With their destination set, Elias continued showing his sister around the clearing, Marco in tow, stopping by all kinds of stalls.
Isabela was especially excited by the sparring rings and insisted on watching at least a couple of matches. They didn’t quite compare to the ones Elias had seen on the entertainment system at home, but some of the fighters were decent.
Still, Elias was confident his own skills were better than any of the fighters in the ring, even though only one of the bouts was between newbies like him. Even the match between a pair of Journeymen hadn’t impressed him much. Their technique just wasn’t all that refined.
He decided it was time to move on when Isabela started trying to persuade him to challenge someone.
“Come on, Eli, you have to show them how it’s done!” Isabela exclaimed loudly.
That drew stares from all around them, though the onlookers quickly dismissed him once they noticed his still-scrawny frame. Some even scoffed before turning away.
Elias ignored them.
“Yeah, man, you’ve gotta show your mettle! Go fight!” Marco added jokingly, fanning the flames.
Elias felt his face flush from their teasing, but then his expression shifted as an idea sparked in his mind. Isabela already knew he was far better than the fighters in the ring—but Marco didn’t. He was just joking around, assuming Elias was trying to avoid embarrassing himself.
This might be the perfect chance to show his new friend what he was really capable of.
“You know what? I actually think this might be a good idea. How about we have a friendly spar after lunch?” Elias asked, his tone turning challenging.
“That’s the spirit! And it’s a deal!” Marco replied enthusiastically, grinning wide. “Food and fighting—a man after my own heart.”
“You can’t use the sword, though. That’d be unfair,” Isabela chimed in.
“Of course,” Marco agreed, rolling his eyes.
With the deal made, the trio headed straight for the burrito stall. They’d spent far more time at the fighting rings than they’d planned, and now they were all eager to eat.
As they walked away, Elias glanced at Marco’s weapon. “What’s the deal with the training sword, anyway? I’m sure you had a real sword with you when we first met.”
At his question, Marco’s jovial expression darkened, like a cloud passing over a sunny day.
The shift was so sudden and striking that Elias started to worry he’d somehow offended his new friend. He quickly tried to lighten the mood.
“Hey man, are you alright? You look like someone just kicked your puppy or something.”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Marco said with a sigh. Then, in a lower voice, like he was trying to convince himself, he added, “It’s not your fault.”
Elias raised an eyebrow, staring at him incredulously. Of course it wasn’t his fault—he hadn’t done anything.
Noticing his reaction, Marco sighed again, this time more dramatically, before finally offering an explanation.
“It’s my fault, really. I was an idiot,” Marco began, taking a deep breath before continuing, a hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Remember how I mentioned my dad is a swordsmanship instructor? Well, I told him about how you were fighting in the dungeon without any weapons as a form of training, and he got… inspired by it. So, he decided it’d be a great idea to take my sword away and leave me with a wooden stick—literally. I spent hours talking him down just to get a proper training sword instead.”
“I should’ve just kept my mouth shut,” Marco muttered regretfully.
Unable to hold back any longer, Elias burst into laughter at his friend’s predicament.
Marco glared at him, but Elias couldn’t bring himself to care. The guy had really made a rookie mistake. That said, even he had to admit that Isabela’s pointing and full-belly laughter might’ve taken things a bit too far.
“What an i—”
Elias cuffed her on the head before she could finish the insult, but Marco clearly caught the message anyway, narrowing his eyes at her. It didn’t help that Isabela kept laughing, making no effort to lower her voice.
Sensing the mood shifting, Elias' own laughter died down, leaving him and Marco staring at each other in uncomfortable silence.
“So… wanna switch? I keep the sword and you get the brat?” Elias asked, trying to diffuse the situation with a bit of humor.
“I’m good. How about we ditch the brat and grab our food instead?” Marco said, winking as he picked up the pace toward the burrito stall.
Isabela immediately stopped laughing at being called a brat, prompting both men to smirk.
“I’m not a brat,” she whined in a bratty voice.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
The two walked faster, forcing her to hurry after them.
“Wait for me!”
As soon as she caught up, Elias and Marco slowed back to a regular pace. She harrumphed loudly, crossing her arms with exaggerated drama, earning another pair of suppressed smirks.
By then, they were only steps away from the burrito stall, and when Elias looked up from his sister, he found Rebecca smiling brightly at him.
“Hi there! I remember seeing you before… Elias, right?” Rebecca asked, tilting her head slightly.
“Hey, Rebecca,” Elias said, returning her smile. “Yeah, we met a couple days ago. I guess you convinced me to come back and try out your stall after all.”
“What can I say? I’m very convincing,” she replied, grinning.
At her words, Marco snorted, clearly trying to hold back a laugh. It quickly devolved into a fit of obviously fake coughs. He glanced between Elias and Rebecca, then at Isabela and Kitty, and back to Elias again with wide-eyed incredulity. Finally, he shook his head and muttered under his breath, “...shameless.”
“Ahem. I must’ve gotten something stuck in my throat,” Marco said, clearing his throat theatrically for effect.
It did little to smooth over his earlier reaction, but it seemed Rebecca hadn’t caught the comment. Choosing not to dwell on it, Elias pushed forward.
“Oh right, this is Marco, and this is my little sister, Isabela,” Elias said, introducing them in turn.
“Hi,” Isabela said, her arms crossed and clearly still upset about being called a brat.
She glanced between Elias and Rebecca with a strange expression before raising an eyebrow at her brother, as if to ask what was going on. He looked away, pretending not to notice, missing the frown and narrowing eyes she gave him in response.
“And this,” Elias added, bending down to grab Kitty by the sides and lift her up, “is Kitty.”
“Aw, so cute!” Rebecca said, stepping forward to pet her.
Elias held his breath as Rebecca reached out, knowing this part was a bit of a gamble.
Kitty allowed herself to be petted on the head exactly twice, before meowing and twisting out of his grip, trotting back to Isabela.
Elias let out a quiet sigh of relief.
As she left, Kitty shot him a look that seemed to say, You owe me one, and he nodded in silent acknowledgement.
“Lunch rush is almost over, so there are plenty of tables available,” Rebecca said. “Just grab a seat wherever you like. You can order at the counter.”
“Sure, but don’t forget you owe me a free burrito,” Elias said, reminding her.
“Hm… yeah, I remember,” Rebecca replied, raising an eyebrow. “But I only promised you a burrito. One burrito. Your friends still have to pay.”
Then her expression turned mock-grief-stricken as she placed both hands over her chest and looked at him with wide, dramatic eyes. “I can’t believe you’d try to take advantage of me like this…”
“Oh please, don’t even start,” Elias said with a laugh.
Rebecca joined in, grinning.
Just as Rebecca was about to respond, Isabela finally spoke up, clearly having had enough of being ignored.
“Eli, is this the girl you told me about? You know, the one you like?” she asked, bursting into giggles as she finished.
Elias choked on his laughter, staring at his little sister in shock. How could she betray him like this?
To be fair, he doubted she knew he actually liked Rebecca. She was probably just trying to embarrass him. Whether as payback for calling her a brat or for ignoring her, he wasn’t sure—it was probably a bit of both. Regardless, she grinned victoriously as she watched the color rush to his face.
“Oh, so you like me, then?” Rebecca asked, a smile threatening to break across her lips.
Elias' face flushed even deeper. By now, Marco was laughing loudly beside them, clearly enjoying the show right alongside Isabela.
“Come on, let’s grab a seat and order already. I’m starving,” Marco said, coming to Elias' rescue with a tap on the shoulder. “Nice to meet you, Rebecca. Actually, why don’t you join us for lunch?”
“Yeah, join us!” Isabela chimed in. Then, with a mischievous smirk and a sugary-sweet tone, she added, “I’m sure Eli would love that.”
“Sure, why not?” Rebecca replied with a laugh at Isabela’s antics. “How could I say no to such a cute little girl? Besides, I was just about to take my lunch break anyway.”
With that, Marco led them to the counter to order their food. As they approached, the mouthwatering scent of grilled meat and spices filled the air, making Elias' stomach rumble.
Rebecca took their orders and joined them a few minutes later, after speaking with the man cooking at the stall—her father, as Elias recalled.
“So, Isabela, what do you want to be when you grow up?” Marco asked.
“I want to be an adventurer like Eli! We’re going to be the most famous party of all time... just, when I’m old enough,” Isabela said confidently.
Kitty meowed once in agreement. After all, how could any party not be the best with both her and Isabela in it?
“Oh? The two of you want to be adventurers too?” Rebecca asked, perking up. “You’d better start working on your foundation soon, then.”
“I know,” Isabela replied, rolling her eyes. “But Mom and Dad say it’s more important to improve my fighting skills for now, and that I can focus on my body later.”
“It’s still really important to get started early,” Rebecca said firmly. “I started training at your age, and even then, I’ve been stuck at level ten for almost a year now, trying to perfect my foundation. If you wait until you’re older, like Elias—well, the potions you’ll need to catch up can get really expensive.”
“Hey, I’ll have you know I started building my foundation when I was four,” Elias said defensively, unable to keep the irritation out of his voice. “I was just born with really low-level attributes, and I only turned eighteen less than a week ago. Isabela was born with high attributes, so she didn’t need years of physical prep just to handle combat training. With our mom coaching her, I’m sure she’ll hit her body’s natural potential well before she turns eighteen.”
“I’m just saying… hard work is important if you want to get far,” Rebecca said, still sounding unconvinced.
Elias sighed.
He was about to change the subject, like he had so many times before, when Isabela puffed up her cheeks and jumped in.
“Eli trains harder than anyone! I’d like to see you do any better if you were born with Vitality at level one,” she said indignantly, glaring at Rebecca.
Marco sputtered, his mouth falling open.
Rebecca’s eyes widened.