Beside him stood a short girl whose appearance, while less inflammatory to the senses, was certainly unique in its own right. She shared the boy’s black hair—a rarity in the region—but not his temperament; her expression was cool and aloof. Her clothes were intricate and frilly with white layered on navy. They complemented the silkiness of her shoulder-length hair, which shone with the luster of diligent care. To knowing eyes, her attire simply screamed “maid uniform.”
“I was sacrificing those sheep, damn it!”
“Yes, of course you were, Master Sain.” Her words were drawn out and her tone quite blatantly disinterested—the same apathetic drawl she always spoke with.
“Auuuuuugh! Oh my god the goosebumps! Make them stop!” wailed the young boy, Sain, as he threw aside the newspaper and flailed his arms—pointy silver trinkets and all—wildly through the air.
The young girl beside him who served as his attendant, Melia, responded with cool indifference:
“Not to mention it ended up being a total failure.”
“Hnnnngh. It wasn’t a total failure. I almost got it. I was this close to having a great demon appear before me.”
“‘This close’? Really?” she asked in her distinctive drawl. “You know, the spell was supposed to turn sheep into demons, and yet you somehow managed to make it turn you into a sheep. How did you even do that?”
“Don’t ask me! You think I don’t want to know? I did everything perfectly!”
“You know how long it took me to find you? Actually, this second picture here...” said Melia as she picked up a fragment of the discarded newspaper. “Isn’t this you, Master Sain? Except, like, sheepified?”
“Waaaaaaah! Gimme that!” shrieked Sain as he grabbed the fragment and tore it to shreds, punctuating each of his ripping motions with an emphatic damn you! “Ugh, and just when I’m starting a new chapter of my life too... This had better not be some sort of terrible foreshadowing!”
At this point, Sain noticed something. Rather, he noticed a lack of something. The surrounding passengers had all disappeared. More precisely, they had excused themselves from his presence the way one does when the rolling waves exert their influence on a nearby passenger’s stomach. Now, they stood far away, casting reproachful glances in his direction. In an effort to switch up the awkward atmosphere, he coughed a forceful ahem and, looking out into the waters, said, “Whatever. This is the last I’ll see of these days. Goodbye and good riddance.”
A flat horizon lay between the sky and sea. Somewhere beyond that line was the continent they were headed for. Sain walked across the deck, his eyes fixed firmly on that invisible land in the distance. Slowly, his nerves calmed and he felt his breathing settle.
“Thinking back on it, it’s been a long, hard road... But finally! I’ve succeeded in persuading Father!”
“Incoming flashback,” announced Melia.
He had no idea what Melia was talking about, but in any case, he revisited his memories of last week.
Sain Forth came from a relatively conservative family. The Forths had apparently once been a part of the upper class, but presently stood humbly—and rather undoubtedly—in the middle class.
It was said the first head of the Forth family had been on good terms with the king at the time. Though there were no records of the first Forth having contributed in any way to state affairs, vestiges of the political and social ties formed then remained to this day. Even after their decline, the family still had plenty of connections.
The first Forth eschewed the burdens of title and office, choosing to live as far from power as possible, but having good rapport with the king naturally brought many others of the upper class to their door. As a result, they remained nobility for many generations after. They had now finally managed to settle into a quieter life, but every so often, they would receive requests hoping to make use of their connections of old. In some circles, they were affectionately known as the “landless nobles.”
As the eldest and only child of the Forths, Sain was their next heir. Succeeding the family involved a number of steps that would allow the heir to inherit the political and social ties of the current head. After turning twelve, Sain would normally not be allowed to stay in another kingdom for an extended period of time.
Sain, however, had a dream, and it was a dream that could not be realized in his homeland. So, he went to talk with his father. Standing before his study, Sain knocked on the door and steeled himself. He would do anything to fulfill his wish. He had made up his mind.
“Oh, good heavens, Sain! What a dauntless and intrepid spirit you are!” his father exclaimed as he entered. “You’ve received the power of the holy knight—a power that every living soul in this world yearns for—and yet you do not rest on your laurels. No, far from it. Instead, you seek to challenge yourself further! What aspiration! What ambition! Oh, you make me proud, boy!”
His father beamed at him from ear to ear.
“Father,” Sain interjected in an attempt to end his speech. It didn’t work, though. His father kept going.
“Thinking back on it, you were always a modest boy, Sain. No matter how much praise you received, how many victories you claimed, you never stopped training. Even after becoming the holy knight, your burning desire to grow never dwindled. And now, I see that the next step in your journey of self-improvement shall take you to foreign lands!”
“Father, I haven’t said anything yet.”
“And you shan’t, for there is no need! I fully understand! You’re planning an extended stay in another land because you wish to broaden your horizons! To learn that which you cannot in our kingdom! Am I wrong? Of course not! The sheer heights to which you aspire, oh it humbles even your dear father! Go on! Worry not about the Forth family! I shall hold the fort here!”
“Father, I think the heights to which I aspire might be a little different from what you’re imagining.”
It was, in fact, rather well known that Sain and his father had a serious communication issue.
“And your destination is... Why, if it isn’t the Kingdom of Loribania! You’re heading to the capital city of Raskas to attend the Jenifa Royal Magic Academy! I heard they run on the merit system there, and a great deal of students drop out before graduating! Oh, but that didn’t discourage you! In fact, that’s why you’re headed there! Truly, ambition incarnate! Still, I can’t help but feel just the slightest tinge of worry. Allow me to send some short words to the headmaster there! What’s that? Oh, don’t fret, boy! The old man and I are acquaintances of old! He’ll surely do you a favor! Rejoice, Sain, and set your mind at ease! Your graduation has been guaranteed!”
“Father, please stop,” urged Sain. “If you do that, my school life will be over before it’s even begun.” He didn’t even want to imagine how his schoolmates would see him under that kind of special treatment. “Wait, first of all, how do you know where I’m going? That’s what I came here to tell you.”
“Melia told me.”
“...She needs to mind her own business.”