《Incompetent Second Son》Chapter 14 - Camp
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Bel’s preparations are already finished, so we only have to wait until the full moon to arrive in a couple of hours. Even if the full moon is an hour from now, a lot of the wolves around started warming up their bodies or meditating to ensure that they are in their peak performance for tonight. With that said, Bel and I started to head towards the spot we prepared beforehand.
The spot we prepared is pretty spacious so we can move around without any hindrances. The energy around the spot was pretty pure and dense. I found this spot while roaming earlier and I suggested that we camp here for tonight. The location of the spot was covered with trees making it hard to see. I was lucky this time to find a spot for Bel.
We arrived at the location of the spot. There was no one around ensuring that no other relatives located the spot. Bel and I can safely go through the night here with no disturbances. After arriving, we began the preparations, setting up a campfire, the tent, and other things such as the herbs and medicines in case something happens.
While Bel went and prepared other things, I went and prepared the area I’m staying while watching over Bel. I brought the snacks and candies I bought earlier. I requested from a maid a big thermos earlier so I can have hot water available at any moment for coffee. There’s also a couple of books I brought from home. As an added bonus, since the moon is out in its all mighty glory, I brought my personal telescope from home. I’ll do a little bit of stargazing as well since the night scenery in the mountains is awe-inspiring.
Bel was a little bit hesitant since our roles are reversed. I guess she feels a little bit uncomfortable since I’m the one serving her tonight. I told her it’s fine and I kind of wanted to learn a thing or two about serving other people since I might need it in the future. Bel argued that as long as she’s alive, she’d stay by my side and continue to serve me, never allowing that to happen. I laughed and thanked her.
As we finished our preparations, I noticed a presence approaching our location. The other party didn’t even bother being discreet about it and just barged right in our spot. Bel noticed as well and went towards my side. We got here first so we’ll just talk to the other party and ask them to leave. If it comes to the worst possible outcome, I’ll use my family’s name though, I don’t think it’ll be effective since I’m a failure of a son. As a backup, we still have Bel as the daughter of the head maid. I wished the other party would just leave when they saw others already occupying the area.
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The other party arrived and I furrowed my brows. It was Lance. He also has his butler with him. The butler with him is the son of Secas, the butler that once served me when Bel was called at the main house. Though his position was not as high as Bel’s mother, he was fairly strong in other regards, thus, making him a popular servant among the relatives. His son will take over his position soon, meaning his strength should be near the old man already. Though Bel was capable of some combat, we are outnumbered and I’ll be only dead weight in this situation.
My plan to scare them with my family name was proven ineffective as well since the other party’s social position cannot be considered as low. Knowing Lance, he’ll try to drive us out here to make trouble for me again. The full moon will start in half an hour from now. With that given time, it’s impossible to find another unoccupied spot. There was also the case of moving our stuff and setting it up. Moving now won’t be a choice, it’s either we share the spot or one of us moves out.
To be honest, if the other party wasn’t Lance, and I saw that they have nowhere to go, as long as they won’t disturb and cause any trouble for us, I’m willing to share the spot. The area was fairly spacious, enough to fit a family of six at most. Unfortunately, the one that located the spot was my ever so annoying younger brother.
“What are you doing here? We found this spot first.” After having a staring contest and an uncomfortable silence, I initiated the conversation first. We found the area first so moving out is out of the option.
“What? My servant found this place earlier. Why are you here?” Lance replied in an arrogant manner. It was unsure if his servant found it first or not, but it was his mistake to set up his camp late. He also didn’t put any signs or mark that the area was claimed, so it was perfectly justifiable for us to claim this spot. I double checked that earlier so I was sure that this area was unclaimed when we got here earlier.
“This is an unclaimed land when I found it earlier. We got here first, so this makes the area ours. Go away and find your own spot. Maybe you can train next to the eldest brother, after all, you are the second strongest, right?” I didn’t pull any punches this time. I getting more and more annoyed by this guy by the minute. For some reason, my emotional tendencies are stronger when we got here.
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“You…” He was obviously angry but he didn’t charge at me as he did earlier. He was still skittish about what happened. He carefully observed the surrounding, looking if there are any signs of Aysha around. He was fearful of the person and would not make any careless moves when she’s around. Unfortunately, Aysha’s not around at the moment. Currently, Bel and I was the one present in the vicinity and as I said before, we are outnumbered here since I’m dead weight.
After noticing that Aysha’s not around, Lance became more confident and arrogant. He demanded us to leave at once since the land was rightfully his. I sighed. This is the times when I wish I could borrow some of Aysha’s strength to teach this guy a lesson.
Knowing that the full moon is just around the corner, leaving the area isn’t a choice anymore. The full moon will arrive before we even find another area, less to set everything up. We’ll have to think of another way to drive him out of here. Sharing the area is possibly an option, but knowing Lance, he’ll probably cause some kind of trouble.
Even a casual prank can greatly harm a wolf during a full moon. Wolves aren’t in their right state of mind after being boosted with loads of power. Taking care of a powered up wolf would be hard especially for me, the weakest in the pack. That’s the reason why I want to be alone in the vicinity as possible.
“Look, there isn’t any point in driving one out since there isn’t any time left. The area is fairly spacious, let’s divide it into two. The other party cannot trespass inside the other party’s side. Does that work?” I tried to argue with him. I thought that maybe during a full moon, he’ll come to some kind of sense.
After hearing my words, he snorted, obviously dissatisfied. Unfortunately, what I said did make sense. I went and picked up a tree trunk on the side of the area. I placed it in the middle of the area. Even if I’m the weakest among the family, I’m still a wolf in the end. Picking something like boulders or trunks aren’t a problem for me as long as they aren’t too big.
“We can’t go past this trunk. We also cannot disturb the other party. I assume you already know the punishment for deliberately causing trouble during a full moon?” Since a slight disturbance can cause a massive effect on one’s health, disturbing someone during a full moon has serious consequences.
I know that Lance is fully aware of this since he’s currying favor for eldest brother but I’m worried that he’ll do some underhanded tricks and put the blame on me instead. Remembering the last time it happened, I got a bit nervous and started to question if this is the best choice or not.
“Relax, even a disturbance in one’s training can even cause death in worst cases. I’m not that heartless to kill a relative. I’m fully aware of the consequences either. I trust you the same that you won’t disturb us?”
I nodded my head. Since he understands, I can trust that he won’t do anything. However, I can’t fully trust Lance, I prepared some countermeasures such as recording the scene with my phone in case something happens.
“Don’t worry, Bel, I won’t let him do anything for you. I’ll guard his every movement so you can just free your mind and train, alright?” I faced Bel and assured her. I told her to start warming up leave the rest of the preparations to me.
Lance and his servant started to set up their camp as well. There was an unspoken agreement that we’ll not talk to one another with the exception that it’s an emergency. The surroundings were filled with silence. We’re both doing our own things while not bothering the other side. Even if we ignored each other, I don’t mind it. I prefer peace and quiet after all.
“I’m in the middle of a breakthrough in my strength right now.” After a while, Lance started to talk. “I expect that the power I’ll receive will be much higher for me to achieve this breakthrough. I don’t know if I can control it and regain my sanity afterward. That’s why I’d prefer to do this in an isolated area. My butler here will prevent anything that would ever happen but if it gets out of hand, call the eldest brother immediately, I doubt you can do anything about this situation.”
I got worried that something might happen later. I hope that his butler can handle it before it turns into something out of hand. Even if I called for help, reinforcements may take a while to arrive. If that happens, I doubt I can hold out a single second.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I replied and continued working on the preparations. I need to prepare a couple more stuff in case something happens.
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