Somewhere within the ruined battlefield and underneath a collapsed tent, there was a certain blue-skinned humanoid. He had broad shoulders and a portly pot belly that was currently dyed red in blood. A throaty groan leaked out from his lips as his hazy eyes slowly came into focus.

It was Redrick, the Majin Captain that had once attempted to decapitate Ellis’s head in front of a campsite full of other Majins.

Where am I? What the hell was that?

He tried to recall what had happened, but to his surprise, he couldn’t. His memories all came out in a jumbled mess.

First, that squirrel woman attacked the campsite, then… then…

He frowned. According to his memories, a giant monster suddenly appeared from out of the water and completely razed the place to the ground.

“…”

No matter what, such a development was simply too random! He had trouble believing in the truth that he remembered. After a few seconds of silent contemplation, he mentally shrugged his shoulders.

Well, whatever. All that matters is that I survived. More importantly, is that monster still out there?

He remained still and focused on his ears. He listened. Ten minutes passed. Nothing. The screams, the monster, none of it was there. There was nothing but peace and quiet.

The Majin captain mustered up his courage and scooted towards the flap of the tent. He silently peered out into the forest.

“…”

The entire campsite was thoroughly destroyed. All the tents were either torn apart or on fire. Even their leader’s tent had been flattened to the ground.

He also noticed something even stranger. There was a distinct lack of bodies. After such an event, he expected to see a couple of corpses. To his surprise, there were no bodies to be seen, only lumpy slush that stained the ground red.

After scanning the battlefield for a few seconds, he suddenly narrowed his eyes.

The prisoners escaped…

In the distance, he caught sight of the squirrels that they had previously captured. They all followed after another familiar individual.

It’s that woman! She survived too!?

The dangerous woman who first attacked their campsite. She was unharmed by the giant monster attack. Redrick couldn’t help but feel his insides boil with anger.

My men died, but those damn slaves survived!

He felt truly, truly incensed. He wanted to just run up there and tear their throats right out from their necks and violate their bodies. Still, despite his turbulent emotions, he did not move an inch. He knew that he was no match for the woman. What’s more, he was currently injured.

There was a painful throb in his right leg. Whenever he tried to move it, a sharp jolt would travel up his spine and render him immobile. It caused him severe discomfort.

He quickly calmed himself and assessed his current situation.

Firstly, I need to find a way to get out of here. Escape was the priority. Everyone else in the campsite had died, the only thing left of the Majin army was his own pitiful life. He knew that he needed to move soon. If he remained in this little hiding spot, there was a good possibility of that dangerous woman finding him.

Still, what can I do?

He scanned his surroundings once more. That’s when he noticed someone else within the battlefield.

A grey-haired young man with a somewhat dull looking face. Him? He survived too?

It was the same guy that the leader had given him. They had originally planned to sacrifice him to the spirits of the Demon Kings. Unfortunately, that woman got in the way.

As he observed the outside world, he soon noticed that the squirrel woman was heading towards the young man.

Are they friends? Can I use him as a hostage?

The distance between the young man and the woman was more than 200 hundred meters. In comparison, the distance between him and the young man was less than fifty. If he really wanted to take him hostage, then now was as good of a chance as any.

Still, he hesitated.

Should I… should I really do it? Are they even friends? What if they’re not? No, can’t I just stay here and wait everything out. Sooner or later, that woman will leave, right?

The more he thought about it, the more his confidence dwindled.

In the end, what the hell should I do!?

As the inner turmoil within his heart continued to escalate, he suddenly noticed a pair of black paws. They were standing a mere ten inches away from his face!

Redrick instantly froze. A few seconds later, a wolf’s muzzle came into view. He tried his best to remain silent, but the slightly acrid smell that the creature exuded tickled his nose.

He wanted to do something, but he found it difficult to move without alerting that woman. Just as he was about to start crawling back into the depths of his hiding place, the wolf muzzle suddenly sneezed.

From its opened jaws came a purple mist.

Almost by instinct, he sniffed at the air.

“!”

His face instantly paled. The Majin desperately clutched at his chest, but no matter what he did, no air would enter his lungs. He tried to scream, but the sounds refused to come out. White foam dripped out from the corners of his lips. His eyes glazed over before a slight toot leaked out from his bottom half.

Like that, the Majin Captain died.

“Woof!” From a distance, Wight let out a bark.

Umbra lifted his head out from the gap in the tent and turned around.

“Woof! Woof!” Wight continually barked at him. Despite her small stature, she possessed a surprisingly loud voice. “Woof!” Right now, the white-eared wolf was complaining.

‘What are you doing over there? Quit playing around!’— was what she said.

Umbra sighed. He shook his head as he slowly trotted towards her.

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First Ena, then Wight… sometimes, it was really difficult to live with such bossy sisters.

****

Ellis looked off into the distance and watched as they quietly approached.

The group consisted largely of the prisoners from the tunnel. Along with Hal and his little girlfriend, Farma-Wrynn and the pale-faced squirrel were also there.

He paid particular attention to their reaction. The faces of most of the people there… it was a stark contrast to the ones they donned back in the tunnel. Fear and reverence. At least, that’s how he interpreted them. Of course, the focal point of such intense emotions was none other than him.

Judging by the way they all clumped together and practically hid behind Farma-Wrynn, there was considerably more fear than there was reverence.

Ellis directly ignored them and instead, nodded lightly towards Hal-Wrynn. He did not respond. Instead, the boy continued to stare at him with blank eyes.

“…”

For some reason, the little kid’s expression looked particularly clouded today.

“What’s up with you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Once they got closer, Ellis couldn’t help but comment.

Hal’s shoulders jumped. After another silent second passed, he managed to utter out, “I… I didn’t think you’d be so strong.”

In response, Ellis simply let out a thin smile. “Not many people do.”

Inwardly, he couldn’t help but praise himself. This was what he wanted. That look of shock, the awe the comes immediately afterward, this was the highlight to playing the secret-badass type character.

Maybe I should keep hiding my strength in the future? Then again, I do want to try out what it feels like to be revered out in public too…

As such inconsequential thoughts buzzed through his head, Hal-Wrynn continued.

He shook his head and breathed out a sigh of admiration. “You really don’t look like one. If it wasn’t for today, then I would have lived on assuming that you were just some flimsy beast tamer with a weak constitution.”

BANG!

Just then, a fist suddenly slammed down onto the crown of his head.

“Ow!” Hal-Wrynn cried out as he rubbed the growing bruise.

“What have I told you about judging a book by its cover!” Farma-Wrynn angrily reprimanded him. “Damn brat, you never learn, do you?!”

Ellis looked up. Now that the urgency of the battle had faded, he took this opportunity to closely observe the woman in front of him.

Her tanned, honey brown skin glistened with sweat. Occasionally, clumps of dirt and blood stuck out in places where they shouldn’t be, but they did not really take away from the overall image. Ellis distinctly noticed that her already revealing attire had somehow torn during all the chaos. As a result, she revealed even more of her skin than usual. In particular, her chest was practically held together by a flimsy piece of string.

Farma-Wrynn had a fit body. She wasn’t overly muscular, nor did she possess the same type of dynamic curves that Grisella possessed. For her, everything just worked.

For a brief moment, his mind wandered. It was at this moment that he met eyes with the pale-faced squirrel.

Lisbeth flashed him a knowing smile. Ellis’s shoulder’s slightly shivered.

He shook his head and cleared away his lascivious thoughts. He looked over at Hal-Wrynn. The poor boy was still clutching onto the crown of his head.

A weird expression floated to his face. This was the second time he had witnessed such a scene. The perpetrator of the first scene, Ama-Lear, was standing beside the boy, a complacent smile etched onto her lips.

Ellis shook his head. He couldn’t help but feel sorry for Hal. With this type of company around, he was destined to live a difficult life.

Just then, he noticed Farma giving him an odd look. As he turned towards her, she suddenly asked, “You were the one that took him away from the village?”

Took? No, no, no, you’re wrong, lady. This kid was the one that set this whole thing up! I am the victim!

He wanted to pathetically cry out his innocence, but he chose to hold his tongue. Ellis thought about it for a moment before he said, “It was a misunderstanding.”

Explaining the entire situation to her was a pain in the ass. Besides, judging by how downcast Hal-Wrynn currently looked, he could immediately tell what sort of punishment the boy would get for this little expedition of his. There was no need to add more oil to the fire.

This is me throwing you a bone, kid! Think of it as thanks for teaching me that cool pick-up line.

Farma-Wrynn frowned. “A man shouldn’t make up excuses.”

A heavy pressure suddenly exuded out from her body. Killing intent or something similar. The tension in the air rose. It felt heavy and discomforting. Of course, compared to the Slime’s aura, hers was paltry and inconsequential.

Ellis simply raised his brow in curiosity. He waited for her to make the first move. Although he was a bit tired from the earlier battle, it wasn’t to the point where someone like Farma could threaten his life.

“…”

“…”

A full thirty seconds passed but nothing happened. Eventually, she breathed out a silent sigh. The domineering aura abruptly vanished.

“Even if I wanted to fight you, all I can see is death.” She shook her head. “Well, I can kind of guess what really happened. This brat tricked you, didn’t he?”

Farma-Wrynn smiled a toothy smile.

Ellis frowned. For some reason, admitting it like that did not sit well with him. He thought for a moment, before he replied, “rather than tricked, I let him do it.”

Technically, he was half-right.

Still, the woman did not look at all convinced by his words. Her perpetual smile only further irritated him.

“Regardless, not only did you save our lives, but you also helped destroy a Majin base. There are quite a few of these things spread out all over the forest. Finding them is difficult, and even when we do learn of one, we can’t act on it due to our lack in manpower.”

“I see…” Ellis remained silent for a few seconds, before he suddenly said, “I don’t want to get involved in your war.”

For a moment, Farma-Wrynn widened her eyes. A soft smile stretched her lips. “I didn’t think you’d want to.”

He simply nodded, satisfied with her response.

The woman decided to change the subject. She briefly turned to the prisoners behind her before she said, “after this, I will take these girls back to the tribe. They have gone through much and will need all the help that they can get. As for your group…” she thoughtfully looked out into the distance. Her eyes locked onto Grisella’s hunched figure. Right now, the solitary witch was currently scooping up pinkish fluid into her second wooden barrel.

“You are planning to head to the world tree, are you not?”

Ellis nodded.

Her expression clouded. She abruptly asked, “… do you believe the legends? That at the base of the world tree lies an old God’s holy land.”

Ellis could feel the faint peculiarity within her voice. He thought about it for a moment. “If the world tree really does exist, then I think something like a God’s holy land should too.”

“…” Farma-Wrynn remained silent for a long time. Eventually, she spoke. “Gods are… gods are unreliable. Even if you don’t pray to them, even if you don’t believe in them, they still somehow manage to squirm their way into your life like parasitic insects.”

“…” Ellis did not respond.

A long silence filled the air. After a while, Farma-Wrynn let out a thin smile. She suddenly asked, “then, for saving everyone here, is there something that you want?”

“What?” he furrowed his brow in confusion. After all that ominous talk, her clear attempt at changing the subject was quite jarring.

“A reward.” She reiterated. “I do not want you to go on with the assumption that I am a woman that does not know how to repay favors. So, tell me already, what kind of reward do you want?”

A reward, huh?

Ellis thought about it for a while. To be honest, he really couldn’t think of anything that he wanted. Unless she could somehow deal with the headache that was the church, then there really wasn’t much that she could offer to him. After a short pause, he jokingly said, “then, how about a kiss?”

Farma-Wrynn’s shoulders shook. A look of contemplation colored her face. Five painfully long seconds passed before she nodded her head. “Alright.”

Wait, really?

Before he could say anything, she suddenly grabbed onto the cuff of his shirt and pulled him closer. Without hesitation and underneath the eyes of the watchful crowd, she pressed her lips against his.

“…”

“…”

Ellis’s mind went blank.

Her lips felt soft and moist. The faint scent of her body drifted to his nose. It was a mixture of flowery sweat and iron. By no means was it a bad smell. In fact, it was quite the opposite…

The kiss lasted for over ten seconds. At some point, she slipped a little bit of tongue in there.

“Pwah!”

The two eventually separated. A thin line of saliva connected their lips.

Ellis was slightly out of breath. Farma-Wrynn was the same. She panted; light puffs of air continually leaked out from her slightly flared nostrils.

She looked up at him and smiled. A faint blush colored her cheeks. Her tongue ran along the length of her lips, almost as if she was savoring the aftertaste.

The audience of people simply stood there in shock. In particular, Hal’s entire body had gone rigid. He stared up at his aunt with wide eyes and a slacked jaw.

“That was my first kiss.” She whispered in an airy voice.

Ellis stiffly nodded his head in acknowledgment. He couldn’t quite bring himself to say anything. That was my first kiss too!

Her smile deepened. “I don’t know if this is enough to repay the debt, but… you should know, a squirrel’s kiss lasts forever.”

Her ambiguous words echoed loudly through his head.

“Wait, what do you—”

Before Ellis could properly finish, Farma-Wrynn suddenly turned to the crowd and spoke. “Well, we should go now.”

She gave him one last wink before she lightly patted her cheeks and walked away. For a moment, the crowd simply stood there, confused. Eventually, they followed after her.

Ellis did not know what to do. He briefly debated whether or not he should chase after her, but he eventually decided against it. The woman and her group of captives quietly disappeared into the tree line.

As the faraway sun set over the distant horizon, a goofy smile stretched his lips.