The Sixth School Ch. 014

With his sister in tow, Greg moved through the town for ten minutes until they came to their home. His father had been a hardworking man and a good hunter too. As such, their house was among the first houses closest to the three major families near the center of the town. When they got there, they found that their compound was crowded. Many of their neighbors were present and a lively mood was in the air. His mother was moving about passing around some of the fruits to those present. The fruits themselves were nothing special. These were the common fruits easily found within the forest. In this part of the town, to invite people to an event of any kind and not serve any meat would garner the mockery of those invited. Everyone invited, however, knew that this was the month of grain for his mother. As such, no one would find issue with his mother for only offering fruits.

His sister hadn't told Greg anything about the party, but from the smile on her face, he could see that it was meant to be a pleasant surprise. Just as had been the case with the town, all these people were strangers to Greg and at the same time, people he'd known all his life. They were, in all likelihood, gathered to celebrate the fact of Roka's recovery and the fact that he hadn't died. Despite knowing that this wasn't true, Greg didn't feel the need to disabuse them of this notion. Over the past two days, Greg had come to make peace with the fact that he had taken the place of the former owner of this body. He hadn't had any hand in coming to this world, as such, he wouldn't allow himself to be weighed down by pointless guilt over things he had no power over.

There was no pause in Greg's steps as he walked into the compound. The mask on his face almost immediately caught the attention of anyone who turned his way. Seeing as it only covered the front of his face, the damage to the sides of his head was visible to everyone. With one side looking like its flesh had been burned away leaving only skin clinging to bone, and the other side with four deep claw marks, it wasn't a mystery to anyone why he was wearing a mask. Greg, however, wasn't bothered or self-conscious in the least. His posture remained straight and his head held high even as he walked into the compound. Ignoring everyone, Greg first walked to his mother, and with a wide smile, he first greeted her. "How are you doing Mother?" he spoke. None of those around would mind him doing this as this was the respect a child was expected to show their parent.

Although they couldn't see his smile through the mask, everyone could hear the joy in his voice as he greeted his mother. His mother, who'd been holding out a tray of fruits to the carpenter who'd made Greg's mask, turned around at the sound of his voice. There was a bit of surprise in her eyes followed by some sadness when she saw the mask on Greg's face. The emotion, however, only lasted for a second before it was quickly hidden by the smile that crossed her lips. Handing the fruit tray to his sister who was still next to Greg, his mother took his masked face in her hands. "Roka," She called out in a warm voice. Greg lowered his face allowing his mother to kiss the forehead of his mask. "I'm much more at peace now that you are here," she answered his greeting.

"Forgive me for making you worry," He once again repeated the first thing that he'd said to her when she first visited him in the infirmary.

"You are here now," His mother answered. "That is all that matters," she added.

With his greetings to his mother out of the way, Greg turned around to face the crowd that had by now gone quiet and turned all their focus toward him. "Everyone," He spoke in a calm voice. "Thank you for gracing my home with your presence," He spoke loud enough to be heard by everyone in the compound. "Your concern for my well-being warms my heart," he continued. "I'll keep this kindness in my heart," he said. "In the future, the doors to my home will always be open to you all," He declared. The words may have seemed plain, if a bit sappy, on the surface. By the looks of understanding on everyone's face, however, they'd all understood the deeper meaning of what he'd just said. By repeatedly referring to it as, 'my home' instead of 'my father's home', Greg was openly declaring that he was taking up the role of the head of his house.

"Brave words my child," A voice sounded from the crowd causing everyone to turn in the direction of the speaker. If anyone had kept their gaze fixed on Greg's eyes, however, they would have noticed that they'd become a lot colder as soon as he heard the voice. "I would expect nothing less from my brother's son," The voice continued even as a man stepped forward from the crowd.

For the first time, Greg came face to face with his uncle. The man was an inch taller than Greg was with a sharp gaze and thin lips that seemed to be permanently set in a scowl. This, however, wasn't what Greg was focused on. If Greg didn't recognize the sound of his voice, Greg wouldn't have recognized the man. From his memories, Greg knew that the man was in his late thirties. Looking at him, however, one wouldn't be able to tell. His hair, which Greg remembered to be a thick and deep black mane that reached down to his shoulders, seemed to have largely fallen out. His head was now largely bald and what little hair remained seemed to be quickly turning grey. His eyes seemed to be set a lot deeper in his skull than they used to be. A fact that was only made worse by the dark bags under his eyes. The lines on the man's face seemed a lot more defined, which only further emphasized the scowl his lips seemed to be always set in. Even the man's body, which Greg remembered as being a lot more muscular, seemed a lot thinner and more emaciated than it should have been.

"However, as a brother to your father, I must express my concern," his uncle continued. "My brother left us too soon. A fact that, as everyone can see, has hit me really hard," he said holding out his hands as if to put himself on display for everyone to see. "However, how can I watch my brother's son struggle alone?" the man continued. "You've just barely recovered from your injuries," he stated. "What kind of brother and elder would I be if I didn't step up to help you in this time of hardship," he declared. "You don't have to take on the heavy responsibility of heading a household and providing for your mother and sister by yourself just yet. I am willing to take your mother as my second wife and your sister as my daughter," he went on to say...