After an hour or so of silence, he opened his eyes. The oil lamp's light briefly shone over his face. His golden eyes were filled with the thirst for knowledge.
However, the look on his eyes had some sort of desperation mixed in it.
"There must be a way…" Jin murmured softly. 'After all, Father once said that I could be stronger than him…'
He started working hard when he discovered that his little sister was able to play with their father longer than he could.
When they were running, he was always the one to get exhausted first.
However, despite all this, not once did he feel jealous of his sister.
In fact, he felt glad.
'I'm glad that I'm the only one to suffer like this and not my sister.' He thought silently as his eyes blazed with determination.
* * *
That evening…
"Bwothew! Bwothew! Look! I'm a swowdsman like Dad!" Tanya grinned excitedly as she waved his small sword around.
Jin laughed at his sister saying, "Wow! But you must keep your power a secret."
Tanya tilted her head and asked, "Why?"
"What? Are you really asking me why? Of course it's so you can surprise Father when you suddenly beat him when training!" Jin whispered to his little sister.
"Ohhh!" Tanya's mouth opened in an "o" shape as she got excited.
"It would be amazing if you could defeat a monster with a single strike like those heroes in the stories, right!?"
"Mhm! Mhm!" Tanya nodded excitedly.
"Then, when a monster attacks us, you can protect us, right? Right?"
Tanya was jumping from excitement. She was imagining all sorts of scenarios where a single slash of her small sword would make the monsters run away in fear.
Jin giggled and ruffled his sister's head.
"But Bwothew." Tanya suddenly stared at her brother.
Jin was a bit surprised and said, "Yeah?"
"You would pwotect me, wight?"
Startled at his sister's sudden change of mood, Jin was at a loss for words.
Seeing her brother not reacting, Tanya pushed her face and stared into her brother's eyes saying, "Wightttt?"
Jin awoke from his surprise and nodded, "Of course! You can't even pronounce the letter 'r' right now. So of course you'll need your brother to help you."
Hearing his teasing remarks, Jin expected that his sister would pout adorably. However, she only smiled brightly and said, "I wiw twake that as yoow pwomise, Bwothew!"
"Foods' ready!" At this moment, the siblings heard their mother's voice.
Jin was unable to make heads or tails of the reason why his sister acted strange. He shook his head and smiled.
The family ate happily while chatting with each other.
* * *
After an hour or so, the family all had satisfied expressions on their faces as they finished eating.
At this moment, Leo cleared up his throat and said, "Ehem, umm I have something to announce."
Jin and Tanya stared at him curiously while Tiana asked, "What is it, Honey?"
Leo scratched his head and replied, "Lord Axton is assembling an expedition group."
Hearing her husband's words, Tiana's expression radiated worry, "Why, what happened? And when are you leaving?"
Leo replied, "It was reported that there were sightings of a vampire deep within the Stygian Forest. Lord Axton has announced that we'll leave the day after tomorrow."
The worry on Tiana's face worsened, "Do they have any idea how powerful the vampire is?"
Leo shook his head, "No, but it's estimated that it won't go past First Class. Besides, Lord Axton will lead the expedition so it's relatively safe."
Tiana heaved a sigh of relief and said, "That's good. Since Lord Axton is a Master Class Warrior, your safety should be guaranteed."
"Dad, awe yoo lweaving agewn!?" Tanya asked with teary eyes.
Jin, on the other hand, carefully thought about the words their parents said.
Leo rubbed Tanya's head and reassured his children, "Don't worry, Dad won't leave for long, okay?"
Tiana smiled on the side. Although she saw this scene whenever her husband had to leave, it was still an adorable sight for her.
Leo placed his hand on Jin's shoulder, "Son, while I'm not here, be sure to take care of your mother and sister."
Jin nodded with a resolute expression, doing his best to prevent his eyes from going watery.
No matter how matured he may seem on the outside, he's still but a child, after all.
* * *
The day after tomorrow…
Leo bid farewell to his family before leaving in the evening after having dinner with them.
Tiana went back inside their house while holding the crying Tanya and sniffling Jin's hands.
That night, Jin posed a few questions to his mother while she's caressing the sleeping Tanya.
It turned out that the Cabanary Fortress they were living in was located in the southern part of the human kingdom, Anthroposia.
And it was made to guard against the Stygian Forest which serves as the border between the human kingdom and the Demon Lands.
The Castellan of the Cabanary Fortress was called Lord Axton, a powerful Master Class Warrior and at the same time, he was a Spearmaster.
Satisfied about the knowledge that he learnt, the mother and son joined Tanya and slept together peacefully.
Though, the absence of Leo still made them feel a little bitter.
* * *
In a room well lit by oil lamps…
A middle aged man with a gray beard and hair was reading what seemed like reports.
Knock knock~
At this moment, knocks could be heard on the door.
"Lord Axton, the expedition group has assembled!"
The middle aged man ordered, "Come in."
"Yes, my lord!"
The door opened and a knight wearing armor entered.
The middle aged man called Lord Axton looked at the knight and asked, "How about the supplies? Is everything ready?"
"Yes, my lord!"
"Good. I'll finish these reports before leaving. You go first and tell them we're departing at midnight!" Lord Axton ordered.
Hearing this, the knight was confused, "But sire, to go to the Stygian Forest at midnight…"
Lord Axton sighed and said, "I know, but I have my reason for doing so."
"Understood!" The knight saluted and left the room.
"Ughhh, shit." Lord Axton rubbed his temples as he read the report written on the paper.
"A Vampire Noble with the strength of Master Class, huh… This is going to be a pain…"
His murmurs echoed around the silent room.