Venti remained silent for a moment.
Then, in a low, almost trembling voice:
Venti: "Who, who is Barbatos?"
The wind froze.
The forest held its breath.
And Venti understood that this name would change everything he thought he knew about himself.
The cool wind gently swept across the clearing where the battle had just ended.
Venti, standing near a mossy rock, breathed slowly, trying to calm the migraine that still blurred his vision.
Nearby, Arlan's held his daughter in his arms, gently rocking her to reassure her.
Leona's face was buried against her father's dusty tunic, and only her small, trembling hands still betrayed the fear she had experienced.
Arlan's watched Venti as one observes an inexplicable phenomenon:
with gratitude, with astonishment, and with a touch of instinctive mistrust that only years of danger had instilled in him.
After a few moments of silence, Arlan's stepped forward, placing a protective hand on Leona's shoulder.
Arlan's: "I... I'm speechless."
He began, his voice still trembling.
Arlan's: "What you did for us... I can never thank you enough."
Venti turned, a slight smile, almost too simple for someone who had just saved two lives.
Venti: "Oh, it was nothing!"
"Well... I think."
"I don't even really know how I conjured that bow."
He examined his hand as if he expected to still see the ethereal light from earlier shining there.
The bow had appeared automatically when Venti's will to fight arose; it vanished the moment Venti dispatched the bandits.
Arlan's frowned.
Arlan's: "It doesn't matter how."
"You saved us."
"And I can't let you continue on your way alone after all this, you apparently have no equipment or mount."
Venti shrugged.
Venti: "Actually, I don't even know which way I'm going."
"I just felt the wind blowing and ran to help you."
Arlan's: "Perhaps the wind is your friend."
Arlan's replied with a half-smile.
Arlan's: "But the road is long, and it's not kind to those who travel it alone."
"If you're willing... I propose you ride with us to the next town."
"My wagon is a bit old, but it still runs."
Venti blinked, surprised by the simplicity but also the warmth of the offer.
He hadn't thought he'd find someone to help him so quickly.
Venti: "Will you... give me a lift somewhere?"
Arlan's: "It's the least I can do."
Leona finally raised her head, her large brown eyes fixed on Venti with a mixture of childlike curiosity and admiration.
Leona: "Mr. Wind... can you come with us?" she asked shyly.
Venti crouched down to her level, a gentle smile playing at the corners of his lips.
Venti: "Only if you promise to call me Venti."
"Mr. Wind, that's really too serious for me."
The little girl nodded with a quiet laugh, as if simply smiling had lifted an invisible weight from her.
Arlan's invited them to follow him, and the three of them left the clearing, leaving the traces of the fight behind them.
Arlan's wagon, covered with a worn but sturdy tarpaulin, was parked a few steps from the main path.
A gray horse, calm despite the recent commotion, waited patiently.
Arlan's: "Get in the back."
Arlan's suggested.
Arlan's: "There are blankets, a bit of space, and above all... it's more comfortable than walking."
Venti climbed in with an agile leap, as if his body weighed almost nothing, and indeed, he had this strange sensation:
His movements were lighter, more fluid, as if an invisible breeze supported him with every gesture.
He sat down among some sacks of flour, tools, and a crate of berries.
Arlan's settled Leona beside him before taking the reins.
Arlan's: "Are you ready?"
Venti: "Yes."
Leona: "Yes, Papa."
Arlan's: "Then let's go."
'YA.'
Arlan's uttered the second part of his sentence, shaking the rope that held the horse.
HHHHHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
The wagon lurched slowly forward, rolling over the stones of the forest path.
A few moments later:
They were on a road deep in the forest.
For a long time, none of the three spoke.
The sound of hooves, the cracking of branches, and the distant song of birds gave the moment a particular, almost fragile, serenity.
Then Arlan's broke the silence.
Arlan's: "You know... if you want to go somewhere in particular, just tell me."
"The road to Rillmont is still long, but it's the biggest town in the region."
"We can find you a place to stay there, maybe even a job if you're looking for one."
Venti: "Rillmont "?"
Venti remained silent for a moment, his gaze lost in the passing trees.
Venti: "I... I don't know where to go yet."
"It's as if part of me knows, but the other part has forgotten everything."
He placed a hand on his forehead.
Venti: "And that name keeps coming back to me... Barbatos."
He shook his head.
Venti: "I have no idea who that is."
A gentle, almost reassuring, breeze passed between them.
And Venti, despite the unknown that lingered around him like a thick fog, felt that he could, at least for a while, let himself drift.
A few hours later:
Venti had only woken up this morning at dawn, and a short time later, he had run into Arlan's and Leona.
Which meant that only a few hours had passed since he woke up.
The sun had climbed high in the sky as the wagon moved out of the forest.
The air became clearer, warmer, and the path widened, winding between green hills and sparkling streams.
Leona, now completely reassured, had moved closer to Venti.
She often stuck her head out to watch the scenery go by, then came back to him with a thousand questions.
Leona: "Hey, Venti... how did you make a bow appear?"
"Is it magic?"
Venti blinked thoughtfully.
Venti: "Good question… I… I think it's instinct."
"I felt something… like a pressure in my chest, a pulsation, and then… the bow was there."
Leona: "You must be incredibly strong!" exclaimed the girl.
Venti: "I don't know if it's strength… or just a miracle of the wind."
He raised his hand to the sky, letting the wind slip through his fingers.
Venti: "I always feel like the air around me is speaking to me."
"Not with words… more like a familiar feeling, as if I've known this breeze forever."
Arlan's, who had been listening while holding the reins, added:
Arlan's: "Perhaps you have a gift; people like you are rare."
"But it can also attract trouble… you have to be careful."
Venti nodded, but his gaze drifted into the horizon.
Venti: "I woke up in a meadow."
He continued.
Venti: "I didn't know where I was, or where I came from, then I walked, guided only by… a kind of nostalgia."
"As if something was calling me from afar."
Leona: "Like a memory?"
Leona asked.
Venti: "Yes… but distant."
"Very distant, I don't know."
"I have a feeling that if I keep going, I'll eventually understand."
Arlan scratched his beard.
Arlan's: "You have nothing else?"
"No clues?"
"An object?"
"A direction?"
Venti shook his head.
Venti: "Nothing."
"Just this strange feeling in my chest and this headache when I try to remember too much."
The road became rougher, making the cart bounce slightly.
Leona clung to Venti for balance.
He instinctively placed a hand on her shoulder, and the little girl gave him a trusting smile.
Arlan, for his part, understood that Leona saw Venti as her hero; after all, he had saved her life without asking for anything in return.
After several minutes, she continued more cheerfully:
Leona: "Do you know how to play an instrument?"
"You sound like someone who plays music."
Venti laughed.
Venti: "It's true, I'd really like to have one!"
"A lyre... or a harp... something like that."
Leona: "Do you know how to play it?" "
Venti: "I think so." He suddenly frowned, surprised by his own answer.
Venti: "Well… I think I can."
"As if my fingers could remember, even though my head has forgotten everything."
Leona applauded enthusiastically.
Leona: "Then you'll play for me when you find one!"
Venti: "I promise."
They shook hands to seal their promise.
The journey continued, punctuated by conversations, Leona's laughter, and Venti's reflections on his identity.
Several times, Arlan's shared anecdotes about his own travels, his work as a transporter, and the dangers of the trade routes.
Arlan's: "The bandits… their numbers have been increasing for months," Arlan's explained, his expression growing darker.
"It seems like something is driving them out of the woods."
Arlan's: "The roads aren't as safe as they used to be."
Venti remained thoughtful.
Venti: "Maybe the winds are worried too."
Arlan's: "The winds?"
Arlan's repeated, smiling.
Arlan's: "Do you always talk like that?"
Venti: "Apparently."
Venti wondered why he spoke that way.
It wasn't surprising to encounter people who spoke with a particular rhythm or used a lot of metaphors, but Venti was absolutely certain that only he spoke with so many puns about the wind.
Leona laughed heartily.
Leona: "I love the way you talk!"
"You sound like a poet!"
Venti smiled, but a part of him wondered if, somewhere, someone was waiting for the return of his light tone, his rhythmic phrases, his way of seeing the world.
A few hours later:
The sun was beginning to sink in the sky, stretching the shadows of the hills behind them.
The wagon was now rolling on a more stable road, a sign that they were approaching a more populated area.
Leona, sitting next to Venti, was absently playing with a strand of her own hair.
After a moment of silence, she looked up at him, intrigued.
Leona: "Venti… are you… are you an adventurer?"
Arlan was surveying the road, but he turned his head slightly, clearly curious as well.
Venti blinked in surprise.
Venti: "An adventurer?"
Leona: "Yes!"
the little girl insisted.
Leona: "The kind who go into the forests, who help people, who fight monsters and save villages, like in the stories Dad reads me."
Venti remained silent for a moment, thinking.
Even though he looked like one, he didn't consider himself a fearless adventurer.
He felt like he'd heard the word "adventurer" hundreds of times. He knew what kind of people they were and what kind of missions they undertook.
He had fought.
He had protected.
He had used a force he didn't understand.
And yet… he didn't feel like those organized heroes, registered in guilds and sent on missions.
Venti: "I don't think so."
He replied softly.
Venti: "I'm not in any guild."
"I don't wear any emblem."
"And I don't have any missions… but…"
He placed a hand on his heart.
Venti: "If helping others makes me an adventurer… then maybe I am, a little."
Leona nodded, satisfied.
Leona: "So you're my adventurer!"
She declared with a broad smile.
Arlan burst out laughing.
Arlan: "You've adopted her, it seems."
Venti smiled, touched despite himself.
Venti: "I suppose I don't have much of a choice."
The wind blew gently around the wagon, as if to seal this strange new alliance.
And somewhere, deep within himself, a whisper seemed to answer... a whisper that still carried that forgotten name.
Venti: "Barbatos."
Venti gazed at the horizon for a long moment, then, as if a thought had struck him, he sat up slightly in the wagon.
Venti: "Arlan's."
He began curiously.
The man listened intently without letting go of the reins.
Arlan's: "Yes."
Venti: "The adventurers Leona talks about, the ones from the guilds."
Venti frowned, searching for the right words.
Venti: "What kind of missions do they undertake exactly?"
"Do they really travel as much as she says?"
Arlan's smiled slightly, amused by such naiveté in someone who shot arrows like an expert.
Arlan's: "Oh, you're curious all of a sudden."
Are you thinking of joining somewhere?"
Venti shrugged.
Venti: "I don't know. I just want to... understand."
"Maybe it'll help me figure out if this is what I'm supposed to do."
Venti had no idea where he'd landed, he didn't know what he was supposed to do, and he didn't know what mission he was meant to undertake.
Maybe becoming an adventurer would be a good mission for him to pass the time.
Arlan took a deep breath, as if he were about to recite a catalog he knew almost by heart.
Arlan: "Well... the Adventurers' Guild missions are very varied, but basically, they're all based on the same kinds of requests you find in the major regions of the continent."
Venti: "Like what?"
Arlan raised his hand to count on his fingers.
The missions undertaken by the adventurers were familiar to many adults.
Arlan: "To begin with, there are the simplest missions":
- Gather medicinal plants.
- Collect materials.
- Hunt down some blobs or overly aggressive creatures.
Venti nodded, already picturing the scene.
Arlan: "Then come the more specific requests."
Arlan continued.
"Adventurers sometimes have to help isolated villages":
- Repair a destroyed barricade.
- Protect a camp from monsters.
- Recover a stolen item.
- Investigate a disappearance.
He paused to adjust the cart's trajectory before continuing:
Arlan's: "And then there are the more dangerous quests, the ones we entrust to the most experienced":
- Eliminating a formidable monster threatening the area.
- Exploring ancient ruins.
- Securing a dungeon.
- Completing requests that sometimes involve... malevolent elements.
Venti: "Malevolent?"
Venti repeated, tilting his head.
Arlan's nodded.
Arlan's: "Yes."
"All sorts of strange phenomena; the world is vast and full of secrets."
"Sometimes elemental anomalies appear, or old legends awaken, adventurers are often the first called upon to investigate."
Leona, who had been listening attentively, chimed in enthusiastically:
Leona: "And sometimes they find hidden chests, or they defeat very, very, very strong monsters!"
"Or they find lost treasures!"
Venti chuckled softly.
Venti: "It sounds... fun and dangerous too."
Arlan nodded.
Arlan: "It's a job of freedom, but also of responsibility."
Some dedicate their entire lives to it, others give up after a single mission.
"It all depends on what you're looking for."
FFFFFfffffff
The wind stirred lightly in Venti's hair, as if to emphasize the thought forming in his mind.
Venti: "So… being an adventurer is about helping people, protecting, exploring… sometimes investigating."
He murmured.
Arlan's: "Exactly."
Arlan's replied.
"It's a job for those who aren't afraid of long walks, taking risks… and trusting their instincts."
Venti smiled gently.
Venti: "I think my instincts are just waiting for this."
"Freedom."
Arlan's laughed in turn.
Arlan's: "Given how you handled those bandits, I think the guild would be delighted to have you."
The cart continued on its way, rocked by the wind that seemed to whisper around Venti, as if a part of him was slowly awakening… ready to resume a role he may have played before.
They continued talking for hours.
Chapter 5: The adventurers' will
The End