Before the festival

It's been a long time since Amelia and Kase went looking for the rope. I decided to wait for them and not risk getting lost and causing more problems. I hope Kase isn't causing Amelia trouble.

Being alone with nothing to do gave me time to think. At the moment of falling, I felt a push that made me lose my balance, and I thought that maybe I had collided with Amelia, but on second thought, the sensation of the arm that I felt did not feel like Amelia's. It felt more massive compared to hers. Now I'm sure it was Kase. Was it on purpose? I don't know; maybe I'm overthinking.

They are taking too long and I am beginning to worry. What if a monster showed up!? No matter how much I dislike Kase, I know he's strong and can keep Amelia safe. About 2 or 3 hours had passed when I heard sounds in the distance. I didn't know if it was a monster or Amelia, so I focused on my hearing and tried to figure out what it was because if it were a monster, I would have to hide. Fortunately, it was the sound of two people's footsteps and soon after, Amelia appeared from the wall's opening.

"Darx, are you okay? We have the rope." Amelia said.

"Thanks, Amelia! I'm sorry I caused you difficulties."

"You don't have to apologize. It was an accident and you would have done the same for me."

Amelia tossed one end of the rope while she held the other and Kase just looked behind her with an indifferent face.

"Hold the rope tight, Darx, and we'll get you up." Amelia said.

I wrapped the rope around my arm and held it tight. Shortly after, I felt it start to pull me up a bit but dropping again, followed by a yell from Amelia.

"Amelia!? What's going on?"

"I-Is n-nothing...! W-Wait a minute."

Amelia disappeared from the opening in the wall. What's going on? From where I am, I cannot see. Soon after, Amelia appeared again, and she and Kase pulled the rope, pulling me back to where they were. Amelia hugged me tightly once we were close.

"I'm glad you're okay, Darx." Amelia told me while she kept hugging me.

"Stop being so cheesy and let's get out of the mine before it starts to get dark." Kase said with an annoyed tone.

Kase is right. We should get out as soon as possible, but Amelia continues to hold me tightly, making it difficult to move. With Amelia's hair so close to my nose, a peculiar smell reached me. I'm not sure what it belongs to, however I feel like it's something I've smelled before. But with so many things in the mine, it can be anything. After Amelia released me, Kase walked forward towards the exit while Amelia walked beside me.

"Aren't you hurt, Amelia? I hope you had no trouble fighting with the monsters." I said.

"We didn't find monsters on the way." Amelia said with a confused face.

"Oh, your blouse is torn. I thought it was the result of fighting with some monster. What happened then?"

Amelia's calm face quickly changed to one of horror as soon as she heard me say that her blouse was torn. Maybe she hadn't noticed and when she saw that her cleavage was showing since her blouse is missing buttons, she was surprised. Still, her reaction was too much.

"N-Now, I remember w-we found monsters. It was a monster..." Amelia said, quite nervous.

"I see..."

We continue walking until we reach the exit. Once outside, I took a few steps passing Kase and stretching my arms. We were only at the mine for half a day, but breathing fresh air felt so good. I wonder if the dungeons adventurers go to are similar to what the mine looks like from the inside. I heard a sound like a clap coming from behind, but I didn't see anything when I turned around. Just Amelia and Kase.

"See you later, Amelia. I have some things to do in the village before returning to the mansion."

Amelia didn't answer and Kase just walked ahead of the village without saying anything else, leaving Amelia and me alone. Amelia continues to ignore Kase, but he doesn't seem to give up, and I don't know what his need is to tell Amelia what he will do later.

"Amelia, do you want to go see Oliver with me? He will be leaving in three days after the festival, so I want to spend time with him."

"Sorry, Darx. I want to rest and change clothes."

"I see. I'll be with him all day in case you want to come later. I'm sure it will make him happy to see you."

I walked with Amelia to the crossroads where we parted ways. She going to her house and me to Oliver's house. All the way, Amelia was distracted, thinking deeply about something. I asked her, but she said it was nothing and that she was just tired. After she takes a bath and rests, I am sure she will feel better.

The day after tomorrow will be the festival, and the next day Oliver will leave the village which makes me sad, but in six months we will be able to see each other again. I went to the restaurant where Oliver was still working and to kill time I ate there. I spent the whole afternoon with him, but Amelia never came. It's weird, even though she's tired or busy, she usually makes time to be with Oliver and me. Maybe she fell asleep, and she will see him in the city soon. So, maybe she doesn't feel bad about not coming.

The next day, the festival preparations started, but I didn't have much to do. Amelia returned to training with Jax, Oliver is busy in the restaurant, and my mother is with Kase training. I would like to go to training too, but I don't think it's a good idea to go alone so I decided to walk around the village and see if I could help with something.

I was distracted, looking at some decorations for the festival when a pair of hands appeared from behind, covering my eyes.

"Guess who I am."

The person covering my eyes wants me to guess who it is, but it is not difficult to know. I know her voice, smell, and the size of her breasts against my back well.

"What are you doing, Mia?"

"You are amazing, Darx! How did you know? Did you recognize my boobs?" Mia said with a face, obviously feigning astonishment.

"O-Of course not! it was because of your voice!"

"You don't have to pretend, Darx. After all, you looked at me, shirtless in the cave."

The people around turned to see us when Mia said that I had looked at her shirtless without any discretion. Feeling embarrassed, I took Mia's hand and pulled her to an area with fewer people, or I don't know what else she would say, and I don't want a weird rumor to spread.

"Hahaha! It's so funny to see you embarrassed, Darx."

"How can you say that in front of people, Mia. Think about what would happen if a weird rumor spreads."

"I have never cared what people say, and if that helps, for you to pay more attention to me, that's fine."

I give up! I'll never beat Mia in a conversation...

"Why aren't you training with Jax? I thought they would return to training today." I asked.

"I pretended to still be hurt to not to have to go. What is the point of continuing training when there is only a little more than a week left?"

"You are not pretending very well by waving your hand like that. If Jax sees you, he will **** you to do double the training."

After the other day, that we went looking for the sword; I feel calmer being with Mia, and we ended up talking for a while. After a talking, we decided to train for a while, so we head to the forest.

"Kase told me what happened at the mine. I'm glad you aren't hurt." Mia said to me as we walked towards the forest.

"Are you close to Kase, Mia?"

"Not really. In fact, I don't like him too much. He doesn't t show it in public, but I found out that he has been flirting with several girls in the village."

"Did he try to flirt with you too?"

"Do you need to ask? I am a beautiful woman! Who wouldn't try to have a good time with me? Of course, I rejected him instantly, but if it were you, Darx, I wouldn't hesitate to accept."

Hearing what Mia says about Kase doesn't surprise me. Other than that, I'm amazed at the self-esteem Mia has. I'm sure Mia will be a great adventurer.

"He even does it with your mother. This morning I saw him too friendly with her. If I were you, I would warn Ilene to be careful of Kase unless you want Kase to become your dad."

"My mother knows how to take care of herself. She would never accept someone like Kase."

"I hope you are right. Ilene has been alone for a long time, after all. It would not be bad if she starts thinking about getting married again because once you go to the city, she will be alone."

Mia is right. All this time, we have only been my mother and me, and once I leave, I would not like her to be alone. She is still young, and if she wants, I will not object to her marrying again as long as it is not Kase.

"Still, his favorite is Amelia. Have you talked to her about what I told you?"

"Amelia told me that she is no longer going to the mansion and is avoiding Kase as much as possible. It was all a misunderstanding on your part."

"I see... you believe everything Amelia says. Only by seeing for yourself will you believe me."

Once we got to the forest we stopped talking about this topic. Mia is quite good with the use of the sword, and we had no complication in taking care of the monsters that we meet. Mia and I spent most of the day in the forest until we had enough and returned to the village.

Still outside the village, I saw Oliver, but he was not alone. Fabe and Emma were with him, which seemed strange to me, so I approached to see what was happening with Mia following me. Once I got closer, I heard that Oliver and Fabe were arguing, and Emma was trying to stop them.

"I'm warning you, pig, get in my way again, and I'll leave you half dead." Fabe said to Oliver while holding him by the neck.

"Fabe, please stop! leave him alone." Emma implored Fabe to release Oliver as she tried to separate them.

"You shut up!" Fabe violently pushed Emma to the ground.

I arrived at the moment when Fabe pushed Emma to the ground. I don't know what is happening, but Fabe is very aggressive, and if he continues, I will stop him by **** if necessary. Mia seeing Emma on the ground, quickly ran to help her.

"Oliver, what's going on? I asked.

"Darx..." Oliver replied, still being held by Fabe.

"Are you stupid, Fabe!? Why did you push her?" Mia angrily asks Fabe while helping Emma.

"You two don't get into this. It's between the pig and me." Fabe says.

"Stop it, Fabe! Oliver was trying to help me. I was feeling dizzy, and Oliver helped me to keep me from falling." Emma replied.

I don't know if it is because of what is happening now or if she feels sick, but Emma looks pale. I was planning to try to calm the situation when Fabe hit Oliver hard in the face causing him to fall.

Fabe crossed the line. Angrily I was going against Fabe to stop him by ****, but Oliver stopped me.

"Stop, Darx!" Oliver told me as he got up off the ground with blood on his face.

"Oliver..." Confused, I stopped.

"I didn't do anything wrong, Fabe. I helped Emma, and it is something that I would do whenever she needs it, no matter if it bothers you."

"You really want to die." Fabe replied.

"If you really love Emma, stop treating her that way. No matter how much Emma tries to hide it, I have seen marks of bruises on her that I'm sure were made by you, and I will not allow it anymore." Oliver said, staring at Fabe.

"Is what Oliver says true, Emma?" Mia asked.

Emma did not answer, and, on the contrary, she began to vomit. Emma is clearly not feeling well, so I asked Mia to take her home, which she did. Things here will only get worse, and it will be better if she is not present. Emma and Mia left, but now the one who showed up was Kase.

"What's going on, Fabe?" Kase asks.

"They keep getting into my relationship with Emma." Fabe replied without taking his eyes off Oliver.

"That is pretty bad." Kase says.

Fabe drew his sword, which scared me for a moment but then threw it to the ground, getting on on guard, ready to fight with his fists. Seeing what Fabe did, Oliver, without hesitation, also did the same, and they began to fight with their fists.

I'm glad to see that Oliver is no longer intimidated by Fabe and is fighting well against him. Oliver is holding up well, but Fabe's size and technique are starting to put the fight in his favor. After a couple of minutes of fighting, Oliver has fallen a couple of times, but he gets back up even, so his face shows the mistreatment of Fabe's blows. Even with blood in his mouth and a cut above the eye that has bloodied all over Oliver's face, he still does not give up, but one more blow knocked him to the ground where he could no longer get up.

"Come on, little pig! Get up! GET UP! I haven't had enough." Fabe yelled.

Oliver fought well, but I can no longer watch, and I approached intending to stop the fight, but Kase stood in front of me, preventing me from advancing.

"Move Kase; the fight is over." I told Kase, who still wouldn't let me pass.

"This is a one on one fight if you insist on wanting to intervene. I will have to stop you by ****." Kase replied.

"Don't you see that the fight is over."

Kase wouldn't let me pass, and Fabe started kicking Oliver on the ground. Oliver tried his best to cover himself, but Fabe's kicks didn't stop as he continued to insult him. I was furious, and I pushed Kase's arms that were stopping me passing by the side of him, but a punch from him towards my face that I could barely avoid stopped me again.

"I warned you, Darx, that I would stop you by ****." Kase says.

"I don't give a damn about your warnings."

"I know! It's really just a pretext to hit you." Kase replied with a cynical smile.

He didn't have to tell me because I already knew. Since the mine, he is looking for any pretext to fight. But now I don't have time for him. I have to stop Fabe. The downside is that I can't do it unless I take care of Kase first. If what he wants is a fight, I will have **** but to proceed.

Kase and I started fighting. Kase's blows were so fast that even though I could see them thanks to my good reflexes, my body didn't react in time to dodge them. Since I met Kase, I always had the doubt that how well I would do in a fight against him, and I thought it would be an even fight, but I was very wrong. I haven't been able to hit him even once, and in return, he connects several combinations of punches at once.

He could have already beaten me, but he is lengthening the fight on purpose, lengthening my frustration of not being able to help Oliver until he got behind me, and with his arm, he wrapped around my neck tightly holding it preventing me from breathing. In the position I was in, I could see Fabe hit Oliver, but no matter how hard I tried to get away, I couldn't, and the lack of air made me lose consciousness.

"Oliv..."