Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Loss of faith

Leander, much to his shame, had gotten back three of his lost kilograms. He stared down at the scales with despair.  He had worked hard to lose the weight, and now, because of his hospital stay, most of it was back.

With a bowed head, he got off the scales and went to sit on the bed. His one room in the inn had no personal touches in it, despite him having lived in it for the past two months.

The walls were a Spartan white color, the furniture was faded. The room gave out the same kind of feeling that was within himself. Desolation and desperation.

Leander's eyes found the ball Morris had given him and the book in which he dried three of the forget-me-nots that Dorian had given him. They had believed in him, and he had let them down.

They had training later that day, with them going to the faucet before that. But, Leander was hopeless. What use was to go and do the running in place if he was going to get beaten up on a quest and land himself in the hospital? Gaining all, or almost all, of his weight back.

He stood and went to take a good look in the mirror. His cheeks were more tanned than they had been, but no less chubby. He took a look at his flabby arms and sighed.

"I have a six-pack? What a joke. I probably have nothing under all that lard," with a bowed head, he went out. The smell of a fried banana stand called to him, and his stomach grumbled. He had watched what he ate for the past two months, and yet, he was only two kilograms less than when he started.

"What is the harm?" He reasoned with himself and made a beeline to the stand. The person behind the cash register smiled at him.

"Hey, you haven't been around in a while. How is life?" Leander blinked. Then, he looked around. This stand was one of the few he frequented. How often had he visited for the cashier to recognize him? How many fried bananas did that make?

"I started adventuring," Leander said as the cashier began to top a fried banana with cream.

"That is good. You were a healer, right? My hips hurt a bit. Is that normal?" Leander noticed that the woman was slightly chubby. His mind went to the only possible condition.

"You should begin to work out more. The pain will go away on its own. You don't need medicine. It is quite normal," he was sure that it was the case for her.

"Anything you can recommend that is not time-consuming and easy to do?" Leander's thoughts went back to the poster.

"Well, there is this exercise that you can do for thirty minutes every day," Leander showed her the running-in-place and she chuckled.

"This sounds easy. Do I do it every day?" She sounded unsure. Leander wondered why. She could do the exercise right here, behind the stall. And, since she was a woman, no one would bat an eye.

"Six days in a week, you rest on the seventh day. And, on the rest day, you can even eat sweets. The poster called it a cheat day," the woman nodded and put the chocolate syrup on top of the fried banana.

"Do you do the workout sessions?" She asked, and Leander looked down in shame.

"I used to, but then my leg and arm got broken, and I had to wait until they healed and now..." Leander bowed his head. All that progress, down the drain.

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"I don't think you should quit," she said and looked down at the banana in her hand. "Is today your cheat day?"

"No," Leander managed weakly.

"Then, give this to a child. They need more energy than us. You won't be doing them a disservice.  I don't know how much you have lost and gained back, but I know I haven't seen you in two months. Don't give up now. For all of us who don't believe in themselves," she handed him the fried banana, and Leander blinked at her.

Someone believed in him. A stranger believed that what he was doing had a meaning.  Sure, Morris and Dorian did the exercise with him, and that meant the world to him, but Leander had not expected words of encouragement from a stranger.

"Where is the playground?" The fried banana stand owner pointed towards a fountain, around which there were a couple of children.

"Have a nice day," she then began to do the exercise, not caring that people were beginning to look at her.

Leander went and handed the fried banana to the children. Then, he pulled out a knife and sliced the treat, so each child had a piece. He left the fountain after washing his hands under a faucet that was on the side of the fountain, and walked back to the faucet with the poster.

He had no idea if he was late. But, he was sure he could stand and wait if he was early and apologize if he was late. His partners were not by the poster, so, he sat down on a bench.

"Hey, when are you starting?" He turned around to see a couple of women with their children looking down on him.

"Excuse me?" Leander couldn't understand the question. Start what?

"The walking in place thing you did. You haven't been around for quite some time. Were you sick?" One of the women asked. Leander rubbed the back of his head.

"I had a broken leg and arm," Leander told them, and one of the children broke off the crowd to poke his arm.

"He got the adventurer's premium treatment!" The child exclaimed; a bit awed. "Clinics give it to only to the best."

"Hardly..." Leander began, but one of the women glared at him, and he shut up.

"Yes, Robert. Do you see? The top rank adventurer does the exercise. So, you should, too. If you ever want to become an adventurer," Leander's eyes widened. Was someone using him as a good example for their children?

"Hey, what is up?" Morris's voice broke Leander out of his stupor. Dorian and he were in full adventurer's uniform, and the children finally looked impressed.

"We will be beginning our adventurer's training. Please take care of us," spoke a girl with two curly pigtails. Morris and Dorian both blinked. They hadn't expected that.

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