Rays of the sun slowly made their way to the window of Joren's room, bathing him in warmth. The sound of birds chirping radiated through the morning sky, telling everyone it was time to wake up.
When he slowly opened his eyes, he could see Pantera's beautiful sleeping face. Her smooth arms and legs wrapped around his body clinging to him as if he was a pillow. His face was smothered in her soft bosom, serving as the perfect pillow.
When they all arrived at the inn last night, Glenn told them everything about their job. At first, just like him, they were upset that Paul's client was Viscount Harold but they got over it relatively quickly.
Once it was time for them to go to sleep, they all headed to their respective rooms. Lenny and Arnold shared a room, and Pantera and Derry shared one as well. Joren thought he was going to share one with Glenn but Pantera quickly shut that down. She said she wanted him in her room and he could sleep in the same bed as her.
The other didn't see any problem with this which was only solidified when Pantera told them that she only got Glenn a single bedroom. Derry also wanted Joren in their room as well. So that night, he spent a few hours talking to both girls before dozing off. They even got undressed in front of him as if it was a normal thing.
'I know I said I don't care, but I really have to figure out why women around me get super comfortable point where they are okay with having sex with me.' Although he didn't have sex with Pantera or Derry last night, he knew from their actions that if he asked, they wouldn't decline.
"Mmmm. Oh, Joren, you're already up. Did you sleep well?" Pantera, who just woke up cuffed Joren's face, smiling brightly before kissing him deeply on the lips.
"Mhmm, I slept well. You make a good pillow." He laughed as he started playing with her breasts.
"No fair, I wanted him to sleep with me last night." Derry who was still in her nightgown pouted as she walked over to Pantera's side of the room.
She hopped on the bed, pulled Joren over to her, and kissed him deeply like how Pantera did just seconds before.
"Fufu, look at the quiet Derry being all jealous 'cause cute little Joren got to cuddle with me last night." Pantera teased
"I'll beat you in rock paper scissors next time!" Derry exclaimed
Derry and Pantera both wanted Joren to sleep with them. He first suggested the three of them simply sleeping together with him in the middle, but they adamantly declined. So he suggested they play rock paper scissors. They didn't know what that was at first but once he explained it to them, they understood and did a best out of three.
Pantera ended up winning while Derry pouted and went off to her bed. She promised that next time she would win and have Joren for the night.
"Haha okay, okay, next time you'll have him to yourself. Come on, let's get dressed, we have to meet with Paul soon and we shouldn't be late" Pantera, Derry, and Joren all got dressed in their work attire, ate breakfast with the others, and made their way to Paul's store.
...
"I'm glad you're here!" Paul welcomed them into his building. "Come with me to the back, everything you need will be there."
They followed Paul who led them behind the store where they came into view of an average-looking caravan with three boxes packed in the back. There wasn't anything extravagant about the caravan, no logos, no banners, no expensive paint or metals, just the typical wooden caravan that most mercenaries use if they can afford one.
"As you can see, everything is packed and ready to go. Don't worry about anyone knowing what's back here, I packed it myself."
"Thanks, Paul. I promise we'll deliver on our side of things." Glenn put his hand on Paul's shoulder reassuring him.
"I hope you do, if not, then I'm ruined."
"Alright everyone, let's get moving, the quicker the better. We need the be out the town within the next ten minutes." Everyone started packing their things in the caravan at Glenn's words. There wasn't a lot of luggage, just the essentials and a few personal items. They all finished within five minutes and left the town right after.
"So Joren, this will be your first time leaving the village right?" Lenny asked
"If you don't count my time as a slave and us being in this town then yeah it's my first time. I don't know what the world is like so I'm kind of excited to see what's out there." In the caravan, Lenny, Derry, Pantera, and Joren were all seated. Arnold and Glenn acted as the coachmen driving the horses.
"I still can't believe that you were a slave, and how casual you are about it," Pantera spoke.
"It's a part of my life that won't ever go away. I can't run from it nor can I act like it never existed. Not mentioning it won't change what happened. It was a chapter in my life that was essential to who I am right now. Sure it came with pain and suffering, but it made me and my family better and stronger people." Joren smiled bitterly. He thought about what his life could have been like if he never had become a slave and if he never lost his father.
Would he have his past life memories? Would he have learned mana as early as he did? Would he and his sisters make it into the Royal Academy? So many possibilities. But he didn't wish for it to have been any other way. Did he want his father back? Of course, he did. But instead of moping, he decided to honor his father by becoming strong. And keeping his mother company of course.
"The only thing I can do is move on and become strong. Strong so I can make my father proud."
They all smiled at his resolution. At such a young age, he experienced hardships but he's pushing through all of it. They were proud of the man Joren was becoming. Glenn and Arnold who heard everything also smiled proudly.
...
Viscount Harold's estate was a two-month journey from Bakers Town. Along the way, they would pass by many towns, villages, and cities.
Everything was going smoothly with their journey. A week had passed and no serious threat had come their way.
"So Joren, what's your cultivation level?" Lenny asked
"Late stage first circle," Joren spoke as he bit down into his apple sitting in Pantera's lap.
"What?! Late stage?! Already? How old are you?" Derry who was shocked by his words stood up in disbelief.
"13" He casually replied taking another bite of his apple.
"13?! Are you serious? You're not lying, are you?" Derry questioned
"You guys rescued me when I was getting beat by those wolves. I was ten then and that was three years ago. So I'm 13 now. You knew this already."
"I know but it's still shocking when you put it into perspective. All of us are second-circle cultivators and the youngest of us is a bit over a decade older than you. So it's shocking when a 13-year-old kid is almost at the same level as us who isn't from a noble family." Pantera said while holding him tightly.
"You all are second circle practitioners? I've always wondered but never asked. I did remember Uncle Glenn telling me that he's at the peak of the second circle."
"That's right" Pantera confirmed. "Arnold as well. Lenny over there is at the late stage while Derry and I are at the mid-stage."
"Amazing!" As Joren was about to ask more questions, the caravan slowly came to a halt.
"Bandits everyone. Be prepared." Glenn peeked his head in the caravan, moving the curtain out of the way and alerting everyone about the situation.
Joren extended his senses far past the caravan into the thick forest on both sides of the path they were traveling on.
'1, 2...5...15..30. 30 bandits in total. 10 in front of us and 20 hiding in the forest. I wonder how this is going to play out.' Smiling, Joren held his sword and walked out of the caravan alongside Derry, Pantera, and Lenny.
"Hello, fellow travelers. Good day, isn't it? Nice weather, cool breeze, what else can you ask for? It's a perfect day." A person spoke. He had a long sword strapped to his back. An unkempt beard and messy hair showed how well he took care of himself. Standing in front of the other bandits made everyone assume he was the leader of this bunch
"Agreed, it is a perfect day. The sun's not too hot and the cool breeze also feels nice on the skin." Glenn replied smiling as if they were well acquainted.
"Haha, finally, someone who agrees with me. Well, my fellow traveler, I'm not sure if you know this but you're passing through bandit territory and I'm sure you know how hard it is to make a living. There's a toll fee around here so I hope you don't mind sparing a dew coins." You could see the greed on the bandit's faces.
"Ahh, I completely understand. Life is tough out here. Let me help you out." Glenn pulled out his bag, grabbed a gold coin, and tossed it to the bandit leader.
"Thank you, friend. You treat me too well. I know this may sound rude to me but could you spare a few more coins? 4 more gold coins to be exact."
As soon as the bandit leader spoke those words, Joren channeled his mana without drawing any attention. 'They aren't going to let us go. One gold coin is enough to feed plenty of people. Asking for four more is just robbery.'
"Hmm. I could spare you two more gold coins. As you can see, I'm traveling with my companions so we need the money for our expenses." Glenn explained to the bandit. Glenn also knew that the leader didn't plan on letting them go so he was already on high alert.
"I understand your predicament, but I'm also in need of the money as well. Maybe we could reach some other agreement?" The bandit proposed.
As soon as those words left his mouth, all the bandits put their hands on their weapons to intimidate them, and the bandits in the forest got ready to attack while the ones perched on the trees readied their bows. Lenny had his hands on his on the back of his neck which made him look as If he was relaxing but in actuality, he was in the perfect position to draw his swords when needed.
Derry, while holding her staff started channeling mana in anticipation of a fight breaking out while Pantera clasped her hands together preparing her magic. Arnold was the only one who stood firm not moving an inch.
'You wanna fuck with us, then get fucked bitches!' Since all the bandits who were in the forest were in his range of mana, Joren summoned mana arrows behind each of their heads without anyone noticing. 'Boom' With one swoop, he fired the mana arrows into the back of the bandit's heads who were in the forest.
One by one, each bandit fell making a *thump* when they collided with the ground. Blood pooled around their heads which had a large hole in them.
Everyone turned to see what happened and when they did, they noticed people dropping like flies, some from the trees and others from the bushes and forest.
The bandits looked shocked before gulping their saliva in fear. Glenn and the others however looked at Joren with shocked expressions, wondering what just happened.
"You talk too much." A menacing smile appeared on Joren's face before he dashed towards the bandit leader, brandishing his sword.