Darx on the night of the festival

It's past midnight, and I'm lying in my bed trying to sleep, but I can't stop thinking about everything Noah told me. Did Noah really leave the village? I wonder where he is now... When I told James what happened, he looked sad and confirmed much of what Noah told me. I find it hard to believe that Mr. Enzo is capable of doing all that. I always thought of him as a kind person who cared about the welfare of the village.

What's more, about Kase possibly being the son of Noah's ex-wife. If what Noah says is true, Mr. Enzo has two wives and two children with them, but then why did Mr. Enzo give Kase the sword of succession if he is not his wife's son? From what I understand, only the eldest legitimate child from the first marriage is the one who inherits the leadership of the family. I've never talked to Kase much, so I don't know anything about his life. I wonder if Amelia knows anything.

It won't be a bad idea to ask Amelia tomorrow, maybe she knows something. After we went to the mine, she is always busy, and I rarely see her now. Before, not a day went by without her coming to visit me, but now she hasn't come even once. In a week, Amelia will leave the village, and I would like to spend more time with her before she goes. She must be nervous and training as much as possible, which is why I don't want to interrupt her. Thinking that Oliver and Amelia will no longer be here makes me sad.

I was trying to sleep but couldn't stop thinking about everything that had been going on lately. I'm worried about Oliver and what will happen to Emma, who is pregnant. I don't know how Fabe will react, but I know that Oliver will try to help Emma, causing more conflict between them. But not everything is bad, at least now, Amelia no longer spends time with Kase, but it bothers me what Mia told me about how friendly he is with my mother. Luckily I'll only have to endure that one more week.

At some point in the night, I managed to fall asleep and woke up with the window's light. I couldn't sleep much, but my mother is calling me for breakfast. After breakfast, I will go to Oliver's house to see how he is doing and then return home to sleep a little before the festival starts.

I left my room and saw my mother sitting waiting for me to start eating. Since today is the festival, she has no practice with Kase, so she doesn't have her armor on, and the best of all is that Kase is not here. I sat in front of her, and we started eating while we talked a little.

"Do you have any plans for the festival?" My mother asked as she continued eating.

"I have nothing planned, but I will spend the festival with Oliver and Amelia. And you?"

"I'll keep my promise to Alice, and we'll be drinking."

"Drinking!? Are you sure it's a good idea? You get drunk easily."

I've seen my mother drink a few times, and she gets drunk very quickly. The problem is the way she behaves when she is drunk. She starts out being very affectionate. The last time she hugged me for two hours without letting go, telling me how much she loved me. Her physical appearance doesn't reflect it, but she is incredibly strong, and once she grabs you, it is impossible to get away. Then she starts to get angry and begins to behave violently, and since she is a B rank, it is quite dangerous. Lastly, she faints.

"Do you want me to pick you up before the festival ends?" I asked my mother. It will be bad if she starts looking for a fight with someone while drunk.

"I am not a little girl; I can take care of myself. You go and enjoy the festival with your friends."

"Don't know, you sometimes behave like a little girl." I said it jokingly.

"I am going to hit you!" My mother also answered jokingly.

We had a fun chat while we finished eating. Our mornings used to be like this until Kase started coming.

"I'm going to Alice's house to help her since she hasn't finished her share of the festival's food." My mother told me as she got ready to go out.

"Okay, I'm also going to Oliver's house for a bit." I replied.

Mother left, and I also got ready to go out. Before going with Oliver, I went to Amelia's house, but she was not at home, as usual, these days. After not finding Amelia, I went to Oliver's house, and on the way, I was stopped by someone whom I don't know well, but I have seen him a few times in the village. If I'm not mistaken, his name is Drogan. He is a man who, like Noah, has a sloppy appearance. He has a lot of hair and a beard, which makes it difficult to see his face.

"Darx, will you allow me a moment? There is something I want to ask you." Drogan asked me while looking a little distressed.

"Of course." I answered curiously.

"Do you know anything about Noah? He is not at home."

I wonder if they were friends. Drogan looks worried about Noah.

"I don't know where he is now, but Noah left the village yesterday."

In an almost inaudible voice and looking at the ground, he just answered. "I see..."

Without saying anything else, Drogan left. I wonder what his relationship was with Noah. He looked really sad to hear that Noah was gone. Now that I think about it, how did Drigan know that I knew something about Noah? Did he see me when I walked into Noah's house!? I've only talked to Noah twice.

After my little meeting with Drogan, I went to Oliver's house, and to my surprise, Amelia was there. Amelia was using her healing magic on Oliver, who looked a lot better.

"Darx, look at me! My wounds are practically healed, and I am as if nothing happened. Amelia's magic has improved a lot. It is incredible!" Oliver, amazed by Amelia's magic, wanted me to see.

"It is impressive, Amelia! How did you improve so much?" I asked.

Amelia nervously replied, "I-I found a good book..."

"I'm already happy for you as I know how much you wanted to improve your healing magic."

We talked for a while talking about the festival and what they hope to do in the city. I have known Amelia and Oliver my whole life, and I can tell that they are trying to look happy, but they are sad in reality. I imagine Oliver is worried about Emma, but I'm not sure why Amelia is like this. I thought she was eager to go to the city, and she looked excited about it a few days ago, but now I can tell that something worries her. Today is the festival that I know they love, so I hope they can have fun.

"I feel a lot better, and I'm sure my parents need my help, so I'm going for now, and I'll see you later at the festival." Oliver said as he got up from the chair and said goodbye to us.

We said goodbye to Oliver, and Amelia and I left the restaurant where people were beginning to arrive.

"Do you want to go see how the festival preparations are going, Amelia?"

"Sorry, Darx, I can't. T-There are some things that I have to do..."

"Are you going to train? It would be best if you didn't overexert yourself." I replied.

"I will not train! I-I have to go s-somewhere..." Amelia nervously answered.

"If you plan to go with Alice, maybe it is not a good idea at the moment because my mother is there now helping her with the food for the festival."

Amelia's nervous face changed to a serious one when she heard Alice's name, and she replied somewhat angrily, "I'm not going with Alice. I can't explain now. See you later at the festival, Darx."

Amelía left after saying goodbye. Did I say something that made her mad? Now that I think about it, Amelia hasn't visited Alice since that night. I wonder if they still have a misunderstanding. Amelia doesn't like conflict, and I know how much she appreciates Alice, which is why I find it so strange that they argue.

I have nothing else to do until the festival starts, so I'm going to do what I had in mind, and I'll go to sleep a bit so I won't be sleepy later. Once at home, I lay down on my bed, wanting to sleep for just a couple of hours, but when I opened my eyes, it was already dark, and music could be heard from my house.

The festival has started.

When leaving the house, quickly one can realize that it is not a regular night. Every night the village is silent at this time, but not today. Today people are walking through the streets, and in the distance in the center of the town, there is a great light that comes from a large bonfire. Around the bonfire is where most people gather to take advantage of the light, also listening to the music that a group with musical instruments is playing, the food, and possibly the most important for most people: beer and ****.

The closer I get to the campfire, the louder the music and the laughter of the people are heard. The whole village is here, even Mr. Enzo, who is rarely seen outside his mansion. Seeing Mr. Enzo makes me think about Noah and make me wonder what he's doing right now. I would have liked to see him enjoy the festival with everyone.

Walking looking for Amelia and Oliver, I saw my mom sitting next to Alice, laughing and drinking. I'm glad to see that she's having a good time. Later I met James and his daughter. It seems that James can walk with the help of a crutch.

"Darx! Are you having a good time? Food is over there if you're hungry." James says, pointing to the tables where the food is.

"Wonderful! I'm looking for Amelia and Oliver now, but after I find them, we'll go eat. By the way, why aren't you with Alice?"

"Alice wanted to spend time alone with Ilene. She deserves it as she has been busy taking care of our daughter and me while I recover. I told her that I would take care of our daughter for today and to have fun without worrying."

"I see! They seem to be having fun." I replied.

"Yes! Oh, I saw Oliver not long ago, near the food table."

Since James still can't walk well, I asked him if he wanted me to bring him something to eat and drink, to which he agreed. After taking the food to him and saying goodbye, I looked for Oliver, who I saw near a food table on the opposite side. He seemed happy, trying all the food.

"Hi, Oliver! Has Amelia not arrive yet? I asked.

"I haven't seen her since you guys left in the morning. Darx, come to try these dishes I made." Oliver handed me a plate and pointed out which food he wanted me to try.

"It's delicious!!"

The food was wonderful. Not only has Amelia improved, but Oliver has also been practicing, and his food is even more delicious. Watching Amelia and Oliver do their best makes me feel guilty since I haven't been doing anything.

Oliver and I sat down to eat while we waited for Amelia. Rarely Amelia doesn't arrive before us since usually she is always the one that waits for us. While we ate, the music and the laughter of the people didn't stop. At this time, people are already somewhat drunk, and men begin to invite women to dance. Some couples start to leave, looking for a more private place. In the distance, I noticed Fabe walking furiously. Isn't Fabe bored of always being in a bad mood? A girl with whom I had never spoken before invite me to dance, and to not be rude, I accepted. The girl wanted to keep dancing, but I refused and went back to Oliver.

"Amelia hasn't arrive..." Oliver told me with a slightly downcast voice.

"I wonder where she is." I replied.

"I have to go to the bathroom, but if she doesn't come when I return, we have to go look for her." Oliver said.

"Okay!"

While Oliver went to the bathroom, I was looking around for Amelia, but she is nowhere to be found. Oliver was taking too long, so I decided to walk a little while still looking for Amelia. She seemed a little weird in the morning. I wonder if she felt ill. Maybe she's at home sick.

I thought about going to Amelia's house when I saw my mom, who already looked drunk, but she was no longer sitting talking with Alice. Now she was in the area where people were dancing, and she was with Kase... dancing.

When I saw them, I felt angry and walked towards them when I felt that someone stopped me holding my shoulder. As I turned around, I saw that it was Oliver who was looking quite agitated.

Oliver, sweating, and agitated, said, "Darx, I need you to help me."

I was confused. "What happened, Oliver? What do you need help with?" I was surprised to see him that way and asking for my help.

"Tonight, I'm leaving the village."

"What?"

"...and Emma is coming with me."