Awesome Things

"I am kidding." Then, the man laughed out loud. His laughter was so satisfied that it brought tears to his eyes.

Ashnard was momentarily confused then put on a straight face. He understands now.

"I will not train you." The man wiped the tears from his eyes. "You are already strong. Why would I train you?"

"But-"

"Walk away, little human. Even if you insist, I won't do it. You are still young. You better not seek strength."

"But, I will take responsibility with the power I have." Ashnard insisted.

"I said no!" Sefenfor raised his voice. "Don't run in the wrong direction. Be like Liliya. The girl who is cheerful and full of freedom chooses only beautiful things, such as flowers."

"Liliya is a girl, I'm a boy!"

"I hope you will choose the same path as her. You need someone like her by your side, and that girl needs someone like you."

"Useless god!" shouted Ashnard.

Sefenfor then remounted his eagle and flew into the sky. The mist slowly moved to follow where the man had gone.

Ashnard didn't get what he wanted, was annoyed. He returned to the city, needing to find Liliya. Since Liliya and Sefenfor seemed close, Ashnard hoped that Liliya could persuade Sefenfor to train him.

However, Ashnard had nowhere to look for her. He only looked for her on the street he had walked with her during the celebration.

In front of him, a girl was running towards him. It was Liliya with a happy face approaching Ashnard.

"Liliya, I was looking for you," Ashnard greeted.

"Yes, I know," said Liliya. Without running out of breath in the slightest after running.

"How do you know?"

"You will look for me. The wind told me," replied the girl.

"Listen, I need your help. I want you to persuade Sefenfor to help with my training. Please."

"Sure," answered Liliya shortly.

"Really? You're not pranking me either, are you?"

"Hehe, I won't. I'll help you, but you have to help me too." A mischievous grin formed on his face. Remind Ashnard of Sefenfor. Ashnard now understood where her mischievous smile came from.

Ashnard gave in, "Okay. What do you need?"

With a smile and a puffy chest, the girl said, "Spend a whole day with me!"

"A whole day with you!?"

"Yep. Then, I will force Sefenfor to train you. I promise," said Liliya.

Ashnard had no choice. Even though it was a shameful request, his determination to become stronger overcame the shame. "I will do it."

The girl jumped for joy.

"But I have to tell my mother first if I will be home for a while."

Liliya snorted, "I'll come along."

Ashnard and Liliya headed for the Raegulus's manor. When the door opened, Edda must greet her son. The woman was surprised to see Ashnard coming with Liliya.

"Hello, Mrs. Raegulus. My name is Liliya." Liliya bowed and waved her hand.

"Please come in, Ms. Liliya. I didn't expect Ash to come with you."

"Actually, I just wanted to ask Mom's permission," Ashnard said. "I'm going to go play with Liliya. Maybe It will be long, so don't worry about me."

"That's good!" said the mother. "I agree. I will. But, don't go yet. I will make food for the two of you. Take Liliya to your room, Ash."

"No, mom. I just-" Ashnard's words cut off when his mother pushed him into his room.

Liliya looked around Ashnard's neat room, and there was still a lot of free space. It just looks like it was almost empty. Liliya also found a flower arrangement on the table, which immediately make her smile.

"So, your mother called you Ash?"

"Don't call me Ash either," Ashnard sighed in embarrassment.

Liliya then stopped at a bookshelf on the left side of the bed. The red wooden shelf consisted of three tiers filled with various kinds of books, but most of them were adventure-themed books. She traced the backs of the books and picked up one of them. "You must really like stories about adventures."

"Of course."

Liliya then sat on the edge of the bed, followed by Ashnard, who sat next to her. "I wonder, why do you like stories about adventures?"

"I think adventure stories are fun. You can find all sorts of magical things out there, mysteries, and other unimaginable things. Because I believe the world is very beautiful, I wanted to see it and experience it firsthand."

On the table Ashnard used to read books on, Liliya's gaze fell on a wooden box. At the top of the box, there was a familiar engraving. "What's box is that?"

"It was a gift from my father." Ashnard took the box and showed him its contents. "Just a hilt without a blade. A useless gift."

Liliya looked at the shape of the handle. The carvings on the handles also look familiar. "I think it's useful."

Ashnard looked at the girl in confusion.

Liliya showed the carving on the wooden box. An engraving of a horned dragon flying. The dragon has large legs and very hard-looking scales. Its jaws are even bigger and fatter, in contrast to other slender types of dragons. "Look at this engraving."

"I know what that picture is, Liliya. What's wrong with that?"

Then Liliya showed the engraving that encircled the hilt. It's hard to see because of the shape, but the carving is a picture of a bearded man holding a trumpet and an ax in both hands.

"And this is an engraving of Reibo. God of Cold Wind. One of the Four Guardians of the Wind. Same features. Have a beard. Carrying a trumpet and an ax in his hand," explained Liliya.

"Then why? Aren't there many objects that have carvings and paintings of gods and dragons?"

Liliya was annoyed. She pinched Ashnard's arm. "Didn't you read it? Mr. Reibo is also an expert in making weapons. All the weapons of the Four Wind Gods were made by him. On the hilt of Mr. Sefenfor's sword, there is also have the same craving."

"You mean, my father asked a god to make a weapon? A weapon that has the same power as other gods' weapons?" Ashnard made sure.

"Well, I don't know if your weapon's power is equal or not. However, I believe that your sword isn't useless," said Liliya. "If you want, I can ask Sefenfor to take us to meet Reibo."

"But, how about the plan to going out all day?"

"It's okay. I think it's more important than spending the day with me. It's about your dad, Ash."

Ashnard put the hilt of his sword back into the wooden case and thought. If there really was a connection between this sword and God Reibo, Ashnard thought that it would help him become even stronger. Like he wanted to defeat the Ozarks.

Sefenfor's words flashed in his head. About the direction and path that will he choose, the path that Liliya chooses. The thing that Sefenfor wanted to tell him, is those awesome things are not always about power. Ashnard assumed, maybe he could feel awesome things if he were with Liliya.

Then, Ashnard reached out his hand to Liliya. "No, the sword can wait. First, how about we spend the day together?"

***

He rose from his seat in surprise. "What the hell? I didn't expect there would be a romance plot? Damn, I should be the one there."