Reunion With Old Friend

Noon time, Romero's village:

After a long journey, Eidrin and his students finally reached Romero's house. From afar, Eidrin noticed that the house had gotten a little bit bigger. Eidrin realized that Romero had been doing well for these two years.
When they reached there, Ron was standing outside. Ron instantly recognized Eidrin.

Ron: "Big brother Eidrin, I didn’t expect you today."
Eidrin: "How are you, Ron?"
Ron: "I am fine. Who are these kids, by the way?"
Eidrin: "They are my pupils. Kids, this is Romero's younger brother, Ron. Ron, where is Romero?"
Ron: "Big brother is at the field. He will be very happy because of your arrival."

They all then went toward a paddy field.
Romero was working in the paddy field under the hot noon sun. He was completely wet with sweat and was wearing a simple farmer’s outfit. Eidrin was unable to believe his eyes. He didn’t expect to see Romero that way. He knew that Romero never wanted to be a farmer, and that Romero was a born warrior who was not meant to do all this.
That made Eidrin a little bit sad.

Ron(screaming): "Big brother, Eidrin has arrived to see you!"

Romero turned back in shock and saw Eidrin. He didn’t expect Eidrin at that time. He became very happy after seeing him.

Romero: "What! Eidrin!"
Eidrin(screaming): "Romero!"

Both of them rushed toward each other and hugged tightly. Suddenly, both of them lost their balance and fell into the mud of the paddy field.

Rio: "Master!"
Lars: "Are they alright?"
Ron: "They’ll be alright, don’t panic."

Both of them were covered with mud all over their bodies. Romero casually punched Eidrin.

Romero(trying to act angry): "Where were you all this time, you idiot!?"
Eidrin(smiling): "Sorry, I was very busy."
Romero: "At least you could have sent me letters."
Eidrin: "Yeah, I am very sorry for that. But still, I always remembered you every day, you know? And you didn’t forget me, right?"
Romero: "What? How can I forget you? You are just another part of me, aren’t you?"

Both of them laughed very hard.

Rio: "I haven’t seen Master this cheerful."
Lars: "Yeah. Maybe because he is now with his best friend."
Lara: "So that’s Romero. Master’s friend and rival. I didn’t expect him to be that handsome."
Lars: "Uhmm… You know that he is twice your age, isn’t it, Lara?"

Lara hit Lars on the head angrily.
Lara(very mad): "I didn’t mean it that way, you idiot."

They all then went to Romero's house.

At Romero's house:

Eidrin, Romero, and the others were sitting outside and having tea. Both Eidrin and Romero were now clean, seeming like they had taken a bath.

Romero: "So, what were you doing in these two years?"
Eidrin: "Visited many nations, helped them as I could, and made alliances with them."
Romero: "That’s good. So you are now a politically powerful person."
Eidrin: "Yeah, maybe."
Romero: "But all of this for what? What are you actually planning?"
Eidrin: "Romero, I want to fix our society. You know how many bad kings are there? How many people are dying in wars all over the world? I saw all that in these two years. I want to help society as much as I can. I am trying to oppose bad kings and prevent wars. I am also trying to help common people as much as I can."
Romero: "Oh, I see… That’s a good thing anyway."
Eidrin: "Along with all this, I have another goal too."
Romero: "What is it?"
Eidrin: "To put an end to the 12 Nation Alliance."
Romero: "…… I see, but why?"
Eidrin: "I don’t think they are righteous rulers. As far as I know, their goal is to increase the number of countries in their alliance and dominate the whole world. Most of the rulers among those 12 nations are corrupt and ruthless."
Romero: "But you know they are the strongest alliance in the world, don’t you? Opposing 12 nations is like opposing Alexander."
Eidrin: "…… Yeah. I don’t know how I’m going to do it. But I will still try my best."
Romero: "Okay. Good luck."
Eidrin: "But I want to say that I need your help to accomplish this."
Romero: "What? But I am no longer a warrior."
Eidrin: "No, you are a born warrior, and I am sure you still have your skills."
Romero: "Yeah, maybe I still have my skills, but I am now a farmer and I want to live like that."
Eidrin: "What happened to you? I know you never wanted to be a farmer."
Romero: "Yeah, I never wanted to, but I have a family to look after. I still regret that I abandoned them for years, so I am trying my best for them now."
Eidrin: "So all of your skills got rusty? So you are now just a farmer who can’t fight back?"

Romero stared at Eidrin and smirked.

Romero (smiling): "Do you really think that? Come on, let me see how much you’ve improved in these years."
Eidrin (smiling): "With pleasure."

Lars: "I think we are going to witness something great."
Rio: "Yeah. Master fighting someone equal to him."
Ron: "Honestly, I have never seen big brother fighting."

Both Eidrin and Romero then got up, stood face to face, and prepared for a friendly fight.

Eidrin: "So… what do you want? Hand-to-hand or sword fight?"
Romero: "What about both?"
Eidrin: "As you wish."

Both of them stood still and flexed for a moment.
Eidrin then charged at Romero, but suddenly Romero moved at high speed, reached Eidrin’s back, and tried to kick him. Eidrin caught Romero’s leg.

Eidrin: "That was a nice move."
Romero: "Your reflexes have gotten sharper too."

Romero again charged at Eidrin. Eidrin tried to punch Romero, but he dodged it and successfully delivered a punch to Eidrin. Eidrin countered it with another punch.

Romero: "What about using swords?"
Eidrin: "If you want, okay."

Both of them took out their swords. They exchanged many hits and dodged each other’s attacks.
Suddenly, their swords clashed, and a very powerful force field was created. A strong pressure was exerted into the atmosphere because of the effect of their attacks.

Rio: "What’s that?"
Lars: "I don’t know, but it’s getting very difficult to breathe. My lungs hurt."

Romero: "Oh, so your warrior madness has gotten much stronger."
Eidrin: "Yeah, I think so."

Both of them continued the fight.
Romero delivered nonstop multiple hits from every direction with his high speed. Eidrin countered and blocked every attack with his sharp reflexes. The trees around them shivered, and a rock boulder was cut in half, all because of the aftereffects of their attacks.

Lara: "Ahh, I can’t handle this. The pressure is getting very high."
Ron: "Yeah, it’s very difficult to stand here. Is this the real power of big brother?"

Meanwhile, Romero and Eidrin continued fighting.
Both of them smiled at each other, and their swords clashed one last time. A very powerful wind occurred, and everyone around them was pushed backward.
Realizing their fight was harming others, both of them stopped.

Romero sat on the ground, acting exhausted.

Romero: "You really got much more powerful, Eidrin."
Eidrin: "You too. You are still as strong as before."

Romero(thought): "Eidrin has gotten very strong. He must have trained very hard for these two years. I think he has surpassed me."
Eidrin(thought): "I can’t believe Romero is still this strong even without training. I think he still trains."

Rio: "Master, that was an amazing fight. I am seeing you fight someone as powerful as you for the first time."
Eidrin: "Yeah."

Romero then got up.

Eidrin: "So, I am asking you one last time. Are you coming with me or not?"
Romero: "…… I need to think."
Eidrin: "Okay."

Romero then went inside the house. Ron followed him.

Ron: "Big brother, I know you want to go."
Romero: "… Yeah, I actually want to, but I can’t leave you all again."
Ron: "You have already done many things for us. We understand you."
Romero: "But Ron, I know how much you struggled for our family back then. I can’t let that happen again. My only dream was to become a great warrior, not the strongest. I believe I have accomplished that dream."
Ron: "But Eidrin was your only friend, right? He was with you in your worst times. Now he needs your help, so I think you should help him. Don’t worry about us. I will take care of our family like before. I know you really want to go—don’t stop because of us."
Romero(emotional): "Ron, you’ve done so much for me. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to repay all this."
Ron: "No need for that. I don’t think these are big deals. I did all this because you are my big brother and the most important person to me."

They looked at each other for a while and smiled.

They then went outside.

Eidrin: "So, have you decided?"
Romero: "Yeah. I’ve decided to travel the world as a warrior, like you did."
Eidrin: "Really?"

Rio, Lars, and Lara became very happy after hearing this.

Romero: "But not with you."
Eidrin: "What?"
Romero: "You already have fame in many nations. So let me make my own name around the world. Our goals will be the same. We will work together, and I will be there whenever you need me. But we’ll travel different paths and meet at specific places. What do you think?"
Eidrin: "I see. That’s a great idea. Even though you’re not coming with me, I am still happy that you’ve decided to return as a warrior."
Romero: "Yeah."

Romero then turned toward his family.

Romero: "Father, Mother, please let me go again, one last time. I promise I will return whenever you need me."
Father: "You can go, Romero. You proved long ago that your choices are right."
Mother: "Yes, you can go."
Rosalie: "Do your best, big brother. Don’t worry about us—we’ll do our best too."

Ron stayed silent and smiled. Romero hugged his family.

Eidrin: "You still have your horse, right?"
Romero: "Of course. How could I leave him? He was always with me."

Eidrin and his students got on their horse cart. Romero mounted his horse. They said goodbye to Romero’s family and continued their journey.

Romero: "So, Eidrin, where are you going?"
Eidrin: "Toward Morica."
Romero: "Then I’ll take a different route. We’ll meet again at Morica. Until then, bye."
Eidrin: "Okay. Take care. Bye."

Romero rode off on a different route.
Eidrin and his students continued their journey.

To be continued……