A month passed by since the faithful encounter between Issei and Bast. They were like two peas in a pod. They did almost everything together. Except chores. Bast always flew into the barn to take a nap while Issei worked, which really pissed him off.

One day Issei was sick of it. So he went to the barn with a bucket of water and dumped it on his partner's face.

"AHHHH! I'M DROWNING! I'M DROWNING! SOMEBODY HE-"

Bast stopped screaming as he suddenly realized that he wasn't drowning. Tick marks started to appear on his head as he got angry.

"Oi! Oi! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!?"

"SHUT UP LAZY CAT! YOU'RE GONNA HELP WITH CHORES!"

"I CAN'T! I CAN'T DO ANYTHING! I can't plow the fields! Or take care of the animals! I can't even pull the vegetables from the ground!"

Issei blinked at the red cat. "Wow. You really are useless."

"Oi!"

Issei thought for a moment before a light bulb lit above his head. "I know! You can fly around the area and see what's been scarying the animals. Lately they've been coming in spooked."

At that moment, they heard a desperate cry of a cow out in the fields. Issei and Bast shared a look as they took off into that direction.

In the field, Issei saw a group of people he didn't know trying to restrain a cow. Issei's adoptive father, Mr. Hyoudou, was arguing with another man in what looked to be really expensive clothing. The man was fat and was short like an imp. He had medium light brown hair with a curled end, and had a lot of expensive looking jewelry on. That man was also smoking a cigar.

Mr. Hyoudou looked like he was going to snap at the people. "This is outrageous! You can't just waltz in here and just take my animals!"

"Oh, but I can," said the other man. "You see, all we're doing is collecting our payment for protecting your precious village. If you have the money, by all means, cough it up. You know that our guild has better things to do than babysit you country folk."

Mr. Hyoudou gritted his teeth as he started to release his white magical aura.

"Now now. I don't think you'll want to do that. You wouldn't want anything to happen to that boy over there now." The man snapped his fingers and then all of a sudden, the men surrounded Issei. Each man had their respective magic auras surrounding them as they grinned at Issei. Their attempt to intimidate Issei didn't faze him in the slightest.

Mr. Hyoudou saw this and immediately stepped down. He powered down his aura and took a step back.

The other man smiled. "That's what I thought."

He turned around and looked at Issei. "Let me introduce myself boy. My name is Rich Everlue, son of Duke Everlue. I'm sure you've heard of him. We are from the Southern Wolves guild. Even though we we're supposed to be an assassins guild, the village you currently live on has paid us to protect them from monsters, enemies, thieves and such. When they can't pay the money, we take what we want. Me and the boys want to have beef tonight. so, We're taking your cow."

Issei widened his eyes at the man's selfishness. Issei and his father worked hard to get enough money to buy that cow. And since that time when they bought it, they've been working day and night to take care of it. Bast also loves the milk she produces. There was no way they were going to get that cow.

Not if he has anything to say about it.

Issei covered himself in a thin amount of red magical aura, until he looked at Mr. Hyoudou who was giving him a stern look and shook his head. He didn't want Issei to get involved in this. Especially since Rich Everlue has a lot of political power. And without the protection of their guild, their village nearby would be completely defenseless.

Issei gritted his teeth as he powered down his aura. He glared at Everlue while releasing hostility towards him.

Everlue grinned at the brown haired boy. "Ooh. Such hostility. Boy, this is how the world works. The one with the most magic power rules over the ones with weaker power."

Then he should worship the ground that Issei stands on.

Issei looked away and looked toward their cow that was being hog tied and dragged away. He wasn't going to let this go. Not by a long shot.


Later that night, the Hyoudou family was eating dinner peacefully. And Issei couldn't take it, to the point where he snapped.

Issei slammed his hands on the table and abruptly stood up. "Are we really going to sit here and pretend that nothing happened?! Those assholes just stole our cow and eating her as we speak! We worked hard to buy that cow! And we're just going to let them take her?! We could've easily kicked their asses!"

Bast flew and sat on Issei's head. "Yeah! And her milk was delicious!"

Mr. and Mrs. Hyoudou shared a look before they looked at their adopted child. "Issei, we have no other choice. Those guys are an assassins guild. Our village was lucky that we were able to convince them to help protect us. And in turn, we pay them. Our village isn't doing well on money. I'm barely able to produce enough crops to afford our house and living expenses."

Issei sat down as he thought of something. "I've been meaning to ask. What is a guild anyway? That asshole Everlue mentioned he was in guild. What does that mean?"

Mr. and Mrs. Hyoudou shared a wide eyed look. How long has this boy been in that crystal?

Mrs. Hyoudou cleared her throat as she spoke. "A guild is an type of organization where many different wizards/mages join where they do job requests for money. There are many different type of guilds. The Southern Wolves are an assassins guild where they take assassination jobs. They aren't actually a legal guild because assassination is illegal. But, without their protection, our village would be in trouble with nobody to protect us."

The wheels in Issei's head started to turn. Then a lightbulb lit up above Issei's head. "Why don't I just join a guild? That way, I can get money for us to pay off those shitheads. And we don't have to worry about them taking our stuff."

Mr. Hyoudou spoke. "Even though we wouldn't mind you joining a guild, Issei, the jobs can also be risky and dangerous. This one time, when I was in a guild, I took a job for finding out what this cursed book can do and lift the hexes on it. Long story short, I ended up turning into a book. I was stuck as a book for three days before I got help from some other medical magic users to turn me back. At the end of the day, I still didn't get paid."

Issei frowned. "Then I won't take any jobs that involve magical books that turn other people into books. I'm extremely strong! I can just fight monsters for some money, and I can send it over here."

Mrs. Hyoudou spoke. "Issei. The world is a very cruel place. You saw how Everlue was like. There are also worse people than him out there. I just don't want you to get hurt."

Issei's eyes softened at Mrs. Hyoudou's concern. "You don't need to worry about me. I can take care of myself. Believe me when I say that I've been through worse than some rich people who has a God complex."

Mr. and Mrs. Hyoudou shared another looked before they came to a decision. It was his choice. They weren't his actual parents. They understood that they had no right to say no to him.

"Okay Issei," said Mr. Hyoudou. "It's your choice. If you wanna join a guild, then we'll support you anyway we can."

"YEAH!" Issei and Bast cheered as they jumped up and down in excitement.


The next morning...

The Hyoudou family were standing in the train station as they waited for the train. Issei had on black pants and a red shirt that was under a white collared shirt with black lining on the edges that remains opened in the front. He had a backpack with all his necessities in it. The Hyoudou couple spared what little money he had left on a train ticket and extra money for their adoptive son. He also had some food in his pack just in case he got hungry and didn't have to spend the little money he has. Bast had his angel wings out and was floating next to Issei.

"You sure you wanna come with me?" Issei asked the red cat.

"Yes sir," Bast answered. "We're partners. I promised to stay by your side. Where you go, I go. My bond is my word."

Issei grinned at the red cats loyalty. He made a mental promise that he was never gonna let anything happen to his little buddy.

The train finally showed up at the train station. Issei turned towards his parents to say goodbye.

"I'll miss you guys. I promise I'll come and visit sometime."

Mr. and Mrs. Hyoudou hugged the brown haired child. It was hard for them to let him go so soon.

Mrs. Hyoudou held his face in her hands. "Remember, we're always right here when you need us. Whenever you have nowhere else to go, you'll always be welcomed back here."

Mr. Hyoudou patted him on the back. "Good luck to you son. Be careful. There are a lot of strong wizards out there. Always be on guard. This world is probably different than what you thought it used to be."

Issei nodded at his adoptive father as he took his warning to heart. He got on the train and looked out the window to his parents that took care of him. Even if it was for a short time. He opened the window as he yelled to them.

"I'll get the money! I promise! I'll make enough money to where yo can live comfortably!"

The Hyoudou couple knew he would keep that promise.

"ALL ABOARD! NEXT STOP, HARGEON!"