Sometimes the villain is right

I wake up with the creeping sunlight beginning to come in through the window and stab into my eyes, still feeling drowsy I **** myself out of bed and walk to the door of my bedroom. Living with just my mother, it is a bit small and cramped but I spend most of my time outside so it doesn’t bother me too much and we can’t afford more anyway.

I walk downstairs to the kitchen and eat some of the bread that smells like my mother just got it from the bakery, I dig into it quickly but make sure that I leave a good amount for later. I look around the small kitchen with just a table and a few chairs leaving little room to move around with the counters and cupboards at the sides of the room.

I sigh, knowing what is coming next and change myself into my worn training clothing with my only pair of boots and the leather jacket that I wear over my cotton shirt before leaving my house and stepping out into pain.

My mother is standing there smiling with her sword in hand and throws one to me when I come out, she doesn’t look tired even though she must have been up for a few hours already. Her long raven hair loose as it flows past her shoulders and her bright blue eyes shining with her menacing grin. The other villagers have observed that she doesn’t look much like me in the past with my shock of white hair and brown eyes, as a child I was never quite as physically fit as my mother either, her beauty was always noted by the men of the village with most of them having made a marriage proposal to her at one time or another, even one of the boys tried his luck at one point. But now, after these past four years of training to fight with a sword so that I can become an adventurer like her, I have earned a quite muscular and toned body that even Clen has trouble finding something to bully me about.

“Well, are you just going to stand there? Hit me” my mother says as she gets into her combat stance

I raise my sword and strike a blow as she taught me to, not too worried about hurting her with the dulled edge of the blade. She blocks the blow and strikes towards me with the tip of her sword which I manage to dodge, though not without slipping on the mud and landing on my back.

She laughs as she helps me up and we spend the next hour in the same way, training me so that when I can finally go to the capital and take the test of divinities to become an adventurer, I’ll be ready for everything.

“I think we’ll have to leave it there for today, Lord Beckront wants me to check on an apparent monster sighting near here. It’s probably goblins again” she says as she takes the sword from me and puts them back in the house.

“Your form is really improving though, Canis can’t do any teaching either today remember so you’ll have to wait for tomorrow” she adds as she comes out with her form fitting adventurer armour that she got years ago and her sword, from the glint of the blade not a training one.

“Okay, well I was going to hang out with Henry and Elsie for a bit” I say and get an expectant look from my mother

I sigh, “and then I’ll do my chores?” I say questioningly

“that’s a good boy” she says with a smile and ruffles my hair as we both leave out of the gate; she gives me a hug before walking away from the village whilst I go in the other direction towards it.

As I get near to the village, I see Elsie and Henry sitting on a fence and talking with each other as they wait for me. I walk closer and they look up to see me, both their faces lighting up.

“Aucus!” Elsie says excitedly, jumping down from the fence and wrapping me in the hug.

She had taken to hugging me a lot recently, I’m not sure why but I can’t say that I mind. She’s always been a beautiful girl that most of the boys in the village has had their eye on, even Clen; recently she’s become more attractive as she trains to become an adventurer like me, spending more time outside has given her once pale skin a slightly darker tan and she has also been filling out her training clothing nicely. As she hugs me, I can smell the floral scent of her deep red hair.

“Elsie, sorry I’m late I was just training with mother” I say as she eventually lets me out of her embrace.

“Right, when is Sephenia going to train me? I need it, you’re already great with a sword” she pouts

I can’t help but smile as she compliments me, especially since I work so hard at my training.

“With all the work that Lord Beckront has been giving to her recently she doesn’t have much time” I say and see her disappointed expression, “but I’ll talk with her and see if you can join one of our sessions” I add quickly.

Her face lights up at that and she puts her arm around my arm, making my face flush as I feel her chest pressing against my arm. Henry climbs down from the fence and joins us; Henry was the son of the bakers in town and had never had much interest in adventuring like Elsie and I, instead he much prefers helping his parents with the baking and cooking. Henry had become a good cook recently and often helped out the nearby farmers in exchange for some ingredients that he could use to practice new recipes. He had never been athletically inclined either and had a rotund figure, with his weight being the source of constant bullying from Clen and his cronies

“I don’t think I’m quite as excited as Elsie to see you” he says with a smile, making Elsie blush but keeping hold of my arm still

“But come on, I’m helping Mr Cranley milk his cows later, he said I can have my pick of his crops for it” he adds, sounding more excited than he should about that.

We walk into the village square, Blue-Rock is a rather small village with only a few dozen people living there and nearby, less than a hundred in total. However it is the closest village to the Lord’s manor which is only an hour’s walk away and where Elsie lives with her sister and mother who works as a servant. As a result of it being so close to the manor, Lord Beckront spent most of his time in Blue-Rock instead of the two other villages that lay in the lands that he governs.

Looking around the stalls in the village square we see a few people that say hi to us and we eventually get to Henry’s bakery where we stand outside and talk whilst the smell of fresh bread wafts towards us.

As we are talking with each other, Elsie still insisting on clutching my arm as I can’t help but notice the impressive curves of her chest; a group of people come towards us with Clen at the lead, and wearing his dulled axe that he trains with and brags about how many monsters he has killed with it though I suspect that the real number is closer to zero.

“Look it’s the fatty!” Clen exclaims as he walks up to us and towers over henry by a good foot, his training and natural strength making him the strongest of us and not someone that I would want to pick a fight with

His followers make some more taunts at us, mostly at Henry but also some about my white hair as usual. I see that Kira is with them still, she is a pretty girl with long blonde hair and brown eyes and an excellent figure. Henry, like most boys had a crush on her before she started hanging out with Clen and seemed to take a specific pleasure in bullying Henry in particular.

“Ugh, go away Clen. Don’t you need to help your dad out of the tavern” Elsie says, trying to take his attention away from Henry

Clen’s eyes light up at that provocation, his anger worn on his face like a mask as he pushes towards Elsie, “What?! You little b-“ he starts to say but is cut off by a cheerful voice

“Boys, we’re not making trouble, are we? I know how well behaved you can be when you want to Clen” Lord Beckront says as he walks towards them in his clothes that manage to look expensive but not gaudy

As they see him, some of Clen’s followers start to quietly walk away from us and disperse into the village.

“Uh, no. Sorry Lord Beckront, we were just talking “ Clen says as he backs up away from Elsie, looking around and seeing only Kira and one other is still with him

“We were just going down to the lake” he adds before moving to walk away with what was left of his friends

“Good, good, that’s what I like to hear. You be safe at the lake, make sure no one drowns” Lord Beckront calls after him before turning back to me and my friends

“You seem to have a habit of getting on his bad side” Lord Beckront says, and lets out a little sigh, “Can’t be helped I suppose. Anyway, the reason I’m here, I should get to it” he says as I look at him quizzically.

“Don’t look at me like that boy, I’m not senile yet. I was wondering if you three would like to go on a hunt with me” he says, his voice taking on a conspiratorial tone towards the end, “Mr. Brakker tells me that he saw some Elk in the woods nearby and I was thinking we could get one of them “ he adds as his voice goes back to his usual deep cheerful tone.

“Er, sorry Lord Beckront but I can’t. I’m helping Mr Cranley with his cows later” Henry says, not sounding too disappointed as he has never been fond of hunting himself

“I can’t either, mother has me doing chores and needs me to look after Rosie for a bit “ Elsie says, get disappointment audible in her voice, I know she wants to try out her training in something like hunting.

“Ah, a shame, a shame for sure” Lord Beckront says as he turns his gaze to me, “Ah well, looks like it’ll just be me and you Aucus. We’ll have ourselves a boys hunt” he says with the mischievous grin that he is so fond of

Before I can say anything, he gives me a friendly but hard slap on my back, “I’ll meet you in the clover clearing in the forest after lunch. See if Canis will let you borrow a bow, I have spears for us” he says and walks off, whistling a tune.

“Well, looks like I’m going hunting” I say with a confused shrug as Henry and Elsie crack up in laughter, something that isn’t uncommon after talking with Lord Beckront.