Arrival.

Eldric held the thick leather-covered book in his hands as he wondered about his magic instructor Aldora. She seemed to disappear rather quickly after the lessons ended, seemingly in a hurry. It was, even more, the case for this day.

Compared to the swordsmanship and physical lessons with Epine… Eldric made a lot slower progress in the magic lessons with Aldora.

He was not sure if it were due to his non-existent magic blessing or whatnot, but he made sure to put in the same amount of effort. Well, as much as he could. He would oftentimes come rather beat to her after the brutal training with Epine after all.

Eldric remembered when he told her about the training regime he had with Epine when she noticed that he would come in already exhausted. She almost made a run to have a 'talk' with Epine. Eldric hummed, to be frank, he really wanted to see that happen... While he was sure how strong Epine was— with as little, he managed to push her. He had no idea how strong Aldora actually was.

He was obviously aware that she should be pretty strong. Not only has he seen her handle magic as if it were second nature to her, but the difference between her magic and Cenric's was truly eye-opening. Perhaps the most conclusive was that the Armsworth household wouldn't hire just anyone. It was not a Count house only in name.

Sadly, no matter how much he sincerely wanted that fight to happen and witness it with his eyes in particular. He couldn't really let it happen. He couldn't afford to have discord between his two instructors. A shiver ran up his spine when he remembered what used to happen when teachers had disagreements. They would either ease up the exams as much as possible to show that their students are good, or otherwise ramp up the difficulty to an insane degree to prove that they were the 'better' teacher.

The students were the ones that get hurt the most in those scenarios. Likewise, Eldric was not sure if he could take his lessons getting even harder…. He was barely hanging on, in fact, he would usually hug himself to sleep each night to try to ease up the pain that would accumulate each day.

If Epine's lessons were immensely tough on the body, then Aldora was tougher on his spirit…. A truly fearsome combination; even more so for a seven-year-old.

'Yes… Let's not have them fight.'

He flipped another page of the book to forget ever thinking about that topic. There were no winners there.

Ever since reading about magic stones, and especially after the magic lessons with Aldora, Eldric had been pretty fascinated by them. Although, their methods of acquisition were rather scarce. As they could only be harvested off the bodies of magic beasts. Their quality greatly differed from beast to beast. Strangely, it appears that strength is not the only underlying factor that controls its quality, much as it would intuitively appear.

'Magic theory 1: Magic stones.'. It was one of the many books Beothric Captiosus, the current royal adviser, had published in varying fields.

Sadly, despite the many studies on this particular topic, they still couldn't truly figure out the other factors. There were hypotheses and theories going around, the same as any other subject, but there was no concrete or conclusive evidence. Eldric has already gone through many books that he could only name as juvenile remarks and debates. For example, half of the book would be spent claiming that strength was indeed the only factor, while the other half was allocated to openly disagreeing and rebutting other authors, only to spend the last pages saying something as simple as 'No, it is the rarity of the beast that determines the quality.'

He didn't need to know everything about the magic stones to realise their full potential. It is a pseudo-renewable source of energy. Unless Eldric could somehow invent solar panels or windmills, it would be the only other source of energy available. The latter seemed more achievable as a fuel source since they were already a thing here. He had read about them in the books. Although, he saw no such thing when he was touring the town. There was no need for a windmill in the north.

Eldric's musings were interrupted when horse neighing sounds and whip crackling made way into his ears.

He got up from his desk and looked down from the window, only to see his father with numerous men behind him. These men were well-fitted, looking like a battalion ready for war. They were gruff heavy-armoured young men and all kinds of different weapons rested on their hips or shoulders. They went from common spears, and swords all the way to less common weapons such as maces.

Just in front of the entrance, James Armsworth stood proudly in front of his men with his shiny silver armour and the massive sword on his hip. He seemed to be giving some heroic speech to them. Eldric was not that interested in that speech, not that he could hear it from all the way here either way.

The men seemed to disperse in great spirit after that, majorly due to James' charisma.

"You can put it here," James said to a butler, gesturing to the massive bag that he held... Eldric hoped it was what he thought it was. There was only one kind of spoil that would come from fighting magic beasts.

He cast a quick look at the massive carriage that carried parts of the slain monsters. He could see multiple parts… There were what appeared to be claws, teeth, and even eyes were there as well. Eldric could even see a full head of a bear-like monster. Eldric widened his eyes upon registering the entirety of its size… Just its head must be bigger than his childish body.

There was a puddle of blood pooling on the snow from the sides of the open carriage.

'Well, I guess the one with the most immediate use.' muttered Eldric. The monster parts would surely be useful for other domains.

James, somehow sensing his son's gaze, looked up to see Eldric looking at the big hunt.

He smiled and gestured for him to come outside. Sadly, one of the disadvantages of a large estate is that he would have to wait quite a while for Eldric to go outside.

Nonetheless, Eldric went outside to greet his father sooner than later. In fact, he appeared to be the first one that arrived.

There was some company, so Eldric opted for a more formal approach to welcome his father. Eldric put his right hand above his heart, bowing his head. "Greetings, fath—"

Too bad, James was having none of that. "Blaah. Is that how you would treat your father after a week of absence?" He went in for a bear hug.

Eldric struggled for a few moments before inevitably choosing to just let it happen. The sooner, the better. James smelt like a wet wild boar...

'Laugh'

There was a round of laughter from the surrounding people. It seemed to be a normal thing around James.

"Huh? What are you laughing about?"

"Nothing, Captain." they all said collectively. Although some snickers still involuntarily escaped their mouths.

"You still won't change, James." said a green-eyed handsome man drawing close to the pair of father and son. While his armour was not as special as James', it was still cut a grade above the rest of the men, as it had the familiar Armsworth insignia on the front plate.

"And you're still as disrespectful as ever, Jack."

A tense atmosphere grew as the two men seemed to measure each other up. That was all bound to disappear as they heatedly shook hands and hugged.

"Getting old, huh? When was the last time it took you a week for some beast slaying?" teased Jack after they separated.

"Yeah, well at least I don't stay behind the safety of the walls." laughed James, hitting the other man's back.

Right. They were good friends. The green-eyed man was, Sir Jackson, the guard's commander and the friend of James Armsworth. They even went to school together.

James caught Eldric'c extended gaze towards the bag of the magic stones." Oh! Those are magic stones." he muttered non-interestingly. His eyes slightly shined when Eldric took another look at the bloody carriage, James was about to lay down an epic speech(in his mind) about the travels he went through and the story of each part. He was left disappointed when he found his son reaching for the magic stone bag.

'What does he even find interesting about them?' muttered James, looking at his son's expression.

"You can take a couple if you want?" James scratched his head. To him, there would not be that useful until they would be ignited in the capital for use. For now, they were nothing more than expensive rocks.

"Are you sure, father?" asked Eldric with undisguised enthusiasm.

James was taken aback by that enthusiasm. "Su-sure, son."

"Thanks!" said Eldric as he went back to his chambers in a hurry.

'What the hell happened while I was away?!' muttered James, shocked by his son's change. He shook his head, at least he seemed to be more comfortable around him.