Two days passed after he decided to go.

And with each passing day, the dread grew heavier, because sooner or later, he would have to tell his parents that he was leaving town.

For now, he chose the coward’s way and put off telling them, quietly packing his things for the journey and carefully setting aside a few essentials.

He had already packed quite a lot, hidden underneath a loose floorboard: a waterskin, flint and steel, a spare bowstring, a whetstone, a coil of cord, dried meat, a pouch of barley, a few healing herbs wrapped in cloth, and lastly, some clothes.

It still didn’t feel quite real yet.

But he was really doing this. His first adventure was drawing close, and beneath the dread, excitement began to stir.

Once he dealt with the two major problems still standing in his way, he would be ready to go.

One was, of course, his parents, and the longer he waited, the more it gnawed at his conscience.

Talmir should take it... reasonably well, at least. He, of all people, should understand his desire for adventure. But Saldia—

Teclos rubbed the back of his neck as he thought about it.

She wouldn’t take it lightly.

Not at all.

He could already imagine the look of disbelief on her face, the way her voice would rise in protest, and the way she would question him over and over, asking if he was really sure while trying to force him to change his mind.

"...Yeah... that’s gonna be a rough talk," he muttered under his breath.

The second problem was Gillard.

He was royally pissed at him. Every time Teclos tried to apologize, he was brushed off, and more than once, he had to endure some harsh but fair words from him—words that stung more than he wanted to admit.

It was a godsent miracle that Ralph managed to convince him to go on a hunt together.

Teclos still didn’t know how he had pulled that off, and honestly, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. It was probably better not to question how much he owed him now.

All that mattered was—

They were going.

And he was given a chance to reconcile with Gillard through a leisurely hunt.

Teclos finished gearing up, tightening the last strap of his equipment before stepping out of his room. As he passed through the kitchen, he spotted Talmir sitting at the table, calmly drinking his tea as usual, the morning light filtering in through the window behind him.

Talmir looked up as Teclos entered.

"Huh? Did you start hunting again today?"

Teclos walked over to the drawers, pulled out a cup for himself, and began preparing tea without much thought.

"No," he replied, a small smile forming. "I’m going hunting with Gillard and Ralph today."

Talmir raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting that answer.

"And your mentor?"

Teclos shrugged lightly, pouring hot water into the cup.

"Dad, we’re all about to get promoted anyway. We’re basically done with the trainee year... and we’re in a group of three this time. That’s more than enough."

Talmir didn’t look convinced.

In fact, he interrupted him before he could continue.

"And did you run it by the guild master?"

Teclos paused mid-motion.

"...No?"

Talmir shook his head.

"Then do that before you leave, or you’ll have hell to pay."

Teclos let out a small laugh, trying to brush it off.

"Haha... you’re joking, right?"

Talmir was serious.

"You’ve seen our guild master," he said flatly. "He is strict about safety, so if you don’t want to be punished, you better get his permission first."

Teclos swallowed.

"...Yeah. Alright."

He drank his tea a bit faster than usual, the warmth settling in his chest before he set the cup aside and headed out.

By the time he reached the guild hall, Gillard and Ralph were already waiting near the entrance.

Ralph was the first to notice him.

"For once you’re not late... color me surprised."

Teclos smirked faintly as he approached, giving them both a nod.

Gillard ignored him.

The tension was still there, but it should get better over time, Teclos thought.

"Listen," Teclos said, getting straight to the point before things could get awkward. "We need to run today’s hunt by the guild master, or we’ll get punished, apparently."

Ralph blinked in confusion.

"What? Why?"

"Dad told me," Teclos replied. "So just trust me on this one."

Gillard let out a quiet scoff.

"Hard to do that these days..."

The words hung in the air for a moment.

Teclos didn’t respond, and neither did Ralph.

Instead, they just went inside in silence.

The guild hall was already alive with activity, hunters moving about, voices overlapping as assignments were taken and groups formed. The usual rhythm of the place was in full swing.

At the reception, they asked about meeting the guild master.

It was possible, but they would have to wait for an hour.

So they waited.

They took a seat at one of the tables closest to the stairs. The conversation between them was light and mostly carried by Ralph, who seemed determined to keep things from getting too awkward.

Teclos responded when asked, while Gillard mostly stayed quiet, occasionally nodding or giving short replies.

The time dragged on... and Ralph was almost at his wits’ end.

But eventually—

They were called up.

The moment they stepped into the guild master’s room, he was leisurely writing on some parchment and stamping some documents, focused on the task at hand.

They greeted him and explained why they were there.

Teclos handled most of the talking, his tone steady and composed, almost like he was presenting a request in a formal setting rather than asking for permission to go on a hunt.

The guild master stopped his quill and looked at them for the first time. A long silence stretched between them before he answered.

After a while, he nodded, as if finally reaching a decision.

"You can go."

Relief washed over them.

"Under one condition," he added.

They straightened slightly.

"You stay within range of a senior hunter patrol team," he continued, his voice firm. "And you carry emergency flares with you. All of you."

A pause followed.

"If something goes wrong—send the signal immediately."

Teclos nodded without hesitation.

"Yes, sir."

Ralph grinned.

Gillard kept his expression steady, but the slight shift in his posture gave him away. He was pleased, even if he was trying not to show it.

This had been their dream since they were kids.

"Don’t make me regret it," the guild master added, already turning his attention elsewhere.

They didn’t need to be told twice and left the room immediately.

By the time they stepped back outside, the tension between them had eased just a little. It wasn’t gone—but at least it wasn’t as suffocating and awkward as before.

Ralph stretched his arms with a satisfied grin.

"Well... that went better than expected."

Teclos nodded, adjusting his gear slightly.

Gillard remained quiet.

But when they started moving, his steps seemed lighter than before. There was an unusual spring in his step.

A hint of excitement.

They left the village not long after.

The gates of Kolma were behind them as they stepped onto the familiar dirt road leading into the woods, the last traces of the village’s safety fading with each step they took forward.

For a while, none of them spoke.

The sound of their boots against the damp ground, the rustling of branches in the light wind, and the distant murmur of the river ahead filled the silence.

Gillard walked slightly ahead at first, still tense and holding onto that frustration.

But as the trees grew denser and they reached the river, he seemed to have cleared his mind a bit.

"...So," he muttered after a while, breaking the awkward silence at last, "what are we even hunting today?"

Ralph smirked slightly.

"Finally! There he is, our shy and angry little princess."

Teclos let out a small breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

"Anything decent," he replied. "I didn’t take a specific request. Figured we’d scout the area first."

Gillard grunted in acknowledgement.

"Figures."

It wasn’t much, but at least he replied to him now.

They crossed the river not long after, the steady sound of flowing water growing distant as they walked further into the forest.

They slowed near a clearing marked on their map, eyes scanning the area for a decent hunting ground near a patrol.

"Alright," Ralph said, hands on the map as he looked around, "before we go—"

He glanced at Gillard.

"Stop being such a butt-hurt sack of sulking misery."

Gillard shot him an annoyed look.

"Oh, shut up already! Is it so wrong to dream like we promised?!"

Ralph didn’t back down.

"Of course not," he said. "But this is what he wants to do. And at least he told us a few days in advance."

Teclos shifted slightly, then spoke up.

"It’s not like I’ll never come back. I’ll probably be working under Axel for a few years first... which means I’ll be in Lupos. I can stay in contact with you two."

Gillard’s expression didn’t change much, but he relented a bit.

"You better," he said after a moment. "If you break even that promise... don’t bother coming back. I’ll beat you up the second I see you."

Teclos blinked, slightly caught off guard by how quickly that turned around.

Then a grin spread across his face, pure relief spreading throughout his body.

"Yeah, I will," he said, his tone lighter now. "I’ll write as many letters as I can too. And we can meet up sometimes... who knows, maybe you’ll even come adventuring with me someday?"

Ralph snorted.

"Alright, alright, hold your horses there, pal."

Teclos frowned slightly. "What?"

"We agree to meet up," Ralph said, shaking his head with a grin. "Not to follow you around and beg on the streets for spare change."

Teclos blinked.

"What do you mean?"

Ralph raised a brow.

"Oh, come on, man... you’re a dreamer."

He crossed his arms, still smiling—but there was a bit more weight behind his words now.

"Sure, everything sounds great if it all works out. Fame, money, adventure... but it rarely goes that smoothly, you know."

Teclos didn’t interrupt.

"You’re basically trading a stable job in a town that knows you," Ralph continued, "for an unknown job that some geezer you barely knew for a year offered you."

A small pause.

"And on top of that, you’re planning to leave that job too... just to go adventuring."

Teclos scratched the back of his head.

"...Well, when you put it like that..."

Ralph grinned.

"Yeah. Sounds pretty bad, doesn’t it?"

Teclos let out a quiet huff, glancing toward the river as the current rushed past.

For a moment, he said nothing.

Then—

"...I’m still gonna do it."

Ralph chuckled.

"Figured."

Gillard shook his head, but the frustration behind it had dulled.

"Idiot," he muttered.

Teclos just smiled.

They crossed the clearing and entered the forest on the other side, the open space behind them vanishing beneath a wall of trunks, shadow, and tangled roots.

They were now entering the deeper parts, and the scenery changed slightly.

The trees grew taller and closer together, their branches choking out most of the light and leaving the path ahead dim and uncertain. Strange plants crept between the roots, and the undergrowth was thick enough to hide anything from a rabbit to a predator.

The air felt cooler there, heavier somehow, filled with the scent of wet bark and old earth. It was beautiful in the way dangerous things often were.

For Teclos, however, the place did not feel unfamiliar anymore.

Not completely.

There had been a time when entering this part of the forest would have made his shoulders tense and his hand drift toward his weapon. The deeper woods had always felt like a boundary, a place where children, farmers, and careless people did not belong.

But after months of being dragged through these paths by Axel, chased by beasts, tossed into danger, and forced to survive, the fear had dulled.

And now he strangely felt comfortable here.

A small spark of excitement stirred in his chest.

This time, he was not alone.

Gillard and Ralph were here with him.

For once, the deeper forest did not feel like another test waiting to crush him. It felt like a small adventure.

Maybe one of the last hunts they would share together.

Or maybe the beginning of their adventuring days, if he could somehow convince them to leave with him.

But no matter what came next—

This moment still belonged to them.