Ben woke up the following day with a spring in his step, as he looked forward to trialling his experiment he'd been thinking about since yesterday.
He was greeted by a cheerful Tia, who was about to head downstairs to eat some food before beginning their day.
"Good morning Tia"
"Good morning Benny!"
"You seem quite happy this morning."
"Mhmm, that's right! Mama said she would make me something special for breakfast, hehe."
Her infectious laugh and bright smile were enough to melt Ben's heart, as he watched her dash down the stairs to take the seat beside Liz.
Ben saw the missing bunch gathering around the table in the morning greeting Tia while she was busy burying herself in Liz warm embrace.
"Good morning Young Master" Everyone called out aloud as Ben entered the dining room.
Everyone, excluding Liz, Tia and Agatha, slightly bowed to him before Alfred appeared beside him.
"Ahh Alfred. Good Morning. I hope your little trip was swell…"
"Indeed, it was, Young Master. As well we have prepared your request as you asked." Alfred gentle spoke, while leading Ben to his seat at the head of the table.
Ever since they had arrived at Alynthn, Liz on their first night placed Ben on the head seat, even though he was still a baby, it was well received by everyone present at the time.
Especially Allat and Kaz, who both were suspicious of her from the beginning, were delighted to see her initiative to seat him at the head, but also weary she may have ulterior motives.
Though, since the night of that first dinner, his seat has always been at the very head.
"I see, have you already skinned the beasts or has that yet to be done?"
"Unfortunately, Young Master, we haven't yet…"
"Hmm, may I ask why?"
"Indeed, Young Master, it seems everyone is capable to perform the task, but the level of skill wouldn't be up to the standards you require.
Furthermore, it could harm the material if they handle the material as they typically would while out hunting."
"I see."
Ben was a bit puzzled with skinning beast, since he hadn't been taught yet by his several Mentors because they assumed he wouldn't be in a situation that would require him to skin the beasts, rather the duty should be left to the servants.
However, they reconsidered their teaching curriculum to include it, once they counted the obscene amount of beast they had hunted throughout the previous night.
Alfred felt quite guilty by the site of a pile of corpses, once they considered the effect their hunting would cause to the economy and adventurers in the region.
Alfred wanted to say something to Kage about their actions last night, like when he mentioned this was Young Masters proper first request of them to the group, they all lost their minds to the bloodlust of the hunt.
Every swing and stab of their weapons, every arrow fired, it all was to fulfil the Young Masters request.
Alfred himself was lost in the trance, but he was able to free himself once they began the argument of the most kills.
He really wanted to beat them over the head with his bloody shoes, but he saw something that you could say was as close to seeing a mythical beast.
He saw a frown across Kages face when he looked upon the pile of beast corpses.
At first, he thought Kage was frowning since he might think the amount wasn't enough, but his next words helped make some sense before he thought the worst of his close friend.
"Alfred… Do you think the Young Master would be pleased by… this mess I made?"
His voice resonated a cold sadness, that Alfred had never heard or ever seen from Kage.
It was hard to tell what he was ever thinking or his expression.
Kage was just a difficult person in everybody's eyes to understand, but Alfred never felt like he was closed off, rather he was like himself in some ways.
Neither of them had spoke about themselves to each other, rather their actions and behaviour was enough to form a bond.
More so, once he heard the sadness in his friend's voice, he knew how his dear friend felt right now.
"…Maybe…"
"…Mhmm should I say someth-"
"No… Never tell him what happened here. This is OUR mess. Let's just clean up and leave before someone follows our tracks. We haven't been the quietest since we step into the forest."
Alfred wanted to remind Kage that he wasn't alone in the mess they made.
Kage might have been in charge of the mission but he wasn't alone in his actions, since they were altogether in whatever they did.
Regardless of their actions. They quickly cleaned up the corpses of the beasts and the widespread gore before leaving for Alynthn.
Alfreds thoughts returned to the present as he saw Kage serving Ben, while giving his morning greetings to the Young Master, Kage returned to the side.
Alfred wanted to speak with Kage to see if he was doing ok, but as he looked towards him, Kage smiled back.
Not his normal terrifying smile that would send chills down anyones spine like they had looked upon death, but a genuine smile with affection and care.
Kage mouthed 'Thank you friend' before he returned his attention to the Young Master.
A small smile appeared across Alfreds face once he knew his Kages state of mind was alright.
He too turned his attention towards the Young Master, while he thought about people that surrounded him.
'Your highness, no matter what happens in this world, you'll always gather unimaginable people by your side.
I'm just glad I made my first friend with one of those people… Thank you… Your Highness' were Alfreds thoughts as his gaze fell on Ben.
After their meal, Ben and Tia rushed outside with Kage guiding the duo to the storage building beside the training grounds.
Once they entered, Kage summoned an enormous pile of beast corpses before the two of them, his eyes were focused on the two, hoping neither would feint or vomit by the sight.
Much to his surprise, neither felt nauseous, rather they were both shocked by the sheer amount gathered.
Tia especially felt Ben had understated the amount Kage and the others had hunted.
Last night, before they had slept, Ben explained to Tia what he requested of Kage and the others for their small experiments to see if his ability worked on the hide of the beasts, but the amount she thought they weren't to hunt might have been at most a dozen beasts.
But before he was a mountain of dead beast of various species, each with a numerous amount throughout the pile.
It was so much that the pile was rubbing against the inner walls and ceiling of the storage building leaving only enough space for a table and standing room for the three of them.
"Kage…"
"Yes…Young Master"
"How did you summon the beasts from your shadows? Did you find a way to storage things within your shadows?"
His question through the wallowing Kage of by surprise.
He was expected questions about the beasts, but his Young Master was rather curious about his shadow abilities.
He didn't know what to say, but he quickly composed himself before replying.
"Young Master… I don't know how to explain it… I've been able to control it for some time now.
It just happened randomly one day that I could use the shadows to store things. So far I haven't found any limitations."
Before Ben could ask another question, Kage spoke once more.
"I will make sure to add it to your training schedule, Young Master."
Ben smiled in reply, before asking how they would deal with the beasts.
"Benny, Papa has a close friend that could help with the butchering. If you asked Papa, I'm sure he could help us."
Tia said since she overheard Ben asking for help skinning the beasts.