Today was finally the day of the hunt.

Sieg stood firmly in front of the twins, looking like a drill instructor. He had never looked so serious in front of the children before, though it was how he normally acted before he got married.

“Listen, there’s a lot of dangers in hunting,” Sieg began talking. “We have to make sure that we don’t get hurt. Safety is the top priority. If you end up encountering a monster or an animal that you cannot beat, don’t hesitate to run.”

Loki and Riel nodded obediently, eyes wide as they try to remember his words.

“Also, do not try to overhunt. Only get as much as you need, and don’t try to show off.” Sieg dished out several more warnings and advices, making sure the twins understand that they were not just going on a simple picnic.

That being said, he was only going to bring them to hunt for rabbits or squirrels in the vicinity of the village, though. Haha~

Leila who was standing by the side could not help but smile and chuckle. Sieg was acting like it was a matter of life and death. While it may be true on most cases, they were not venturing far into the forest, and the area that they had chosen was rather tame in terms of the danger level, with only a few small animals coming and going every now and then.

Ignoring his wife’s reaction, Sieg pulled out a small dagger and passed it to Loki. “When I was your age, my father gave me this before my first hunt, and today, I shall pass it down to you, my son.”

Loki accepted the dagger with sparkling eyes. “Really?! Waa~” He held onto it like a treasure, grinning from ear to ear.

“When we get back, I’ll teach you how to sharpen it.” Sieg added. The dagger was quite old, so it was not as sharp as it used to be. Since he had not used it for a long time, the tip was rather blunt.

Loki nodded eagerly. At this point, nothing entered his ears as he was too excited about receiving his first weapon. Later, he can also help his father out, he thought. He had long admired his strong father who would occasionally bring back game that was more than twice his size home. Now, there was a chance for the little boy to follow his father’s footsteps and become just as strong and amazing.

After preparing for a few more moments, the family finally sets out for Loki’s first hunt.

The two males in the family led the team, with Sieg occasionally pausing to point at useful plants and giving survival tips to the boy, who absorbed the knowledge like a sponge.

Leila treaded leisurely behind them, Riel in her arms. Unlike the two who were out to hunt, the young-woman-and-girl pairing acted as if they were on a stroll, admiring the scenery and smelling flowers along the way.

While he was busy teaching his son the ropes, he made sure not to divert from the safe path. In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the border of the safe zone of the forest that surrounded the village.

“We’re here,” Sieg informed. The place was not too far from the village, and the only prey that came here were small critters, so it was quite safe. But, to make sure that the boy would not lower his guards, Sieg kept up his serious act. “Be careful and don’t stray too far from us,” He carefully reminded the energetic boy.

“Yes!”

Sieg patted his son’s head, and half a beat later, the boy had already zoomed away, searching every bush and tree for prey. Rather than hunting, Loki looked more like he was playing hide-and-seek.

Sieg and Leila chuckled at his antics.

Riel start to fuss in Leila’s arm, begging to be let down. “Mommy, I want to go too!” As if she could not bear leaving her twin for a moment longer, she quickly jumped out of her arms, tottering to Loki and following him around curiously. If he ran, she ran, and if he stopped, she stopped.

The sight was so cute; Leila could not help but smile.

Sieg took off the package he had been saddling on his back, spreading it on the ground. The cloth used to pack the things were used as the picnic blanket, and an assortment of snacks and cutleries were placed down on it.

Sieg picked up a piece of bread from the pile, munching on it as he kept a diligent eye on their kids. After he finished replenishing his energy, he went over to the twins’ side, instructing them on how to build a simple trap.

Leila picked up an apple-like fruit and a knife, ready to start peeling its skin while Sieg taught the children the tricks of hunting. No sooner than later, the three came back to Leila’s side just as she finished cutting up a fruit, with a bird and two rabbits in tow.

Loki had a huge smile on his face, holding a rabbit by its ears in his hands. Seeing that Leila was looking at him, the little boy held up the rabbit victoriously, as if asking for praise.

“Mommy, look! I caught this myself,” he said, eyes curving into crescents.

“Wooow! How amazing~” Leila readily replied, clapping her hands in amazement. “Loki is all grown up now~”

“Hehe,” the little boy rubbed the tip of his nose, smiling proudly.

“Wait a second; I’ll build us a fire.” Sieg placed down the game on the ground, glancing around for sticks of wood to burn. Leila placed her hand on his arm just as he was getting up. “I’ll look for the wood with Riel, why don’t you teach Loki how to skin the rabbits?” She smiled. She did not want to deal with the bloody parts so she volunteered to find wood instead.

“Nn. Sure.” After thinking for a bit, Sieg nodded. “Be careful,” he reminded her.

“Yes~” With his permission, Leila ventured near the woods, looking for small sticks and branches while holding Riel’s hand.

“Mommy, is this good enough?” Riel released her hand from Leila’s, picking up a fallen tree branch that was as long as her height. She held it up shakily, legs trembling from the weight.

Leila smiled at the girl, evaluating the piece of woods. Judging that it was dry enough, she took it from the girl. Later, she would have to ask Sieg to cut it up into smaller pieces. Since her daughter had picked it out, she did not want to leave it behind.

“Riel, look for the cute little baby sticks, okay?” She sweetly asked her daughter. Riel was young and did not have much strength, so she simply asked the little girl to pick up the thinner and smaller pieces instead.

“Okay~” Riel compliantly followed her mother’s words, only looking for the smaller sticks. Within a few minutes, the two came back to the picnic site, a bundle of sticks and branches in hand.

“Loki, why do you look so pale? Are you sick?”

“Uu... urgh…”

Coming back from gathering wood, Leila and Riel was greeted by the sight of Loki who looked as if he was close to throwing up.

“A man shouldn’t be frazzled just from the sight of blood,” Sieg scolded. Because Leila deeply loved the children, they grew up sheltered. It was the first time Loki had ever seen so much blood and gore as his father taught him how to process the rabbits and the bird.

“N-nothing… Ah! Riel, what happened to your hands?!” Seeing the scratches and splinters on his twin’s hands, Loki momentarily forgot about his queasiness.

“Ah…” Riel looked down at her hands, only now noticing the wounds. “I had so much fun with mommy, that I didn’t notice them~” She laughed happily, looking highly pure and innocent.

“That’s no good, Riel!” Loki held her hands anxiously. “You have to heal them quickly, or you’ll get an eef-fec-shun! Aunt Mimi said so,” he said.

Riel tilted her head, “Wat’s an ‘eef-fec-shun’?”

“I don’t know. I think it’s something bad.”

“Oh, then I should heal it.”

“Nn!”

Leila smiled at the two kids. “Why don’t you do that together?” She suggested.

“”Un!”” The two nodded in unison, then simultaneously cheered, “Pain, pain, go away~” The two of them threw their hands into the air, giggling.

A bright light covered the two small figures, and soon Riel’s wounds healed and Loki’s complexion became rosy again.

Unbeknownst to the happy family, a sneaky pair of eyes had witnessed the whole thing, flashing greedily.