Tale Of A Knight 40 Volume 3: Chapter 5: Aunty Yin Part 3

Bakit admitted after seeing his reflection in the mirror.

He was wearing a headband that was wrapped around his forehead and an eyepatch on his right eye.

It turns out that his horn could retract back into his skull, which was slightly unusual, as Aunt Yin noted, demon horns usually do not have the ability to hide within one's skull.

Just wrapping a headband around it would prevent his horn form accidentally emerging.

As for his demon eye, it was not as easy to take care of.

Bakit had absolutely no control over it, which was natural since he just awakened it.

So, Aunt Yin gave him an eyepatch to wear until he can learn to properly control it.

Then, Bakit noticed that he was not wearing gauntlet on his right arm, the stump where his right hand used to be was visible for all eyes to see.

"Uhm, Miss Yin?"

"Aunty Yin is fine, Bakit"

"Right, Aunty Yin. When you found me, did I by any chance have a gauntlet on? It is around the same size as a normal hand, metallic, a little rusty…"

"Oh, you mean this" She apparently had put the gauntlet on top of a shelf.

She gave it to Bakit.

"Thank you"

"I made slight modifications to it; I hope you will like it"

"Modifications?" Bakit muttered in confusion.

He put on the gauntlet, and as soon as his stump was connected to the gauntlet, he felt a strange feeling, as though the gauntlet had some kind of power coursing through it.

Even someone with no magic affinity like Bakit could tell that the gauntlet was now enchanted.

"Try to move the fingers on your right hand"

Bakit did just that, the fingers on the gauntlet moved according to his will.

"This…This is amazing!"

"My magic allows me to control movement of objects, as such, making the gauntlet operate like a functional hand was no hard feat. Though, I can do nothing to restore the sense of touch. And the gauntlet is not going to be anywhere near as efficient as the original hand. I am sorry"

"What are you saying? You have done plenty!"

Bakit lifted the tea cup with his right hand (gauntlet), the steel fingers were moving like real ones.

"I have enchanted it to be linked to your mind, so even if you take the gauntlet off, you should be able to control its movements. But, be careful, if the gauntlet is destroyed, the magic will be dispelled."

"Yes, I understand…. Aunty Yin, I can't thank you enough!"

Bakit ended up hugging her. She was rather tall and very soft, especially her enormous tails.

"Don't worry about it, anything for my dear nephew" She playfully patted his head.

It sure is nice to have a guest, but having the child of her dear friend pay a visit to her was a rare treat.

'He is son of my dear friend, to me, he is same as family'

Yin's actual family was long gone; she had already lost everyone before she met Ymit. But in her heart, Ymit held an image of a brave demon that saved her. If it was his son, then Yin would make sure to take care of him.

To her, Ymit's children were like her own nieces and nephews. At least, that was how she felt on the inside.

Bakit was starving, so Aunty Yin proceeded to fill the table with variety of foods which Bakit started to munch down on like a hungry wolf.

"It tastes so good!"

"I am glad. I rarely get any guests, so I am relieved that what I cooked is still edible"

"Not just edible, it's delicious!"

Looking at Bakit mainly using his left hand with the enchanted gauntlet lying on top of the table, Yin asked.

"How did you lose your hand?"

"I got attacked by crystal elementals, my hand got destroyed during their attack. I was the lucky one; the others who went on that trip did not survive."

"Where are you heading?"

"To the city of Loren. I am gonna become an adventurer"

"Aren't you being too reckless? Putting yourself in even more danger… What can you do with just one hand?"

"I will do what I can. That is the only way I can get stronger. Plus, my master believes in me, so I cannot let him down"

"Your master? Who is that?" Yin felt slight resentment at someone who could be forcing her nephew to do such a reckless task.

"My master is the Sword Lord. His name is…" but before he could state his teacher's name, Yin stated it out loud.

"Zenjuro Tamaraki." She shook her head in annoyance with her hand covering her face.

"Of course, who else would approve of you doing such a crazy task? What was he thinking?!"

"You know him?"

"Of course, Zen and I go way back. He is an old friend of mine just like your father"

"But since he is the Sword Lord and you are a demon, aren't you guys enemies?"

"We were, originally, I can't deny that. But now, we have a rather good relationship"

"I see."

Overwhelmed by curiosity, Bakit asked.

"You mentioned my father…Who was he? And while we are on that topic, who is my mother?"

"You are rather eager to know, aren't you, little one?" Aunt Yin chuckled.

It was a little cute talking to this kid, who was like a mini version of Ymit.

"Alright, I will tell you. I don't know for certain who your mother was, but I know who your father was. His name was Ymit Karatengu; he was a demon, just like you and me."

"I met him on a day I should have perished. Had it not been for him, I would have surely met my end. But instead, he saved my life. Without a doubt, he was the greatest demon I have ever met"

"Ymit Karatengu?! Master Zen mentioned him once!"

"Naturally, since Ymit is the only one who ever managed to best him."

"Dad beat the Sword Lord, seriously? That monster?"

"I know it might sound rather hard to believe, but it is true. When those two t.i.tans clashed against each other, I could only hide for safety. It was an epic duel between a Demon Lord and the Sword Lord."

"They clashed against each other, endlessly, without a sign of stopping. Destroying everything around them, their attacks shook the very earth they were standing upon."

"By the end of the duel, Sword Lord was on his back, lying on the ground. He was at Ymit's mercy. But your father chose to spare him. Afterwards, they came to view each other as rivals."

"Because of your father, Zenjuro became far humbler and no longer hated demons. Zen and I even managed to become friends because of that. But Ymit was the one demon Zenjuro truly came to respect."

"What happened to my father?"

"That, I do not know."

Bakit frowned a little.

At the very least, he knew he had a father, or at least had a father. But how did she know who his father was?

"How can you be so certain this Ymit guy was my father?"

"Because he was a crow type demon, just like you. Crow type demons are practically extinct in this human world, so naturally, he was the only one who could have been your father. As to how I know you are a crow type demon, well… I used my magic item to examine you while you were asleep"

"Huh?" it was a little too much to take in for Bakit.

Now he found out the ident.i.ty of his father, met a demon who self-proclaimed herself to be his aunt, and discovered he was a demon.

Bakit felt as though his reality was being shattered, piece by piece.

'That does not change anything. I still need to go to the city of Loren and become an adventurer. Come to think of it, where is my sword?'

Bakit's wooden sword was nowhere in sight.

His bag full of the magic tools Rolgo gave him and his spare clothing was still there. His gauntlet was on top of the table.

But the wooden sword the Sword Lord gave him was clearly missing.

In its place, a rather strange sword.

The blade was double edged, about a meter and quarter in length, of blood red color.

Overall, the blade reminded one of a flame frozen in time.

"That is not my sword"

Bakit was panicking. What will Sword Lord do if he finds out Bakit lost the wooden sword he gave him? Bakit could already see the air slashes coming in his direction.

"It was the sword you were clutching when I found you. A rather peculiar weapon, if I say so myself. No, peculiar is not the right word, gruesome would be a more suitable term"

"Gruesome? Why?"

"Out of curiosity, I used appraisal magic to see what it was made of. Turns out, the blade was forged from a core of a demon. In a sense, demon's heart was harvested and used to make that sword. Because of that, the sword has a degree of sentience"

Bakit examined the sword; it seemed to be a rather fine blade indeed.

"Most likely because it is made of demon core, I would imagine that humans had hard time taming that blade, but in the hands of the demon, it might just show it's true worth"

"Do not worry about Zenjuro, he has plenty of wooden swords, in fact, he broke so many of them that every year he buys at least a dozen at a time." Aunty Yin's words managed to calm Bakit down, who before that was freaking out.

"Eugh, thanks Aunty Yin"

With the strange sword in his hand, Bakit muttered.

"I guess I will be using this weird sword then"

* * *

"City of Loren is just a half an hour away. Make sure to conceal that you are a demon at any cost, ok? Otherwise, you are as good as dead"

"Yes, I will make sure to do that"

Bakit's horn and demon eye were both now concealed, now making him look like a strange person with a headband and an eye patch. Only his right eye and face was not concealed.

"Come by any time you want, Aunty Yin will always be here to take care of you"

Aunt Yin hugged Bakit rather tightly, in embrace full of affection.

'This is so strange. She is the first person to not hate me on the first sight. It feels rather nice….' With new warmth in his heart, Bakit proceeded to leave towards the city of Loren, fully intent on becoming an adventurer.

But first, he needed to find a place to stay….