The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 92

ARTHUR LEYWIN’S POV:

Tess leaving for school left me with a rather uneasy feeling, but, needless to say, we still enjoyed the night. The Helstea Manor was in a festive mood, with barrels of liquor brought up from the cellar by Vincent himself. Lilia’s father was getting the most enjoyment out of this, along with my father, who were both in an inebriated state before I even got home. It turned out that the Twin Horns had made a detour on their series of expeditions in the Beast Glades to visit us during the Aurora Constellate. It meant a lot to my parents just being able to see their old comrades again and share a drink or two as a toast to old times and embarrassing memories.

After my father and Vincent, Adam Krensh was the next to become intoxicated, his flushed cheeks almost matching his fiery red hair. It was rather fascinating witnessing everyone’s alcohol-induced habits since my mother and Tabitha wouldn’t allow me to drink alongside them. Adam was your typical loud and rowdy drunk, seeming to lose enough coordination for an infant to be able to wrestle him to the ground and win.

Angela Rose began to lose all sense of personal space as she conversed with me with her cheeks stuck to mine. It didn’t help that every spoken word was accompanied by two or three hiccups, making it almost impossible to decipher what she was trying to say. Tabitha ended up having to peel her off of me and ’kindly’ escort the coquettish mage up the stairs by the back of her collar.

I had a hard time containing my laughter while Durden Walker soon became drunk as well. What surprised me the most was when he opened his eyes. The usual narrow shapes that looked more like slits became a stern mono-lidded dictator’s surprised expression. It didn’t help that his eyebrows that were normally slanted down were now furrowed into an upward tilt, making his overall expression a mixture of intense focus and uncontainable surprise. He would take on this gruff commanding tone when speaking, and for the past hour or so before passing out, he was spouting out training drills to one of the empty barrels of beer while participating in the exercises himself.

I couldn’t tell whether my former guardian, Jasmine Flamesworth, was drunk or not until she came up, eyes glossy and unfocused, and started repeating to me how much she thought of me and how worried she was as to whether or not I was adjusting to school well. Eventually, everyone retired to their respective rooms. Mother towed my father, who was cradling a bottle of what smelled like whiskey as if it were a newborn, back into their room. Tabitha did the same for her husband as well. My sister went to sleep with Sylvie quite a while ago in her room, leaving only Helen Shard, the leader of the Twin Horns, and me in the war zone that was once a dining room.

"Quite the party, wasn’t it? I’m sure this wasn’t exactly how you pictured your reunion with us to go," Helen let out a contained giggle.

I laughed in response. "With everything that’s been going on these days, it was nice seeing everyone let loose."

"Your parents told us briefly about everything that has happened to you since we were gone. You seem to be doing a fairly good job of taking on your father’s role in worrying your mother." The faint smirk that curled on Helen’s lips suggested she was reminiscing the past. _{frёeweɓηovel.coɱ}

"It seems to be the one skill that I seem to be getting better at without even trying."

"If only it were like that for me with mana manipulation," Helen sighed, making us both laugh.

We moved to the living room after the maids started showing up and cleaning the dining room. There, we sat with only a coffee table separating us as we continued talking and catching each other up on what had happened in our respective lives.

It was the first time I’d talked to Helen for this long, but it was comfortable, and she talked to me as if she were talking to an adult, not someone who had barely hit his or her teens. She had an eloquent way of speaking that wasn’t usual for an adventurer; she seemed more suited to lead strategic meetings, not be on the front lines, fighting.

"If you don’t mind me asking, Arthur, what level is your mana core? I can’t seem to even sense your level anymore." Helen lifted her feet from the coffee table and leaned forward as she asked this.

"Solid Yellow," I answered simply. I didn’t want to sugarcoat or try to downplay my level to someone as observant as Helen.

"I see. Congratulations, sincerely." Helen had a mixed expression on her face, one where she was trying to hide her disappointment, but failed. She wasn’t disappointed in me, but herself, because even though she more than double my age, I had surpassed her by quite a bit.

"It seems like you are made for bigger and greater things, Arthur. With the discovery of a new continent and all, I suspect that this small academy will only be able to hold you down for so long. We should get some rest." She gave me a smile that didn’t reach her eyes and left after giving me a firm pat on the shoulders.

Collapsing on my bed without the energy or will to even wash, I laid there, thinking about everything that had happened in my life. Was it just a coincidence that I was sent, or actually born into this world as it was going through so much change?

Was I really some cliché protagonist from a bedtime fairy tale that they always read to us at the orphanage? I couldn’t help but scoff at the thought of being some bored god’s source of entertainment as he toyed with my life in the name of my being ’The Chosen One.’

Was I in the hands of some god as a chess piece to make the world run as he saw fit? I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping that would help me get rid of these thoughts. The thought of my fate being under someone else’s control didn’t sit right with me. Turning to my side, I chose to dust these fears away... life was already so unexpected, why make it more complicated?