I ran through the forest with all my strength, my entire body enhanced with aina, my hands firmly clenched on my daggers' grip.

I wasn't being pursued by a monster or anything.

In fact, I'd say it's me who is hounding something.

Hounding what exactly?

Well, monsters. More precisely, a pack of high-beasts known as FangWolves.

FangWolves are wolf-like creatures with three pairs of eyes, black fur, and fang-like tusks emerging from their ribs. One of their most notable characteristics is their size, which is twice that of a normal wolf.

Just like any other high beast, they could use aina.

And they were very good at using it, especially when in a pack.

So why are they fleeing from me while I'm chasing after them?

because I'm much stronger than they are, and they're well aware of that.

Despite only doing it in the afternoons, my Aina training in the forest yielded impressive results in less than two years.

If I told my younger self a year and a half ago that I was currently hunting high-beasts for fun, I'm not sure he'd believe me.

A pack of nine FangWolves raced ahead of me at full speed.

They were making their way deeper into the forest.

Not wanting to go too far, I decided to call it a day here.

I began to pick up speed.

When I was two meters away from the pack's closest fangwolf, I used my leg to propel myself just above it.

On landing, I squished its head under my foot.

The wolves' heads turned in unison in response to the bone-cracking noise coming from their comrade's skull.

Taking advantage of the momentum, I hurled Martha and Olga straight at the two closest FangWolfs.

They were killed instantly.

The six remaining FangWolves noticed what had happened and, perhaps realizing that running would be futile, came to a halt and began circling me while baring their teeth at me.

Their furs began to emit a faint blue light.

FangWolf frequently emits this faint blue light when using aina; it usually happens when they are extremely enraged, as is the case here.

From the skulls of the monsters, I retrieved Martha and Olga.

When I bent down to free Olga from the fangWolf's head, two of them charged at me from opposite directions.

When they got to a distance of 2m, they leaped at me with their mouths wide open.

I immediately firmly gripped Olga and used her to pierce the fangwolf from beneath its muzzle. The blade made its way up to the upper part of the muzzle.

After that, I dragged the fangWolf's body with Olga, who was still firmly lodged in its wound, and used its body to slam it against the fangWolf coming from the other side.

Suddenly, the other four charged at me from all four sides.

I threw Martha at one of them, and it deftly halted its charge to avoid my throw.

Little did he know that it was exactly what I expected of him to do.

I dashed past the three other FangWolves attacks and ran to the one who had dodged mine. It had already recovered from the unexpected evasive maneuver and was resuming its charge on me.

I welcomed him with the most powerful kick I could muster.

The kick was strong enough to sever its head.

The three others charged at me, and I finished them off in the same way.

After a short time, all that remained of the fangWolf were their corpses.

This type of monster has been paying me a lot of visits lately.

Perhaps it's due to evolution or something, but the five-kilometer rule no longer applies to certain monsters in this area.

The warthogs I saw a year and a half ago are proof of this. I thought they were just overgrown pigs, but they were monsters, what are known as beasts, the weakest of their kind, but still monsters.

They couldn't give me any treats last year, and they can't give me any right now.

The five first-kilometer rules no longer apply to beasts.

I've devised a third first-kilometer rule for the high beast.

A high beast can go as far as the first three kilometers for hunting.

I first came across one about a year ago when I ventured off the outskirts of the fifth kilometer within the forest. I wanted to see what hell was like up close, and that day I caught a glimpse of it. I was pursued by two FangWolfs until I got to the first three kilometers.

As retaliation for the terror they caused me that day, I resolved to lure them here within the first three kilometers whenever I saw one.

Initially, I had to deal with them individually, but lately, I've been hunting an entire pack.

"I think that's it for today," I said as I retrieved Martha and Olga from the fangWolf's bloodied corpse.

It's still early afternoon, but I think I've accomplished enough for the day, and with winter approaching, this afternoon was chillier than usual.

Winter is extremely harsh for my forest activity. Not only because of the icy temperatures, but also because of the footprints, I leave in the snow when fleeing from the manor.

For two months last year, I had to stop going to the forest because of that.

I believe I'll have to repeat the process this year. This winter isn't there yet, yet it feels particularly cold in comparison to what the climate should be this year.

I have a feeling this winter will be the coldest I've ever seen.

Aaaaaaaa~

"Anyway, it’s time to get back home and appreciate the gentle heat of a fireplace."

❀⊱┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄⊰❀

After I'd placed my backpack in its usual hiding place, I made my way to the manor domain fences, and since it was still early in the afternoon, I couldn't rely on the evening twilight to conceal my infiltration; instead, I had to be careful that no one on the other side could see me.

Stealthily glancing at the manor from the fence, "Lucky!" I exclaimed.

It appeared that no one was wandering around the backyard.

I jumped over the walls to get to the manor.

Once I reached the manor, I noticed that there was something strange, it felt like it was too quiet in the manor.

Instead of passing through the kitchen, Matheo wasn’t there.

Something was off.

Just as I was about to make my way to the entrance hall through the living room, I heard heavy and familiar footsteps approaching.

Soon, several footsteps could be heard from the dining room.

These footsteps certainly belonged to the housemaids.

When I arrived at the manor, I noticed something strange: it was unusually quiet.

As he walked through the kitchen, Matheo was nowhere to be found. At this time of the afternoon, he is always there.

Something was definitely off.

I was about to make my way through the living room to the entrance hall when I heard heavy and familiar footsteps approaching.

"Ah, Monsieur ?! What brings - ah no- Madame Mathilda is looking for Monsieur right now. " Matheo said, visibly surprised to see me here.

Soon after, several footsteps could be heard coming from the dining room.

These were unmistakably the footsteps of the housemaids.

"Did something happen?" I asked, curious.

He leaned slightly over me and covered his mouth, as if preparing to reveal a groundbreaking secret.

"We have a guest, and certainly a prestigious one. Each of us was summoned to greet him when he came out of his carriage, " he whispered."

A guest? I wonder who it could be?

"Do you know who it is?"

"Non, but I think it’s someone Madame Mathilda and Monsieur Syrus are very familiar with. It might be someone from Monsieur’s family. "

And, where might this prestigious guest be right now ?"

"Syrus and Mathilda are welcoming him in the living room."

Thank heavens, I didn't sneak in through the living room window.

"I see... I’m going to check it myself. " With that said, I made my way to the living room.

When I passed through the entrance hall, I immediately noticed the three fancy carriages waiting in the courtyard.

Each of these three carriages was surrounded by four armed guards.

Our security guards are nothing compared to these guys.

Matheo was correct; this visitor is definitely a big deal.

When I arrived on the first floor, I was approached by Syrus, who was clearly waiting for me at the library's door.

"Were you not inside the library? What are you doing—Oh, that doesn't matter." With a sigh, he said. "We'd like to introduce you to someone very important."

"May I inquire as to who it is?"

He immediately shook his head.

"I’m afraid you can't. You’ll have to ask him that personally. "

It seems I’ll have to find that myself then.