Chapter 190 - A mother's concern

Looks like Minru is still sleeping. Adion thought as he spread out his space mana in the house. 

They had been allowed to borrow an empty house for the night. The village head was just a Bronze mage, so Minru and Adion had been treated as respected guests. They had even enjoyed a luxurious meal at the village head’s expense, just like when Adion and Narvar were in Heshuwara. 

As Adion let his space mana flow out freely from his core, he also noticed that the two young men who had served them the night before were standing outside the house, ready to accommodate their requests as soon as they woke up.

It sure is different from how Keshi treated us. 

But I guess it would be different if we stayed longer, maybe Keshi was just as courteous to Minru when he arrived as well. 

Adion got out of bed and stretched his body. It was still early in the morning, and the sun had yet to rise. 

Since Minru is still sleeping, I’ll get some painting done. 

Adion had already prepared everything he would need the night before, so he had everything ready in his room. 

He lit a few candles so he could see what he was painting.

Let’s see if I can make this work. 

Adion wanted to see if painting the blonde woman he saw the day before could spark some memories. 

He started mixing his colors, and it took him a while before he was pleased with the light gold-brown tint on his palette. 

Taking a deep breath and trying to empty his mind, Adion put his brush against the canvas. 

Unfortunately nothing happened.

I guess there is no forcing it. 

No sudden inspiration occurred, taking control over Adion’s movements. He had no choice but to paint deliberately. 

I’ll just paint the woman from yesterday as well as I can, if no new memory appears, so be it. I have plenty of time. 

Adion let go of his expectations and started painting with a new goal in mind. 

But as he controlled the strokes, trying to replicate the hair of the woman he had seen, he felt something inside him stir. Something inside him wasn’t quite happy with the strokes, he could feel a slight tugging, so he decided to go with the flow and let this emotion guide him. 

Slowly but surely, something resembling the hair of the woman he had seen the day before appeared on the canvas, but it was slightly different. 

Adion continued his painting, mixing other colours to fill in the face in the middle of the canvas. Without Adion noticing, Adion made fewer and fewer conscious decisions, letting something deep inside him guide his every move. 

It was like falling asleep, once he stopped thinking about it, something inside him would take over, and slowly but surely, without him knowing exactly when, he was gone.

“Adion, how did you get this wound?” His mother asked. She asked it like she was scolding him, but Adion could see the concern on her face. 

“I was practicing by myself and I accidentally slipped, it’s nothing serious, Mom,” Adion said, trying to tug his arm back from his mother’s grip.

“Yeah, right,” His mother scoffed, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been up to. This is from training with your grandfather, right?”

“Er,” Adion hesitated. He didn’t want to tattle on his grandfather. Besides, if his mother forbade him from practicing with him, he would lose out on an essential way of training. 

“You’re too easy to read,” His mother said, and she couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. 

“It’s really nothing,” Adion hurriedly said, “It’s normal to get a few scratches when you’re training. I can feel that training with grandpa is really useful. He noticed I have a really good sense, like, spatial awareness. I can feel something is about to hit me before it does. And I feel like I’m getting better at it. With this-”

Adion hesitated, he didn’t want to say that he thought he would gain a better mana sense. With that, and practicing his mana control, he was sure he could form a core eventually. That’s what his grandpa and Adion had theorized.

But Adion didn’t want his parents to have too high expectations. Without any results to show, it was meaningless to talk about. When he formed his core in the future, he would tell them everything, and they could all be happy. No need to make them worry in the meantime. 

Adion clenched his fists in silent determination as he already started planning his afternoon training. 

“Oh, Adion,” His mother said with a sigh. She bent down and gave him a comforting hug. “You’re not even ten years old yet, there is no need to train this hard. You have plenty of time to train in the future. But you’re just a kid, you should spend your days playing and having fun.”

“Training is fun,” Adion said stubbornly. 

“Reckless kid,” His mother said with a smile as she pulled back from the hug. “Alright, I guess you can continue training with your grandfather. But you have to be careful. I don’t want you to do anything dangerous. If you get hurt again, I will forbid you from training with him.”

“Er…Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll be careful,” Adion hurriedly agreed. 

“Good,” His mother said, smiling, “Let’s go to Aunt Hectoria and take a look at your arm. After that, we’ll get you something to eat. You have to make sure to eat properly if you’re going to train like this. You won’t get strong if you don’t eat.”

“I know, I know,” Adion nodded his head obediently as his mother grabbed his hand and they walked away together. 

….Mom.

Adion returned from his memory, staring at the painting in front of him. A gentle woman looked back at him, smiling comfortingly, with motherly concern etched in her face. 

For once, Adion didn’t feel ecstatic at regaining a memory. He felt that his cheeks were wet from tears. He didn’t know when he had started to cry. 

It should have been a happy memory. In a way it was, but as he remembered his mother, he also somehow knew she was already dead. 

Adion buried his head in his knees and cried out in despair. He had finally remembered his family. His mother. He hadn’t known he could feel this kind of love for another person. Even if it had always been inside him, it had been buried too deeply in his cloudy memories for him to be aware of.

But the moment he regained it, he lost it once again. 

The feeling of love and happiness was clashing with the feeling of loss and sadness, making him feel conflicted.

It took a long time before Adion settled down. 

When he had calmed down and raised his head, he noticed that the sun had long risen. 

It’s not all bad. Adion comforted himself. Even if she is gone, she lives on inside me. In a way, it’s a blessing that I lost my memories, it’s a chance for me to meet Mom all over again. 

Adion looked to his painting and smiled. And they are not all gone. I know that my grandpa is still alive. And Sell. I still have a lot to look forward to. 

Adion rose to his feet with newfound resolve. He gently touched his mother’s face on the canvas before carefully rolling it up and placing it in his backpack. He had decided he would gift Minru his paintings as thanks for everything once they parted, but he didn’t want to give this one away. 

As he stepped out of his room, Adion spotted Minru by the dining table reading a book leisurely. A few empty plates were placed before him. 

“Sorry, for being late,” Adion said, feeling slightly guilty at delaying their departure once again. 

“It’s fine,” Minru said, waving it off, “Get something to eat and we’ll set off once you’re ready. The winds are pretty strong today, so it would be good to get going.”

“Alright,” Adion said. Even though they had food with them on the senba, it couldn’t compare to a proper, cooked meal. 

Adion ordered a few dishes from a servant nearby and sat down opposite Minru to wait for his food. 

“Did you paint?” Minru asked, his eyes still on the book in his hands. 

“Yeah,” Adion nodded.

“Is it still in your room? Let me take a look,” Minru said, rising from his seat.

“I already put it away,” Adion said, putting his hands up to stop Minru, “Besides, it turned out…a little private. I won’t show it to anyone.”

“I see,” Minru said slowly, “All right.”

Minru didn’t push Adion and sat down to read once again. 

Minru is quite the guy. Adion couldn’t help but think. He had slowly realized how much of a pain this journey could have been if he was traveling with someone else. 

I’m really lucky to have met him. Is it really enough to just give him my paintings?

It will have to do. I don’t have anything else to give. I’m sure Minru isn’t lacking gold coins. 

And he would probably be uncomfortable with anything expensive. 

The food arrived quickly, and Adion noticed he had worked up quite an appetite as he quickly finished all his plates. 

Minru didn’t let a minute go to waste. As soon as Adion had finished, he had his luggage ready and was heading outside.

Adion leaned back in his chair and couldn’t help but jokingly call after him, “You shouldn’t always be in such a rush. Learn to enjoy the moment.”

Minru turned back and looked at him for a few seconds before saying, “I guess you’re right. Now that I think about it, this village is quite nice. Maybe I should settle down here for a week or two.”

“No, no,” Adion yelled out in a panic and got on his feet, “Let’s get going.”

They had driven the senba to their house the day before, so they quickly got on board and were ready to set off. 

The senba slowly made its way out of the village, attracting a few curious glances from a distance. 

“Shouldn’t we tell the village head that we’re leaving?” Adion asked, “At least thank him for the hospitality.”

“Leaving quicker is the greatest gift we can give him,” Minru said, “Not everyone is as comfortable talking to a Gold mage as you are.”

“Right,” Adion said, feeling like he would also be a little on guard against Minru if not for his confidence that he could fight him. 

The winds were blowing hard, just like Minru had said, and the senba picked up speed quickly.

Adion turned back to look at the village as it slowly disappeared from view. 

I hope the winds stay the same all the way, I don’t want to be stuck in the desert for weeks.

Then again, our next stop is Jimike. Once I get there, I won’t have to worry about the wind anymore. 

Adion made himself comfortable at the front of the senba and closed his eyes. He hadn’t gone through his new memory yet. Even if it might tire his Will, Adion couldn’t help but want to go through it and dig for more details. 

He didn’t know why the experience had been so different this time around. Earlier, he had only seen a still image, and no matter how hard he tried, it felt impossible to move back or forward in time. 

But out of nowhere, he remembered an entire conversation with his mother, along with all sorts of different information that came along with it. 

As he thought about it, he realized he finally knew where he came from. He was from a small town in the Valis Kingdom. His family was a clan of mages, with his Diamond grandfather as the patriarch. 

Adion tried immersing himself in the memory to see what more details he could remember. Unfortunately, it was as easy as it had seemed at first. When he had painted, and was lost in the scene with his mother, all sort of information came to him effortlessly. But now, there was the familiar white void that seemed impenetrable, hindering him from getting more details.

Well, I should be happy with what I have. 

Maybe I could remember so much because it was a more important memory to me. If so, I’ll remember everything about my family in due time without too much effort. That’s reassuring. As long as I can remember what I feel most strongly about, the other stuff can take its time. 

Adion noticed that there were a few blurry patches in his memory, and with some effort, he could erase those. But after half an hour of work, he felt it was meaningless. What was the use of remembering the kind of plant that was placed in the corner of the room? He could do all that when he had nothing better to do.

But for now, Adion just wanted to focus on his mother. 

Replaying the conversation they had over and over again, a smile crept onto his face.