Edvard had no answer and he knew it was rhetoric. Instead, he simply nodded as he got to know everyone in the village.

Slowly he started integrating into the village. Most of them were truly surprised by his knack for hunting. Given a half proper bow and just ten arrows, he had returned with three rabbits and a deer on his first day.

Causing a feast to be started, framed as welcoming him but actually as a celebration for a proper meal with no worry. While they could attempt to smoke the meat, none of them wanted to give up on the opportunity for a feast. The first in decades, for many the first in their lives.

Most of the time they had to be very sparse on what they ate, preferring to preserve most of the food they can for the long winters. Edvard's arrival made them hope for an easy winter, one that might be seen through without any deaths.

That night, even with the hamlet having no alcohol it became quite lively. The younger girls all flocked to Edvard hoping to tie him down. Having someone as dependable as him would mean they would never need to worry about food for themselves nor their future families.

Edvard did his best to let them down softly. His heart was not moved by their comely appearances. Certainly, he did not even think of forgetting about Yawen, and more so after the dream hell, he had shut his heart.

Even so, it did not mean he had forgotten what a crush was and how these girls must feel. Hence he tried to appear open and warm, a task he found very taxing.

Excusing himself after only an hour, Edvard found himself a spot near the river. The roaring water calmed his mind and allowed him to think about what was truly important.

"Ah! There you are," Davor said, grasping Edvard's shoulder and pulling him out of his thoughts, to Edvard's annoyance which he did his best to hide. "Do you not fancy any of our young girls?"

Shaking his head Edvard sighed and said, "I have someone... I hope she is still well and waiting for me."

Gripping Edvard's shoulder in a show of support, Davor sighed with him. "You are truly not like others. Few would pass on the attention."

"I know..." Edvard could understand that, especially in such times as this world seemed to be in.

The two sat in silence and watched the river. Davor wondered just what Edvard was thinking, and Edvard tried to come up with a plan.

...

Edvard stayed with the village for a few weeks, learning as much as he could of the kingdom from the villagers. While doing his best to help them stock up for the coming winter, every day he would return with at least one big animal and a few small ones.

The villagers taught him how to properly treat the skin without the luxury of salt and the like. The presence of insects having ruined the methods he had made use of in the illusion.

They also taught him how to smoke the meat for preservation. Their methods were crude but worked and could be done with just a few large leaves.

Along with that he also got accustomed to the language and managed to work on his accent. Making it less noticeable as well as learning the custom greeting. He also picked up on some of the things that were normal to do and say.

One thing that was clear and quite shocking was; relations were not something special. At least not within the village. The teenagers would have a go at it without worry for who saw. Edvard had even seen one girl sleeping with a different person each day over the course of a week. She would always throw him a teasing look when he passed with his prize of the day.

He was certain she was trying to seduce him in her own perverse way, so he always made sure to pass as quickly as he could.

Another thing that was truly bizarre was how age was seen. Him being a forty-year-old man, he would be considered extremely old. What one would normally think of as a grandparent or even a great grandparent. Near the end of their life.

That was in fact how old Davor was, whose age was clear to see. Edvard's good health and the genetic modification from Earth made him not look a day past his twenties and this caused them to think of him as in the prime of his life.

Thus, to the locals, he seemed young. A thing he had to keep in mind and attempted to truly appear as. He realized that if people found out how old he was that they would also figure out that he was not from Ethos. The planet they were on, having learned the name from Davor.

For the people of the village, it was strange that Edvard did not reciprocate their courtship. Even when he told them he had someone, they could not understand why that would stop him. Especially when he had little to no chance of ever going back to her.

The mention of which always quickly caused Edvard to storm away from the conversation and go hunting to vent his frustrations.

His continued strange acts confused many of them, only the elders could understand his feelings. It was strange to them only that he could feel so at such a young age. Normally people would only grow so close to another past the age of 30. When the kids could start taking over the hard fieldwork.

One day, upon coming back with another black feline beast slung over his shoulder, Edvard stopped in shock. Things were wrong, extremely wrong. It was far too quiet, the noise of fieldwork and laughter of the children in the air were absent.

Throwing the beast from his shoulder, Edvard moved slowly and in the shade of the trees, finding that a group of six knights was standing in front of the villagers. Their armor and bright blue cloaks in stark contrast to the dirty appearances of the villagers.

"… All abled bodied men of age above 12 and under 30 are to be conscripted, those who refuse will be considered traitors to the Holy Kingdom of Eskrat. Now hurry up and say your goodbyes, we are leaving by the end of the day." A knight with a gold gilded cloak said with disdain. A single golden laurel engraved on each shoulder of the cloak, indicating his ranking and prowess.

The villagers all fell into despair as they heard the knight finish. There was no way they would be able to survive should all the men be taken away. Most knew from other villages that the men never returned.

'Shit,' Edvard cursed and turned around, prepared to abandon the villagers to their fate. Yet, after taking a single step he could not take another. His heart ached at the thought of those who he had grown close to being forced into a war.

While he did not know any of them well, he felt indebted to them. His internal struggle caused him to act recklessly. Especially when he heard a loud smack resonant in the air.