It’s the last day of my trip, and time to head back home. The only thing left to do is some deer hunting. I feel pretty comfortable flying now, so the trip back is a leisurely time in the sky. I wasn’t lying when I told my father that deer make their home further in the forest towards the first range of mountains. But I don’t sense anything.
I increase my magic output and rapidly gain an understanding of the wider area. There’s a family of boar ahead of me, the east is mostly empty, but to my northwest, there’s a herd of deer. They’re almost directly west of my family’s estate and about one kilometer from town.
I can’t be too loud or flashy so close to people, so I sneak up ahead of them and lie in wait.
It takes around half an hour for the herd to pass in front of me. With my magic-hardened knife in hand, I create a magic layer between my feet and the ground, then lunge at a large doe at the edge of the pack. I sink the blade between her eyes and into her brain, instant death. The herd scatters and leaves me with my spoils for processing.
I use water magic to make myself a drink and prepare my bags for processing the animal. I make the first cut into the skin of its belly-
“Hi there,” a voice calls from behind me.
My head whips in the voice’s direction. “OH shi- uh hi.”
It’s a girl, and her little sister? Who’s likely my age. The elder girl has a wooden bow, and the little sister has a water sack. Maybe they’re in the middle of a hunting lesson?
The elder girl steps forward, she’s pretty with red hair just past her shoulders. “Did you see where the rest of the deer went? My sister and I have been trying to get ahead of that herd for a few days, but we’re always a step behind…”
“Sorry, but they scattered when I harvested this doe. Do you hunt these woods often?”
“No, not really, but our father is recovering from a fever, so we were hoping to get enough meat for him to rest easy. Though we’re not very experienced hunters…”
Argh, a sob story? Do I care? Not really, but the older sister is cute, and she doesn’t terrify me the way Sophie did.
“How about a trade? Help me with the cleaning and processing, and you can keep half the meat. It’d be a pain to preserve and dry a deer this size by myself.”
Sigh, simping in my second life. Pathetic.
But the elder girl perks up. “Really? That’s so generous, we’ll lend a hand however we can!”
I nod my head, then point it towards the deer. “That’s fine, you’ll just need to hold the legs in different positions while I make cuts. What are your names?”
“I’m Emilia, and my little sister here is Claire.”
“Um hi, mister, I’m Claire,” the girl squeaks.
“Emilia, Claire, it’s nice to meet you. I’m umm… Sio.”
All black hunting clothes and long hair in a ponytail, I do not look like Alfred today.
Emilia’s face takes on a determined expression as she clenches her fists. “Nice to meet you, please put us to work.”
“Right, Emilia, can you hold its back leg in the air so I can get at the stomach easier. And Claire, can you lay the cloth bags behind me out in front of the animal?”
Having help is nice; it reminds me of hunting with my grandfather back in my last world. Mm, and it makes me a little sad, so better not to think too much about it. I’ll explain the process of what I’m doing to the sisters.
“First, I open the stomach of the animal with a very shallow cut. I don’t want to puncture the stomach, or I’ll have to clean the meat carefully. Once the cavity is open, I reach behind the organs and slice through any tissue that connects them to the carcass," I explain while elbow deep in doe, "now I’m able to pull them out without causing too much of a mess. Do you want the heart and liver? They’re very nutritious, though the taste can be rougher…”
I’ve been privileged with food in both my lives, so organ meat doesn’t do it for me.
“We’ll take them! Father could use all the nutrition he can get!” Emilia shouts.
“Right, they’re all yours. Claire, you can put these in your bag to start.” I hand the organ meat to the younger sister. “Emilia, let’s pull the animal to the side. I’m going to use water magic and clean the inside of the animal before we continue.”
Emilia helps me maneuver the doe away from our work area before I make a small water jet with my right hand and blow away any remaining unsavory bits from the inside. We roll the cleaned animal onto its stomach to drain for a minute. As we look up from the animal, a large man walks into the clearing we’re using. He looks gruff with a scar down the center of his chin and long black hair with silver streaks in it.
He scowls at the dead animal, then up at us. “You there, did you kill that deer?”
“Uh- yes, sir, we did, we’re all out on a hunting trip and were tracking a herd of these animals,” I respond politely.
But he breaks out in a shitty grin. “That’s a big animal for three little kids, how about we share?”
He does look like a bandit. I promised Father I would run if I was in trouble, and it’d be easy enough to get another deer, but the girls would stay and fight. Can’t be helped.
“Emilia, Claire, can you two close your eyes for a few seconds?”
“What!? Why? He’s going to attack you, and we won’t be able to help,” Emilia says while trembling slightly and holding an arm out in front of her little sister.
“I’d rather you not see this... I’m an experienced hunter despite my age. An old man with testicle burns on his chin won’t be an issue.”
Emilia looks down to comfort her sister and asks her to comply. “If you’re that confident, Claire sweetie, close your eyes…”
My insult seems to have hit home as Mr. Bandit kicks off the ground to close the distance between us. I put a wall of magic in front of the girls and kick off of it to meet him halfway. I aim to land a kick at the man’s chest and knock him backward.
But the impact feels soft, like I’m kicking a bouncy ball. My foot caves the man’s chest in and crushes his heart before sending him flying backwards into the thickets.
“HAURK! Thunk.”
Shit shit shit, I meant to kick him hard, but he’s made of fucking gelatin.
I jump into the thickets after him and use earth magic to open the ground beneath him. I create a two-meter-deep grave and fill it in instantly.
I glance around and check my magic for intrusive eyes, but there are none. “YEA AND YOU KEEP RUNNING!” I return to the clearing with Emilia and Claire.
Emilia opens her eyes, but looks bewildered. “You really made him run away? What’d you do? And why did we have to close our eyes?”
I find my most polite, Shayna-taught tone. “My Father taught me never to expose ladies to violence.” Then I sigh hard. “But if you must know, men are rather sensitive between the legs. A powerful kick can send the scariest bandit running.”
“Oh wow, that’s kinda harsh...”
I purse my lips, then smile to lighten the tension. “It is, but now we don’t have to split the meat into thirds.”
It’s better this way; I don’t think people die violently in this country too often, so that could’ve traumatized them. I always thought if I ever killed someone, it would’ve been a home intruder, tasting shotgun. Kicking a guy to death wasn’t on my bingo card.
I turn to the girls and try clearing the odd mood in the air. “Let’s finish processing; the water should’ve drained by now.”
I skin and part up the doe, asking Emilia and Claire to lend a hand on occasion. They seem impressed with my skill, but are more impressed with the magic-infused knife. With a single stroke of the knife, I slice through the animal’s ribs and leave the girls’ jaws on the floor. The same happens when I remove the neck to use as a roast. In exchange for keeping the neck for a stew, I give the girls the animal’s hide and tongue.
“Thank you very much for sharing with us, Mister Sio. Claire, give your thanks as well.”
“Yes, sister. Thanks, Mister Sio!” Claire’s energy has flipped from timid to happy. “For the meat and for chasing away the mean guy!”
“I’m happy I could help; make something delicious for your father." I give a little bow and start to turn, but stop. “Oh, I keep travel spices with me, but I’ll be going to where they’re cheap soon, so please take these.”
Simp energy flows out of me in a greater quantity than my magic as I pass a small slotted wooden container that’s lined with cloth. Inside is enough salt and pepper to rub every bit of meat they’ll be going home with. Along with some of the chopped leaves that smell like thyme, and the outer casing of garlic, crushed into a powder.
Emilia takes it, and her eyes go wide. “Oh, um, if you’re sure? You could sell these around this area; aside from salt, everything else is expensive unless you’re further north.”
“That’s exactly where I’ll be going, so don’t worry about it.”
A sucker for cute girls, just giving his things away. I don’t even wake up with boners yet. I’m going to be hopeless in a few years. I wonder if there are brothels in this world? There’s also Sophie, but I think my dick would be afraid of her and retreat inside my body.
I take my leave from the unexpected forest friends and make a small pool of water to use as a mirror. I cut my hair back to its regular length as best I can, then return to the estate with my half of the doe.
***
I enter the estate and head for the kitchen area, but I run into my father and Shayna on the way-
“Son, you’re back! Shayna, please inform my wife that Alfred is back.”
Mother must’ve been driving him crazy.
“Yes, Count Pruss, right away.” Shayna answers before scurrying away to find Mother.
Father comes up and places a hand on my shoulder. “Alfred, tell me all about it. How was the hunt? I see you have a full pack, so I take it you were successful?”
“Yes, Father, I was able to explore the area to my heart’s content. It took a few days, but I found a herd of deer and managed to harvest one.”
Father brings a hand to his chin as he examines me. “That’s wonderful. Was it a smaller animal? I suppose I’m comparing it to the monster of a boar you brought back before, which may be unfair...”
“Oh no, it was a large doe, but I ran into some hunters further west and gave them a portion of the meat.”
“That’s generous, Alfred.” Father’s eyes narrow, and he gives me a concerned look. “They didn’t threaten you, did they?”
“Nothing like that, Father; they were sisters hunting on their own. The elder sister was rather beautiful. I was generous before I had time to process what was happening...”
Father leans down and slaps my back before belly laughing deeply.
“BAHAHAHA, my boy, you’re turning into a man. It reminds me of meeting your Mother; it was an arranged interview put together by our parents, but I fell head over heels at the sight of her.”
Ugh, class society, they’ll find me a wife and sit me in my Father’s office to rot for the next fifty years. I’ve made a lot of progress in my training, but I need to shift my focus to escaping the hell of inheritance.