"Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday dear Beell~ Happy birthday to youuuu~"
"He-he-he…"
Bell couldn't help but grin, cheeks warm as he watched his grandfather and his teacher sing—loudly, and very off-key—just for him.
Two days had passed since Deus contacted his old followers, and now it was April 7th—Bell's special day.
"C'mon, son! Blow out the candles!" Deus urged, practically bouncing with excitement.
On the dining table sat a big chocolate cake, fourteen tiny candles flickering on top.
Bell took a breath and blew them all out in one go. Deus and Kaelis cheered like he'd just beaten a monster.
Without waiting, Bell grabbed the knife and cut into the cake with the kind of precision only someone trained by Kaelis would have.
Once everyone had a slice of cake, the three of them settled onto the settee near the hearth, plates in hand.
"Congrats on turning fourteen," Kaelis said, patting Bell's back proudly.
"Only one more year before you're considered an adult. You should start thinking about finding a wife."
"No, no, no!" Deus cut in immediately. "Forget one wife—he should build a whole harem of beautiful women!"
Deus burst out laughing and shut the idea down with a wave, while Bell sat there on the side, face burning hotter than the fireplace.
"Tch…! Don't listen to the old geezer, Bell. Having one woman is already a challenge—any more than that and you'll lose your mind."
"B-but…" Bell mumbled, unsure what to do with this new information.
"Tsk. See, old man? Look what you've done!" Kaelis narrowed his eyes at Deus .
"It's because you've been filling his head with all that nonsense about 'picking up girls.' Now he's actually considering it!"
Deus just shrugged, completely unbothered, while Bell tried to sink into the couch and disappear.
"Oh, c'mon." Deus brushed him off with a lazy wave. "It's not like you never thought about it. Every man has imagined having a harem at least once…"
Kaelis squinted at him. "Yeah? Well then—Bell, let me ask you something. How exactly did this old man tell you to… recruit these 'harem members'?"
Bell froze before shifting in his seat.
"He, uh… he said I should… save damsels in distress…"
The last part came out barely above a whisper, his cheeks burning bright red now that he'd said it out loud.
Even still, Kaelis pressed on leaning forward.
"And where did he say you could possibly find these damsels?"
Bell shrank a little, eyes darting between the two like a cornered rabbit.
"…um… in the… woods…"
Kaelis whipped his head toward Deus so fast it almost made a snap sound.
"The woods? Seriously? Old man, what are you teaching him—fairy-tale pickup strategies!?"
Deus just shrugged, completely unbothered.
"Hey, monsters show up in the woods. Monsters cause trouble. Trouble creates damsels. It's simple math."
Bell wished the floor would swallow him whole.
Exhaling sharply, Kaelis observed Bell for a few seconds.
"In any case," he said, waving a hand, "I doubt people here care that much about polygamy. So do what you want. But here's a word from the wise… don't keep them all in the same place. You're not gonna have a peaceful time."
Bell perked up immediately, curiosity lighting up his eyes.
"Why is that, Master?"
Deus leaned in too, eyebrows raised.
Kaelis rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You could say that… Look, if you keep them all in one place, they're inevitably gonna find out about each other. And jealous women?" He shook his head slowly. "That's not something you can deal with. Not even if you're strong."
He raised a finger, as if delivering the moral of a very painful story.
"That's all I've gotta say. Take it or leave it."
Bell swallowed hard. Even if he had no clue about the message kaelis was trying to deliver.
"I know what you're tryin' to say."
Deus nodded knowingly, stroking his beard as if he were about to impart ancient wisdom.
Deus cleared his throat. "Listen, Bell. Women are wonderful. Amazing. Terrifying. If you gather too many of them in one place—and they all like the same boy—things get… complicated."
Kaelis pointed at him. "Exactly. Complicated. Loud. Sometimes explosive."
Bell blinked. "…Explosive?"
Both adults nodded without hesitation.
Bell suddenly felt very grateful his life was quiet.
And for a brief moment, no one said anything.
"Oh right!" Kaelis suddenly jumped up, startling Bell.
"W-what's wrong master!?"
"…"
"The gifts! I nearly forgot about them!"
That seemed to set off something in the room as Bell began stirring as Kaelis headed for the study.
Deus himself also simply sat and waited.
Minutes later, Kaelis came back with two boxes.
One, a long rectangular shape and the other, a regular shape—both wrapped in an unfamiliar material.
"Been working on this for a while now." He gave them to Bell.
"What's inside!" The youth asked jittery.
"Open it and see for yourself."
Not wasting any time, Bell immediately began ripping the paper wrapping as Deus peered in the box.
Starting with the smaller box…
"Oooh…!"
Both pairs of eyes began sparkling at what was in it.
Pulling it out and laying it out, they got a better look at it.
A navy blue hooded cape adorned with decorative embellishments and a high collar along with a light grey shirt to be worn underneath.
The lower part of the outfit consists of dark blue trousers held up by a blue belt with ornate, square buckles.
Still inside the box, were the footwear is a pair of knee-high, lace-up brown boots.
Seeing the skillfully made outfit, Bell's eyes sparkled.
"Is this for me!?"
Kaelis chuckled. "It's yours. It's your birthday gift after all."
Bell blushed and began scratching his cheek as his gaze shifted everywhere except at the person giving it to him.
"Y-You didn't have to… I mean—I'm happy! But—I don't deserve something like this!"
"Nonsense. You're my disciple. You get special benefits."
"But you've already made clothes for us already…"
Bell tried to make more excuses to refuse it but Kaelis just was not hearing any of that.
"You should check the other box now."
"You're not listening to me…"
Bell sighed dejectedly, no matter how many times it happened, he could get used to Kaelis just giving him valuable stuff.
Now getting such well tailored clothes that if sold, would make someone rich overnight.
He was sure his master spent a considerable amount of time and effort into making it.
Experiencing his first mystery box opening already proved too much for him already, now turning to the much larger box, his heart began racing.
Even still, the childish voice in his heart kept telling him to rip the wrappings off it and claim his present.
I wonder what's in it?
Nervously removing the wrappings, he slowing opened the box.
"....."
A sword…
A cool looking sword…
Bell stared dazed at the beautiful sword resting inside the box.
He noted the straight, patterned blade and the hilt twisting like branches.
Bronze and blue gleamed from the scabbard, intricate details catching his eye, along with a small keyring dangling at the end.
"I-is this…mine…?" He looked at Kaelis.
"Yep." Kaelis calmly replied with a smile.
"Really…mine…?"
"Mhmm. I'll link it to you tomorrow at training."
"W-wow…"
Quickly pulling it from the box, he began inspecting it with glee.
On the side, Deus observing all this nodded smiling.
He couldn't help but note how warm the atmosphere in the room was, taking in the light exchange between master and disciple.
'Good to know Bell'll have someone to watch over him once I'm gone.'
~~~
Days passed quickly, slipping by in their usual rhythm.
Those meant to train went to train.
Those meant to work on the farm did… but not for their usual tasks.
"Have the preparations been made?"
"Yes, Kami-sama. We've already arranged a replacement."
"And the monsters? I assume enough to be convincing, but not so many as to raise suspicion."
"Yes."
A quiet nod passed between them, the plan set in motion without a hitch.
"…Then we begin shortly."
""""Right!""""
Multiple shadowy figures vanished in an instant, moving with blinding speed.
The bearded old man's gaze lingered on the forest where the two young men trained. Quietly, almost to himself, he mouthed the words:
"I hope you forgive me when the time comes… Bell."
Chapter 48 end.
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Been up from 11 am yesterday till now brainstorming ideas but couldn't come up with anything so I just wrote this.