The elder also waited patiently as the little boy inspected him with great scrutiny. Little Jacob could not detect other myriads of positive feelings in his eyes towards him.

"Senior. Why are you looking at me with those eyes? You don't know me. So why do you like me?" Jacob cautiously asked him.

Just when Jacob was speaking, when he reached the "you don't know me" part, the elder's smile widened imperceptibly but Jacob could not detect that because he was only paying attention to his eyes.

"Of course I like you. I love little innocent children. Especially good boys like you. I know you are a good boy."

Jacob made a weird face at that. Is he playing with me now? Making fun of me?

"Are you trying to be funny, senior? Oh sorry. I am not being disrespectful here, I just want to know whether you are joking with me or not" Jacob blurted out the first sentence without thinking much but quickly realised that it could be misunderstood by the elder. So he quickly clarified the meaning of his question.

"Hahahahaha. Of course not, kid. I am fully serious here. I really like little children like you, especially good ones. Why don't you go and look outside? You will know where we are. How am I supposed to carry someone this far away from the city without having an affinity with them?" The elder guffawed for the second time before replying.

Of course, he is being serious here. He is not like my friends who try to be funny every time. Jacob thought as the elder replied. But when the elder asked him the questions, his thoughts took an abrupt turn.

What?? We are not in the city right now? How can this be? Jacob could not believe the old man's words in front of him. All the time, he thought that they were in some weird house in the city.

As a result, he quickly ran to the door and opened it. What met his eyes was a green forest starting just a hundred or so meters away. He moved forward and looked back.

The house was in the middle of a large clearing fully surrounded by a green forest. He could not believe his eyes. He had never been out of the city in his entire life. Now he was outside the city all of a sudden.

How far are we from the city? Jacob thought of this and quickly ran back to the house to ask the elder. As he entered it, he found the elder looking at him while smiling.

"Senior. Can you tell me how far we are from the city?"

"Hmmm. It is five hours of walk. You can imagine our distance from the city. Right?" The elder replied nonchalantly as if he was talking about the weather.

Jacob stood there stunned, his eyeballs about to pop out of the sockets and mouth so wide open that an egg could be inside of it. That was the level of the shear shock he was feeling right now.

"But but but but why???" After repeating "but" a few times he finally uttered a "why".

"Calm down, kid. Come sit here. Then I will answer your question." The elder motioned towards the remaining unoccupied chair.

Jacob unconsciously obeyed him and sat on the chair in front of the elder, still in a state of shock.

"The reason for bringing you here after walking for five hours is very simple. It is because I love little children. Especially good boys like you." The elder said after Jacob sat down in the chair. His words were a repeat of what he had previously.

Jacob knew that he was serious. He was not joking with him at all. He had carried him and walked for five hours straight on a dark night while it was raining heavily and there was mud. Yet his words seemed so vague and truthful at the same time. It was as if those simple words held some unfathomable meanings that his simple mind could not comprehend at that time.

Jacob slowly recalled all the people he knew who would do that for him. His count came to a grand total of one. Only his mother would take such great pains for him.

Remembering his mother, tears welled up in his eyes. But that was not the only cause of his tears. The love that this unknown kind old man was showering him with was another cause.

He wanted to doubt the old man in front of him very much due to the trauma he had suffered yesterday. He very much wanted to believe that this old man had some ulterior motives and was lying to him.

But the evidence showed that that was not the case. He was free to go anytime and his bag was right in front of him. He was also feeling well. He no longer had a runny nose or a sore throat.

He was aware that a common cold took more than a day to be recovered from at least. But he was feeling healthy right now.

According to the old man, less than a day had passed after he had become unconscious. Jacob believed that he was given some kind of medication while he was unconscious.

A single thought kept repeating itself in his mind, I am not worthy of this. He also voiced his thoughts.

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"I am not worthy of your love." Tears were slowly trickling down his cheeks. But he suddenly felt a rugged hand on his cheeks. He looked up and found the elder standing near him.

Unbeknownst to him, the elder had got up from his chair and came to stand near him. This time, he had no smile on his face. This was the first time he was seeing him without a smile.

"Snotty boy, you are." The elder wiped his cheeks with his old rugged hand while saying those few simple words.

"You may not be aware but you are truly worthy of everything I have done for you till now. My love for you is real, kid. It is never-ending. As long as I am alive, I will always love you. I will always be there for you. No matter where you go or what you become." He said with a serious face as if implying that whatever he said, he was serious and would act upon it.

Those few words were too heavy for his little lonely heart. For the past few months, he missed his mother so much. He was feeling extremely lonely in those months. His world had lost colours after her demise. Now, he could not believe that there was someone else who cared for him so much.

Is this how having a father feels like? Is he like a father to me? Is this what fathers do for their children? Jacob had no response to his questions.

I should tell him about the clan. I trust him. He decided to trust him in the end.

"Thank you." Jacob did not know how to reply to the elder now. The elder's face went back to his usual smile and he sat back on his chair. He started waiting for something.

Jacob took control of his emotions for the umpteenth time during the day. He took a deep breath and started telling him his story.

"My name is Jacob. I am...was a resident of Rokas cla..................."

Jacob started with his introduction and short details of the clan. After that, he moved on to his personal life.

He then told him about the reasons why he left the clan and how his money got stolen. Until he reached that narrow street and lost his consciousness. He did not leave a single point out and told him everything in great detail.

The elder kept nodding at him and didn't interrupt him anywhere during his little speech.

After Jacob finished, he took a deep breath of relief and started looking at the table. He was relieved to share his things with the elder. It was as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He started waiting for the elder's remarks on his actions.

"Little Jacob. Your plan to escape the clan was good. That's why you were able to escape the manor safely. As for your plans after it, they were not as good as your first one." The elder had no smile this time.

He was talking with a serious expression. He also didn't judge whether whatever Jacob did was right or wrong. Jacob was also listening to him intently.

The elder continued, "I can detect many problems with them. I will just name two. Problem number one. Have you heard about paper posters?"

"No."

"Ok. Let me tell you about them. Paper posters are used to search for wanted people or missing persons. They are simple paper pages. But the faces of the said people are drawn on them with the reward written below them. Are you getting me?"

"Yes, senior."

"So Rokas or Kai could spread your posters throughout the whole city and you would have been found in no time."

"But isn't paper expensive and rare? Where would they get all that paper from?" Jacob asked doubtfully.

"Paper is indeed expensive and rare. But it is only so for the common man. Clans have much of it in their stores. They absolutely have the capability to use it for posters." The elder patiently answered his question.

"Ok. Got it." After learning about the first problem, Jacob lost all the confidence he had gained after his success in escaping the manor.

"You told me that you will find an inn to work and live in. Now think about it. If you are able to think about the inn, the people that are searching for you will not be able to. They are much more numerous and older than you. They will visit each and every inn to search for you. And you will have been caught in no time."

"So, my plans were faulty after all. I became overconfident." Jacob said in a depressed tone.

"Haha. Don't worry about it. You are very young after all. Young learn by making mistakes. This is normal. No need to get depressed on a small thing like that."

Jacob became relieved upon hearing the elder's words. "So I cannot return to the city. What should I do now? Can you help me, senior? Also, can you please tell me your name? I cannot call you senior all the time."

"Lad. My name is Father. I am a woodcutter. I sell the wood that I cut to the city every month. Now that you cannot head back to Worlen, why don't you work for me? I will give you three meals a day and pay you 5 bronze coins for your hard work daily. You can also live here with me free of charge. What do you say?"

Jacob's expression again became weird after hearing the elder's name. What kind of name is this? Father? He truly loves little children. But he soon perked up after listening to his job offer.

Jacob was very tempted by the offer. The elder was paying him five times more than uncle Algo. All he had to do was to cut wood. But he would have to vanish on Uncle Algo. He was feeling a bit sad about it.

"But senior, I already work for someone in the city." Jacob finally decided not to call him Father. It felt very weird. He was like a fatherly figure to him. Not a real father.

"Don't worry about that, kid. Your future is more important. You can always visit them in the future." Jacob thought about what he said for a minute or so.

They were not going anywhere just like his mother's room. He would visit them when he become strong enough that nobody can hurt him. So he became relieved and decided to work for the elder.

"Ok. I will work for you."

"Good boy. I have two news for you. One of them is good while the other one is bad. Which one do you want to hear first?"

"Good news first."

"I will start teaching you hunting a few months later when you grow up more."

"Thank you, senior.

"The bad news is that the city clans will track us down in a few days. The guards have already seen me leaving with a boy. So, I have decided to move to my house near Agoross."

"Umm, am I already creating problems for you?" Jacob asked with a sad expression. The elder had done so much for him. But he could not pay him back in any way at all. Instead, he was getting further financial help from him.

In addition to that, he was also getting free food and shelter. All he had to do was to cut woods. He also doubted whether the elder would let him do that or not. Now he had to relocate because of him.

"Not at all, lad. Not at all." The elder replied nonchalantly as if it was not a problem at all.

"Ah. Alright. When do we leave?" Jacob reluctantly accepted his response. What could he even do when the elder clearly did not think about it as a problem?

"Right now. I just have a few things to take care of. It will take just a few moments" After saying that, the elder entered the second room. A few seconds later, he came out of it wearing a large rucksack.

From outside, it seemed to be filled to the brim as if he had already prepared to leave before Jacob woke up and just needed to pick it up. He then picked up an axe from the pile of axes at the side. That axe was in better shape than the others in the pile.

After doing all that, he looked toward Jacob and said,

"Pick your bag, kid. We are leaving now." Jacob became stunned after seeing the elder's behaviour.

Isn't he being too quick? Had he already prepared his rucksack to move out? Strange.

"But senior. The day is about to end. Where would we take shelter at night? What about the wild animals?" When he went out of the house, he could see that it was almost evening.

He had heard from his friends about the forest and the dangerous wild animals it contained. So, he could not help but voice his worries.

"Everything is here with me, son. Don't worry about a thing. As for the wild animals, I have this axe with me." The elder motioned towards the large rucksack he was carrying and raised the axe he was carrying in his right hand.

Hearing that Jacob quickly picked up his bag. He had nothing to worry about after all. The elder started walking and Jacob followed him outside. They started walking straight after exiting the house and quickly entered the forest.

The evening was approaching but there was still light. Even then, Jacob started having problems moving through the forest. This was his first time navigating through the forest. Seeing that, the elder helped him traverse it carefully with patience.

As they traversed the forest, Jacob could not help but ask, "Are we going by the road?"

"Yes, we are."

"But what if the passing caravans see us? Will not they tell the clans in the city about us?"

"That is very smart of you to think about that. You are right but we will dodge them. The road will go through the forest. So, we can take cover behind the trees whenever we want."

"Got it."

Fortunately, no wildlife disturbed them this time. They quickly found the road and started walking in the direction opposite to that of Worlen. They were headed towards Agoross. Hence, a journey lasting for a few weeks started.

The elder was holding an axe in his right hand. And his left hand was free. After a few minutes of walking, he held his free left hand out to Jacob to hold.

Jacob understood his intention and held the elder's hand while smiling innocently. If the passersby had been there right now and had looked at them, they would have thought of them as a grandfather-grandson duo going on a field trip.