"Stay close," Sister Elaina said. "If you wander off and get sold as a turnip, I'm not buying you back."
"We're not that small," Rin protested.
"You are exactly that small," Elaina replied.
Once a month, the orphanage kids were taken into town to help with errands, carrying baskets, fetching supplies, occasionally singing hymns for coins if Corwin felt dramatic.
Today, Alaric walked with Rin, Kellan, and Mira in the middle of the group, Lia clutching Rin's hand.
The border town felt busier than usual. Carts rattled past. Merchants shouted prices. The smell of bread and leather and too many bodies pressed close.
"Look," Kellan said, nodding toward the main square.
A group of armored men stood talking near a stone fountain. Their tabards bore the seven‑pointed star over a river ,Shersian knights.
Their armor gleamed, swords hung at their sides. A few townsfolk watched from a distance with a mix of awe and worry.
Near them, on the other side of the square, was a more ragtag crowd. Leather armor, mismatched weapons, monster claws and fangs hanging as trophies. A sign above the doorway behind them read HUNTER'S GUILD.
"What's the difference?" Rin asked. "Knights, hunters… both hit things with sharp metal."
"Knights serve the king," Kellan said immediately. "They answer to the crown and the Church."
"Hunters serve whoever posts the best reward," Mira murmured. "Bounty boards and contracts."
Alaric watched a scarred man at the hunter side laugh raucously, slapping another on the back. A young woman in light armor checked the condition of her bowstring with practiced ease.
"They fight different monsters, too," Elaina added from ahead, having overheard. "Knights handle wars, demon raids, border defence. Hunters take on beasts that bother villages, escort jobs, that sort of thing."
"Which is stronger?" Rin asked, eyes bright.
"Depends on the person," Elaina said. "A drunk knight's not worth half a sober hunter, and vice versa."
Kellan snorted. "I'm going to be a knight with proper armor and discipline. A banner to march under."
Rin punched the air. "I wanna be a hunter! No rules, all money."
Mira looked thoughtful. "Hunters travel more. You'd see different lands."
Alaric stayed quiet.
Hunters see how monsters move. How people really fight.
Knights see war. Politics. Big decisions.
Both sound… useful.
His gaze lingered on the guild sign.
Someday, when I'm old enough, I could join as a low‑rank hunter. Get paid. Learn from people who've fought things the academy doesn't talk about.
He tucked the thought away for later.
Right now, he was just a boy clutching a basket of potatoes.
The future could wait until he'd finished not dropping them.