Camping with the Devil Part1

"You can teach her later." Mikel ruffled the young boy's head and urged him to keep walking.

They had only barely started the day and things were delayed already. 

So Mikel held the two slowpokes firmly by their hands, one of each side, and dragged them along.

From a distance, he looked like a family man taking good care of his wife and child, by keeping them close and not letting them get lost in the crowd.

The three looked rather picture perfect.

However… up close…

In a short while, the group finally left the border market and entered the main forest territory.

These were right at the outskirts of the Kingdom so there was absolutely no possibility of something strong and dangerous showing up.

Every beast that even posed the smallest threat was quickly hunted down and nullified by the Kingdom's mages.

"Uncle, are we hunting today?" Cassius excitedly asked. At his age, he was just about excited for anything and everything.

"Yes, we are." Mikel smiled.

After walking for a while, they took a slight detour from the main forest path.

Instead of heading deeper inside into the dangerous territories, they walked over to a comparably less dangerous zone.

Here, only the occasional herbivores and easily beatable small carnivores like wolves and foxes showed up.

And this was perfect because Mikel had brought Cassius here mainly to teach him a few basic things about hunting.

He was the boy's legal guardian and the responsibility of teaching him adequately fell on his shoulders.

But Mikel never thought of it as mere responsibility, he loved the kid above and beyond and treated him like his own.

Just from the boy's sunny and bright nature, one could tell that he had no misgivings and his parents' absence did not cast a dark shadow on his life.

This was all because of Mikel's efforts.

As the four continued walking around in the forests, three of them carefully observed their surroundings for a potential game and the fourth leisurely strolled taking in the spectacular refreshing environment of the forest.

Today had mostly been a day of firsts for Sylvia. 

It was her first time being outwitted by a kid, first time seeing the outside of the castle, first time holding a bow and an arrow, and the first time walking on the edges of wilderness.

She didn't know why but there was something in the air here that made her feel alive.

Despite her deplorable living situation with no end whatsoever in sight, a bright smile hung on her lips as she hummed quietly and walked, her eyes darting everywhere curiously.

The gentle breeze, the melodic rustling of the leaves, the sound of a distant brook everything inspired joy within her.

But suddenly, a voice whispered in her ears, making Sylvia jump up lightly as if a snake had slithered by her feet.

"If I had known that this would make you so happy, I would have brought you here long back, my kitten."

Sylvia's smile immediately disappeared and her head once again gazed down on the lush green forest grounds, unwilling to meet the devil face to face.

Mikel chuckled. He really did not intend to tease her like this, but he also couldn't stop himself from doing so.

"Uncle. Uncle. Here." Cassius turned around and tugged at Mikel's wrist, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Standing in front of them, just a few miles ahead was a couple of wild boars.

They were short and fat pig-like animals that had little to no fur on their body.

Though they were not at the top of the food chain, they possessed a mad strength and considerable speed, making them a bit dangerous.

They also had round crimson eyes and pitch-black fur which made them looked terrifying, coupled with the two big canines in the front.

Sylvia instantly stopped in her tracks, her heart rate quickening noticeably.

However, Mikel, Theodore, and even Cassius remained calm and unruffled.

"You know what to do." Mikel chuckled and stepped back. 

Theodore as well did the same, however, his hands reached down to touch the hilt of the sword hanging on his hips.

The knight stood in an offensive position, ready to step in and do damage control in case the situation went out of hand.

And Cassius who was the star of this little show excitedly placed a finger on his lips, first warning Sylvia to not make a sound and then turned around to look at the boars.

He took out the bow he had used earlier, but this time he took out a different set of arrows.

These seemed to be made of a different metal and were sharper and fiercer.

Cassius then quickly swung the quiver onto his small shoulders and carefully placed an arrow on the bow, and then another.

Sylvia stared at him in astonishment.

The little kid in front of her had actually placed two arrows simultaneously at the center of the bow.

Was he going to fire them both at the same time?

Was he planning to target the two big fat adult boars at the same time?

She couldn't help but gulp nervously. 

At the same time, she also found herself getting more and more excited.