"No!"

Agwyn's voice came out with a sharp thorny yowl, like a kitten with its tail walked on. She took a step back, making not even an ounce of effort to hide her disgust.

Cadfael snapped his head up with eyes flashing in disbelief.

"My heiress-" he tried to frantically speak, but a loud shout interrupted him.

"You shameless curr!"

It was Vesiphis. The winged boy pointed his fingers at the kneeling Cadfael, his hands shaking madly and face twisted into a rage.

"You-you-you are out of your mind! You!" He kept stuttering as if he could not find the right words. But that did not pose a problem in conveying his very real, very negative emotions.

Elrhain whistled, watching the drama thicken. His eyes met Agwyn's, who had also lost her earlier composer despite her resolute front just now.

She looked at him unsure, and afraid.

Elrhain winked at her, giving her the solace she so needed. The little girl huffed in relief, scampering back to his side and hugging his arms.

In the meantime, Vesiphis’ condemnation of Cadfael had come to a full-blown argument.

"This has nothing to do with you." Cadfael slowly enunciated, his posture stoic and his white sword now pointed downwards.

"Do you know what the Pledge of Red Fate means? You dare to even attempt a mimicry of it now, of all places, a month after the heiress’s betrothal?" Vesiphis didn’t back down. Large claws started growing from his fingertips while the tattoos on his wings darkened. He struggled to take in a breath as he yelled,

"Do you realize what uncle Morys will think, what the chieftain and grand elder will think?"

"I am no whelp like you. I am qualified to make my own decisions."

Vesiphis laughed, but everyone could tell it wasn’t out of good humour.

The other kids retreated, freeing up a circle for the two obvious hostile sides. Elrhain even saw Olwina and Ariana share a strained look before remaining in front of the other kids as shields.

‘Oh! Are they gonna do it?’

This would be the first actual fantasy fight he’d witness if that were to be the case.

"I was mistaken about you, cousin Cadfael. I simply assumed you were too fixated on training manna, and that's why you found us indolent cousins too beneath you to spend your time with. I could accept that. After all, a life of cultivation is admirable." Vesiphis spat on the ground, his wings spreading wide, "But you're just a manner-less fool, letting your supreme talent get to your head!"

Cadfael unexpectedly nodded.

"So you do know I am a supreme. Then you should know my reasons, cousin Vesiphis. Or why else would she and I be born into the same era? The spirits had called forth this fate for us, and I witnessed my future with her during the blessed night! The only person worthy of my heiress in the clan is me, and the only person who is qualified to judge me is her,"

The shadows under his feet swayed threateningly, their dance rising in tempo with his every word.

"Not you, not the adults, and clearly not the clan which is forcing my heiress to be with that talentless waste."

Cadfael smiled warmly like a summer orchid in bloom as he gazed at Agwyn, not at all out of place on his otherwise impassive face.

Then his eyes turned bloodshot when he saw Agwyn clutching Elrhain's sleeves while rubbing her tiny face on his cheek.

…the girl wasn’t even looking at him.

Elrhain, on the other hand, stared him dead in the eyes while stroking Agwyn's leafy hair.

「Do you think he will break his façade again if I sniff your hair?」

「Why don’t we just kiss?」

「No way, your breath stinks.」

「Then invent toothpaste!」

Elrhain moved his head away from Agwyn’s upturned lips before lightly slapping her mouth. As he yelled in pain with his hand bitten by the evil chipmunk, he noticed something.

Something refreshing.

With all the headaches these other Earthloch kids, including Cadfael, had brought along, he had no chance to ruminate about the nightmares that haunted him every waking moment the last few weeks.

If it was two days ago, he would have been drawing up sophisticated plans and workarounds about everything or be worrying about things that hardly mattered at this point in time. Yet now, he felt invigorated and satisfied, as if an enormous weight had been taken off his shoulders.

It reminded him of the feeling he experienced when he had just finished an epoch-shattering toxic fight with strangers online.

「Actually, this might not be so bad.」 Elrhain subconsciously said through the link.

「What?!」Agwyn recoiled, her teeth bared.

「Meeting people, even if they’re kids.」 Elrhain said, his hands pinching her cheeks to keep her from biting him again,「All this time, the only people we could truly be honest with were ourselves. Even with our family, we had to put on façades and be wary of what we say. With these numskulls, we can relax a bit.」

「I don’t think they are as stupid as you think. They all look like fluffy kindergarten buns but act totally edgy like eighth graders.」 Agwyn nodded,「But I get your point.」

She suddenly widened her eyes.

「Is that why you have been acting peculiar lately?」

「No I haven’t! I don’t know what you’re talking about.」

「I see now!」 Agwyn clapped her hands, 「The repeated stuffy confinements, first in that room in the Siaglas courtyard, then in this Earthloch courtyard. Just when we thought we could go out more, we were again stuffed inside rooms like sacks of potatoes.」

「Uh, yup. That is the case, just boredom, I guess.」

「Even if our bodies can get used to such long periods of passivity, to our human minds, it has already been thirty-hell-be-damned-long Earth years.」 Agwyn loosened her shoulders as if she could already feel the inertia flying away, 「It’s no wonder you’ve been having nightmares and talking about how the world will eat you alive in your sleep in dramatic voices!」

Elrhain choked on his breath, 「No, that is a wrong deduction, you amateur sleuth!」

Agwyn grinned, 「Now that you realize it’s okay to socialize, how about sharing all those bottled up, stinky worries with me? I bet even our family will listen if you just speak, especially grandpa.」

「That’s not it, I tell you!」 But Agwyn would have none of it. She kept rubbing her face on his even harder, whispering to him why silence bred devils like the devil herself.

Vesiphis, who saw their overly intimate lovey-dovey behaviour from the other side of a stunned Cadfael, laughed out loud in vindication, "Well too bad for you, our heiress refuses your worthless pledge faster than a Racadger eats its cubs."

If looks could kill, then the glare Cadfael shot would have murdered Vesiphis ten times over, and Elrhain would have died a thousand.

Finally, throwing away the last semblance of politeness, Vesiphis raised a corner of his lips, “You mocked Lord Elrhain, like mother like son? I could say the same thing about you, shameless Horuxi primitive who respects not our traditions!”

The second he finished shouting what Elrhain could only guess was an ethnic slur, the shadows under Cadfael’s feet shot out like torpedoes.

*Shwoosh!*

Vesiphis didn’t even try to dodge, using his giant wings to block the blows.

The wind carried with it the resulting shock wave as a cloud of dust exploded up alongside torn stalks of grass, flowers, and leaves.

“Kya!” Cati and Ysbail cried out, hugging each other like lost lambs in a hurricane while the other kids dropped their relaxed attitude just as fast. Only when they saw Vesiphis unscathed did they sigh in relief.

The markings on Vesiphis’s wings glowed crimson, the dust and sand gathering into numerous spear-like torrents in front of his outstretched clawed palms. He flew into the sky dodging all of Cadfael’s attacks, then rained down the spears from above like a harbinger of justice.

This time, it was the shadows that acted as a shield to protect Cadfael from the counter barrage. But it gave enough time for Vesiphis to gather a river of conjured sand into one massive golden trident.

“Repent your actions in the healer’s hut!” The winged boy screamed as the spear came crashing down like a meteorite.

Cadfael snorted, replying with a “Weakling!” as his shadows too morphed into a giant sword of darkness along the tip of his bone blade.

And the two forces, one slashing and one piercing, clashed like thunder.

*Booom!*

Another huge shockwave exploded out, only the two shouts coming from the center of the impact making it past.

Elrhain tilted his head in confusion. He had been wide jawed at this magic battle until then, amazed at what kids not even in the Earthen realm could do. This level of destructive prowess… then what about Oceanic? And…. Could the birdbrained slug woman really be that powerful?

Then he heard Vesiphis and Cadfael’s loud voices echo out from the dust screen. Those shouts sounded more like…yelps?

When the dust settled once again, he found out why.

A man with an axe strapped to his back held the two struggling kids up-side-down by their legs. Red bumps throbbed comically on their heads as their tears streamed down, while the weapons of sand and shadows were nowhere to be seen.

The other kids cheered, seeing an adult finally intervening.

Elrhain recognized the man.

It was Morys. Cadfael’s father.

“Okay, someone tell me what in founder’s name is going on.”

***

A few minutes later, Ysbail and Cati were excitedly recounting everything that had transpired while Morys’s face grew darker by the seconds.

His pelted kilt and exposed torso, along with the jokes he made during their first meeting initially gave a Bromwyn-like jovial barbarian impression to Elrhain. But in reality, the guy was way grumpier, sporting many more un-Bromwyn facial expressions, mainly at his son.

Who now sat kneeling to the side with a black and blue face.

‘Yikes.’ Elrhain shuddered.

Vesiphis wasn’t beaten up. But he on his own, kneeled beside Cadfael as self-reflection.

“… and then there was a big sand stick, and long darky things went phaw! The wind was boom!”

“No, Cati, the sand was boom! The wind was shwaa and Busyfish and Black meanie threw manna and potty words….”

The sentences might have been nonsense, but their sheer expressiveness made up for it.

「Wait, let me do something. Time to put that creep away for good.」 Saying that, Agwyn pushed through the kids and hopped in front of Cadfael’s father like a bunny.

She called out to the brooding man with a cute, yet frightened voice, “Um… uncle Mowys, can you pwease take black meanie away?”

Elrhain winced. No father wanted to hear that about their children. But Agwyn’s façade was so perfect, even he wouldn’t find any malice in it, much less Morys.

As if to prove his point, Morys sighed while shooting Agwyn a complicated look.

He rubbed his temples while saying, “My niece, don’t worry. I’ll make sure my son doesn’t behave like this again. He isn’t actually… a bad person.”

“No! He said mean things to my Ellie and mommy Ewuned!” Agwyn turned her glossy eyes upward and bit her lower lips, the pearly tears rolling out in giant droplets. “He calls them wasty servants and, and he said they don’t have, um, alibities!

“Abilities!” Ysbail corrected, and Cati giggled.

“Yes, that! He said he’s going to take Annie away from Ewwie! He also hurt big brother Bewifish!”

She then started trembling, but managed to grab onto Morys’s pelted kilt with shaky hands, “I was sooo scared when he took out his sword. Annie thought he hit me, but he acthuwally hit himself!”

‘Savage. This is too cruel.’ Elrhain touched the side of his forehead with his hand and peered towards Cadfael.

The boy still had his head down, but his fingers drew deep trenches in the ground.

‘The power of a cute little girl whimpering is too destructive!’

Morys’s eyes softened, but there was a hint of shame there too. He squatted down and patted Agwyn’s head tenderly,

“You are such a wonderful heiress, just like your father and mother. The fault is mine, my niece. I realize I have been too lenient on my son because of his talent.” He then looked towards Elrhain and actually bowed his head.

The others gasped, especially Vesiphis, while Cadfael looked mortified.

“I apologize for all that my ruffian son had spoken to the heir and your family. Be assured that I will go and apologize to Lord and Lady Siaglas in person after this too.”

“Father, why do y-“

“Silence! Have you not shamed me enough already?” Morys yelled, and Cadfael, for the first time that day, looked hurt.

The older man turned to Vesiphis next, “Stand, Vesiphis.”

“My lord, I cannot. I have also behaved unsightly, forcing cousin Cadfael’s actions with my uncouth words.”

“Enough of that, boy. And for the last time, call me uncle.” Morys placed his giant palm on Vesiphis’s shoulder.

“Tell me, what is this ‘sword thumpy promise’ that little Cati and Ysbail keep on talking about?”

“It was… he tried to mimic the verses in the Pledge of Red Fate.”

Morys’s eyes went wide in shock as he took a deep breath, before throwing another stern glare at his son. Cadfael seemed to shrink under his father’s gaze, who was probably the only person in the world whose opinion mattered to him.

When the disappointment coloured Morys’s eyes, replacing the rage, Cadfael’s shadows… snivelled, as if they were sad huskies drooping their tails.

‘At least his dad can reign him in.’

Morys shook his head, then picked up Cadfael and put him on his shoulder like a sack of soybeans, “It looks like I will have to apologize to the Grand Elder and Grand Shamanka too.”

Elrhain, with his superhuman hearing, heard him mutter under a breath, “I wished he could’ve made some friends… Agata, your son is too much like you, too much.”

And for the first time, Elrhain felt awful about the whole situation. Not at Cadfael, but at the father who had to shoulder all the shame in his foolhardy son’s place.