Chapter 37: Caring

"Sit still, Kael," Sera said as she leaned closer to examine his bruised cheek.

"I’m sitting still," Kael replied, keeping the cold pack against his face.

"You’re moving your head."

"Because you’re poking my face!" Kael complained.

Sera gave him a flat look. "Would you rather I leave you alone with that swollen cheek?"

Kael immediately stopped complaining and held still.

They were sitting on the sofa with a small first-aid box open on the table. Sera had cleaned the blood from the corner of his mouth and was now checking the bruising along his cheekbone. She had also brought out a cold pack for him to hold against his face.

"Does this hurt?" Sera asked as she gently pressed near his jaw.

"A little," Kael answered.

Sera moved her hand slightly and pressed another spot. "And this?"

"More than a little," Kael admitted.

Sera withdrew her hand and put the cotton pad aside. "At least you’re still able to complain. That’s a good sign."

"Is that how you comfort injured people?" Kael asked.

"It works on you," Sera replied.

Kael couldn’t argue with that, so he returned to holding the cold pack against his cheek.

After she finished checking his face, Sera sat back and looked at him properly. Her expression had become calmer, but Kael could still tell she was upset about what had happened.

"All right," Sera said. "Start from the beginning. Why did you go to the Hunter Association without telling me?"

Kael lowered the cold pack and took a moment to consider his answer.

"I wanted to register and take the aptitude test," he explained. "I thought it would be better to find out where I stand instead of spending weeks wondering about it."

"You could have told me this morning," Sera pointed out.

"I know," Kael admitted.

"Then why didn’t you?" Asked Sera

Kael rubbed the back of his neck. "I wasn’t sure how you’d react. We had just argued about my training, and I didn’t want another disagreement before leaving."

Sera stared at him for a moment before responding.

"So you decided to avoid an argument by keeping it from me?"

"When you put it that way, it sounds pretty stupid," Kael said.

"Because it was stupid," Sera replied bluntly.

Kael sighed and nodded. "You’re right. I should have told you."

Sera picked up the used cotton pad and dropped it into the small waste bag beside the table before continuing.

"I don’t expect you to ask my permission before doing everything, Kael. You’re allowed to make decisions about your own life. But when those decisions involve something as dangerous as becoming a hunter, I want to know what’s happening."

"I understand," Kael replied.

"No, listen to me first," Sera said, turning toward him. "I’m not saying you can’t become a hunter. I know you’ve thought about it seriously, and I know why you want to do it. But if you’re going to take risks, I need to know what those risks are. I can’t help you make plans if you hide things from me."

Kael looked at her for a moment before nodding again.

"You’re right. I’m sorry," he said.

Sera’s shoulders relaxed a little. "Now tell me what happened."

Kael took a breath before explaining. "The registration itself was fine. I filled out the forms, and then they tested my potential with an appraisal stone."

"An appraisal stone?" Sera asked.

"It’s supposed to measure a person’s energy and give the Association an idea of their rank," Kael explained.

"What rank did you get?" she asked.

"F-rank," Kael answered.

Sera blinked in surprise. "F-rank?"

"That’s what the stone said," Kael confirmed.

She glanced at his arms before looking back at his face. "Does that mean you’re weak?"

"According to the final reading, yes," Kael replied.

"Then why do you look like you fought an entire gang?" Sera asked.

Kael looked away, suddenly finding the cold pack more interesting than her expression.

"Because I fought five F-rank hunters in the lobby before I finished registering," he admitted.

Sera stared at him in disbelief. For several seconds, the only sound in the living room was Noah making small noises in his crib.

"You fought five people?" Sera finally asked.

"They started it," Kael replied.

"Kael!" Sera exclaimed.

"They were blocking my way and wouldn’t let me pass. I tried to ignore them, but one of them insulted you and Noah," Kael explained.

Sera’s expression changed immediately. "What did he say?"

Kael hesitated before answering. "It doesn’t matter."

"It mattered enough for you to start a fight," Sera pointed out.

"I know, but I don’t want to repeat it," Kael replied.

Sera watched him closely before letting out a breath. "All right. You don’t have to repeat it. But what happened after that?"

"I punched one of them, and he flew across the lobby," Kael explained.

Sera looked down at his hands. "You did that?"

"Apparently," Kael answered.

"With one punch?" she asked, still struggling to believe him.

Kael nodded slowly. "I didn’t know I could hit that hard. Honestly, I was more surprised than they were."

He went on to explain how the other four had attacked him, how he had managed to fight back, and how a senior instructor named Marcus Vale had taken an interest in him. Sera listened without interrupting, although her expression grew more serious as he described the events.

When Kael mentioned the appraisal stone again, she leaned forward.

"You said it flashed brightly before showing F-rank?" Sera asked.

"Very brightly," Kael confirmed. "Everyone in the room was surprised. One hunter even said he’d only seen something similar when someone with the potential to surpass S-rank was tested."

"And then it showed F-rank?" Sera asked.

"Yes. They checked it again, but the result didn’t change," Kael replied.

Sera frowned. "That doesn’t make sense."

"Tell me about it," Kael said.

"Did they explain why it happened?" she asked.

"No. Marcus said he’d keep the unusual reading in my file. He thinks there’s something worth investigating, but he doesn’t know what caused it either," Kael explained.

Sera leaned back against the sofa, thinking about what he had told her.

"And what about the fight with the instructor?" she asked.

Kael went quiet.

Sera slowly turned toward him. "Kael?"

"He wanted to test my combat ability," Kael admitted.

"By punching you into a medical room?" Sera asked.

"That wasn’t exactly the plan," Kael replied.

"Then what was the plan?" she pressed.

"I don’t think he expected me to keep getting up. He said he wanted to see how I reacted under pressure," Kael explained.

Sera stared at him in disbelief. "And you kept getting up?"

Kael gave her an awkward smile. "Yes."

"Why?" Sera asked.

Kael opened his mouth, then closed it again. He could have said that he wanted to prove himself, blamed his pride, or admitted that he didn’t like being treated as weak. All those things were true, but none of them fully explained why he had continued standing when Marcus kept knocking him down.

"I wanted to know how far I could go," Kael finally said. "I thought that if I could land even one clean hit, I’d have a better idea of what I needed to improve."

"Did you land one?" Sera asked.

"Almost," Kael answered.

Sera looked at him skeptically. "Almost?"

"I came close enough that Marcus had to take me seriously for a moment," Kael explained.

Sera glanced at his bruised face. "And then?"

"He hit me hard enough to knock me unconscious," Kael admitted.

Sera covered her face with one hand. "Of course he did."

Kael couldn’t help laughing at her reaction, but the movement hurt his cheek.

"Ow!" Kael exclaimed, immediately stopping.

"Good," Sera said. "Maybe that’ll teach you not to laugh when you’re injured."

"I’m laughing because you’re making it sound worse than it was," Kael protested.

Sera lowered her hand and looked directly at him. "Kael, you came home barely able to move your upper body. How could I possibly make it sound worse?"

Kael had no answer.