Chapter 41
Early the next morning, I was abruptly awakened by my sister. My body, abused by the last few days of training, only wanted to go back to sleep, but Elysia kept pushing me, refusing to let me drift off again.
“Come on, wake up. Kaelon’s already waiting outside, so get ready and grab your stuff.”
Right… I almost forgot we were supposed to move into Kaelon’s estate today. I rubbed my eyes and groaned before swinging my legs off the bed.
After quickly tying up my hair, I groggily stood up and took one last look around my room. I’d lived here my entire life, and a twinge of reluctance settled in at the thought of leaving it all behind.
With the few things I owned already packed, I stepped out of the house. Elysia, Yuna, and Auntie Shira were already waiting outside, the morning light stretching across the ground before them.
Kaelon was helping Yuna into a large, ornate carriage. To his side, two servants were loading a separate wagon in crates and bags with terrifying efficiency. When Kaelon turned his head, he saw me walking out.
“Oh, hey, you’re finally here…” Kaelon greeted, but his voice trailed off as he stared at me, a mixture of surprise and something unreadable flickering across his face.
“What? Something on my face?” I mumbled, rubbing at my eyes and still barely awake.
“No… it’s just—what’s up with that hairstyle? Didn’t think you’d be the type of rock a man bun.”
I shrugged, stifling a yawn. “I think it suits me.”
Kaelon clicked his tongue. “Leave your bags here, I’ll have them taken care of.”
He turned back to helping Elysia get into the carriage before getting in himself. I dragged my belongings over, set them aside, and climbed in. I sat next to Kaelon, while Elysia, Yuna, and Auntie Shira sat across from us.
“Do you know how long it would take to get there?”
“I’d say… about two hours,” Kaelon replied.
“Wait, didn’t you say your estate isn’t that far from Eldreth? How could it take two hours?” I exclaimed.
“Is it? I guess for a country bumpkin like you, who’s never left Eldreth, it might feel far,” he said with a smirk. “Alright, since that’s settled, let us depart.”
With that, the coachman set the carriage in motion, and I watched as the outline of my home slowly disappeared behind us. As we passed through Eldreth’s gates, the stone streets gave way to open fields and winding roads ahead of us.
I rested my arm against the carriage, leaning my face into it as fields and roads quietly rolled by. I could hear Yuna chattering with Elysia as they excitedly looked out the side windows.
“Do you have any plans, once we get to the Academy?” Kaelon asked
“I haven’t really thought much about it,” I muttered, eyes still on the passing fields. “But I do know one thing—Having a nice, long “talk” with that purple bastard when I see him around.”
The truth was, I’d never given the Academy much thought to begin with. Half the reason I applied was because Elysia wanted me to. Now, I mostly just wanted to tie up loose ends, meet some new people, and maybe make a few friends… though I wasn’t entirely sure about that last part.
“Yeah, count me in on that one too,” Kaelon said. “I’ve still got a few words I’d like to get in.”
We exchanged a glance before bursting into laughter.
“What’s Dorian’s issue with you anyway?” I asked. “You’d think he’d be satisfied after everything that’s already happened.”
“Well, he’s always had some sort of inferiority complex toward me,” Kaelon said. “So when things fell apart, he didn’t hesitate—to boost his own standing, all while mocking me.”
“I guess that explains why you acted the way you did when I first met you.”
Kaelon gave a short, humorless chuckle. “Come on, you’re still not over that? I apologized, didn’t I? Alright?”
I smirked and chose not to say anything. After a few weeks around Kaelon, I knew for certain he wasn’t like those obnoxious nobles—though he could be pretty blunt at times.
Suddenly, the carriage screeched to a halt, the wheels grinding against the stone road. I lurched forward, barely catching myself against the seat as a jolt rattled through the wooden frame. Elysia managed to catch Yuna in her arms before she could fall.
“You got to be fucking kidding me.” Kaelon cursed,
I peeked out, craning my head, and saw a group of rough-looking men blocking the road ahead. Their clothes were tattered, faces shadowed with scruff and grime, and each carried a crude weapon—axes, clubs, and a few rusted swords.
‘Can’t I go one day without something happening…?’ I groaned inwardly.
A muscular man with a jagged, missing tooth stepped forward, his face curling into a smirk.
“Well, well… looks like we got some esteemed travelers. Hand over the toll, and maybe we'll let you pass in one piece.”
“K-kind sirs, we mean no trouble,” the coachman stammered, wiping sweat from his brow as he tried to reason with them.
Kaelon cut him off with a sharp motion. Without a word, he tossed a few silver coins toward the bandits. The leader caught the coins and inspected them. Just as he was about to pocket them and leave, his eyes wandered into the carriage.
A slow, ugly grin spread across his face as he pointed toward Elysia and Auntie Shira.
“On second thought… I changed my mind. Hand over those two women, and the rest of you can crawl away alive.”
Kaelon’s expression darkened instantly. A faint shimmer of mana began to coil around his hands.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Kaelon said flatly. “If you value your life, walk away.”
I let out a sigh before stepping out of the carriage, stretching my body and casually glancing over the bandits blocking the road. I raised a hand toward Kaelon, signaling him to stand down. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“Tch… trying to show off again.” he muttered.
The bandit leader let out a low whistle. “Well, look at this—some little nobleman trying to play the hero.”
“Listen up boy, we’re the Silverback Gorilla gang, and we’re—”
“Yeah, I couldn’t care less,” I cut in. “And that name sounds ridiculous.”
“Huh?”
“You all really all sat around a campfire, and that was the best name you could come up with?”
Elysia tightened her hold on Yuna, her face slowly draining of color. In contrast, Auntie Shira looked utterly unfazed, calmly sitting beside her as she leisurely took another sip of her drink, as if none of this concerned her in the slightest.
“I trust you’ll handle it,” she said, her voice smooth and unbothered. “Consider this a test—put the last two days of training to use.”
The bandit leader’s eyes shifted to me, scanning me up and down before he let out a harsh, booming laugh.
“What’s a scrawny kid like you think you can do? Trying to impress the ladies in there?”
I couldn’t help but yawn, watching his pathetic attempt to get a reaction out of me.
“Did I scare you that much? Can’t even talk right now?” he sneered, leaning forward slightly. “You’re one lucky guy, you know that—traveling around with those pretty little ladies. Don’t worry, if you hand them over, my boys and I will take real good care of them.”
“Blah, blah, blah. Are you done yapping?” I drawled, tilting my head. “Why is it that people like you always think with their third legs instead of their brain?”
The bandit leader’s grin vanished. He spat at the side.
“Kill the mouthy one first,” he said lazily. “I don’t like his tone.”
Before his men could even act on his order, I was already in front of him. My palm slammed into his face, fingers digging into flesh, and with a single brutal motion I drove him straight into the ground.
I was surprised to see him still conscious, so I smashed his head into the stone a few more times until his body finally went limp.
The rest of the men froze in place, trying to process what they had just witnessed, exchanging stunned looks with one another.
“You guys gonna come at me or what?” I asked.
“Second thoughts!” someone blurted out. “We don’t know that guy! Never seen him before!”
Another one quickly chimed in, nodding a little too hard. “Yeah, yeah—never met him. We’re nothing like that bastard. Uh… have a nice day!”
With that, one by one, they began to scurry off—
“Oh, before you leave,” I said, stopping them in their tracks. “Hand over all your goods.”
“Huh?” they said in unison.
A slow, unpleasant smile spread across my face as I held out my hand to summon Balmung.
Crimson Rain
…
In the end, the survivors emptied their pockets, surrendering every coin they’d squeezed out of others with their so‑called “tolls.”
As I headed back to the carriage, I handed fifty percent of it over to Kaelon. He accepted it without hesitation and then commented,
“You’re pretty damn evil, you know that? I didn’t expect you to extort them back.”
While Kaelon seemed to enjoy what I’d done, my sister, on the other hand, shot me a disapproving look as I stepped back into the carriage.
The coachman urged the horses forward, and the carriage began to move again. Kaelon then turned to me and asked,
“Dude, did you somehow manage to get stronger again in the two days I was away?”
I shrugged in response. Kaelon’s eyes then shifted to Auntie Shira, and he slowly began piecing things together.
He leaned close and whispered in my ear, “Hey… do you think it’s possible for me to—”
“You could try,” I replied casually.
Kaelon then turned to Auntie Shira, ready to ask a question, but before he could even speak, she cut him off.
“No.”
