"Why did you remind him of what I said?" Olivia sighed and rubbed the center of her head.
"It's good for you to be back," Davi said simply, as he flicked her on the forehead. "A place someone grew up at is special. It's part of the foundation that makes them. I'd do a lot of things to get to walk around my village again."
Olivia's shoulders slumped slightly. "Right. Sorry." Sometimes she forgot how depressing Davi's life was. Unlike her, he had no home to return to.
"Young Davi is right!" Ragna bellowed out. "The home is an important place, Olivia! You never know when you'll lose the chance to return and speak to a loved one. It's important to spend time with them when you can! That helps keep a sane mind!"
"I'm just a bit worried," Olivia admitted. "I didn't exactly leave home on the best of terms."
"Just blame it on me." Davi shrugged. "I did kidnap you after all."
Olivia let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, I imagine Rosco isn't going to be happy to see you."
Olivia prepared herself for the talking she'd get. She had no idea how it would go, but she knew Rosco would have choice words for her.
Perhaps it was her fault. She could have accepted his calls or messages. When she had left, she had practically disabled her phone's account to avoid that. She meant to turn it back on so that she could brag to everyone that she became a Knight, but there was an issue. Her old phone was gone.
Grey had given her a new one, and luckily, the Grimoire App was always going to pull up correctly since it used a person's Mana, but the rest of her apps and contacts weren't already built into the phone. The phone always kept track of the numbers, so she never needed to remember someone's contact info to call them. She could have asked Bruno for Rosco's number to at least get in touch, but with everything going on in the test, it had slipped her mind.
Now she'd be arriving at Fri without having spoken to a single person from there, other than Ash and Bruno, since she left.
Talk about awkward.
The first thing she noticed about the village, when they finally stepped out of the woods, was the wall that surrounded it. Olivia froze, and she stared at it in awe.
"Looks like they took my advice." Davi nodded his head as he also eyed the wall.
Gone was the tiny wooden structure that wouldn't be able to keep most monsters out. The supplies Davi had left had been put to good use, as now a thick stone wall, nearly thirty feet in height, had been built, wrapping around the village entirely.
At the village entrance, heavy doors were placed into the wall, serving as a gate. They were currently open and likely would only close at night. A few guards were seated at a table just outside of the village, all playing some card games, and up on the wall itself, a bunch of men were walking around carrying rifles as they did their patrol, the guns no doubt bought with the money they got from selling the various monsters Davi had left for them.
Fri had evolved.
Several of the guards were all laughing and barely paid attention as her group walked past the gate, but one did look up and noticed her. "O-Olivia?"
When they entered Fri itself, Olivia looked around at her village. It was mostly the same, though she did notice some key differences.
All the buildings that the Salamander had destroyed were fixed up. Farmer Jermy's cattle pen had been rebuilt, and various cows and some horses were in the open barn. The other huts, which had also caught fire, were fully repaired as well, and some of them had even been expanded slightly, having extra wings attached to them, mainly around the guard barracks and the medical buildings.
It was all so strange to be back.
Kids were playing in the open square, kicking a ball back and forth. Adults were working in the fields or getting training in guard duty, and the atmosphere in the village was loud and bubbly, with music filling the air and people laughing.
That all changed, though, when someone yelled her name out. The guard who had noticed her earlier came sprinting into the village. "Olivia!"
That caused several people in the village to stop and turn, and many of them finally noticed the three people who entered. More specifically, they noticed the girl with silver hair who stood in the center.
"Olivia?"
"I-Is that Olivia?"
"It is!"
"Olivia is back!"
"Someone go and get Rosco!"
"Those other two aren't they Arcane Knights?"
"The one with black hair and robes was the one who saved our village!"
Davi tensed up slightly, Ragna let out a heavy laugh, and Olivia felt a weird mix of emotions as suddenly the three of them were swarmed by the village, who were all cheering and snapping pictures of her and her two companions.
The village was happy to see her.
"Olivia! You really did it! You became a Knight!"
"What's it like, Olivia!"
"Did you show those snotty nobles up?"
She wasn't the only one who was getting asked questions, as several people were hanging off of Davi, who stood there blankly.
"Sir, are you and Olivia in the same guild?"
"I watched the stream! I saw you kick that one noble's ass; way to go, man!"
"Will you marry my daughter?"
Ragna got a lot of questions as well, and he was also the only one not bothered by the swarm of people as he flexed, showing off his muscles, and did various poses for the cameras.
"Are you the captain of their guild?"
"What guild are you all in?"
"Why are you only in a Speedo? Are you a perv?"
"Yes! I am!" Ragna announced proudly. As to which question he was answering, it was anyone's guess.
"Olivia!" Olivia turned when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She was shocked by who she saw. "Hey!"
The guard who had noticed her before anyone now gripped her shoulder, a large smile on his face. He was slightly short and a little plump, with ginger hair and glasses that covered his face. It was Nev. One of the boys Ash and Bruno hung out with, and someone she had never really considered a friend, yet here he was, smiling and beaming at her as if they were old buddies.
"Nev?"
"Yeah! I'm so glad I got to see you!" The boy laughed. "You, Bruno, Trent, and Ash, have all been gone for months now! Look! I joined the village guard! Oh, but I'm still just in training." Nev chuckled sheepishly.
Olivia also let out a nervous laugh. This was so weird, having someone who used to look down at her now stare at her in admiration. "I know Bruno and Ash went to take the tests, but I didn't see Trent there?" She also didn't hear his name be called; had something happened?
Nev shook his head. "Trent didn't go to become a Knight. He and I always thought no one from this village could do it, but you, Bruno, and Ash all proved us wrong!"
"Where did Trent go then?"
"His parents used some of the funds from the monster parts and enrolled him into a fancy school in another city to take Enchantment lessons. He always had the best Enchantment grade out of anyone in the village, so I think they'd hope he would make it big. I hear back from him sometimes, and he's doing well." Nev explained. "Oh, I also spoke to Bruno and Ash! They talked about you a lot!"
"They did?" Olivia blinked in surprise.
"Yeah! That's how we heard you made it to the exams! Olivia, it was awesome! The whole village set up a TV and watched the streams! We didn't get to see much from you three, but anytime one of you was on screen, the whole village was in an uproar, celebrating! You nearly gave farmer Jermy a heart attack when all three of you became Arcane Knights!"
No one in Fri had ever amounted to anything significant. The people raised in this village all went on to live boring, unimportant lives. Yet now things had changed. For the first time in its history, a member of Fri had risen to greatness. Not just one, but three separate people. Bruno Moore. Ash Anderson. And Olivia Lot. The three people from Fri who had given their village hope.
If Fri could produce a mage able to become a Knight three different times, then perhaps it could be done again. The kids no longer held lofty goals of failing. All of them wanted to try.
"Things changed a lot." Nev gave a soft smile. "You, Bruno, Ash. All three of you don't even know how much you affected our village."
She caused a change?
It was likely just Bruno and Ash they cared about. After all, she was 'useless' according to the rest of the village.
She thought about maybe saying a bitter remark or something sarcastic, but a voice even more familiar than Nev's called out to her.
"So, you've finally decided to come back." Olivia felt her throat go dry, and the crowd seemed to part. Rosco hobbled toward her. The dark-skinned man didn't look happy. His lips were pursed, and his eyes stared at her, studying the leather armor and the cloak she wore. "Olivia. You've become a Knight."
Nothing was said between her and Rosco. The man turned and limped back to his hut. She knew he wanted her to follow, and so she did. Davi and Ragna stayed behind, the crowd still taking pictures of the two Knights and asking their questions.
Rosco entered his home and quietly made some tea. He brewed it on the stove and kept his back to her, not saying anything. She remained silent as well and just stood there.
Neither of them said a word as the tea was brewed, and when it was done, Rosco poured a cup for her and himself. He placed it on the table and took a seat. She did the same and quietly drank the tea.
Rosco took a slow sip of his as well. "Bitter."
"What?" Olivia placed her cup down and looked at him.
Rosco stared down into his glass. "The tea. It's bitter."
"It tastes the same to me." Olivia frowned.
"Exactly." Rosco let out a heavy sigh. "This tea always tastes like shit." The tea in question was a product created by a company that sponsored the Lance of Victory. The box showed the woman on the front, and when the tea was brewed, the liquid would always have the golden symbol of a lance placed into it, thanks to a weak enchantment. "I hate this tea."
"Why'd you make it then?" Olivia gave the man an odd look. "You always make this tea."
"Because you asked me to." Rosco slumped down in his chair and took another drink from his glass. "I remember when you were younger. You begged me to buy this box because the Lance of Victory was on it. You always wanted to drink it for that reason alone."
Olivia felt her face flush a bit. "Oh yeah…" She suddenly hated how much her past self looked up to the Lance of Victory.
"You used to say this tea would help improve your mana." Rosco let out a laugh. "The marketing had you convinced that it would help you grow and become big and strong like a real Arcane Knight." His look changed. "I guess you did it, huh?"
"Yeah." Olivia awkwardly fiddled with her thumbs and looked down at the tea. "You're not happy, are you?"
"Of course I'm not!" Rosco shook his head and raised his voice. "Do you even have to ask? I watched as you were kidnapped and stolen away, without being able to do a thing. I couldn't get in contact with you at all. Not even Bruno knew if you were alive until he finally saw you during the exams, yet still you did not contact me. Finally, you return, but with the very person who took you from your home. Why in Haru's name would I be happy?"
"I asked Davi to take me!" Olivia also raised her voice. "And I'm glad he did! I did it! I became an Arcane Knight! Shouldn't you be proud of me?"
"You're part of Phoenix Flight!" Rosco began to yell full-on now, and his words silenced her as he slammed his hands down on the table and stood up. "Why would I ever be happy for you to have this fate!"
Olivia felt numb, and her shoulders sagged down. "It's not that bad—"
"Not that bad? Not that bad! Olivia, it's a death sentence!"
"Everyone eventually dies. Knights put their lives on the line all the time."
"That's different, and you know it!" Rosco growled. "Knights might die in the line of duty, but it's a tragedy when that happens. For Phoenix Flight, it's a joke! They mock and belittle them, and people place bets whenever a person ends up in that guild! You could have had a full life ahead of you! Another sixty or seventy years at least! What now? Maybe five or ten years left? If even that! How long before another calamity befalls that guild and you're part of it? Do you know why everyone was so nice to you out there? It wasn't because they were happy you became a Knight. They're happy for Ash and for Bruno, but for you, they pity. You're like a child with a terminal disease. Everyone knows that at any moment you could fall over dead. That the Gods have cursed your fate. They're forcing kindness onto you because there's no point in being mean to someone already dead."
Olivia balled her hand into a fist. His words hurt, but she knew they weren't true. Everyone seemed happy and genuine, and she didn't get the sense that any of them were lying to her. Rosco was just lashing out in rage and anger, taking it out on her, and she wasn't going to just let him walk all over her. "I didn't want to end up in this guild either, you know."
"So then why didn't you leave?" Rosco demanded.
"Because that wouldn't change anything." Olivia shook her head and forced her voice to lower. "You know it as well as I do."
Rosco stared at her, his eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't have left even if you could."
Silence hung in the air after his remark. "I wouldn't. You're right." Olivia finally said. She felt calmer than she ever had before. "Even if I could have left the guild and avoided my fate, I wouldn't have left. I am an Arcane Knight. This is the path I wanted to follow—the one I want to walk. I can be useful like this. My father wouldn't have gotten rid of me all that time ago if I were a Knight. More than that, though, I've gotten to help people. I've laughed. I've had fun. I've made friends. I got to see so many things and learn so much. I don't want to give that up. I want to keep going. To see how far this lasts, and I have a new goal now as well." Olivia took a calm breath as she felt her heart steady. "I want to fix the Knights."
"Fix the Knights?"
"They aren't how I first thought they would be," Olivia admitted. "I know they can be. I want to lead by example. It might take a while, but if people are saved or end up happier through actions I cause, that will be a win in my book. That's the kind of Knight Davi is, and the kind of Knight I want to be."
Rosco let out a bitter laugh. "You think that Davi man is a hero?"
"I know he is." Olivia challenged. "The world would be better off if more people were like him. That's why I also want to help him the best I can. He's done so much for me, for our village, and for so many others. I want to repay that kindness forward. Just as I help other people and want them to pay the kindness I give to them forward."
"What would your father think of this?" Rosco spat out.
"I don't know." Olivia gave a lazy shrug. "If he had something to say, maybe he shouldn't have left me."
"He didn't leave you! He placed you into my care!" Rosco lunged forward and grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "Do you know how much your father loved you? How heartbroken he was to go on without you? The things he said to me. He put his faith in me, so how can I go on like this knowing you're in danger!" Rosco's eyes were wide and full of sorrow. "How can I ever hope to look my friend in the eye ever again and tell him I let his child, and my child as well, join a cursed guild?" Tears flowed down his face now. "I should have done more. I could have done more. I let your spirit grow too much. It's my fault this happened."
Olivia stood there, stunned, and then slowly she wrapped her arms around Rosco and hugged him. "Don't say that. You did all you could. This would have happened no matter what. I would have tried to join the Knights no matter what you said or did. The moment my dad left me in your care and said what he did to me, I think my fate was already set on this path. The rest of my life was building up to this moment. It's funny how destiny works sometimes." She chuckled to herself. "You did everything right. You were a great parent."
Rosco pulled away from her and wiped his eyes, letting out a grunt. "Arthur is going to give me a mouthful if he ever learns what happened to you."
"You never really talked about Dad," Olivia muttered. "Do you know where he is?"
Rosco rubbed his chin. He always brushed her question about her father off whenever she asked, but today he seemed to actually consider it. "Your father and I knew each other for a long time. Ever since I was a boy, in fact. I would like to say that he and I are friends, though I don't know if he considers me a friend or not. More like a useful tool to him. The day he left you, he came to me, and he asked me to take you in as my own. I told him no. At the time my wife died, I was struggling as a single father. Your father didn't listen, though, and left you outside the village. That was our final conversation. He did tell me something. I never told you because he told me I shouldn't unless the day came when you became a Knight."
"Dad knew I was going to be a Knight?" Olivia asked, stunned.
"He said it might happen." Rosco shook his head. "I always told him it wouldn't be good because of your type of magic. I truly thought you'd never be able to do it… I'm sorry. Part of me hoped the day wouldn't come so that you wouldn't leave. I know what will happen when I tell you what your father said to me. You'll look for him, but I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why not?"
"The truth is, you're better off not chasing after that man. He's made a lot of enemies over the course of his life. Trust me, your life would be better if you lived it the way you should, and don't dance to his tune."
Olivia processed his words. She really didn't know a lot about her father on account of the fact that he had left her. She always assumed Rosco and he didn't even know each other, but now that she thought about it, that was foolish. After all, she had that memory of her father speaking to him when he used Polymorph…
But wait…
She couldn't remember anything else…
Her father. Arthur Roads. What did he look like again? Why didn't she recall that memory of him meeting Rosco until the exam, where she unlocked Polymorph? With a memory like that, she would have known from the start that Rosco and her dad knew one another, so why did she assume they didn't?
Her head ached suddenly, and her mind felt like a mess. She grabbed her head and winced. A moment later, the pain died down, and there was a flash of blue as the system box appeared before her.
'The effect of ??? tried to activate. Determined negated the activation. As such, your state of thinking will not be changed.'
The box closed as soon as it appeared, not even giving Rosco the chance to read it, but she felt a sharp chill go down her spine. An effect tried to go off? One that would mess with the way she thought?
Suddenly, she recalled something. A memory that hadn't been there before. A memory of her father placing his hand upon her head and—
"What did my dad tell you?" Olivia demanded, straightening up. Her eyes narrowed, and her nails dug into her palm. Something wasn't right. Her father had done something to her. Her memories. Some of them were wrong or missing. Why had he done that? It was only thanks to the Determined trait that she was able to negate the effect and realize that something was wrong. "Tell me everything my father told you."
Rosco gave a hesitant nod and even flinched when he saw the look in her eyes. Her entire demeanor had changed. She no longer looked like the innocent girl he had raised. The look she had now was the same Arthur would carry—the look of a ruler.
Rosco let out another heavy sigh but nodded his head. "Alright. I'll tell you." It was time Olivia learned the kind of man her father was.