The Mark Of Rebirth

With an expression of contemplation, Kaelith’s mother asked, “So… You’re here to scout my son for a job?”

Outwardly, I looked as calm as a still pond, but on the inside, I was a raging whirlpool of tumultuous anxiety. Dealing with family, even if it’s not my own (Not that I would know), makes me feel sick to my stomach. It’s a feeling I can’t describe or understand. Something is telling me to avoid this interaction…

‘Thankfully they’re getting down to business now. I feel a bit more at ease.’

Trying to maintain my calm facade, I said, “Yes, I’m here in this farming village to scout talents on behalf of my boss.”

‘I can’t tell them that I’m here for Kaelith specifically or they would be suspicious as to why I came to a rural farming village to hire an unknown farmer for a job. What would be a somewhat believable excuse? Hmm… I’m not very good at coming up with stuff like this.’

Kaelith’s father rubbed his chin. “How much of a salary would he be making?”

‘Let's see, what was the salary again…’

While trying to remember, I slowly said, “I believe it was around ten—”

With a solemn face, he questioned, “Ten Aero? I feel like it would be more reasonable to be a hundred Aero.”

I quickly interjected, “It seems you’re mistaken. You didn’t let me finish. The salary should be ten thousand Aero.”

The moment I uttered these words, Kaelith’s family was awe-struck. Their mouths agape in disbelief.

Kaelith’s mother stuttered, “A-Are you s-sure that’s the right amount?”

I responded with a plain, “Yes.”

Kaelith’s father had a suspicious look in his eye. “What exactly will my son be doing in this job?”

‘How am I supposed to respond to that? ‘Oh, I’m recruiting your son for a spec ops unit.’ Yeah, right! As if that wouldn’t get me kicked out immediately…’

I tried to keep the corners of my mouth from visibly twitching, “He will be traveling from country-to-country as a member of a special team for my employer’s company. That is the reason why the pay for the job is so extravagant. Kaelith seems to have the right mindset and attitude for this job, so I will leave it to you guys and Kaelith to decide on this matter.”

‘Not like he has any choice anyway. If he rejects, I’ll have to find another way to bring him in… But any other way would be much more troublesome.’

Kaelith and his parents sat there in seemingly deep contemplation pulling on the wisdom they acquired over their lifetime. Meanwhile, his sister stood off to the side, her fingers drumming impatiently on her crossed arms.

‘It must be a bit awkward for her… or wait. Maybe it's boring?’

Taking a closer look at her, she seemed to act like a biker who was itching to get back on the road, with an annoyed expression on her face as if she was saying, ‘Why the hell are you making me wait here for this charade!’

‘Note to self, the sister is scary…’

Kaelith raised his head to look at me, “You said that I would have to be traveling—how often would I be able to come home?”

“I believe you would have a month of vacation time to use at your discretion. The only restriction would be that you can’t leave when we have important work happening. Otherwise, you can go home whenever you feel like it.”

“Is that so? Hmmm…”

Kaelith then huddled with his mother and father, whispering their thoughts to each other, probably weighing the pros and cons of my offer.

Eventually, they seemed to reach a decision, and Kaelith faced me once more. His face was filled with a mix of anticipation and nervousness as he gave me his answer, “I will take your offer for the job.” His voice trembled as he spoke.

Standing up, I offered my hand out while saying, “I look forward to having you with us.”

Kaelith quickly jumped up from his seat, took hold of my hand, and shook it, “So do I,” he said with a nervous smile.

Kaelith’s mother also stood up, “Would you like something to drink? Why don’t you stay for dinner?”

I quickly replied with a smile, “I would love that, but I have to meet with someone who is waiting for me. When do you think you’ll be ready to leave, Kaelith?”

Kaelith glanced back at his parents, who warmly smiled at him. Turning to look at me, he said, “I think I’ll be ready to leave by tomorrow. I’d like to spend tonight packing and talking with my family.”

Nodding, I replied, “Alright, I’ll be taking my leave now. Thank you for your time.”

I opened the creaky door leading out of the home and said my goodbyes as I stepped out onto the cool soil. The sun had nearly disappeared from sight, and the moon was beginning to take center stage in the sky above, casting a serene glow over the golden fields.

I finally got both of them! That means the most uncertain part of the mission is now complete.

‘Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!’

I was pumping my hands into the air. If anyone saw me, they’d think I’d gone crazy.

‘I’m so glad that went well. Now all I need to do is take them both back to the base…’

Suddenly, I heard the cold robotic voice of [Neuro], my personal AI, through my glasses.

“Incoming call from Nanik.”

‘NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!’

Begrudgingly, I accepted the call, and Nanik’s voice came through.

“So, how has your mission been going so far?”

I replied as formally as possible out of spite, “It has been proceeding smoothly, sir.”

“Oh, come on, why so distant? I’m practically a foster dad, aren’t I? After all, I had to raise you from a fletching that knew nothing and taught you the ways of the world.” His condescending tone made me want to punch him.

“So, is there anything else you wanted to discuss? If not, I would like to get back to work.”

“Alright, alright. The reason I’m contacting you is to tell you that I’ve gotten word about that rare metal you wanted. The Kyritite metal is going to be transported by a company called ‘Stetson Trading Company’ in a month. I’ll give you more details when I get them.”

Hearing the unexpected good news, I felt a bit awkward about the way I had talked to him earlier.

Coughing, I reluctantly rescinded my previous words, “Ahem… Well, thank you for the information. I’ll make sure to finish up here so we can discuss that in more detail. Speaking of which, what are you up to right now? You’ve been quite secretive recently...”

“You don’t need to know about that.”

“I see... In that case, I’ll hang up now. Goodbye.”

Before he could say anything else, I quickly hung up the call.

‘That was awkward… Well, tomorrow is the day we head back. Hmm, after we get back to base I should check how capable the two of them are when it comes to fighting. As far as I know, I’ve got a guy who likely learnt combat fighting from a McDojo while the other probably wouldn’t even be able to recognize friend and foe…’

Meanwhile, Farthington sat in the Airblade. His emerald eyes were fixated on the book he held in his hands. He had been engrossed in reading “Magical Me” the entire day.

“Hah! Truly a magnificent piece of literature!” he blurted out randomly before going back to reading the book in silence alone. The cabin of the Airblade was quiet, save for the occasional hum of the engine and the rustling of pages as Farthington eagerly turned them.