KENSHI
"Do you hate your father because of what he did?" Uncle Avidius inquired, which made my mind rummage through my memories, hoping to find the answer.
And before I even knew it, my mouth moved to answer. "Anyone who went through such experience would normally feel the hate, especially for a kid who has yet to fully understand the situation. Maybe I did hate my father."
"You're not wrong. But would you believe me that he never wanted to do it in the first place? When you left your house, your father wrote to me, asking for my help to assist you in your daily life. It was a small favor that even if he didn't ask me, I would still do it. But—"
"I declined."
Uncle Avidius let out a chuckle before agreeing. "Yes, and I think it's because you didn't want to be a burden to me, am I right?"
That reason was one of the few. Another was that I didn't want to bring misfortune to his business because he helped a cursed child like me. And lastly, I hated the thought of having a debt to someone.
But I kept these reasons to myself and all I could do was nod my head.
"When he found out about your refusal, he hired someone to look after you, but that didn't go well either. He even said to me that if he could, he'd rather have the curse himself than give it to you."
My fingers curled into a fist when I heard those words. For some reason, I didn't like what he just said. To others, hearing those sweet words brought happiness, but to me, it was the opposite.
Because I knew that if Father got the curse instead of me, he'd be the one who had to leave the house. With my pregnant mother at that time, how could we handle such responsibility and duty?
I knew it sounded selfish. It sounded like I was escaping the duty I had to do as the elder brother, but I knew as well that my sister needed a father. I'd rather let her live without a brother than grow up knowing life without a father.
"Thank you for telling me this, Uncle Avidius. But one thing is for sure now, I no longer hate my father. In fact, I never hated him fully. What he did was something a father would do who only wished for the best for his family. It's just sad to think that he didn't think about that during the fight."
Uncle Avidius placed his right hand on my left shoulder.
"Wherever he is now, I know that he did not regret what he did."
***
The conversation we had with Uncle Avidius yesterday lingered until this very morning. It was the reason why I hadn't had enough sleep.
It was only six in the morning, and here I am, stropping my sword to sharpen it. But the truth was, it was to keep my mind busy, diverting itself from another wave of thoughts.
I briefly stopped when I heard Shino's bedroom door screech open. A satisfied yawn echoed throughout the room, followed by grunting noises.
"That was the best night I've ever had since I became an adventurer," Shino mumbled to herself, clueless of my presence. When she walked toward my direction and opened her eyes after rubbing them, she jumped out of surprise. "AHH! Geez, Kenshi! You scared me!"
"Good morning too, Shino."
"Sorry. Good morning. Since when did you wake up?"
"An hour ago," I answered and then continued with my task.
"You didn't sleep well again?"
"You could say that."
Shino went silent for a few seconds before speaking. "You miss him, don't you?"
I knew well who Shino was referring to.
"I would be lying if I said that I don't."
"I miss my father too," Shino continued. Was her father dea— "Oh no, he's not dead yet. When I awakened to be a mage, I left our home to become an adventurer. The last time I saw them was when they were seeing me off as I was leaving our village."
"Have you thought of visiting them?"
"I have, but I knew myself that once I returned home, it'd be harder for me to leave again. But we write to each other once in a while. The last message I got from them was that they were both doing fine and the crops were doing well."
"That's good to hear," I commented.
"Yeah... it is good."
Three consecutive knocks roared through the place, and if I was not mistaken, it was our breakfast. Shino insisted on getting the door, as well as assisting the service crew in transporting the food into our room.
At the same time, Kana woke up. With all of us awake, we decided to have our breakfast together. The food was unmistakably scrumptious, befitting for a luxurious place like this.
It was around eight when we agreed to start our mission. But first, we had to meet with Uncle Avidius to ask if he found any lead about our person of interest. We had told him about the reason for our visit, and he unhesitatingly offered assistance. I was about to decline him when he told me that he usually wouldn't accept a refusal for the second time. And yesterday was my second time.
The elevator let out a chime when it reached the designated floor. And to our surprise, we were bombarded by countless nobles and wealthy individuals. They swarmed the hotel lobby, making it hard for us to pass through toward the main door of the building.
"I've never seen so many nobles and rich people gather in one place, and it is making me uncomfortable," Shino mumbled, and I agreed.
"Even from a distance, one could see that we don't belong in this crowd," Kana said, and for the second time, I agreed. Even the air reeked of their presence due to their expensive perfumes.
"Let's use the backdoor," I suggested and guided the two away from the crowd. We felt like we were navigating ourselves through a labyrinth, with each turn leading to either a dead end or a clear path.
Luckily, we managed to get past them and reached the backdoor of the hotel. I remembered this door because Father and I once used it before for the same reason.
"I knew you'd pass through here," said a familiar manly voice. It was Uncle Avidius, and for some reason, beside him was the very person whom I wished not to see again.
"What are you doing here, Tanshiro?" Shino growled.
"When you told me that they hated you, I never knew it was this bad," Uncle muttered to the boy beside him. "But let's calm ourselves first and hear him out."
"And what, deceive and trick us again?" It was Kana.
"I can vouch that what he's going to tell you is factual. You know me, Kenshi."
I trusted only a few people in my entire life, and one of them was Uncle Avidius. Never once did he fail me or my family. He was a close friend after all. Probably even more than that. So, if he said he could vouch for it, then it really must be the truth. After all, he wouldn't do this in the first place knowing that we were on bad terms with Tanshiro. In short, if he was willing to accept help from someone like Tanshiro, then it should be worth it.
"Speak," I ordered.
"Before anything else, I want to apologize again for what I did. I'm not gonna be begging for your forgiveness because it is something that you should bestow yourself," he cleared his throat, "Anyway, I've heard during our... travel together... that you were looking for a specific someone here in the city. Someone who has knowledge about emotions.
"I was waiting for you to say his name because I wanted to confirm if we were thinking of the same person, since I know someone that I think could help you. But then, that opportunity didn't come, and we parted ways."
"Can you just go straight to the point? We still have something to do," Shino reminded.
"Sorry. As I've said, I know someone who could help you. That's why I'm inviting you to watch his new film which will premiere tonight," Tanshiro explained and handed me three pieces of rectangular paper, designed as movie tickets.
"Wait. You're saying that the person who could help us is a filmmaker?" asked Shino.
"Not just any filmmaker, young lady, but the most famous and known filmmaker in the entire world," Uncle Avidius corrected.
"If I get this right, the person that Tanshiro thought could help us is his father?"
"Yes," Tanshiro confirmed.
"But what we need is someone who has expertise in dealing with human emotions, not a filmmaker," I reiterated.
"Before he was a filmmaker, Father was once a psychology researcher focusing on human emotions. In just a few years since he started it, he had already mastered the art of it. But he knew this path of his requires a lot of money to continue, and so he joined the film industry. With his mastery in dealing with human emotions, his movies skyrocketed. That's when he became famous."
"He contributed a lot to this city that the people petitioned for him to be the Mayor."
"And is he now?" Shino inquired, which Uncle Avidius responded to with disapproval.
"So, what do you say?" Tanshiro asked.
"Still, I fail to understand why we have to watch the movie when we could just go to him directly. I'm sure Tanshiro could back us up to meet him; after all, he's his father," Kana pointed out.
"Seeking audience from him at this time is slim. He is busy for the premiere later and will never accept guests. The fastest and best way to talk to him is right after the movie. Don't worry, with me there, he's definitely gonna speak with you."
The three of us shared a look.
"We'll let Kenshi decide," Shino started. Kana, on the other hand, only nodded in agreement.
"Very well," I concluded before receiving the tickets. And for the second time, I saw Tanshiro's eyes light up as if he was happy that we accepted the invitation.
"The movie will start at seven this evening, and oh, you have to blend in with the crowd if I were you."
"What does that supposed to mean?" Shino questioned.
"That means we have to go shopping!" Uncle Avidius declared in a very cheerful voice. Why was he so excited about this?