The Regression Of A Grand Mercenary - 12 - Having the Talk with My Brother

The next morning, I found Theodore sitting outside, on the edge of the fence that bordered our small yard. The early light bathed the landscape in a soft, golden hue, and the morning air was still cool. He sat there, staring out at the woods, deep in thought.

At this time, I still haven’t went deep into the woods to train. Instead, I came here to tackle a certain issue about Theodore’s future.

I approached quietly, not wanting to disturb him too soon. Theodore was the quietest of my siblings, always in his head, thinking about things none of us could see. He wasn’t like Thomas, always getting into trouble, or like Thalia, always brimming with energy. He was different, and we all knew it.

“Hey.” I said.

“Hi…” he said in return as he turned his head to me with a solemn but sincere look.

“It’s quite early don’t you think?” I asked.

“I just woke up like this…”

“Is something on your mind?” I asked.

“No…maybe…I don’t know…”

“Hey, tell me something. What did we used to do before Mom and Dad passed away?”

“Um…hmm, from what I remember, you would always be yelled at by Dad because you couldn’t follow his instructions right in the workshop while mom would be with Theresa and Thalia, doing chores around the house.” he said.

“Hmm, while you and Thomas would go out and play from time to time, but you could never really keep up with Thomas. He’s more energetic than you in a sense.” I said as I smiled, reminiscing on the past.

“…I enjoyed books…I enjoy being inside the house.” he said.

“So much so, that you actually got to learn magic.” I said.

“!!” he was a bit shocked when hearing that, but soon enough, his expression turned normal.

“…When…and how did you know?” he asked.

“I heard it from Theresa.”

“…I see. She must have seen me make a fire using magic.”

“Tell me, what’s been getting you down lately?” I asked.

“I don’t know…maybe it’s because our parents passed away that I can’t really do anything right now.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Its…it’s nothing.” he said as he tried to avoid the issue.

Seeing him like that, I could tell what it was that’s pulling him down.

“Are you worried that your talents are going to waste away? That you wouldn’t be able to do anything with magic?”

“…!”

“Your talented, I can see that. and from the looks of it, you really want to learn magic.”

“I…I do.”

“But you’re worried that you’re wishes are going to be a burden on the family…” I said as I kept a calm face.

“You and Big Sis are already having issues as it is with keeping the family in line. Providing for us day in and day out…while I can’t do anything. All I’m good at is reading books…and nothing else.” he said.

“Studying to becoming a mage is expensive. From books to even materials, their more of a high maintenance that a noble could be.” I said.

“Right…” he agreed.

And to his agreement, he still showed a look of interest towards this path. The guilt of having to burden a family all for his ambitions was turning him away. Seeing it, I sighed and decided.

“Come on, follow me.” I said.

“What?”

“There’s something I want to show you.”

And from this, I walked straight down to where the forest was.

“…?” feeling a bit nervous, Theodore who trusted me, followed me deep into the woods.

“What are we doing walking into the woods? It’s dangerous here.” he said.

“It’s okay. There’s not going to be a single monster here…”

“How can you be so sure?” he asked.

“Just trust me.”

As we walked deeper into the forest, we finally settled in to a place that shocked Theodore.

Where we arrived in was the place where I would train.

The first thing that Theodore was able to notice was the sight of a beaten tree with all sorts of marks put on it.

The next thing he saw was a pair of logs that were around two meters in length each. And each were stuck together by a piece of metal bar down the center. It looked similar to that of a lifting weight used by knights to train their strength.

What’s beside it then was the sight of a few logs tied up to a tree branch up in the air. There, he also witnessed each of those logs being beaten by some sort of stick.

And lastly, the one thing that finally caught his attention last was the wooden sword found embedded down into the floor. It looked beaten as if it was abused by some sort of training.

“What is this place? Why did you take me here?” he asked.

“This place is where I train.” I said.

“Train? You?”

“I train to fight…to become strong.”

“W-why?” he looked bewildered as he asked this question.

“Because I need to protect the family. This world is very dangerous Theo…more dangerous than anything you can imagine.”

“Do you mean by the monsters lurking around in the forest?” he asked.

“No, something more dangerous. People.”

“…”

“I’ve been training my body for a while now and as you can see…”

To demonstrate my power to him, I walked up to a tree that didn’t seem beaten or used in anyway. It was a simple tree like any other.

With my palm resting on that tree…I exerted the inner strength of my abilities.

With just one strong push, I obliterated the tree like a arrow passing through an apple.

*Boom!* the tree crashed to the floor and Theodore was left in shock.

“W-what!!??”

“Don’t overreact…this is just something I’ve been working on for a while.” I said.

“W-what’s going on? How can you have that much power?” he asked.

“I’m pretty sure that for you, someone who’s been reading a lot of books, you know what this is.”

“Is it…the pure core?”

“it is.”

“Are you training to become a knight? Because from what I know, knights and adventurers are the only one’s capable of developing a Pure Core.”

“No, I’m not training to become a knight. Why would you ask me that?”

“I just assumed.” he said.

“Theo, do you know why I brought you here?”

“N-no…no I don’t.”

“I’m here to show you that your path—learning magic, becoming a mage—isn’t just some far-off dream. It’s something you can achieve, and it’s something that can make a difference.”

Theodore’s eyes widened as he looked at the destroyed tree, still processing what I’d shown him. “But how? I don’t have that kind of strength, Brother. I can’t even properly control the magic I have.”

I shook my head, stepping toward him. “It’s not about what you can’t do. It’s about what you can learn. And just like how I’ve trained my body to become strong, you can train your mind and magic. But you need the right guidance. The right place.”

“The academy…” Theodore whispered, his expression serious now. “But it’s so expensive, and—”

I cut him off. “I know. I know it’s costly, but it’s worth it. You’ve got something inside you, Theo. Something that not everyone has. That magic, that talent, it can help change things. Not just for you, but for all of us.”

“But… what about you?” he asked quietly. “You’re always the one looking out for us, doing the hard work. If I go, it’ll just be more weight on you.”

I smiled slightly, shaking my head. “You’ve got it backwards. If you go to the academy and grow stronger, you’re helping me. You’re helping the family. In the long run, you’ll be able to do things none of us can. And I’ll be here, still fighting, still getting stronger. But knowing you’re doing what you’re meant to do will make all of that worth it.”

Theodore stared down at the ground, his brow furrowed in thought. His hands tightened into fists, and I could see the conflict in his eyes.

“I’m scared brother…” he admitted. “What if I’m not good enough? What if I fail?”

I placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. “Then you’ll learn from it. Just like I’ve learned from my own failures. No one starts out perfect. The only thing that matters is that you try. You’ve got to take that step.”

Theodore bit his lip, looking at the place where the tree had fallen. For a moment, he was silent, but then he nodded, determination settling in his gaze. “Okay. I’ll go. I’ll do it. I’ll go to the academy.”

A wave of relief washed over me as I heard those words. I knew this was the right path for him, and though it wouldn’t be easy, it was a step toward something greater.

“I’m proud of you, Theo,” I said, patting his shoulder. “We’ll figure out the details together. And I’ll do whatever I can to make sure you get there.”

Theodore smiled for the first time that morning, a small but genuine smile. “Thanks, I won’t let you down.”

“You won’t,” I said confidently. “And who knows? Maybe one day you’ll be the one protecting us.”

We shared a quiet laugh, the tension easing a little. The future was uncertain, but one thing was clear: Theodore had a path now. A direction. And I would be there to support him every step of the way.

***

At the main roads that lead from the City of Samsel to Thill’s Village, a pair of carriages were seen racing through the road. One carriage was carrying a single person who looked like a noble, while the other was a carriage filled with over a dozen men wearing heavy rugged armor.

And on their waist and backs held their weapons and equipment. These armed men were racing through the rough roads with a grim look on their faces.

“Fuck, I can’t believe we’re making our way to that place of all things…”

“Don’t be so gloom about it, we’ve been hired by one of the richest merchant families in the kingdom. Do you really want to throw away this job just because we’re going to that place?”

“It’s easy for you to say…can’t you feel the winds right now? A storm is coming.”

“Ah…you’re right. Fuck, why now of all times though?”

“Remind me again what we’re planning to do in that village?”

“We’re just asked to clear out a few trees and a few monsters.”

“Also, we have to protect the merchant’s daughter inside the other cart. The Family is putting a lot of emphasis in her protection. Apparently, she was captured by the bandits just a few days ago.”

“Okay, so the job is about protection and clearing…got it.”

***

Fether Village. That was the name of the village that the Cicial family was living on.

The history of its name wasn’t really known so much by the villagers, but it’s quite a populated village with around half a thousand people living here.

Other than it’s larger than usual population, the village was known for their strong daily storms that comes around once every two months and it’s highly dense population of monsters lurking around the forest.

But the main reason why the village had such a large population in the first place was because of the fact that the land around here was rich. Rich enough in fact that it was always a guaranteed success when one plans to start a garden.

That was the main export of this village. It was mostly fields of vegetables, rice, fruits and wheat. And for merchants to come by here, they would agree on sometimes trading their sales for the main resource of this village.

About almost every house had a garden on their backyard.

And even when there comes a storm once every two months, for some miracle, it never fully damages the planted resources all over the village. People in the village believe that the storm was kind to its plants and it’s because of this, a storm is never usually feared. As long as one stays inside and doesn’t try anything stupid, they can survive.

It’s been like this for over two generations now, and slowly but surely, the population was continuing on its growth.

And because of such a rich land, a certain rich merchant family was looking into this land in the hopes of buying a large portion of its land.

That Family was none other than the Amber Family themselves.

And to prepare their business here in the village, a certain daughter who has been recently returned from a kidnapping was leading the story of her journey in creating a proper business here in Fether Village.

Unbeknownst to her, her savior was actually here in the village.