The two of us stared at each other, everything was calm and completely silent; time seemed to have stretched out, those few seconds felt like an eternity. I didn't think I could beat a full-fledged knight with my meagre skills, but when it came to this, I'd give it my all. I had to protect us both.
-"Ohhh little devil, I see you've improved. Your fighting intent is impressive"- someone spoke behind me
That knock had broken the moment, like a sledgehammer hitting a window. We all turned to see who was speaking, and I was surprised to see Grandma Thea standing next to my father. Grandma had a smile on her face, while my father looked serious and pale.
-"I can see that you have improved a lot in your intention, you seemed ready to let it all out, I am very happy about that."
-"I see that you have also improved little one, you are ready to return to your lands."- said the grandmother while exchanging glances with me and Nixen.
"Thea Wolt, I hope you are well. The young master and I greet you," the knight said, bowing slightly to the grandmother.
-"Hmm. You must be Brandon Krail and his knight. There have been a lot of rumours about you lately, and not the good ones, I must say," Grandma said as she explained them in detail. Perhaps because I had always seen her interact with my family, only seeing someone simple and cheerful; seeing Grandma's current attitude was a big change, like comparing night and day. She looked proud and strong.
I was stunned by the sight. The gentleman and Brandon didn't say a word or try to contradict her. They just stood there, staring at the floor, listening to her.
-"Now, little devil, what happened for you to be fighting like this in the middle of the city?" he asked, now looking at me.
"My lady," I said with a small bow.
"As you know. Today, we came to sell some things with my father, and while he was busy with that, I was looking around at some shops. Just now, I was going back to find my father when the young master and the knight appeared, demanding to buy Nixen. It was more of an order than a purchase request. Since Nixen isn't for sale, I told them no, and just as I was about to continue on my way, the knight showed hostility toward us, which is why he was defending himself." I answered Grandmother truthfully, while also trying to be as formal as possible. Since it seemed like the situation with Grandmother and my family was somewhat special, I could only assume that it wasn't appropriate to treat her the same way.
As he told the story to Grandma, she just nodded, while Brandon's face turned red with anger. The gentleman just stood beside him, expressionless.
-"I understand. Young man, you should control your impulses. It's not appropriate for one of the houses to go around ordering everyone around on a whim. You should know that very well." -
"I hope these situations don't happen again. If not, I'll have to personally inform your father about your actions. I don't think you'd prefer my punishment over his." Grandmother said, looking menacingly at Brandon. With those last words, he turned pale. She immediately bowed, saying that such cases wouldn't happen again as she practically ran away.
I kept staring at Grandma, shocked. She'd always seemed like a very normal person to me. Now, seeing the threats and the control of the situation, I knew I couldn't have been more wrong.
"Why are you looking at me like that? You preferred to fight?"
"Not at all, Grandma. I'm very grateful to you. If you hadn't intervened, I don't know how I would have resolved the problem you would have put my family in," I replied, bowing to her.
"It's no small feat. You've got some credit, too. It was good that you treated me properly, and even better that you didn't attack me. Even if I have a bit of power in this city, if you had hurt Brandon, I don't know if I could have resolved everything so easily."
"He may be the spoiled son of House Krail. But you shouldn't underestimate his power," Grandma said, looking back in the direction Brandon had wandered off to.
-"By the way, shouldn't you be almost 7 now? You look much bigger than usual. What have you been doing?"-
I only smiled at his comment; I had nothing else to say. My body had been growing rapidly, and with each improvement in mana flow, it seemed my body was changing. With the latest improvement, my bones had become more resilient, and I had gained more strength.
Now I see myself as a child over 10.
Although I still looked like a boy, my body looked much stronger than before, I had broader shoulders, strong legs and arms.
"I've kept training, Grandma, that must be why," I finally replied.
-"I understand, you look much better."-
"You have to be careful when you're with the Lirak. It's not very common to be out there with a wild animal. Although some people have them, they're all from large houses, and it's not common for them to be rare forest animals."
-"I understand, Grandma, and I also tried to get her to stay home, but Nixen just wouldn't listen. At least she can defend herself to a certain extent. But we'll have to be more careful."
-"You're still young and have no idea what some people will do for selfish gain. I hope you understand and take care of yourselves."
"Your father was telling me you did a kind of blacksmithing on the farm. Have you had any success with any of it?" Grandma asked, her interest evident in her gaze. Her eyes, which normally showed no interest in much of anything, shone like suns.
I hesitated for a second, but decided to show him the utility knife I'd forged.
As we continued walking, he continued staring at the knife; the interest he'd had was slowly fading, or so I thought. Since the knife was new, he hadn't tried out everything he could do with it.
When Grandma started applying mana to the knife, it began to glow with a reddish light. It wasn't getting hot or anything like that, the light was coming from the mineral she had used.
Grandma immediately covered the knife with her cloak and began looking around, as if searching for someone who had seen her. She quickly dragged my father and me to her house.
-"Boy, you've amazed me again. Do you know how much this knife could be worth?"-
-"The man at the weapons store offered me 8 silver coins," I answered Grandma sincerely.
Grandma immediately looked at me in surprise, but her face contorted.
"Ha, that old man just wants to take advantage of you. This knife, even a work knife, can cost 12 to 14 silver coins. Should I check it out?"
-"You're the first one to apply mana to him, Grandma. I didn't know how he'd react to that until now. The shop owner didn't apply mana to him either; he just checked him out."
-"Now it makes sense. Arman is a good person. If I had known about this, I would have offered you more. He's an honest person, although he can be very proud at times."
Now in the safety of the house, Grandma applied mana to the knife again. It looked beautiful, shining. Grandma held it to the table and, with a simple brush, began to cut the table. It was clear Grandma wasn't applying any force; she was just stroking it, as if she were merely caressing it. But that was enough to cut the wood.
"Kid, this is very well made. The effect lasts much longer compared to the previous knife you sold me, and the fuel consumption is also much lower. I don't know how you manage to do this, but the price I gave you earlier is very low. You could easily sell this for 20 coins."
I was surprised by the new price. Although not by much, I'd been working on the knife for a long time, and it was made from much more materials than the daggers I had. The combination of materials and forging made the work much more polished.
I think the fact that I always worked with mana also made the knife take on new properties.
"That's very nice, Grandma, but I don't plan on selling it for now. I forged it so I could work with the materials I had, and I spent a lot of time preparing it. I hope you understand."
-"Oh boy, you misunderstood me. I wasn't buying it from you, although it would be great if you sold it to me. I just wanted you to know the value of your belongings. It's okay whether you want to sell them or not. I won't force you."
"Thank you very much, Grandma. I also have to thank you for curing us both." I said, bowing. "I think even if she charges us, it's much less than what the treatment to cure us costs. Not to mention that she also has to come to our house.
If I ever get the chance, I'll do something for Grandma. I don't know what she'd like, but I'll try to do something nice for her."
After eating a little with my father and grandmother, we resumed our journey and headed toward the farm. The day was already getting dark, and it would be best not to linger any longer; the journey was long, and we had to arrive before it got completely dark.
As we were arriving, Aur tried to outrun Nixen, but he never succeeded. This only made him even more tired. The good thing is that it took us much less time than usual to get back.
We had dinner with my mother and went to rest.
With my established routine, it was hard to skip a few hours of meditation and exercise. Now, with the progress I'd made, I was finally absorbing more mana and pain-free. That was a very good thing; I could dedicate myself as much time as I wanted until the pain started again.
Making the knife to work with the materials had been an excellent idea; the work had become much easier. Plus, the knife was very good for the job; he wouldn't have to struggle carving wood or scraping leather to tan it.
I've been working on the base of the bow for the past few days. I've been polishing and shaping the wood for the body; I've also used snakeskin to wrap around it and make a strong string.
I'd wanted to make a bow with a cam and wheel at the tips of the limbs, but I wasn't skilled enough yet. Besides, a simple bow would suffice for now.
I had covered the centre of the body and the tips of the limbs with the plate I had set aside; this would give the bow strength and stability. After putting everything together, the bow looked very beautiful. The contrasting colours made the bow stand out on its own: the black of the wood, the red of the mineral, and the greenish-yellow skin of the Anguiss. They made it stand out on its own.
Since I'd never learned to shoot a bow, it would be good to kill time practicing.
With the arrow I'd made a while back and a log placed not far away, I started shooting. My aim with the bow was terrible, so I kept at it to see if I could improve, but after a while, I still hadn't improved one bit.
-"Hahaha Sam, how long are you going to keep trying like that? You don't seem to be getting any better." I heard my father speaking from the side.
"Hey, it's really hard. I can't get the arrow to stay still while I draw the string. And even less so trying to get it to hit the target. If you think it's easy, why don't you try?" I replied to my father. I was in a bad mood. I tried for a long time, but not once did I hit the target, and luckily I hadn't even come close.
-"Sure, if that's what you want, Sam." My father said with absolute confidence, which made me hesitate.
I handed him the bow and arrow I had. When my father took the bow, the atmosphere changed. He had become more serious than usual, his gaze focused on the target. He pulled the string so tight that everything began to creak. I hadn't even come close to being able to pull the bow to its maximum.
When Dad released the arrow, it sounded like a whistle. The arrow was traveling so fast it was a blur. Within a thousandth of a second, it made a "puchi" sound. The arrow had gone through the trunk that was his target and continued straight, as if the trunk were just paper. I was surprised looking at my father; I had never seen him that way. And seeing him shoot so well was something I never expected.
-"That's an excellent bow you made, Sam. I'm sorry about your arrow. I got excited and used more force than necessary. Congratulations," my father said, looking at the bow. It was strange.
I felt my father's gaze filled with both love for the bow and nostalgia. Something I first saw in my father.
"It doesn't matter, Father. I'll make more arrows later. But most importantly, can you teach me how to shoot like that?" I asked my father with a smile.
Neither of us noticed my mother watching us from the front porch of the house. There was love in her gaze, but also a hint of guilt.