Chapter 14: Brothers

Galleon yawned as he went out of the tent. It was very early in the morning, but at this hour, he had to buy something. However, as soon as his eyes landed on the person standing in front of the entrance, all his sleepiness went away in a snap.

He quickly wiped his drool and bowed deeply. "Good morning, sir Peirus. What brings you here?"

"Good morning. I want to talk to Valier. Is he awake?" Peirus replied back, not minding the curious stares he was getting.

"I'm sorry, but he's not. I'm afraid your visit is for naught, sir. I deeply apologize on his behalf." Galleon knew that he shouldn't make this man wait any longer, yet he had no choice but to send him away. From what he saw this morning, Valier was not fine at all.

Not only was his brother injured all over, like he had quarreled with someone last night, his temperature was also rising at an alarming rate. He had tried his best in treating Valier's injuries with herbs and other things, but he still wouldn't wake up. Thankfully, after some time, his temperature began to come back to normal.

However, Galleon did not want to wake him up. Valier needed rest. As he looked the Peirus in the eye, he noticed people murmuring while looking at him in shock in their eyes. It must've been the first time they had seen the Frost Hunter being sent back without getting anything, just because the person was sleeping.

Surprisingly, Peirus just nodded in acceptance, not looking to be offended at all. In fact, he even handed a large bag with unknown contents to Galleon. "I understand. Let him rest for a while. And, those are medical herbs. I think that would help him greatly."

Galleon looked at the bag and Peirus back and forth while donning a blank look. This was what he needed at the moment to nurse Valier back to normal, and Peirus gave it to him. "Thank you, sir Peirus. I will put this in good use. Rest assured."

Gazing at his bowing figure, Peirus mumbled, "You don't seem to have a screw loose."

"Excuse me?" What Peirus said wasn't that loud, so Galleon doubted his ears if he heard correctly.

"Nothing. I'll come back in the evening." Peirus shook his head gently while turning around and walking away.

Since the man was leaving, Galleon also did not plan on exposing himself to the questioning gazes of people around him. He scurried back into the tent, and placed the bag down. Afterwards, he quickly sealed every possible spot that could be used to see inside of the tent.

With that done, he opened the bag and noticed a few herbs that made his eyes lit up in joy. Different kinds of herbs were there, and they were something that couldn't be bought with just a few bronze coins. These things were expensive. But that was not what made him happy. It was the fact that these herbs are more effective in treating injuries.

He first cleaned them by rinsing them with water, and he then grind them into an applicable paste that was blue in color and smelling like fresh mint. He filled a small wooden bowl and sat beside Valier who was sleeping peacefully.

Looking at Valier's injuries, he felt a surge of guilt coming from the very depths of him. No matter what he did, he wasn't fit to be a fighter. He couldn't even land a decent punch, and could only rely on Valier when it came to brawls ever since he could remember. Although he had tried his best to help Valier the way he could, he felt it was not enough.

Valier was the one getting injured, almost getting killed more times than he could count, while he just stood behind his back. And most of Valier's injuries came from trying to protect him.

From being a child of the slums to now, they have always been together. He didn't know what Valier saw in him, but the guy acted like his older brother, always protecting him from harm. They weren't related by blood, but he felt Valier was his genuine older brother, and sees him as such.

However, when times get rough, as Valier's brother, shouldn't he also protect him? Yet he couldn't even do that. All he could do was treat Valier's injuries at the end of the fight, instead of preventing his brother from getting injured by fighting by his side.

"Surely, there's more I can do…" He mumbled, gritting his teeth together. Valier had always said to him that what he was doing was enough, but he never felt it was enough. He had to try harder!

Easing the gritting of his teeth, he released a sigh and calmed down a bit. He remembered what must be done at the moment. Gazing at his brother's bruises, he began to apply the paste into it. After a few minutes, he was done coating all bruises with the paste.

'The bruises should disappear after a day… since Blue Lotus is applied. Now… What to do with this?' Since Valier was injured, Galleon naturally had to take off Valier's clothes, especially his shirt, to treat and clean his injuries properly. And since he wasn't blind, the glass skin caught his attention.

He only stared at it, not daring to touch it. He didn't know what Valier would feel if he did. Seeing his brother's beating heart, he felt happy that he was alive, but at the same time, disturbed, as this wasn't normal. And from what he knew, this wasn't the case days ago.

"Just… What really happened to you, Valier?" He asked worriedly, not hoping for an answer. Valier did not tell him, and there must be a reason for that. He could only hope Valier will clear things up soon.

***(⁠?⁠・⁠・⁠)⁠σ***

"Ugh… Wha…t?" Waking up from his slumber, Valier sat up slowly while mumbling to himself as he held his head, feeling an intense migraine. It failed in comparison to the pain he experienced when obtaining a spell, so he was able to endure it more easily.

Looking around him, he saw Galleon looking at him with a cup in his hands. The guy approached and handed him the cup, which was full of warm white milk. He received the cup, and Galleon began to walk away. Seeing this, Valier sighed whilst shaking his head.

"You saw it, right?" He asked in a gloomy voice.

Galleon halted and nodded, not turning around. He replied sternly, "Yes. And you don't have to explain it now. It's fine. You can do so when you want. I won't tell anyone, or anything."

Hearing his tone, a smile appeared on Valier's face. Without hesitation, he drank the milk in large gulps, emptying the cup in less than five seconds. Wiping his lips, he smirked. "Turn around, and show me your face, Galleon."

"No."

At his response, Valier let out a dry laugh as stood up carefully. He walked behind Galleon with his arms crossed. "I see. Getting rebellious now, are we? Are you finally in that phase?"

"What? N-No!" Galleon stomped on the floor.

"So that's not the case? It looks like that to me."

"Not at all!"

Valier scratched his imaginary beard. "Hm… are you sure?"

Galleon flinched, and nodded slowly. "I… I'm sure."

"Well, alright then." Valier patted Galleon's shoulder gently before turning around and walking away. As he did, he stretched out his limbs, loosening his stuff joints. "I feel so much better now. You did a great job. Thank—"

His steps stopped, and he was cut off, as someone suddenly gripped his wrist tightly. Without realizing it, a smile stretched Valier's face while turning around, meeting his brother's tearful eyes, looking at him full of worry.

"I'm… s-sorry… I was l-lying. P-Please tell what happened. Please…" Galleon pleaded while desperately wiping away his tears.

Valier knew his brother like the back of his hand, and Galleon tends to bottle up his feelings, which would eat him from the inside. He already knew the guilt Galleon was feeling, and to add more to that would be harmful.

Patting his brother's head, Valier reassured him, "I'll tell you what happened. But not all of it. It's for your own good. Do you trust me, Galleon?"

Sniffling, Galleon nodded without hesitation. "Always!"

"Thanks. Let's sit down first." Valier pointed at the floor.

Galleon shook his head while cleaning his face. "No. You should eat first. You haven't eaten anything yet. It's already past afternoon."

Valier realized and nodded in agreement. "I can eat while telling you the story. How's that sound?"

"I… I'll get the bread!" Galleon ran to the corner and got a plate. He put bread on it, and carried it back as he sat beside Valier.

Valier grabbed one of the bread and began to much on it while at the same time, he began to tell the story of what happened after Galleon left to seek help when the panther attacked. However, he chose to keep some of the details private, or vague. He did not tell Galleon about the capability of the Guide, that Vivi was in his mind, and that he was a Sorcerer.

He trusted Galleon, but it would be too dangerous to reveal that he had become a Sorcerer. That could lead to trouble. After all, while browsing through the spells, he saw what magic was capable of. Reading the mind and being in people's dreams aren't fantasies. They can be done!

Galleon understood that some things had to be kept behind closed doors, and he respected that. He chose to not think of some things further, and focused on how to heal Valier's glass skin. However, Valier only said he needed Beast Crystals, which was something hard to come by.

"What can I do to help? Please… I don't wanna be useless…" Galleon mumbled in a low voice.

Valier ruffled Galleon's hair. "You're not useless. Why do you always think that? Imagine what would have happened to me if you didn't patch me up. Surely I would be lying sick in bed."

"You're right… but…"

"Brawls aren't everything, Gal. Remember that. Brains are also important."

"But I'm not that smart." Galleon's expression fell as he grumbled.

"Your words, not mine. However, Gal, you're hard working. Not only that, you're good at treating injuries." Valier pointed out.

"I wish I could treat that." Galleon's gaze went to Valier's transparent skin. He knew it was a futile dream to treat something so magical using a natural method, but he hoped there was a way he could help his brother.

"Just try your best to assist when I need it, Gal. Maybe try gathering rumors about beasts with healing capabilities or something."

"Alright," Galleon replied, becoming more enthusiastic.

Seeing Galleon cheering up, Valier felt the heavy weight on his chest lessening. Keeping such a big thing to himself was taking a toll on him. At least now, he shares the burden with someone that he knew he could trust and have his back.

Laying back down to relax, Valier took notice of the refreshing scent around him. Looking at his wounds, he noticed the blue paste and realized what it was. He quickly looked at Galleon in shock.

"How did you get Blue Lotuses?"

"I didn't. It was given to us by sir Peirus himself to treat your injuries." Galleon glanced at the bag across the room.

"He did? Why…" Valier wondered. Such a high and mighty individual actually came personally at their doorstep and gave them medicine. Never would he have imagined something as such happening.

Galleon recalled what Peirus had worded before leaving. "Ah. Sir Peirus also said that he's gonna come this evening."

"What? Why…" He mumbled, pondering. He did remember about his brief exchange with Peirus last night. They would talk further, but he did not expect for the man to come to his home personally.

Galleon stood up. "Now that I think about it, it's evening now."

They looked each in the eye.

'Sir Peirus might be waiting outside!'

Galleon ran to the entrance in a hurry and opened it, while Valier clamored behind him in haste. And there he was, standing stoically, completely ignoring the gazes of those people around him, while gazing them straight in the eyes.

Frost Hunter Peirus!

'Fudge! How long did he wait!?' Valier peeked at the large crowd of people curiously looking at them. For this many people to gather, it must have taken half an hour!

Just as he was sweating buckets, Peirus walked forward with something from his pocket. It was a shiny metallic badge, which resembled a snowflake.

Step.

Peirus's final step was right in front of Valier. His height towered above him, yet Valier wasn't intimidated, because the man had the most handsome smile he had ever seen, making him look friendly.

"The Frozen Huntsman would like to recruit you as a member, Hunter Valier." He spoke, as he showed the badge on his open palm. In an instant, gasps and murmurs lit up amongst the gathered crowd.

Looking at the beautifully carved ornament, Valier gulped.

"I accept!"