Fractured God

"Tibaut, pay attention!" The woman in the maid's uniform scolded the young boy.

"Cillia, give me a break, do I really have to learn every day." The young boy responded.

Ah man, it's been a while since I've thought about back then. Most people think of another life as a way to redeem themselves or start anew and be their ideal selves.

Not me.

I was just as lazy in this world as the last.

Maybe, just maybe, if I had studied more, maybe if I was more interested in magic, maybe if I took sparring more seriously I'd still be able to enjoy my life with them. In Tibaut's mind appears an image of a mansion burning down with the bodies of a woman with white hair and a man with red hair outside of it surrounded by rubble.

But now, I can't do anything. If any God out there is listening please,

Let me get revenge before I die.

"Oh he's awake!" Vanessa exclaims.

Tibaut slowly begins to open his eyes to the scene before him. He was currently lying down in a canopy with Vanessa in front of him.

"Hey V-Vanessa, (that's her name right?) what's up?" He asked.

Vanessa then grabbed his arm and pressed her breasts against it. Tibaut's face has now skipped being blushed and has gone straight to beet red. While Tibaut was confused by this, he was by no means trying to free his arm.

"Cheered up?" She asked.

While Tibaut tried to respond, all that came out of his mouth was various levels of gibberish.

"Glad to hear" she responded smiling. "But why were you crying?" she asked him.

His face stiffened, remembering his dream.

"Oh, just Elizabeth working me to the bone." He responded while trying to fake a smile.

"I get ya. You're such a slave driver Elizabeth" She said while looking behind Tibaut.

Tibaut then looked behind the canopy and was surprised to see Elizabeth was there the entire time. She then quickly flicked both Tibaut and Vanessa on their heads.

They both said "ow" in unison at the attack.

"I thought dwarves liked to work at their forge," Elizabeth remarked.

"How many times do I have to tell you, having a dwarf for a grandpa, doesn't make me one," Vanessa said annoyed.

"And you," She said while pointing to Tibaut "how'd you manage to give yourself three broken ribs?"

He then explained what happened while he was training his magic. Elizabeth then sighed "Please don't try anything like that without me around. If I got kil- rescued by someone who killed themselves through their own magic, I'm not sure I'd have the spirit to continue being an adventurer.

By the way, how thin did you compress your fireball?"

"Uh, about his much" he said while bringing his pointer and thumb about an inch apart.

"And you said it kept the same diameter" She continued asking

"Uh-huh." He nodded

"I see." She responded, "Well keep at it and you'll eventually be of use to me."

"Also," She added. She then grabbed Tibaut's hair and cut it with her sword so it was shoulder length.

"Please do remember to take care of yourself, I'm not looking forward to that smell returning." She said before leaving the room.

"Oh yeah, you approached me earlier, did you need something" Tibaut asked.

"No. It's just that you said you'd visit me and it seems like you forgot about it." She said while making puppy dog eyes and squeezing his hand tighter.

"Well, it can't be helped I guess, let's go now then." He said while trying to hide a smile.

When he reached her basement workshop, it was exactly as he imagined it. A forge, an anvil, a hammer and a bunch of other shit he didn't know the name of.

"By the way, can you produce a flame for me?" Vanessa asked.

"Sure" he then produced a pretty decent-sized flame.

She then brought him to a chair and asked him to stay put. ("What's she planning? Maybe she's planning to get a candle and drip some wax on my-") but before he could finish his thought she returned in tow with several weapons and armour pieces. She then began to heat the equipment with Tibaut's flame then hammer them on her anvil.

"Uh, Vanessa what are you doing?" Tibaut asked, puzzled.

"Oh, my mana forge is broken, so I haven't been able to finish up some pieces that need the heat of magical fire. And don't worry there'll be a reward." She responded.

"Don't worry, I can do this all day" Tibaut responded, fired up.

They preceded to keep his fire up for the next hour. And the next. And the next. And the…..

Wiping the sweat off her head, she then finished hammering the final piece.

"We're done," She told him slightly out of breath.

Seeing that his task was finished. The only thing Tibaut could do was collapse on the floor. "So ready for your reward," She asked.

"Please, just bring me to my room." He asked her.

"Oh my, what are you gonna do to me th-"but before she could finish.

"Listen, I don't mind being teased, some guys dream of this sorta thing but I genuinely can't move right now, so can you please just bring me to my room."

After a few more failed attempts at teasing Vanessa finally relented and brought him back to his room.

While in bed thought to himself "I don't think wheeze I've ever used enough magic to be tired before". He then made a mental note to be careful of Vanessa going forward.