Siegfried Fors
Pain shot through my ribs as I let out a strangled cry.
"It hurts! You're crushing me!"
Mother only laughed, her arms locked around me like iron. Her lips peppered my cheeks with relentless kisses, each one punctuated with a gleeful hum.
"My cute little Sieg! You'll miss me, won't you? Say you will!"
"Yuuuck—!" My protest dissolved into a groan as I writhed in her hold.
Behind us, Granny's sharp voice cut through. "Please stop. You're killing him."
"Okay. Okay." Mother finally relented, setting me down with a grin. She ruffled my hair as if to soothe the damage. "Not strong enough yet, I see."
Not strong enough? As if I could match that monstrous strength.
Honestly, waking up at dawn just to see her off had been a mistake. My bones ached from her affection alone, and the drowsy chill of the morning air wasn't helping.
I stole a glance at her, meaning only to glare, but instead I found myself caught by her appearance. She was dressed nothing like normal, clad in a striking electric-blue suit. The double-breasted blazer clung with sharp precision, lapels glinting in the half-light, while slim-cut trousers gave her a stride too confident, too elegant, for anyone else to pull off. Somehow, it fit her perfectly.
Grandpa's voice rumbled behind me. "Are you certain you don't want a carriage?"
Mother waved him off with a scoff. "Too slow for me. I'll be faster with him."
Her hand slapped the feathery side of the enormous bird snoring against the manor's wall.
Granny's brows furrowed. "You've taken everything, right?"
"Yup. Everything's here." Mother patted her hip, where her magic pouch was tied.
"Good." Granny stepped closer and pulled her into an embrace. Her voice softened. "You're going back after eight years… take care."
"Stop being such a worrywart," Mother teased, squeezing her back. "I'll return in two days."
Then she turned to me, eyes glinting as she winked. "I leave everything here to you."
Everything? I tilted my head, baffled by her words. Before I could ask, she vaulted onto the bird's back in one smooth leap.
The creature jolted awake with a thunderous SQUAAAK, wings flapping in confusion.
"Let's go, fatty." Mother's heel nudged its side. The beast staggered, then broke into a run, kicking up dirt before lifting into the skies.
"Bye-bye, everyone!" Her voice trailed off as the morning swallowed her flight.
I stood there, gawking. "Did she seriously decide to take the bird all the way to the main capital?"
Granny sighed, arms crossing. "She got the idea this morning. I suspect she wants to show it off to her friends."
Sometimes, I wondered if Mother acted more like a child than I did.
My eyes drifted upward, tracing the fading silhouette against the pale horizon. The sun hadn't even risen yet. A heavy yawn broke free as I rubbed at my face. "I'm going back to bed."
But as I stepped toward the door, something yanked at the back of my collar. I twisted, finding Granny's hand pinching the fabric.
"What?"
Her gaze narrowed, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "Since you're already awake, why don't we have an early study session?"
My jaw nearly hit the ground. "You can't be serious. I can barely keep my eyes open."
"Nothing a good old potion can't fix." Her smile was merciless.
I sighed, shoulders slumping. There was no escaping her grip. My fate was sealed. With all the vigor of a condemned man, I trudged beside her into the library.
Next Day
"Are you all right?"
James's voice broke the silence.
I lifted my head from the book I had been burying my face into. The words on the page swam in and out of focus, and a dull throb pressed against my temples. "My head hurts," I muttered, rubbing at my brow. "Probably the anti-drowsiness potion… doesn't come without a price."
To think she woke me up so early today too.
"Should I call Grandmother?" James's tone was careful, the way he always spoke when he worried.
I shook my head. "No, it's not that bad." With that, I let my head sink back down onto the open book. The pages were cool against my cheek.
James hesitated before speaking again. "Grandmother's been gone for a while," he said quietly. "It's almost lunchtime."
I frowned. He was right. Granny had left in a hurry not long ago, after a maid whispered something into her ear. Normally, I would have caught every word, my ears had always been sharp. But with this pounding in my skull… I had heard nothing.
Turning my head to the side, I was greeted by a patch of green fur. The cub lay curled on the table beside me, chest rising and falling in slow, steady breaths. I hadn't expected him to accept me so quickly. I thought he would snarl, bite, refuse every hand that reached for him. Instead, he had settled here as though this place had always been his home.
The warmth of that small body stirred something uneasy. A flicker, unbidden, rose behind my eyes, blood, torn fur, the lifeless heap of his pack scattered across the dirt, "Fuaaah—!"
I shot upright, breath catching, my gaze flying to the library door. Faux phased through it in a hurry.
He flew directly toward me, hovering inches from my face. "Fuuaa Fua fa fu," his voice, a high-pitched cry, echoed in my mind, chasing away the pounding in my head.
The words were raw, unfiltered: "Blood, Everyone, Ashar."
The meaning struck like ice down my spine. I sprang from my chair, my feet already moving toward the door. As I burst into the hallway, I ran headfirst into Emma.
"Young Lord!"
"Where are they?" I demanded. "Granny and Grandpa?"
Emma's eyes were wide, her words spilling out in a rush. "Lord and Lady Fors left just after Sir Silas arrived in a hurry."
"Where did they go?" I pressed, my heart pounding in my ears.
"I... I think I heard something about Doctor Ridge's clinic," she stammered, her gaze fixed on my face.
"Okay," I said, already moving past her.
"Young Lord!" Her voice trailed behind me, but I didn't stop.
I couldn't. Silas had mentioned that Captain Tavian and his men were patrolling the area where the "Black Iron Human" had appeared. I had asked Faux to keep an eye on them from a distance, and now... the word "Blood" rang in my mind. Faux saw them being attacked. My gut twisted with fear, remembering what happened to the guards of the cart.
I made my way through the manor, my boots slapping against the polished floors. The guards at the gate stiffened as I approached.
"Young Lord, please," one said, his voice firm but respectful. "You must stay inside. There is an emergency situation."
"I have to go," I insisted. "I need to see my grandparents." My voice came sharper than I intended, my chest heaving.
"They'll be back soon," he said, holding his ground. "Until then, please wait inside—"
A sound interrupted him. A soft thud behind me and a shadow falling over my form made me turn. Standing there, with quiet poise, was a woman, a beautiful woman. Her calm eyes were steady beneath a fall of chestnut hair that framed a serene face. At her hip rested a sheathed sword, and over her shoulder, the curve of a bow and the weight of a quiver marked her as a soldier. No, a knight.
I remembered her.
"You're one of the seven knights who accompanied us," I said, a sense of recognition settling in. "From Captain Tavian's squad."
She dropped to one knee, her movements deliberate and respectful. "It's as the young lord says. So, please, stay here."
I folded my arms across my chest, trying to appear authoritative. "I wish to know what happened in the forest."
Her gaze lifted slightly. "Then let me fill young lord with details."
An eyebrow of mine went up. "How do you know? Were you with them?"
"No. But I heard what I needed from others." Her voice carried the calm weight of discipline. "Lady Fors asked me to remain here and keep young lord safe."
I narrowed my eyes at that. So Granny knew I will try to find her. Still, the pull of curiosity outweighed annoyance.
I don't mind, as long as I get to hear what happened.
After a moment's thought, I gave a short nod. "Fine. Let's go somewhere else."
We crossed the courtyard to the training field at the back. To my surprise, it was nearly empty, the grounds strangely silent except for the faint rustle of wind.
She noticed my glance.
"Most soldiers are patrolling the forest," she explained, "the rest guard the manor's perimeter."
I took another look at the woman, her presence striking in a way that drew the eye without effort. Her chestnut hair caught the light in soft, warm tones, and her face held a serene grace, neither cold nor overly delicate, but balanced and compelling. There was a harmony to her form, every line flowing with ease, as though she had been carved by both elegance and purpose.
"What was your name again?" I asked at last.
She pressed one hand against her chest and inclined her head in a slight bow. "My name is Aifa."
"I see." I crossed my arms again, forcing myself to stay composed. "Then explain the situation."
She nodded, expression never wavering. "Captain Tavian requested permission from Head Knight Silas to patrol the area where the "Black Iron human" was last sighted. With permission granted, the six of them searched the forest yesterday. They found nothing. So they continued again at dawn today… and encountered it this morning. It did not go well."
My throat tightened. "Did someone—" The words faltered, too heavy to finish.
Aifa shook her head left and right. "Luckily, they survived. Thanks to your familiar."
The words snapped me out of my dread. My eyes darted upward where Faux perched above. I jabbed a finger at him. "You mean him?"
Aifa gave a small nod. "Ashar said your familiar cast barrier after barrier, buying them time as they retreated."
I clenched my jaw, irritation sparking. And he didn't bother to tell me any of this. Faux hummed as though nothing had happened. I swallowed my annoyance. "Is Ashar all right?"
"He lost much blood," she said evenly, "but he is one of the intact ones."
The phrasing sent a chill through me. One of the intact ones... I don't even want to know what the others look like.
I forced myself to ask the next question, pushing the unsettling thought aside. "What about the enemy?"
"We don't know. He may still linger in the forest."
"Were they able to identify whether it's human or a magic beast?"
"According to Captain Tavian, its mana was… unlike either. But…" Her lips pressed together as though weighing what to reveal.
"But what?" I pushed.
Her voice dropped, every word laid like stone. "It wore black armor that no weapon pierced. And it fought with both sword and axe."
The thought slipped from my lips before I could stop it.
"Humanoid magic beasts? They're… rare, aren't they?"
Aifa's expression barely shifted, though her eyes carried a look that told me she had seen such things before. "Rare, yes. But they are always troublesome to deal with. This one…" her voice lowered, carrying the heaviness of memory, "... defeated six Delta stage knights."
Her words struck me harder than I expected.
"Six…? Wait— you're all at Delta stage?" The realization made my chest tighten, but wonder quickly replaced it. "That's the fourth stage, right? Wow, you guys are strong!" Excitement pushed past my restraint for a moment.
A faint smile touched her lips, gone as swiftly as it came. "Not strong enough," she said, "seeing how things stand now."
The weight of her reply cooled the fire inside me.
"Is there anything else the young lord would like to ask?" she asked, tone returning to the composed cadence of a knight.
I thought for a moment, chasing questions, but each one felt redundant. In the end, I shook my head. "No… nothing else."
"Then I will join the patrol." She inclined her head in a respectful bow and stepped away, her footsteps faded into the distance, leaving only the wind whispering against me.
I didn't move, thoughts twisting like threads of smoke.
Humanoid beasts... A completely different league than salamanders. Salamanders were pests compared to this, weak monsters that burned fields and strong against fire, but they were easily killed. Yet six Delta stage knights… six trained knights far stronger than me.
The soul crucible stages lined themselves in my mind as if mocking me: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and finally Zeta.
I was still at the Beta stage, one step above helpless but a long way from where true strength began to matter. A long way from being more useful than those knights. A long way from being able to protect anyone.
A hollow sigh escaped me as my hand rose, fingertips brushing the edge of the black cloth covering my right eye. "Mother really chose a bad time to leave the barony…" The words came out thin, barely more than breath.
The faint creak of wood broke the silence. I turned, catching sight of the back door easing open, and James stumbling out. His chest heaved, sweat glistening along his brow, his eyes wide with something more than just fatigue.
"James, sorry for—"
"Sieg!" His voice cracked as he called out, ragged with urgency.
"James?" I hurried to meet him halfway. "What happened?"
He bent forward, grasping at his knees, forcing the words out between gasps. "The cub… the Green cub, I-it ran away!"
"What!?" My voice rose before I could stop it. "Ran away? Where?"
"I don't know," he shook his head wildly. "After you left, he woke up and, he smashed the window, ran straight out."
Just what's going on now…