[6] The Elder's Grave

The mural was empty when I got there. It usually is nowadays. It hasn't even been six months since his death, and people are already starting to move on with their lives.

I couldn't fault them; he wasn't the best man when he was still alive. The only time that people saw his true nature was just moments before he died; the initial appreciation has faded by now. I knew better than them. He was more than just 'The Village Elder' to me.

His mural was placed near the outskirts of the village, just a few blocks from the cemetery. It was lightly gated, the fences made up of simple decoration with a light green coloring that represented the town's government. The entrance was being reinforced with a spell that made sure whoever entered didn't have bad intentions with the grave, courtesy of me.

The grass was duller on the other side of the fence, lacking in the nutrients that were abundant on the other side. The color only reflected the leaves of the willow trees that stood alone in this space, looking over and shading a tombstone.

I didn't take another step the moment I entered.

There was something overwhelming every time I came to pay respects. It was different every time. This time there were a million different voices that told me to turn back.

If I listened to one of the voices closely, I could hear everything that it said clearly. They were jumbled words for the most part, a kind of whisper that promised more despite the nonsense that it spoke.

When I checked the magical plane, nothing indicated that these were the products of magic.

Maybe I was growing crazy.

Taking another step, I started walking toward the tombstone. The voices dulled the closer I got to his grave, yet the heaviness in my heart remained the same in contrast.

I sat down on the grass and started the small ritual of cleaning his grave, ridding the pearly white marble of the loose leaves and grass.

Satisfied, I replaced the decaying flower in a dedicated box on the side. The flower that I took faded to dust in my hand the moment I put the new ones in place.

I watched the wind carry its remains, climbing higher and higher until it disappeared from my sight as it swooped behind the hanging leaves of the willow tree.

A constant breeze started just then, my whole body wrapped in its cold embrace.

Despite the growing noise from the town's waking, this space was quiet and peaceful. Something that he liked when he was alive.

"I just got back from a hunt. It was interesting."

I waited for an answer, knowing that it would never come.

I did my best to ignore how tears prickled at the back of my eyes as I processed that information. "You know I... I really miss you. I don't think I told you that when you were still alive." I paused, thinking back to that time.

I remembered the care I received under his tutelage. His old man laugh was so odd that it never failed to make me laugh. Even after all the time that passed since his death, I found myself giggling to myself when I thought of it.

I stared at his name on the grave. Not for the first time, I wondered if I should take his last name; it was an offer he gave me the day before he died.

As it stood, I lack a surname. It never bothered him; he was more than comfortable with addressing me with my first name; the others, not so much. I wasn't prepared to receive his name when he first offered for me to take it, and I don't think that will change now.

"You asked me what job I would choose when I get into the academy—assuming I get in, of course." I quickly added, as if that correction would convince a stone to change its opinion, "I think I know now."

"..."

"I already know what you would say if you were here." I cleared my throat and started to hunch my back and point at the air, my voice trying and failing to mimic his own. "Young Lady, if that is what I think it is, then I strongly urge you to find another one!"

I laughed to myself at a scenario that was fiction yet true at the same time.

"You wouldn't approve of it, I'm sure, but it's what I think is best for me. For King, I don't think people would accept me otherwise." When the wind stopped blowing in my face, I knew that I was getting too sentimental with a rock of all things and I needed to redirect to something else.

It was easy to change the subject when the party didn't talk back, to interject with their own piece that had the length of a novel. It was easy to change topics when you're talking to no one really.

I talk about my life since my last visit: King's growth, the village's scorn not changing, and my plans for the near future.

I told him about the achievement and my new title, gushed about my new butcher skills, and talked about anything that didn't make me feel like there was a ball stuck at the back of my throat or my eyes stung with tears that I refused to let loose.

If he were still alive, I knew that he would have already smacked me in the head a long time ago and called me stupid. The thought was hilarious.

He wasn't here, though.

———

I stayed there for an hour, tending to my wounds while continuing to talk to him about anything that came to mind.

I wasn't as badly injured as I was in the past, the only indicator that told me that I was improving, one way or another. The old man would often tell me that the best way to learn was to play; it hadn't worked for me as well as just going out to hunt, but I find the time to make sure to follow his teachings.

Now that I wasn't bleeding and had treated my injuries appropriately, I made my way outside the memorial and into the town. It's almost noon, and I have yet to make a dent in the large amount of tasks that needed my attention.

But before any of that, I needed to swing by the inn and pick up King. It's not a good idea for that particular baby polar bear to wake up alone; I've learned my lesson from last time.

I made quick work at the front desk. With my disguise, most people ignored me as yet another customer.

The shopkeeper behind the desk wasn't the same, staring at me with a barely hidden disgust.

"'By sunrise', you said?"

I glared at him and looked around just in case anyone heard. "There were complications. I'm here now, but I won't be for long; I have errands to run. Give me my tablet so me and the bear can get out of your hair until night falls."

He grunted, looking like he wanted to do anything but that before he turned around and grabbed my wooden tablet from the dozens that hung on the nearby wall. He didn't hold back his strength as he shoved the tablet into my hand. It didn't do much, though he seemed to be satisfied to have done something against me, even if it was small.

He didn't say another word then, looking through me like I didn't exist in front of him just as he did earlier this morning.

I didn't speak. There was no need to; I doubt he would be listening anyway.

Going up the stairs and to my room was a quiet endeavor—nothing to note.

I used my disguise spell first, and then my armor followed. I took my time arranging the dirty pieces and placed them in a small corner in the room along with the rest of my laundry that was starting to pile up—another item to add to my to-do list.

Before heading to the shower, I walked up to King's bed and started shaking him awake.

He had enough to sleep today, immediately waking when I touched him and glowing when he saw me. The little thing cooed and jumped on top of me, nibbling my shoulder.

"Good morning, King. Care to join me for a shower?"

The little guy didn't respond, too engrossed with eating my shoulder. I didn't mind; it's a good thing for me to know that he's in a good mood. That should make today a little less stressful.