Teiman nodded and repeated what Merim whispered to his men. After the two left with Teiman as the guide, the men groaned in complaints as they dropped onto the ground.
"Didn't do anything!? We prepared the trap, waited for the beast for hours, executed the trap, and maintained it for minutes! Didn't he see how terrifying this beast is when it's alive!? Meanwhile, they were just standing there while we risk our lives!"
"Shh-! What if the Imagi heard you? It's already a good thing that no one was hurt, let alone, dead!" another man rebuked.
After a series of complaints, jokes, and chatter, they finally regained the motivation to continue their jobs.
Once they split the work, it was obvious that nobody wants to scout the new area right after dealing with the beast king. It's better to spend the rest of the day, taking the bear home to process it for profit.
However, one man volunteered to go for scouting.
"Eh? You sure, Heron? It might be dangerous out there."
Heron, the man who volunteered, nodded.
"Yeah, scouting is best as a one-man job anyway. You know that I am agile, if I ever run into something, I'll just make a run for my life before it even notices me."
With none stopping him, Heron went farther into an unknown area where the bear came from.
Behind his back, his fellow hunters muttered to each other.
"Heron's such a hardworking man... and he's not even that agile."
"Let him, if you're in his place, you would do the same."
"Yeah, his family and wife expected so much from him to becoming an Imagi, but in the end, he didn't and reached thirty which greatly disappointed them. He doesn't have a choice but to burden himself with more work."
"Poor him, now that he saw a true Imagi, he must be pretty down."
"Come on, enough talking. It's not like any of you is helping him anyway."
The sympathizing atmosphere was easily washed away when the men did their own work.
Meanwhile, Heron walked alone in the woods with his backpack. The sun was still high in the sky. If not for the trees and leaves, the heat would've been hard to walk under.
But seeing his tanned skin with a few scars, it was obvious that he was used to working under heat...
At first, Heron was vigilant, but after walking for a while, he began swearing.
"I want to beat you up, me from five years ago!"
Heron heavily frowned as he carefully traversed the grassy surface of the forest filled with overgrowths.
"What the hell did you find in that woman?! Because she's beautiful? Because she's from a noble background? Just because that snake lied about you being special, having potential, and all that bullcrap!?"
His shout echoed in the seemingly empty forest. Hearing his own words, Heron's face began to crumple as sobs could be heard from him. It was as if he was holding himself from crying.
"My family expected so much from me. They thought I'm going to become big because that snake told them so much crap. And now what? After she misunderstood, how can she have the face to tell me that I didn't try my hardest!?"
After wiping his eyes, Heron sighed. He walked for minutes and then hours while contemplating and talking to himself.
There were chirping birds in the trees, noisy insects, and even small animals. However, as a hunter his whole life, Heron knew what to and not to do when encountering them.
"But now that we're married and she has my child, we can't do anything but bear with each other... this is going to be a hard life being under the same roof as that woman..."
Noticing that the sky was now getting yellowish, Heron looked at a map sketched on an animal skin from his backpack.
"Hm? I've walked for hours, why are there no predators around here?"
He flipped the map multiple times to see that he's right.
"Is there a reason why the king bear left its territory and came to our place?"
....
Knowing his way around, before he reached the place where the bear's cave should be, he finally saw a predator.
"A wolf." he dropped and tried to be inconspicuous.
Heron silently sneaked and went near without the wolf noticing him.
"Strange..." he frowned as he looked at the wolf slowly walking towards something in the grass.
From Heron's expertise, this wolf should be a leader of a pack. Its build, size, and the fierce gaze from its eyes say it all.
While silently observing behind the trees, Heron finally noticed what the wolf was slowly approaching for.
His eyes widened.
'A child!'
Without confirming if what he saw is truly a child or if the child is dead or not, Heron immediately came out of his hiding and rushed while taking a hunting knife from his behind.
"Get away!" he threatened with a guarding pose.
The wolf showed its fangs and growled at Heron who came out of nowhere. It was too focused on the child to notice Heron.
Meanwhile, the hunter slowly walked back. When he was near, Heron looked back and saw the baby with soft white skin and a calm expression.
"He's still breathing...!" Heron smiled but at the next moment, he heard the grass rustled and saw that the wolf was about to pounce at him!
"Argh!" preparing his knife at the front, Heron barely defended himself while keeping his balance. If he fell, he would be in a more vulnerable state.
When the wolf felt the blade slicing its tongue and lips, it backed away.
Heron huffed from fear. Although he was an experienced hunter, it doesn't mean that he can take on a large wolf on his own!
'I can make a run for it' he glanced with worry, 'but the child...'
Meanwhile, the wolf stared at Heron's blade. Its eyes were filled with anger and a tinge of fear.
After a pause, it immediately turned and rushed to the child with its mouth open.
"No-!" Heron didn't expect the wolf to just change its target, however, he wouldn't be able to catch up to it even if he reacted faster!
When the wolf was about to bite the child and take it away-- it suddenly stopped...
Its fangs were just a few inches away from the quiet child.
"..." Heron's breathing became heavy as it witnessed the wolf slowly closed its mouth and sniff the child.
After just a few seconds, the wolf's eyes widened before turning around and making a run for it while making sounds as if it was a beaten dog.
"What...?" Heron was speechless. It took him a few moments before he relaxed and sheathed the hunting knife.
"Is the child poisoned by something and the wolf noticed it?" he carefully approached the child, "But why would it squeal like that? Is the poison so strong that just by sniffing, you'll get affected?"
Even though he has his suspicions, Heron determinedly chose to get close at the child. After all, earlier, he was so close to it but didn't smell anything.
He slowly inspected the child while finding many questionable things.
"I'm right, he's still alive..."
"But what stopped the wolf? There are no signs of the poison of any kind... also," Heron gulped as he took the child.
The child seemed to be just months old. It was light and small while it still had its eyes closed. Although he's breathing, he is not crying like what a normal child would do.
Heron looked around before asking, "Who left you here?" before carrying the child properly near his chest.
"I didn't see anyone. No insects or worms on you, meaning, you should've been put here not long before... but no..."
Heron didn't know but he could feel something from the child. There was this hope that he couldn't explain.
"You... you're special, aren't you?" he smiled before poking the child's cheek, "There's something within you... maybe... just maybe... is it because you're an Imagi? Or you have the potential to become one? If not, why would the wolf avoid you!?"
Feeling hope and excitement, Heron remembered the disappointed faces of his family and wife.
Breathing in a cold breath, he firmly decided.
"From now on, you're my child... I'm going to raise you into some who make me proud... ok? Even if your parents still want you, how could I give you back to people who just placed you in the middle of a dangerous forest?"
He said before turning around and going back to where he came from.