Two people are holding their breath as they watch a deer munching on some grass. One of the people, a man, is watching intently as he aims his bow at the deer.

While the other man, or a boy to be exact, is actually not seeing the deer but at the man beside him, he only occasionally takes a look at the deer to make sure it is not running away yet.

The man is Cain and the boy is Rai. It is already the second month since the day Cain took Rai as his student. While Cain sees Rai as a problematic student/son, he really can’t refute that he has some talent in hunting.

Rai takes all the knowledge that he was taught and easily applies what he learnt in real life.

Cain drew his bow and was ready to shoot ... but Rai suddenly shouted loudly.

“WAAH!”

Taking it as a signal, Cain shot his arrow without much change in his expression. The deer, who heard Rai shout, startled and ready to flee, but before it could take another step, it was hit in the chest.

The deer fell down and died shortly after.

Cain walked over and approached the deer, ready to dismantle it before it got bad.

“Boring”

Hearing Rai, Cain looks over and stares intently at him. Even though Rai takes his teaching really well, he was a troublemaker who makes Cain have a lot of headaches.

“Please stop doing that!”

Rai replied without feeling guilty. “Father, isn’t this what you asked for when you took me as your son?”

Cain covered his face with his hand, trying to hide the regret that he felt even though he knew it would be a trouble. Cain did not think it was this much trouble.

A list of problematic actions includes things like

Taking him by surprise when he shot his arrow, either by shouting or by trying to tickle him

Or luring a wild boar to him while laughing along the way, making him run for his life

And more importantly, he used the knowledge that he gained as a hunter to play hide and seek with him.

Rai became harder and harder to find, making him not know if it was for the worse or for the better.

Worse because Cain was afraid that Rai would get even more daring and eventually take more than he could chew, effectively getting him into a life-threatening situation.

Better because hiding your presence is one of the important skills as a hunter.

“Haah, but… can you at least tone it down for a bit? You know this is still a dangerous place after all.” Cain said while he cut the deer and watched the blood flow out of its corpse.

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I refuted his complaint, “Because this is dangerous, it is the better ... The thrill while hiding from dangerous animals like bears or wild boars really sends a tingling down my spine…”

“What will I say to Mr. Edward if you really get hurt…”

“Then just ask Lucy out, and we can stop doing this pretend family.”

“Don’t ask the impossible!” Cain said while he started to extract the deer organs.

“That is why we are still doing this. I can’t believe how cowardly you are… even though you bravely killed that wild boar using only a dagger.”

“That is because that is an emergency. The main weapon of a hunter is a bow, not a dagger. We used it only when we had no other choice.”

“Then what about when you are dismantling animal … didn’t you use a knife?”

“That did not count; I meant when we are hunting, not dismantling.”

“Okay, so what will we be doing next? You already taught me how to track and find my way in the forest, ... When will you allow us to actually start hunting for real?

“Can you hit the practice target that I made?”

I said proudly. “Yes, I can.”

“Did you hit the center of the target?”

“... Did that actually matter? I hit the target?”

“Every arrow counts.”

“If you can’t hit the center, 8 out of 10, then you are not allowed to use a bow for hunting purposes.”

“Tch … what a cheapskate”

“Arrow is not grown on a tree, you know!”

“But an arrow is made from wood that came from a tree!”

“You know what I meant. It still needs to be made by a craftsman.”

“Then how about the arrow I used for training?”

“Those are different They used a blunt point, so it is safe to use, longer-lasting than a usual arrow and ...

“Yeah, yeah, giving a kid a weapon is a recipe for disaster and blah blah blah… So, if I can’t start killing part of the hunting, then what will I do?”

“You already have a good hearing and keen eyes, so let’s train your sense of smell next.”

“Heh heh, I knew that years avoiding those villagers judging eyes and overhearing their conversation was not a waste of my time.”

“Who knew doing a bad thing is actually a good thing for you?”

Proud of my past accomplishment getting praised, I puff my chest with pride. “So, a sense of smell, huh? Is it that important? I think I was already good enough.

“That kind of thinking is dangerous.” Cain warned me with a serious face.

I tilted my head. “Why?”

“Sense of smell is important, as there is an animal that can walk behind you silently without you knowing it any better. I don’t want you to die without me knowing, so let’s train your sense of smell.”

“Is that how you manage to find me even when I perfectly cover my tracks?

“Do you think those amateurs like you can fool someone like me who has been a hunter for years?”

“Well, who knows? Maybe I am that much of a genius.”

Cain laughing with pride, “Hahaha, true, but if you want to trick me, you still need to train for at least 10 years more.”

I whine in response, “That is too long.”

“Because that is how long I have been a hunter.”

“So, you became a hunter when you were 9 years old.”

“Yes, now that I think of it, that is the first time I met Lucy.”

“What did you do at that time?”

“My mother introduced me to Granny Amala so that I can help her with gathering all the ingredients she needs for her medicine.”

“Medicine? You mean the witch potion!”

“Hey, no matter how much it looks like a witch potion, you better not start calling that … I don’t want people to think of Lucy as a granddaughter of some evil witch.”

I looked at Cain as he smiled and started reminiscing about his first meeting with Lucy.

“Fine, I will not call it like that again in the future.”

‘At least not in front of you.’

Cain packed the meat he dismantled from the deer and said, “Let us go back and start to prepare for your next training.”

“Are you sure?”

“Huh?”

“If you give me that lesson, won’t you have a harder time finding me in the future?”

“Maybe, but it is a better option than you dying… and”

“And what?”

“Don’t underestimate me, my son; no matter how well you hide, I can still find you.”

Cain said while giving me his best hunter smile, “I am a hunter, and what I did the best is finding my prey.”

I clap my hands while praising him, “Wow, that was cool, Father, so when will you ask Lucy for a date?”

Cain moved his hide to the side. “Hmm, we have wonderful weather today.”

“Humph, virgins.”

Cain smacked me on the head. “Stop saying what I knew already.”