The old man himself is called Aki. He always appeared as a worn, ragged figure, with tattered clothes and messy and tangled hair that stuck out in all directions after not bathing for days, giving the impression of a beggar who had long since given up on life's luxuries. Yet, if one dared to look more closely, especially at his hands, a different story unfolded—hands that bore the calluses and scars of years spent mastering the art of swordsmanship, their movements still fluid and precise despite the years of neglect.
It was Ilya who found his presence first, when she saw him chopping wood easily with a rusty kitchen knife, making the wood in the forest look like a jelly. That happened about eight years ago when she was still 8-years-old. At that time, her desire to find her father had just grown from the desolate soil of her heart after her mother had just died. So, after observing the old man's movement for a couple of days, she went to ask if he could teach her swordsmanship.
Long story short, the old man was impressed by Aki's reasoning, and he accepted her as a disciple.
It had been eight years full of hardship for Ilya, and even though Eden himself still didn't agree with her dream to find her father, the boy had to admit that his sister had the strongest will in the world, being an 8-years-old child who had to work all the odd jobs in the market to let the pair of siblings eat and survive while also doing a hard, boring, and arduous training in almost every evening. The self-discipline that she showed should've been enough to make her the strongest person in the town, and her talent for fighting only cemented that idea.
Eden himself had a quite good relationship with the old man. Even though at first, he hated the man to the core for treating his sister roughly, in the end, after seeing Ilya persist under the harsh training for more than two years, he slowly opened his heart toward the old man.It didn't help that Ilya liked to invite the old man to the house occasionally, which only forced Eden to interact with the old man too.
Still, Eden had to admit that the old man was the best thing coming to this little family.
Not only was he strong enough to train Ilya in swordsmanship, but even though the man was not a magician, he was still knowledgeable enough to point out the direction to develop Eden's illusion magic from time to time.
Honestly, with all of the knowledge and experience that the old man imprinted into Ilya and Eden's heads, the boy sometimes wondered about the old man's real identity, and the only thing that prevented him from asking was because of his respect for the old man's privacy.
"So, you are invited to the City Lord's castle, huh?" The old man asked, chewing the fried chicken that was brought by Eden from the market. Yeah, in the end, he was invited to their house to celebrate the money that Eden earned from his show. After listening to the full story about what happened to the two siblings today, this was the first comment that he made.
"Yes, Master. Tomorrow morning, we will go there." Ilya answered shortly, enjoying the food too albeit far more elegantly than the old man. She also had her wrist bandaged tightly to help heal the injury faster.
"Hmm… I wonder, what kind of trickery does that boy want to do against you…" The old man hummed lightly, pondering about something.
"Well, I don't really know. It is either they are going to reward us for saving the princess or they want to trouble us for embarrassing their army of knights." Eden said casually, eating the food with the elegance of a young prince. This was something that took a while for him to learn, yet was very useful to impress someone. After all, his whole demeanor changed when he ate, as if he was some sort of royalty. "Still, if the City Lord family really loves their princess, I don't think that we are in big trouble. If anything, they will try to recruit us due to the princess fangirling over me."
He didn't even blush or feel embarrassed when talking about this possibility, showing off his narcissistic side. Ilya felt the corner of her mouth twitching a little when she heard this, yet she couldn't deny that the princess would be head over heels for her brother's charm.
The old man pondered for a moment before finally nodding at himself. "Well, if that is so, then, I will accompany you to the City Lord's castle."
"Um?!" This time, both Eden and Ilya were taken aback by the sudden declaration. Yeah, it was a declaration, not a request or something like that. This meant that whatever happened, the old man would still go with them to the City Lord's castle. "Not that I refuse, but why would you want to go there too, Master?" Ilya asked, curious.
"Heh, it is because you both are still brats, not knowing the rules of society!" The old man sneered. "I am just worried that you both will be fooled by the noble family there!"
"Bah! Excuse! Just say that you want to have a percentage, Old Man!" Eden sneered mockingly.
"How dare you accuse me of that shameless act!"
"Well, I don't hear you denying that!"
"This old man doesn't owe you any explanation!"
Ilya sighed once again when she saw those two bickering with each other like usual. Of course, she didn't take what the old man said seriously. After all, the girl knew that her master was the type of person whose mouth ran faster than his brain. After thinking about it for a night, he would back down immediately the next morning.
Or… So that was what she thought.
However, the old man Aki had a different plan here. Right in the morning when the rooster hadn't crowed yet, he had already been in the two teenagers' house, nodding at those two satisfactorily for their appearance. He didn't need to comment on Eden, as he always looked good and presentable. But his disciple, a rough girl who didn't know how to apply makeup on her face, looked beautiful in the formal knight dress that she wore, looking strong and regal.
That knight attire was something that the old man gave a few years ago, and somehow, it still fitted the girl's teenage body. She didn't wear any fancy dress that a girl usually wore, first because it was too expensive, and second was to show her attitude that she wanted to be a knight so that no one in the City Lord's castle would treat her as a fragile glass.
This was something that Eden said last night when she asked about what should she wear.
"Good. You both look handsome and pretty. I am sure that no one will belittle your choice of attire." The old man praised.
Then, he suddenly whistled so loudly, and within a few seconds, a majestic creature suddenly appeared in the sky, soaring quickly toward the crowd after a loud whistle from the magician. Its wings were wide and golden, shining brightly in the sunlight, and its sharp eyes looked fierce yet proud as it flew gracefully through the air.
Eden and Ilya could feel their jaws drop when they saw this, not expecting the simple old man who had been their neighbor and even freeloading food shamelessly would have this side that could put the others in awe like this. Hell, Eden himself didn't know what kind of creature the old man had just called, and he had been learning about a lot of magical creatures for a while to perfect his illusion.
The old man himself didn't wait for too long, and once the creature landed, he jumped on its back immediately, smirking smugly at the two teenagers' awe reaction. "Well, what are you waiting for, Brats? Come here, I will accompany you to the City Lord's castle!"