Chapter 102.5 - The Second Year at the Academy - The Place Called Home (5)
In the end, their attacks barely grazed, and they collapsed, exhausted.
Ted wiped the sweat from his brow and sent a glance towards Jema and the others, finally noticing me.
Upon seeing me, he immediately bowed.
Sorry.
Dont pull such tricks again.
Understood. Wont do it again.
Jema, Nails, and Lily also apologized.
The boys, lying down, observed the exchange, but when Lily whispered, they hastily jumped up.
Uh, nice to meet you, Alter-sama! Im Quince!
Im Kyle!
Quince and Kyle, huh? Im Alter Les Reedward. Nice to meet you.
The two boys nodded with flushed faces. Quince was the smaller one, while Kyle, despite his age, was taller.
Aiming to become adventurers?
Yes, we want to be adventurers like Mr. Ted and the others!
Ted and Jema, embarrassed, averted their gazes at those words.
Seems like theyre quite admired.
With a better physique than Teds group from the past, they probably took care of meals as well as training.
Anyway, the overall picture became clearer.
I turned my gaze to Ted.
You two are from the same hometown?
Ted nodded.
The boys were from the same village, Quince escaped with his mother, who died of illness two years ago, and Kyle came with his uncle but disappeared soon after.
I intended to from the start. Whether its one or two more people, it wont make much difference.
Waving lightly at Teds gratitude, Elphimia and I left the refugee camp.
Unlike the uncertain route to get here, leaving for the main road was quick.
As we saw off the departure of a merchants carriage from Selen, I felt like I heard the sound of swords clashing and turned around.
In the bustling crowd of the main road, it was impossible to hear.
Still, with my gaze fixed, I reminisced about Ted, Quince, and Kyle.
Life is tough one way or another, but theirs was too much.
Abandoning their hometown, losing their parents, and supporting each other as children.
Surprisingly, you handled it normally.
Suddenly, Elphimia spoke up.
Glancing sideways, she, too, was looking towards the refugee camp.
What are you talking about?
I expected something strange like you saying youll take them in.
As if. Theyre walking on their own. I wont interfere.
But youll give them practice, right? Your house seems to attract only kids. Even Elliots group has grown. Is it an orphanage?
Half of them are academy students. Including you.
Elphimia turned away pretending not to know.
Im the only child living here, but kids of the same age inevitably gather.
At least if Im with Battle Axe of Destruction, the average age would go up. The only adult now is Dana.
Returning my gaze to Selen, turrets peeked from the top of the outer walls.
I felt like I looked up at them when I first visited.
Time passed, and our life here was approaching its midpoint.
It might be time to think about the future.
