The guardian was asked a simple question of his name, yet he took his time to answers.

“I have no name.” He said it finally.

“Really?”

She remembered that he did not have parents and lived in the wilderness as a child, so that seemed quite plausible. He seemed quite civil for someone who was a feral child.

“How does the city people call you then?”

“Argh, nothing nice. Monster, Beast, Black Foreigner. Nicer ones like the lady in apothecary and few I am more familiar with will call me a Big Man, or a Traveller.” He left quite a few nicknames out, mentioning only the nicer ones.

She felt sorry for him, this sounded awful.

“This is not very nice. And yet you are so kind. They are judging solely on your looks.”

“This is not true. You would do yourself a service by stopping thinking that I am kind, it is only you who thinks that.”

“I refuse!”

“Suit yourself.”

The conversation finished and they went towards their home. It got very dark under the growth of the trees and Aiu struggled to see where to put her steps. She was desperate not to get too far from her guardian, for she knew how dangerous the forest was. The fear of darkness and unknown did not help to ease her nervousness.

She struggled tripped and fell letting out a yelp.

“I can’t see anything.” She complained.

“Oh” was all he said. He sounded as if he found out something he should but did not know.

It was because he did not notice how his vision slowly shifted to dark-vision as it was natural to him. This vision was completely different from the normal one as he could not see colours, unless something literally glowed. The change was gradual and he was, so used to it that he paid no mind to it. He was able to see in the dark without a problem whatsoever.

Humans, however, possessed no such thing, not unless magic or alchemy was involved.

“I do not want to slow down our pace, so that you can keep up.”

“If you leave me I won’t be able to find the way back, don’t do that.” She would get lost in a forest without his guidance.

“I did not say I will be leaving you.”

He grabbed her by her waist and picked her up. She was raised up to his shoulders. This was way too high for her to feel comfortable. Her guardian was over two metres tall after all, and she was not a fan of heights.

“Hold tight. You can’t see but I can. So I will quickly run back home.”

She hugged his thick neck as best as she could. His back was not as comfortable as it had spikes protruding from his spine. They were not sharp enough to outright injure her, but she had to put her legs on his back and bend slightly to avoid them. The position was awkward and uncomfortable.

As soon as she settled he started to run. There was no further warning and she almost fell off. She clung to his neck as if her life depended on it. It probably did, falling over from over two metres was not a laughing matter. Even falling from a chair could kill if you hit your head at the wrong place too hard.

He was fast, very fast. She did not see it as it was too dark, but she could feel it. She had to bend down further to hide her head from the stray branches and other growth, not wanting to get hit. The branches and vegetation did not seem to slow him or even bother him as he just powered through the forest in a sprint.

She was not the one running, but she was covered in a cold sweat. The experience was not the one she has enjoyed.

“Here we are.”

He slowed down and stopped just right by the hut. It was very hard to see, thick clouds were hiding the moon.

“Here we are!” he repeated again but loader.

The girl got the hint. He was asking for her to dismount. But there was no safe way to do such a thing.

“Raise me down, I am stuck.”

He reached for her and then lowered her down. They went inside the hut and set all of their harvest in the corner.

“You will learn how to process them tomorrow.” It was too late to keep working.

She was extremely tired and went to sleep with her clothes still on. This time there was no fire to warm her up and the floor was still as hard as ever. This did not bother her too much as she just passed out from exhaustion.

…

“Aiu.” he said while crouching over her small body.

“Aiu.” he said again louder.

“Mmm.” She was woken up very early in the morning. She rubbed her eyes and upon opening them she saw him. She did not know how much did she get to sleep but this did not feel enough. His face was terribly close and he was staring at her.

“Yes.” she disliked being seen when she just awoke. She knew she does not look good at such moments.

‘Why is he staring’ she wondered.

“Get ready. I am hungry, going for a hunt.”

‘Do I have to go?’ she wanted to complain.

“Yes.”

She raised up and was looking for her gear.

“Leave it you won’t need it this time.”

She put her sickle and unbuckled her belt. She followed him outside felting anxious, she has never been to a hunt before.

“What will I need to do?”

“Just follow me and be as silent as possible”

‘This means no talking. So boring.’

She followed him deep into the forest.

“See these?” he pointed to trampled growth and whispering “Fresh tracks of a beast.”

She nodded.

“We are close. Stay behind me.”

They did not follow the tracks directly as she had expected. Instead, they circled around it through some dense bushes.

As they went out she saw the beast. She assumed it was a bear as she has never seen an actual one.

It was deep black in colour and was currently scratching its back on one of the trees. It did not notice them as its head was raised up, he was growling in pleasure.

He motioned to the young woman indicating to stay put and ran straight towards the bear.

The bear heard the attacker and stopped rubbing against the tree. It wanted to let a roar so that he could intimidate his opponent and opened his maw. However, instead of a roar, it let a pained wimp as its jaw was jerked by an uppercut from the bellow.

The bear staggered but still swung his claw towards the attacker. Guardian grabbed bear’s arm stopping it mid-swing, he was strong enough to do that. Then he slashed his claws across bear’s eyes, blinding the bear. This was followed by a slam of his body into the bears, toppling the beast over. This was possible as both of them were of the similar height.

The bear fell and rolled, it wanted to run away. However, it could not be done as the attacker mounted the bear and started to pummel its head with blows using his fists; the bear was stunned.

It was a vicious attack and the bear was knocked out and once the bear was out, he cut it’s through with a sharp blade. He turned his head towards the girl who stood frozen by the bushes nearby.

She looked at him for a few seconds then started running towards.

“This was awesome. You would make a good fighter. I have never heard of a person killing a bear with his bare fists.”

“I am a good fighter, yes. And it was the blade who killed it not my fists.” He raised the bears head showing a wide gash which was still spurting fresh blood.

He tied the rope around the bears’ legs and hosted it on a sturdy branch. Then he showed how to properly skin the beast to obtain its hide. She sighed as this was unpleasant to see, but Aiu knew she needs to learn this.

After securing bears hide he started to cut the bear for its meat. Then he ate it raw, then and there, just like that. This slightly unsettled the girl as he looked like a wild beast himself while he ate the bloody meat. He cut a smaller piece of meat and offered it to the girl.

‘I am hungry but I can’t, it is raw.’ while the raw meat was still edible to some extent she preferred her food to be cooked.

“Why don’t we cook it?” she asked.

“Why waste the time for that?”

“It would taste better.” She tried to reason.

“Agreed, but I don’t like to spend time on cooking.”

‘How typical of men’ she reflected.

“I can cook it for you. You have me now for that.”

‘I know I will not be any use in hunting but I can do my part and earn my share by preparing the food.’ Was the reason why she offered this.

“Sounds good.”

They went back to the hut carrying two big chunks of meat.

She set the fire properly this time using some dry moss as a fire started. Sure she could ask him to light it with magic, but she needed to learn how to do it herself. And magic was meant for the great things not setting some small fires to cook simple food.

She cut some of it into smaller chunks and set to boil with some random forest vegetables. She did not know exactly what she was doing but it was nearly impossible to mess up the soup.

The rest of the meat was stored in the small place under the hatch. It would not stay fresh for long

“Done?”

“All set and cooking” she answered.

“Come here. And pay close attention”

By now she was able to tell the plants from one another. Yet just for this time, he sorted them out for her. The next time she would have to do that by herself.

He used the tools he purchased yesterday to demonstrate how to process the plans. Some of them had to be crushed using a mortar and pestle into a fine paste and mixed with fats or oils; which he had to purchase beforehand.

It turned out they were making basic healing salves.

Others herbs were put in a small barrel of alchemical solvent to make weak stamina potion.

The rest were set aside to dry or to be sold later as they couldn’t properly use them yet. One needed more reagents and alchemical tools to make the serious stuff.

This helped to push time and the girl found it quite interesting. Even fun, this was like cooking and she found cooking enjoyable.

As they were done so was the pot full of food. She put it aside to cool down. She wanted to ask for something important.

“Would it be possible to get some kitchen stuff like bowls and spoons? Even a set of knives if this is not too expensive.”

She did not want to be demanding, she knew they were poor and probably could not afford that.

‘He must have spent a fortune for all the gear he got me and that other herbalist stuff.’

“This is so that I can cook for you” she added.

‘And for myself, as I can’t eat raw or rotten food.’

“This is possible.”

“Not too expensive?” she did not have an understanding of how much things cost. She never had money to begin with.

“No, not really, if we sold what we just made. It will be enough”

‘So we would need to trade our things to obtain others. I wonder how much those salves and potions are worth.’

They talked some more about herbs and what can be made out of them until the soup was cool enough to eat. There were no bowls to pour the soup in so she took her mortar in her hand. The bowl with food was sizable, its contents would be enough to feed a family of four.

She wondered if this was still enough. Her guardian was massive and he said he ate every two days or so.

‘He must consume massive amounts of food in one go.’

“Will a full pot be enough to feed you?”

“This time yes. I ate plenty of meat. Next time if it is just vegetables, then no. If it was full of meat, then yes.”

It depended not just how much but also what one ate.

“I will need a bigger pot then.”

“Can be arranged, but metal is expensive.”

‘So the pots were expensive. How about other ways to cook for him. There is no oven for making bread. And the grainr is probably expensive too.’

“How about some salt. Meat stays longer if it is salted no?”

“Don’t you know that meat is a luxury and preserved meet is even more so. Only rich and those who do the hunting themselves can afford it.”

“But farmers grow animals for meat.”

“Yet they do not consume it. Most of it gets sold. What did you eat in an orphanage, I wonder?”

It was mostly gruel with hard bread or watery soup. If she was unlucky she would get a bowl of flavoured water from some boiled vegetables which did little to satisfy her hunger.

“Gruel.”

“Now you can eat meat. Is that not an improvement?”

She nodded. ‘Massive one’, she never ate proper meat besides a few rats and trash birds she would catch and roast.

She took a mouth full of thick soup. The meat was a bit chewy and stringy, but still, the soup tasted amazing. Her guardian downed it straight from the pot, taking big gulps without even chewing the contents. She wanted a bigger bowl, the mortar was small and this would not be enough to fill her stomach. Lucky to her, Guardian did not finish all of the pot and left her plenty of food.

After finishing eating they have packed their produce and were in preparations to go to town to sell it.

“What could I do for you to earn a pelt like that?” she pointed at the bear’s pelt they killed this morning.

“Why do you need a pelt?”

“The floor is cold so is the night, and it is very hard and uncomfortable for me to sleep.”

“If you want to use it as the bedding this is a bad idea. The pelt needs to be processed by the tanner first.”

‘This would be expensive’. She was asking too much.

“I will get you something for that. After all, I need to look after you properly.”

There were so many needs humans had. He was less prepared to keep a human than he thought. The roof and the food were not enough.

“Thank you.” - ‘He is too good. I am being spoiled.’

“You better work hard for it.”

“Of course. I know that everything comes at a price.” Be it with money or the body one had to pay. She felt lucky to be able to pay through her being in service as an apprentice.

This time they went to the tanner first and traded in the black pelt.

Tanner praised the pelt and congratulated on a kill. It was not often that hunters brought such pelts as bears were a dangerous game, hunters would normally go for easy prey and avoid the danger unless it was out of necessity.

To the girl's surprise tanner also sold various knives for hunting and skinning. Her guardian offered some of the salves and the hunter took half of them as they were cheaper than in the apothecary.

She got a skinning knife and another knife, a bigger one, which could be used to cut vegetables and meat. On top of that, they got some leftover refuse leather scraps and come copper coins.

Then they went to the apothecary.

The bell rang and Dneal said hello to the two.

“I have brought these.”

The girl was instructed to do the trade herself.

“Hard labours of an upstart herbalist. You did well, this is quite a lot for a newbie.”

“My fa… guardian helped.”

“That explains it.” Dneal put an appropriate amount of coins on the counter.

She did not know if that was the right amount or not so she looked at her guardian. He nodded.

“I need a barrel of an alchemical solvent, and 5 palm-fulls of catalyst powder and…” she forgot.

“And a bottle of herbalist’s oil.” He added.

Dnea took most of the coin back.

“So you are intended to meddle in brewing as well. Not satisfied with the good money the herbs bring?”

“Alchemy as well. And why would I, if I can double it I will.”

A lot of the people opted for quick money and did not bother taking the time to brew and process the resources. This required a lot of money not just the time as one needed proper equipment and skills.

“You are sharp as always. I will see you more often, no?” the apothecary was the main place alchemist got their resources from.

“It won’t be just me. I plant this young woman to do the stuff.”

“Ohh, how unusual.”

People would usually spend the money to further their carriers and training first. The apprentice would become the master if what he said was true. That is why this was unusual.

Dnea was happy to be able to secure another permanent customer.

Her guardian strapped a full barrel of liquid to his back and waved goodbye to Dnea.

“Where next?” The girl asked.

“To the market shops.”

They browsed the shops and her guardian purchased a set of bowls, spoons and mugs. All of which were made of wood and did not cost much. What took the most of the coin they had was the scale and weights her adopted father got for her.

Then they went to the carpenter and bought a set of small wooden boxes and other containers. They had only a few coins left. The money disappeared so quickly.

The last thing they got was a layered bundle of flexible sticks and plants woven together. This was used to soften the ground as one slept on it. It was used by travellers as a portable bed; it could be rolled together and easily transported. It was not the most comfortable but it was leagues better than a hard and cold ground.

All they had left was a single copper coin.

“There is no way we will save for the pot, ever.”

“It takes good coin as metal is valuable.”

“It is because of me, you spent so much for my stuff.” She was getting visibly sad.

“What is up with you?”

“I want to repay you somehow.”

“Just work hard.”

She shook her head “This is not enough. I want to cook you something nice, so you don’t need to eat raw or spoiled food.”

“Honestly, I am not too bothered about it.”

‘He is saying this just to cheer me up, there is no way he likes to eat bad food.’

She looked at the single coin she had in hand.

“The money we made today. Was it a lot or not?” she asked.

“To put in a way you would understand. We got an amount the farmer would make in a week of hard labour.” This was slightly different than that as farmers received the money after the harvest.

“That is not including the pelt. Bear pelts are quite valuable, that one had no holes or slashes as I was careful not to damage it.”

“So it is quite a big amount of money.” she concluded.

“A sizable sum, yes.”

They could make that much just in a single day.

“So why isn’t everyone doing this?”

“This is less luxurious than you think. Picking herbs in a forest is very dangerous.”

“Really?”

“Yes, why do you think I do not let you go alone yet? You not getting attacked and mauled to death was because of me. Forrest creatures can feel my presence and usually stay clear.”

‘This made sense, he was able to knock out the bear. And it is good to feel protected’ no one else before cared about her that much.

“Also, one would need to buy food for oneself or the family. I could easily hunt it by myself.”

“How about picking forest for edibles?”

“Then you would spend the entire day doing that just to get the right amount of food. You wouldn’t have time to get a good amount of herbs to sell. Not to mention processing them.”

“I see.”

She understood that she was fortunate to have him. With him it was easy. He knew where to get the herbs already and they could venture deep into the forest for rarer herbs without fear of being attacked. Moreover, they did not have to worry about food as he was skilled at hunting.

“Not needing to buy food helps a lot, just think how much I would spend if I had to buy it.”

He would probably spend the most they gotten today as he was very big and would eat as much as four men if not more.

“I feel lucky to have you.”

“Luck has nothing to do with it.”

They kept talking until they reached their hut.