Chapter 46 Happy Birthday

“You’ll have to leave soon, won’t you?” He asked quietly.

Celly was quiet for a moment, but she seemed to already know that this would be it, “Yeah. In two more months, I’ll be returning to Vasmoria.”

“–” He looked down with a silent sadness in his amethyst eyes.

“But, Emilio…”

“Huh?”

“You’ll be able to come see me on your own again. You’re planning on becoming an adventurer soon, right?” Celly asked with a kind smile.

As he looked up at her, the sunlight caused those emerald eyes of her to glitter with a kaleidoscope of beauty and benevolence, leaving him speechless.

All he was able to do was simply nod his chin.

“Well, you can’t explore the world without seeing Vasmoria, now can you?” Celly asked.

The somber expression on his face faded away as he began to smile, shaking his head, “No.”

“Then I’ll be waiting. I’ll wait for the day that the great adventurer, Emilio Dragonheart, comes to visit me in Vasmoria. But, I won’t fall behind either, by that time, I promise I’ll be a certified archmage,” Celly told him.

“Promise…?”

The young woman with enchanting silver locks smiled, holding her tall hat on her head as a breeze whistled by before an idea seemed to pop in her head before she leaned closer to him.

“Hold your hand out,” she told him.

“Hold me hand out…?” He said before extending his hand with his palm facing upward, “…Like this?”

Celly nodded, “Just like that.”

Without knowing what she was planning, he watched as she placed her palm against his own. A small tint of pink came to his cheeks as he felt the silken smoothness of her pale hand against his.

What he assumed to just be his blood running warm with fluster was in fact something else–a blue glow persisted between their hands.

“What’s this…?” He asked.

“Tell me your promise, Emilio,” Celly asked him.

He looked at her for a moment before accepting, “…I promise to become an accomplished adventurer. Somebody that can freely explore the world and discover its mysteries, and take in its joys!”

Celly smiled, “I promise to become an archmage capable of understanding the nature of magic and sharing that knowledge with others.”

As he watched in quiet awe, Celly withdrew her hand to reveal that they both had a mystical seal imprinted on their palms: it was the shape of a four-pointed star, etched with a light-blue shade.

“A ‘Remembrance Bond’,” Celly told him.

“‘Remembrance Bond’?” He repeated.

“It’s a bond forged between us–the promises we made maintain this seal,” Celly explained while showing him the shared star on her palm, “…Only once we meet again with our promises fulfilled will the bond be completed.”

Such a concept invoked a bright smile on his face as he ran his fingertips over the mystical seal before looking at the young woman, “Thanks, Celly.”

“No, I should thank you…”

“Huh?”

“Seeing you so involved with magic, full of passion and determination to learn…It reminded me how much I love it, too. Thank you, Emilio.”

The smile he received from Celly surpassed the beauty of the flourishing day; it was a smile brighter than the sunlight beaming down on the pale-green fields.

–

With the beauty of spring at its peak, a special day had arrived.

“Happy Birthday, Emilio!”

–As he stepped into the living room quarters, he was greeted by those words shouted in unison from his parents, Irene, and Celly.

It was exactly one year from when he’d be setting out on his own journey, so a part of it felt bittersweet, but that was overshadowed by his own joy.

The sweet aroma of cake batter met his nose as he saw a vanilla-frosted cake sitting on the dining table, decorated with lavish velvet that only came out for special occasions. It wasn’t just that; a bountiful, warm feast was waiting.

He was taken aback, but smiled, “…You didn’t have to do all of this!”

Before he could get another word in, Julius’ arm was already slung around his neck, ruffling his locks with a laugh, “‘Course we did! This is a big day, Emilio!”

“Mhm! Turning thirteen means you’re a man now–just look how fast you’ve grown up,” Treyna smiled brightly.

“Man”? He thought.

It was definitely something he wasn’t aware of, but he did suspect something like this of the medieval world of Arcadius. There were certainly much different standards than on Earth, but he wasn’t complaining–this meant he had the privileges of an adult much earlier.

The celebrations began–it wasn’t anything grand or lavish, but it was better that way–celebrating with the other four members of the household, a warm, fuzzy feeling filled his stomach.

“Congratulations, Emilio!” Irene held her hands together.

“Mhm! Thanks,” he smiled.

As he was delving into some cake, he was greeted by something of a surprise–

Julius handed him a long, thin object that was wrapped in a beige cloth, kept sealed by a tail of rope that he accepted into his arms, but didn’t know what it was.

It’s a bit heavy…He thought.

“What’s this?” He looked up.

Both Treyna and Julius were looking down at him proudly as he held the object in his arms.

“Open it,” Julius said with a smile.

He nodded, beginning to undo the rope around the cloth-wrapped item. As he took the rope off, he moved the cloth while the others watched, unveiling what was kept tucked in the fabric:

“Wow…”

A gold-tipped scabbard of black material sat on his lap now, with a pommel of the same shine. He unsheathed the blade halfway, looking at its beautiful shine; it was similar to his father’s beloved sword as it was mostly forged of black steel, but the edges had a silver finish.

“How do you like it? Had it forged by an old friend in Vasmoria. He’s a bit of a hardass, but he’s the best blacksmith I’ve ever met,” Julius asked, standing beside him.

He was in awe of the craftsmanship of the blade, “It’s amazing–thank you, father, mother!”

As he tucked it back into its scabbard, he set the gifted sword down and embraced both of his parents.

“Heh! Happy Birthday, kid!” Julius said.

“You’re all grown up now,” Treyna said.

After pulling away from the embrace, he unsheathed the sword again, getting a full look at it in its unrestrained glory. The sunbeams that gleamed through the window reflected off of its spotless steel.

“So, got a name for it?” Julius asked with a smirk.

“Huh?”

“The sword of a swordsman with high prospects needs a name. Give the bards something to sing about!” Julius laughed.

He thought about it for a moment while everybody in the room looked at him. It was definitely a sentiment he agreed with, though it was mainly because wielding a named blade to him was about the pinnacle of “badassery” in his opinion.

A name…? He thought.

Looking at the black-and-silver blade, he inspected its design; the smooth darkness that ran down its center and the silver edges that ran parallel to the shadows.

“Silver Wing,” he said.

“–“

For a minute, everybody else was silent after he uttered the chosen name for his sword. But, the first to make noise was, of course, his father.

“S-s-silver Wing? Is that what I think…?” Julius stammered out.

He smiled and nodded, “Mhm! I wanted it to be like your name–”Silver Wind”–so I went with “Silver Wing” for it.”

“Ahh! This is my proudest moment as a father!” Julius yelled out as tears immediately streamed down his cheeks.

It was an expected display from his father, who was a surprisingly emotional man when it came to things like this, but he did genuinely want to give his sword such a name.