Preparations for my Journey

I could feel the tension in the air as my father exclaimed, "You want to do what now?!" his voice rising in disbelief.

It was early in the morning the following day, and I just told him the news of my wish to travel to the city and my arrangements with the Vogt.

His reaction was predictable, but it still stings.

"Not only did you come to me with that idea of yours that you want to go hunt in the forest, but now you even want to go to the city alone, and you even managed to convince the Vogt to agree to it?"

"Where do you even get all of these crazy ideas?"

I took a deep breath and tried to keep my cool. "But you quite liked the rabbit which I caught the other day, didn't you?"

My father's expression darkened. "That's not the point! With how things are going, the next month, you will come to me and say, "I want to be a Beast hunter and go slaying monsters in the woods!"

"You think wrongly of me, father! I would never do something as dangerous as that!"

I felt a little guilty for lying to him with a straight face like that, but what else was I supposed to say to him if I didn't want to be grounded for the rest of my childhood?

"It's just that I like it in the city, and I want to be an apprentice there like Konrad."

"What's this about? Aren't you a little young to think about an apprenticeship yet?"

"Besides, the only reason I was able to secure Konrad's place there is because your uncle is a family, and I knew he has no son of his own; getting some complete stranger to accept you without proper connections is an impossibility, and even if by some miracle you would find someone who would be willing to take you, it would still require a huge sum of money, which we don't have."

"I know that; that's why I'm learning how to hunt so that I could make some money of my own. You must know that there is no future for me in the village."

"With Rolf inheriting the smithy, even if I train to be a blacksmith, where would I even work? That's why I'm learning to read and want to go to the city to explore it; there is certainly something I could do there."

My father looked at me for a long moment. "Hmm, so it is about the future, eh? Well, I was hoping to convince the Vogt to take you on as one of his servants."

"The pay is meager, but you would have a roof over your head and good food, and if you worked hard, you could even be promoted."

"But if you want to try your luck and find your own path, what kind of father would I be to stand in your way?" He smiled weakly at me.

I was quite moved that he would allow me to find my own path. "Thank you, father. I will not disappoint you!"

"Heh, You better not. Run along now and make me proud."

Wow, that was intense, but in the end, everything worked out, and I'm allowed to go to the city.

Although it was clear from my father's expression that he still doesn't believe I could succeed in my quest, he will at least let me try; that's all I'm asking for. If I don't try, how will I know if it's impossible or not?

Besides, even if it comes to the worst-case scenario, I can still become a Beast hunter. I'm sure that with my magic I can become very powerful very quickly, but let's keep it as a last resort for now.

I then went to find Myra to tell her the good news and ask that she relay my message to her father that I'm allowed to go to the city.

"Wow! You've got to go to the city! I'm so jealous!" she exclaimed.

I grinned and said, "Well, I'm still nowhere near my goal, but now at least I can start."

"I'm so glad!" But that means that if you manage to get an apprenticeship there, we get to see each other because when I turn 10, I will move to the city to go to the school there!"

"That's great, so will you tell your father that I got permission to go?"

"Of course! "Now let's play some more!"

I was then informed when the trip would take place, which was right at the beginning of summer.

In the meantime, I continue to hone my hunting skills and look for more herbs.

I managed to hunt two more rabbits but didn't gather any umbrifila because they seem to grow deeper in the Forest where I couldn't go while I was with Old Sven, but I didn't mind since I already got quite a bunch of them at the start of the spring.

The day of my journey came quickly, and it was time for me to go. My mother was very worried when she found out that I would be going there alone, but my father managed to calm her with the knowledge that I would be traveling with the Vogt, protected by Beast Hunters from the city.

She then gave me a little basket with gifts for Konrad and the rest of the uncle's family, and I'm to relay my parent's regards. I nodded my head and quickly ran away before I had to hear for the umpteenth time how much I should be careful.

I met the little caravan in the village square. There were three wagons in total, each driven by a pair of oxen. Since horses were quite expensive, oxen were usually used for moving cargo.

The Vogt was already sitting in the front wagon along with the driver. There were also three rough-looking men chatting among themselves. These were probably those famous Beast hunters from the city, it was the first time I got to see them up close, and I was curiously looking them over, but the Vogt beckoned to me to move quickly since it was time for us to move.

Myra waved at me, and I smiled at her as our caravan headed out to the city.