Chương 46: Going on an adventure

Zeke sat before his family, his eyes alight with a newfound sense of purpose as he spoke of his mentor, Maximilian Bombastus von Hohenheim. He explained how the old man had taken him under his wing after discovering his unique affinities for blood, space, and mind magic. He spoke of how Maximilian had become more than just a teacher to him, a true mentor figure, guiding him through the trials and tribulations of mastering his craft.

"He saw something in me that others did not," Zeke said, his voice filled with a sense of reverence.

"He believed in me, even when I had lost faith in myself. He taught me, he trained me, and he took care of me." Zeke's parents listened intently as he spoke of the many ways in which Maximilian had looked after him, from providing him with a place to stay, to ensuring he had the resources he needed to hone his abilities. He spoke of the old man's strict yet kind nature, and how he had pushed him to be the best version of himself.

Zeke's family sat in stunned silence as he spoke of the man who had adopted him, Maximilian. They were worried about how this would change their lives, but Zeke quickly reassured them.

"I understand that you may be worried about how this will change things for us," he said, his voice calm and soothing.

"But I want you to know that this probably won't change much in your day-to-day lives." He went on to explain that Maximilian's family was small, consisting of only two members, himself and Maximilian, so there wouldn't be much contact with new family members. He also mentioned that because mages lived a lot longer, there wouldn't be any inheritance to worry about any time soon.

"Maximilian has already lived for several hundred years, so even if I am the prime heir, it doesn't mean much," Zeke said, trying to ease their concerns. His words seemed to have a calming effect on his family, who began to see the situation in a new light. They realized that Zeke was right, that joining a noble family wouldn't change much for them, and that there was no need to worry.

"I understand that this may seem very strange to all of you," Viola said, her voice calm and reassuring.

"But I can assure you that the noble title that non-mage family members receive is more symbolic, so they are better protected by the law." She explained that in the empire, nobles had a lot more freedom and protection under the law than commoners. Her words seemed to manage to calm down Zeke's family even more, after getting over the shock of the announcement, there was even a little excitement in their eyes. They realized that the noble title was a way to protect their family, and that they had nothing to fear.

They were grateful for Viola's explanation, and they thanked her for her help. After everyone had calmed down, Zeke's family began to tell him about what had happened in the village since he left. They told him that there had been a few goblin sightings nearby, and one of their neighbors swore to have seen a wolf monster, but other than that, everything had been calm. They were happy to hear that Zeke was safe and sound and that he was making progress in his magic studies.

As Zeke's family shared the news of the village with him, he listened attentively, promising to look into the monster sightings during the week he would stay there. He could see out of the corner of his eye that his sister was already nodding off, her head drooping with fatigue. He looked out the window and saw that it was long since dark outside.

"I'm very tired," Zeke said, turning to his parents.

"We really should save the rest for tomorrow." To his surprise, Viola also chimed in, saying that it was time for her to leave as well. Zeke had been sure that she would want to stay over, but it seemed she had a place to stay in mind. As they said their goodbyes and made plans to meet again the next day, Zeke couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude towards Viola for her help in calming his family and assuring them that everything would be alright.

He bid her farewell and went to bed, his mind filled with thoughts of the monster sightings and the adventures that lie ahead. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. After Viola left, Zeke retreated to his room, preparing for bed. As he changed into comfortable clothing and returned to his bed, he was startled to find that someone was already sleeping in it. He looked over to his window and saw that it was wide open.

Zeke looked down at his own bed and saw that it was Viola who was sleeping in it. He let out a sigh, thinking that he would have to sleep on the floor, but she spoke through bleary eyes, "It's fine, you should just sleep on the bed." Zeke hesitated for a moment, unsure if it was appropriate to share a bed with her, but Zeke was too tired to argue and just took one side of the bed, allowing Viola to take the other side. It was a tight fit for two people to squeeze into Zeke's bed, but they managed.

He had expected it to be awkward to sleep together with Viola, but it was anything but. Zeke couldn't help but admit that he liked Viola a lot, he knew that she liked him back, but there was no sexual tension for either of them. They were just friends, and both of them seemed to be completely okay with that. They slept soundly, their breathing in sync and their bodies close, but not in a romantic way, just in a comfortable way.

That didn't mean that Zeke didn't find her attractive, in fact, Zeke thought that she was one of the most attractive girls he knew, and he hadn't been able to help but sneak a peek at her 'assets' a couple of times since they had gotten to know each other. She seemed to have a sixth sense for noticing him staring, and would always smirk at him whenever she caught him checking her out. Zeke woke up the next day feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.

He couldn't help but smile as he remembered the previous night and the peaceful sleep he had had with Viola by his side. He knew that their friendship was special, and he was grateful for it. He got out of bed, ready to face the day and the adventures that lay ahead. As Zeke began to move around in the morning, Viola was woken up by his movement. She grumbled a bit and claimed even more of the blanket that she had somehow almost completely taken over during the night.

Zeke chuckled at her strange behavior and went downstairs to prepare breakfast. He had gotten into the habit of rising before dawn for his morning training and was making use of that by preparing breakfast for his family. By the time his parents came down, his mother had a teasing grin on her face as she told him that she saw Viola sleeping in his room before coming downstairs. Zeke tried to explain, but his mother just waved it off and told him that it was fine.

He was confused, shouldn't the parents be upset about him sleeping together with girls? They had no way of knowing what he might have done last night. Feeling confused by his mother's odd behavior, he looked over to his father. His father had always been a pillar of support, he could always count on his father, he was sure that his father would not be happy with how casual his mother handled that situation. After meeting his father's eyes, he was not disappointed, those eyes were serious.

But then the betrayal happened, his father actually smiled at him and gave him a huge thumbs up. His mother then told him that it didn't matter what he did or didn't do last night, they liked Viola, and he was old enough to make his own decisions. Zeke was surprised by this reaction, but he was also relieved that his parents trusted him and were supportive of his choices. Zeke then showed his parents a little surprise he had for them.

He had prepared an assortment of exotic fruits that he had brought from the capital for them to try. They ate and left for work. About an hour later, his sister dragged a clearly still half-asleep Viola into the room, and Zeke joined them for breakfast for a second time. Zeke and Viola decided to use the day to sight see around the village and search for the goblins that were mentioned by his parents. Viola easily found them with her flight ability.

She told him that the spell she engraved when she advanced to mage was called [Levitate] through the engraving she was able to fly all day long. As they searched, Viola quickly located a pack of goblins and took care of them before Zeke even had sight of them. All he found were a couple of cold corpses on the ground. Zeke pouted at Viola, feeling completely useless, but this only made her laugh harder. They spent the entire day exploring the village, and the day after, and then the day after that as well.

Before they knew it, that week was up, and Zeke had spent most of his time playing around with Viola and his sister. But now that the week was coming to an end, it was finally time for Zeke to leave his hometown and explore the world. He felt a mix of emotions, sadness for leaving his family and friends behind, but also excitement, as he had never explored farther than the capital, but now he and Viola would spend the next three weeks exploring the country.

He imagined himself having one adventure after another, fighting monsters, uncovering ancient secrets and discovering new places. As they finished their preparations and said goodbye to his family, Zeke couldn't wait for this adventure. He turned to Viola with a huge grin on his face and said, "This is going to be the best adventure of all time."