It was only a few weeks before the wheat was finally ready to be harvested.

  It’s around this time that housewives would start preparation for fieldwork. Tools that have been lying in storage since spring would have to be sharpened, and work clothes would have to be mended.

  Hard at work mending the clothes that she and her husband would wear, Alise was sitting just outside her house where plenty of sunlight shone to mend a hood for her husband to wear in the field.

  On her lap, her son was attentively watching his mother’s dexterous hands work a needle.

  As something she’d done thousands of times already, it was nothing interesting to her, but her son seemed to be watching with undivided attention. Even when someone called out to the two of them, his eyes didn’t shift from his mother’s hands.

  “Alise, Gale,” the man called out.

  Though Gale’s attention didn’t move from the hood his mother was working on, Alise shifted her eyes to look at the one that called for her and her son.

  “Robert?” She recalled the man’s name. Though she hadn’t known him personally, he was quite a known figure in the village.

  Oftentimes, neighbours would pass by her house and greet her, but having nothing of note in her own house, rarely would anyone stop by for anything. Much less a decorated, retired soldier.

  He wore light clothing just like everyone else does in this village, but notably different was the sword hanging from the belt on his hip that no one in the village had. Just above his sword is his shirt’s sleeve, hung loose as proof of his deed in battle that got him a small plot of land to call his own from the lord.

  On the other side, his arm was holding onto a young girl’s shoulder. She had long black hair that went halfway down her back. On her face, the guilty look of a child caught red handed pulling pranks.

  “Morning,” the retired soldier called out to Alise.

  “Morning, Robert.” Alise replied with a hint of confusion as she let her son down from her lap. “Rare of you to come by,” she then added.

  “Sorry for intruding. I, uh… came to apologize,” He said, a little confused himself.

  “Apologize? What for?” Alise asked as she stood up to approach her guest.

  “Last night I found a bit of blood on Vivian’s sword,” He said as he turned his head to look down on the young girl beside him. “I asked her about it, and she wouldn’t tell me anything about it at first. But after some questioning, she told me that she had hit another child.”

  “My. That sounds awful dangerous.”

  “It is. I’ve taught her the sword and always made it a point for her to never raise her sword wrongfully, but it seems my teaching was lacking.”

  “No!” Vivian then speaks out for the first time to voice her complaints. “I didn’t mean to hit him! I properly held back too, but he’s just… weird!”

  “No shifting blame, young lady. You still swung your sword against him,” Robert said. A mix of anger, disappointment showed in his expression, which was then washed away by confusion when he turned to look at Gale. “Or so you said.”

  Following her guest’s gaze, Alise then turned back to look at her son now behind her. She remembered about her son coming back home with his hair soaked, but she hadn’t given it much thought at the time, but maybe it was wrong for her to just brush the fact off.

  “Gale?” She called out to her son, who then approached her.

  “May I?” Robert then interjected when Gale was right in front of him.

  “Of course.”

  Robert then walked up to Gale, and inspected his head. Vivian had told him that she hit him in the head, and drew some blood. Even though it hadn't been a day since, there was no trace of a wound deep enough to spill blood anywhere.

  “Seems your son is fine.”

  “He came home a bit wet last night, but I don’t think a wooden sword would leave a wound that could just be washed away with water.” Alise said while pulling her son closer to her now that Robert has finished looking at him.

  “Have you lied to me again, Vivian?”

  Though everyone was confused by this exchange with each other, Vivian was the one most confused out of everyone else. The pure confusion was palpable on her face that Robert couldn’t quite even confidently accuse her of lying.

  “I’m not lying! It was him!” Vivian eventually said once she broke out her confusion.

  “Then has the wound healed? Is your sound possibly blessed?”

  She thought back on the spirits that had taken a fondness to her son. The spirits took the form of a fairy to interact with her son, which was proof that Gale had been blessed by them. But in this context, it was more likely that Robert was asking about the blessing of the Goddess of Souls.

  The blessing from the Goddess gave one the ability to entice the soul, most commonly for healing the body. And as far as she could tell, her son hadn’t been blessed. Not that she knows of at least.

  Confusion was now playing on everyone’s face.

  Alise then picked her son up and carried him in her arms. Having brought her son’s head closer to her face, she then began inspecting her son’s head. And sure enough, she couldn’t find any injuries.

  Seeing this, it came to Robert that something was strange.

  “Your boy is awfully quiet, isn’t he?”

  Alise was caught off guard by the question, and struggled to think up a response. In the end, the only words that came out of her mouth was “Yes…”

  “Gale, have you been hit by Vivian?” Robert then asked the child.

  Being carried in his mother’s arms, Gale had to look down a little to see Vivian. While she is quite tall for her age, she’s not quite that tall. After taking a look at her, he then nodded his head.

  The confusion on Robert’s face deepened.

  “Were you not wounded? Why didn’t you say anything?” Robert continued his questioning.

  The child then nodded.

  His mother is starting to look worried and proceeds to ruffle around his hair to feel for any wounds. But after a while, the worry in her face was washed away by confusion. It seems she wasn’t able to find anything either.

  It might be that the wound was actually very light, and maybe his body had a particularly good capability to heal. Even though it was still highly unlikely, both the preparator and the victim had admitted to the same story. So even with doubts still lingering, there was little else the adults could do.

  Robert then took a few steps back and bowed his head low. His hand then pushed lightly on the back of Vivian’s head into a bow as low as his.

  “I apologize.” He said. “I have been lacking in my teaching. I will sternly teach her not to do something like this ever again.”

  “I’m–I’m sorry too.” Vivian then followed.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “Oh, it’s okay! Please raise your heads. It’s just children playing, and they get injured anyway.”

  Having raised his head and letting go of Vivian, Robert replied with a slight smile. “Thank you,” He said before turning to the girl beside him. “Come on, let’s head on back.”

  On their way back, Robert kept on giving a slightly disappointed and doubtful look at the young girl under his care. He had expected more from her, and this event had shown how lacking she still is.

  The fact that no sort of wound could be found on the boy’s head likely meant that they were in cahoots and could be hiding the real victim by having the young boy pretend to be the victim. Without lack of proof, he couldn’t help but doubt the girl. But considering how she had been such an earnest girl up until now, he also couldn’t help but doubt his own eyes instead of the girl.

  In the same boat, Alise was also just as confused as to what had actually happened. And now that Robert and the girl had left, she could have a private talk with her son.

  After she let her son down from her arms, she squatted down and ruffled his hair gently.

  “Gale, have you actually been hit?” She asked her son.

  He responded with a light nod.

  “Does it hurt?”

  Tilting his head slightly, it was as if he had fallen into thought. “It hurt. But friend helped.”

  “Friend?” Alise asked, a little confused.

  Gale nodded to confirm, and pointed towards a large tub their household used to store water. “Friend.”

  Confused, Alise then stood and approached it. Inside the tub, she saw her own reflection on the still water stored there. That was when she remembered about the events a few nights back, and the loose pieces all came into place inside her head.

  “The water fairy? Is that why your hair was wet yesterday?” she asked before turning around to face her son.

  Gale replied with a nod.

  Alise let out a breath of relief just before a bit of disappointment crept to her face.

  She walked towards her son and held her hand out to grab his. Leading her son, she went back to the chair she was on and sat down before picking her son up to sit him down on her lap where she patted him lightly.

  “It’s good that you’re asking your friends for help, but maybe you could spend some more time playing with the other children? I’m sure they’d like to be your friends too.”

  The next morning, Alise’s task was to prepare breakfast for her family.

  Most days, it’s just leftovers from the day before. But some days, the food she made the night before was cleaned and she had to cook something light.

  Porridge is quick to cook and easy on the stomach, and made for a good breakfast.

  It was as she was pouring some water into a pot filled with grains to boil them into a porridge that a knock came from the door.

  “A moment!”

  When she was done pouring water into the pot, she went to the door and opened it to find Robert and Vivian on the other side.

  It hadn’t been a full day since they came to ask about an incident with Gale and even though she now knew of what had actually happened, the other two were still left in the dark. It wasn’t something she could openly talk about. The fact that her son had been blessed by spirits that is.

  “Good morning,” Robert said.

  “Good morning. Do you need anything?” She asked.

  “Ah, it’s not that. I’m here about your son.”

  Alise twitched a little and her body tensed up. She hadn’t thought of what she would say if Robert decided to inquire further about her son.

  Trying her best to keep a flat face, she asked what he wanted with her son, but her voice failed her. It trembled slightly under tension and there was no way Robert had missed it. But she had to press on.

  “Well, uh—I realize this wouldn’t do for an apology, but I’m wondering if your son would like to practice the sword with me.”

  “The sword?”

  “Yes,” Robert said as he put a hand on Vivian’s shoulder. “This girl wants to be a soldier and serve under the lord, so I have been teaching her what I know. Other kids sometimes join in too. I’m wondering if your son would like to join in too.”

  “I’ll teach him to dodge!” Vivian said enthusiastically.

  “She might not look like it, but this girl actually does feel bad about what she’s done. So she wanted to help if that’s okay with you.”

  “I see…” Alise said while looking over her shoulder to the house’s bedroom door. Inside, her son was still sleeping with her husband.

  For now, it didn’t seem like Robert had caught on to her son’s blessings, but it could be that he’s had an inkling and asked to teach her son for confirmation. It’s dangerous to have her son learn under him. But at the same time, it would do well for her son to interact more with the other children.

  Humans that have been blessed by the divine are rare. Especially those blessed by the spirits. This rarity along with how useful they are made them incredibly valued and sought.

  Their most common usage is for military purposes where their spirit arts could freely wreak havoc. That’s why as soon as he was confirmed to have been blessed by the spirits, Gale would likely be taken away for training.

  As the thought of what might happen ran through her mind, Alise’s face began to falter and show a hint of panic.

  On the other hand, she wanted her son to grow alongside other children. Seeing as he never expressed much of anything, and never interacted much with anyone, she’s worried that her son might grow up to be a recluse.

  In the event he’s taken in by the lord, she’s also very worried that he would be exploited. Robert’s offer to train him on the sword alongside other kids could help with both of these problems.

  “I’ll ask him when he wakes up.”

  “I see. If he does decide to take part, please tell him to stop by my house,” Robert said.

  “Tell him to come! I’ll train him!” Vivian said even more enthusiastically.

  Alise replied with a nod.

  After saying his farewell, Robert turned to leave with Vivian following close behind. The girl eagerly explained all the things she thought Gale would do well to learn and Robert casually nodded along.

  It was as if they were the perfect father and child. at least, of what ideals Alise had, they were.

  Snapping back to reality, Alise went on to finish her cooking.

  Her husband and her son might wake up anytime now and she wouldn’t want to keep them waiting. Also, the porridge might turn crusty if she doesn't stir it soon.

  Some time later, just as her porridge started to thicken, her son and husband came out of their room.

  Her husband immediately went to the dining table, but her son came to her and watched her cook.

  Seeing this, Alise picked her son up, and sat him on the table next to the pot full of porridge. From there, he could look down inside the pot, and he did. But then again, there wasn’t much to see.

  The process of cooking porridge is just letting grains sit in a pot full of water and stirring it only occasionally. But Gale would stop and watch nonetheless—eerily expressionless, while Alise hated to admit it.

  “When’s the food?” Razh asked from the dining table.

  “Just a bit longer,” Alise said. “It just needs to thicken a bit more.”

  After a bit while later, the porridge was finally done. Alise set out three bowls with a spoon for each, and filled them full with porridges, emptying the pot.

  She gave a bowl to her son before letting him down from the counter, and brought the other two bowls for her husband, and herself. After she placed a bowl in front of her husband, he began eating as Alise and Gale took their seat on the table and began eating.

  It was a silent breakfast that made the food that just came off the flame mere moments ago felt cold. It was at times like these that Alise couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of other families. One that would look a lot like Robert and Vivian when they walked away from her house.

  Razh quickly finished his breakfast and went to change into his work clothes. It's another day’s work on the field for him.

  After he left, Alise then started with cleaning the house, starting with the kitchen which she just used. While she did her work, Gale would stay close by to watch her, and to obediently carry out any task she gave him.

  Scrubbing a pot wasn’t really a very demanding task, so it had her mind thinking about other stuff. Weighing the benefits and risks of sending her son to train under the former soldier, Robert. And just then, the cause of her dilemma showed up.

  Of the three fairies, that of the wind came flying by to sit on Gale’s shoulder.

  Like he did to his mother, the fairy just watched Gale do his work that his mother had given him. Then, over time, the number of fairies grew. The earth fairy walked over, and the water fairy slithered over.

  When Alise saw the water fairy, she noticed their body dripping wet, and was reminded of how her son had come back home with his hair wet just the other day. If the fairies had indeed helped his son heal his injury, it was likely that it was this fairy that healed him.

  She did try to ask the fairy, but of course no reply came, nor did they even turn to look at her. So instead, she just silently thanked the fairy.

  Time passed since Alise started cleaning. Over time, she noticed how similarly her son and the fairy are behaving, watching the people close to them do their work. Then it came to mind how the fairy had helped her son when he asked and how Gale helped her whenever she asked him to do anything.

  Thinking about this, Alise lightly pressed her son’s nose. It sank a little under the pressure.

  “Are you a fairy too, dear?” She asked jokingly and chuckled to herself. But there might be some truth to how her son and the fairies were very much alike. “Gale, can you ask your friends to hide from other people?”

  “Hide from people?”

  “Just to hide when there are other people around.”

  Her son looked at the fairies around him. “Will you hide from people?”

  Shortly after, the three fairies scattered and went out of Alice’s sight.

  She was a little shocked when they suddenly did so, but pleased that they would hide from people if asked. This meant that her son could go to Robert’s place without any risk of getting his blessing found out.

  Feeling proud, she then ruffled her son’s hair gently.

  “Gale, do you want to learn the sword?” She asked with a cheer.