Death, Devotion, Dissonance

No matter the reasons, Evin lashing out like that at his stepfather was wrong. He awkwardly began picking at the remains of his food, but that felt incredibly dumb, so he decided to say something, at least make an excuse.

"I'm sorry again for lashing out like that. It's just that… back in the city, 3rd grades have a terrible reputation. Some people even consider the worse off 3rd grades less than 4th grades, so it really feels wrong for my mother to be one," Evin found himself speaking. "But I can see that it's different here in Jiha Town and I guess I'm kind of being biased."

"It's okay, sorry for shouting at you too," Lora apologized and gave Evin a kiss on the forehead. "I'm sorry to you too, Theor."

"No offence taken," Theor spoke. "In fact, I'm glad your son has some fire in him."

Lora's son. Well, of course he'd feel the need to distinguish him like that, considering what happened… But what did it matter to Evin, anyway? The man wasn't his father, so Evin didn't need his recognition.

In fact, Evin realized didn't need to back down completely either.

"Can you at least let me help out with money, or whatever else she may need?" Evin asked. "It shouldn't be too difficult for you to accept that, right? After all, my mother's still a woman and I hope to at least give her the chance to take care of herself more. And please don't worry about straining me. The kingdom pays me well enough."

Evin was rich by the standards of 3rd grades.

"I don't recommend you do that," unexpectedly, Ssatsko was the one to refuse.

"Why?" Evin asked, feeling increasingly frustrated, though he was careful not to show it this time.

"Let me ask you a question then. On average, how much money do you make in a month?"

"Maybe up to roughly 60 gold coins in a month if I try hard enough?"

The number stilled Lora and Theor, as their eyes went wide. They seemed even more shocked than the time Evin mentioned he was dating Bellaslayn Borna, the Viscount's daughter.

"I guess that's a fair amount," Ssatsko spoke casually. "And you're only a student. Proper mages will make many time the amount you make, so they can either afford the overpriced World Shards sold by their countries, or whatever magical device or Talisman they might require. Now, do you know how much money do commoners make?"

"My father used to make about two golds on good months…" Evin replied, pondering.

"Well, Theor here receives 140 silver from his job, while Lora's makes maybe 110 silver from her trinkets. 1st grades can make a lot more than commoners if they work good businesses, but still, their profits will be potatoes compared to the price of a World Shard. Now, can you tell me why the amount of money available to mages is so much more than the money that commoners possess?" his grandfather asked.

It did not take Evin much to think of an answer.

"It's to make sure that mages don't steal from commoners to find money," Evin replied.

"Very good," Ssatsko replied, a hint of pride in his voice. "I'm sure that if you really wanted to, you could rob half of Jiha town and no one would be able to stop you… but you won't because it's too much of a hassle. You'd do it if you were desperate, but in that case, you'll remember that the kingdom will swiftly send their best trackers to get hold of you and brand your heart with an Oath. You may think that it's overkill, but it's what keeps our terribly unfair society functioning."

Ssatsko was right. Mages were akin to gods compared to normal people. In a way, the only way for them to coexist was for them to lead completely different lifestyles.

"Now imagine, what will happen if a mage starts to share his unimaginable wealth with a family of 3rd grades?" Ssatsko continued.

"They'll become a target for other mages?"

"No, no. They'll become targeted by other 3rd grades… and most of the time, that's a much worse alternative. You might be thinking that I'm joking, but trust me; you'll ruin your mother's life with your kind intentions, so please don't think of sharing your wealth with them."

Ssatsko didn't have to talk about what men were capable of to dissuade Evin. He could also kind of understand why Aran wasn't so insistent on helping his childhood friends and why Ssatsko kept his daughter at a distance. But that didn't stop him from feeling frustrated at his powerlessness.

"Ah, I'm glad," Ssatsko breathed out a sigh of relief.

"What?"

"I was worried you'd be someone impossible to reason with, as most new mages tend to be, but thankfully, I was wrong."

"Thank you?" Evin replied quizzically, pondering at the weird compliment.

"Well, it's not like you absolutely can't help out your mother, you know?"

"Really?"

"Just stay with her and help her out in the house," Ssatsko replied casually. "It's nothing so complicated. I think it's good for you to spend some time with your new family as well. Perhaps you can spend a night here as well."

"That's a good idea. I'd love to see what you can do with that magic of yours," Theor replied smilingly.

"I'd love to have you here. You're welcome any time!" Lora's eyes practically sparkled.

It was a good idea, but Evin had promised to spend the rest of his holidays with Bella. Something told him he shouldn't break that promise the day after he spoke it, so he definitely wasn't going to spend a night here.

"I'd love to do that… but unfortunately, I'm a bit busy this next week or so," Evin replied. He hoped that he would have placated Bella enough at that point to spend some time with his family. "Can you tell me when you'll be in your house so, I don't miss you?"

The only one who received his reply well was Sasha. Theor and Ssatsko looked disappointed, while Lora looked outright dejected.

'Right. It would look like I don't want to spend my time with 3rd grades and just want to go be comfortable… Maybe I shouldn't have talked so openly about Bella being the Viscount's daughter, and maybe shouldn't have made that excuse about 3rd grades in Ankelite city being worse than 4th grades.'

"Uh, but that's only after tomorrow, so today, I can hang out around here all day," Evin added.

The conversation was a bit awkward, but Evin decided to try his best to show his sincerity in spending his time here. It wasn't like he was lying about being busy for the next few days, and it was also true that he wanted to be with his mother. It might look forced, but with time, they'll know that Evin was serious.

So, Evin spent the rest of the day, following his mother around the house, helping her out wherever he could. More than anything, he wanted to reverse her wilted state, so he often found himself wondering how female mages kept their looks so attractive. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that female mages looked better than normal women.

He decided to bother Leanne with this question later on, but for the time being, he just acted as an assistant to his mother. Thankfully, his mother did not act modest and shy away from his help, and instead gave him various tasks to do. She was still quite busy though, making Evin wonder how she was able to do all these chores by herself.

When his mother didn't need him, he would go to either Theor or Ssatsko and ask if they needed anything. Theor also did not shy away from the help, delegating to Evin various tasks around the house. Evin learned a few things about woodworking and some other miscellaneous stuff about preparing food.

He also didn't shy away from having Evin cast a few spells for him, asking Evin if he could do this or that. Evin tried his best to comply, but most of Theor's requests were about cutting things in specific ways, which wasn't Evin's forte. He considered asking Endra for help, but decided against it and started practicing his fine control, as he mule-headedly created a sharp sawed shapes of Hard Air and started manually cutting the wood.

This act seemed to impress Ssatsko, who came over with Sasha and started asking Evin questions on magic. Evin was glad to comply, showing off his various spells, feeling proud as he realized that he wasn't that bad of a mage without the Voice. Moreover, his spells seemed to also bring out Sasha's interest, though the girl was still too shy to approach Evin.

Regardless, progress was progress, and Evin left the house after eating dinner, feeling that he'd gotten closer to his mother and her family.

When he came to the Viscount's manor, Bella came to greet him, seeming to dislike the fact that Evin spent so much time at Lora's place. She didn't complain beyond a few comments, but Evin felt a bit dejected, realizing that perhaps Bella didn't like his mother very much. He hoped that they'd get along eventually, but for the time being, he just decided to spend some time with his girlfriend.