"That's why I want to avoid any possibility of being involved with that guy," Sarah looked with a pleading expression at the boy, knowing her request was quite excessive. Although she knew that even without the boy's help, her father would probably refuse the tiger tribe's proposal anyhow, she didn't want to take a risk. She wanted to limit the possibility of any mishap's appearance, or the anxiety wouldn't allow her to sleep peacefully in the nights. There were also some selfish desires mixed behind her request, but Sarah judged the boy didn't need to know about them. Although Sirius's words had appeased the worries in her heart about his and Nerida's close relationship, it wouldn't be a bad idea to exploit the situation to discourage any annoying insects that might have strange intentions about the boy. Not to mention that her chances of getting closer to him would greatly improve if she stabilized her position as his fiancee. "We are bound to be engaged

For Sirius, the next several days had been way too exhausting. Because of his injuries, the boy had been forced to neglect his training for more than two weeks. No sooner had his body started to get used to the daily exercise than he encountered Apollyon. Sirius really wanted to express his frustration somehow. He felt as if his whole progress had regressed to zero. And the worst thing of all was the insufferable boredom of training alone. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about this. As Anders and Nerida had to prepare for the sparring competition with the Tiger Tribe, they were training these days singly. All the people who would participate in the competition were training feverishly, with Sirius being the only person at his age that didn't really have anything to do. Luckily, Sarah would sometimes join him when she finished her chores early, but as she was also busy helping the village's women organize the welcoming feast, the two barely spent any time together. At le

"Please, raise your head! It was just a dispute among children, nothing for an adult to worry about," the boy hurriedly said in shock. The image of a man bowing his head to a child was an embarrassing spectacle, a humiliation that could stain the warrior's reputation considering the importance the villagers were attaching to their honor's preservation. "You are the savior of my children. Apologizing for their rude behavior is the least I can do as their father," the man stubbornly continued, as if his words were an indisputable fact. He was a person worthy of being respected, Sirius inwardly thought. Despite being a man of a high position in the village, he didn't hesitate to apologize to him in person, even though he had done nothing wrong, only because he felt he had to do so for the sake of his children. In truth, Drayce's and Melly's attitude towards him wouldn't even be considered blamable in the village's society. He only had himself to blame for not

"You are becoming bolder and bolder these days. Have you forgotten you are still a weakling?" Ajamu, from the very beginning, was a bad-tempered and arrogant person who wouldn't shrink off anyone's challenge, much less Sirius's, who he still looked down on. Although he had to admit that Sirius had proved to be surprisingly resourceful in a crisis and that his character had also shown a little promise, that was all, in the end. Except for his luck, his overall ability remained laughable. How could he accept such a person talking back to him like an equal? Had he not saved his life, Ajamu wouldn't just reply in the form of words.  Sirius, however, ignored his rival's poisonous remarks. In the first place, the boy hadn't meant to antagonize Ajamu. He couldn't have even if he wanted to. He knew, after all, his own place. How weaker he truly was compared to his peers.  This was a world with superhuman freaks that could move mountains with their hands. Sirius, in