Vol.4 Ch.67 - I Made a Major Breakthrough

After discovering my new yet mysterious ability and giving it a name (thatname being Analyze), I got everything ready and set out to Springwood. I wasplanning on going through the main road, which is the road we traveled onback when we were still getting our passports all those years ago.I’m particularly excited about this, because this means I get to visit UncleRidge once again. I wonder how he’s doing now? Did he finally get a wifeand kids in the time we were away? I have no doubts he’s still the lovablegoof he always was, but then again we did leave a bit suddenly, so he mightbe a bit salty about that…Now that I got a good look at the place from up close, I am reminded of theevents that transpired here. This is where Grim and Anna got attacked by thatStray Wolf… The tearful face Anna made as she carried a dangerouslywounded Grim on her shoulder, that image is burned in my mind forever…Eh, but that was in the past! They’re both fine (thankfully!), and they’re bothdoing their best out there in the world to make their dreams come true. Unlikeme, who’s just wandering around aimlessly, just witnessing them climb toeven greater heights with each passing day.But now that I think about it, had Grim not managed to fend off that StrayWolf that day somehow, then both of their journeys would end right then andthere. Arthur’s wouldn’t have branched out as far as it is currently. Iwouldn’t have anyone to meet over at Melgam… Wait, would I even be thereif they bit the dust prematurely?Thinking about it logically, if they died here, then I’d probably be left allalone, Uncle Ridge would convince me to go back home, using those two asexamples of how dangerous the world really is, and call my parents to comepick me up. I wouldn’t even have gotten my passport without Grimmotivating me by turning the whole thing into a competition. I’d stay inWhitehood, probably scarred for life…Yeah, I don’t like the sound of that at all, so I’m definitely glad Grim wasstrong in that moment. I wonder what drives him? If I fought against such adangerous beast without a weapon, I’d probably just try to play dead until itkilled me for real. I don’t have the bravery nor recklessness to go up againsta great danger, even if it meant saving myself.He also had Anna to worry about. She barely had a few scrapes incomparison to his wounds, so I imagine he defended her very skillfully aswell. I guess I kind of get it, though, maybe I’d actually stand my groundinstead of cowering if I had Anna with me. I wonder how things would’vegone had I went with her instead of him…Nah, I’d probably just get us killed. I’m satisfied with how swimminglythings have gone up to now, and with how amazing Grim is, I’m sure thingsare only going to get better. Wait, didn’t his father teach him basicswordsmanship? I mean, it probably helped him during the actual fight, sinceI remember seeing him train on a dummy with his sword back in Great Hiana.So that’s it, huh? A weapon… I don’t think I’m cut out for violence, after all.I mean, what good is a sword if you have to get up close and personal withthe threat in order to actually deal damage to it? Yeah, bows exist, but theyseem like a hassle to have to shoot. It’s really slow to fire multiple arrows,and aiming is a completely different story when put into the equation. Plus,you have to think about all this in the heat of battle… Yeah, I’ll just stick tobeing a pacifist.Oh, while I was babbling on to myself, it seems the transport wagon alreadymade it to Wheats. Puaaaah! Nothing like the fresh scent of the morning dewto signify a new beginning! I can’t wait to see Uncle Ridge! Well, off we go!***Orrr not. The doors are locked, strange. Well, even he has errands to do, soI’m sure he’ll be back soon. I’ll just wait for him here until he makes it back,gives me time to practice using Analyze. It’s actually pretty fun!“Lepus… esurit.” The words appeared in my retinas as I focused on anearby rabbit.From what I’ve gathered, Lepus appears to mean rabbit, as this is the wordthat most commonly shows up when two rabbits meet. No clue what the otherword means, but I’m sure I’ll get it soon enough. Right now I just need to jotdown enough words to get this right.But wait, does this mean rabbits talk in third person? That’s kinda weird.“Edward esurit…” I tried murmuring the phrase, “Nah, that sounds way tooweird!”The rabbit noticed me murmuring, so it approached at a moment’s notice.“Edward… es?” It thought, “Potestis intelligere…me?”Is it… speaking to me? It’s thinking about my name while looking at me, didit overhear my murmurs? If that’s the case, then this little guy can be of greathelp to my research!I pointed to myself and exclaimed loudly, “Me, Edward!”The rabbit rotated its head to the side, as if to process the new information.Guess it doesn’t know what to do just yet.“You, rabbit!” I said as I pointed to it.It was a bit taken aback by me suddenly pointing my finger and shouting at it,but after a while, the rabbit finally calmed down. In the end, it muttered onesingle, yet revolutionary phrase in its tiny little head.“Me… rabbit.” The words read, “You… Edward.”Wait, did I just… do something extraordinary? Did I… communicate… witha rabbit? Phahaha, that’s amazing! I’m an animal whisperer! WOOOOOO!Suck it, Grim, I’ve also got a cool Iro Ability, and it’s better than yours!Haha!“Are you hungry?” I asked as I handed it some food as a treat.The rabbit’s ears raised up really high as it thought of only one thing,“Esca!”Esca… Es… Esurit… That’s it! Wait, let me check my notes…“Uhm,” I checked my Human-Animal Dictionary in which I started jottingdown any and all information on their language, “Esuris…ne?”The rabbit stopped eating as if hearing something unbelievable. Then again,if a rabbit suddenly spoke Entropic, I’d certainly be scared too.“Ita… Sum.” Its thoughts materialized in front of me.…I asked it if it was hungry. It gave me an affirmative answer, to which Igave it some more of my food. I just… talked to an animal, like it was anyother human…“Young man?” A sudden voice scared both me and the rabbit, “Yeah, you kid.What are you loitering around Ridge’s for?”The person who inquired about me was some random villager from Wheats, Iimagine it’s probably Uncle’s neighbor or something like that. He probablygot worried after seeing some random kid sit around his neighbor’s frontporch.“Oh, Ridge is actually my Uncle. I came by to visit him, but he’s not here.” Isaid.“I imagine you came by unannounced, because you haven’t heard.” He said,“Ridge moved out ages ago.”“…He did?” I returned the question back to him, “Do you know where to,though?”“I’m afraid not. He mentioned something about fulfilling his childhood dreamone day and was gone the next. No one from the village has even the slightestclue where he went.”Weird… Well, at least I know he’s probably safe. It would have beenbothersome to sit around this porch any longer than I already did, so I’m gladthis person reached out to me. I also got to understand a bit more of theanimals’ language. I wonder if I should give the language a name…?***After heading out from Wheats, I had to pass the border between Tertis andSecundis in order to enter Springwood. This of course means I have to passthe border town that is Station Arfa. This was also a very important spot forthe three of us, since this is where we got most of our practical knowledgefrom.It’s also the place I met Carl for the first time, although I’m not sure if this ishis hometown or not. Well, in any case, I should probably go and visit theArthur’s around here.“Hey guys! How’s it-” I stopped after looking around, “…going?”The place was different, so to speak. From the outside it looked the same asever, but the inside is like I’m not even looking at the same place anymore. Itwas a bit hard on the eyes, to say the least, but thankfully the staff remainedmostly the same, and they were all too thrilled to see me back here.“Lil Bro!!!” The strong burly chef came to give me a bear hug, “You’reback!”“H-Heh!” I could barely breathe from his hug, “G-Good to see you too,champ.”“Sup, Lil Bro.” The nice waitress lady came up to greet me, “You’ve grownquite a bit since the last time I saw you.”“Aww, come on now,” I nudged her, “You’re not my mom, no need to besaying all those embarrassing things.”“I guess so.” She changed the topic in accordance to my wishes, “So whatbrings you here? Where are Big Bro and Lil Sis?”In case you forgot, she’s talking about Grim and Anna respectively. Thesenicknames came from the misconception that the three of us were siblings,which we got tired of constantly correcting, so over time we just let it be. Imean, it wasn’t like it was an insult. If anything, I’d consider it a complimenttowards our trust of one another, if I had to put it that way.“Grim’s staying in Bilgam over in Great Hiana.” I gave them Grim’s lastknown location, “And from the letters she sent me, Anna’s somewhere inCardina setting up that side of the Arthur’s worldwide branch network.”“Looks like they’re all too busy doing their own thing that they couldn’t maketime for us back home, eh?” She jokingly scolded them, “Unlike you, who’staking the time out of his own schedule just to check up on us, huh?”“Oh, nah, I…” I hesitated a bit, “…quit.”Both of the workers’ faces made a surprised face, being so taken aback thatthe burlier of the two actually hit his foot on a nearby table.“Ow fuck!” He swore with all his might, “A-Ah, apologies!”“What did I say about swearing during working hours?” The lady workergave him a death glare.“…S-Sorry.” He quieted down.I missed these two goofballs. No matter what’d happen in the restaurant, be itgood or bad, they’d always be there to lighten the mood with their littleshows. I swear I still sometimes think back to them even when I’m outtraveling, they’re just so recognizable (never mind the fact I can’t remembertheir names…)“In any case,” She turned back to me, “Would you like something to eat ordrink while you’re here?”“Sure,” I said, “I’ll take a latte. We can have a seat in our favorite spot whileI tell you all about how Grim got a girlfriend.”“HE WHAT?!?” Now she was the one to hit her shin on a nearby table fromthe shock, “Ow! Fffff-fine news!”Even I knew she just barely saved herself from making the same mistake shewas chewing her colleague out for. Then again, I don’t think she made it intime, as the burly coworker stood next to her with the most shit eating grinyou could possibly imagine. He was definitely going to get beaten up if hecontinued making that face, but I imagine a single beating is worth it if he getsto make smug faces at her blunders.After a lovely chat with these two dummies, I finished my drink and promptlyheaded out for one of the most lustrous cities in all of Trivis Numerica,Springwood.