Hunt

<Are you excited about the hunt?>

The prince laughed, a little embarrassed. As much as he admired Issei and wanted to be like him, he cared about the animals.

<Wait for me!>

The servant Asia joined them, all dressed up.
The three of them climbed into a royal carriage, made of fine wood from the dwarf continent, decorated with brass and with a very specific shape, impossible to recreate. It was also equipped for every eventuality, stocked with axes, knives, swords, and every basic survival tool.

Issei, his eyes vacant, remembered when he got on the carriage to the quarry; it wasn't a pleasant memory, and it made him hesitate to climb into the carriage.
The horses, harnessed to the carriage, neighed, and Issei returned to reality and climbed into the carriage.

The vehicle passed through the castle gates and a section of the kingdom, finally entering a forest. There had been numerous sightings of beasts. While it was common to find wild beasts, the number of sightings was above average.

The quest to eliminate the magical beasts would have been handed over to the guilds, but the king decided to take charge and have Issei do the work, teaching the prince how to hunt.

Issei dismounted, never once looking back at the forest. With one hand, he helped the little prince down.
Something moved in the bushes, and Issei leaped forward, dropping the prince to the ground. The knight broke through the bushes and saw a normal slime behind him. Without thinking, he slashed at the monster.

<He was a sentry. If we don't move, we'll be surrounded.>

Then Issei looked at the prince: a completely brown face, his clothes stained with grass and dirt, and his butt in the air.

<Josuke! Are you okay?>

The prince stood up by himself and shook out his dirty clothes. As if nothing had happened, he picked up a sword and approached Issei.

<I'm ready!>

Issei smiled slightly; the prince was no longer just a child. The pose he assumed was correct, the grip was firm, and his gaze serious.

The two calmly walked into the forest, the sun disappearing between the leaves. Asia remained in the carriage, guarded by the driver, who was also a warrior like Issei, so the carriage remained safe. Furthermore, a magician had cast a barrier against the monsters on the carriage.
The royal carriages were truly ready for anything.

<Let's go!>

They hadn't even taken two steps before a dozen slimes surrounded them.

<Don't let them touch you.>

The prince parried the slimes with his sword, but the blow wasn't strong enough, and the monsters latched onto the sword.
The frightened prince dropped his sword, and the slimes took possession of it. They engulfed the sword and made it part of their bodies.

Armed slimes?!

Issei sliced ​​the slimes in front of him and lunged at the prince. With a decisive blow, he cut the slime in two. Inside was a small stone.

<This is a great time to learn something. First, you need to be more decisive. And never let go of your sword, free yourself!>

Issei let a slime attach itself to his sword, then swung it and hit a tree. The monster broke free of Issei's sword, and he smiled, looking at the prince.
Josuke paused for a moment, admiring Issei's skills, then ran to pick up the sword that had fallen further away.

Having defeated the slimes, Issei and Josuke went deeper into the dense forest.

<Now the hard part begins.>

Issei warned the prince of the arrival of a stronger enemy. The slimes were just the beginning; the truly dangerous monsters were hidden within the forest.

Issei walked calmly, making as little noise as possible and paying attention to every movement. The knight then stopped.

<There's a red boar ahead.>

Issei gestured for Josuke to move to his right toward a tree, while he walked toward the boar. The boar snorted, unaware of the knight's ambush. Issei lunged at the enormous creature, latching onto a tusk with one hand and piercing the beast's throat with the other.

It writhed in agony, emitting strange, deep noises, and knocked Issei to the ground. The knight quickly dodged the beast's paws, which were about to trample him. His sword got stuck in the beast's neck, and Issei attempted to escape.

He gestured for the prince to come forward. Josuke lunged at the beast and pierced its eye, then threw himself onto the creature's back.

<Woooh!>

The child was riding the wild boar. Issei chased after it.

<Push the sword in deeper, Josuke!>

The prince did as ordered, pushing the sword deeper into the eye. The slimy sound made Josuke want to vomit, and he tried to hold it in. Then the beast stopped, its eyes lifeless and the blood flowing almost made the prince faint.

<Why does it always have to end with a sword in the eye?>

Issei laughed. He knew that technique well, because at the training camp they taught various techniques for defending oneself from wild beasts. And blinding the opponent was Issei's favorite option.

<I'll show you another method later. Even if you're not strong enough for that method. Ohohoh!>

Issei retrieved the sword and, with Josuke at his side, they continued their exploration of the forest.
The two subsequently encountered many more slimes and small monsters. This time the prince didn't hold back, killing several small monsters without even getting a scratch.

Roar!

A series of roars caught the attention of the prince and the knight. Issei signaled the child to stay behind him, drew his sword, which made a faint metallic sound, and slowly advanced toward the monsters.

Behind some plants was a small empty space where two horned green tigers were fighting. Issei watched, but the prince fell to the ground with a loud crash; his foot got stuck in a root.

The tigers stopped and began growling at Josuke. The prince saw the beasts approaching and panicked.

<Stay calm or you'll break your ankle.>

Issei rushed toward the boy; it was inexplicable how his foot had gotten stuck. Issei tried to pull out the roots, but a tiger attacked him from behind. The knight twisted his sword behind his back, blocking the beast's jaws before it could attack. Then he turned and kneed the tiger off his back.

To his left, he slashed at the other approaching creature, severing its head. Then he turned, and the tiger recovered and leaped at the knight. He chopped off the monster's front legs and stared at it for a moment before delivering the final blow.

<Here I am, Josuke!>

Issei summoned all his strength and tore out the root of the plant. Josuke's ankle had red marks and he walked with a limp.

<This is no ordinary plant.>

Issei picked up Josuke and walked away. The tree before him was a magical tree that traps creatures that approach it with its roots, dragging them underground to eat them.
Issei helplessly turned his back on the creature and continued his journey through the forest.

After killing more creatures, Josuke's stomach rumbled.

<Maybe we should turn back; it's getting close to lunchtime.>

The two retraced their steps. More creatures were lurking, easily defeated by Issei. Josuke, too, was helping in his own small way and improving.

On the way back, however, something inexplicable sent a shiver through the knight. A barrier was rising towards the kingdom. It wasn't the typical barrier erected by wizards to protect the kingdom, but a massive purple barrier. This indicated that many high-level demons were nearby.

Issei couldn't believe it; he'd only seen barriers like that once in his thirty years. When the demon king was still alive.

<This doesn't bode well. We have to move!>

Issei picked up the little prince and ran toward the carriage.