Danir learned the truth that night inside the barn that his mother had already remarried to a noble miner and it had happened just days after he left heading to the House of Granger.
"And… that's it, Daniboy." Mychal said softly, his voice heavy with sympathy.
"They moved to the far eastern region of the Eastern Continent. A mining town called Amil'Ores. They say a million kinds of ores can be found there—gold, silver, bronze, copper, tungsten, coal, even diamonds." Uncle Tamer nodded slowly.
"You know, big sis Meliorra gave birth last spring. A baby girl. Your half-sister. Her name is Guineva. I visited there once that time." The words settled in Danir's chest like stones, a mix feelings of anger, sadness, and jealousy that he couldn't understand.
Though he felt sad, but he also felt… relieved. His mother wasn't alone anymore. She was happy. And that was what he wanted for her.
Still, when he stepped back into the cabin later that evening, the silence felt heavier than before as the remnants of her presence lingered in small things inside to every cornes of the house like a ghost—the neatly folded cloth on the table, the old cooking pot hanging by the hearth, the faint scent of dried herbs she used to prepare.
Ghosts of warmth, but no warmth at all.
That night, Danir climbed onto the roof of the cabin, as he used to do when he was younger.
He lay down on the cool wood, staring at the vast night sky filled with countless stars.
For a moment, he could almost hear her voice calling him in for dinner. With that, now he felt lonely and lonely. He tried to cry but nothing came out. Just a tightness in his throat and a strange numbness in his chest.
He stared at the endless universe above him, wondering how something so vast could make him feel so small.
To distract himself, he remembered something. His grimoire. He hadn't checked it properly in a while.
"Grimoire… open." He whispered.
The familiar translucent pages appeared before him.
He reminisced through the records of what he did for achieving these progress where he had completed 150 days of 1,000 squat-thrusts during the semester.
That alone added 1,500 points each to his Strength, Endurance, and Speed.
On top of that, leveling up five times—from level 7 to level 12—after the Labyrinth Training Field—granted him an additional 250 points to all attributes.
He stared at the numbers.
BP: 2,605
MP: 1,200
STR: 2,109
SPD: 2,107
END: 2,105
INT: 600
With 2,109 Strength, his weapon damage matched it when wielding his daggers.
His magic damage now stood at 600, thanks to his Intelligence.
"So this was my progress inside the academy after all…" he whispered.
He had grown stronger than before. But not strong enough. Not enough to crush Leopoldo. His jaw tightened at the thought.
Autumn passed quietly.
His daily routine was simple:
1st, Eat.
2nd, Hardworks. For his eighty days of a thousand squat-thrusts in there, he had been able to add a few numbers to his attributes.
Plus additional 800 to his Str, Spd, and End.
BP: 3,405
MP: 1,200
STR: 2,909
SPD: 2,907
END: 2,905
INT: 600
3rd, Help Uncle Tamer with the livestock.
4th, then eat again.
And finally, Sleep.
Then repeat...
He chose to stay in Eastgate for the rest of autumn before returning to the mansion. Partly to help his uncle. Partly because he wasn't ready to leave the cabin yet.
"I guess Uncle Tamer's already used to the loneliness here." Danir thought one afternoon while feeding the animals. "At least he can go gambling when he's bored."
Winter approached. The air grew a bit colder little by little.
One morning, Danir saddled a horse. He decided to return to Pearl-Shire alone. He didn't want Uncle Tamer to see how deeply the loneliness had affected him—even though Mychal probably already knew.
"Godspeed, Daniboy," Mychal called out, forcing a smile. Danir just nodded, unable to say much.
After then he rode away.
And only when the town of Eastgate began shrinking behind him—as only when the sound of hooves echoed against the frozen road—did the tears finally fall.
His chest felt unbearably heavy.
"I promise! I'll come back stronger." he whispered through trembling breath.
"For all of you. I promise. For at least, I can give you a peaceful place to live." He felt guilty for leaving Uncle Tamer alone again. A little angry that his mother hadn't told him about her marriage, and jealousy for that she seemed living happily without him.
But slowly, painfully, he understood something else. He remembered that he was the one who left them first for the pursuit of his dream, for choosing the path of an adventurer.
The early winter wind blew harshly across the road. A light snowstorm formed as flakes hitting his face and melting instantly. But, he barely felt the cold as the loneliness he felt was more colder.
Danir looked down at his hands, remembering the battles he had fought—
Yet despite all the ruthlessness he had shown on the battlefield, he knew the truth—deep inside, he was still just a young boy who longed for a mother's love.
After a full day of travel, he finally reached the grand gates of the Granger mansion. The towering structure stood firm against the winter sky.
As soon as he stepped inside and heard the familiar chaos—shouting, arguing, something breaking in the distance— the loneliness inside him began to thin. Not totally gone, but becoming softer, slowly fading away.
"What's up with that face? Missing your mother already?" Alec teased... As the teasing continued even further...
His brothers were there. And as winter settled in, the Granger brothers once again filled the mansion with their usual chaos— loud, unrestrained, alive, and Danir, despite everything, found himself slowly smiling again.