Chapter 18 – Reminiscence

Chris and his friends are with the young man from Vodheim in a room, apparently his request has very personal motives. He explains that rumors have been circulating about Volt's next target, the kingdom of Ceres in the far east, the royal family is of great importance to him personally.

As hard as he try, he doesn't quite convince Chris, it's none of his business, he has no reason to fight a war for a country that has no relationship with him. Although there will be many innocent deaths, he is only one man and conflict is inevitable in human nature.

“Please, please help me save Ceres. Maybe you are one man, but I am also just a man, I can't defeat him by myself.” the young man bows his head while begging for help, “I heard you defeated Ryuken, so you have a better chance of defeating Volt than anyone.”

“No matter how noble your goal is, I will not march into a war that does not concern me. If I did, I could end up dragging my friends, and if something happened to them I wouldn't forgive myself.” Chris replies as he leaves the scene.

Everyone feels somewhat uncomfortable about such a statement, Chris considers them his friends, not just companions, and that makes them happy, but they feel guilty for being the reason he does not try to save countless lives. It's a very complicated position.

The young man tells the rest of the group that he will stay at the resort in case he changes his mind, and everyone leaves. Chris is walking around as his friends catch up with him to try to talk about it.

“Wow, you've become more insensitive, mud mask.” a woman's voice sounds from behind, interrupting the desperate attempt to convince him.
“Of all the places in the world, what are you doing here, Master Hama?” Chris recognizes the unequivocal voice of the teacher who helped him so many years ago.
“You know that I am like the wind, I roam the world free, I know people, fate plays tricks from fun to bizarre.” Hama explains with a carefree smile next to his smug attitude.

Despite having a respectable face, her attitude is completely carefree, making Tsubaki uncomfortable, but Pierre is brimming with happiness. Everyone is surprised by his anticlimactic attitude.

“Priestess, I didn't think I would find you again so soon. Thank you so much for guiding me to the tournament.” thanks Pierre with a dazzling smile, making Hama somewhat uncomfortable.

The reason Pierre came to Heinburn is because he was guided by Hama.

“I'm glad I hit the nail on the head, by the way, Chris, I met Karen recently, isn't she a beauty? She grew up pretty well since you two were kids.” Hama mentions while making gestures about the "curves", “Ah, youth, you should take advantage now that you can, otherwise you will die a virgin.”

Chris sends Hama to silence, her sense of freedom takes away all common sense, decorum and even respect for personal space. Everyone can only watch as Hama lays on over Chris’ head as she continues to speak without any discretion for intimacy.

The young man from Vodheim meets the group again and recognizes Hama:

“Mrs. Hama, thank you for the information, although I could not convince you to help.” the young man is disappointed that he failed in his task.
«Apparently she knows so many people who coincidentally have a tendency to find each other. » Chris deduces from what has been revealed during the conversation.
“Don't worry, I've known him since he was a little tadpole, if you want some respect, challenge him to a duel.” mention Hama as she plays with Chris’ cheeks and rubs his hair, “Prove your worth to him and maybe he will take your family situation into consideration.”

She knows Chris like an open book, so it is inevitable that she will push him into her game, it is even possible that he has already fallen from long before.

Despite the last remaining of his injuries, Chris accepts the challenge, winning the first to strike a direct blow. Everyone watches as they wait for the fight to start while Chris’ gaze is fairly calm.

“Get started!” shouts Hama as everyone walks away from the area.

Chris stands still as the young man rushes straight out to him, his body wrapping itself in elemental power and taking the form of armor.

“Fascinating, you also materialize the elemental power of earth, and it is incredibly dense and with high detail, but...”

He dodges the first blow, and the next, and the one that follows, no matter how much he fights, Chris dodges all attacks, because they are useless if he can’t catch Chris at all.

“This is not even the speed with which I dodged Ryuken's attacks. You just waste energy.” Chris’ stern words are full of disappointment.

Dodging another blow, Chris hits him in an armor opening, and maintains the strategy. With normal blows and evasion, without any elemental power, the young man is put against the ropes in less than 3 minutes.

Panting with tiredness, the young man lashes out one last time at his opponent and Chris decides to end the duel once and for all. Just as the young man throws a punch, Chris deflects him with his palm and twists him towards his back, reduces him to the ground and uses his legs to press against his back, almost completely paralyzing his mobility.

“You will die uselessly if you do not find a more effective way to fight.” Chris declares upon seeing the young rookie wasting his potential.

The young man, lying on the ground, unable to get up, can only feel helpless as Chris walks away after destroying his hopes.

“Well, you tried, better to try and fail than not to try.” says Hama as she watches Chris and company go, “Don't worry, I have a hunch that "that place" will make him change his mind.”

As they walk, Chris talks to his friends about his insecurities, the truth about his teacher, the origin of the sword, his goals are no longer so clear, reuniting with Karen, he is at a crossroad. No matter how much experience you have, it is one of the most difficult decisions you must make, what to do with your life.

They all try to support Chris, no matter what he decides, they will accompany him without regrets. Guilian appreciates that Chris avenged his dream by fighting Ryuken, Tsubaki thanks him for taking her out of the woods, Hanna admires Chris for helping her take charge of her life and Pierre... he just finds Chris’ direction fascinating, there's no decision he makes that leaves him regrets.

Chris is truly grateful to be able to open up to his friends, but once he starts paying attention to his surroundings again he realizes that they have returned to the city, they are in the market. He contemplates his reflection in an apple, very appetizing to the eye, Guilian desperately wants to eat and Tsubaki begins to scold him.

Normality returned and Chris smiles, slightly relieved, although the noise causes an old woman to complain about it, turning out to be the owner of the fruit stand. Chris apologizes for the disaster of his friends and reluctantly the lady accepts the apology, as long as they buy merchandise from her.

Having been blackmailed into buying fruit, Guilian enjoys how juicy the fruit is, too delicious to be normal. As they talk about food of uncertain origin, the old woman begins to look close at Chris’ face, making everyone uncomfortable without exception.

“That alignment of moles around the left eye, you even have the mole in the right tear. There is no doubt, you are that child.” says the old lady of the fruit.

An unknown person recognized him; among all the people he may have encountered there is a clue about his origin.

Chris gets straight to the point; does she know me from somewhere? "Yes, you are that child, your mother used to buy me fruit, she had a very peculiar personality. It's a shame what happened, at least she left you her pendant." He immediately remembers Ryuken's question, "Where did you get that pendant?"

"She used to say that the pendant was a kind of protective amulet. Despite that, she could not avoid that misfortune." It's not enough, he needs to know more.

"18 years ago, there was an adept hunt by the Imperial Inquisition, the entire valley south of King’s Mountain was destroyed. You used to live there." Chris holds her too tightly and asks for the exact location.

He runs out and his friends follow him until he stops in a field full of grasslands, "This color, this scent, the butterflies, the scenery, ..." Chris starts running again and everyone follows him while worrying about his condition, he is too upset.

They arrive at a shattered house; it is clear at first glance that no one has lived there for decades. Chris enters slowly, sees the shattered furniture, walks around the site while sliding his hand through the wood walls.

Vague memories resonate in Chris’ mind as he contemplates every detail of the house, climbs upstairs and reaches a bedroom where he finds a crib next to a large bed, or at least the remains of it. He falls to the ground, sad, everything inside him begins to fall apart again.

His friends, worried to the point of not being able to ask him about it. Chris decides to reveal to them the most hidden of his past, his "origin". Something only a childhood friend would know.

"The most distant memories I have are of having lived in the open, on the streets of towns and cities. I used to see people having normal lives while I was completely still.

Where are the adults headed? Where are the other children going? What does the food everyone has taste like? These were questions I couldn't answer. I used to be with two children older than me, they took me by the arm and at last I was allowed to move.

Sometimes they would come running, short of breath and hiding food among their clothes and we would eat together. If it was cold we slept together in containers. As time went on I realized that I was an orphan, most likely those children were too.

We would get into boxes inside wagons and even on a boat, we were stowaways. They took care of me during those hard times. One day of many, I felt very bad, I did not stop coughing, my head was spinning, and I could hardly breathe.

They told me that that day was my day, it was the fourth time they celebrated my day. They asked me if I wanted something special, anything I wanted they would take care of getting it, so I ordered delicious food to eat the three of them together.

They walked away and I fell asleep, I don't know how long it was, but when I woke up I felt better and was in a monk's temple. I immediately asked about them, they must be looking for me to eat together, but they told me that they found no sign of the two of them.

Currently I don't know if they were real in the first place, I don't know if what I lived was real, but for such a small child, just four years old, they were my world. I waited at the door hoping to see them again, the day was over, the days turned weeks, the weeks in months, even if I no longer expected them to appear I kept waiting at the entrance of the temple in case anyone knew anything about me.

As I learned basic things I began to wonder if I had parents, if those children were my older siblings, we all have family in this world inevitably, so why am I alone? Why didn't anyone care about me? Am I so insignificant that no one will seek me?

Since I was a child I was broken, empty, hollow, the only thing I had to hold on to were those questions. Eventually I aimed to find the answers to those questions. I will find my family, I will find my origin, and once I have all the answers... I will make a decision."

That last sentence left the group chilling from the tone with which he said it, adding the somewhat gloomy look on Chris ‘face. Whatever the final decision, it is something he still keeps none of his friends feel entitled to ask about it.

The concept of family forges our identity, Guilian was separated from his family by circumstances, Tsubaki was raised by the head of the Elves and at least has a clue to her origin, Hanna lost her family to the fire leaving her permanently scarred and Pierre... just support his new friend.

It has been a rise and fall of emotions for Chris, the worst day of his life, his only pillar with which to sustain himself are his friends:
“I would fight the whole world as long as I don't lose you.” Chris says openly as his expression stops being gloomy but shows as great a determination as when he fought Ryuken.

Everyone smiles and lets Chris know they feel the same way.

They end up returning to the resort, it has been the longest day of their lives and the most exhausting, especially for Chris, but the young man from Vodheim tries to convince him once again, although this time it is all his friends who reject his request. Although Chris asks him about his identity, since he appeared he has felt that he is hiding something, if he doesn't reveal everything she will never consider it.

"You win, my name is Heinrich Heinburn VII, Prince of Heinburn and sole heir to the throne. For centuries the kingdoms of Heinburn and Ceres have had a close relationship not only politically but also mythologically."

Everyone is shocked by the revelation and Chris uses what's left of his strength to say, "Your mother gave me a message for you before leaving the kingdom: Don't go home and stay hidden."

"Ouch", is all Guilian says after a few moments of awkward silence. Chris does not know the reasons that Queen Alice has for sending such a message to her only son, and he is not interested, but he is fed up with the King's Mountain, about his past, his unknown origin, he wants to get as far away from that place as possible.

“Also, if none of the Six Lords have succeeded in the King's Mountain Challenge, then I'm not so sure I can do it yet.” Chris has resigned himself to his hasty destiny, “First I will travel the whole world; will you accompany me?”

Everyone responds vividly with a strong yes.

Heinrich doesn't understand whether he agreed or not, so Chris lets him know that he expects a big reward for fighting a full-scale war for two countries that have no relationship with him. He takes that as a yes, the trip will take about three weeks, so Chris is going to be in top shape by the time they reach their destination.

Meanwhile, at the city market, Karen finds herself buying supplies to go on a trip and the fruit old lady approaches her:
“Did you visit the ruins of your village after all? Your parents have been waiting for you for a long time.” asks the old lady very curiously.

Karen replies that it was very difficult, many things have happened to her on The King's Mountain, both past and present.

“I can only say that, despite the pain of tragedy, I was able to meet him, and I can't imagine a life without having met him.” Karen says with a bittersweet smile, filled with both happy and tragic memories.

She says goodbye and both Karen and Chris move away from King's Mountain in opposite directions, not knowing that they will eventually meet again.

Chapter end