It's been 5 hours.

I woke up feeling wet on my face. Opening my eyes and looking around, I quickly remembered what had happened and was glad to myself that I was still alive. The girl saved me judging by the pleasant itching in the places of wounds from the medicine. Even managed to bandage all the wounds using tent.

Having taken a sitting position, at first I was a little surprised that I did not feel so bad. But soon remembered what I knew about the Knight's Disciples. In fact, I took the first small step that elevated me above mortals. Seriously increased not only physical performance, but also the rate of recovery of the body.

Now I could feel within myself this so-called internal energy that nourished my body from the inside. Of course, according to the records, the Knight Disciples are not able to control it in any way, only True Knights could do it.

The absence of clothes other than underwear indicated that the girl was sweating a lot while helping me, I looked at her. Now I could see it properly and was really amazed.

Of course, I didn’t see too many girls, especially noble ones, so it was difficult for me to soberly assess her beauty. But one thing I knew for sure, I had never seen more beautiful girl and I doubted that I would ever see.

The only thing that spoiled the picture was the remnants of my blood on her clothes.

- Th... - due to dryness in my mouth, I cleared my throat - Thank you. I'm Sam, how should I address you?

- Isabelle. - she replied.

After drying my face, I began to put on the rest of my clothes and listen to my surroundings.
Isabelle poured water over my face in an attempt to wake me up because some animal was trying to get into the carriage. It was night outside, luckily the weather was clear so the stars and the moon gave the world enough light.

Opening the carriage door, I saw a green-eyed panther. She recoiled and growled, opening her mouth.

- Scram! - I told her holding the sword at the ready.

After a little hesitation, the panther ran up to one of the relatively intact corpses and, biting into it with his teeth, took off into the depths of the forest.

Looking around, I noticed that there were not so many corpses left. Somewhere nearby, the fuss of wolves and some other local inhabitants was heard. I walked around the area for a bit, but no one attacked me. So I collected everything of value that I could find.

Soon I returned to the carriage and began to collect the rest of the supplies and one of the tents, after which I called Isabelle and we went away from here. Before the operation, I studied the map of the area, so I knew approximately where one of the villages adjacent to the local lord's area was located.

I wasn't sure how dangerous it could be for a Knight Apprentice in the forest at night, but I decided to shamelessly assume it was dangerous and spend the night with Isabelle in a tent. Of course, first we had to move away from the carriage.

On the way, I thought about what I had done. To be honest, I didn't feel comfortable killing my own people. Although nominally we were all bandits, not all of them were bad people and not all of them deserved to die. I was worse than many of them.

Unfortunately, I took with me the best people, in particular two deputies who were not only good in battle but also had some other talents. It was a serious loss.

Among them were a couple of noble descendants. Nevertheless, the nobles also differed greatly from each other.
Some nobles were wealthy, others had power and influence. There were those who had both.
But at the same time, there were a lot of nobles who were nothing of themselves and they didn’t have a damn thing in their souls. Most often, these were among the younger sons who were essentially in exile.

I didn't care at all about the consequences of killing such nobles. Even if some crowd comes running to me with claims, I will just slaughter them like pigs.

I had to decide whether to return to a weakened gang for the sake of connections and a spy network, while leaving a small risk that this attack would be linked to me. Although if I want to avoid such a risk, I will have to leave the kingdom altogether, however, such a move may bring more problems than good.

In any case, the first thing I was going to do was go straight to Gray. The Knight's Apprentice was our common dream, and I must return to him before it's too late.

An hour later we were far enough away. Finding a fairly secluded place next to the rock, I pitched my tent and said dispassionately.

- We'll spend the night here, then we'll go in the morning.

Apparently Isabelle didn't mind and went inside. Once again carefully checking the perimeter, I did not notice anything strange.

Soon we were sitting in the tent in awkward silence. I examined Delric's sword and was surprised to find that his sword had taken even less damage than mine. Most likely, magic iron was used in its forging, the mine of which was under the control of the royal family.

I wanted to take his armor as well, but only the sword remained on the ground, someone had already dragged Delric's body away and I was not going to look for him in the forest.

In Delric's belongings that I took the day before, there were three magic crystals, which immediately attracted my attention. I left the tent and looked at a small black crystal that seemed to absorb the moonlight.

In addition to the crystals, there was some gold, a sealed letter, a healing ointment for knights, and a couple of vials with unknown contents.

The letter was as follows.

- Mr. Lawrence, I'm afraid I can't help your son. The meditation technique for increasing mental strength is transmitted exclusively through the special magic item "Orb of Knowledge" and nothing else. Similar ones are used in all organizations of magicians.

Even if I wanted to record this technique for you, I simply could not do it. The meditation technique is not just a set of some actions, in fact it is a way to create a foundation and development for the soul. It's impossible to put into words.

Perhaps only a True Mage is capable of transmitting such a technique, yet I have never heard of a meditation technique written down on paper.

Even if you offered me a thousand magic crystals, there was nothing I could do to help you.

I hope you won't bother me again unless absolutely necessary.

After examining the letter properly and not finding anything else interesting in it, I burned it. The three magic crystals became a serious reward for me, so I soon returned to Isabelle in high spirits.

- Not cold? - I asked.

- No, everything is okay.

- Maybe you want to get some sleep? - I asked again.

Isabelle shook her head. - I do not want to.

- Then tell me about yourself.

At first I had to ask leading questions, but soon Isabelle finally told me her story in full. To be honest, I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. A talented girl who is sent to magic school by her parents. A perfect fate if you don't consider how it all ended.

Of course, it never crossed my mind to help her become a Mage or give her to someone. The more I looked at her, the less I wanted to part with her. And in any case, I could not even help myself to become a Magician.

After her story, our communication went much smoother. Gradually, I began to share with her the story of my life. Judging by the look of Isabelle, she was extremely interested in listening to my story, this could not but amuse me.

So we chatted until morning.

In the morning we moved on.

Now our relationship has become noticeably closer and the girl did not behave so stiffly in my presence.

When I got to the nearest settlement, I overpaid for a suitable horse and nondescript clothes, primarily to hide Isabelle's appearance. Having seated her in front of me on a horse, I galloped back to city of Harin.

The city guards managed to memorize my face, so I got into the city without any problems. But the first thing I did was change horses, replenish my supplies, and hit the road again. Of course, I took breaks along the way to allow Isabelle to rest.

Finally I returned to the territory of Baron Manfred and rushed to the old man's house.

I saw Tucker in the yard. Of all the bandits, he was one of the rare specimens that I really liked. He was not the best fighter, but he was quite smart, educated, and most importantly had a conscience. Therefore, it was he who I instructed to look after the old man.

He said hello and outlined the situation. The old man hadn't moved much in recent months, but he still had the strength to grumble at times as he chased Tucker away.

And now, after not much more than four years, I fulfilled my promise and finally was able to appear before his eyes. The old man was sitting in a chair looking out the window, but when he heard the intrusion, he turned in my direction.

- Sam?

- Yes it's me. How are you doing?

The old man's eyes visibly brightened, but, as usual, his words did not sound very welcoming.

- How am I supposed to be doing? I'll die soon. - the old man looked at Isabelle - Can you introduce your friend to me?

- Hello, I'm Isabelle. It's very nice to meet you, Sam told a lot about you... - the girl introduced herself, removing her hood and bowing gracefully.

The old man arched his eyebrows in surprise and looked at me.

 - Are you stealing princesses from castles now?

I chuckled and told him the whole story, including my breakthrough.

Congratulations, at least one of us is doing well. - the old man summed up with a wry smile.

Considering how rarely he smiled, that wry smile was worth a lot.

In the depths of my soul, I understood that I was so eager to become a Knight's Apprentice and show myself to the old man primarily for my own sake, and not the old man. His life was coming to an end. The old Tarrister was happy for me, but he naturally could not find the strength to jump for happiness.

Wish I could promise him that I will find the Mages and come up with a way to prolong his life, but I myself did not believe in this, so I decided to remain silent.

I continued to entertain the old man as best I could, trying to cheer him up. At the same time, I felt very bad. I have nothing to repay him for everything he did for me and I will not have such an opportunity in the future.