The Lone Wanderer

Chapter 211: Homecoming (5) – Elaine

In the end, it didn’t matter much whether Elaine and Nesha rushed or not, as they still had to wait for Percy to wash up too. Owain was a highly impressionable toddler by now, and Elaine had no intention of bringing a veritable caveman along to meet him.

“Looking much better!” she exclaimed once she saw her cousin dressed in some proper clothes for a change. “Though, are you planning to keep that thing on forever?” she asked, pointing at her eyes.

Percy shrugged.

“For the time being, at least. I’d rather not have to explain my mutation to the rest of the family.”

“That won’t work forever.” Elaine insisted. “At some point, everyone will start wondering why Grandpa has taken so long to heal you. You know that, right?”

The bandage Percy had wrapped around his head wasn’t enchanted like the one hiding his second core. It didn’t have to be, as barely any mana was gathered in his eyes – their effect was mostly passive. Suffice to say, he’d used nothing but a simple strip of cloth to conceal them. Not that it looked any less conspicuous, of course.

“I’m only staying here for a few weeks anyway. I’ll reveal my eyes in public as soon as me and Nesha reach our next destination.”

“Is that wise?” Nesha pitched in.

“Actually, I think we can spin it in our favour.” Percy replied, before elaborating. “Imagine you knew nothing about me, and you just met me for the first time. What would you think of my eyes?”

“Right?!” Percy grinned. “That’s going to be everyone’s first thought! Naturally, nobody will consider Decrees or mutations! And remember, we’ve already had to disclose our bloodlines when we registered in the Guild. Officially, Percy’s bloodline is Clone…”

Elaine and Nesha exchanged a glance. Indeed, if used correctly, Percy’s strange eyes could easily serve as a mask to divert people’s attention from him and Nesha in the future. At least, it would make it harder for anyone to link him to his real identity.

“But isn’t it going to be suspicious if you show up in public with a pair of glowing eyes, right after ‘Percy’ spent a month wearing a blindfold back home?” Nesha asked again, still not entirely convinced.

“Maybe, but I imagine people are more likely to accept it as a coincidence than guess the truth.” he shrugged. “After all, nobody just gets a second bloodline. Or a mutation. That would be an even greater leap of logic.”

The trio remained silent after that, walking to Mom and Dad’s room. Elaine was about to knock on the door but stopped herself as she caught somebody approaching them by the corner of her eye. In fact, she failed to conceal her surprise upon recognizing the young man walking towards them. She certainly hadn’t expected him of all people to seek Percy out at this time.

“It’s Tristan.” she whispered in Percy’s ear, guessing he might have trouble identifying him based on his grade and soul alone.

“Tristan… My condolences.” Percy said, extending his hand. “I know it’s a few years late, but I really was sorry to hear what happened to Hector.”

Elaine figured Tristan would say something snarky in response, but the young man shocked her by opting to shake Percy’s hand instead.

“I’m the one who should say he’s sorry.” Tristan said, prompting her to raise an eyebrow. “You know… When we heard you’d left for the Alchemists’ Guild, we felt guilty about the way we’d treated you. We were just dumb kids having fun. We’d never meant to take it that far. At least, I know he would have wanted me to apologize on his behalf too…”

Percy chuckled.

“I didn’t leave because of you. I had my own reasons.”

Tristan sighed.

“I figured as much, as soon as I heard what you’ve accomplished. We always made fun of you for your lower grade, but you were more hard-working than both of us combined, weren’t you?”

“Wait, what?” Percy seemed taken aback. “People already know about it? It’s only been like an hour or two since I told Galahad and Baldy…”

“Percy, I don’t think you understand how much of a morale boost this is for our family.” Elaine jumped in. “We’ve been in this war for years. Suddenly learning that House Tantalus is four Greens down isn’t a small thing.”

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“Right.” Tristan bobbed his head in agreement. “Besides, Uncle Galahad had to tell Morgana that she’s no longer getting a petal.”

“Geez… Should I be worried about her trying to murder me? I suppose it must be difficult to believe I’ve pulled this off…” Percy muttered, a hint of anxiety seeping into his voice.

“Don’t worry about it.” Tristan replied. “She was definitely pissed off, but nobody is doubting the information. If Grandpa and Uncle Galahad believed you, that’s enough for the rest of us.”

“That’s good to hear.” Percy exhaled in relief.

Honestly, Elaine was right with him too. Her cousin had worked plenty hard over the years to get this far. He definitely deserved some bloody recognition from their relatives for once.

“You know… it was Rambert who did it.” Tristan said, oblivious to her thoughts. “The one who killed Hector, I mean.” he added after noticing everyone’s confused expressions.

Elaine’s eyebrow shot up at the sound of that. While she’d heard about Hector’s death soon after it happened, this was her first time hearing about this particular detail. As for Percy, he seemed to be at a loss for words too. Thankfully, Tristan just patted his shoulder before walking away.

“Well… That was weird.” Percy said once they were alone.

“Not that weird, honestly.” Elaine said. “Tristan matured a lot over the years. Especially after his brother’s death. Everyone in the family has grown closer during the war too. More… kind, towards one another.”

“Huh… I wish I’d been around to see that.” Percy smiled bitterly.

Indeed. Percy had really been unlucky in this regard. From what Elaine had heard, this wasn’t the first time the environment inside the family had shifted like that. Apparently, things had been similar right after the massacre twenty-odd years ago. Sadly, people had gone back to being self-centred assholes by the time she and Percy were old enough to remember. The same thing would probably repeat itself some time after this war ended…

Shaking the pointless thoughts out of her head, she finally knocked on her parents’ door, getting invited in a couple seconds later. Entering, she felt some second-hand embarrassment as she remembered how messy the place was. Tiptoeing around the towering piles of clothes littering the floor was a genuine struggle. And this wasn’t due to a lack of space either.

Other than Yellow-borns, low-born couples were also given larger rooms with embedded bathrooms, to make life easier for families. Still, Gawain and Ragnelle had somehow managed to run out of space, despite their room being even larger than hers. To their credit, Percy and Nesha didn’t comment on it, at least…

“Uncle Gawain! Congratulations on being a father again! Aunty, it’s been a while!” Percy greeted them.

“Percy? It’s good to see you again.” Dad said. “What happened to your eyes?”

“It’s a long story. Ah, but don’t worry about it! I’m doing fine!” Percy waved the concern away.

“Wow. Little Percy’s all grown up!” Mom exclaimed. “Please excuse the mess! We don’t get visitors too often.”

“Mom. Dad. This is Nesha. Percy’s girlfriend.” Elaine jumped in to introduce the poor girl, after realizing her idiot cousin forgot about her.

“Nice to meet you, Nesha!”

“Welcome to House Avalon!”

“Thanks for having me.”

During the earlier meeting, everyone had agreed to keep Nesha’s status as a noble a secret from the rest of the family, to leave their House some plausible deniability in case they got busted.

“And who’s this handsome young man?” Percy asked, turning to Owain who was playing with his toys in a corner.

Shy as always, the kid got spooked by the attention. Elaine had to pick him up, bringing him closer to Percy and Nesha, who failed to hold back their gasps at the boy’s cuteness.

“Say hello to Percy. He’s your cousin!” she patiently explained.

Sadly, Owain just sucked his thumb in typical Owain fashion, refusing to say a word.

“He can speak.” she chuckled. “He just takes a while to warm up to strangers.”

“Well, that’s a pity…” Percy sighed – rather theatrically

Owain’s eyes widened at the sight before him, as he let go of all his previous misgivings.

“Me! Can I have it, Uncle?” he said in his usual chirpy voice, making Elaine’s heart melt.

Still, she had to go ahead and correct him, like a good older sister.

“Percy is your cousin, not your uncle.”

Owain bobbed his head absentmindedly, his eyes still glued to the object.

“Well, there you go then.” Percy shrugged, handing him the ocarina.

Elaine chuckled as she returned him to his corner, letting him fiddle with his new toy.

“You know he’s gonna get drool all over it, right?” she asked Percy.

“I’ll just make myself a new one later.” he said, prompting Nesha to jut him with her elbow.

“Great!” Mom clapped her hands. “So, I guess the two of you will be staying over for dinner, right?”

***

In the end, the whole family had pasta together, as Percy and Nesha recounted their story to Mom and Dad. Or, well… A version of it that was safe to leak, at least.

Owain played with the ocarina until over an hour past his usual bedtime. Eventually, he fell asleep while still holding it. Bidding the couple farewell, the trio snuck out of the room carefully, to avoid waking him up. It wasn’t until they were alone in the corridor that Elaine turned to Percy.

“Say… did you get a chance to check Owain’s core with your weird new eyes?”

“I did.” Percy said, causing her heart to skip a beat.

“And?!”

He shook his head.

“Nothing. I don’t think I’ll be able to tell his grade or his affinity before he awakens. I guess you’ll have to be patient for a couple more years...”

“I see…” she replied, struggling to contain her disappointment.

It wasn’t until she dropped the two off to Percy’s old room – luckily, they hadn’t repurposed it – that she spoke again.

“What are your plans for tomorrow, anyway?”

“Well, Grandpa agreed to help Nesha train.” Percy said, prompting her and Nesha to hi-five one another.

Percy rolled his eyes at them before continuing.

“As for me… Grandpa has agreed to help me too, with a different project.”

“A somewhat nastier one.”