Nordberg was sitting far in the freezing Northern lands, where no sensible person would even think to live. But locals weren't exactly that sort of people, especially when you regrettably decided to get to know them better. The stench of freshly disemboweled seals, fish, and sometimes even wolves wasn't the only one of the local repulsive traits of Nordberg. The second was, obviously, the locals, who despised everything that wasn't them. Either the cold here was so unforgiving, or just people here belonged to the species Imbecilus Absolutus. And thirdly, the local environment. If you managed to not freeze to death in the nearby pile of snow, massive predators, blizzards, and general lack of food would do that instead.

"Look, it is him..." A male teen, from face to head covered in a handmade warm furry coat, was dragging a sizable sack through the town square. It was as big as him and the lower part was drenched with blood. A trail of red was going from beyond the gate, disappearing somewhere in the dark forest far away. "The Witch-Boy..."

"What did that bastard get this time?.." whispering around was really annoying to Joura the Witch-Boy, who already had difficulty managing his haul. The hot steam from his breath escaped through the cloth mask that covered the boy's face, leaving only a pair of fiery orange eyes glowing below the cap.

His destination was the mayor's house. Some adventurers could find work here, like hunting monsters or dealing with dangerous wildlife. But since Nordberg was god know where the adventurers here were rare. Just like basic human decency.

"Oi!" Joura raised his fist and hammered several times at the door of the mayor's house. If any of the bounties on the board were fulfilled, the adventurer had to bring them here with proof. And for someone who was just a teen, each hit was surprisingly heavy. Alarmingly so. "Mayor!"

"I am coming, I am coming!" uncertain steps came from inside the building, as the door swung open and a half-drunk man with a red nose appeared in the frame. "Who is... Merciful Gods! It is you!!!"

Mayor was so surprised to see Joura, he almost fell to the ground. The drunken state definitely wasn't helping, but by some miracle man managed to grab onto the nearby table to stabilize himself.

"Yes, yes, Witch-Boy, Bastard Kid, Magical Fiend, yada-yada-yada..." as much as he got used to this attitude from others, sometimes lad had enough. Just as locals possessed little love for him, he despised them in an equal manner. "I fulfilled your contract on the beast that attacked trade caravans. Give me the payment."

"W-what beast?" he was genuinely confused. Yes, the mayor was drunk, but not that much and he was sure a small child couldn't defeat whatever assaulted merchants.

Joura untied his sack and upended it. A massive head of the wolf fell onto the white snow, splashing the blood that still remained in it around. Even dead it was absolutely terrifying. Especially the open mouth, filled with such big teeth that could snap an adult human man in half without effort. Mayor wasn't a brave man, so he freaked out and hid behind the table. His knees were trembling and drunkenness' almost instantly evaporated.

"Wolf Matriarch, one hundred gold pieces," stated Joura, impatiently tapping his leg. People that followed him now looked even more horrified, hiding their children and carefully observing the scene from safe places. "In cash."

"How did you kill that beast, monster?!" yelled the mayor, scared shitless. "Get it out of my sight!!!"

"Money first." a long knife soundly materialized from within the boy's coat, reflecting the light of the rising sun. Joura's gaze became threatening. "And fast. My patience is running thin."

"Okay-okay!!! Give me a minute!" apparently the entire ruckus awakened his family as well. Mayor's fat wife and their offspring had the same reaction, but ten times more annoying.

For fucks sake, why can't this town be filled with loyal and obedient servants that do everything you ask without question, mused Joura while waiting. He thought many times about leaving this accursed land, but something told him that the rest of the world would view him in the exactly same way. He was only half right, but still.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Here is your accursed gold!!!" mayor finally came and threw a nice bag before him, which loudly jingled upon impact. "Now get out of my sight, Fiend!!!"

Joura picked it up and opened it. The friendly gleam of nice golden coins slightly softened his grim exterior, but not before he checked every single one of them. In this inhospitable place, you should be alert.

"Legit." he shoved payment into the small backpack, that was behind him all that time. "Have a nice day."

Witch-Boy waved his hand and the head of the wolf matriarch got engulfed in blue flames. A minute later, even the skull turned to mere ashes. People quickly stepped aside to allow the monster killer to walk by and to stay as far from him as possible. Yes, he had magical talent. Another reason locals viewed him as a freak.

He lived where no one would look. A hidden underground cellar, that seemingly collapsed a long time ago and was thus forgotten, was in fact his little home. First, he had to make sure no one was following him and then sneak back into it, without leaving footprints. This place had a small stove, a sleeping bag, a makeshift table with an uprooted stump for a chair, and a toolbox. Since no one would provide him with services (not locals that is) in this town, he had to learn to take care of everything himself.

"Hey~" a whisper came from the hole above, making Joura raise his head. "Joura~ It is me~"

"Come in."

A cute young girl quickly entered his shelter and closed the cover. She had short, brunette hair with fluffy earmuffs on both sides. A pair of aquamarine eyes looked at the gloomy boy with kindness, love, and warmth. Unlike the lad's barbarian coat, hers was new and pretty. She was carrying a sizable bag that kind of strained for her with heavy contents, but she persisted.

"Joura, that was so cool!" she left the bag on the ground and jumped in to hug her coeval. Despite the size, the girl had a solid grip. "I saw that thing from the roof! You are so strong!!!"

"Yes, thank you, please stop squeezing the life out of me, Kelda." he lightly tapped her on the shoulder like a yielding wrestler. While gold slightly brightened Joura's mood, the presence of the only friend in Nordberg brought him real joy. As small as it was, an actual smile formed on the lad's face. "My body still hurts from the battle."

"I know!" Kelda finally release him, jumped toward her bag, and pulled out several bandages, a salve bottle, and other medical appliances. "That is why I brought this!"

Witch-Boy couldn't allow himself a fireplace, since escaping smoke would eventually attract attention to his hideout. Thus he obtained a stable magical crystal and infused it with powerful fire energy. Where he got it, though, was a different story. After the lad activated the crystal and a warm aura filled the cellar, he began undressing. Despite glowing eyes, Joura was actually pretty handsome. Not gorgeous, but attractive in a manly way. His skin was blueish and had strange white tattoos here and there. When his coat came off, Kelda saw a bunch of fresh wounds that were roughly treated and bandaged. Some were pretty gruesome but non-lethal.

"I am starting." girl carefully removed the old bandages and treated the damage again with salve, spirit, and other things. Kelda worked carefully, trying to cause as little pain for her friend as possible, despite Joura's ability to endure some amount of agony. Then she proceeded to bandage them again. "Please, be more careful out there."

"Even I make mistakes." indifferently stated the boy, gulping on the bottle of milk from his stash. "It is inevitable."

"Could you make fewer mistakes, please?" she looked at him in the eyes from behind. Cue innocently big puppy eyes. "Pretty please?~"

Joura rolled his eyes, but Kelda wasn't going to let him off the hook easily. This girl was more persistent than a grumpy mammoth.

"No promises." (¬__¬)

"Could you make it "all promises", please?" ( ͡❛ ᴗ ͡❛)

"No!" (≖᷆︵︣≖)

"Yes~" ( ͡❛ ‿‿ ͡❛)

"Kelda." (◡̀_◡́#)

"Yes, love?" ( ͡👁️ ‿‿ ͡👁️)

"Zip it." (≖_≖)

"Not a chance, buddy~"  (✿◠‿◠) 

"Figured as much." v( =෴= )v This girl could be a handful, but she was one of the nicest things that ever happened to him in this awful place. Joura rescued her from underneath the broken ice and warmed up to prevent hypothermia. Since then she always followed him, hanging out when adults weren't watching, helping the best she could, and bringing a lot of useful stuff from time to time. She had a kind heart and a strong will - rare qualities in this hole.

"I am done!" she hid all of the remaining medication back in the bag and gathered the leftovers, before excitingly climbing onto the lap of her friend. "Hey, can we do the thing?!"

"Really? Now?" he stated skeptically while trying his everything not to immediately say "yes" to another pair of puppy eyes. "Could I at least rest a bit? That beast was hard to kill."

"Pleeeeeease, Jooooouraaaaaa~"

"Oh, for fu... fine! Come here." being hormonal teenagers, both began kissing. It was obviously Kelda's idea, but Joura agreed for several reasons. One, he wanted to thank her at least in some way for all the help. And two - as grumbling as Witch-Boy was, he liked the process too. This was just some innocent fun between two coevals, right at the age to be interested in such things.

"Mmmm, Joura~~~" girl was greatly enjoying it, already rushing past the light and embarrassed kisses on the cheek or nose. When with Witch-Boy, Kelda didn't make it a secret that she was head over heels for him. She could literally care less what others told her about this lad. And if words found it getting through his dense skull difficult, passionate kisses definitely conveyed the right meaning.

Eventually, they broke this intimate contact. The two looked at each other lovingly for a few more moments, before Kelda finally smiled and hugged him tightly.

"You've got better at this." she pointed coyly. "Were you practicing?"

"Look who is talking~" he returned the embrace. "With how much we are doing this, it is hard not to get better."

While the two were apart, Kelda did everything so that her parents could get off her back for a while. They weren't bad people but feared Witch-Boy nevertheless. Anyway, they believed that their only child has finally overcome her attraction to this weird magic-wielding outcast, but in reality, the girl just got creative and more careful. Joura didn't want her to get into trouble because of him. He was selfish and pragmatic, but not when things concerned his only friend. The lad was ready to come to her for help whenever she needed it. No exceptions.

Now, go back home. Your parents might get worried. I will go hunting tomorrow at dawn. Join me, if you want."

Okay! See ya!"