The old man didn't wake up.
At first, Caelan just waited. The old man's breathing was improving.
But after one day, he realized that the old man wouldn't wake up soon.
So, he needed to take care of him. He cooked easily edible and digestible food.
Of course, in the meantime, he didn't have time to think about himself. So, he continued working as a farmer and training as a barbarian for now.
The only difference was that he didn't visit the old man to spar.
And the old barbarian didn't come either.
***
On the fifth day, the old man in his house started showing small movements as if he were only sleeping.
He didn't wake up, just moved occasionally.
But on the evening of the seventh day, after Caelen came back from training, he heard a voice from the room where the old man was sleeping.
He rushed in to check. The old man was definitely starting to wake up.
Caelen prepared a glass and some water, just in case. He also had his sword strapped to his waist.
A minute passed. Then another.
The old man kept groaning softly.
After five minutes, his eyes slowly began to open.
When they did, everything looked blurry to him.
"Arghh!" he shouted when he tried to sit up. So, he gave up on the idea instantly.
Then, he just turned his head a bit, only to scream louder, "Aaaaaaaah!"
Caelan jumped back, putting his hand on his sword at his waist, ready to take it out from its sheath.
But he didn't pull it out.
The old man looked at him, and he looked at the old man. After looking at each other for a while, the old man checked his condition.
Seeing his leg, his face turned ugly. But then, he looked back at Caelen.
"Are you a barbarian?" he asked.
"Yes," Caelan answered.
This puzzled the old man even more.
"Then who saved me?"
Caelan frowned. Isn't it obvious?
But he didn't say it out loud.
"I did."
"Huh? I see. Even if you torture me, you won't get anything from me!" the old man shouted and tried to get up once again.
But this time, he groaned even louder, and his head fell back onto the sofa.
Since he hadn't lifted himself far, it didn't hurt much.
"Old man, what are you doing? Why would I save you to hurt you again?"
"What kind of bullshit is that? Didn't you say you were a barbarian?"
"I am a barbarian. But I found you lying in the forest. So I carried you here and tended to your injuries for a week."
"Stop lying!" The old man said, but then stopped. "No, you are a barbarian. You can't lie that well."
An idea instantly appeared in the old man's mind.
The boy in front of him was really a barbarian. A young one in that. And he was obviously oblivious to what was happening.
I can lie my way through!
"Young man, I'm sorry! It must have been my injuries that scared me. I was attacked by a beast, and that's how I got hurt."
"Beast my ass!" said Caelan with a frown. "This is no beast wound. Your wounds are made by swords, different ones at that."
Shit! How can he see through that? Isn't he just a young barbarian?
Barbarians didn't think much. But, of course, experience was also another kind of knowledge.
So, aged, experienced barbarians weren't idiots.
But this kid...
"Sigh... I am sorry." The old man directly changed tactics. The best lies were the ones mixed with truth.
But he needed to gain his trust first.
"I am actually a magus."
"What? A magus? What is a maghus doing here? Also, aren't magi extinct?"
"Extinct? Hahaha! There is no way. Even though the barbarians are strong now, they can't kill us all. Who told you that?"
"Uhm... That is what all the children are taught here."
"Then you are lied to! This is complete bullshit!" the old man said with anger.
"Why should I believe you? Didn't you just lie to me about your wounds?"
"Sigh... You are right. But I am really telling the truth. Tell me what you know about this world, and I will tell you the truth.
It seems like barbarians these days are raised with lies. You can choose to believe or ignore me after you hear what I say."
Caealan stopped to think for a second.
He approached the sofa and pulled a closeby chair to sit on it.
He wouldn't trust the old man that easily, but hearing him wouldn't hurt.
"What is your name?" Caelan asked.
"Idel! My name is Idel."
"Sigh... Okay, I will at least listen to you, Idel. But it doesn't mean I trust you."
"It is okay. Start with what you know."
Then, Caelan started telling what he learned as a child.
This information came from his family, friends, master, teachers, and the other barbarians.
"The five nations were told to live in peace before the other four got together and attacked us, Barbara.
We, the barbarians, defended against the attack and countered it. After years of war, all of the other crest owners were killed in the war..."
Caelen's story went on for a while. During that time, Idel listened silently, but his expression grew more and more shocked.
"Those bastards! That's a lie. Mindless barbarians couldn't come up with something like this. They must've used enslaved magi to create this story."
"It is your turn," Caelan cut him off. "If this is wrong, then tell me the truth."
"Sigh... Listen boy. Barbarians are strong, true, but they were never the strongest.
Years ago, the five nations indeed lived in peace. But that peace only came from the balance between them.
If there hadn't been a balance, the strong would fight the weak. And that is what had happened when the balance was broken."
"What kind of balance are you talking about?"
"Hmm... You don't even know the balance. Well, balance was the name we gave it. The birth rate of the crests."
Caelen frowned since he didn't understand anything. "Everyone is born with a crest. What do you mea-"
"Young man, be patient." This time, Idel cut him off. "I will tell you everything. Yes, everyone has a crest from birth. But, which crest?"
Huh?
"You told me the other crest owners were killed in the war. But that is impossible."
Idel slowly raised his right hand and pulled up his sleeve.
A faint blue light glowed on the back of his hand. It was completely different from the barbarians' red Crest of War.
The symbol on the old man's skin was a rolled up parchment and a quill.
"This is called Crest of Knowledge, the crest of the magi. I would show you what it did, but you know my current situation."
Caelan's eyes opened wide. "That doesn't mean anything. You may be a deserter! No one can check if literally every single crest owner was killed!"
"Haha! You're not wrong. But that's not why I said it was impossible.
I meant the balance. The birth rate of the crests... It may sound strange, so let me put it another way.
The number of children born with crests.
Before the war, the number of newborns with each crest was always equal across the five nations."