Oliver and his family were sitting in the kitchen, having their dinner while chatting.
"Mom, I thought we were having at for dinner tonight?" Oliver asked.
"Ahh, sorry my dear. The at... was already sold out when I went to the bazaar today," Irmine forced a smile at her son.
Arnulf glanced at his wife. He had been married to her for 13 years, so he knew her very well. There was sothing on her mind right now. The food in front of her was barely touched.
"I see. It is alright, Mom!" Oliver smiled. He then looked at his food. In his mind, he had the sa thought as his father. Tara, anwhile, was just focusing on her food.
After a few minutes, everyone was nearly finished, except Irmine. Arnulf could not stand it anymore and asked, gently holding her shoulder.
"Honey, is there sothing wrong? You look very gloomy tonight," Arnulf asked.
"It... is nothing," Irmine said.
"You can tell us, Mom, if you have a problem. Aren’t you the one who always tells that if we have a problem, we need to share it and not keep it to ourselves?" Oliver said.
Irmine was surprised by Oliver’s words. Indeed, she had advised her son about it. She could not help but smile at her intelligent son.
"Sigh. I don’t know if I can say it while Oliver is here," Irmine said.
"It’s okay, Mum! Just tell us," Oliver said, his eyes focused.
Irmine was silent for a while before she started to speak.
"When I went to the bazaar just now, people were looking at weirdly. I then found out that the townspeople already know that Oliver had failed the ritual taming."
"What!?" Arnulf suddenly slamd the table and stood up. His face looked angry.
"How did they know? I already told Josh to keep it quiet. Did that bastard actually break the secret?" Arnulf said.
"I, I don’t know. But it really makes worried. What if they actually co here and take Oliver away from us?" Irmine suddenly broke into tears.
Tara imdiately rushed to her and hugged her, trying to calm her down. Arnulf was at a loss for words.
Oliver simply stared at his empty plate in front of him, deep in thought. He knew a little about how this world worked. People who failed to beco a tar were considered bad luck, often blad for major incidents like Dungeon Breaks.
They would usually kick them out from their hos. Even worse, so were even killed. For Ashville Town, it had been decades since they had soone like Oliver. That was why most of them were scared.
And this exact reason was why his parents had been so stressed for the past few days.
Oliver clenched his fists on the table. He was now in a dilemma. Should he tell them everything right now? If this was the best choice, then he had no other way. He did not want his family to beco more stressed. Whatever his parents decided after that did not matter anymore.
"Mom, actually I..." Oliver had just opened his mouth when suddenly Tara intervened.
"Sir and Madam, I am sorry if I am speaking out of turn. But I think both of you don’t need to worry. I believe Oliver is not a failure as everyone thinks. He is your only son, and I already see him as my little brother. I believe one day, he will beco a tar, and a great one at that." Tara looked at Oliver and smiled.
"So, all of us must not give up on him."
"Tara..." Arnulf and Irmine looked at her.
"Yes. You are very right, Tara. We must believe in Oliver no matter what. Even a slight hope is enough for us to hold on to. Thank you for making us realize that," Arnulf said.
"How many tis have I told you, Tara? Please, just call us Mom and Father. You are just like our own daughter," Irmine said, gently patting Tara’s hair.
"Thank you... Father and Mom." Tara smiled. She then turned and smiled at Oliver.
Oliver bit his lip, tears welling up in his eyes as he gripped his knees.
’Thank you, Tara! Thank you! I really an it!’
---
Over the next few days, Oliver decided to stay at ho and postpone his plan to raid the next dungeon for a while.
During that ti, he helped clean the Bovaryns, whom he was no longer afraid of. He also helped his mother clean the house and cut fruits and vegetables.
While he was resting in front of the yard, he suddenly saw Tara walking out with a basket in her hands.
"Where are you going, Tara?" Oliver stopped her.
"I want to go to the nearby field to search for Venin Leaf. It is for your preparation for the Arachnid Nest. Sorry for causing your delay."
"It is alright. How about I go find it? I am bored right now."
"Are you sure? Then please take so for . It is near the east part of town. It has a distinct color of green and purple. You cannot miss it."
"Roger!" Oliver saluted.
---
After walking for 15 minutes, Oliver finally arrived at the field near the forest bordering the nearby town of Dewfield. The forest was considered safe, as it was sandwiched between two towns and frequently used by people traveling between them.
Oliver started searching for the Venin Leaf as he crouched down. After a while, he finally found it.
"Luckily, there are so many of them. I guess I’ll take as many as I can. I forgot to ask why she wants these leaves," Oliver muttered.
As he was crouching, he suddenly heard a voice.
"Look, guys! What did we find? A failure! Hahaha!"
Oliver imdiately turned and saw a group of kids around his age staring at him. In front of them stood a boy with his arms folded. He was taller than Oliver and slightly bigger in build.
"Ray..." Oliver muttered.
An annoying guy had finally shown up.
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