A Tale of the Gale

Chapter II

The boy was being paraded around Orario. He had a shy smile spread across his lips and his hands gently rubbed his white mane as he took in the adulation from the crowd that had gathered to see Orario's most popular adventurer.

"Look ma! It's Rabbit Foot! He took down the mighty Ottar in the War Games!" shouted a kid, while tugging at the hands of his mother.

"His team up with Mama Mia was awesome wasn't it?" said another kid.

The little girl standing next to him replied, "I once saw him running out of Mama Mia's tavern while crying like a baby. There just might be hope for you yet!"

The boy pondered for a second before furrowing his eyebrows and shouting, "Hey! I'm not a crybaby! It-it was just that one time when that Almiraj startled me out of nowhere."

"Yeah yeah-" the girl grinned, as they continued their bickering.

The whole city was jumping. It was the first time in a very long time that someone had stood up to the mighty Freya familia. Everyone in the city who had been charmed by Freya were angry at her for interfering in their lives but they knew all too well that standing up to the Freya familia meant a very bad fate awaited them in the near future. The fear of the Freya familia was finally gone and it was all thanks to the white haired boy who had come to their city just a few months back but had already established himself as a Hero of Orario.

A certain travelling God smiled while looking down at all the commotion from the rooftops and whispered to his blue haired familia captain, "Didn't I tell you Asfi? We are witnessing the birth of the greatest hero this land has ever seen. Our hopes of ending The Three Great Quests rests on the shoulders of this boy. And the time is fast approaching when the battle to decide the fate of this world will begin, with this boy at the centre of it all!"

The girl sighed, "Don't you think the time is approaching a little too fast Lord Hermes? Though who am I to talk about time when I can't even remember the last time I had a five hour sleep."

The God let out a hearty laugh while patting the girl's head, "And for that I will forever be grateful. I promise you that after all of this is over, I will let you sleep as long as you want. Maybe even in my bed-"

That was as far as he got before being punched in the guts by the girl whose face looked a shade redder than what it was before their conversation started.

"Look Mord! The city has finally recognised Little Rookie as Hero. And it was all thanks to your guidance as a senior adventurer. Maybe now you'll get more new adventurers wanting you to be their senpai!"

The rugged man guffawed at receiving the praise of his underlings and looked at the white haired boy with pride and admiration.

The white haired boy felt a little too overwhelmed by the occasion and wanted it to end soon. He knew that he was being celebrated as a hero but he also knew that he couldn't have done it without the help of all of his friends and supporters. He was also certain that he would've lost had a certain elf not shown up to aid him and his familia once again like the countless other times he couldn't remember. Whenever he was stuck or was in trouble, this elf was always willing to lend a hand, or an ear. But this time, it was something that she said that had caught him off-guard.

He kept thinking about all the things that had happened between him and the elf. His face grew slightly red as he remembered the time they had to do skin-to-skin contact on the thirty seventh floor to stay alive. His heartbeat quickened a bit as he remembered her smiling face after they had somehow made it out of the dungeon and escaped the claws of calamity by the skin of their teeth. The girl had whispered something to him before she passed out when they were on the thirty seventh floor. As he processed everything in his head, he made up his mind to go and visit the elf from the tavern.