Chapter 172 – The Journey to a Place
“Woo?” The little wolf that had grown a few centimetres looked confused at Syrus as his partner expressed his doubts.
Ethan said, “Are you sure…? You want us to come on such a trip?”
Syrus replied, “Honestly, I assumed you would be more excited for this.”
The three of them were in their usual spot outside of the city where they trained. Ethan was wearing his full work gear, with his bow and hatchet.
“I am excited… I’ve just barely had any experience.”
“Woo?”
Ethan replied without thinking about it, “It’s a long distance, Cobalt.”
[Looks like their connection has gotten stronger.] (Luna)
Cobalt was still brown in its disguised form with bright blue eyes. Nearly in a way matching Ethan, who had brown hair and tealish green eyes.
[Ethan changed a bit in his own way as well.] (Syrus)
[Then do you think he is up for it? You gave another training session to deduce what his current abilities are.] (Eva)
Anlesa had been very busy over the last five days. Jumping between places, collecting supplies, experimenting, crafting potions, helping Elly and the children, and within all that, they had found time to reconnect with Ethan after their time apart.
The boy was ecstatic to have Syrus back and receive training again. Ethan had been working with his family to rebuild, and he had been doing jobs for the guilds to begin making more money. Thanks to Syrus’s extensive training, even over what was a relatively short period of time, he was quite competent for an early hunter.
“Little nervous?” Syrus crouched down to his height.
He couldn’t look in her eyes. “I just don’t know if I am up for it… I haven’t been able to do anything.”
Cobalt did a little hop to nudge Ethan’s cheek.
“Worried about everything that has happened recently?” Syrus asked; the cause of Ethan’s doubt wasn’t exactly hard to figure out. While Anlesa had a lot of disastrous, back-to-back things happen at once, the same held true for Ethan.
Cobalt was nearly taken from him, and he was nearly harmed. Then the city got attacked, which then got mind-controlled, and even his parents were caught up in that. All while he felt useless in all those moments.
He tried to help out when the city was attacked, but all he did was help move people. The truth was, he was scared someone was going to jump out and grab Cobalt again. Then, in the incidents before and after, he was completely useless as the grown-ups around him got caught up in conflicts.
“...Yes… I can’t endanger you again with my lack of ability.” Though out of all three incidents. The first one hurt the most for him. At that time, he dragged Syrus, the person who helped him for basically nothing, into massive danger.
Syrus chuckled. “Endanger me? Kid, the point is that you aren’t fully capable; that is why you are still learning.” She patted both little boys on the head. “Though in some cases you learn for your whole life and still feel inadequate, but that is okay; the point is that you at least try to do what you want, Ethan. You. Are. A. Kid. It doesn’t matter whether you are working or not; it is an adult's job to teach, and you still have plenty of room to learn. Is there a risk of bringing someone along who is not perfect at their job? Yes. There is also a risk when bringing someone who is good at the job. There will always be risks and dangers; it is about managing them when they arrive.”
[Poor Ethan…] (Eva)
[The guilt was likely weighing him down for a while.] (Luna)
[Is there anything we can do to help?] (Eva)
[Nope.] (Syrus)
[Your speech was effective.] Luna noted that Ethan was standing more firmly as Syrus spoke to him.
Syrus disagreed. [That doesn’t help anybody; only people can help themselves.]
Syrus added, “When Cobalt was attacked the first time. You made the best decision. Do not think otherwise. Sometimes the best solution does involve other people, and sometimes, a person cannot handle everything on their own. Humans are at their best when they are working together with others.” She turned to look at Cobalt. “Whether that be humans or wolf buddies.”
“Woo! Wooo!” Cobalt barked excitedly.
“Remember, you always have Cobalt behind you.”
Ethan nodded, and his fist tightened. “Okay… Thank you.”
“All good, let me know if you are up for the trip.” Syrus stood back up.
Ethan said, “I–”
But Syrus interrupted, “Let your emotions process first, then you can tell me, silly.” She chuckled. “It is also important not to rush when one doesn’t need to.”
The two of them finished their conversation and split. Ethan went on to work while processing his emotions, and Sryus was ready to get something to eat.
“Syrus, morning,” Elly yelled out as they walked back into the Arisea Station’s streets.
[We really do keep running into everyone.] (Eva)
[While Arisea Station is referred to as a city, it could be described as a large town.] (Luna)
Elly said, “You’ve been busy.”
“What makes you say that?”
“The children, they have been telling me how they watch you run across the city multiple times a day.”
“Yikes.”
[Damn littles buggers, spying on us.] (Syrus)
[They don’t really need to put much effort into spying, once again, considering the size of this place.] (Luna)
They had already spoken with Elly about deciding to take up the job offer. That info was conveyed to the children, which brought mixed reactions. Elly made it clear that this was going to make a lot of money and was something Syrus needed to do. Syrus didn’t agree with that last part, but the children were seemingly scheming something for when Anlesa returned home.
“Well, enjoy your vacation.” Elly said, “I have some big plans to implement while you are gone.”
Syrus shook her head. “I wouldn’t call it a vacation.”
Elly said, “You of all people need a change of scenery and desire the chance to explore more of the world.”
“...Well, I’m going to make a decent buck from this, so I will treat you to something good when I come back.”
“Let’s keep that a secret from the kids.” Elly gestured, her finger over her mouth. “To make it a surprise for them when they are back.”
Syrus said goodbye, “Sure, stay safe, see you around.”
[...Back to supply gathering?] (Eva)
[Yeah… Let’s do that… We can have lunch on the job.] (Syrus)
They had debated who to bring, but in the end, they decided to only take Ethan and Cobalt along. There were many good options from Elly’s home for children. However, most were still lacking in the basic skill department, and it felt wrong to only bring one child in some instances. Any of the three they recently travelled with didn’t deserve to be separated from the rest of the family again, so Anlesa would have to bring multiple people along, but that was also pushing Lavender’s requirement.
Taking Ella, who was the most ready for such action, would be bad, as she was a massive voice of reason for the children and a great help for Elly.
“Everyone got their supplies ready?” Syrus asked.
They had a horse-drawn carriage, which cost a bit extra, but it would make the trip a lot shorter; however, the estimated time included some sort of pulled vehicle at least. It would take about three weeks with this vehicle to reach Eletscoep.
Eletscoep was far, far south, and they would have to pass a few smaller territories and other places to reach it.
“Yep, haha!” Lavender raised her spear into the air.
“Yep,” said Ethan.
Cobalt agreed, “Woof!”
Lavender had a large, hard leather briefcase, in which she placed all her belongings, and Ethan had a smaller bag. He was a little nervous, but he was ready.
“Good to see.” Anlesa had the largest bags. She had one just for potion supplies, medical equipment, and crafting equipment.
There was also one additional bag, which was the wood storage. There was no way to store all the food they needed for the whole trip, so they planned to stock up along the way.
While the trio stood outside the cart, on the opposite side, Mary and Max were speaking.
Mary was squatting down talking to her son. “It’s going to be a long trip, Max, so remember, you have to be strong.”
“Yes, Mum.”
The parent and child gave each other a hug.
[This is going to be Max’s first time out of the city. I can see why she would be a little worried.] (Syrus)
[One of the reasons we brought Ethan was so there was someone closer in age he could talk to. Plus Cobalt will help calm the nerves.] (Luna)
Ethan was only about thirteen years old, so they hoped he would get along with Max. Of course, that wasn’t the primary reason, but still, it was something they considered.
Lavender and Syrus had already discussed driving the cart, as both had experience before, so they decided to swap during the trip.
When the duo were finished, Syrus went over to assist them, placing the luggage in the carriage.
“I just hope we weren’t rushing you,” Luna said.
“No,” Mary lamented, “It is something I should’ve done long ago, but I lacked the will to do so.”
“...Then are you sure you should be doing this?
Mary said resolutely, “Sometimes one is obligated to fulfil a promise.”
Anlesa replied, “That is true.”
It was a little bit of an awkward start, but with everyone together and goodbyes taken care of. They were about to begin their journey to Eletscoep.