Arthur, a little offended at the young man's arrogant tone let out a small growl before finally speaking up.

"--Ahem-- We're both travelers, me and my son here have been going towards the capital city after hearing that the great first-born princess of the demi-human kingdom Nadia would celebrate her 18th birthday soon, so we decided such a wonderful event could not be missed." Arthur carried a fake dumb looking smile plastered on his face in order to hide his annoyance with the nosy guard.

The guard inspected his face carefully, his eyes narrowing and his wolf ears perking up in curiosity, his gaze then switched to Yuri, the small boy's expression was blank with a cruel and arrogant glint in his eyes, the guard looked at the two mysterious figures with a unreadable expression, his eyes landing on the glaive in Arthur's hand and he asked:

"That's one hell of a weapon you got there old man, were you an officer or a captain in the army or something?" The guard's curiosity was piqued by Arthur's weapon, his question did not carry any suspicion or ill will, just genuine curiosity.

Arthur hesitated a little as if recalling some bad memories, after a while he let out a long sigh before responding. "I was a captain in the last war against the demons." His expression darkened, what was this new expression? Maybe regret?

"Against the demons?" At first Yuri thought it was a simply a cover-up story to hide the fact that Arthur was a demon himself however oddly enough Arthur's face said otherwise, he was completly serious about fighting against the demons, deciding it was a risky matter to approach Yuri decide to leave it alone, for now.

The guard looked at them, his eyes flickering between Yuri and Arthur constantly with a gleam of doubt. After a few seconds the guard groaned, he looked down behind the gate almost as if his eyes searched for something or someone.

"Alright! Open the gates, it's just two travelers!" As soon as the words left the soldiers lips, the tall gates started to open inwards as a clunking noise can be heard from behind them almost like giant rusty gears spinning, the gate opened only halfway but it was just enough for both of them to pass comfortably.

They both walk through the gate revealing the decent sized village, the building were different from what Yuri was used to, they were like giant round huts made with wood and thatch, some of the bigger ones even with clay plastered on the walls, the clay walls were painted with tribal red patterns that looked like animals and symbols telling small stories, as we walls got bigger so did the stories... not like Yuri understood any of it anyways so he didn't bother much with it.

After walking for a few minutes through the city and observing how wierdly friendly the crowd was they reached a building with a familiar structure like that built by humans, the building had a small wooden sign hanging by the roof, it had a picture of a cup of ale and a bed painted onto it, guess this is a inn.

"I guess making public buildings like this similar to how other countries and races make them and putting up a sign makes them easier to spot and brings in more business."

They saw that some people were sitting at the bar already drinking ale in the morning while some were eating breakfast, most of them were humans or elves, the only demi-humans there were the bartender and the barmaid.

The bartender was a tall old man with messy short brown hair and a scruffy beard with kind soft brown eyes, he had small round ears and very hairy arms, his chest hair sticking out a little from under his white apron, with a warm smile he looked at us and nodded.

Arthur walked in and sat down at a table in the corner, away from everyone else, resting his glaive against the wall next to him, Yuri shortly after followed him and sat down opposite of him...

"So that's a bear demi-human huh." Yuri's mind wandered about just how big and strong would some demi-humans grow seeing as the barman looked to be almost two meters tall and had a very 'robust' build, what Yuri meant by that is that he was like Arthur, a big belly but his limbs were muscular.

A friendly energetic feminine voice broke the silence that was looming over the table and it snapped Yuri back to reality.

"So what can I get you two handsome gentlemen?" It was the barmaid, she had a similar appearance to the barman, short shoulder length brown hair that parted in the middle which slightly curled at the tips, brown eyes and a friendly face with two small cute round ears.

She wore a yellowish short sleeved shirt and over it a brown corset and a short brown apron tied around her waist, her green skirt flowed down to just above her knees complimenting her supple figure that stood on two short light brown heels.

"I'll have a cup of ale and some lamb." Arthur said before looking at the blonde boy sitting opposite of him.

The barmaid nodded then looked at Yuri. "And what about you honey?" She slightly bent down, her hands resting on her knees, her ample chest being emphasized by the tight corset around her waist and the bra connected to it, it was certainly a sight to behold for a six year old boy like Yuri or any man for that matter.

A small blush grew on Yuri's face, he didn't know much about the charms of women as most women he saw in his village dressed very modestly compared to the barmaid except the teenage girls who wore more provocative clothing but still much more modest than what the barmaid was wearing. Plus he didn't care normally as he was busy playing or training so seeing such alluring 'things' right in front of him made him nervous.

"I- I- I-" Yuri stuttered his words, cursing himself in his head, how could his words betray him in a time like this!

The barmaid looked at Arthur, they both started laughing, her soft laughter was the definition of angelic, music to anyone's ears while Arthur's was barbaric and obnoxious.

After wiping a small tear of joy from his eye Arthur speaks out. "He'll have some milk and chicken breast." The old coot obviously teased the flustered young boy by putting emphasis on certain words, the barmaid nodded and left, with the corner of his eye Yuri watched as the barmaid walked away, her hips swayed with every step as her voluptuous -.....

GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER YURI!!

"--Ha Ha Ha-- I didn't know I was raising a little pervert." Arthur said while laughing out loud attracting the attention of the others in the inn, thankfully nobody seemed to care and went back to their own business.

"Shut up you useless master! I wasn't looking on purpose, it was just..." Yuri stops himself not wanting to dig a bigger hole for himself than he already has, he takes a deep breath finally calming himself down.

The barmaid later came back with they're food and drinks. "You two boys enjoy your food." She says in a low seductive tone and winks at the yellow haired boy after setting down the food and drinks before leaving to take the other customer's orders, her hips swaying-.....

AGAIN!!! GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER YURI!!!

Both of them just ate silently, Yuri made sure to make each chew count as the flavor of the chicken meat seemed heavenly as it melted in his mouth, maybe being served food by a pretty lady did make it taste better or it's just that not having to eat those stupid pellets just made anything taste good.

"Kid, we're switching back to walking during the day, if we're lucky we'll find a caravan to take us the rest of the way there, at this rate on foot by the time we reach the capital we won't have time to explore." His words barely coherant as his mouth was filled to the brim with food.

Yuri just nods in agreement.

"But what are we doing after that?"

Arthur's expression darkened. "I..." A long silence befalls as they both stare at each other, finally Arthur finally responded hesitantly. "Training." His words felt empty, was he telling a lie? Why would he lie about something like this, did he have plans he couldn't tell Yuri about?

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The boy wanted to dismiss his as paranoia however just from the way Arthur answered he understood that something will happen while or after they're visit to the beast capital that will lead them apart.

As they continued eating they looked around nonchalantly, scoping out the people there, most likely everyone there was either an adventurer or a merchant.

They spot a rather small group at a round table, four overly equipped people, young... all around 16 or 18 years old, most likely new adventurers who had barely or no experience in actual combat and a older gentleman who wore very refined garments, blue silky cape that overlaid with his brown layered outfit he had underneath, the rich man had a very smug look on his face as he ate a table full of food by himself, his weirdly shaped mustache looping over itself as his slimy long blonde hair slicked back.

While stuffing his face with unholy amounts of food he was glaring lustfully at one of the adventurers at the table, it was a rather tall elven woman, she was very... gifted in the chest department.

She seemed uncomfortable and shy, probably not being strong-willed enough to talk back to her employer who was staring at her chest shamelessly, her green hunter's tunic and brown corset that also doubled as a bra pushed up her 'assets', it probably wasn't her fault she had to wear such outfit, it was probably just that archers and hunters had to wear light armor that wouldn't make noise, the question of the design however, Yuri didn't understand it.

She suddenly stood up and walked away, her long blonde hair dragging in the wind and her emerald green eyes were forming tears.

One of the other party members, a tall brown haired man, heavily armored in a steel suit of well decorated armor, followed her outside with a stare of worry, his spear dragging behind him as it wobbled on his back.

The only party members left were what looked like a petite human girl whose head was covered by an amusingly large black and pointed witch's hat and her body enveloped in a black mysterious robe with small dots on it almost like the night sky, her expression remained stoic despite the events that just occurred, almost non-caring.

The last member was also a human, a smaller man, he had some light armor on with two short twin blades attached to his waist, he looked like he was the youngest of the group, his dark blue hair covered his face barely allowing his two deep empty azure eyes to be seen, he looked like had had seen the most ammount of battle despite being the youngest in that group, perhaps another child of misfortune born into this dark world like Yuri.

"Kid, what do you think?" Arthur's eyes were locked onto the fat merchant.

Yuri just nods.

A few minutes later the two of them finally finish their food and drinks, they go to the bar and pay then head to the merchant's table sitting in the seats of the two adventurer's that just left, the merchant looks up at them, his eyes narrow with curiosity and annoyance, he stops stuffing his puffy face with food and wipes away the mixture of sauces from his face with a napkin.

"What do you people want?" He says, lifting his chin high as if trying to look down on the two strangers, his gluttonous voice is filled with arrogance, truth be told it took everything in Yuri to not rip out the greasy man's throat right then and there for speaking to him in such a manner but thankfully he resisted the urge.

The hooded man clears his throat. "Me and my son here were looking for a ride to the Beast Capital of Fang and we wondered if you, an obviously generous and wealthy merchant, were willing to give us a lift, for a fee of course, we aren't asking for charity.

The merchant rubs his chin, or at least one of them, he was so fat he had two rolls of fat where his chin was supposed to be, it was disgusting but also a show of wealth between those who didn't have to fight, being fat as a merchant or farmer meant you were well off, however being fat as a king or a aristocrat showed laziness and weakness.

"Hmmm, you do look much more experienced than these fools." The merchant's insult seems to not have even fazed the two adventurers. "Very well, five silver coins and you'll protect me and my merchandise."

Arthur thought about it for a few seconds, he nodded and shook the greasy hand of the merchant.

After that things went by smoothly the rest of the day, everyone got in the carriage and rode away from teh village, Yuri and Arthur stayed in the back with the adventurers and the many rolls of expensive cloth and silks while the merchant drove the carriage, it was silent, the elf girl was still teary but seemed to have relaxed while the brown haired boy calmed her down, they seemed close maybe even lovers, they're two companions were calm and silent.

Before Yuri even noticed night was falling, the sky was a mix of red and orange with streaks of light hitting the ground, the merchant drove the carriage off the road into a nearby clearing, they all got down and set up camp, however Yuri just went to sleep before even eating.

A few minutes later a scream of horror can be heard as it howled through the empty night sky waking Yuri up, he walks out of his tent, night had fallen and the sky was pitch black, the stars were just starting to soar, the camp was in shambel, blood and viscera everywhere, the merchants belly and throat were cut open, the heavily armored boy was a mess, blood filled gashes pierced through his armor as his lifeless body was sitting against the carriage, spear still in hand, the bodies of the two others were were cut up so many times they're bodies were almost unrecognizable.

Yuri looked ahead and saw the elven woman running towards his tent with tears falling down her cheeks, her eyes pleading for help and filled with fear as she screamed for someone to save her.

"Please help me!" Just as she finished her sentence her head was cut off, it was so fast she didn't even notice, even though her head had fallen off her body still ran for a few seconds before plotting down.

Yuri looked at the killer, It was Arthur, his eyes glowing in the night with a toxic green color as he cleaned the blood off the blade of his glaive with one swing sending leaves into the air, their eyes met.

.....

"You should have left it to me, it would have been a good experiment to see how much my strength has grown." The blonde boy says while looking at all the blood and guts spread out. "It would probably have been cleaner too."

The man's face relaxes. "You're still a kid, you need your eight hours of sleep in order to grow, plus." He looks at the corpse of the blue haired boy and the petite human sorceress, his eyes slightly narrowing. "You wouldn't have been able to handle those two, especially the boy, he was a tricky one."

"--Sigh-- Sure, whatever you say, anyways I'm taking his blades, tehy looked reliable." Yuri said while walking towards the corpse but Arthur stopped him by putting his hand in front of the golden haired boy. "Huh? What?"

"Not yet kid, after the princesses birthday, only then will you be allowed to get a weapon." Arthur said.

Yuri looked at him clearly confused, Why after that concrete date? Why not now?

"What does it matter, I won't use them until you let me so I'm just saving them for later, that way I don't have to buy a weapon, it's a win-win." Yuri says, pushing Arthur's hand aside and walking towards the dark blue haired boy's body. But suddenly he felt something.

It was Arthur, he had punched him in the side making Yuri fall to the ground gasping for air, Arthur hit him right in the kidney, a strong and precise strike.

Yuri looked up at him, anger swelling up on his face. "What's the big idea you bastard?" His voice scrambled in pain.

"It seems I've been too soft on you and now you won't even listen to your master, so starting now this will be your second lesson." Arthur grabbed the hurt boy by the collar picking him up off the ground, he then slammed Yuri back into the ground with so much force it cracked a little under the boy's small body.

He let out a big gasp for air before getting on his hands and knees gasping for air and even vomiting a bit, had he been a moment late in activating Physical Enhancement his body and organs would be a pile of mush.

"Yuri, what is the most important thing in a fight?" Arthur said, this was one of the few times he ever called Yuri out by his name, the boy could tell his master was truly serious now. He look up at him and took another big gasp for air before responding, pushing through the pain.

"Victory." While logically speaking his answer was right, the look on Arthur's face said otherwise. With one swift movement he had kicked Yuri into the side of the carriage making his body topple next to the brown haired knight's corpse.

"Wrong, it's killing, your every action during a fight must be focused on one of two things, to kill or to avoid being killed, the rest doesn't matter except yourself." Arthur's words, while they seemed obvious and shallow they were actually very deep, sometimes the deepest understandings came from shallow words such as these.

Finally after staggering for a bit Yuri stood on his feet raising his gaze to meet Arthur's, his eyes narrowing and reflecting hatred and killing intent.

Arthur's face softened. "Good." He dismissed Yuri and went into the tent falling asleep in less than a second while Yuri just stood there, deep in thought. His mind raced with every fight, his flaws, attacks he could have predicted and dogged, missed opportunities to strike, what Arthur said was true, during his fights he was often distracted and useless thoughts that popped into his mind at the worst times possible.

"I've killed a pack of wolves taller than men and a group bloodthirsty bandits not to mention the kobolds at only six, I should be praised by him for my prowess and genius, yet why do I feel so unsatisfied."

Yuri looks over to Arthur's slumped over sleeping body, a small flame appearing in his hand, his control over magic had gotten much better Arthur probably couldn't sense the mana. Yuri looked at the sleeping demon, his mind filled with the echoing of his voice, 'It's killing, your every action during a fight must be focused on one of two actions, to kill or to avoid being killed, the rest doesn't matter except yourself.'

.....

Yuri dismissed the flame from his palm and shook his head.

"Not yet master, I'm going to have you teach me everything you know then use it to kill you." Yuri's words were as sharp as daggers, he went to the tent of one of the adventurers fell asleep in it.

A small satisfied smile creeped up on Arthur's sleeping face.

One week before the princesses birthday...