Chapter 25 New Choices

Josiah got back home from Rimrid with a stash of brand new goldies and a big offer to think about.

“Hey, Thomas.” He greeted the old man, as he went to his room, to set his belongings in place.

“Hi. How much did you get?”

“Four…”

“Told you? My evaluations are on point.”

“I got on this fight...”

“Oh, not again.”

“I won.”

“You shouldn’t show off in public like that. We don’t want people coming after you, young master.”

“And then some guy offered me a position at his school.”

“What!?”

Josiah came back from his room to talk to Thomas in the kitchen.

“They said the Blood University of the town is performing a selection of potential students. He said I got some potential… But I’m eight…”

“That’s great! Who is the guy? What did you say?”

“I… Don’t know. He gave me this…” Josiah handled the paper to Thomas. “There’s a lot to think about. For starters, I’m eight…”

“And what does your age have to do with all of that?”

Josiah opened his mouth then closed again.

‘What? There is no age restriction for enrolling in universities in this world? Living and learning… The more time I spend here the more I feel my previous world was too restrictive…’

“And have you thought about it?”

“I wanted to know what you think…”

“That’s nice of you, but I believe you should embrace all the opportunities you can get, young one. If you want to keep working at the farm, keep working at the farm, if you want to go, then go. Just keep in mind your main goal is to get strong enough so that you can avenge your mother.”

“Avenge mother…. Yes…”

Josiah contemplated the little piece of paper in silence for a while.

“Hey, Thomas! I may have reopened my wounds… I think I’m not going to be able to train this week.”

The servant, who now fitted so much the role of a farmer it was hard to even remember he was once a servant, gave him a look of disapproval.

“Hey, I know! I’m going to visit Lenny tomorrow! Going to tell her the news! Do you think we can play outside?”

“That’s ok. You haven’t seen each other in a while… What happened to the story of you trying to find some place to hide your things? Did the vurdum you kill have a cave after all?”

“I… Abandoned that idea…”

‘The trip back from the western mountains made me promise I’d never step my feet on that hellish place again.’ Josiah thought.

He spent the rest of the night inside, then the next day, he woke up early and prepared to see Lenny at the orphanage.

Right after he left the farm, Josiah heard footsteps behind him. He noticed they were conveniently matching his own pace. Josiah looked back. There was nothing at the sight. Just the farm, the barren streets, the trees...

"It must have been someone working around," he thought. He proceeded walking to the orphanage.



“Knock knock,” Josiah said loudly, on the outside of her room.

Lenny came to the courtyard running like she always did.

“You!”

“I’m here.”

“Let’s play!”

“Wait… Let’s play outside. Can you go outside?”

“Let me just tell the ma’am.”



Lenny and Josiah had this little house they had built as kids inside the forest. Unlike Lenny’s hideout, this one was built in the part of the forest located near the farmsteads, so there was neither any people nor creatures lying around there. It was their ‘secret chilling spot’.

It was a small cabin of no more than ten square meters, made of flat trunks, piled up with the skillset of a couple of six-year-old children. Nevertheless, it was still standing. It had but a chair and a box of some toys they used to play with.

Before they entered the cabin, once again, Josiah felt like someone was watching them behind the trees. He stood still and got silent for a moment.

“What’s up?” Lenny asked.

He heard nothing.

“Nothing… It must be my impression,” Josiah answered, hiding his wariness. “Been a while since we last came here, huh…?”

They both entered the small house they built.

“Before I moved to the orphanage I was staying here after the vurdum destroyed my old home…”

“That vurdum is gone now.”

“I heard.”

“Did Thomas tell you? I killed the thing very easily.”

“He said you were crying like a baby in the bed three days later.”

“…”

“How do you know it was the same one? It could have been another.”

“You are too picky.”

Josiah sat on the small children's chair, picking up a silly rag doll that was nearby. He started mindlessly swinging it around.

“I didn’t find any place to hide my things though…”

“Why don’t you place them here?”

“I don’t know…” Josiah’s expression got more serious as he contemplated that small place. Although they built it as a safeguard against the whole movement of the farm, he never felt it was really hidden. Probably every adult in town knew about the children’s playground house in the woods. No… He could never use that spot. Plus, he himself wasn’t even sure whether he was going to stay in town or not…

“You seem like you have something in mind…” Lenny interrupted his thoughts.

“Oh, I meant to tell you. Check this out:” Josiah took out the flier the man in town gave him and handled to her.

“What’s this?”

“An invitation. Someone got impressed with my bloodbound skills and invited me to take part in a school of blood and bloodbound studies in the town of Rimrid.”

“Uh…”

As an eight-year-old girl, Lenny didn’t quite comprehend the impact of all of that.

She asked:

“Does this mean you are thinking of leaving Couche?”

“I… Don’t know… Ever since the first time I got to know about the wonders of the bloodbound powers I had this desire to study it closely, you know… But seeing how far I’ve gotten on the art of the thing… I don’t know anymore. Maybe I’m more about fighting than actually studying? I should never forget my goal…”

“You mean about you being the son of the emperor?”

Josiah had told only two people in Couche about him being the legitimate son of Eneris. Those were Thomas and Lenny. But he never told anyone about him being reborn from another world. Those were Josiah’s most deep secrets.

“Yes… I can never forgive what Eneris did to my mom.”

“I can never forgive what they did to mine either…”

“…”

“Whatever you decide Josiah… You are not going to be alone. I’m going wherever you go.”

“What?”

“I decided to go wherever you go. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here after all.”

“Does this mean if I decide to study at Rimrid you’re going to search for an invitation too?”

“I’ll find a way in. But I’ll follow you where you go.”

“Thanks, Lenny.”

The innocent words of Lenny slid comfortingly through Josiah’s ears. The carefree way with which she pronounced those words in a sense it took him back to his childhood.

His actual childhood, that is.

But still… Even if both Thomas and Lenny were there for him, Josiah himself wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to do next.