Zack turned around to see who it was. Behind him stood a massive guy in a tight shirt that showcased his muscles, wielding a huge axe in one arm, and looking at him with a friendly smile on his face.

"Good morning to you too, Lorent," Zack replied to the lumberjack's enthusiastic greeting.

"Hahaha. As calm as ever. That's good. We don't want our new doctor to be a bundle of nerves," Lorent began as he rested his axe on the ground. Evidently, he intended to stop and chat for a while.

Lorent is one of the lumberjacks who supply the city with firewood. Every day, he and his colleagues venture into the depths of the forest to find good trees to chop down. Winters here in the north can be very cold, so their work is essential for the entire community. Without wood, it's hard to say how many people would survive the winter. Not everyone can conjure fire from their hands. That's why they take their work very seriously.

Zack met Lorent in the early days of exploration. For a moment, he thought he had stumbled upon a bear. When he learned of the misunderstanding, Lorent laughed for almost a minute.

It must be said that Lorent is one of the most honest people Zack has ever met. The first time he encountered Zack, he asked him something that left him completely bewildered: "Sorry not to be a bear. You also don't seem to be the exiled prince desperately fighting for his lover, as I've heard."

It must be said that he had never met someone as brutally honest as Lorent. Though, thanks to him, Zack learned a bit about some of the rumors circulating in the city about him. It turns out the previous doctor didn't have the best reputation one could have, and upon seeing Zack as the new doctor, people couldn't help but speculate about his origin.

However, that wasn't the last rumor he heard from Lorent's mouth. Rumors about him being a merchant with enough gold to buy the continent, or a spy trying to uncover the kingdom's military secrets—there's even a rumor that he's a degenerate practicing black magic and is wanted by the church.

It has reached the point where Zack suspects that Lorent makes up new rumors every time they meet. However, the last one isn't too far from the truth.

That doesn't mean Lorent is a bad person. In fact, Lorent has been one of the most enthusiastic in welcoming him. Thanks to his help, Zack was able to navigate the forest with ease. Moreover, he pointed out places where certain herbs grew that were very useful to him in making medicine, or at least attempting to.

"And who's this little friend of yours?" the lumberjack asked, bringing Zack's attention back to the conversation.

"This is Titan. I bought him from old Harris's pet store just a couple of days ago. Say hello, Titan."

Woof

Titan started barking energetically in Zack's direction as if seeking his attention. Basically, after looking at Lorent for a while, he lost complete interest in him.

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Seeing this, Zack smiled bitterly. "Sorry, I'm still teaching him."

"Hahaha. What an energetic little dog. I didn't know old Harris still sold pets. I thought he had switched to a more dangerous species," the lumberjack replied with a smile, observing how playful Zack's new little friend was.

"By the way, have you heard the rumors?"

Zack raised an eyebrow and looked at him intently. Is this another rumor about my mysterious origin? What am I this time? A bandit? A pirate? Or am I a tomb raider, perhaps?

Although some of the rumors he had heard were amusing, most had negative connotations. He was already used to it, and he took it with a bit of humor. It's one of the few things that entertain him these days, aside from learning magic.

Thinking about that, for a moment, Zack felt as if someone was glaring at him. When he looked in that direction, all he saw was Titan playing with his tail.

"Hahaha. No. It has nothing to do with you. Apparently, someone important has decided to improve the infrastructure of this area, and it's said that a message will arrive from the nearest city to see if it's worth building a road to facilitate traffic. The mayor is super excited about the news. Someone saw him jumping in his office," Lorent said, imagining his elderly mayor jumping like a schoolgirl and couldn't help but smile.

Zack was reminded once again that privacy doesn't exist in this town. Presumably, tomorrow Titan will be in the rumors of its inhabitants, along with his mysterious owner, as a three-meter-tall dog that devours the corpses of its victims.

"A road now? What happened that the town deserves this attention?" Zack asked, confused by the news.

"Who knows what those at the top are thinking? Apparently, it's not just our town; almost the entire northern area is undergoing improvements in its infrastructure. It is said that the goal is to facilitate the mobilization of troops for the fight against the demons," Lorent shrugged. For him, these kinds of things didn't affect him much. His life will continue the same, whether there are new roads or not.

Zack began to have a strange thought. Logically speaking, there is no reason for this to happen. There has been no news from the northern front, and there have been no reports of any kind of disturbances. This new message and the change in infrastructure throughout the northern region of the kingdom was weird. Too much work. He is sure, there is something else planned.

(It does not matter. No one would be crazy enough to make such a big change in the kingdom considering the material and economic expenses it would entail, without a big objetive. Probably the ripples will not reach here) he thought as he shook his head to rid himself of these fantasies.

"Lorent. Where are you, blockhead?" Suddenly a voice started to be heard from among the trees.

"I'm here," Lorent replied with a smile.

The sound of someone traversing the underbrush began to ring in both their ears moments before another person dressed similarly to Lorent and with an axe appeared before them. The only difference is that he didn't seem as friendly.

"What are you doing here playing? We have work to do," the new individual scolded before indescribably looking at Zack.

"Sorry, sorry. I got distracted chatting," Lorent said as he slung his axe over his arm.

"See you another day," he said goodbye to Zack. And after that, he started walking in the direction of his companion.

The new figure seemed to want to say something, but seeing Lorent walking away, he changed his mind and began to follow him.

Zack sighed in relief. He was familiar with that kind of look. It wasn't the first time he'd been looked at like that since he came to the town. Apparently, not everyone has as good an impression of him as he would have liked. Still, those people usually keep their distance and pretend he doesn't exist. It was the first time someone was going to talk to him. Zack isn't sure how to take that conversation.

Zack shook his head. It doesn't matter. There are more important things to do now. After looking around, he noticed a quite important detail.

Titan was gone.