Diether was previously being bullied due to his weak body. Since he came from a declining noble family, no one would protect them except the members of their family.
However, the pressure only worsened after his sister was announced as someone who possesses a legendary ranked Arcana…
"I understand… But this time, I already have the power to protect you… Do you want to return with me? Our mom misses you already…"
Aria knows how difficult it is to survive alone in this world where powerful beasts and dangerous humans exist.
For a 10-year-old kid to survive up until now was truly something she should be thankful for.
"I… I would like to stay here and get stronger…"
Diether answered after thinking for a moment. Aria didn't get too surprised since she saw his figure coming out of the Wailing Forest a while ago.
It means that he somehow learned to protect himself or he has others he could rely on. However, she was still unsure of his current abilities.
"Little brother, you're only turning eleven. There's still more than a year before you can participate in Arcana Bestowal Ceremony. I'm sure that there is a lot of Evil Beast around here…"
"Uhmm… I know, sister. However, I've already gotten strong. Look, I'm already a 1-Star Hunter."
Diether showed his license card to prove his claim.
"What? You're already a hunter? That's amazing!"
"Hehe… Of course. I can already fight against a low-grade beast. Though I will probably need some help if I encounter a mid-grade…"
"Really? Then, are you using a Magic Weapon?"
"Eh? Yes… Something similar…"
"Mhmm… Very well… I'll tell mother that you're safe. You can stay here and strengthen yourself. Someday, I'll reestablish our family and regain the honor of our nobility…"'
Diether nodded after hearing this.
"I know that you can do it, sister."
"Of course… Right, you should write a letter or something. It should only cost you about 10 coppers to send a letter so you should inform me in case you will move."
"I understand… By the way, do you know any specific enemy of our family?"
"Enemy? Don't worry about them… I told you, didn't I? I'm only bidding my time… Once I mastered my Arcana and finished the Awakening—"
"So, we really have an enemy…"
"Ugh… Yes. But you shouldn't know too much about it. Even our father disappeared without any traces. You must remember that he was someone who has a Unique-Rank Arcana and possesses many Magic Weapons… He even has a squad of personal knights with him. You can just imagine the strength of the enemy."
"Then, I would like to know the name or affiliation of our enemy so I can be careful…"
"Sigh~ I remembered before that you always used to listen to your sister… You've really grown up... Anyway, we shouldn't be in danger since I believe that their only target was our father and it has nothing to do with our desolate territory or our nobility… The defamation that has happened to us was only a result of the cover that was made to erase our father's influence…"
Aria paused for a moment as she looked into Diether's eyes very seriously… After confirming that Diether was listening intently, Aria whispered the name of their family's enemy…
"It's the Greiner Family…"
***
On the morning the next day, Diether skipped his breakfast to visit the Hunter's Association building. It was time to get his rewards.
"Miss Han, good morning."
"Oh, you're early…"
"Mhm… Can I get the rewards for the mission now?"
"Yes, of course. Sir Orga told me to handle it personally. Here, have a sit."
Miss Han offered to him a seat in front of the counter. Diether accepted and noticed that there's only two of them in the room. It seems that it was indeed too early or the hunter just went hunting already…
'But, we've just killed a lot of beasts yesterday… It should be more than enough to give us some rest for weeks.'
"Oh, if you're wondering where the other hunters are… They should be sparring with the Arcane Students at the village plaza on the west gate. It seems that there's a reward to be given if you performed really well. It wasn't on the mission board but it was requested by the Arcanist Association and the Village Chief."
"Whoa… I didn't know that."
"Yeah… It was only announced this morning… Very well… Here's the reward for your participation in the village defense and completing the D-Rank guide mission…"
A bag of gold coins and a shiny wooden token with an engraved logo of the Royal Academy was in front of Diether …
"The D-rank mission's reward was supposedly 1 gold coin and a token for the Academy's Marketplace but it seems that Sir Orga had promised you that he'll add another 4 gold coins… As for the village defense, you requested that all the rewards should be converted to money so all the materials and cores that should be given to you were exchanged for their market price. It was a total of 67 gold coins and 3 silver coins. If you add the first 5 gold coins in the mission, you'll get 72 gold and 3 silver…"
Miss Han saw Diether looking blankly so she immediately explained.
Apparently, due to the deaths and injuries of several hunters yesterday, the village chief and Sir Orga decided to cut the rewards for the sake of families who were left behind and construction of the village fortification.
Diether understood this and even felt glad that the village chief had his sights for the future of the Farahn village.
With this move of the leader, it would make the Hunters and the others feel relieved that even if they came to the point of sacrificing themselves for the village, they wouldn't have to worry about the future of their families since they will be given rewards as long as they died doing missions…
This wasn't something a normal village has, so they were thankful for the chief for doing this for them.
Diether shakes his head after hearing her explain.
"I understand. I was actually shocked to see a lot of gold coins. I never held this much money in my life."
"Oh! Haha, I see… With your skills, I'm sure that you'll earn even more than this. In case you've decided to go to the city, make sure to open a bank account. You'll have an easier method of saving large money. Although small villages like us don't have a bank, every city and towns have them…"
Diether only smiled at this as he was still unsure about the concept of banks. Anyway, those things were only for rich people. But still, he thanked the beautiful lady for informing him about it.
As he kept the pouch of gold in his bag and the token in his pocket, Reiji talked to him.
"Kid, I know I shouldn't have to tell you this but… let's go to the plaza now…"
"Yes, master!"
Diether was sure that his master wouldn't just let him watch there but he wasn't afraid and was even looking forward to it.