Although people had allegiance to their clans, even more so when they had blood ties with them, they couldn’t be forced to stay there unless they wanted to. Another thing that was possible was the fact that Edea’s clan wouldn’t try to bring her back since they could connect the dots and realize that it would only put them in a bad spot. She was skilled, but two people could do her job with no problem.

“I will do my best to keep myself useful here since I have other traits.”

“We will find something for you when the time comes. Still, you should lay low for a while.”

“Understood.”

“As for you three… I am still thinking about what you should do. Wait and rest for a few days until the selection is over, and then we will talk again.”

Kaitrine didn’t like that… it sounded like they couldn’t participate in the selection, and she obviously raised her eyebrows.

“Relax, you guys are already skilled and loyal enough to need things like a selection. Those close to me and who participate in the selection already know about the incident, so they won’t be against it either. I am just thinking that making you all follow the unusual path would be a waste. Well, I am not sure what I have in mind yet, so just wait patiently.”

Hei’s ideas were anything if not interesting, given what happens after them. Regardless, Aleph was starting to get annoyed by the fact that he tended to keep secrets from them until the very last minute.

“Naturally, you will receive the same type of contract, but your work will be a bit different. The rewards will be better as well. Speaking of rewards, I have to pay you already, huh.”

Finally… Aleph would be able to receive his money and then go on a restaurant spree to find the best place with the best ratio of flavor, amount, and price in town. He couldn’t help but show a small smile, but then it soon disappeared when the others looked at him.

“Use it wisely.”

“This isn’t our allowance, Dad.”

“I was only saying this to you, not to the others.”

“Ha-ha, very funny.”

After Aleph got his money, he began counting the minutes to go on his food shopping spree. Still, soon, he realized that he needed to consider the future of his money… he had to make good use of it. Aside from a few weapons, food, and training gear, he needed to consider how to make his money work for him since jobs like that would be hard to come by.

One hour later, the group split, and then they said their goodbyes since it would take a few days before they would see themselves like that again. Aleph practically ran to have his real lunch, and then he stuffed himself. The food shopping spree would have to wait. He had to work on some things first.

After he was done eating, Aleph went to check the blacksmith shops for the heaviest weapons they had. In the end, he found a cylinder-shaped club that looked pretty nasty and weighed thirty kilograms. That was a bit too heavy to use with a single hand, even for his training, but he decided to buy it anyway since it was cheap. Clubs weren’t the main weapon of choice of most people. Swords and spears were cooler. At the same time, he would be able to train harder with it.

Once he was done with that, Aleph began to move to the farm where the old man he worked for lived… in order to save some money, instead of paying for an inn, Aleph decided to work and live there. He didn’t need a bed, after all. The cattle shed would be enough for him.

 “Aleph! My boy! My back missed you so much!”

“What the… what a weird thing to say… I don’t remember telling you my name.”

“The Captain told me two weeks ago. Around the time, my back was starting to kill me for the heavy work, and then I went to ask him when you were going to return.”

“I would bet. I have a good offer for you if you stop saying weird things. I want to negotiate my services here for you. I will do all the heavy lifting, and you can stay in the shade, counting the sunstone coins coming. I won’t be able to do that all the time, but I will be able to do it around so you can recover from your backpack. How much you can pay me for that while also giving me a bucket of the cow’s milk and letting me sleep in the shed as well.”

“Do you actually like to sleep rough like that? The Captain told me a few things about you, but I didn’t think that he was for real… we have one extra bed at home that you can use.”

“I am grateful, but I will have to refuse.”

“He said that you would say that to my offer too… I guess that is for the best since my daughter is too cute, and I want to protect her as much as possible, even from kids of your age.”

“I am deeply offended by that statement.”

Aleph wondered why they had one extra bed when they had a daughter… it was probably something complicated, so Aleph had another reason to keep his distance from the family. His life already had too much drama.

“Well, in addition to what you already did on the farm, you can also repair the fences, ensure that no wild animal approaches the farm and hurts the cows, and clean up the mess they leave behind. Considering what you are asking, I suppose I can offer you fifty green coins for a day of work.”

“Then we have a deal.”

Without wasting time, Aleph started to work. He didn't hesitate to move all the manure of the cows to the corner of the shed since it could be used for some things. The main use was fertilizer, and certainly, a lot of fertilizer could be made out of all that shit.

When Aleph was done, it was already night, so he began to patrol the farm while swinging the club with a single hand. The club was essentially two times heavier than the other one, so Aleph was unable to train for as long as usual, but that was fine for now, and then he went to bed.

Aleph woke up when the sun was rising and soon resumed his routine… while he was fetching water and bringing the hay, the farmer and his wife were milking the cows. It was amazing that they could do that to hundreds of them every morning. After that, he went to do his deliveries. Now and then, he made the deliveries too fast while those two were still milking the cows, so he had some free time for training.

“Eh, you are already working like nothing has happened.”

Aleph looked to the side and then sighed when he saw those three in front of the farm. Irlan, Heirina, and Kaitrine… they apparently had too much time on their hands, and went to bother Aleph. In any case, they looked at his arms, and they didn't find any signs of the wounds that he had. He was also stepping around like his leg was completely fine.

They didn't say anything about it, but they could tell that Aleph had a healing factor or healing trait that consumed magic. That kind of trait was mainly used for those who wanted to heal others, so they were surprised that Aleph ignored such an obvious thing to do.

“I am busy. What do you guys want? Hei said we would have a few weeks off.”

“Your idea of days off is a bit different than ours, and you should call Dad Captain Hei.”

“I guess you guys must be bored out of your mind.”

Aleph wasn't right. After the last few weeks, staying at home and doing nothing seemed pretty boring. They even decided to use the secret passage to come to the farm without seeing anyone… Edea was more mindful of that and decided not to take any chances.

In the end, they killed some time while watching Aleph work, but he had some time off when noon came. Thanks to that, he decided to finally drink his bucket of milk. Heirina was speechless when she saw Aleph raising the bucket like it was a glass cup to his mouth.

“You aren't planning to drink all that by yourself, are you?”

“It seems that you don't know me well enough yet.”

Aleph couldn't help but grin, and then he began to drink the milk. In no time, he drank half of it, and he felt revitalized. It was truly good to be alive to enjoy moments like that…

“If you have something to say, just say it.”

The author here, everyone. Thanks for reading the book. I hope that you have fun reading the book as much as I have writing it. If you want to join our discord, this is the link: https://discord.gg/AQsYm99A

I also have a Patreon for those who want to read ahead. Don't worry; I will post a new chapter every day here, but I will be posting two on the Patreon. There are currently forty-three chapters ahead there. Thank you for your patience, and have a nice day! 

Thank you for your continuous support, Matthew and Aaron N Ewoldt!