Chapter 2: The Competition Among Hunter Apprentices (1)

What should I do? Have I been too cute these days? It seems like Reim has become infatuated with me. What to do? If only I hadn’t acted so adorably when he was cutting my hair! And I shouldn’t have been so clingy when he was teaching me the local dialect! Ah, what to do? Gender aside, just looking at my appearance, I still seem like a five or six-year-old little girl!

Reim had been chatting with a man named Master DeVein about me in the Common People Tribe Language, a language I still hadn’t fully grasped. Since I didn’t really understand it, I could only catch snippets, but it appeared they thought I was a half-breed abandoned by the Demon Tribe and warned me not to show the sad little horns on my forehead in front of others.

But just then, Reim suddenly pulled me into a tight hug, and I blushed bright red, nearly unable to speak!

A little while later, he released me, but by that time, I was dizzy—probably from studying the new language so hard over the past few days. I couldn’t focus on whatever those two were bickering about.

Before long, they seemed to come to a conclusion. They decided to take me to Master DeVein’s shop in town. Although they argued over who would carry me to town, I insisted I could walk by myself, cutting the topic short.

As we walked, Reim spoke slowly in the Common People Tribe Language, explaining his relationship with Master DeVein. It turned out, Master DeVein was Reim’s biological father. To sum it up, Reim’s family situation was messier than the states of pre-Qin China.

Reim’s father, Master DeVein, had a first wife who was a half-demon. She died over twenty years ago during an uproar in the town when ghouls were resurrected by the Undead Tribe. At that time, Master DeVein, a ghoul hunter, was severely injured. Seizing that moment, he retired from hunting and partnered with a female weapon smith, whose shop had been destroyed and whose husband had died, to open a new shop.

After six years of cooperating, they developed feelings for each other and finally got married in the spring of the seventh year. They had a daughter a few years later, Reim’s half-sister, Lena. Meanwhile, Reim also had another sister, Ilya, with no blood relation.

But now, in Master DeVein’s home, it was just him, his second wife, and their youngest daughter left. Reim lived in the Hunter Settlement in the north of town, and even though it was close by, he hardly went home. The eldest daughter had gone to the capital’s knight academy and hadn’t returned once.

Even the youngest daughter, eleven-year-old Lena, influenced by Reim, was clamoring to follow her brother’s footsteps to become a ghoul hunter.

“But Lena lacks talent for hunting even more than I do; I wouldn’t advise her to pursue being a ghoul hunter. That girl should give up on that idea sooner rather than later and learn weapon smithing from Aunt instead. She can take over the old man’s shop with Ilya.”

After about an hour of walking, we finally reached Master DeVein’s weapon shop. As Reim walked into the shop of moderate size, he concluded his explanation like a closing statement.

“Who said they lack talent?!” A girl’s voice came from inside the shop. A black-haired, black-eyed girl walked out from the back, half angry and half happy, scolding Reim.

“Hey, little girl, thanks for holding down the fort,” Reim greeted her with a cheerful expression I had never seen before.

“Little girl? I’ll be fourteen in a month!”

“But speaking of which, the shop looks quite empty. Is business okay, old man?” Reim completely ignored his sister’s grossly exaggerated age and quipped while surveying the shop.

“I don’t need you, a poor hunter, to worry about that! I just struck a big deal with the new commander Dante at the fortress last week. All the apprentices are busy overtime with their kids’ mom in the workshop, so they left this wild girl here alone to manage the shop.”

“Hmph, looks like business is booming.”

“Reim, bro, it’s been a while! Are you finally ready to teach me how to use a sword?” Reim’s sister suddenly changed her attitude and approached him sweetly.

“I’ve told you countless times, swords are useless against ghouls! You need a spear or a bow!” Reim impatiently patted her on the head and continued, “Besides, I’m here for something else.”

Reim pointed at me, who was standing beside them, unsure how to react to their family interaction.

“Hey, is this silver-haired, red-eyed little girl your mistress?” The black-haired girl immediately turned her gaze to me.

Mistress? You must be joking! To be a mistress, shouldn’t the other person have a wife first?

I inwardly retorted but maintained a well-behaved appearance and said, in the recently learned Common People Tribe Language, “I’m not a mistress! How should I put it… I’m Reim’s apprentice!”

Hearing me say I was his apprentice, Reim indeed showed a happy expression, but his sister became even more hostile.

“Hey, are you acting cute or trying to provoke me?” The girl, taller than me, bent down angrily, her black hair seemed to be steaming, and she fixated her big black pearl-like eyes on me. “I am Reim’s first apprentice!”

Getting mad over such a trivial matter? What a kid, I thought and gave in, “Um, then it seems Sister Lena is my senior. I’ll call you Lena-sensei from now on.”

Upon hearing that, Lena immediately changed her attitude, proudly saying, “Hmm, not bad! Then let me teach you how to swing a sword!”

Lena happily pulled out two wooden swords from the shop, handing one to me, clearly relishing her identity as a senior with an eager look.

“Wait! I came here to buy clothes and gear for Alice; let’s play later.” Reim, dissatisfied, held onto his sister.

“But isn’t this quite fun?” Master DeVein seemed to have suddenly thought of a good idea. “Lena, weren’t you just beaten up by that little brat Yuliya from the fortress with a wooden sword? How about you two have a little competition?”

“If Lena wins, I’ll officially take you on as an apprentice and take you hunting; if you lose, old man, you’ll give Lena’s old clothes to Alice for free and entirely give up on the idea of being a hunter, instead focusing on weapon smithing with Aunt.”

I have to say, father and son truly are alike; Reim, who normally seemed quite honest, immediately jumped in on the bet.

“You can’t seriously be thinking of taking her hunting, can you?” Master DeVein was taken aback by his son’s proposal.

“Of course not. We previously tested Alice’s skills in the forest; that child is incredibly strong! But you, old man, haven’t sold Lena’s old clothes, have you?”

“No, no, I haven’t. So it’s settled then! If Lena loses to a child so much younger than her again, you can’t ever mention being a hunter again; you’ll have to help out in the workshop obediently.”

Hey, wait a minute! Why is the conversation suddenly about me having to fight Reim’s sister? This seems to be happening without either of our consent! I was about to protest when Lena spoke up first.

“Not a problem! Miss Yuliya is out of my league; there’s no way I’ll lose to a kid so much younger than me!”

So confident, Sister Lena.

“Alright then, let’s go outside the shop to the weapon testing area and have a nice match; the shop is so empty today, I can’t even see a fly.”

Reim then picked me up and whispered in my ear, “Alice, remember to go easy, but don’t lose! After all, while our funds are quite sufficient, getting Lena’s old clothes will still save us a good chunk of money. Afterward, we can go to the best restaurant in town for a feast!”

Huh? Why do you have so much confidence in me, Reim? A few days ago, I was absolutely schooled by Maern in the forest. However, if winning means a big meal, I’ll definitely give it my all!

“I’ll do my best!” Thinking about the delicious food awaiting me, I happily said in Reim’s arms.

“Hahaha, but remember not to hurt my sister!” Reim laughed ruefully as he brought me to a somewhat spacious spot outside the shop, where several wooden materials for testing weapon performance were set up.