Chapter 30 Calm Morning and Gentle Rain

While Bill was approaching Suzuka as he was talking, she was already fully recovered from her injuries. Suzuka come to her senses, her anger and clouded judgment in her action came clear. She started to think again with her brain, not her emotions. Feeling her strength, speed, and durability she started to think about a fighting plan. 

Bill was walking slowly towards her while speaking, "Come on, little girl! Don't disappoint Bill! Bill likes a good fight! Get up and fight Bill!"

"Shut up Bill! I don't want to fight you! I am not your toy to play with! I'm not some plaything! I'm a person... I'm a human being! Can't we just... Stop! Stop fighting. Stop hurting me."

Hearing the girl shouting at him Bill stops in his track and after he was done listening to what she has to say tells her, "Plaything? Bill's toy? Bill is not playing with the girl... Bill is teaching the girl how to survive, how to fight! This is a horrible place... This forest... Full of creatures that even veteran adventurers can't beat in a fair fight. Even box power users perish in these wretched lands!"

When Bill mentioned magic box powers, she remembered that she can use a box power too which she forgot completely in fear, anger, and all that rage while fighting Bill.

 "Box powers... I can use box powers too! Stop this fight, Bill! Or..."

Bill was amused hearing Girl say that and started to laugh, done laughing he turn serious and said, "Hahaha! Magic Box power you say? Stop fighting... Or... What?"

"Or... Or I will use my power... to stop you!"

"Humpf! You box power users... fools..."

But before the girl could say another word, Bill quickly kicked a small rock at Suzuka from under his feet. Rock hit her right in the head and knocked her out before she could even react. Her bulked-up body slowly returned to its original form, and her muscles shrunk back to what it was before the fight.

"Heh! Use her power she says... Stupid girl... Relying on some stupid box power, when you are this strong... Heh! Disappointing..."

Bill walked up to her and picked her up, put her on his shoulder, and went back into his cave. Bill put her down on his hay bed and wiped the blood off her face where the rock hit. The wound was already healed without even a scar to show.

"Heh! Human, she says, a human would be long dead by now."

It was still morning and a long time till the end of the day. Bill left Suzuka to sleep in his bed and went to the forest since he had nothing else to do at that time. Suzuka slept until the middle of the day but her slumber was disturbed by the distant sound of thunder. A gentle rain was pouring down from the sky on the ground. The sky itself was dark grey and the clouds were almost black. The sound rain was making washed away her negative thoughts, worries, and stress. It calmed her mind and soul.

Bill was still nowhere to be seen, he was still deep in the forest. Suzuka got out of Bill's bed and went to the entrance of the cave. While gazing into the distance she sits down at the entrance to the cave. Without thinking about anything she just sit there with her eyes closed and enjoyed the calming sound of the rain. 

While enjoying the sound rain was making, she said to herself, "Ahhh... I love this sound of rain... So calming... Relaxing... Beautiful sound."

Rain hitting cave rocks made a very soothing sound and without even realizing she fell asleep. This time she didn't have a nightmare it was a pleasant dream. She was dreaming about how she was sitting at a diner table with her family and having a cheerful conversation with her parents. But her dreaming got interrupted by the rumbling of her belly, she was hungry.

"Ah! Yes... I didn't have anything to eat since morning, no wonders I'm hungry. Probably should go and look for some food."

She walked back inside the cave and started to look for food. It didn't take long for her to find some. There were some meat and Wild Rush apples left next to Bill's bed.

"Wait... Did Bill leave food for me? I can't believe he would care."

After calming her belly she decided to explore Bill's cave a bit more since he was still away. Looking deeper into the cave she can see Bill's 4 good vine barrels. She walked past them and found a pile of all kinds of loot. Broken boxes, piles of polished bone, broken pieces of all kinds of armor, treasure boxes full of useless junk, trinkets, busted weapons, pots, cups, and some other piles of junk.

And past that junk, she found a small carriage all that way in the back.

"Wow! So much junk he got here... Is that a carriage in the back? Probably how he got all this stuff in here. No way he carried this junk on his back till he found this cave. He must have been in a lot of places to gather so much stuff."

While rustling through Bill's stuff time flies and without even noticing a couple of hours pass by. Suzuka gets interrupted by the noise coming from outside. She dropped what she was holding and without making any noise went to check what it was. Big, heavy footsteps echoed through the cave, heavy breathing could be heard from afar. When she peeked outside she saw Bill coming out from the forest. One of Bill's arms was bloody, he was holding his axe in another hand. Bill walked inside the cave and saw a girl awake.

"So! The girl is finally awake? Does Girl want some training? Buhahaha! Bill just joking girl. Don't be scared."

"Hahaha... What a prankster Bill... hehe... Just joking, I see. Umm, what happened to your arm? Did you got hurt? Did you get attacked? What's with all this blood?"

"Oh! This! This is not Bill's blood... Some disgusting mutants crossed my path. So I smashed them with my bare hands. Damn, mutants... heh!"

"So? Where have you been since morning?"

"Bill was checking on Goblins Castle ruins from afar, wretched pests! They have numbers... It will be not too long before they start to make problems for Bill."

"Um... Can't you... get rid of them? Maybe?"

"Bill alone? No, if Bill wants to live that is. It is a full-day trip and also too many goblins. Bill is not young as he used to be. 20 Summers back, would be no problem. It's just too many of them dam pests... But... With Girl's help... It could be done."

"Me? You surely jest. Right?"

"Bill sees no one else here. So yes, You! The girl needs to learn how to survive, to understand her powers. Bill can teach you how to fight!"

"Okay... Look Bill, you are scaring me..."

"What! Does Bill look like a disgusting monster to you? Is that what's scaring you?"

"No, no I don't see you as a disgusting-looking monster. You look... Cool."

"Hmmm... Cool, you say... Haha! Bill thinks Girl is pretty... but Girl needs to understand how dangerous it is out there."

"I understand what situation I'm in. I know I need to learn more about my powers. But you're going at me too rough too fast. If we could just start slow... then maybe, we could train. Look, I'm not against training, just let's take it slow... Okay?"

"Hahaha! That's the spirit Girl! Sure we can take it slow. We can start training tomorrow."

"Also Bill, it's a kind of off-topic question, but... Did you get better at speaking? No offense of course."

"What!? Did Girl think Bill was stupid? Bill can learn, can speak, can count... even write. It's only that it was a long time since Bill had someone to speak with. Bill was one of the smarter minotaurs in his young days."

"But you don't look that old Bill."

"Graaaaah! Girl! Don't interrupt Bill talking... Bill was at a good part..."

"Sorry, me sorry... I'm listening, please continue."

"As Bill was about to say, I used to be an adventurer... a mercenary if you must. Bill was joining parties. Going on..."

"WHAT! Adventurer!"

"Graaaaah! Stupid girl! What did Bill say about interrupting?! Ghra! Bill MAD!"

Seeing Bill getting mad Suzuka quickly turn around and dashed towards the cave exit but stopped after hearing Bill shout.

"Silly Girl! Bill won't eat you or hurt you... Get back here! It's getting late, where will you run? Only death waits you out there in this damned forest."

"I come back if you say you're calm!"

"Bill is calm, don't worry."

Looking at calm Bill Suzuka decided to come back inside the cave. She sits on the ground a good distance away from Bill, while he was sitting on his bed.

"I think we should go to sleep, tomorrow is gonna be a long day I imagine."

"Bill agrees too... Tired of walking to the castle and back, it's quite a trip. I need a good rest."

And like that the next morning came, Suzuka was the first one to wake up this time. Bill was still snoring in his hay bed. She gathered all her courage, picked up her sword, and went outside the cave. The first thing she did after leaving the cave was to scout her surroundings. Nothing was out of the ordinary, the same damp forest opening covered in short grass and few rocks. She sits on the closest rock and waits till Bill comes out. It was a warm, sunny morning with a few small clouds in the sky. The cool breeze whispered through her hair. Not too long Bill stepped outside his cave.

"Good morning Bill! Been waiting for you. Let's get this training going. Just, let's start slow."

"Good, good very good. Bill sees that Girl taking this seriously! That's more like it!"

"Now, now! Let's not get too excited, okay? Let's start slow, with a warm-up first..."

"A warm-up?! Pfhe! Start punching and kicking! Bill will start easy this time, don't worry Girl. Oh! And no box powers, today is a fistfight."

"Okay! No box powers it is."