BOOM!

"Kya!"

Sara exclaimed as she quickly rolled to the ground, evading an explosion.

"Ryu, would you please tell me whenever you drop a fireball?!"

When Ryu and Sara started training, three weeks had already passed, and their bodies had now adjusted to the practice routine.

Ryu remembered when they had started and almost couldn't move the following day due to muscle pain. So he was excited about having a little freedom today.

"Sorry, auntie, my body itched to use magic."

Being outside the city in the south allowed him to use magic since they sneaked out without his parent's knowledge.

The reason why they got forced to come here was because of the guild's quest deadline.

Only one week remained to complete the quest. Today was the 71st out of 90 days of spring. Ryu and Sara started late. But since Sara became a member, they were permitted to submit it later than the 60th.

"You know, rather than a nephew, whenever I talk to you is like having a conversation with an older brother."

Sara frowned as if she suspected something. Fortunately, she decided to set aside that topic another time. She asked.

"I'm confused. We only need to gather some herbs, so why did we encounter monsters?"

Controlling his wind magic, Ryu slowly landed on the ground.

"That's how dangerous being an adventurer, auntie. We need to clear the site before grabbing herbs."

After no monster was in sight, they started collecting.

"It's scary. We should go home soon, and my sister might go home early today."

Ryu thought about her mother being furious made him shiver.

"...yeah, I think we should go home."

***

Before going home, Ryu and Sara took a short detour to submit the quest at the Rook guild. They received payment, and Sara's eyes went wide.

"Ryu! Are, are these silver coins I'm holding?!"

Sara's expression forced Ryu to quickly cover his mouth to suppress his laughter.

"Mmhmm... I told you, auntie, we will get back your money. All you have to do is have a little faith in me."

Her eyes gleamed with respect which was embarrassing enough to make Ryu beg her to stop.

"Stop that, auntie. It's embarrassing!"

They completed the quest, gathering around two small sacks of herbs in one day and submitting them to the guild, earning them two silver coins.

Even if Sara worked as a maid in a noble household, it would take at least two months to obtain the same amount.

Completing the quest in one day might seem easy. Still, even an ordinary F-Rank group of four adventurers would've struggled to get the same result. Some could even die in the process.

They could only gather this much because of magic, allowing them to quickly push through the hoard of lesser monsters.

"Ryu, you're amazing! I'm glad you're my nephew."

"Mmhmm... Then, how about we get another quest, auntie?"

The thought of completing a quest and earning coins made her eyes lit up in excitement.

"A quest? I know. Why don't we get something that pays gold coins?"

"But that would be too hard—"

Ryu's remarks overpassed Sara's ears. She was excited browsing through the most challenging quests available.

"Dragon extermination quest—oh, how about the black grizzly bear—what, what about this turtle dragon—white thunder wolf—or, or this one—"

"Auntie, calm down!"

"Huh?"

"Please remember what mother said."

Sara clasped her cheeks with slight disappointment and a long sigh that she didn't even try to hide, like a child who got her candy taken away.

"...Then, another herb gathering?"

Her disappointed face was disturbing, but we had no choice. We needed to get stronger before tackling more challenging quests.

"Yes, auntie. For now, let's not rush things and die."

Now that it's settled, Ryu pulled another sack that contained their loots from the monsters they killed.

"And auntie, please sell this to the guild store."

Sara grabbed the sack and tilted her head. Her confused look was like saying, 'Are these even worth anything?'

Even with such thoughts, she went ahead and followed his instructions.

"Hello, mister, I want to sell these."

Surprised, the guild clerk looked at the sack. But he didn't ask more.

"What do you got here, lass?"

He opened the sack, and his eyes widened, closing it quickly just to open it again.

The sack contained some wolf, rabbit, boar, and snake parts. Unfortunately, Ryu and Sara could only take small body parts like teeth and claws because most were made useless by being burned with his fireball.

"Here you go, 13 silver coins in total. I will exchange 10 with one gold coin."

When Sara heard the total amount, she fainted.

***

Ryu and Sara exited the building, walking back on the street when Sara said.

"Ryu?"

"Yes, auntie?"

"Can, can you pinch me?"

If not for the silver coins visibly present in her hands, even Ryu would think this was just a pipe dream.

"Is there any problem?"

They submitted the quest, took the reward, applied for the same, and sold the monster loots. They now have one gold and five silver coins.

"I can't believe we earned this much for one day..."

"It would be impossible without my magic."

"You're right."

Ryu shrugged his shoulders and smiled at her.

"This is just the start, auntie. So keep yourself together."

One bronze coin was equivalent to $1, copper to $10, silver to $100, and gold to $1,000.

The lowest-ranked maid would only be able to earn one silver coin per month, while they made one gold and three silver coins.

So no one would blame Sara's face filled with excitement.

"Really?! Does that mean we will earn much more in the future?!"

"Hahaha. As long as you master father's swordsmanship."

"Alright! I will give my all to training!"

Clack.

As much as wanting to have a perfect day, with his past life experience, Ryu knew this day wouldn't end without trouble.

'Some people were following us!'

While having a fun walk, Ryu suddenly noticed some people trailing them from behind. He quickly thought of a plan by nagging.

"Auntie, I'm tired. Can you please carry me?"

Sara's face exuded confusion. But Ryu needed to act his age, which was his first thought.

"This is weird. It's the first time you complained of being tired."

She sat down and carried him with her stupefied expression.

"So, what's the problem?"

"Auntie, your senses are getting better."

Ryu leaned on her pretending to be tired, and whispered.

"Do not shout or panic. There're people following us. Run to the next alley so I can use magic to escape."

"..."

Her arms tightened.

"Don't be scared, auntie. I'm here with you."

Even though Ryu couldn't relieve all of her nervousness, he was happy his words still calmed her.

"Ryu, I'll start running now."

"Okay. Go!"

Ryu discreetly glanced at the back and saw three men who started to run.

"They're coming after us. It seems people are planning to rob us."

"Rob?!"

Sara raised her eyebrows, suddenly fastening up her pace. Ryu thought she was scared, but it was for a different reason.

"How dare they lay eyes on our money!"

Ryu gulped down, learning not to tease her regarding money.

Sara carried him and went inside the dark alley, a dangerous but ideal place to go when one needed to escape pursuit.

"Hahaha!"

One of the thieves who followed them laughed.

"You think a kid like you could outrun us?! We lived in these alleys before your mother learned how to walk!"

"Huff... Huff... Huff..."

Sara, with her shorter legs, panted.

"The training... Is... Effective... Huff..."

Ryu felt that Sara was already reaching her limit. So he decided to end things quickly.

"Auntie, turn to that corner."

"O... Okay."

It was a dead end. But precisely what Ryu hoped.

"Ryu, a dead end! Haaaa... Haaa..."

"Don't worry, auntie, hold me tight. As petaxoume."

A giant whirlwind formed, carrying them. Ryu used the wind to hop between the roofs.

"W... Where did they go?!"

Ryu's last glance at the pursuers was them being shocked by their sudden disappearance.

Hop!

"Ryu, this is safe... right?"

Her fingernails nudged through his skin, frightened.

"Don't worry. Look, we have arrived."

They were finally back home. Ryu canceled his magic—a perfect landing.

"...This. Is so cool! Why don't we use this often? We could've saved time."

"We need to exercise, though. Being dependent on magic is bad, auntie."

"But, but using this occasionally is fine, right?"

"...Mmhmm."

"Alright!"

Today was productive. Looking at Sara's happy face gave Ryu satisfaction.

They could do this step by step until she became capable of hunting independently. So Ryu wouldn't have to worry should they separate when the time came.

To build a strong kingdom, Ryu needed somewhere that was not under the jurisdiction or ownership of another king. And he found three perfect places for that.

The first choice was the far south. Humans call it the Dark Continent, where giant monsters inhabit the land.

The location was good because humans were scared to venture deep. Living there, Ryu could even attempt to train a monster army. The requisite to live there was one should be strong enough to survive.

The second choice was the snow continent in the north. It has harsh living conditions, and only a few tribes could live there.

It was a good choice because it was near the Valenz dukedom, where Yume lived. Ryu could easily protect her along with her family.

The last option would be somewhere in one of the dragons, fairies, or beasts' kingdoms. Anywhere that was not a human kingdom would be good.

Ryu got hyped up.

'Right. I will focus on improving my swordsmanship, magic, and finances for a few years.'