Chapter 11 - Meinhard

Glancing down, he noticed bandages wrapped around the boy's fingers, not only that--he could see a hint of bandages covering his arms from under his sleeves. Meinhard quickly pulled his sleeves down as he noticed his glance, looking away meekly.

"What are those from?" Ren asked him, looking at his bandaged hands.

The boy tried to distract himself by throwing some vegetables into the pot with a plob as they dropped against the boiling water.

"You know--just some cuts while dicing up vegetables is all. I can't say I'm a master with the knife, he-he," Meinhard stuck his tongue out jokingly.

Ren didn't believe it for a second, but he didn't feel like prodding into the life of someone he just met.

"Alright...you should be more careful," Ren furrowed his eyebrows before turning back to dice the rest of the carrot he had started on, "Say...what kind of guy is Althaus anyways?"

--Ren already had his own impression of him that he already told himself wouldn't change, but maybe hearing something good about the man might make his time here easier. However--more than that, he almost hoped to hear negative aspects of Althaus to justify his hatred for him further.

He could feel Meinhard freeze in place at his question. The energetic boy seemed to dim down at the topic of the nobleman. The boy ran his fingers over his other hand, touching the bandages that wrapped around his injured fingers. Although it was hard to see, Ren could faintly make out red stains of blood that had seeped into the white bandages.

"The lord...gave me a reason to live when I was at the end of my road," Meinhard smiled, his eyes shrouded by reminiscing memories told a different story to Ren.

Ren let out a short sigh from his parted lips, dicing apart another carrot with more speed--but not efficiency. He let his frustration manifest as he sliced apart the orange vegetable as if he was some sort of celebrity chef, eventually--

"Gow--!" Ren yelped out.

Ren held his hand close to his body, blowing on his finger as if to ease the pain he caused to himself in his own shoddy knifemanship. A trail of blood ran down the parted skin on his lightly mutilated finger, staining his finger in crimson.

"Ah...I thought I heard you picking up speed over there!" Meinhard teased him while still somehow holding a worried expression.

Meinhard acted in haste, grabbing the boy's hand and holding it.

"Hey--this isn't the time for whatever this is!" Ren complained with a flustered expression.

"Oh, shut up!" Meinhard huffed, closing his eyes, "Heilen Manor."

As those words imbued with mystical energy left the boy's mouth, an odd sensation ran through Ren--causing his hand to pulsate with an unknown warmth. A faint green light radiated from the pair's hands before the pain faded entirely.

"What...is this?" Ren asked slowly, left in awe at the sight.

"Just a simple healing spell. Your finger should be fine now--just wash the blood off!" Meinhard smiled, letting go of his hand.

Raising his finger in front of his eyes, he confirmed for himself that his cut was healed, even the pain had been erased completely, however--a scar was left on his finger.

"What kind of magic can't even prevent scars from a simple cut?" Ren complained.

"Hey, be thankful you even got treated! I'm not that proficient with healing magic, so that's the best you've got," Meinhard snapped back.

"Whatever, whatever--thank you," Ren muttered that last part under his breath.

"What was that?" Meinhard teased.

"Don't push it!" Ren huffed and doused his blood-stained finger in water, sticking his tongue out.

He stopped for a moment and looked at Meinhard intently, focusing his gaze as if inspecting a crucial aspect about the boy.

"Do I have something on my face? Why're you looking at me like that?" Meinhard scratched his cheek bashfully with a chuckle.

"If you have the talent to use healing magic, then why're you still wearing those bandages?" Ren asked quietly, not trying to risk any outside ears prying into his conversation.

The boy's eyes widened for a moment before settling into a distant gloom as he ran his hand across his bandaged fingers once again.

"It makes me happy that you think I'm talented, but I'm not, Ren," Meinhard wore a weak smile,"sometimes, you must sacrifice something in order to obtain usage of magic. I sacrificed the ability to heal myself in order to learn healing magic--when you think about it, not a bad deal, right? I mean, I wouldn't be able to use it at all without that restriction. I suppose that's why it's weak, but I'm still glad I have it so I can heal those I want to protect."

"I'd say that's a fair deal...although it must be sort of cruel. Having the ability to help others--but not yourself. I'd guess that is the true price of that deal," Ren commented.

Meinhard nodded his head before running his fingers through his fluffy hair and smiling brightly once more. Bringing such a topic to the surface definitely wasn't Ren's best idea, as he could tell the boy was quickly trying to sway the conversation somewhere else.

"Come one--the lord is going to be furious if I don't have supper done in time!" Meinhard clapped his hands together and hastily began tossing ingredients into a pot.

"You know--maybe having me help out wasn't such a bad idea. Might earn me some points in this household if the meal comes out good," Ren said, instantly questioning himself as to why he would want any sort of approval from a man like Althaus.

As the various ingredients consisting of spices, vegetables, and some sort of meat were added to the pot, an intoxicating aroma filled the kitchen. He stopped for a moment to take in the scent--causing his stomach to rumble in response to the tease of food.

"Ah, that's embarrassing," Ren covered his stomach as if that would somehow muffle the sound.

A loaf of bread was tossed directly into his hands as he looked at it with a puzzled gaze before turning towards Meinhard, not hiding his action at all with a cheerful smile.

"Dinner won't be served until the lord is home, so try and hold off with that, alright?" Meinhard pinched his index finger and thumb together.

"Thanks," Ren nodded his head in gratitude, nearly salivating at the idea of filling his stomach with the loaf of yummy, carb goodness.

Waiting for Meinhard to turn back around, he quickly scarfed the bread down without taking a second breath. It was revitalizing, sure, but it only seemed to replace his hunger with drowsiness. After letting out a loud, extensive yawn against his own will, he felt what remaining energy he had left quickly dissipate as his body pleaded with him to rest.

"He-he, you should go get some rest, you have enough time before the lord gets back, I imagine," Meinhard insisted.

"You sure? I didn't really help out much, if anything--I was like, negative help. I made you use up mana," Ren argued, even though he desperately wanted to experience the sweet embrace of sleep in that moment.

"Don't worry about it! It was helpful enough to have some entertainment around here for a bit, now come on. Everything is set in the pot anyway, so I've got some time to show you to your room," Meinhard began to walk towards the door out of the kitchen.

Ren wanted to retort again if only to save face, but his tired body evolved into a tired body and mind as he lost the will to argue further.

"I appre~ciate it," Ren thanked the boy with a yawn.

It was a terrible situation, being abducted and sold to a, in the nicest way to put it, perverted noble in a fantasy world--although that part wasn't much of a negative for him, If there was one thing though that he found comforting in this situation, it was the beautiful mansion he was now set to live in.