5 A New Companion

The pale crescent moon shone like a silvery claw, and the sounds of romantic foxes, rutting deer, screeching owls, and even hungry hedgehogs broke the silence of the night. Inside the tent, Ted and Eva were preparing themselves to sleep. But before that, he needed to take stock of the situation.

"Do you want to return to your parents?"

As it was already late at night, even though Eva was startled by his sudden question about that topic, she still muttered, "Even if I go back, they will still abandon me again."

His lips turned upward as he heard that. She wasn't that naive after all.

Ted asked her another question, "Do you have any other relatives ?"

A second later, she replied in low spirit, "I only had my parents..."

"Then..." Ted narrowed his eyes, "What are you gonna do now?"

As a heavy silence fell upon the tent, Eva gazed at him with puppy eyes. Her intention was crystal clear.

"You cannot come with me." Ted added indifferently, "I am joining a Hero Academy."

"Then I will also join that Academy!"

"Can I come with you now?" She pleaded with her innocent voice.

Truthfully, he didn't mind letting her follow him as he too knows how it feels to be alone. In this world, the only person you can count on is yourself. Ted knew she would say something like that. He just couldn't accept his genuine emotions so he purposely gave her a weak reason. At least with another person, he wouldn't get bored.

At first, her mood instantly dropped, but after hearing the second part and seeing his nod, Eva jumped at him in joy and wrapped her soft arms around his neck.

Due to his weakened state, Ted was pushed down as if he was a feather offering no resistance. As he was about to try to distance himself from her, his body stopped moving like it was frozen in time when she started crying with happiness.

Maybe he had underestimated how much it meant to her.

After getting sold by her parents, her life was in the hands of men she had never met before. Even if she managed to escape from them, how could she survive in that dangerous world alone?

"Thank you..." Eva thanked him in a trembling voice.

Remembering that he still hasn't told her his name, he said, "I am Ted."

Without him knowing, his voice has returned to its original state, becoming warmer.

When Eva noticed the change, her smile became so bright that it could illuminate the night. She was glad that he wasn't as cold as before with her.

In that rather intimate position, they fell asleep simultaneously and spent the night close to each other for warmth.

As planned in the morning, Ted forced Eva, who was still sleepy, to get up early. Because the hunger was driving him crazy, he jumped at the first animal unfortunate enough to cross his path, not caring about Eva, who was scared of blood.

Either she forces herself to get used to the sight of blood or leave. Thinking about it, Ted was reminded of a quote he had read from a book.

'Eat or be Eaten'

That was the law of the jungle.

Standing beside Ted, Eva forced herself to continue watching even if the sight of a pig being mercilessly slaughtered was making her uncomfortable.

To survive in that dangerous world, she needed to become strong enough to protect herself. Just the thought of what those men would have done to her if Ted didn't interfere was enough to give her goosebumps. In the future, she will make sure to repay his kindness.

After eating like a pig, Ted resumed his trip with Eva towards Nodorth. With his hunger gone, he couldn't be happier as he didn't like feeling powerless. Now with control over everything once again, he could relax his restless mind a little bit.

In the daytime, they would take breaks every two hours of walking, while at night, they would sleep inside the camping tent. However, just before sleeping, they bathed in the sparkling river together. It was rather fortunate that the old man was mindful enough to give him soaps before leaving, or else they would stink so much that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep.

The morning was dedicated to training. Ted would do his usual workout routine as, at the moment, he needed to focus on improving his body.

Days ago, he had shown Eva how to conjure light arrow mid-air, so she was learning her new E-Rank spell. According to a book, the lowest to strongest Rank was E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS.

Despite having only practiced for two days, her progress was unbelievable. From his observation, it wouldn't take much more time for her to master the spell. It was as if she was The Child of Light.

Nonetheless, he was puzzled as to why her foolish parents sold her just for some money. After all, with her ridiculous learning speed, they could groom her to make much more than that...

Seeing her talent, Ted didn't get jealous of Eva at all. Contrary to that, it only served to make him more determined to get stronger as he still remembered the old man's promise.

'Not a hero neither a superhero, but the strongest superhero...'