With Will on the case, Celestine's application was positively considered in no time. A day after that happened, I found myself sitting behind our dining table, and watching her and Tihana gearing themselves up.

My daughter had already a variety of decent weapons at her disposal, and she would switch from time to time, still looking for the best one for herself. At that moment she had one of those strange-looking spear-like things with a hook, called the guisarme.

Miss Carter went with a little simpler configuration of sword and shield.

You probably noticed already that I didn't mention any training period, as there was none. With the help of Tihana, and me, overlooking both of them, we could bypass that requirement, since cancer in her spine needed treatment as soon as possible.

Yes, I could take care of it easily myself, but... Why should I? Besides, I had this faint feeling, that actually Celestine wanted to solve her problem by herself. She seemed to be one of those rare people, who really want to have their fate in their own hands. The people who do all they can to be self-sufficient.historical

Besides, I really wanted to figure her out, so I was kinda keeping my distance for now, but I bought myself thinking about that woman from time to time. I guess my starvation was slowly getting the better of me.

My daughter was the sponsor of both the shield and the sword, as well as the decent leather armor. The brunette already assured her that she would pay back as soon as she could, at least fifty times. I found it annoying, but I kept my mouth shut.

It was quite early Saturday morning, and we were supposed to join the raid on rats' territory with a few other groups. Our task was to take care of the ones away from the main bulk, while people with a bit more experience and strength handled the frontline.

It was arranged in a way to not spill the beans about me.

p - Are we ready? - I asked eventually, annoyed by them.

- Just a moment - said Celestine finishing putting on her armor.

I let out a loud sigh, which earned me an angry glare from Tihana. To escape her eyes, I went to the kitchen to pick up the backpack I had already prepared with some sandwiches and water. When I returned they were finally ready, so we departed.

In the city center, a few large groups of hunters were already formed. Some of them were departing for different areas. We joined ours, and then, all together, we headed out to the rats' territory.

Overall, it took a few hours. Tihana and Celestine spent them chatting about hunting, weapons, and other things like that, I was completely silent since I belonged to a completely different realm, and I didn't want to reveal my secrets. Not only to the brunette but also to all of the people around us.

The voices were coming from all directions. Some people told stories, and others cracked jokes. I tried to think about the future.

What was coming next for me? More unrest in the Ixan empire? Other assassinations? More hunting, to be prepared for the worst outcome? What about Celestine Carter, who appeared in the lives of me and my daughter?

She was pretty, and I actually really liked her, although my opinion was based on very few interactions, as I was keeping my distance. She was also cautious, making sure to not send me the wrong signals. But those few conversations we had, made me look forward to more.

When she was relaxed she had a good sense of humor. Without the nerves, she also could tell a good story. On top of that, she was gorgeous, even without makeup.

Orders, shouted out by the person who led the whole expedition, brought me back to reality. I didn't even realize when that time passed, and we arrived already at the edge of the rats' territory.

- Let's go - said Tihana. - This way.

She pointed with her weapon where we were supposed to go, to flank the escaping rats from the main battle. There were a few other groups walking with us, and I noticed that they were glaring at me. Soon it became obvious that their issue was me not carrying any weapon, but nobody seemed to be bold enough to actually say anything.

The deeper we went into the hunting grounds, the more nervous Celestine became. She was whispering a lot to Tihana, who answered all of her questions.

Then we all reached the right spot, and everybody stopped, waiting for the massacre to unleash. I was the only person who seemed bored, the rest was either excited or slightly scared - like miss Carter. Even Tihana wasn't a hundred percent composed.

Shortly later, the first noises reached our ears, heralding that the event started, and the scouts were being chased by the horde, which emerged from the nest. We needed for it to clash with the bulk of our forces before going after the retreating units, who would split from the main column after the two groups engaged with one another.

The rats were cowards, and they would run, dying at mass while being chased, but quite a bunch would split, going more to the sides, which could be quite a huge loss in crystals, so it was better to pincer them, and keep together, eventually encircling, before they reached their nest back.

We waited patiently for the signal. When the horns reached our ears, we rushed forward, jogging through the woods to catch our prey.

I made sure to stay behind because I didn't really want to get involved in the fight if I didn't have to. This approach didn't go unnoticed, which combined with my lack of weapon could lead to some kind of conflict at the very end of the day, but, to be frank, I didn't care.

Soon we spotted the first rats equipped with their short blades among the trees and bushes, escaping with all their speed towards their home. Even their very best was much slower than us, so the distance shortened very quickly.

I accelerated a little bit, to stay close to Tihana and Celestine before we finally clashed with the nasty little warriors.