“Did you sort out the misunderstanding?” Jack asked as he panted. He had sprinted a couple of laps before Anthony had arrived.

“It was just a minor issue,” Anthony replied, waving his hand casually as though to dismiss the conversation entirely. “Why don’t we train since I’ll be going back in a few days. I want to make sure you haven’t gotten rusty while we’ve been on the road.”

“Thank you,” Jack said, nodding his head. He continued to warm up as Anthony walked up to the weapon rack to grab a wooden weapon. A guard was about to stop them before the male guard from earlier grabbed their shoulder and shook their head, whispering something. The guard turned pale and retreated, and quickly the news of the pair spread throughout the guard like wildfire.

Eventually Sir Anthony returned to help Jack train. He ran a couple of laps and stretched as Jack swung the wooden sword in sets of twenty before the knight was ready.

“Come at me, little Jack.” Anthony smiled, twirling the wooden sword over the back of his hand and then pointing it forward.

Jack took his stance, slightly squat, his blade held with both hands in front of him. The first step in the Bloodied Turtle Sword Art was to allow the enemy to step forward first. He hadn’t learnt the later steps yet, he hadn’t drilled in the Art as much as the other soldiers or knights. Jack tried to find a fault in Anthony’s stance, and though the man was a drunkard, he was well skilled with his blade.

Jack stepped forward, and Anthony’s sword blurred. Jack felt the wind against his face and hair as the sword appeared right at his forehead. “Dead,” Anthony said, in the way that the guards and knights of Bloodwall like to speak.

Anthony stepped back into position and so did Jack. This time Jack waited, letting Anthony make the first move. He knew that Anthony wasn’t great with his self control, so he’d get too bored to remain sti-

Jack had only blinked when the sword appeared at his forehead again, feeling the cool breeze against his sweat. “Dead,” the knight said, smiling. He was enjoying the feeling of bullying little Jack. “This time I’ll behave as though I’m not High Iron.” He chuckled as he took his position. Jack took his position as well.

Their wooden swords struck against one another. Bloodied Turtle Sword Art was an Art which focused on brutal defence. It possessed a few offensive capabilities, but it’s strength came from its great defence. As Jack finally got into the rhythm, Anthony started to push the boy back as he increased his skill and strength. With the Bloodied Turtle Sword Art, Jack wouldn’t lose to anyone of the same rank, and he could even hold his own against someone of a slightly higher rank. However, Anthony continued to push until Jack’s sword flew in the air and the boy dropped onto his bottom.

“You’ve gotten better, little Jack.” Anthony smiled reached down to help the boy up.

“Thank you,” Jack said, bowing his head slightly. He used to practise the Art daily, though only for half an hour or so, whereas the guards and knights would practise hours when they first learnt it.

“Make sure you practise daily still. You don’t know when you might have need of it when I’m not around.”

Jack swallowed his sadness and nodded. He had always been with a knight or a guard of Bloodwall since he was born. A tinge of loneliness pulled at his heart, but he dripped his sword again.

“Why don’t you practise the first step?” Anthony offered, taking his stance with his sword.

Jack nodded and took his stance. “Blood Turtle Sword Art,” he said, channelling a small amount of mana through himself into the sword. “First Step, Bloody Turtle!” The knight had already charged forward to swing down at the boy, and the boy turned his body slightly as he swung wildly at the drunkard knight, meeting his blade with his own.

“Very good,” Anthony said, smiling. The move had been perfectly executed, and Jack’s build had allowed the boy to meet the blow of the knight. Even if he hadn’t used mana, it was impressive enough that Jack could deal with him so easily. Anthony was proud of his strength, and he was even more proud of the little boy. He swung again almost immediately after, aiming to catch the boy unaware.

Jack had not been caught unaware, as he was currently in battle mode. As Anthony swung again, he poured the mana into his sword and swung fiercely like a lion to meet the second swing. The blades met, though they quickly burst, splinters flying away from them.

“Ah,” Anthony said.

“Oh,” Jack said.

The pair had forgotten that oridinary wooden swords weren’t great at dealing with Arts. Anthony glanced back at the guards and smiled innocently. “Sorry about that,” he said, tossing a silver bar casually at a guard who caught it. The guard nodded and left it at that.

“Let’s run and lift for the rest of the session,” Anthony said, chuckling.

Jack nodded, a little embarrassed from the situation. He ran beside Anthony, who slowed a little so the boy could keep up. They ran a lap and then hoisted over some weights, gaining weight with every other lap. Once they had worked up a good sweat, they left, thanking the guards.

The guards nodded, both eager and apprehensive to have the Butcher of Beasts’ son around. “We can’t have the young boy show us up,” the Colonel said. “Get to running!” He had been watching for a short while, but had remained back since he didn’t want to deal with the knight. He would speak with the boy alone to see if he could convince Jack to join the military. As the son of Bloodwall, he would be given preferential treatment. It wasn’t everyday that a Bloodwall was able to be recruited into the military.

The guard force was just a branch of the military, and though they didn’t hold as much respect, they were tasked with keeping the cities safe. If he could groom the boy to become a decent officer, Jack could join the army under the Colonel’s recommendation. With that, the Colonel would gain much prestige.

Anthony and Jack returned to the inn to bathe quickly, changed into their attire, and then ate breakfast. The guards were around as well, eating in shifts so they could still escort the young Jack.

“Are you leaving today?” Jack asked, having spent some time working up the courage. With a full stomach he felt much better, but the thought of being alone did eat at him.

“We won’t leave today,” Anthony said, smiling. “We’ll leave sometime during the week, but we’ll tell you the morning before. I won’t leave until we’ve shared another drink together.”

Jack smiled. “Then I’ll be sure to accept every drink.”

“Good! Make sure you spend as much as you can since the Chief is paying for it whilst we’re here.” Anthony laughed, and though he was causing a minor disturbance, the innkeeper wasn’t bothered by it and the others around didn’t dare to be bothered by it either.

“Mark, why don’t you escort Jack around the market to see if you can’t find anything useful. Get as crazy as you like, I’ll deal with the aftermath of the Chief when I return.” Anthony winked.

Jack wasn’t sure how he felt about spending the money, but Sir Anthony wasn’t the type of man to get him in trouble. At least, that’s what he thought.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have some business to attend to.” Anthony stood, bowed his head, and then left. He walked out toward the noble district, though stopped as he approached the gates. He wondered if he should do it at the noble district, deciding it was probably best to head to the merchant district instead.

He approached the familiar building, which was three stories tall. The corners were each painted yellow so it always stood out. He stepped into the merchants’ guild, the bell jingling behind him as the door opened and shut. At the desk was a beautiful woman who glanced at him, noted the sigil on his chest, raised her brows in surprise, and then quickly fell into her practised smile.

“Good morning,” Anthony said, waving casually at her. “I’m here to make a deposit.”

“Do you have your identification plate?” she asked.

“This deposit isn’t for me. It’s for the second son of Chief Bloodwall.”

She blinked at him and then nodded. “Does he have an account?”

“I’m sure he does,” Anthony said, though he thought about it. “I’m not that sure, actually.”

“I will go and check. Just a moment, Sir.” She bowed her head again and left, leaving him alone. After a few minutes, she returned. “Could you confirm his name?”

“Jack Bloodwall,” Anthony said.

“The name has been confirmed. You are depositing on his behalf?”

“Something like that. I’ll sign whatever is needed.” Anthony waved his hand dismissively.

“Then please place the items on the counter and I will verify them.”

Anthony lifted up a pouch and then dropped all manner of coins, gems, and bars onto the table.

She looked up at him, sweating a little. “It will take some time for me to verify everything, is that fine?”

“If it takes a while, then it takes a while. I can’t blame you for that. I’ll need to leave a little before noon, so I would prefer it’s confirmed before then, but I can return in the evening.”

“Before noon is fine, Sir.” She bowed her head and escorted him to a place to sit down and drink tea as she confirmed everything.

“Please take half and place it into the funding bond, and the other into the saving bond.”

“Will he be depositing monthly into the guild?” The clerk asked.

Anthony leaned back in thought. “I’m not sure.”

“It’s fine.” She smiled and then sorted out the coins, bars, and gems.

With this, Anthony could go to sleep peacefully. Well, as peacefully as he could considering he usually drank himself unconscious. He wondered where Ozcar had retrieved all the money, though Anthony had also taken a few of the funds from the purse which the Chief had given them. It was far too generous for the journey, and if they returned with a little too much he felt it would have been disrespectful.

He smiled at the thought of the Chief silently berating him. No doubt the large purse was his way of telling Anthony to spend it all on the boy. Even the Chief could cute in his own way.