Side Story: Ethan Will Always Be Ethan, Tabitha Will Always Be Tabitha
FIVE days have passed since Master left on assignment.
“Ethan! I’m ready for my chance today!”
“Good morning, my lady.”
“Oh, good morning! I’m ready for— Oh, a letter! From Lord Samuel!”
The letter was supposed to be her chance for the day, the exercise to figure out where I produced it from, but the lady seems more interested in Lord Samuel’s response. She’s often distracted thus, perhaps two attempts out of every three.
She turns the envelope over, pokes at a sharp corner with a finger, then runs off with it held carefully in both hands. Probably to show it to Tabitha.
A pleasant and peaceful start to the day.
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THE nature of Gifts is still poorly understood. Sometimes they manifest in a lone member of a family with no history of such powers; sometimes several individuals in a bloodline are blessed with similar abilities. Some Gifts enhance the user’s attack or recovery magic, while others have naught to do with magic at all.
Of course, most Gifts are easy to spot, especially when the user has opportunity and desire to show it off.
I’ve heard of many, and the strangest is that of a man who always rolls a four when tossing a die. Since he can only ever land a four, the Gift is useless even for gambling. He himself doesn’t mention his Gift except as a joke.
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THE night before the assignment, we perform the final checks on the security measures that will be in place while Master is away.
“…Is that skill of yours a Gift, Ethan?”
“I’m surprised you weren’t aware of it, Master Gerry.”
“Huh? Well, I’ve just been so used to it ever since I can remember… I thought it’s something every Kofi does…”
“You can’t be serious, Master!” teases Rodney until I elbow him. “Ow. Stop that, Father.”
“It was your responsibility to ensure he knew,” I chide.
“I never imagined he didn’t,” he counters.
I raised Rodney to be polite and respectful, and in such moments, I can see how close the two boys are. Master doesn’t seem to mind, but I must nonetheless constantly remind my son to behave in an appropriate manner, childhood friend or not.
That said, Master, talented and intelligent since youth, can still be somewhat naive.
“Have you ever wondered why the old master so easily accepted keeping the lady’s Gift hidden?” I ask.
“No, but come to think of it, it was easy.”
“My Gift manifests often in the Kofi family, and the marquis offers us protection in exchange for concealing our ability.”
“An exchange? Is that what it is?”
“Yes. It’s a simple Gift but can potentially be misused.”
“…I never thought of that!”
My master is a soldier trained in combat and has achieved numerous military feats…and he can really be naive sometimes.
Well, I guess he lets his guard down due to the deep bonds between us.
My Gift allows me to summon anything within a certain range as long as the object isn’t too big or heavy. No magic is involved, though the ability requires a good amount of training to be able to use it well. In addition, I must memorize the exact location of the object I wish to summon, down to the millimeter. There are other restrictions too: the object must be stationary, for example, and cannot be tied down.
My personal range extends throughout the interior of the mansion, which is perfect for my job as steward.
“I’ve never heard of this before… What about Rodney?” Master asks.
“Unfortunately, the Gift didn’t manifest in me.”
“But aren’t you able to summon things as well?!”
“Aside from Father, my uncle is the only other living Kofi who has this Gift. Even so, everyone in the family trains hard so it becomes impossible to tell who has the Gift and who doesn’t. I guess you could say it’s a secret passed down through the generations.”
To prevent evildoers from forcing us to summon weapons and drugs to unlawful places, my family agreed to serve the marquisate, establishing the Kofi line. We train to anticipate what our masters may need, to prepare as thoroughly as possible for any situation, and to summon items as naturally as we can.
Even those without the Gift can hone such skills. Rodney demonstrates by producing a piece of salmon jerky in an instant. To my conditioned eye, I can easily see that he merely retrieved the jerky from his sleeve, yet it must have seemed to appear out of nowhere to Master’s eyes. We don’t explain why Rodney has jerky ready; we all know.
“Amazing… That means you’ve trained so much that you’re on par with someone who has the Gift.”
“You really can’t be serious, Master.”
Drewetts like to bestow honest praise and reward for jobs well done, and he exclaims in awe in the same way his father, Lord Wallace, does. Both men are great at their roles—and occasionally a little naive.
“Anyway, yes. Ethan, I’ll be leaving the house to you.”
“Yes. I’ll protect it with my elderly life.”
“Please don’t. Abigail will be upset.”
On second thought, I suspect his concern for family may be stronger than the marquis’s. He fully understands that a servant’s vow to defend to the death is standard procedure, yet he issues the command with slight embarrassment and guilt.
They make such a charming couple.