Serious words

"Of course, I'm going to help you if I can. I'm a little busy right now but I think I can make time to stop by tomorrow. I would like it if we could have a little chat over tea. does that sound good to you sweetie."

INT had to chuckle at her display of grandmotherly affection. There were few people he trusted unconditionally, and she was one of them. her circumstances were even more special than his own, but she still found plenty of time to help those who asked for her guidance.

"Thank you. I really don't know how the world would work without you." he couldn't help but sincerely express his feelings.

"Oh, stop you Rascal. I'm too old for these shenanigans so watch what you say. I'll be there around lunch time so make sure you make something special." the old lady hung up to finish her business in time for the meeting.

A slight smile still persisted on INT's face and probably wouldn't fade for some time. he knew the old woman since he had started working as the sage's security system. If there was anyone in this world who deserved the title of doting grandmother, she was it.

Not only was she one of the oldest living beings of this world, only being a few centuries younger than the sage himself, but she was also a bastion of knowledge in most fields of magic.

She was the foremost expert in the growth of living beings and most who knew her referred to her as the guardian of children. Lifeforces were also in her sphere of expertise, and she was damn good at reading them.

Similar to the sage she was old enough that her original name had been long forgotten. Across the world she was known by many different nicknames. Even though guardian of children was her most well-known title most people on this continent referred to her as Holle or miss Holle. Other nicknames included Hulda and Perchta.

Of course, this only applied to the people who actually knew of her. outside of fairy tales and hearsay there weren't many who had actually seen her much less talk to her. not because she was a particularly secretive person.

Most people simply didn't care because she had practically no impact on their day-to-day life. She practically never appeared in public. even though magic was universally known about more difficult concepts were mostly relegated to the realm of myths.

Many creatures such as Dragons, phoenixes, Different kinds of immortals and other such beings were generally talked about but had so little influence over the lives of ordinary people they were practically myths.

Before the advent of modern magic many people worshipped figures, they called gods. most gods were derived from such beings but they themselves rarely played that role for long.

Most of the keepers had had such an experience and almost all of them universally agreed that acting like a God in the eyes of humans was more trouble than it was worth.

With time and the study of magic most people shifted from worshipping divine figures to trusting their own who had the power to protect them. Most religions had died out a few centuries ago.

Many of the aforementioned Creatures started to lay low in order to be left alone. after some time had passed there were always a few who tried to reestablish their power over humanity but all of them were either soundly defeated by there would be worshippers or came to the same conclusion as before.

Holding power over humans was fun for them for a little while but it got troublesome pretty fast. those with petty reasons never lasted long but there are still places in this world that are ruled by those who were once called gods.

INT Shook his head to get away from these mostly unproductive thoughts. swaying off topic was not only a concern for him when he talked. 'Bad habits really die hard.' He thought while trying to recall where his train of thought had started.

The moment he remembered a rush of nostalgia coming from the prospect of having an old friend over prompted INT to go to the kitchen and prepare for a feast.

…

Contrary to the last time Damian had woken up, this time he felt Relaxed even though a great number of his muscles we're still sore. He managed to stand up without a problem and just like last time he followed the pleasant sent downstairs.

As he entered the kitchen a familiar, yet strange sight appeared before him. INT was surrounded by half a dozen kitchen burners and every single one of them had a pan or pot on it. The dining table, that had doubled in size, was already half full of many different dishes. Damien could see a great variety. From Vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian to a whole pork shoulder.

"Are we going to feed a battalion or is a dragon coming to visit us." Damian said more jokingly than serious.

"Nothing of the sort. There aren't even 100 people who know about this place that we could invite, and this would be a pretty meager meal for a dragon. we are having a guest over though." INT didn't even look up from his cooking stage.

"Well, the only visitors we ever had were more than strange, so I sure hope this visitor is less of a nut-case than the last two." the boy with the body of a little child kept on joking.

"Hey, she…" INT turned around and started screaming until he remembered who he was talking to and saw that Damien had jumped and backed off at his outburst. he calmed himself and turned around to his pans again.

"She is one of the oldest and most powerful beings in this world. furthermore, she is one of the least insane people that had have lived that long and that is saying something. she is older than most of the keepers and was a good friend of the sage.

"Most importantly though she is very special to me. since the sage made me into a living artifact, she's one of the few people that I sincerely want to call family. I'd really appreciate it if you were on your best behavior."

A few minutes later Damien had recovered from the shock and calmed down a little. INT was apparently pissed at him for making a joke and he felt awful because of it. the guest they were having over clearly meant a lot to him and Damien basically insulted her.

If someone had called his grandfather a nut case, he would have probably flown off the rail's way more. "Sorry, it was a bad joke." he thought about sitting down at the table, but he wasn't confident in holding himself back and not at least trying the dishes that we're already finished.

He instead walked closer to INT careful to stay out of range of his moving hands. "Can I help you with something. I'm not a bad cook myself."

After a few seconds INT pointed at a pile of carrots near the sink. "Those need to be washed."

"Do they need to be peeled to." Damien asked wanting to help even more.

"You have the hands of a 5-year-old. I'm not giving you a sharp blade or a hot pan. You're also going to need a chair or something to be big enough to reach over the table."

With a wave of his hand INT made a chair from the dining table float to the sink. it took some effort, but Damien climbed on it and started washing. they spent some time in silence until INT broke it.

"Look, I'm not going to apologize for screaming at you. Technically I'm kind of in charge of your education but that does not mean that I am your parent. Hell, I'm barely good enough to be a teacher. the only way I can teach you is by stealing the sage's words and his methods were, let's call it strenuous.

"He was always sincere with those he spoke to. if I had to phrase it more honestly, he was kind of an asshole. He never minced words and always looked critically on everything he encountered. most people really didn't like him at first. only those who actually listen to him and took his criticism serious started to appreciate his company.

"Many of the big players in history only made it as far as they got because they took his criticism at face value and changed. he loathed the idea of directly interfering with the machinations going on in the world. instead, he tried to bring others to make changes.

"I think I'm getting off topic again. my point is that there will be no coddling from my side toward you. I will try to stay fair and listen to what you have to say. There is always going to be a roof, some good food and a warm bed for you here. you'll have to search for entertainment and emotional support somewhere else, though."