My New Life in TBATE

End of the journey.

Months have passed since Etistin and we were rolling to the gate in Blackbend city that would take us to Xyrus. The cities in between Etistin and Xyrus, while beautiful, didn't have much to offer. The trip itself between the cities was rather uneventful as well, which I could appreciate compared to the first half.

In these months James had become quite the tea brewer and a not half bad swordsman. He was more of a sword and shield kind of guy, so I modified his style to be like Durk's. Though I only saw him fight a few times, I had gotten a pretty good grasp on his moves. Enough to give James some pointers at least. Now we were departing and James was a little emotional.

"Th-thank you so much mashter." Came his words which were littered with hiccups and sniffles from the guy.

"Take care of yourself James, I'll be keeping up with your progress through the guild master." He then stood straight and saluted me.

"As expected of Master Rez to be friends with guild master Kaspian." Tears still streaming down his face. I patted him on the side of the arm and disappeared into an alleyway, there I changed into my normal outfit and made my way back to Helstea manor. Back home.

I never did find Kathyln a gift during my journey, but I'll be sure to find one before our next meeting. I do though have gifts for everyone in the house, and that will just have to do. Walking down the long road I see 2 girls playing in the yard, one older and one merely a toddler. It was Lilia and Eleanor. When I left Eleanor was just a new born still, but now she was 1 years old and had grown a little, Lilia was already 6 and I was close behind as I would be turning 6 at the end of this month.

Eventually Lilia saw me and I could see the tears form in her eyes as she charged to me and tackled me in a hug. Blubbering about bandits and my lost teammates and all sorts of nonsense, while Ellie just stared at me strangely. Patting Lilia's head I break her hold on me and wipe her eyes.

"Now now, Lily I'm quite strong you know? I would never leave you, mom, and dad all alone." I said with a few more pats that seemed to placate her. I looked down at Eleanor and brought out the doll I had bought in one of the cities we visited. The doll shop in that city was known to have made dolls for Kathyln so I figured surely it was good enough for Ellie.

She immediately clutched the doll tightly to her chest before bouncing it up and down as she played with it. I could see a pout forming on Lilia's face so I just grinned as I brought out the dress I had bought for her back in Valden and her eyes started shining as she took the dress. It was still a little big, but she would be able to wear it at her next birthday at least. She hugged me once again and tugged on my arm.

"Lets go inside! We got to show everyone that you're back!" She exclaimed. I picked up little Ellie and let myself be dragged by the arm into the house before she stopped and turned to me timidly.

"Brother." She seemed shy for some reason so I titled my head to the side in confusion as she's not usually a shy person.

"What is it Lilly?" I question.

"I-I was able to see the lights recently!" She started quiet before gaining confidence towards the end and my eyes widened.

"You mean you actually did what I said before I left?" I asked in surprise, as I hadn't expected the young girl to want to do it.

*FLASHBACK 1 year ago, Before the Journey*

"I want to be like you." Lilia said randomly as I was meditating on the ground in between my 100 swings.

"A boy?" I said cheekily, getting a huff as she flopped to the ground on her backside beside me.

"No! A mage, I want to do magic like you!" I open one eye and look at her, seeing her serious face. I frown inwardly as I know she was only able to become a mage because Arthur jump started her mana with his. But I wonder if that just because she didn't know how to meditate? Would she be able to form her core by meditating before Arthur ever gets here? I think deeply for a few seconds as she stares at me in hope.