Chapter 5: Lan'er's resolve // Reaching a Village
Zed woke up while feeling pain throughout his entire body.
'Damn it... I need to cast a spell.'
He wanted to raise his body but he felt a slightly heavy object lying on his chest. He opened his eyes to see Lan'er sleeping there.
'Lan'er? Wait... when did I get here?'
The last thing he remembered was that he crashed to the ground. His mild attempt at moving was immediately noticed by Lan'er as she woke up instantly.
"...Brother? Brother!" When she saw his open eyes, she embraced him with the tightest hug she could.
"Ahh! Wait! It hurts!" Lan'er suddenly remembered that Zed's body was riddled with wounds and injuries.
"I am sorry brother!"
She immediately separated from him thinking that she made things worse.
Seeing Lan'er's reaction, Zed eased his pained face and reassured her. "It's fine little Lan'er. It's just that wounds are painful if you touch them."
"Yes, brother... I know and yet I still did that. Please forgive me..." She bowed as she was taught that this was one of the sincerest forms of apology.
Zed only sighed as he conjured a medicine that numbed his pain receptors while supplementing the blood and nutrients he had lost.
After drinking the medicine, he rose from his make-shift bed and pulled Lan'er up.
"...Brother?" She was still worried and refused to meet his gaze.
Without saying another word, he embraced Lan'er.
"Wha- but brother! Your wounds!" She wanted to say something but Zed's next actions stopped her.
He slowly caressed her head while he wrapped his other arm around her back. Her face was buried in his chest as he whispered, "You've done a very good job Lan'er. Brother is proud of you."
"You don't need to worry anymore... Brother is back."
Seconds later, Lan'er began to tremble in his embrace as she tried her best to stop herself from crying.
But in the face of the greatest and most comfortable place she had in this world, how could she hold back her feelings?
And so, she cried.
"Uwaa... B-brother! You're mean... waaa!" She kept wailing between her stifled sentences.
Her tears and snot began to wet Zed's chest but the latter didn't care. All he thought about right now was to comfort the child that had done her very best.
"Y-you said... you wouldn't leave Lan'er! But you still did!"
In the end, no matter how much Lan'er wanted to act grown up like Zed, she was still a child. This was evident when she began speaking in the third person about herself.
"Lan'er was lonely! Brother.... waaa...."
At these times, it was better for him to continue spoiling her until she finally calmed down.
"Yes... yes... It's brother's fault. Forgive me, Little Lan'er."
She released herself from their hug and looked Zed in the eyes. "You... promise that you won't leave Lan'er again... promise Lan'er!"
Lan'er was frowning as her eyes were red along with her nose. She kept sniffling and brushing away her snot. Zed smiled and promised her.
"I promise."
She returned to his embrace while rubbing her cheeks against his chest.
"Brother... brother... brother..." She kept calling out to him while cuddling closer.
"Yes?"
"Nothing... just wanted to call your name..."
Zed chuckled slightly as he caressed her head. "You're acting very spoiled today."
"I deserve at least this much..." She muttered before drifting off to sleep.
Zed figured that she must've been very tired since she was the one who nursed him and dressed his wounds.
'Indeed...' He agreed with her thoughts while looking at the entrance of the crater.
There he found several bodies of beasts, each larger than the previous and the largest one he found was a bear that was 4 meters high.
He naturally noticed those beast corpses and, judging from how they were killed, it was clear that Lan'er hunted them all.
Which was why he couldn't help but wonder.
'How did she defeat them by herself?'
When he gently shifted Lan'er's body and laid her body on her back, he noticed the dagger he had given her in her hands.
It was only now that he took a better look at her condition. Her arms were riddled with scratches and bite marks, she also had wounds on her thighs and abdomen.
The dagger's handle was tightly wrapped in her hands so that she wouldn't drop it.
Zed slowly untied the wrap and saw Lan'er's previously beautiful hands were now ruined with some of her fingers having a blackish hue.
He was pained to see the wounds that his little sister suffered and so he immediately conjured a spell.
Similar to the medicine he conjured earlier, he made Lan'er drink it while also doing his best to restore her ruined hands.
He kept working nonstop to the point that his mana had completely dried out again. Nonetheless, his efforts weren't wasted as her hands regained their healthy hue.
While conjuring the mixture of antibiotics and medicines, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
To think that his only goal was reaching the apex of magic and becoming the God of Mages yet, now, he was tending to an injured little girl to the extent of possibly harming himself. He would never have imagined that with his selfish personality, there would be a time when he would sacrifice himself for another person.
Something must be wrong with him, and his previous self told him that he was wasting his new chance in life.
Looking at the sleeping Lan'er, he couldn't help but think to himself. 'Family does indeed change people.'
He got rid of his sentiments and focused on treating Lan'er.
An unknown time passed until Zed sighed in relief. "Phew... that should be good enough."
As he was about to rest, his stomach grumbled to remind him that he hadn't eaten anything in the past week since he kept fighting that monster without stop.
Thinking about it now, he wondered where that injured monster returned to. Either way, he hoped that they would never see it again.
-
After another year of traveling, they finally found a human settlement. To be exact, they found a small town.
3 months before this, they had reached the end of the forest and arrived at the sea. Zed and Lan'er had a great time traveling by the beach.
Lan'er was also curious about the new place she reached and there were several times when they camped by the beach and Zed would wake up finding himself buried in the sand.
Zed also taught her how to fish which included patience and concentration. The two enjoyed their time together as they traveled across the beach.
Zed figured that if they kept traveling near the shore, they would eventually find human civilization.
Finally, at the end of their journey, they spotted a boat with a fisherman on it.
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Both Lan'er and Zed were ecstatic to finally find another human.
Zed made sure to fly relatively lower to avoid getting spotted.
"Brother, look! A person!" Lan'er kept pointing at the fisherman.
"Yes, little Lan'er. I can see that. Don't worry, if we follow where he came from, we will find where his town or village is."
And just like Zed had said, they found a human village in the middle of the forest. It wasn't far from the shore so many of their men were fishermen.
Zed and Lan'er landed somewhere near the village and remained hidden.
Lan'er was fascinated to see different kinds of people. There were men, women, children, and the elderly.
It was this look on Lan'er's face that made Zed feel like all his hardships were worth it.
Zed observed the village and saw that it was a relatively small village with only 50 or so houses.
The majority of the houses had crops and cattle and the houses near the end of the forest had fishes hanging from their tanning racks.
Most of the houses were made from thick wooden logs while one house that seemed larger than the rest was made of stone. This house was located in the middle of the village and Zed guessed that the owner must be the village chief.
Zed spent an entire day or two teaching Lan'er on how to interact with strangers and also told her that not every adult was kind.
Lan'er listened attentively and trembled when her older brother mentioned that there were cruel adults who would take her away from her brother.
When Zed said this, he explained how appearances affect the way a person acts towards another and how being too beautiful can end up as a curse.
Similarly, if one was too ugly, then they would be frowned upon and ostracized by the majority. Lan'er asked the reason for this, but Zed simplified it as that was how human nature was.
He then proceeded to teach her about human nature. That some do evil acts while others were kind.
Even then, there might also be a reason for their action and he called this their "hidden intention". Lan'er listened and took her brother's complex explanation to heart.
She knows that he's teaching this for herself and she's prepared to learn how to act alongside society.
What made teaching her easier was that she would ask if she had something she didn't understand.
And finally, after 3 days, Lan'er was confident in meeting other people.
-
Lan'er and Zed approached the house deepest in the forest. They had observed long enough to know that a couple was living here and there were two brothers of the same age as Lan'er.
As they walked through the dirt track, a boy with spiky auburn hair and freckles approached them.
"Hi!" The child greeted brightly.
They immediately recognized him as the younger child of the couple.
Lan'er was still a little bit shy so she ended up hiding behind her brother.
Her actions earned a chuckle from Zed as he faced the other child.
"Hi, little one. My sister and I are both lost and we were wondering if we could ask for directions from your parents?" Zed spoke in a gentle tone.
The child looked at Zed with a questioning look. He asked, "...What?"
Zed mentally face palmed himself as he forgot that not all children were capable of speaking in complex sentences like Lan'er.
"Er... what's your name child?" He asked again.
"Luo Chen!" The child answered energetically.
"I see then... Little Chen, could you call your parents?"
"Uhmm... why?" This time, the child was a little apprehensive.
"We just need to speak with them." He tried to reassure him that they didn't have any bad intentions.
"Hmmm... owki! But only if you tell me your name!" Luo Chen said while looking at Lan'er who was peeking from behind Zed's back.
Lan'er hid again when she noticed that Luo Chen was speaking to her.
Zed chuckled as he thought, 'Shrewd little brat, are you trying to pick up my sister?'
The smile on his face remained unbroken, albeit becoming slightly stiff.
"Go on, little Lan'er. He's asking for your name. Besides, I thought you wanted to make friends?" Zed looked behind him while trying to convince the little girl hiding behind his back.
"...Friends?" Lan'er peeked out.
"Yeah, you can make friends with him."
"...Really?" She looked back at Luo Chen as the latter kept smiling at her, seemingly eager to get to know her.
"Wow! You are very pretty! What's your name little fairy?" Luo Chen couldn't stop himself from asking once more after clearly seeing Lan'er's face.
Twitch.
Zed's eyebrow slightly twitched while thinkinh that this kid might not be a good friend for his sister.
Lan'er looked a little hesitant before saying her name in a small voice. It was so soft that one could mistake it for a whisper.
"Xue Ruolan..."
'There's no way that he heard that.' Zed smiled as he thought so.
However, Luo Chen's next words almost caused Zed to stagger. "Xue Ruolan! What a beautiful name! Not only are you very pretty but you also have a name that fits you!"
Zed growled. "Okay you little brat, are you enjoying flirting with my sister?!"
When Zed observed Lan'er's reaction, he saw that the latter was only confused as to why Luo Chen kept saying that she was beautiful.
After all, she already knew she was.
He couldn't help but smirk inside when he thought that playboys wouldn't be able to play with her feelings in the future.
Not that he'd allow one to get near her anyways.
"Chen'er! Who are you speaking to?!" A woman's voice could be heard from the cottage's direction.
"A bunch of strangers mom! They said they want to speak with you!"
They were still several meters away from the house and so the two kept shouting while trying to converse with one another.
'Why couldn't we just move closer?' Lan'er thought.
Zed saw the displeasure on Lan'er's face. He figured that she didn't like loud people very much.
"Some people are just raised differently. You should be prepared to meet different kinds of people, so you should avoid judging them." Zed lectured.
"I understand." Lan'er nodded and the displeasure on her face disappeared.
"Mom said she's going to speak with you guys! Follow me!" Luo Chen began to lead the way.
Edited By: WorthyAdversary