Villager life
After the daily training with his father, Ares needed to go help him in his job.
He worked on a farm in the village, helping to cultivate things, harvest, and so on. Sometimes, they would help to transport it to neighbor assentments and sell the goods.
The latter was the activity that Ares liked the most since he could go out of Jasmine. At least for some hours, the boy got some time to forget about his village.
"Hey, dad. Will we go out today?" Because of the good news that he received about going to his grandfather's place, he thought that his luck was good on that day. Maybe their stock would be already filled and they would need to go to other assentments to sell everything.
The man looked at the spirited boy following him on his right side. He thought for a while about that matter.
'I think that he will get happy even if we just go to a near assortment. I can take advantage of this to make him work harder today. The only thing he focuses completely on doing is training, after all. He slacks in his work, in his school, and everything else.'
"Ok, we can go out, but we need to harvest for a while to get enough goods to make our travel profitable. There is a near settlement that is running out of certain vegetables, so we can go there and have a nice time. What do you think about it?"
Ares's eyes shone. The same resolution he had when training appeared again on his face, which made his father know right away that the boy took his bait.
"Yes! That would be awesome!" He was nearly jumping from excitement.
"Ok, so let's go to the farm already, so we can start things earlier and finish as fast as we can." It was good for Ares to hear the calm voice of his father after training for so long with his stoic and straightforward self. This change from teacher to father was something that made the boy look at his friendship with his father as something special, so he appreciated every second of it.
Jasmine was a small Village, it occupied 900 square meters, and this much was only possible because of the farms and the distance that each house have from one another. The people there also valorized well-spaced houses, so it helped to add it.
However, counting the number of people who lived there, one would find an incredibly low number.
Sometimes, an adventurer or traveler would pass by and settle in the tiny rooms that had in the single bar constructed in Jasmine to pass the night and rest from their journeys. Some merchants used to stop by often since their visits were always profitable.
Every settlement on those fields was, at least, 200 kilometers far from Jasmine. The most near one were 205 kilometers distant from there, which was already several hours of traveling by horse, even more with a carriage with goods inside it.
Ares and his father could cross the village in no time and get to the farm. That place was not owned by his father before, but he bought it from a villager who was about to move. Actually, Ares's father had three farms there. The first was very small, the other average, but this last one was incredibly big.
"Hey, daddy!" He called him. It had been some minutes since they started. Ares wore off his shirt and was helping to harvest some vegetables. His hands were already covered in soil.
"What's it?" The senior glanced at him.
"Why did you buy this third farm? Grandpa could sustain us both without us working hard so much. But even so, you bought three farms already! It is just increasing my work from time to time!" He complained, pouting.
Skillfully harvesting lettuce, the man looked at his son with sarcastic eyes. For him, a boy that could endure a rough workout but not harvest some hours was very peculiar.
"We work this much because we can't take advantage of the wealth and reputation that your grandfather struggled to build alone, Ares. That's how the world operates. You can't just enjoy what others struggle to gain, you need to strive by yourself and reach your achievements."
The boy thought for a while about that. He wasn't completely content with that response, but it made sense for him. Ares decided not to pursue the matter.
"And what about this axe you always carry with you? Will you let me use it someday?" The axe was tied to his father's back with a leather strap and had a sheath on its only edge. It was a single-edged battle axe.
"Hahaha! This axe has nearly the same height as you! You still need to eat a lot of meat to grow strong and wield it. But, who knows? If you behave well and harvest quicker, maybe I will let you get this."
The boy didn't hesitate to fasten his hands and concentrate on work.
'Hehe, yes. Grow stronger, so I will give this axe for you and you will be the one going out to cut wood, silly.' He thought, mischievously.
****
After the harvest, Ares discovered that his father was just fooling him. The man would just get him to go out of the village the next day, which made him grumpy. Anyway, the next day was better than ever.
'That idiot old man! He always breaks his promises. He dared to look at my face and say that we couldn't go out because I had to go to school. I should have punched him! Though it wouldn't make any effect because of his Mana...'
Ares had a backpack attached to his back. His clothes were better-looking than the ones he used to train. However, his face was grumpy.
His school was the most faraway construction of the village for some reason. It didn't bother him at all since he was used to running or walking long distances, but it seemed to bother the other students.
A lot of kids were going through the same path as him. They were dragging their feet and complaining.
'Tsk... losers. If you can't walk roughly one kilometer, can you even bring yourselves to run? How do these people have the same age as me and act like elders?'
The school was just some meters away from there. Ares wanted to get there already and have his classes as fast as possible. He was expecting the night to come soon, so he could go and see his grandfather. The boy knew that anything he learned at his grandfather's place was twice as interesting as the ones they taught in school.
'Well, the only interesting thing that I can expect coming from the mouths of the teachers is about the Beast Hunters and the outside world. If not for this, the week would be thoroughly boring. Fortunately, today we will have this class!' Although he couldn't go outside that day, he was still thinking that it was his lucky day.
"What do you think that will they will show today?" Ares overheard two other boys talking. They had around the same age, probably a few years older.
"I don't even care. It's about Beast Hunters and this blabbering again. I hate to waste my time with it."
"Do you think that it is so bad? I find it cool, although it's a bit useless."
"Nah, don't tell me that you find those kid's stories cool in any way? That's just a fallacy, man. I know that these guys do exist, but I doubt that there are powerful humans out there that can match the Ancients. Didn't you see that man that appeared in the village some years ago? He was broken."
"Yes, but..."
"I think they should stop teaching about it. They are just making these kids turn suicidal. I would never become one myself."
That conversation got Ares's nerves. He stopped walking and slowly turned to these boys, staring mainly at the one that was talking bad about that.
"Yes, it's best that you don't become one and stay with your miserable life. The world doesn't need more cowardly people like you wandering around and trying to get into a high position."
The other boy was taller than Ares, and although he didn't train like the latter, he still had more muscle mass due to his age.
"What did you say, brat?" He closed his hand into a fist.
"Step closer, so I can repeat it in your face, shrimp." He also closed his hand, narrowing his eyes.
Just when he was about to clash with the guy, someone appeared and pulled him out of his way.
"Please, stop with this, you two! I will tell the teacher and you both will get in trouble!" A girl shouted at them, standing between those two and holding Ares's hand.
The older boy looked at Ares with hatred but decided to get out of there, just satisfying himself for spitting on the ground.
The young girl with silver hair and sharp eyes stared at Ares.
"You should stop putting yourself into trouble, idiot!" She squeezed his hand, making him grimace in pain and surprise.
"Ok, ok. Damn it..." He let go of her hand and started to walk again. The girl got beside him and so they went to the school together as she scolded him along the way.