulling Brandish over. "Is there a need for a discipleship ceremony or anything?"
"There's no need for all that trouble. Brandish can do basic training with Lucy, and then I'll teach them some more difficult magical theory. If they have questions, they can save them up and ask me all at once. I'll come here once a week."
Layla took Grammi's hand. "Now that Brandish is learning magic here, you should stay too. Don't leave. Stay here for a while."
Grammi hesitated for a long time, then finally looked at Brandish and made up her mind. "Then thank you, Lady Layla. But I'll still have to go back and take care of some things before I can come back and stay."
"That's right. I'll send some people with you. It's too dangerous for you to go alone."
"Thank you, Lady Layla!"
"You're my friend, Grammi. Don't be so formal."
"Lady Layla..."
A smile appeared on Lucy's small face, and she hugged Brandish. "That's great! We can study together from now on!"
"This all sounds like a pain," Brandish muttered, looking none too pleased.
Noah smiled at her. "If you're strong enough, you can reduce a lot of trouble. Brandish, what kind of magic do you use?"
"I use Shape Magic."
"Did you awaken it yourself?"
"Mhm."
"That's good. I'll think about what to teach you next. For now, go and do your basic training with Lucy."
"What a pain."
Lucy, on the other hand, excitedly pulled Brandish and ran towards their usual training spot. Noah said a quick goodbye to Layla and the others and followed them.
When he arrived, they had already started. It was immediately obvious that while Brandish's magic power was not weak, only slightly less than the trained Lucy's, her physical fitness was far worse. It was clear she was lazy and didn't like to exercise. Noah had to design a training plan specifically for her weak stamina, but even then, Brandish couldn't even complete half of Lucy's usual workload. He could only let her train slowly.
Although Brandish had a reluctant look on her face the whole time, with Lucy cheering her on from the side, she still worked hard to complete her training.
~~~
Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn