Chương 9: Shared Threat

I turned back toward home before I even reached the bar. I didn't need to see more. I was using the needs of everyone around me to predict the future because all of those needs were aligning in a creepy sort of precognition. Keeping the panic off my face became the real challenge while I walked back. The last thing I wanted to do was send the village into a frenzy. Or… was it? Maybe a bit of panic was what we needed? How long did we have? Would it be today? Soon?

Was this pressing need only going to be realized in the next month? Next year? Where the hell were war trolls coming from? Had the front lines buckled? We'd surely have heard if we needed to evacuate, wouldn't we? I'd been trying to make improvements that might help with the war. Of course, I had. Everyone had lost someone to it. My uncle was in the army, fighting. I'd met him a few times when he'd been given leave and came to visit. He brought the coolest presents. I hadn't been preparing myself to fight, though.

Perhaps that had been shortsighted. This world had magic, and I'd always been interested in learning how to use it from one of the schools, but I had no realistic way to do that. I couldn't just walk up to one and apply. Also, Mom had very clearly told me I was never to use more than half of my mana. One of the few times I remembered her getting truly angry with me, when I was about seven. She hadn't let me use it unsupervised for nearly a decade.

I'd only been given permission to use household magic without her supervision about two years ago, and the rule of never using more than half of my mana remained firmly in place. I'd seen it used plenty of time though. Fire mages and Pyromancers were quite common in Tacuria and some of them even used their magic in traveling performances. As amazing as it was, it was entirely out of my reach though. Nobles and rich sons and daughters of merchants went to the magic schools. Peasants… well.

Peasants grew, lived, and died within miles of their birthplace. Or at least, I thought they did. Mom… was a scribe to a duke? Before she decided to become plain Atrinaska Farmer? Maybe I had more options than I'd thought. I could also join the army. That thought had never been appealing, though I had promised my Uncle I would when I was little. Plenty of soldiers had been ennobled there, but I hadn't even been all that active in my previous life. What did I know about swinging a sword?

Being able to jump sixty feet into the air was pretty damn cool though… It was still an option, but not one I was really interested in. The only way I'd ever seen to escape the miserable situation was to invent something amazing—easier said than done—or get a talent valuable enough to get me out. I'd undoubtedly managed to get a valuable talent, which was great. That wouldn't matter much if we were all about to be killed!

I'd chosen to spend my life building improvements and trying to bring parts of April's world to life. I had never once regretted that, until this day, this moment. Now, I wish I'd spent that time focusing on bombs, guns, and weapons. I wish I'd spent my nights swinging a sword or shooting a bow with Reid, but noo…! April had'indoor fucking plumbing!' I had no way to get answers to the questions about the attack, and my talent was new. Maybe I was overreacting. I'd tell Mom. She'd know what to do. I…

I could also tell Reid. His dad could scout the woods and find out if there was an active danger. If there wasn't, then… then Mom and I could convince everyone there was. Mom, intuitive as ever, seemed to realize that I was freaking out the moment I walked in the door, despite my best efforts to keep the panic off my face. The twins were still there, but Dad had left. With harvest starting, he had very little time to wait around, even to discover more about my talent.

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"You done being all mysterious yet, Mera?" Elsee asked, looking a tad annoyed.

"Yeah! Your mom won't tell us!" I grinned. I was still horrified, but these two could lift anyone's mood. Besides, we weren't under attack right this second. I had some time. Hopefully. I gave a quick look to Mom, and she nodded. We'd agreed that I would tell the truth about my power but downplay it. That wouldn't be hard since I didn't have the supplies to craft either of their needs.

"Well. It's called "Bond Crafter." I can see the supplies I'd need to make something valuable for anyone I meet. I get an impression of what they need it for, too, but I have to guess what it is until I make it. You, for example, Eysee, need to be able to run a lot faster. New shoes?" I asked. She flushed, embarrassed.

"They got caught in some roots a few days ago. I haven't worked up the courage to tell Mom yet." I winced in sympathy. Shoes were a big deal in Tacuria. They were hard to make and precious to people in a small village like this. Pemolar's Hill didn't have a shoemaker, so most of us went to the one in Potato Gully for them. They were expensive, too.

"Well, I might be able to help you with that. Gonna need some supplies, though. It's different for each person."

"And me?" Elsee asked, trying not to sound too excited.

"Yours is odd. Do… do you want to be a hunter, Elsee?" Her eyes widened comically.

"H-How did… no! No, I don't want that at all." Mom smirked. She'd been watching the conversation with amusement but remained quiet until now.

"If you're interested in that route, I'm sure Tom would be happy to see if you have any talent for it. The village always needs more hunters." The girl's protesting eyes widened even further.

"Wh-why would I want to be a hunter? I've got no interest in that." Mom rolled her eyes.

"Elsee, Uraleka has told me how much thread you borrowed from the Weavers. It's certainly not going to new clothes. How many practice bows have you made?" I asked, amused.

"It was just a phase!" she said weakly, her face absolutely burning red. I didn't understand what was happening here. The girl wanted to be a hunter. Clearly. Why was she so embarrassed about that?

"If you want to be a hunter, just ask for training. If you don't like it, you don't have to keep doing it," I said, feeling confused. Why was she being so defensive?

"Of course, you'd say that! Everyone loves you no matter how weird you–!" the girl squeaked and covered her mouth as if realizing what she'd just said.

"I… I'm sorry. That was rude. I'll go. Come on, Eysee," said the younger twin before walking briskly out the door. Eysee looked conflicted. She clearly wanted to see about getting that pair of talent-crafted shoes, but she was eying the door where her sister had left like she'd just discovered some grand secret.

"Can I ask you about those shoes later?" she asked, conflict clear in her features. I nodded, and she beamed before bolting out the door.

"What… what just happened?" I asked. Mom sighed and shook her head.

"For being so very smart, sometimes you seem to miss the most obvious things, daughter."

"What?"

"She's embarrassed about it," Mom said.

"I can see that. What I don't get is why?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Not everyone is allowed to care so little about how they are perceived as you," she said. Ah. This was that sort of problem. Somewhere along the way, Mom had given up on making me a proper woman entirely. I'd never stood for it, and no one else in the village had ever seemed to mind! The way April had lived sometimes made it frustrating to wake up and realize my life was very little like hers. With April's perspective, my view on how women and men should be was a bit more progressive.

I'd seen a way life could be that differed from anything here. It was one of the few things Mom and I fought over. Even in a little farming community like this, there was still propriety. Talents and skills made the gender restrictions lax by comparison to the history of April's world though. I had only gotten away with ignoring it throughout my childhood because of my stories. They were unlike anything anyone had ever heard before.

No one would scold me for getting muddy, doing my crafting experiments, and generally being weird when I was their best source of entertainment. There was also my close relationship with Reid. Other girls had to worry about who they'd marry, but I'd been engaged for years as far as the village was concerned. I suspected that would change drastically if Reid suddenly joined the military, or worse, married someone else. Since he hadn't, though, why worry about my oddities? Mom certainly would, either way.

But she'd eased off in the last few years. Still, I'd never really thought about my reputation among the other girls in town. Somewhat exempt from the need to behave like a proper country woman, I'd always been whatever I wanted to be, and this small village had allowed me the freedom to do that. Elsee wasn't so lucky.

"So, what made you so panicked when you came back?" Mom asked. My eyes widened in horror. How had I gotten distracted from the fucking trolls!? I turned to Mom.

"S-so… my power is telling me that everyone needs something to protect themselves from war trolls and goblins. Every person on the way to the bar. You, Dad, the twins, Uraleka, and at least six others. Mom, I think we're in trouble."

"Oh…" Mom said.

"Well. Shit."