Return to the farm

Halfway between home and the now-defeated wolf, I decide to have a short nap below a tall cedar tree.

I should be cautious not to get hubris just because I know a little bit more about magic beasts than they know about me. Apparently not all ember wolves are the same, or the info was wrong? Maybe the encyclopedia I read has other flaws as well. For one, I could encounter a magic beast that's not even mentioned there. 

Too bad my sickle was this battered, usually I butcher the magic beasts I defeat. Close to their hearts is some kind of organ that normal beasts don't have. It's like a kind of pouch that surrounds a dull type of crystal.

I've tried to break those crystals open a few times (and broken an adze in the process). Even when I tried hitting two of them against one another, they didn't even seem close to breaking.

I once intentionally left a tiny crystal on the field after slaying a frost hare. When I returned the next day, it was gone. Whether it's because someone else took it to use as jewellery or maybe nature has some way to break it, I don't know. All I know is they probably aren't unbreakable and might reveal some of the secret to magic. If conventional rocks have taught me anything, I was hoping the bigger crystal from the fairly strong ember wolf might have been easier to split.

Either way, I should be glad I'm alive. If I hadn't seen that spell circle, me and the 2 girls may have turned into dog food. Meanwhile, the wolf could either nap for a bit or look for the next nearby human to toy with. I hope the village recovers a bit. Selling coats made from our furry friend should be able to earn them some coin, while the meat can replace some of the crops they've lost to the many scorched areas where it either attacked people or decided to play with fire, literally.

Maybe I should worry about myself as well though, it might not be as grave as actual starvation because of burnt crops, but I most likely won't get dinner tonight, considering I may have skipped out on weeding the fields, going on an adventure instead.
Cherry on top? I also managed to magically make a tool disappear! (I suppose one could say I am on my way to becoming a great magician after all!)

I just hope father doesn't look that side of the shed. It's late spring, so we won't need the sickle for harvesting right now. Oh well, worrying about it won't do me any good, might as well go home and get the scolding over with, the longer I stay out here, the worse it'll be. Hopefully I can even make it back to start weeding before night falls.

Almost two hours of daylight left, the forest air gets exchanged for the scent of burning wood, Mum's cooking (which I probably will not get to enjoy today).

Oh, well, better to spend these last hours of light earnestly weeding the field. It's not like father won't notice, but the fields need to get weeded either way. Maybe he'll be a little bit more lenient if I at least try to help out at home when I'm not busy sneaking out.

The hour crawls by about as slowly as I crawl through the paddy.

As I see a familiar big figure approach, I take a deep breath. I managed to finish about a fifth of what I was supposed to do today. I guess I'll have to wake up early tomorrow to make up for lost time and judging from his expression, I doubt dinner is in the cards today.

"Hi dad"

"Francis, fancy seeing you here!
I thought you were out roaming to nearby villages to ruin my tools again, surely you don't happen to know anything about a missing sickle? 
Is it burnt, cracked or snapped straight in half this time?"

"Actually, it's perfectly fine, I just..."
"Lent it out to a friend"

"Lent it to a friend?
You haven't bothered talking to any of the neighbours in the past year, so I wonder who this friend would be!
Not to mention, to need such a large sickle in spring? I wonder what type of crops they might be growing!"

Well... That was not as bad as I expected.

"You'll get it back soon, that's what matters most, right?
We don't even need it right now, or are you growing crops you don't know about as well?"

"Don't get smart with me, even if I don't need the sickle right now, you're not exactly allowed to take it.
Especially if you're going to run off fighting any and all magic beasts you can find."

I don't understand why my dad is so against my field trips.
Isn't it selfish to try and keep me home despite the fact that I've saved at least a dozen villages during my quest to learn magic?

"One of these days, you'll get yourself killed, do you even realise how sad that'll make your mother and me?"
"Monster slaying is a job for armed mercenaries or armoured soldiers, not a 14-year-old."

He takes a ridiculous tone, half singing, pretending as if he was a bard.
"Armoured with a few millimetres of cloth, carrying his father's sickle as a 'weapon'!"
"The only part that actually fits the warrior aesthetic is your Geta, though I don't think most warriors paint them black by scorching them."

It's like he read my mind, but surely the amount of lives I save by slaying all those beasts more than weights up to the risk I'm taking.

"Today didn't exactly go according to plan, but it's not that bad"

"Not that bad?
Let's see if that's also the words your sisters and mum use when they see your entire arm bandaged!"
He ponders for half a minute before continuing.
"Who even did that bandage for you? You're not getting other kids to join you on your ridiculous quests now, are you?
Can't you just give up on playing the hero and focus on learning how to take over the family farm?"

"I-I'm not trying to play a hero"

"Sure you aren't!"

I can't even tell my own parents about my dream of becoming a magician.
It probably sounds ridiculous, considering how bad humans are at magic.

Maybe it's even straight up insane, because for multiple centuries it has been forbidden by law. Even if a human mage were to exist, they would have to hide it their entire lives or live outrunning authorities, never trusting anyone, lest they be betrayed and ambushed in their sleep.

I don't care about all that, though.

During winter, about 10 years ago, an entire pack of ice wolves attacked our village.

We were saved by a tall samurai with long ear ornaments on his helmet instead of horns.

I've been fascinated with magic since, especially fire magic. Just the radiating heat from kilometres away felt like a hand on my shoulder saying "don't worry, everything will be okay".

I guess the accusation of wanting to be a hero is not all that far off after all, I've been trying to become a magician to chase that hero's back after all.

Lost in thought I didn't even notice father already left. I'll just finish this row and then head home as well.

As I get home, I notice the table is only set for four, my younger sisters are already seated and tilt their head as they look at me curiously.
Don't even ask, I think father probably already explained why I'm not getting dinner tonight.

I wonder how they feel about their brother sneaking out and returning with clear battle scars...
Instead of talking to them, I just rub my left hand through their hair and give them a little head pat before going upstairs. This arm needs time to heal, and if I have to wake up extra early tomorrow, I might be better off hitting the hay now rather than later.