A Father's Duty

Noctis has springs on his steps while shopping on the streets of Alvares. The citizens started partying after repelling the invaders. The news of him defeating the enemy army hasn't blown out of proportions yet so he could still stroll in the streets with only a few people noticing him.

He is currently checking the items he got from the system. He then asked the system what the black rock was because the system said its good stuff.

'So, what's this huge black rocks you asked me to get?' Noctis asked.

[Those are Gryphon eggs] the system said

'You mean the lion with eagle head and wings?' Noctis asked.

[Yes, they are indeed Gryphons] The system confirmed and Noctis felt like he didn't get much but considering he got them from mountains of garbage, it is passable.

[Don't underestimate Gryphons, host. You do not know this since it is before the era of dragons. Gryphons are known as God's pets. And Gryphons in a pack usually hunts dragons for a living. When the Gods ascended and tragedy struck the gryphons, the dragons rise to power signifying the era of Dragons. If Gryphons were not struck by a tragedy, it would be the era of Gryphons, not dragons.] The system said and Noctis felt a bit better after hearing what the system said.

'Then isn't this eggs useless? They are from a long time ago probably.' Noctis said.

[They are indeed useless eggs... for now. Well, you'll understand why in the near future.] The system said which made Noctis confused but didn't dwell on it longer.

'Then what about the book and the fishing rod?' Noctis asked.

[The book contains the beginning and history of enchanting. Unfortunately, you currently don't have a way to restore them. As for the fishing rod, it was an item that was once used by a God before ascending but because the fishing rod couldn't handle the God's divinity, it broke after one use. You also don't have a way to restore it at the moment.] The system said and Noctis fell into deep thoughts.

'The book might be the present I could give Irene when her birthday comes but I have to find a way to restore them... by upgrading the system? I guess... that's the only way.' Noctis thought to himself.

Shaking his head out off his thoughts, he continued roaming around the market for a suitable gift to give Irene and the chipmunks. While he is shopping, Noctis suddenly saw an old man selling antiques. In the old man's stall he saw something of interest.

"Old man, what and how much is this?" Noctis asked. Although he knew what kind of item it is, he wanted to know whether the old man knows about it.

"Oh this? I don't know much about it... but the one who sold this to me it has a partner to go with but he broke it and sold me this thing for cheap. As for this, I guess I can sell this to you for 30 gold coins." He said. Alvares' currency differs from Fiore that uses jewels as currency. 100 coppers is equal to 1 silver, 100 silvers is equal to 1 gold.

"Then I'll buy it." Noctis said as a pouch with gold coins appeared in his hand which surprised the old man and thought that he's a big wig that can't be offended. He's either a space mage or have a spatial ring that only the wealthy can have, either of the two is someone he can't afford to offend.

"I can sell it to you for 20 coins." The old man said but Noctis didn't care and just put the pouch down and took the thing he wanted and sent it to his storage before walking away.

"What a weird man." The old man said as he picked up the pouch and looked at it. In there, he saw countless amount of gold coins totalling 100 gold coins which shocked him and he tried to run after Noctis but found out that he can't find him at all.

Noctis is humming as he started looking for more interesting things around the market but can't find anything at all. He bought four ribbon hair ties with different designs from a vendor and was about to go back when he noticed a young girl following him.

The girl has been following him since he bought the thing he wanted from the old man and is constantly following him. He then turned around and the girl stopped after seeing Noctis turn around. Noctis was about to leave when he saw the young girl a year older or maybe two years older than Erza but what got him curious was the appearance of the girl so he turned around and met the girl who's been following him.

"Little girl, why are you following me." Noctis said as he bent his knees to meet the young girl's height.

"I-I saw it... with my own eyes. You... defeated the invaders... all by... yourself." The girl's body is shaking due to fear of Noctis.

"And? Why are you following me?" Noctis asked the girl.

"I-I want... to be strong! Just... like you. My mother said... our village got wiped out by the Rain Kingdom... because our village is weak. I want you to teach me how to be strong!" She said as tears threaten to fall down her eyes as she remembered how her mother used her life to save hers and watched her die from a distance but when she declared she wanted to learn from Noctis, her voice got firm and became fearless of Noctis.

"Little girl, why do you want to be strong?" Noctis asked.

"I... I don't want to feel helpless anymore!" She said to Noctis.

"Little girl, strength is not always defined by physical prowess, magic powers, or anything like that. Sometimes its in here and here." Noctis pointed at his heart and mind to the little girl.

"But... But I want to defeat the bad guys that destroyed our village!" She said to Noctis.

"Little girl, you're already strong. The fact that you've gathered the courage to speak up to the man who slaughtered an entire army and a little girl at that, you're strong in the heart already. You don't need me to teach you how to be strong." Noctis said as he declined the little girl's offer.

When Noctis was about to take off, the little girl clung to him with tears in her eyes.

"Please! Teach me! I don't want that kind of strength! I want to defeat bad guys so that they won't be like me!" She pleaded to Noctis and Noctis scratched his head, unsure of what to do. He already had a lot of kids back at home adding another one will make his life in chaos plus there's a child in Irene's belly.

"Please!... Please... please." The girl continued pleading as she cried on Noctis' t.h.i.g.h and not letting go of it.

'Uhhh... f*ck.' Noctis thought. He had a soft spot for children especially crying ones. But he didn't really want to. Although she's talented because he knows who she is, he doesn't want the trouble of another kid in the roster.

His heart and mind battled each other over influencing Noctis' choice. In the end, his heart won and he looked at the little girl clinging to his t.h.i.g.h.

'Ahhhhh, screw it. Adding another one doesn't matter at this point.' Noctis thought.

"Fine, but my training is harsh. Even if your body is screaming in pain, you'll continue training. Also, I don't want to hear any complaints about my training methods. If I hear any complaint coming from you, I will stop teaching you and bring you back here." Noctis said sternly.

The girl's body shivered when he heard Noctis' conditions. She wanted to say no and separate from him but she wanted to be strong to avenge her village. She gritted her teeth as she nodded towards Noctis.

"Good, now little girl. Why don't you tell me your name?" Noctis asked.

"My name...

.

.

.

.

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is Dimaria Yesta."

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I might not post a chapter tomorrow because overtime overworked me so much so I don't feel good. I've written this last night and don't have the mood to write this but I finished it since I'm already halfway through the chapter.

Now I'm going to rest up and binge watch Initial D. It really brings back memories. That show really brings out the kid in you. I still find it funny how his dad rarely opens his eyes and how his father trained Takumi in driving by putting water in a paper cup and Takumi has to make sure that the water doesn't spill.

I also like how Takumi started from being a tofu delivery man to a street racer at night. Heck, he even had a nickname, the ghost of Akina, and he didn't even know about it.

Anyway I'm going back to binge watching or maybe playing stardew valley for old time's sake.