A true woman

Three years later...

"Why did you retreat?" my father glared as a zombie slowly trudged towards us.

"Because it just didn't feel right to hit it!" I cried.

"Instincts... It's true you shouldn't just hit an undead with your bare hands, but my hands are the only thing I trust to get the job done, now... that your mother is gone. So, the answer is simple..."

My eyes widened as my father punched the air hard, causing a gust of wind to fly towards the zombie and shred it to bits.

"I realize you're still growing, but eventually, you'll need to learn this technique. It's how you'll be able to deal with skilled sword users proper. Now, let's end the dungeon expedition for the day and head back to town."

...

"'Zombies'? You went to a dungeon in the next town over to fight zombies, and without proper protection?" the town priest gasped.

"Yup! Daddy blasted them all away with a punch!" I smiled as I imitated the motion with my little fist.

"That stubborn man... Well, at least you seem fine, but if you ever go again, take a gem for protection."

"Daddy says the only good ones are are too much money."

"Well, I guess that is sadly fair. Still, do try to avoid going to places like that, at least until you get proper gear."

"Why are we even letting that barbarian do this to his own daughter!? She's only a child, yet she's being thrust into mortal danger, coming home covered in bruises, why isn't anyone stopping this madness!?" Mr. Ignatz scowled.

"I wanna be strong like momma was, and daddy said training was how we do it!" I smiled as I puffed out my chest.

"That bastard. I bet that's the excuse he gives for venting his anger."

"About the Oval Spongia? That's why he says I gotta be strong so that I won't turn into a rock like momma."

Everyone turned to me with great sadness in their eyes.

"I've seen the training they do, and I have to say I applaud Samuel for putting you through all that even though you're a girl. Why, I wish he'd train my own kids, since they're too young to join the navy," one of the servers smiled.

"Yeah, the whole reason we got decimated was because we were all at sea! If we were here or everyone back here knew how to fight, we'd have decimated those inquisitors before they caused any destruction!" a sailor roared as he raised his mug into the air.

"No, the main reason was because everyone at HQ discarded how close this place is to Vecilia," a man with slicked back black hair in a navy blue trench coat glared.

This was Admiral Bimuelos Chremslach, one of the navy's top men. He was born in Bisochos but left for Keftes to join the navy as at the time, Bisochos was just a quiet fishing town. Following the attack by the inquisitors, a navy presence was quickly established here in Bisochos, with the admiral choosing to return here to take command. As a result, most of the sailors here, including my father had joined the navy in order to protect the town. It meant a little less fish on the table, but there were still men like Mr. Ignatz who decided to remain commercial sailors in order to keep us all fed.

As the admiral turned to me, he scowled. "How does your father act at home?"

"He's not as happy as he used to be, but when I do well in training or help clean the house, he smiles a bit. Sometimes he even laughs when he's sitting next to momma's rock," I smiled.

"I see... Aya... may I examine your arm?"

"Sure," I smiled as I held out my arm.

As the admiral felt my arm, his grief appeared to worsen. "Muscle... You're only a little girl, yet you're already training... Damn those inquisitors."

I had no idea why he looked so sad.

...

10 years later...

I smiled as I held up a rock monster crystal. "Look at that! I finally got one fully intact!"

"Getting it right the first time isn't enough. You need to be consistent," my father scowled.

"Want me to bust up some more? I'm on it!"

...

Mary gasped as she examined all the crystals I brought in. "Perfect... Not one chip or scratch on any... This is the third day in a row you've brought in crystals like this."

"Consistency is the sign of mastery," I smiled.

"Those crystals are of fine quality... Samuel is having you do this, hmm, these could enhance our cannons... I'll have to applaud him for training you to harvest these so efficiently," the admiral nodded as he walked over and examined one of the crystals.

"Impressed, admiral? I think I could join-"

"We're not letting a woman join our ranks."

I drew my hand back, but no matter how hard I tried, no lightning would come out of it.

"Aya, don't slap the admiral. The navy's already got one LaNorne to deal with, don't give them a second. Also, I've told you a million times, your magic levels are so low, you can't use magic like your mother did," the old doctor sighed.

"Did my father do something?" I asked as I lowered my hand.

"Aside from his usual of shouting and tussling with the brass about Ova Sfongia, he got in a fight with a great wizard in the capital, ironically over gem stones. At least this one was just a shouting match," the admiral scowled.

"Probably because that great wizard ain't the great witch of the amethyst. I hear she's the best at refining gems," I smiled.

"You're a fan of hers?"

"I'm a fan of all strong women. Oh! That reminds me, is the captain recruiting?"

"I just said the navy-"

"No, the captain in the knights! You know, long blue braided hair, great with a sword? I saw her once in Keftes, and she's already my number one hero."

"And the witch of the amethyst?"

"Second. She's making all those cool clothes and gadgets... which I can't afford... Could you raise my dad's salary?"

"No."

"At least I was able to save up for the sneakers," I pouted.

"You wanna earn more money, work a ton like me," Dorrit grinned as she slid in next to Mary.

"You're only working multiple jobs because you just can't help gambling away your allowance on card games," Mary glared as she shoved Dorrit aside.

"Says the one who bought all those fancy clothes."

"I'm going to be a baroness one day, so it's natural I look the part," Mary huffed as she gave her long blonde curls a flick.

Ah, Mary. She is the mayor's daughter, but both are commoners. That doesn't stop her from wanting to become a noble though.

"So, wanna doll up after work?" Dorrit asked.

"We all have schoolwork, do we not?" Mary scoffed.

"Maybe for smarties like you, but Ayay here got kicked out of school years ago, and I don't give two shits-"

BZAP!

"IYAAAAA!" Dorrit cried in pain as lightning coursed through her body before she fell to the floor behind the counter.

"Don't belittle our dear friend, Aya," Mary scoffed as she extinguished the lightning from her hand.

"I don't mind it, though I wish the school would let me back in. It's kind of lonely during the day with you all at school and my father at sea," I smiled.

"So that mean you wanna party tonight?" Dorrit grinned as she picked herself up.

"Uh, actually, tonight's not a good night. I gotta do some more sparring with my father," I nervously chuckled.

"No worries, I'm unfree tonight anyway, unlike the slacker here," Mary huffed.

"Oh fine, I'll get all that stupid work done! Ugh, just a few more months then we graduate," Dorrit grumbled.

...

That night, I met with my father at the mouth of Kandelika Cove dungeon.

"Aya... I heard praise from the admiral on the quality of the crystals... I think today's the day to see if you've truly mastered the techniques I've taught you. Aya, unleash the spine smasher at full force," my father growled as he turned his back to me.

"Are there inquisitors around!?" I gasped as I darted my head around.

"No, today, I want you to unleash the attack on me. I need to see how strong you've become."

I wearily nodded as I took a deep breath and charged for my father's backside with my fist pulled back.

WHAP!

I grimaced as my father stopped my punch with both his hands.

"Good. That's good power," my father nodded as he threw me back. "Now, can you guard against me?"

I gulped as I stood up and turned my back to my father. My hair quickly stood on ends as I felt a rush of wind and bloodlust at my back, yet I didn't hesitate to thrust both my hands behind my head and catch my father's punch. It stung. It really stung, but I managed to shove his hand away and flip back around.

"Excellent. Aya, you've made me proud," my father smiled as he wiped his eye.

It was the first time in a while I'd seen him smile like that.

"Come, we need to celebrate with your mother," my father sniffled as he began walking back up the path to town.

...

That night, the two of us sat and ate by my mother's grave.

"Aya, you've grown up to be a strong woman. Except... how strong a woman are you here, hmm?" my father chuckled as he poured me a glass of wine.

"I can drink this!?" I gasped.

"It's a sign that you've become a true woman," my father smiled as he raised his own glass.

I smiled and chugged down a glass. "It's sweet!"

"I know. Your mother used to love this stuff, but couldn't drink it once she got pregnant," my father frowned as he poured out the rest of the bottle into the ground before the grave.

"What are you doing!?"

"You wanted more? Sorry, the rest is for your mother."

"She'd have let me have some more."

"You think!? I'd have a whole bottle of this stuff chugged right in front of me by her! The doctor practically told me to make her pregnant just to get her to stop drinking. Ah, Laura, why wasn't plain ole grape juice good enough for you?"

"She liked the citrons we grew," I smiled as I held up a citron.

"Haha, when it comes to citrons, your mother knew how to restrain herself, at least when it came to eating them. Growing them? Well, to be fair most of the ones we grow go to the guild and bakeries here."

"Momma was the best at making stuff with them though."

"Oh don't let the poor confectioneries hear that," my father chuckled before beginning to scowl. Aya, tomorrow I have an important mission. It's a deadly one, but if I pull it off, we'll finally be rid of Ova Sfongia's shadow."

"What is it?"

"I'm going to destroy the choke, but in order to do so, I'll need to attract the attention of many warships."

"What's the choke?"

"Hmm? Didn't you study that in school- Oh, right, you flunked like your mother did."

"Momma flunked?"

"She never told you? Woman couldn't understand a damn thing there, so she just ripped up the book and stormed out to become an adventurer there and then," my father laughed.

"Wow, that sounds so cool!"

"Then she got lost! That woman couldn't read a map to save her life, nor could she even retrace her steps!"

"But she could get home from the guild."

"Nah, never could, not on her own. All that time when you two walked back, you were the one actually leading her! Oh that woman. She could swing her fist, but had no sense of direction!"

I quickly joined in the laughter, and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

...

"...ya...Aya... AYA!"

I bolted up. "Wha- What!? Oh, morning Mary!" I smiled.

Mary panted like crazy as she clutched her heart.

"You OK?"

"Aya, it's your father. He stole a warship!"

I raised an eyebrow as I got to my feet. "That's good, right? He said he had a mission-"

"What mission!?" the admiral fumed as he came running up.

"Admiral? He told me last night he needed to destroy "the choke" and attract some warships."

The admiral went pale. "That bastard... he's gone rogue!"

Slowly my smile began to fade, and the next thing I knew, I was running with everyone to Kandelika Cove Point. When I got there, I pulled out a telescope and stared off into the distance. There I could see a lone warship with only my father on board, sailing towards Vecilia. The look on his face sent a shiver down my spine. I'd never seen him looking so furious before.

Then, the canons on the warship fired, and soon, Ova Sfongian warships were converging on my father. He welcomed every bit of it though as he leaped aboard each and every one and smashed them with a punch to the hull, taking out any Ova Sfongians that tried to attack him.

Once the ships were sunk, he returned to his ship and began sailing away while continuing to fire at Vecilia. More Ova Sfongian warships came, but this time, inquisitors were on board. My father didn't break a sweat as he plowed through them and their ships, but on the third wave, an inquisitor finally managed to stop him by shoving a gold dagger into his side. It didn't look like a lethal blow, but before I knew it, my father's body went limp and tumbled into the sea.

I dropped the telescope as the warships then blasted the ship my father took to bits. "Why... Why... WHY!?"

That was the day my innocence truly ended.