Garden Of The Abyss

Friends have never been an abundance in my life, it's not that I'm one of those people who keep few "lifelong" friends--I've just never been much of a social butterfly. Still, those few that do somehow put up with me...I cherish them, just as much as I do with real family.

"No, no--that barely even looks like a symbol!" Meinhard jabbed his finger against the paper littered with dozens of the same symbol.

"Haah--? Give me a break, my hand is cramping up!" Ren snapped back, caressing his thumb as he winced.

"Don't give me that--work through the pain! Be a man!" Meinhard commanded him.

Gritting his teeth, Ren grabbed the cup of tea sitting on the desk and took a large gulp of it for a boost of energy--imagining it flow through his veins like some sort of stream of power. He gripped the quill between his aching fingers and began to rapidly print the symbols on the paper once again.

A knock was heard on the door suddenly, causing the two boys to jolt.

"Oh shoot--I think we might've been too loud," Meinhard looked at the door.

"I'm totally putting the blame on you," Ren teased.

The door then slowly opened to reveal Norbert standing behind it--having to hunch over in order to fit through the door as he carried a tray with a pot of tea on it.

"It seems you two are still hard at work--would you like a refill? I brewed a special blend that uses leaves blessed by the priests in Agnohall. This tea is quite special at boosting your energy," Norbert lifted the porcelain pot of tea, designed with golden cordate leaves on the sides.

"Yes, please," The two boys answered in near unison as they held their cups up in front of the tall butler.

Once again--he found his judgments of people to be hazy at best. The tall brute of a butler he thought was a cold-blooded killer was nothing more than a warm-hearted man who wanted nothing more than to help.

--I think maybe I have to remind myself: this is a different world. While there are a lot of similarities, I think maybe I'm going to have to look at things with a new lens. Ren thought as he watched the tea pour into his cup, the steam rising to signify the heat of the fresh, nourishing liquid.

It was to be expected that his social abilities would be lacking--after all, he spent the last few years only socializing with his own parents, and while they gave him enough love and care--it still took a hit to his ability to socialize.

"Ah-" He flinched as a drop of the scalding hot tea fell onto his skin.

"My apologies," Norbert quickly reached for a handkerchief in his chest pocket.

Ren smiled and waved his hand as if to stop the butler's apologetic help. He could see a genuine expression of guilt on the elderly man's wrinkled face--for some reason, that also made him feel somewhat guilty. It was definitely an odd, unexplainable emotion.

"It's alright--I'm not such a baby to make a fuss over a drop of tea, don't worry," Ren assured the man, raising the cup of tea to gesture his fine condition.

"If you say so…" The butler seemed hesitant to put a halt to his assistance, "If you need anything else, don't hesitate to call for me."

"Will do," Ren smiled graciously before turning back to face the desk.

It was a needed break, especially for his poor hand as the cramping had finally calmed down. Upon drinking the specially brewed tea, he found himself completing the next repetition of symbols at a much higher speed without the loss of quality.

"Not bad, you are a fast learner," Meinhard complimented him, watching over his work as he sipped the tea.

"A student is only as good as the teacher--is that a saying? Whatever, it is now," Ren chuckled, not looking up as he focused on his reps.

It seemed that Norbert's words about the unique leaves used for the tea weren't a lie, or even a stretch for that matter. He found himself completing one page after another without so much as a break, his mind didn't falter making the connection of quill to paper--his hand didn't succumb to the natural curse of cramps as he flung the point of the quill across the paper smoothly.

"I've got a question," Ren suddenly spoke up as he replaced his filled paper with a blank one, continuing with his practice.

"Spill it,"

"If Norbert is the head butler, that means there are others, right? I haven't seen any besides him," Ren asked.

"Ah...well, the butlers that serve Althaus are a bit different than the usual kind. The lord is an eccentric man who let us just say had made some…"enemies", a lot of them. The butlers are more or less an elite group of highly trained mages and fighters," Meinhard answered, sitting on Ren's bed.

Ren raised an eyebrow at him as if not trusting a single word he had just heard. Even in this world full of magic and monsters--the thought of "battle butlers" wasn't a concept he was ready to accept, let alone believe.

"What? Why're you looking at me like that--? You've seen Norbert, right? Well here is a fun fact: he used to be part of the "Ten Catastrophes of Mastorn" when he was younger," Meinhard raised a finger as if speaking critical information.

"Why do you act like I understood a single word of what you just said?" Ren gave him a puzzled look.

"Right, right…the "Ten Catastrophes" were at the time the ten strongest warriors between adventurers, knights, and argonauts. At the time, Norbert was an adventurer--a Noir rank at that. He was known by the nickname the "Devil of War" for just how overwhelmingly powerful he was in battle," Meinhard brushed his golden hair away from his eyes before finishing speaking.

He tapped the quill against his desk as he thought to himself before turning his gaze back towards Meinhard.

"Well, it's pretty relieving to have somebody that powerful protecting us, then, huh?" Ren smiled before continuing to write down the symbols he was practicing.

If only for a brief moment--Meinhard felt a unique calmness in his voice and a trusting look in his eyes that signified something important to him. It seemed that finally, Ren had begun to feel that he was at home and that everyone there wanted nothing more than to help him.

"Yeah--you're right," Meinhard nodded with a bright smile.

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