Chapter 200 - Boys and Trouble

“Hi Ethan,” Syrus waved to the boy who was sitting in the room playing with Cobalt.

“Wolf!” Cobalt cheered on Syrus’s arrival. “Morning, Syrus,” Ethan replied. It had been a while now since entering the country, and Ethan’s clothes had completely changed during that time. Wearing casual clothes of the country, he matched Max quite well, who also now wore similar clothes. Stylish and slightly thick. The cold weather had been increasing, and while the walking fireplace was fine, everyone else had been feeling the chills.

Maca was still determined not to wear such clothes, as he was too worried about damaging them. Much to the dismay of some of the manor's staff, who wanted to find clothes that could fit Maca’s figure.

The duo had spoken and trained many times while living in the manor, but Ethan felt as if something was missing. There was something fundamentally different from the training here and what he experienced before back home. Though even while his thoughts just told him it was the training that felt weird, it was rather everything that caused Ethan to have such a strange feeling about this place.

“Have you been enjoying your time here?” Syrus sat down on the couch, which caused Cobalt to jump up with them, snuggling between the two of them. “Cute little pup.”

“Woof!”

Ethan joined with Syrus in patting Cobalt. “It has been good, it’s been so very different from my home, which isn’t necessarily bad. I would be completely lost if everyone else wasn’t here.”

“It certainly is a skill. If you want to develop it, then you will need to visit many more places, but there isn’t anything inherently wrong with only moving between a couple of areas after you’ve acquired experience.” Syrus knew plenty of people who only operated around the area they called their home. Unless they had caught the golden goose, there were usually better options out there, but the simplicity and joy of being around the familiar were something she never looked down upon.

Though she was one to criticise a mercenary for never leaving their home, at that point, they were basically just a town guard. A mercenary who only did his work in the same city he was born in was no true merc. Life and combat experience that could only be gained on the road were essential. Syrus thoughts on the matter, ‘sure, find a comfortable spot after you spent some time walking, but don’t pretend to be an expert just because you worked from the capital’. She had met some really annoying mercenaries on her travels, so she was very determined when training people to not have them follow those peoples’ footsteps.

Ethan nodded at Syrus’s words. “Lavender, Max, and Maca have been fun people to be around. I think I understand why you said not to be afraid when talking to people from the hunter guilds.”

“Finally got over that shyness.”

“A little, but it was also trying to replicate you in a way. I noticed you barely talked to the employees or other hunters.”

“I am my own individual. It would be best not to copy.”

“It is kind of hard not to want to,” Ethan muttered before he slowly stopped scratching Cobalt.

Ethan paused. “...Hey, Teacher... there is a lot of trouble forming around us now, isn’t there?”

“Depends on your definition, but I guess for most people, yeah, this would count as trouble.” Syrus asked, “How much have you heard?”

“We were given another round of caution, similar to when the first incident happened, but it felt much more serious.”

“I’m not surprised. They are very worried about our safety.” She remembered the talk between the two men all too well.

“You mean Max and Mary.”

“And for them to be safe, you need to be safe as well.”

“What about you?” Ethan turned to look Syrus dead in the eye. “What about your safety?”

“Mine safety is safe as long as I am alive.”

“...” Ethan looked down at Cobalt. “The guards were teaching about not being too overconfident in or out of a fight, as it could be fatal.”

“Great advice. I’m pretty sure I’ve given you similar words as well.”

Ethan bit his lip. “You have, but you are also you. Confidence flows through your blood, and I don’t think you have ever been not confident about surviving.”

“That wasn’t always the case, and it still isn’t,” Syrus said coldly with caused Ethan’s upper body to jolt up. “I know my limits, which means I know when I’m out of my depth. Yes, that isn’t a situation that happens often when it comes to combat. I have reached the point where I can be called the demon or beast of the battlefield. That doesn’t mean I still can’t lose. Heck, I lost recently. Keep that a secret. And eventually I can be worn down.”

“And?”

“Don’t worry about me.”

Ethan felt that line was the exact opposite of whatever point Syrus had been moving towards.

“If you have anyone you want to worry about, let it be yourself and Cobalt. If you feel brave enough to add more to that, then look out for Max.” Syrus's words echoed thoughts the boy was already having.

“But I...” Before Ethan could register what to say next.

Syrus called out, “You can come out, boy.”

“Sorry for intruding...” Max waddled out from behind a corner.

“Nothing to be sorry about. You are just a victim in a larger mess and just a concerned friend in this smaller one.”

Max paused. “I am a friend?”

Ethan watched the worry in Max’s golden eyes for a moment and swiftly made his decision. “Yes, we are friends.”

“Wolf!”

“Cobalt agrees.”

The words hadn’t been verbally spoken before; in many cases, they didn’t need to, but when tensions were high, an honest declaration helped calm the one who needed it.

“Thank you...” Max moved closer and joined everyone on the couch.

“Has everything been alright, kid?”

“I... don’t know anymore. Being in the city was fun. Even if I couldn’t leave the building, I could see people through the windows, and Maca and Ethan gave me plenty of stories.” Max bit his lip, “Though with every passing day I wanted to actually see it for myself, but now I am learning there are people who are looking to kill Mum and me.”

“Yeah, life can suck like that sometimes.” Syrus patted the kid's head. “Don’t try to worry too much about it. I’ve had people try to kill me many times.”

“...”

“...”

For some unknown reason, that didn’t make either boy feel better.

“I know you are worried, but sometimes when worrying feels like your only option, you just have to stop. Awful advice, I know, I’ve been told that many times, but sometimes just focus on what you find important. A worried mind is one that can make mistakes and costly ones at that.” Syrus stopped physical affection. “I know you are concerned about a lot, Max. You’ve had your whole life flipped and basically flipped again, but in the end, you will always have something that will be your choice.”

“I didn’t choose to attack or be royalty…” Max muttered back. He still didn’t have any real negative feelings about that title, but he could feel them begin to form with all this recent turmoil.

“But you can choose to run, hide, fight, or accept death. That is still a choice.” Syrus stood up. “And worst case, rely on me.”

“I’m going to go exercise if you want to join.”

“Wolf!”

Cobalt leapt off the couch, and Max turned to Ethan, who gave him a nod. Everyone went outside to relieve some stress and do some training.