"Isn't it obvious?" Vlad said, rubbing his nose with pride. "You should feel honoured. An upcoming Legendary Knight just took an oath for you."
"What's an oath?" Chloe asked, her index finger in her mouth. "Can you eat it?"
Vlad facepalmed in frustration. He handed her a stick and said,
"It means I promise that I will give you twenty berries tomorrow if you play with me."
"Twenty berries!" Chloe exclaimed, tightening her grip on the stick.
Since birth, Vlad had been physically gifted. At just six years old, he already far surpassed any normal human in terms of physical ability. His bare fists were enough to deal with most wild animals. His instincts were sharper than a fly's, and his flexibility greater than that of a cat.
Still, he chose to train with Chloe, a thin girl a year younger than him, for one simple reason.
She was fast. Insanely fast.
In a sudden blur, Chloe vanished from Vlad's sight. The very next moment, the tip of her stick shot straight toward his face.
He ducked low, dodging the attack, and swung his stick in a horizontal arc at the same time.
Chloe leapt upward, letting the stick pass beneath her feet. While in midair, she rotated above Vlad's head and struck the back of it with a circular motion.
Vlad was pushed several feet forward, while she landed gracefully on her feet after a complete flip.
"Agh, she is becoming faster every day," Vlad muttered, pivoting on his foot.
The moment he turned, Chloe's stick had already reached his neck.
He blocked the strike with his own and guided it downward toward the ground.
Keeping her weapon pinned, he released one hand from his stick and launched a punch.
Chloe easily dodged by tilting her head.
At the same time, she swung her stick upward in a vertical motion, striking Vlad under the arm with a sharp snap.
If it had been a real sword, Vlad would have lost an arm. The realization pained him more than the strike itself.
Gripping his stick with both hands, he unleashed a barrage of attacks.
Though stronger, he needed only one clean hit to win. Yet the chance of landing that strike slipped further away with every passing second.
Chloe closed the distance, weaving through every attack with ease.
Vlad increased the speed of his strikes with everything his small body could muster.
"I won't lose this ti—"
"I won," Chloe said, the tip of her stick resting against Vlad's throat.
The stick slipped from Vlad's hand, and he collapsed onto his back, breathing heavily.
It was their twenty-eighth match, and Vlad's twenty-eighth defeat.
"Y-you are amazing, Chloe," Vlad murmured, letting out a long sigh.
"You are amazing, Chloe," Chloe copied, falling on him.
"You should say you are also amazing, Vlad," Vlad informed with a sigh.
"No. Chloe is amazing. Vlad is idiot."
"Y-you ungrateful pig," Vlad snapped in a sharp tone.
Chloe didn't reply. Although she had won all the spars until now, she would become more exhausted than Vlad once their matches ended.
She placed her little hands on his chest and closed her eyes. Her breathing was heavier than Vlad's.
Vlad decided to let her be, placing one hand on her back and the other behind his head.
"Ugh, this place is even filthier than the house," a frustrated voice of a child echoed.
Vlad turned his head, finding a young girl standing at the entrance of the barn, her hands resting on her waist.
The girl was of similar age to Vlad, but seemed to belong to a completely different world.
She had crimson hair styled into two neat braids. Her skin was pale, and her glowing face showed the pampering she had received while growing up. She wore a silken red dress, giving her the appearance of a little princess.
Definitely from a completely different world from Vlad.
"Who is this shrimp?" Vlad asked, rising to his feet.
"Who is this shrimp?" Chloe copied, rising as well.
"Hah! How dare a dirty commoner call me shrimp!?" The girl snapped, taking out a dagger from her pocket. "I will have your tongue for this disrespect."
She moved forward, pointing the dagger at Vlad. Upon reaching closer, she said with a smirk,
"I will forgive you if you beg me on all fo—"
Before she could finish her words, Vlad struck her hand with the stick. The dagger flew into the air before landing in Vlad's hand.
"Ah! You hit my hand, filthy commoner. My father will have your head," the girl shouted, launching a slap toward Vlad.
He easily grabbed her wrist mid-flight, his eyes locked on the dagger in his hand.
"This is a real knife," Vlad said, completely ignoring her.
Turning to the girl, he continued, "Not only did you break into our farm, but you also tried to harm us. Judging by your clothes, you must be from the city. A delinquent runaway child."
"Delinquent-delinquent," Chloe repeated from behind Vlad.
"Don't touch me with your dirty hand," the girl muttered, her eyebrows twitching in both anger and disgust.
Vlad pulled the girl closer by the wrist, locking her head under his arm.
"Hey! Stinky bastard, I told you not to touch me!"
The girl tried to throw a punch at Vlad, but her struggle turned futile as Vlad pulled her further into his arm, locking half of her body.
"Whenever I behave out of line, mama punishes me like this," Vlad said, raising his other hand high.
"Wh-what are you trying to d—"
Spank!
"Heek!! You filthy commoner! How dare you hit me—"
"Still not learnt your lesson?" Vlad said, spanking her again.
"Eek! Stop it, you bastard!"
"Punish-punish!" Chloe declared, spanking the girl's other side.
After twenty consecutive strikes, the girl swallowed her pride and declared while crying,
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I was in the wrong. Please don't hit me anymore."
"You should have said it sooner," Vlad said, releasing her.
"Sooner-sooner," Chloe followed, spanking her one last time.
Vlad tied her hands and legs together with the wooden pole before leaving with Chloe.
"Hick... hick... you will regret this," the girl muttered in tears as they closed the door.
---
"Why did you tie her?" Chloe asked on their way to the house.
"Her family must be looking for her," Vlad informed. "We will get a reward when we return her."
As he opened the door of the house, he found an unusual number of people inside.
The small hall was packed with multiple people clad in steel armor surrounding the dining table. At the table itself sat a handsome red-haired man whose appearance seemed similar to the girl Vlad had met in the barn.
Edren was standing on the opposite side of the table, his skin damp with sweat and his face carrying an expression of nervousness.
"Come here, Vlad," Edren ordered. "Greet Lord Cendral. He is an eight-ring Archmage, one of the five heroes who fought alongside the Legendary Knight in the War of Dragons."
"A-an Archmage?" Vlad gasped. He immediately bent into a deep bow and declared,
"Greetings, Lord Cendral. My name is Vlad Lumberjack. I am honoured to be in the presence of the Great Hero."
This method of greeting had been taught to Vlad by Elaria in case he ever came across an important figure. Today, he executed it for the first time.
"Greetings, Lord C-Candles," Chloe said, trying to copy Vlad's posture.
"Idiot, it is not Candles but Cendral," Vlad muttered in a low tone.
"Hahaha, your son is well-mannered," Lucas Cendral, the red-haired man, laughed.
"You may rise, Vlad."
Vlad immediately stood up straight. He was in the presence of someone who had fought alongside the Legendary Knight. He had never been more nervous in his life.
'What could someone of such status be doing here?' Vlad thought inwardly.
'Was my father someone of noble stature, secretly living in the countryside?'
Vlad looked at his father, his eyes shining with excitement, only to find his father even more nervous than himself.
'Definitely not,' he sighed inwardly.
Turning to Lucas, he said in a firm tone,
"Thank you for protecting the country, Lord Cendral. Because of your hard work, we are able to live peacefully."
'Yes! I said it without stuttering,' Vlad exclaimed inwardly. 'I must get on his good side to make him share some unheard stories about the Legendary Knight.'
"Haha, you are giving me more credit than I deserve," Lucas chuckled. "If it were not for your father saving my life, I would not be sitting here talking to you."
"M-my father saved your life, Lord Cendral?" Vlad asked in shock, finding it difficult to believe.
"It was seventeen years ago. I had become separated from my party and was being relentlessly chased by a dragon. I was completely out of mana and on the verge of death. Your father, Edren, found me collapsed in the forest and carried me back to his home. He took care of me for several days and saved my life. He is the real hero."
"L-lord Cendral, I was only there collecting wood. Saving you was just a coincidence," Edren said, his nose elongating with pride at being praised by a former hero.
"Woah! I never knew my father was this awesome," Vlad murmured, completely stunned.
"He certainly is. Oh right, where is Seraphina? She didn't come with you?" Lucas asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Seraphina?" Vlad asked in confusion.
"My daughter. She is of your age. Did you not meet her?" Lucas revealed. "She has become a little spoiled, running off on her own every time."
Vlad took a long gulp and murmured the word that his father often used when he had screwed up big time,
"Fuck."