"It's a chance not everyone gets, Viktor." Alma continued to separate the meat and bones of the animal as he spoke. "I don't know if I agree with King Jonathan or the Iron Fist General. But we're in the south, so we have to fight for the general whether we like it or not. But I don't want to be just a soldier going to war only to die."

"If it's for Nina, you know my father can take care of all of us for a while longer," Viktor twirled the small knife between his fingers as he spoke. "You know she'd be happier with you here. Besides, if you want to enlist and keep her close, when she reaches the right age, you two could—"

"I have my dream, and she has hers. Besides, I'm sure she won't find anything in the army," Alma interrupted, finishing cleaning another bone and tossing it into her leather pouch. "Renown and wealth are just additional things. What I want is much bigger, and I can't have everything I want just by living peacefully."

The wind blew around them, rustling their hair as Viktor gazed at Alma, who was focused on her task with her head bowed.

"Does war attract you that much? You know they'll just want to use you, don't you?"

"Maybe so, but if I'm just another pawn, I'm not worthy of the dreams I have," Alma concluded with a slight smile tinged with sadness. But soon, both of them heard,

"A dull conversation for the two who returned from a successful hunt, huh?"

Both widened their eyes, feeling a presence close by. When they turned, they saw a tall, strong man with red hair, one eye closed with a scar over it, the other a dark brown. Despite his imposing posture, he walked with a calm smile, squatting between them, lightly resting his hand on their heads.

"If I were a snake, I'd have bitten both of you," he said, smiling a bit more relaxed. "Mind if I join the conversation?"

"G-Good morning, sir Gibbram..." Alma spoke, still nervous. "We didn't notice you approaching."

"That's because you're not taking training and detection seriously, and I've told you to call me only Matthew, Alma," Matthew said, looking at the animal, especially its horns. "So, what were you talking about?"

"Well..." Alma continued, still surprised, then looked at Viktor, who maintained the same expression but spoke up. "We were talking about the war and being a soldier. You've been there, right?"

"Can you give me this knife?"

Matthew pulled the animal's horn and received the knife from Viktor. He wielded the knife, and in an instant, the horn was precisely cut, leaving only a reddish trail from the movement, surprising Viktor and Alma, who stared wide-eyed, wondering what had happened.

"You could have seen it if you paid attention to the strike before it even happened. You can see it no matter the speed," Matthew said, smiling slightly, then continued. "I fought a lot there, but there was nothing left for me. So, I left. Do you both wish to join the war? Is there something there for you, or is it just influence from the older ones who are also going?"

"I don't think there'll be anything for me there. Alma finds it amusing to fight for a bunch of old folks," Viktor sat beside the deer and crossed his arms. "I'd rather travel around in search of something."

Upon hearing this, Alma lowered his head slightly and said, "Well, yes, that's it..."

"I see. Do you have a plan for when?"

"Dad!"

Viktor spoke surprised, but Alma also looked surprised by that question, then lowered his head, thinking for a moment before saying,

"I'm already 14; normally, everyone goes at 16." He took a deep breath and continued. "Here, I can learn the Sword Art from you, but I need more combat experience to compensate for the difference, since my body is weaker... so I want to leave here before turning 15."

"Understood," Matthew said with a smile, and with a single swift movement of the knife, he split the other horn of the deer near the base, ripping off the part with a perfect cut, making both of them again look surprised without having seen anything. "And you, Viktor? Are you going with him?"

The swordsman frowned and then rested his fist on his cheek.

Stolen story; please report.

"All the young ones are called for war, so one day I'll have to go anyway." He turned his face to the side and said, "He's selfish, never accepts me guiding where we go."

"Huh?" Alma furrowed his brow and widened his eyes. "You were the one who suggested hunting in the first place."

"Yeah, but you never complained, did you?"

"EXACTLY!"

The two glared at each other, seemingly annoyed, but Matthew stood up with both horns in his hands as they observed him from a distance, Viktor giving a slight smile and placing his hands on his waist, while Alma lowered his head.

"My father didn't take you and Nina in expecting you to pay, Alma," Viktor turned with a smile. "If you want to thank him, just say: thank you. You're family."

As he looked back, Viktor could see the image of a girl in the window, immediately recognizing her. She had long black hair and aqua-green eyes, a bit thinner and shorter than the two, and upon noticing Viktor's gaze, she widened her eyes in surprise and ran to hide, making the swordsman furrow his brow and scratch the back of his neck, saying,

"Although she seems afraid of me..."

Alma was puzzled and then looked at the house, quickly understanding the situation. However, he smiled and bent down to continue separating the parts of the animal.

"You're just good at fighting, huh?"

"Why did that sound so offensive?"

Viktor frowned but also bent down again to separate the animal's parts. The animal was large enough to keep them occupied until the evening twilight; their leather pouches were divided in half, with the additional bones in Alma's pouch.

"It's going to rain," Alma said, looking up, drawing Viktor's attention, who raised his head.

"I think it'll start when night falls," Viktor saw heavy clouds in the distance and noticed the sounds around, realizing the river was flowing faster, leading him to conclude, "Well, at least I'll be able to cover up entirely tonight."

Alma smiled a bit more peacefully, and soon they heard footsteps approaching. When they looked back, they saw the same girl Viktor had seen in the window. As she approached them, she waved and said,

"Good evening, will you be much longer? The soup will cool down soon." She maintained a friendly smile as she spoke, and Alma, scratching his neck, replied,

"I think we took too long today." Alma forced a smile and sighed, then turned to Viktor and said, "Well, we had a full day today, so how about we practice later?"

"Alright, but don't complain if I get stronger," Viktor said, putting his hands on his waist.

Alma gave a faint smile at that gesture and went with his sister toward the house where they lived. Viktor just sighed as he watched the two move away and turned, heading towards his house while carrying the leather pouch with his portion.

Upon arriving home, he opened the door and went to the kitchen to salt the meat, leaving the pieces in the bag, ready for the next day. As he finished, the door opened, and Matthew entered the house just before it started to rain lightly.

"Was it that quick?"

"It wasn't quick, took a few hours and only got done because old Asmith prioritized you guys," he said with a smile, approaching Viktor with the bag, which he opened in front of the swordsman. "Take a good look."

Viktor came closer and saw the inside of the leather pouch. His eyes glimmered slightly at the sight of a leather armor with gray fur near the neck and on the bracelet. He quickly took it out, looking surprised and exclaimed,

"Wow..." He put on the bracelet, fitting perfectly, and looked at it with a smile, saying, "How do I look?"

Viktor struck a pose, still smiling, wearing only one bracelet, making Matthew smile as he said, "Put on everything; it's for you."

"Really?!" Without wasting time, Viktor ran to the bag and grabbed the remaining parts of the armor—a complete leather chestplate and another bracelet.

He clenched his fists with the bracelets in hand, giving a broad smile, still getting used to that feeling, while Matthew said, "Hey, don't ignore the other things, if Asmith finds out..."

"Oops... sorry..."

Viktor returned to the bag and noticed another weapon that caught his attention—a bow with various tips, making him look surprised as he said,

"Is this for Alma?"

"Yes, can you give it to him tomorrow?"

"Sure, can I see it?"

Matthew smiled and handed the bow to his son. For a brief moment, Viktor could see something golden at the bottom of the bag, but he quickly turned his attention back to the bow he held, feeling a certain stiffness as he said,

"It's neither light nor heavy; it feels good."

"Just as you said, it's a horn bow that old Asmith reinforced with a bit of weight to make it durable," Matthew chuckled a bit more relaxedly. "These gears won't enhance your skills right away, but they'll be quite resilient, so you can use them freely. I hope to have some time with you to teach a bit more before you go."

As he spoke, he saw Viktor still excited and impressed with all those items, causing him to lower his eyebrows and smile again, saying,

"It can't be helped."

Viktor rushed to grab his backpack and put it on his back, raising a doubtful eyebrow at Matthew. However, the swordsman approached and struck a walking pose, asking,

"How do I look now? I'm wearing everything."

Even the bow was slung across his body. Matthew paused for a moment as he observed that image of his son, as if seeing something beyond, but eventually smiled calmly and said,

"You look great, son."

"Thank you, Dad!"

Viktor chuckled calmly and then turned to the window with an excited smile, trying to see his reflection. However, amidst the rain outside, something caught his eye, making him look with surprise.

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"There's someone standing outside, seems to be looking this way."