Chapter 20 16: Moon Gazing (2)

We made our way towards higher grounds. In these few days, I touched the sketch of the spirit breathing technique, and I'm sure Scar's mastery of it helped me there. Even though I was not at the level where it could heal a slight wound, I could still refresh myself from exhaustion.

On the way, Lily made a display of her prize, the hide and spirit core of a wild spirit wolf she had hunted. She even talked loudly enough for me to hear, mentioning how useful the new sword was for her, as if it was made for her. I only congratulated her, nonchalantly saying, "Good for you."

Don't make me hate you too much, little sister. In the book, the light cat-and-mouse hitch between the two siblings had turned into something more, so the two could not even look at each other to stay under the same roof.

Both of them were at fault there, and Scar did not even bother to make things better with her and his family. But I am not Scar. I will do everything within my power to repair the relationship between not only the siblings, but the entire family as well.

Well, it should be added, my limit was quite narrow. I just wish Lily would not get annoying enough that I would have to leave her as Scar did.

We arrived at a rocky terrain when the sun was setting and it was the first time I felt chilly on the climb. Surprisingly, these areas in the mountain range were not particularly covered with snow. The winter was barely starting, and there hadn't been any snowfall so far. Whereas the state of Victoria was covered with snow all year round. Whereas the mountains stand tall to block the icy wind for the people of Starlight City.

We brought camping tents with us, though one of them was not enough to hold over three people together. We now have four of them, with Lily and Sir Lorne joining. Ben and Kyle kept a tent within themselves, while Yasmine joined Yeriel, leaving me and Julies for one. Lily stayed with Sir Lorne as she did not have much of a relationship with any of us.

Then came the share of other tasks. Honestly, nobody expected anything from me, and I lived up to their expectations as I did not even bother to join when they divided the tasks. Though I did help in preparing the meal, we are having nothing fancy, some porridge with some snacks we brought with us.

I did get some suspicious gazes as well, though this was from the silver-haired maiden. I still haven't confronted her after the first meeting at the inn. Honestly, I fear what to say to her. Even though Yasmine is forgiving, Scar had done far awful things to her. Perhaps I will find some alone time with her to discuss the wrongs my predecessor had done to her.

Ben and Kyle were still tasked with security while Yasmine was the substitute with Sir Lorne. In between, I helped the rest with putting up the tents.

"Isn't this just like old time, little sister?" I teased Lily with a bright smile on my lips.

While Lilly snorted in reply. My smile broadened. She really does not like to be called Little sister, I thought. I guess, I will call her that all the time from now on.

When most of the tasks were done, there were already two moons in the sky, accompanied by the sound of wild animals and the cricketing of insects. The swift wind never stopped, only rose in its chilliness.

I looked at the sky and wondered, "Would the sight really be otherworldly?". Considering I'm in another world, it really might be. I just wish the night would not be so otherworldly that I would have to pick up the sword.

. . .

The night was far colder than I had assumed and the promised moon was yet to appear.

There were four at the moment, while the icy wind was almost unbearable for me even with this body, which was far stronger than my actual body.

I wrapped my body around the blanket I had with me. Others had made fun of me, but I felt no shame about it. Why would I be ashamed if I froze with a cold? Funny thing was that Yeriel joined me on the blanket club soon, sitting closer to the bonfire. Julies was outrageous like always, only he was in thin clothing, sitting beside me nonchalantly, watching everything.

Within the blanket, I watched Sir Lorne and others hunt the lone spirit wolf. And this was not the first one that they had killed one. A few came before as well, noticing the fire they had raised. The other animals had left after a little tussle, but mostly, these savage wolves were not ready to let go without a fight, even if they died.

With the few days of training I had, I could manage to compare the skills of a seasoned knight to someone like Kyle or Ben. The movements of Sir Lorne were less flashy than the duo, yet somehow he was far more effective. I had not seen him waste time on useless flashy moves or movements. He did what was needed. Scar's technique were not flashy either, as they were likely trained by the same master, Grand Knight Hial Gorthan.

Though there might have been flaws in his technique, I was too green to notice them. Now, I have a better way to train, not just imitate the duo of Ben and Kyle. I have to cut out the useless movements and learn to draw the sword each time with purpose. It sounds easy, but I had no idea how hard it would be.

In general, a prodigy takes half a decade or more to gain the title of true swordsman, but I seemed to have the residual instinct with this body, though I did not go along with the word prodigy.

Fortunately, swordsmanship was not the only thing I learned. In sorcery, I appeared to have far more talent than Scar; all I need to do now is to make progress while maintaining the skills of a knight.

"Do you want to fight as well?" Yasmine asked from beside me. Other than her, there were Yeriel, Lily, and Julies surrounding the wood fire. "You keep staring at it like you miss fighting."

"Nah, I'm good," I said. I might have tried if it was day, but it was dark now, even though there were four moons hovering in the sky, giving far more light than I had ever seen during any night.

With that, I turned my attention to the girls and what they were talking about.

It turned out they were talking about the moon gazing tradition among the people of Endus—a neighbouring kingdom of the Mahener Empire.

Yeriel was telling others how her family celebrates the occasion each year. Though I knew a little about it from the books, my interest in the topic arose, thinking of listening to an original resident of the realm.

"I think the tradition of lighting candles has already been adopted by many other lands," said Yasmine as she reminisced. "On this occasion, my entire family lit candles and prayed to Ishar for the souls of those who had passed away, hoping that they would have a better life in the next life."

"In Endus, it is entirely different," Yeriel said. "We did not pray for a decrease in this event. It's mostly a celebration of what is to come, and it's especially popular among newlyweds. Both the husband and wife watch the moon together and wish for offspring."

"That sounds romantic and stupid at the same time." Julies laughed out with a grin. "For offspring, why do you even need to pray? All you have to do is—"

Seeing the glares from others, Julies stopped. In the end, everyone got what he was trying to say. That bald guy was still wearing his dark glasses. I was sure by now he had a couple of screws loose, perhaps a chunni.

"They mostly pray for male offspring," Yeriel added, to get back to the topic.

"Oh, I know, Endus is rather conservative," Lily said, as she did not like the idea.

"Well, I would not say conservative, but it's just that the folks of Mahenar are more open-minded." Yeriel could not help but sigh. "I had to go through so much trouble to get the approval for admission into the academy. That's why I think Mahener is a better place to stay, though you people are far more aggressive with everything."

"You are right there." I chuckled.

The others arrived as we talked. Ben and Kyle had most of the blood on their bodies, while Sir Lorne was in his typical stand. Like his skills, he was calculative in any conversation. He only opened his mouth when it was needed. Really, can't this guy refrain from acting cool?

"I wonder if we could get to see the moons with no disturbance." Lily said, and she was talking about wild beasts.

"I figured not," Lorne added, and looked up at the skies. All four moons were held the sky, Pra'moon and Zis'mon in the west, Dai'moon in the middle, and Sai'mon in the south. Only the one in the middle, Daimon, was a full moon. "Sar'moon will appear soon, but before that, we should start dining. It is already quire late than the usual time."

Others agreed with that. Yasmine went as the guard on this occasion. Lorne stood straight like a stone while the duo of Ben and Kyle rested.

Yeriel was ready to serve the food, and I went to help her as I felt a little bad for not doing anything progressive like Yasmine or Ben-Kyle duo.

The mild aroma of the porridge drifted into the air, and I felt my hunger rise. we have eaten nothing since first break at noon. Julies got busy bringing other snacks, while the others seated near the fire.

Abruptly, I felt some goosebumps on my arms and looked around to see what the deal was. I found it was not just me that noticed the change.

Ben and Kyle stood up again, alert with their hands on the scabbard. Yeriel stood near me while I watched Lorne come before everyone and lift his sword.

The seasoned knight pointed his sword forward and shouted, "Stay where you are, stranger!"

____________________

Edited by Mysteries. Proofread by kqwxz.

Discord:

https://discord.gg/yA45JpRDPn