Get ready

"Old friend."

Algazuma, who was at the guild's rooftop stopped thinking about Alati and lifted his head seeing Victicus coming next to him.

"I see you have not started. Feel free, there is plenty of where that came from."

Victicus took out two cups. They opened the wine bottle and poured it into them. They then stood at the rooftop drinking silently and just watched the festivities. Seeing how happy the people were, Algazuma could not help but think of how Alati would be happy right then.

"So, how did the fight with my daughter go?"

That question made him take a large sip of his drink.

"Well, I learned a lesson. We are of the same rank but with her being at the solid stage and me still at the liquid stage. I have more powerful spells on paper than her as mine combine two elements, but it was not even a fight. My butt still hurts from the thumping I got."

"Hahahaha, you would not think you were holding her in your arms just 80 years ago."

"Well, she sure has grown into a fine woman. Looking like she is still in her twenties you would think she has not grown into the unforgiving devil she is."

Victicus took out another bottle as it looked like it was starting to go down faster.

"I can't remember the last time we shared this drink. One of your special wines. I think you called it Enlightenment. I remember laughing when I heard you called it that."

"Well, old friend, each time you take a drink, don't you feel a little bit different?"

"I do, but that is just because as smooth as it is, it is one of the most potent wines I have ever tested and the testiest. Me feeling deferent every time I take a sip is because each sip melts my brain."

"Hahahaha, well, that is because it is enlightening your mind."

Algazuma just sighed loudly.

"Even as I have grown to be over 200 years old, I just can't argue with you."

Victicus laughed.

"And that two-hundred-year-old man just got his arse kicked by a child he helped her mother when she gave birth."

"Ah,uh, oh,u, re, la, eshi."

Victicus could not hear what he was saying but the old man was for sure swearing at him in secret.

"They sure grow up quick."

"Yes, they do."

"I am sorry old friend. I am sure you know that I already know who did this."

"Yeah, I know."

"And what do you make of me not telling you who it was right now?"

Algazuma put his drink down and stood in front of Victicus then kneeled down.

"I thank you!"

He said with his face all the way down on the floor.

"Get up old friend. There is no need for that."

Algazuma got up and went back to where he was standing then took another sip of his wine.

"You better get on with it or those two kids will beat you to it. They might just kill each and every one of them in doing so."

"They sure are something, the Finis sure are something. It is true, I just got beaten by a kid and now two Finis children could take the hunt away from me. The world is cruel indeed."

Algazuma said like a hunter ready to hunt his prey.

"Just be careful old friend, there is a third-tier witch in their circle."

"Thanks for the heads up, but a beast that the Trial Forest would challenge me with would be much more difficult than a witch that is already dead... Do you think the boys can survive an encounter with such a witch?"

"One of them was ready to kill my daughter in order to save his brother. I am sure they have something that could even hurt me. That was before they had those cursed needles."

"Finis sure are scary. I would not want to be a child with ambition during their time."

Algazuma said stroking his beard. Victicus took out another bottle. The night passed with the two exchanging stories of Alati and the men they almost killed who had tried to take her hand. Victicus could not help but think that if they were not too hard on the man back then, then she might have been married sooner and this could have all been avoided, or if they had not relaxed their fatherly protection of her. He sighed as this added to his stress of being the father of every child in the town who he loved very much.

As the fire blazed on, the proceedings came to an end with Sheyken not seeing where Seduralto and Salina were. If he had looked at the roof that looked down on the training grounds of the guild, he would have seen what his eyes had been searching for ever since he got there as a man with grey hair stood there with two young-looking women looking on at the proceedings.

A day passed with people drinking and others sharing stories of how some of the men almost faced death trying to ask Alati out with one of them literally getting a heart attack when he saw steam coming out of Algazuma's nose.

The next day the boys woke up and when they got to the dining area, they were met with a crying Sali. Falgur quickly leaped into action like a Casanova on steroids.

"Awe, my dear. What happened?"

He went next to her and she unconsciously put her head on his chest as she cried. He automatically tried to make it seem bigger.

"Each tear I see dropping from your eyes is like a star falling from the night sky. Come now, let us not waste them. Just like the sky would not be beautiful without them, let us not tannish such a beautiful face with tears."

Sheyken whistles automatically.

'Damn, this kid is good. I might just need to take some notes here.'

He thought as he pitched himself saying those lines to Salina. Sali stopped crying right then.

"Am I that beautiful?"

She asked Falgur.

"Off cause... Any man could fight even a dragon if it was keeping such a face away from him.'

Sheyken could not help but whistle again.

'I need a pen and paper real fast. Such a bold statement. I need to sit down and have a talk with this kid. He might already be playing at the big boy's leagues.'

Sheyken thought as he unconsciously looked for a pen and paper in Ruby even when he knew there was none.

"What happened?"

Falgur said as he wiped her tears with a handkerchief.

'Where in the Guardians' names did her get that?'

Sheyken was having his mind blown in that morning.

"Sazi will no longer be working with us."

They were both shocked.

"From today onwards she will officially start working at the guild."

That was even more shocking.

'Is she not 11 years old'

Sheyken thought.

"Sheyken, you can go, I will be right there with you."

Falgur said still rubbing Sali's back.

'Smooth.'

He thought and just gave a thump up and left. As soon as he did, Falgur made the mistake of looking at the kitchen and saw what seemed to be a demon's eye looking at him from the opening of the door. He gulped and Sali saw his image disappear right in front of her eyes. He was next to Sheyken before he took his third step outside and he was huffing and puffing.

"What the hell just happen? It is rare to see you out of breath."

"I just saw the devil!... Let us go!"

Falgur said pushing him. Sheyken laughed as he knew what he had seen. He was amazed that his head was still intact. They reached the guild and it was buzzing but not the way it used to. At the counter they saw Sazi and standing next to her was Algazuma.

They approached them while looking at the scary big guy who was in contrast with Sazi who had a cute smile on her face while reading a book. They were so taken by seeing a book that they tried to position themselves to see what she was reading. A hand hit the book which scared them and made them look upwards. Sazi squinted her eyes in surprise. The boys looked at the scary towering man as he gestured them to pay if they wanted to read.

"Awe good, you are here."

Selduralto appeared from the crowd as they were about to leave. Algazuma just seemed too scary. They did not know how Sazi was all cute and lovely, without a care and just reading next to him.

"I was about to go to get you, boys."

She said as she approached them.

"You should get ready. Buy what you need to buy and see what you want to see. Say your goodbyes to the friends you made because, in two days, we are leaving. Salina will give you the details sometime today."

The news shocked the guild and the boys too. They had come to love it there. Selduralto saw that she had made a mess of her deliverance of the news. The Guild loved the boys in just the short time they were there and they had given them the 'Legend' status after all. She tried to fix her mistake.

"You have to go to school, So, when you come back you can share your experiences with us. These damn fools also finished the provisions during the celebrations and the funeral. We are not going to use the portal. We have many people who want to leave and see the outside world and these fools also need to trade some high-quality materials and get a break from the Trial Forest. We shall travel on through the desert and it will take time. We need to go as soon as we can, alright."

With that explanation, both the guild members and the boys saw the reasoning. They nodded and went straight to the market and then to the Mystic. It had a five-star chef and they had to order food that would last them for as long as it could. Sheyken had to at least put a pinch into the guild's pocket after their Guild master made his pocket bleed 200 mana crystals.