Chapter 35: CH. 35 | An Unexpected Proposal

"You don’t know?" the man asked, "So, you stole that power from my Lord?!"

"N-No," Theo answered.

"I swear I don’t know why I ended up with that power!"

The man’s expression showed clear signs that Theo’s answer hadn’t sat well with him. He raised his hand again, controlling the sharp feathers to start piercing straight into Theo’s body.

Theo felt every bit of the pain, the sharp black feathers driven by the man’s power sank deep into his flesh.

He screamed out in agony, his body finally collapsing in the middle of the village square, completely spent.

Avara suddenly stepped forward toward Theo, asking her father to spare him. The man was visibly startled and turned to look at his daughter.

"You’re protecting him? Do you realize Aslan was the one who once safeguarded our race?!" the man said firmly.

"I know," Avara said, "But after suffering as much as he has tonight, he doesn’t look like he’s lying to me."

"Lord Aslan was a Saint Knight. He must have had a reason for granting his Authority’s power to him," the girl explained further.

"What we need to do now is prove whether he really holds that Authority’s power or not."

The man listened to what Avara said, then swung his hand to the side again.

Every sharp feather that had been piercing Theo’s body began to pull free, drifting back toward the wing structure on the man’s arms.

"Fine," the man said.

Theo pushed himself up and looked forward, both hands pressed against the wounds scattered across his stomach and arms. His eyes stayed locked firmly on the man in front of him.

"I have no idea what happened to Lord Aslan. It’s been years since we last had any contact with humans," the man answered.

"But if what you’re saying is true, then you should be able to dodge this attack of mine."

The young man glanced sideways, and Avara answered with a short nod, as if signaling him to comply with what her father had ordered.

He took a long breath and tried to stand firm on both feet, upright. His gaze stayed locked on the tribal chief’s body.

"I’ll give it a try!"

The man flicked one finger forward, and a sharp black feather shot fast, targeting Theo’s head.

[Authority of Mystic Eyes Triggered!]

[Foresight Skill Activated!]

Theo’s vision shifted, the world around him turning gray. Everything froze in place, leaving only the moving shadow image of the future.

Theo’s skill locked its focus on a single sharp black feather ahead of him, hurtling toward him at full speed. He spent a few seconds reading its movement and calculating the exact point of impact.

Once he fully grasped it, Theo took a long breath, ready to prove to them he wasn’t lying.

The world around Theo returned to normal, and he watched the sharp black feather resume its motion after being frozen for a few seconds by his skill.

He reached his hand out and tried to catch the black feather as it shot toward him at considerable speed.

Thanks to his precise calculation, Theo managed to catch it with both hands. But the sheer speed of the impact, combined with his already exhausted body, sent him stumbling backward, losing his balance and falling.

The tribal chief let out a loud laugh, while Theo lay sprawled on the ground, knocked back quite a distance. A few people helped him back to his feet.

"You managed to grab one of my feathers, not bad!"

"You really do have that power, I can see it in your eyes," he said.

The man walked closer to Theo and stood tall in front of him, hands clasped behind his back, "I don’t know what happened to Lord Aslan. The last thing he ever told me was to go and live my life."

"Since that day, I’ve never seen him again. I’ve done my best to follow his wishes, since I carry the responsibility of protecting my race from ruin," he said quietly.

"I’m Amar. I lead the Birdfolk Race."

Theo looked at him, "I’m Theo... an adventurer."

Amar gave a short nod, then turned his attention elsewhere. He told everyone present that Theo posed no threat to their race, and that there was no longer any need for caution around him.

No one objected. Everyone listened to Amar without question and began walking away from the village square.

"Come with me, Theo."

"O-Okay," Theo said quietly.

Limping and covered in wounds, Theo followed Amar and Avara to their home. Once inside, the furniture struck him as strange, filled with things like bones and jeweled necklaces.

Theo waited on a wooden chair alongside Amar, while Avara went to bring them drinks. When Theo saw it, he no longer had any appetite for drinking anything at all.

"Thank you," Theo said, "But I’m not thirsty."

"If you weren’t someone carrying an Authority’s power, I might have already killed you back there," Amar said.

"Lord Aslan saved me when I was wounded in the Uttar Desert," Amar explained, "He didn’t kill me. Instead, he gave me a second chance."

"He and I synchronized with his power. I could see the future the same way Lord Aslan saw it," Amar said.

"I remember once being ordered to go back into the past to see the origin of a certain event," he recalled, "That power drained a great deal of his lifespan."

"So it’s true, about the lifespan cost," Theo replied.

Amar raised his wooden cup and nodded. He explained that the consequences of using the Mystic Eyes Authority’s power were exactly what made his time adventuring alongside Aslan so brief.

Brief as it was, Amar explained that Aslan had done a great deal to help him and the birdfolk race, enough that they’d finally found a foothold to live peacefully on Nador Hill.

"How long has it been since you two parted ways?" Theo asked.

"Avara is nineteen years old now. I parted from Aslan when Avara was only a year old," Amar answered.

"So that’s eighteen years ago," Theo said, "That’s quite a long time."

"Yes."

"I hear you peeked at my daughter while she was bathing?" Amar asked.

Theo jolted in shock, instinctively glancing at Avara before turning back to Amar, "N-No. I truly didn’t peek at her."

"After surviving the landslide, my mouth and throat were full of dirt, it felt awful."

"When I heard the sound of running water, I followed it and ended up at that waterfall, without any idea Lady Avara was there," Theo answered.

"I-I’m sorry... I should have been more careful," Theo said, pressing his palms together in a gesture of respect toward Amar.

Amar paused for a moment, then turned his attention to Avara, sitting beside him, "What do you think? Is he genuinely guilty of anything or not?"

Avara stayed quiet, staring at Theo for a while before letting out a long breath. She turned to look at her father again and explained what she’d witnessed.

"A pervert wouldn’t react with that kind of shock and immediately turn away. I watched him. He looked genuinely startled, like an innocent, then turned his back and apologized to me," Avara answered.

"So I’m confident he was telling the truth."

"Very well," Amar said, "Since my daughter has spoken up like that, then I believe him."

"Thank you so much for—"

"Ouch."

Right as Theo tried to thank them, the pain throughout his body started flaring up worse than before. Amar and Avara both noticed.

He asked Avara to go fetch some wound salve for Theo, while Amar apologized for how his people had treated Theo, leaving him beaten and bruised like this.

"It’s fine," Theo answered, "It was just a misunderstanding."

Avara came back with the salve and handed it to Theo. Since the wounds needed direct contact with his skin, Theo asked for their permission to remove his shirt.

Once given permission, Theo took off his shirt, then dipped his fingers into the bottle and applied the salve to the bruises on his stomach and face, as well as the puncture wounds scattered across parts of his body.

"Ava," Amar called out.

"Yes, Father?" Avara asked.

"Find and punish whoever tortured Theo this badly!" Amar said firmly.

"N-No," Theo said, responding to what they’d just said, "They really aren’t at fault. I’m sure they only did it to protect Lady Avara’s dignity."

"I’m fine, really!"

Amar went quiet for a moment, then smiled and downed the rest of his drink from his wooden cup.

He told Theo that his attitude just now reminded him of Lord Aslan’s own kindness, and that he even felt Theo’s face bore some resemblance to him.

Until a wild idea crossed Amar’s mind, one he voiced and offered to Theo right away. Theo, still in the middle of treating his wounds, jolted in shock at hearing Amar’s proposal.

"What if you took my daughter with you?"

"W-WHAT?!"