Sleep is for the Weak

Charles’ sword arm was twitching uncontrollably as he was yet again being required to stand still for far longer than he was used to.

Damn his grandfather, arranging a grand party for the reveal of the new children into high society, and then dumping the job of doing the greetings onto him and his parents.

The list of those invited only included those noble families who had children who had received their Bonds this past season, and those with close family connections. All together, that was around 50 groups. But with each group taking around 2~3 minutes of the same repetitive, standard greetings as inconsequential as saying ‘how is the weather’ and taking ten times longer than they needed to, Charles was ready to scream after the first half hour, and he wasn’t even a quarter of the way done yet.

The boy bit the inside of his cheek as a pompous older woman who was apparently the step-mother of one of his father’s second cousins, but decided that was close enough of relations to come anyways and that she was entitled to a longer conversation with his father.

((Just move, you old bag! You’re holding up the line!)) Both Charles and Leon mentally shouted together.

Charles could feel the throbbing blood vessel on his temple, so he closed his eyes, placed a hand on his stomach and started the breathing exercises that Scarlet had taught him, trying to bring his stress level down.

It had been two weeks and he had practiced whenever he had become too tired to swing his sword, and right before he went to sleep. Currently, the still was only level 2, but even so, he still felt some of the benefits to performing the action for a short bit, and it had improved his [Mana Sense] and [Mana Control] training, even if he was still too low of a level to begin to learn magic.

By the time the woman was gone, Charles was back to a mostly calm state of body and mind. ...Fuck that old hag was talking for too long.

But as he looked down the line of people waiting to do the formal greeting, he spotted a young girl with red hair in an emerald green dress, and his entire body stood up in attention. Though her face no longer carried that look of overwhelming exhaustion, he could still recognize the girl who had been the one to perform his Bond Awakening Ritual. The small white bird perched on her shoulder must have been her Bond.

In the days that had passed, Charles had found out that Scarlet Wright had not been a member of the Nobility and his opinion of her had changed greatly because of it.

Before, he had viewed her as a sort of comrade who had trained hard in order to meet the high expectations placed on them because of their birth and who carried the weight of the responsibility that came with the privileges of the nobility. Now, after finding out that she was a commoner, that comradery had changed to admiration. 

She had not been born to noble parents and received noble privileges and hereditary talents, but had trained until she was his equal, if not superior, all the same. She had not boasted of her achievements and had used her abilities in order to assist the Priesthood, working hard and not complaining when Charles distracted her from her breaktime to ask about meditation.

An understanding of the hard work that Scarlet must have put in to learn had made him more and more interested in the girl. Remembering how she had jumped on the idea of training weights and tried to put the concept as far as it could go. How much could he himself accompliction if he learned from her methods?

As the line progressed, Charles would only answer the mechanically trained responses when questioned, and his eyes would constantly return to the line to observe the girl as she stood there, eyes closed, shutting out the world around her. Was she nervous, or was she focusing herself in another form of training even here? Maybe both?

Charles wished he knew.

The line progressed until it was finally Scarlet’s family who were walking up for introductions. 

“Greetings, Lord Dalhurst. My most humble of thanks for the invitation to this party. I am Jonathan Wright, and this is my wife, Maria, and our daughter, Scarlet.” The older man said with a bow, introducing himself and his family.

“You are very welcome, Mr. Wright.” Charles’ father, Richard, said with a smile. 

Iris, Charles’ mother, opened and closed her fan at her side, a discrete signal to Charles to warn him to never trust this man. Jonathan had a high level of deception, but it couldn’t match his mother’s [Judge of Character] skill.

Not that Charles’ needed the signal.

While Scarlet and Maria could have blended into the party unnoticed, Jonathan was immediately spotted by every single individual in the entire place, down to the last child. Everything about him from his flashy and overly decorated clothes to his large belly screamed out that he was a wealthy merchant, and not of the noble variety.

While there were nobles who dealt in diplomacy and trade agreements, a large majority of them were a part of the military, working in defense of the kingdom from monsters, demons and foreign powers. Those noblemen who took part in trade understood that they were a support role, despite the wealth it afforded them, and wouldn’t do something as tactless as dress in untasteful flamboyant clothings at someone else’s party. A nobleman must remember to be practical and humble if it is not their party.

And Jonathan could not even be called a side character in tonight’s affairs.

“So, you are Scarlet. I was wondering what kind of child had left such a strong impression on our Charles.” Iris said, ignoring Jonathan to focus on the young girl. “I heard you were of great help to the Priesthood during the Awakening Ritual.” 

“Thank you for your kind words, but despite my best efforts, I don’t believe I made much of an impact. The men and women of the church had worked hard with the preparations and the mana that I supposed did little to speed up the process.” Scarlet said, her voice gentle and full of humility. It was so different from before.

It left Charles feeling a little disappointed, seeing her acting the same as any other young noblewoman, rather than the enthusiastic girl he had met at the temple.

“You are too modest. You wouldn’t believe how shocked we were when we came home and Charles started to try to practice meditation.” Iris said with a giggle.

“I never thought that the child who couldn’t sit still for more than five minutes would ever take up such a practice.” Richard said with a sidelong grin at his son.

“Father…” Charles said, a little embarrassed.

“Are you going to deny it? You’ve been practically bouncing on his feet for the last quarter of the hour.” Richard said before glancing at Scarlet. “Well, since the young lady is your personal guest, I suppose we could release you to act as her escort. Take Scarlet and introduce her to some of the other children.”

“Of course. Please, follow me.” Charles said, gesturing in the direction where many of the other children who had already arrived had gathered, which coincidentally was where most of the cookies could be found, leaving the adults behind.

After being a few feet out of earshot, both Charles and Scarlet let out long sighs of relief, before looking at each other.

“First party?” Charles asked the girl.

“First one to have more than four people at it. I’d only ever heard the word etiquette before last week, so I was sweating bullets. You?”

“This is my first real party, and I’m supposed to be a host. I’ve been standing there greeting people for what feels like an eternity.” 

“Yikes.” Scarlet replied with a shudder. Leon made a loud sound in his throat as he walked up next to Scarlet, presenting his head to her. “It’s nice to see you again too, Leon. You’ve really grown a lot larger.” She laughed, petting the lion Bond’s head.

In the past two weeks, Charles had managed to grow Leon up to level 28, so the large cat now towered over them, bigger than a normal lion would be.

“I should have him evolve within the week. After that, he’ll be able to control his size. As it is, he’s having trouble navigating the castle without breaking things.” Charles said, a bit of pride in his and Leon’s accomplishments.

“That’s great, keep up the good work.” Scarlet said… a little less surprised that Charles was expecting her to be.

Because they were still young and had small bodies, the amount of arcane mana they could absorb was still small. Even with full sets of basic robes, like those used by the Priesthood, 1 mana a second was the maximum they could achieve without hurting themselves. Because of this, 2 months was considered the basic minimum for achieving evolution without the use of hunting monsters. And that was if you wore the equipment night and day and never wasted a drop of mana. Evolving within three weeks was extremely impressive.

Charles was only able to push ahead because he had received a rare magic pendant from his grandfather. It was a Tier 7 enchanted item that granted +3.5 mana regeneration of the life attribute.

“I suppose you two left before you met her, but this is my partner, Branwen.” Scarlet said, introducing the white bird that sat upon her shoulder.

“It is a pleasure to meet you both.” The small raven said in a clear voice, like that of a teenage girl.

(She can talk!?) Leon said in surprise, and Charles could detect a hint of jealousy from him.

“It is a pleasure to meet you as well.” Charles said politely to the bird.

He wasn’t all that surprised. Bird-type bonds often had the ability to imitate voices or repeat words. Freely speaking was a bit more uncommon, but not so uncommon as to be startled by it.

...Though the bird was awfully small.

Why was it so small? Scarlet had clearly had access to at least the standard amount of mana regeneration equipment and possessed a high enough [Mana Control] to be able to absorb mana more quickly. So how could it be that Branwen wasn’t much larger than she currently was.

...Unless.

“When did she evolve?” Charles asked, as a short in the dark.

“Last week.” Scarlet said as the bird seemed to wilt a little. “She… wasn’t quite satisfied with the results.”

“You’ll see, my next evolution will be spectacular!” Branwen cried before burying her face in Scarlet’s red hair.

...Last week? She had managed to generate enough mana to satisfy the requirements in just a single week? How?

Charles’ curiosity was overwhelming, but before he could start to beg for answers, dropping down to his knees if he had to, someone interrupted him.

“Charles! Lord Charles, don’t just stand around! Come and join us!” Andy shouted from by the fruit punch. Many of Charles’ other friends (retainers) were there as well.

“It would seem my friends wish for us to join them. Come. I’ll introduce you.” Charles said, leading the way, Scarlet dragging behind a little. 

---

Maria was not comfortable. Not comfortable at all.

The most contact she usually had with the nobility was a list of the measurements for their dresses. And she usually didn’t have to see her husband for more than an hour every week or so. Now she was stuck with the man in the middle of a party for the nobility, while her daughter was across the way with the rest of the children.

She constantly glanced in their direction, making sure that the girl was alright, while Jonathan spoke to some of the nobles he’d had dealing with before. Some of them were people he had sold the dresses that she and Scarlet made too. 

Maria knew why they were there. Why the nobles were interested in Scarlet and why Jonathan was so pleased.

This was a first introduction to society for the young children. After it was determined that their Bonds would not be a disgrace for any noble family. A parade to show their potentials for future talks of arranged marriage.

The nobles would see her daughter’s talent, beauty and intelligence, and later on would attempt to arrange a marriage between her and their own children, once she had received her Class. After which, Jonathan would reap the rewards of a very substantial dowry. It would likely be enough money to buy him his own small city.

Maria’s heart was in chaos at the thought of it. At the chance that her daughter would be taken away from her. That Scarlet would end up as just a piece of property, the same way she had. That she would one day never be allowed to see her little angel ever again. Just like how Maria hadn’t been permitted to see her own family in years.

At the same time, she recognized it as a chance. A chance for Scarlet to escape from her father’s control and live a bitter life, not locked away in a small home in the countryside, with guards placed around the house to make sure they never leave.

She might be able to find happiness.

It was all a gamble, whether the family that Scarlet would end up in was kind or cruel, and in the end, Maria was powerless to have any agency in the decision. Everything was in Jonathan’s hands, and he had shown long ago that he didn’t even have the smallest, shriveled up heart. He would not pick who was best for Scarlet. He would only pick who would make him the most money.

“Excuse me, Miss. You wouldn’t happen to be Scarlet Wright’s mother?” Maria turned her head to see a kindly looking man in Priest’s robes.

“Yes, I am.” Maria said, not sure of the polite or proper way to say it.

“I thought so. Well, I can’t exactly say making the connection was difficult. The two of you look so much alike, even if you don’t consider the matching dresses.” The Priest said with a friendly smile, seeming to understand that Maria was not used to formality and adopting an even more casual manner than her in order to try to make her feel more comfortable. “I am Joshua O'Moriarty, one of the Priests at the Cathedral. I did not get the chance to meet you after the awakening ceremony and just wanted to say how grateful I am to your daughter for assisting us.”

“You don’t need to thank me. Scarlet has always been energetic when it comes to helping out where she can.” Maria said, smiling as the man seemed to know her daughter a little.

“I imagine so. If she wasn’t so hard working, there would be no way she could become so skilled at such a young age.” Joshua said with a nod of his head. “She made a big impression on everyone at the Cathedral, and I had even tried to talk to her about becoming my apprentice.”

“Your apprentice?” Maria said, her eyes widening.

Given the fact that he was at the party of a Duke, this man was no ordinary Priest. And it had always been the case that the Church could bring in girls who were running away from bad family situations, if they chose to.

More often than not, they would side with the parents over the runaways, unless the situation gained public attention. But if a high ranking member of the church wished to take Scarlet as his apprentice, and Scarlet accepted the offer, there would be nothing that Jonathan could do to stop it. Not even if he tried to appeal to the courts as the girl’s father.

“Yes. Though sadly, she didn’t seem to take to the idea. Reacted quite poorly, in fact, going into a panic.” Joshua said with a nod of his head.

“She did?” Maria said, her heart falling. 

Her daughter had declined the Priest’s offer? But why would she do that? Why would she turn down a chance to escape her imprisonment? 

...Because she didn’t want to abandon her mother.

“I’ll… I’ll talk to her about it.” Maria said, a note of desperation in her voice.

“No. No. I didn’t come to talk to you hoping you would convince her. It is her decision and…” Joshua said, trying to calm the woman down.

“I’ll talk her into it. I’ll make sure she understands that she needs to…”

“Maria.” Jonathan’s sharp voice and hand on her shoulder made Maria freeze, her blood going cold. “Forgive her, but my wife seemed to be confused.”

“But…” Maria mumbled, trying to regain her will, but years spent under Jonathan’s thumb. Of fearing the things he could do to her and her loved ones was so deeply ingrained into her, that she could not form more than a syllable.

“Our daughter is talented and has a bright future ahead of her. Far too bright to be wasted in some miserable church somewhere.” Jonathan said, purposely trying to be as unpleasant as possible in order to drive away the Priest.

Only… he tried that with the wrong Priest.

“...Excuse me?” Joshua said, and a pressure grew around them as the old man tightened his fists until his knuckles popped with the sound of stones shattering. “Has no one ever taught you how to treat a woman with respect?”

“I…” Jonathan stammered, his face paling as waves of mana came rolling off of the old Priest, thousands of units of the stuff. So thick as to choke a man. The effects of the [Fear of God] Class Skill focusing in on the mere merchant.

It was at that moment that his name clickled in Maria’s mind. Joshua the Hammerer, who in the stories beat down a fire giant with his fists. A man whose stats were easily 10 times Maria's own, and who could almost be considered inhuman in strength and skill.

“It seems like someone needs to beat the fear of god into you, you sniveling little whelp.” Joshua said, a vein pulsing on his forehead. His eyes seemed to be going red with rage.

But, he stopped as a hand was slapped onto his shoulder. “Easy there JoJo. Don’t want to cause a mess on the kids’ special day.” A bearded old man in wizard’s robes said as he looked over at the Priest with one eye closed, a glass of wine in his free hand. He seemed completely unaffected by the massive power that the Priest was giving off. “I told you to just let the girl handle herself. Just go and cool off and let me talk things out. You know I’m good at talking.”

Joshua glared at the man for a moment, but seemed to realize the commotion he was causing and relented, giving Jonathan one final bone breaking look before turning and walking away.

Maria’s heart broke as she watched him go, but the old wizard put a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t think we have ever met before, but I have certainly heard a lot about you two and your daughter. I’m William’s adviser at the Mage’s Guild. You can call me Hubert.” The old man said cheerfully. Then, in a lower voice he said. “Don’t go running to the Church to solve your problems.”

“What?” Maria said in surprise. 

“You don’t need to hand Scarlet over to the Church to get away from your shit of a husband. You might think that you’ve been locked in a cage, but there are open windows everywhere. Talk to your daughter. Tell her what is really going on between you and Jonathan. The two of you are smart enough to figure a way out of your situation if you just take the time to look.” Hubert said before patting Maria’s shoulder again and starting to walk off, stumbling a bit, as if he was drunk. 

Maria looked back to her husband to see his reaction to the man’s words, but it seemed that he had been unable to hear them, despite being mere feet away. Perhaps due to his shock at the presence of one of the Kingdom’s Big 10 glaring down at him.

Maria clutched at her dress and bit her lip.

It was easy for that wizard to say that she should just fight back. He didn’t understand her situation. He didn’t know that with a word, Jonathan could have her parents and her brother all stripped of their Bonds and Classes and turned into slaves. That he could do the same to her if she ever tried to run away from him. As a wife, the courts would punish her if she abandoned her husband, and he still held her family's debt in his hands.

Maria couldn’t fight back. She couldn’t run. She couldn’t do anything for herself.

She could only hope that her daughter could escape.

---