Chapter 42: *Opening up*
Kevin smiled and freed himself from Axel’s embrace to climb onto his back. He said, "Let’s hurry then; I’d rather spend my time alone with you." Axel was thrilled to hear that, and as he ran toward the Sun Sect, Kevin was filled with emotion.
On one hand, he was eager to learn alchemy and how to create spells; on the other hand, he wanted to be able to always stay with Axel. He had always felt alone in his life, even when surrounded by people, but suddenly that feeling of being just an empty shell had disappeared. All of this was thanks to Axel, who made him discover an avalanche of feelings and emotions completely unknown to him.
Axel heard him sigh and asked what was wrong, but Kevin didn’t answer; he just hugged him a little tighter. Axel found his behavior odd but didn’t insist; Kevin was allowed to keep things to himself as long as he didn’t push him away.
Once they arrived, Kevin got off Axel’s back, and to Axel’s relief, he seemed perfectly fine. Axel then guided him, introducing him to the various buildings of the Sun Sect. He had never been to a university, but he imagined it must look something like this. Everyone they met looked so carefree; some were excited, while others were nervous, but the general atmosphere was very pleasant.
They passed a dormitory, buildings reserved for mages, an arena, and a gymnasium for fighters. The library, cafeteria, and warehouse were common to all. Axel asked him for his schedule, and since tomorrow would be Friday, he showed Kevin where the building for alchemy classes was located. Axel also mentioned that he would be able to resell the potions he made in the warehouse, handled by Douglas.
After this little tour, they went to the warehouse, where they could buy ready-made meals and everything needed to cook. The warehouse was divided into several sections: a food section, a section for mages, and a section for fighters. Kevin was familiar with the fighters’ side but looked curiously at the shelves full of vials of different colors and magical herbs of all kinds in the mages’ section.
There were also parchments of various colors and sizes, and he asked Axel if he knew what they were. However, a familiar voice answered instead: "These parchments are called talisman papers. They are useful for mages who already have good control over their meditation and can absorb a lot of particles. The different colors represent different elements, and you will use them to concentrate elemental particles inside them. These talisman papers are used by mages when they have exhausted their reserve of Soul Force and can’t continue to create spells. They are very useful during fights because you can create spells using the particles stored inside."
Kevin exclaimed, pleasantly surprised, "Uncle Douglas!" Then he added, looking at the parchments with sparkling eyes, "So amazing!"
Douglas laughed and greeted them. He then said to Kevin, "Don’t worry; tomorrow many of your questions will be answered. My knowledge is limited to the bare minimum, so I can’t go into details with you, sorry about that."
Axel then said, "Thank you, Douglas; that was already much more than I could have taught him. I was showing him around, and we actually came here to buy some food."
Douglas nodded, smiling, and told them he would wait for them at the counter to ring them up. Axel and Kevin then went to choose food, and Axel let Kevin handle it since he had never cooked before and had no idea what to buy. Kevin, having observed Axel’s eating preferences, shopped according to what they both liked and, as he had already warned Axel, he also bought some ready-made meals.
Kevin figured they had just bought food for a week, and it didn’t even cost them a gold coin. It was cheap, or maybe it was because they had a lot of money that he thought that way. He had experienced being poor and rich in his past life and had learned his lesson well. Money could give you power, but in the end, it was only by being powerful enough that you could protect yourself. He didn’t care much about money; it was just a tool for him.
As an assassin—not by choice, but because it was his only way to survive in his world—and having been hunted down in recent years, he would have preferred to exchange all his wealth for this life sooner if someone had given him the chance.
Once back in their pavilion, Kevin didn’t feel like cooking; it had been a long day, and it was already 8 PM. So, they warmed up some food and ate in silence. It wasn’t an awkward silence; they were both just wrapped up in their own thoughts. The good thing about ready-made meals was that there were no dishes to wash, and Axel was very eager to take their bath now, but he could see that something was bothering Kevin, so he asked him, "Kev, is something bothering you? Can I help you?"
Kevin hadn’t realized that he had somehow isolated himself in his bubble. He approached Axel and put his arms around his neck, saying, "I’m sorry if I’ve behaved strangely. This world is still new to me, and I’m still adapting. There are a lot of things going on in my head, and if you really want to know, I mostly have two thoughts that disturb me."
Axel was glad that Kevin opened up to him, so he said while stroking his lower back, "I want to know, Kev; tell me more."
Kevin then said very honestly, "I am very excited because tomorrow I will start to learn how to truly be a mage, but at the same time, I’m not in a hurry to be there because it will mean we won’t be together."
Axel froze. He hadn’t expected that. He thought maybe Kevin was regretting his old life or missing his world, but not something like that. What Kevin said next stunned him even more: "The second thing is that it’s going to take me a long time to become strong enough to protect you. Right now, I feel weak, and I don’t like that feeling at all."
