280 A Meeting well delayed

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/A few hours later…/

/Crunch… Step…/

"Huff… Huff… Are we getting there? Or do we have to climb more?" Hestia asked as she cleared some sweat from her forehead

"Well..."

"Stop being so dramatic, we barely walked anything, Silver carried us most of the way." Artemis replied as she looked at Hestia

'Once she said her line, Silver cleared his throat, opening his mouth to say:'

"As I was..."

"You're one to talk! Back in Heaven I..."

"Just lazed about? Yeah, we know."

'Ignored and cut through yet again, Silver did not mind it, instead, he let them talk before replying to Hestia's original question:'

"We should be..."

"#!! What about you? Was your pass time to shoot up Gods with your bow?!"

"T-That was because they were a nosy bunch."

/Chatter.../

"..."

These two...

"Ahem!!"

""...""

'Finally, silence. With this, Silver took something from his chest pocket, showing it to them.'

"If this 'map' is precise, then we should be getting close.

"And I mean it this time."

"Just one more mountain to climb and we should reach the plateau the Village is located at." Silver said as he looked at the parchment his grandfather had left behind for him

I think I can even see it from here, the mountains look old around here, and it seems like there's a valley up front.

We walked about fifteen Kilometers across the forest North of the Village before entering the mountains again.

From there, it was another fortyish kilometers to eventually reach the depths of the Beol Mountains.

We climbed a few mountains to get here and the last one was pretty much a precipice.

It's nothing complicated for adventurers to climb but the last mountain was a hurdle in itself, not something my parents should be able to climb... Or anyone. A few Kilometers on foot is already a hurdle to most, much less while on a steep hill.

How did they make their way up here? Were they carried like bags? Talk about being gentle with the elderly...

But how did my grandparents even know of this place?

It seems unlikely this came from my mother's side of the family... Given my Grandmother was a Wizard from Altena while my Grandfather was a... Hitman...

But I don't know much about my grandparents from my father's side... I think my grandfather's parents lived in Orario...

Anyhow, my grandparents were adventurers at some point in their lives, something that led to a whole heap of trouble, but I don't know much about their actual lives, such as who their parents were and what they did.

They usually didn't tell many stories about their own lives... I should ask them about it when we meet again.

Maybe this Village is the one they grew up in?

Or a place they stumbled upon during their active years... A commission from a time long gone? That seems unlikely... How can a Village in the mountains pay for adventurers to go there?

Well… It's quite a hidden place, so it's hard to say they just found out about it by luck while traveling.

They must've known how to reach it for quite a while, maybe they met someone who was born here...

Nonetheless, the details on this map are vague at best, so much so I got lost trying to track it.

Most of the hidden paths meant to ease the journey were just glossed over due to this. I don't know where half of them even are.

I just brute-forced my way through the terrain… It worked, but it didn't help with my headache trying to pinpoint our location.

If I couldn't fly this journey would've been a complete nightmare.

Still, if I compare this map to my understanding of the region… Hum… There is a chance there is a path connecting to one of the main roads passing through the Middle of the Beol Mountains...

Assuming the Village is around here that is, otherwise I can only say the Villagers live in complete and utter isolation, which isn't quite far from my assumptions.

"Well then, shall we?" Artemis asked as she turned to Silver

"Of course." He replied with a smirk as he snapped his fingers

/Tremble…/

'The ground underneath them parted open and a rock dist formed, slowly ascending the mountain's side.'

"Urg…" Hestia said as she clung to Silver

I hate this... It makes me feel nauseous...

"..."

'He said nothing, letting the fearful Goddess hold onto him as he hugged her back.'

"I'm scared too~" Artemis said playfully as she held onto his arm as well

"..."

As if, you can jump and backflip with a bow tensioned and fire an arrow at an ant 100 meters away without missing it, as if this confuses you...

But I'll allow it... I quite like her shampoo.

It's the one I gave her during our last date.

'Rolling his eyes, they soon reached the top of the mountain, and from there on, they ventured into the valleys and rivers beyond the mountain peaks.'

…

/Meanwhile…/

"Huff… Huff…"

"U-Uncle… I-I can't… Breathe..."

"Just one more lap Kiddo, you won't cut it without some stamina, you need to be able to outrun a flying Wyvern, so don't waste your breath."

"Urg!..."

'Somewhere next to a calm and peaceful Village surrounded by golden wheat fields that waved in and out on the horizon, a man could be seen training a young silver-haired boy under the mild sun of the afternoon…'

/Chatter…/

/Din!/

"Hm?"

'As the boy vanished into the distance, running around a farm field, the man training him heard chattering coming from a house nearby, together with the clear chime of what seemed to be a bell.'

'When he turned his head to take a look, he was met with the face of a somewhat young, red-haired woman in her early 30s, holding a small baby in her arms with a gentle smile on her face.'

"Dinner is ready, are you two still training?" She asked lightly so as to not wake up the baby

"Almost done, besides, you can't even call this training, I'm only having the boy run a few laps across a farm field, compared to our boy…"

/Tap!/

'Angered, the woman tapped her hand on the window's frame, giving the man a momentary scare as he was startled.'

"You can't keep comparing that kid to him! It's not healthy for his self-esteem!" 

'Her frustration seemed palpable, it was clear that despite the kid not being theirs, she cared for him as if it was. And seeing the "father" talk about him in such a manner felt insulting, to say the least.'

"I've been telling you this for months, if he hears you one of these days do you even know what could happen?"

"I… I didn't mean it that way though…" The man said awkwardly as he touched the back of his head

"Doesn't matter, just be more careful okay? He's such a lovely boy, don't break his dreams! If you do, you know what'll happen to you don'tcha?"

"..."

'The man's expression darkened, sometimes he wished for the strength to confront his wife, but he knew better than to dig a hole for himself.'

'But he was happy nonetheless, he had already shown he who was the man for too long! Successfully producing two little brats already...'

'Though those were only his superficial childish thoughts, some he would never, ever dare to share.'

"If I hear you saying that again I'll tell that to your mother!" She threatened as she turned around

"It was never my intention… A-And please don't..."

I'm doing this because I want him to succeed, Okay?!

If you want to complain you should talk to your parents, they are much heavier than I am…

The most I do is have him help in the fields and run around with weights... While they...

'Although he wanted to say those words to his wife, the man eventually closed his mouth while letting out a sigh.'

'In truth, the boy had already ended the training a while ago, he was the one who had been pushing the boy to run more.'

'Over the months, he had been watching the boy's training.'

'At first, it was because he felt a bit lonely, without his son running around doing things all day long, and the fact most of his old friends were now far away, he didn't have many to talk with to pass the time.'

'Most of the Villagers seemed to fear him in a way, his wife said it was because of his strong body, beard, and sharp eyes which made him look intimidating.'

'In a way, his son inherited this gaze from him, which was quite problematic.'

'It was good with the ladies as it made him look tough, but he was a married man with children... He can't have the baby cry whenever he looked at it could he?'

'So he ended up wasting his time training the lad when the latter came to him looking out for stories, one thing led to another and he began telling him tales of his son growing up.'

'How he used to strike trees with a wooden knife to how he used to see him forge, the way he red books and painted portraits of both him and his wife...'

'Then, he came to learn of the boy's dream and aspirations, and in a sense, he saw his son in him... So he began training him, trying to push him to a path he thought may aid him in pursuing said goal.'

'And he only had one word to describe him:'

'Talentless.'

'He didn't know if it was because he grew up with an irregular child, but this boy couldn't hold a candle to the matureness of his oldest son.'

'The boy was a complete mess.'

'Cowardly, overly weak, even for his age, timid, frail… He even looked somewhat feminine, to the point he thought that if he wore one of his wife's dresses and put on a wig he would be indistinguishable from a woman.'

'Though as his wife would say it, he's cute, maybe that's his key character trait? His son was cute once too, but he got too tall when he got older... Hopefully, things would remain the same and fate would give the boy a new appearance once the time came, much to his wife's complaints.'

'Nonetheless... Several traits unsuitable for what the boy wished to become…'

'He didn't think it was the boy's fault though, that would befall the Villagers whom he grew up with.'

'There were little to no children in this Village as it was occupied of mostly elderly people or very young children who were too little to understand things.'

'There was a generation gap between them, and this poor child was all alone, because of this, all adults dote greatly on him, causing him to grow extremely dependent on them.'

'At the cost of some of his sense of individuality... But still, there was something there, hidden within him...'

'He knew it would be hard to change those, however, one step at a time, he would do his best to help him achieve his dream.'

'And as the days passed, he learned one thing… The fact the boy had the determination to pursue his goals.'

'He may be weak and frail, overly kind and overly trustful of others, and rather unmanly for a twelve-year-old, yet here he was running beyond his limits.'

'When they just started, the boy could barely run a bit around the farmfield before panting and falling, one time he even cried... After a while, he began to run a full lap.'

'And whenever he fell, he did not cry.'

'It was a good way to expend his energy before a big meal during dinner, causing him to hit the sack soon after, something his grandfather thanked Marcus a lot for, given that before, he had to put the lad to sleep with a story, which was tiring, especially if he was tired as well.'

'Nevertheless, one lap became three, then five, and eventually, the boy began to run ten laps at the same time he used to run seven… But that became his limit.'

'Right now, he was on his twentieth lap, he was slow, his steps were heavy, he was stumbling down every rock on his way, falling and hitting his face in the mud as he panted more than a dog...'

'But he kept running as if there was something at the end of it.'

'What could that be? Only he could answer, but as long as he had that vision imprinted at the back of his eyes...'

'Maybe then he would reach the dream he envisioned.'

/CRACK!!!/

"?!"

'Suddenly, the sound of something breaking echoed inside the house behind the man.'

"Rubia? Is everything okay back there? Did you drop another pot?" He asked as turned his head

We don't have many plates lying around either... Please, don't let it be a plate, I don't want to eat on a wooden bowl...

/Silence…/

'No reply.'

"Rubia?..."

/Crying…/

She's crying?!

'That was everything he needed to hear.'

'Concerned, the man got up, quickly walking to the window and eventually into the house's entrance where he saw what was going on.'

"!"

So that's…

'There, he saw his wife holding a man tightly, a man taller than himself, stronger too… But very much like him.'

'Quite young, handsome too, clearly awkward at the intense display of affection being thrown at him as his body was squished and the air was pumped out of his lungs.'

'It could only be one person, his son.'

"Mom... You're choking me, I'm not going to vanish okay?... I'll try not too." Silver replied with a smile as he hugged his mother back

"You already did so before, not again." She said as tears rolled in her eyes

/Crunch.../

'She gripped him even tighter.'

"..."

She's being so dramatic, I only left for a couple of months… Oh...

That has always been the case.

/Sniff sniff…/

'She was crying so hard her eyes and nose turned red, causing Silver to have the urge to cry a bit too...'

'But he knew that if he did so, she would only cry harder so he held it in for now.'

"You grew so much… Look at you, was city life hard? Were there any difficulties?" She asked as she touched his face

"Did you eat well? Live well? Was it easy to find work? How is that going? Do you need help?..."

"Cough, I only have one mouth…"

"The city life itself wasn't that complicated, finding work was pretty simple and I can say I'm stable now, I already own a house and have enough money to go by pretty well."

'Silver tried his best to not show any hint of what was actually going on behind the scenes, leaving it ambiguous otherwise... His mother's happiness would turn into anger and he would be skinned alive.'

"That's great! I can tell you've been eating well and… What's this?" She asked as she looked at his arm

'There was a small scar on his elbow, it wasn't very noticeable but for her, it was very apparent.'

'He didn't have such a thing before he left!!'

"Just a small scar, work-related injury, nothing to worry about…"

"Work? Oh no you… Didn't you want to become an Adventurer? Oh no, oh no…"

'She began to turn euphoric as her eyes trembled in fear and despair...'

"Mother, calm down, why are you assuming things? It's really nothing special, this is the biggest thing I ever had…"

I miscalculated, I forgot I had such an inconsequential scar there.

And for her to have noticed it... She's worse than Hestia whenever I go back home injured.

At least I know that the news of my accomplishments hasn't reached their ears, at least my grandparents kept things somewhat discreet if she's unaware of things.

It's better this way, I was expecting a much more exaggerated reaction... Like a slap in the face followed by even more crying... Maybe crying first...

"Take off your shirt." She said deeply as she looked at him

"Wh… That's not proper…"

"Take off your shirt, I won't repeat it again."

"..."

'As she demanded, Silver took off his shirt, but as he said, there were no other glaring scars on his body, if there were any, it would be small and imperceptible to the Human eye.'

'But not to that of a mother's.'

'The truth was that he hid most of it immediately as she asked him to take his shirt off, the several of the small scars that had become part of his skin.'

'He could remove them at any time but he usually kept them for certain reasons.'

'For once, they were reminders of his mistakes, and at the same time, they looked a bit cool, he thought so at least.'

'And lastly, he usually kept them for when he did his small "operation" before leveling up since it was then when he would cause his body to go through a permanent change.'

'He could heal himself whenever, but continuously changing his skin permanently, and altering its constitution wasn't something he thought healthy, at least not in a controlled and well-thought environment. So he preferred to do it all at once to reduce other permanent side effects if there were any… Though that was something he would have to wait and see to understand.'

'Healing his scar involved fixing his skin, and albeit a rather simple task, it could take some time if he wished to do it while avoiding potential serious repercussions.'

'There was no proper way to understand how his body-alterating shenanigans would end up clashing with the Blessing of his Goddess... And last time he tried something new, he gained a new Skill.'

'That may sound beneficial, but Skills are merely manifestations of a person's inner potential, they can be both beneficial and harmful. Potentially even terminal...'

'Nonetheless, it's not like that's a permanent solution, as over time, while many of his scars were removed, a few remained, and eventually, more appeared…'

'He would receive a bigger injury, heal it, and a scar would be covered by another, or vanish altogether as he healed his lost flesh back.'

'What would be the point of nitpicking them every time? It would only add to his stress.'

'That in itself is concerning, but so is the life of an adventurer, especially one as reckless as he was, this wasn't common, at all, Silver likely suffered as many injuries as an entire Large Familia would daily... If not on a monthly one...'

'Every time he descends to the Dungeon.'

'Monsters were nasty creatures, some possessed extreme toxins and acids that would melt metals and corrode rocks, Silver's skin being slightly scarred was nothing in comparison.'

'It was just how things went, so this time, to make his mother relax and not worry about him, he hid them.'

'Maybe one day he would tell her what he went through, but today wasn't it.'

"... Okay, I believe you now." She said with a smile as she hugged him again

"Is it okay to doubt your son in the first place?" Silver asked with an awkward expression as his mother let him go

I'm only delaying the inevitable, but it's bad to say I really don't want to deal with this right now?

I'll apologize to the future me for this...

"... Son." Marcus said as he took a step forward

'He had been watching in the back, but he finally found an opportunity to approach them.'

"Dad... Your beard is longer."

""...""

'The two looked at each other for a while before they hugged silently with a nod.'

"That's it? Don't you have anything else to say to your son?" Rubia asked quietly as she punched Marcu's side

"..."

"A-Ahem... You're taller than me now, when you left, you were still about my height."

"Haha, I grew up a bit, I'm considered quite tall even back in the city, quite tall in fact... It's overwhelming sometimes since over half of the people there are a head lower than me."

/Tap…/

"You're strong too, good, that's how a man should look like." Marcus said as he tapped Silver's right arm

"So? How's life been? Orario and all of that?"

"Well..."

'Before Silver could reply, Rubia interjected with a sigh, saying:'

"Sigh, you two… Mel Mel, wait here for me, I have someone to introduce you to." 

"... Mom, can you stop with that nickname… She's gone."

Sigh.

"... Since you're here, did you meet your grandparents?"

"Not yet, we just came from the mountains over there, I saw you sitting here but as I approached, mother saw me and went into shock, dropping a vase on the ground as she ran through the door."

"That explains the noise..."

At least it was not one of my plates.

"But those mountains… Did you see me from all the way over there? Impressive, you're getting better at this... Too good even..."

"... Adventurers are pretty strong." Silver said with a smile as he looked at his father

"I know, my father shared the details with me, you have a LOT to answer for... But not now, I'm tired..."

"Sigh, and how bold of you! Do you think I won't punish you for that? I'm not that lenient you know?"

"..."

'Silver shrugged, causing Marcus to frown as he exhaled.'

"It's because I'm getting older right? Sigh, I should've been more strict with you in the past..."

I never thought it was okay to show discipline by hitting my son... And anyhow, he was already hit enough during training, that was enough for a lifetime.

Though in the end... It led to this... But who am I to judge? When I was his age... No, I was only sixteen then. I thought about leaving for Orario too, only for Rubia to drag me back.

A few years later, Silver was born.

A Blood runs thick... The only difference is that he had no Rubia to stop him... Although knowing how he is, I don't think that would've been enough.

Besides, my father beat me up after I tried sneaking out of the Village, I never tried again...

Even if I wanted to do the same... My son is way stronger than me... Dammit... Just when did I stop being the man of the house?

"Look... Don't ever mention this to your mother, I'll try my best to soften things up over time, but this won't do you know?..."

'Different from Rubia, Marcus' parents were adventurers, so he wasn't as against the idea of Silver becoming one when compared to Rubia, although his calmness helped too.'

"I won't ask why you decided to become one, I knew from the moment you left for Orario that things would end up like that... Just make sure to consider a vacation, taking your time to think and reconsider your life is necessary in that line of work, just like how your grandparents did."

"Anyhow, before we left the Village, I also tried this blessing thing with your mother, we joined the Demeter Familia as common farmers... A shame I never managed to give her anything back, even after all of her hospitality and the fact she gave us some of her precious little time..."

"Father... You don't need to be like that, Goddess Demeter will be happy as long as you and mother are healthy... A-At least that's what I've heard, that she's a kind and uh... Gentle Goddess..."

I almost said bountiful there... Damn Hermes! I blame him for infecting my mind with that word!

"Besides, if you wish to help her, we still have many seasons to provide her with harvests."

"Heh, I know, but while living here, it's just that there's not much to think about, so I usually think of that."

"For a Goddess, the daily life of someone like me is completely inconsequential."

"..."

Depends on the God in question... But if it's Demeter, she would be very interested in your life... If she had the time to listen, which is a problem...

"In any case, did you say you climbed the precipice? There was a much simpler path through… Ah, I see."

"Did father…"

"Yeah... His map was lackluster at best, the fact I even arrived here is a miracle itself."

"Sigh, really… He's always been so overly paranoid of things, especially ever since you left… I bet he made the map this way because he felt there would be persues after us."

"I heard from them that they solved this problem, but it doesn't matter anymore. I quite like it here, maybe I'll stay here for a while longer and leave after I've had enough of this isolated lifestyle."

"I'm glad you made it here, fetching you up would've been an issue otherwise."

"Now... You said 'we', did you come with anyone?" He asked slowly, curious

'He looked around, as if looking for someone.'

"Well…"

/Step step…/

"Ahem… T-Th-That would be me!" Hestia said in an embarrassed tone as she approached from the side

'She was hiding behind a tree all this time, waiting for the chance to appear.'

'Her plans involved appearing with a bombastic entrance, but when she heard Silver's mother cry her energy deflated almost instantly...'

'Still, it was showtime!'

Finally! The day has come!

'Different from her usual attire, Hestia was wearing a traveling cloak around her body, and her hair was tied up in a ponytail.'

'And thanks to her suppressing her Divinity to the maximum extent she could, the only thing Marcus thought when he saw her was how otherworldly beautiful she was.'

'She looked formal and rather cute, although that was only from Silver's perspective.'

'For everyone else, Hestia was like a fairy, the materialization of perfection and beauty, that was how a mortal saw a Goddess, regardless if they were a Goddess of Harvest or one of Beauty.'

'Don't misunderstand, not all Goddesses were actually pretty, a Goddess with the appearance of a 90-year-old woman isn't as pretty as one with the appearance of a curvaceous 20-year-old...'

'Still, to the Divine beings, what exactly made one prettier than the other?'

'A question debated by the Gods for centuries...'

'Silver's answer for the dilemma is... Presentation.'

'Presentation is what makes a Goddess of beauty stand out from the others.'

"This… I can't believe it… Is she…"

"Yes! I am his Godd…"

'Before she could finish, Silver smiled almost like a devil, deciding to play a little too much... So he interrupted her, saying:'

"She's my wife."

"Gaha?!"

"Really?!"

'Both were shocked by this extreme revelation!'

…

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Notes

Another dual chapter, see you all before Sunday!