*Click*

An arrow of a dark color flew across the forest, lodging itself in the hind leg of a boar.

The beast instantly tried to flee, not knowing where the sudden attack came from, but it quickly realized that it wasn't able to run as fast as it usually did.

It was slow, and an easy target.

Before it understood anything, and without feeling any pain, it crumbled on the ground, lifeless.

This was Orion's hunting strategy nowadays.

'A crippling arrow, and then a swift arrow. Clean and painless.'

He always went for the nape area of creatures. It was the best place to aim at to avoid making a prey agonize.

'That's should be enough.'

Once he confirmed that he had hunted enough, he walked to the boar, and dragged it through a portal with him.

Reappearing at the front of his old house, he placed the boar in front of the many hunted preys he managed to gather.

A boar, two rabbits, three pheasants, a deer, and even a bear. There was a lot of food in all of that to support Auro for the next few months.

There was also a few reasons for Orion going through this hunt.

First, he had to look if there was no over-hunting in the area. They had to let nature do its thing before no life remained to be hunted.

And it seemed to be coming to that point actually.

'There are less beasts than a few years ago, it might be time to find another way to get their food.'

The second reason was to look for any corrupted beasts. He walked away of Auro hoping no attack would happen while he was away, and luckily, nothing happened.

'I haven't noticed any particular auras of corruption in the forest, so I think nothing changed.'

With both objectives completed, it was now time to go in the village to notify everyone.

...

"As efficient as ever, I'll give you that. I haven't seen a bear in four months."

Orion agreed with the butcher that he was efficient, but he quickly gave the other party a warning.

"You haven't seen a bear in months because we've been hunting too much. From today onward, I suggest you avoid hunting."

"Orion, you know we can't survive without hunting, right?"

"I know. That's why I'm going to help you find another way to sustain yourself instead of that. I believe it might be time for Auro to be an easier place to live in for all of you."

The butcher sighed in front of him.

"I'm going to lose my job, aren't I? No preys, no meat, and no butcher."

But Orion shook his head.

"Who said that? There are many things that can be done with you keeping your work. There are many possibilities."

"So, don't think too much about it. I'll go talk to the mayor about what could be done. I'll try my best not to make your life harder, but changes are inevitable."

The butcher looked at Orion with a tired smile.

"To make our lives better?"

"Exactly. I would do nothing else."

"Alright then. I'll take care of the food you so graciously went to get for us, and leave whatever plan you have for us to you and the mayor."

He stopped worrying, and went to work, starting with the smaller ones.

~

Amelia finally awakened. Today was a rare day where she managed to function immediately. But these days began to slowly appear more and more. Those days were she needed ten to twenty minutes to fully awaken were going done as time past.

She stretched, brushed her hair, and went for a bath.

It looked like it was around 9AM, so the day had only just began.

"Ah."

"Hello Amelia."

When she opened the door to the changing room, Karteira was already half naked, readying herself for a bath too.

"Hi Karteira. Returning from training?"

"Returning from training."

They both smiled at each other, before Amelia walked inside and began to remove her night clothes.

"..."

Karteira stared at her in silence.

"What?"

The moment she felt that gaze on her, she turned shyly toward her friend.

"How do you manage to get such a size? I mean, look at me."

Pressing her palms on her chest, she compared hers to Amelia.

"Why? They're not that much different from... mine?"

Amelia noticed that in reality, she had larger breasts than Karteira. But her gaze fell on somewhere else.

"You say that, but you've seen your hips?"

Stopping right in front of her, she began to compare their hip size.

"You can't complain! Look at this, you've got at least five centimeters more than me on both size!"

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"Well, I have my scorpion tail so..."

"That's true. Anyway, let's go take a bath."

"Sure."

Their little analysis stopped as fast as it started, and they both entered the bathing area naked.

Karteira was the first to enter the water, and instantly melted on the spot, making relaxed noises.

"It sure feels great after training. I began to understand why Orion always praise the act of taking a bath right after sweating."

Amelia smiled and entered the water too.

With the water submerging their shoulders, they both closed their eyes.

"Talking about Orion, did he went to Auro alone like he said?"

"Yes. I've managed to see him train a little this morning, before he left for your village."

"He still trained?"

Opening her eyes, Amelia looked at the ceiling.

"Yes, he was having a fight similar to his fight against that corrupted Apostle. He was flying in the air with both crossbows in hands. Though, he had a frustrated expression on his face."

"Well, I did not unlock the Third Gear since then, and I believe he doesn't have those things to bounce on like he did during the fight."

"Yes. He's also slowly avoiding to use the warp ability while fighting. I wonder why."

Both girls were almost always talking about him. He wasn't the center of their world for nothing.

They were also the two capable of understanding his troubles.

"He said that it was consuming a large quantity of magic each time he warped, so I think it is related to that?"

"You might be right. I think he will keep this ability as a trump card from now on."

Amelia nodded, before standing up from the water, and moving toward the shower area. Karteira followed her, and they both began to clean their body with soap.

"What are we doing today?"

Karteira asked, knowing that Orion was out for at least a few more hours.

"I'm baking him a cake for tomorrow. I don't know what you can do, maybe find a present for him?"

"Besides reading and training, I don't really think he likes many things..."

"Yes. I've always had trouble too."

But then, an idea came to Karteira.

"I know! What do you think of-"

...

"You're a genius! That's one of the best thing he could get currently. Can I leave that to you?"

"Of course!"

Both women finished cleaning their body, and stood up at the same time. They went into the changing room, wore fresh clothes, and both went separate ways.

Amelia went to the kitchen, and Karteira went toward the portal hub.

~

"So, what do you think, sir?"

"Right, I will leave everything to you. I do like this idea better, as the villagers will finally stop returning injured after a hunt."

"Then it is settled. I will go and spoke to the other party. You should expect great news."

"Thank you for thinking about us, even now."

"And thank you for considering me like a member of this village. I repay in kind."

The mayor laughed, as Orion stood up.

"I'll be going now. Take care, sir."

Orion closed the door and walked out of the building, back to his house.

The discussion he held with the mayor seemed to have gone very well, and he was now about to continue working toward making his plan a reality.

Without waiting, he went through the portal back to Horizon that was inside the small house, and took another one immediately.

The one leading inside Florian's house.

He had to talk with Lobelia, so, he knocked on the door leading to the living room.

"Yaah!"

He heard a voice seemingly surprised, before hearing the following words.

"Ah! Is that Orion?"

Opening the door and revealing himself to her, he smiled, a little apologetic.

"Did I surprise you that much?"

The older woman closed her book, and stood up, pressing her chest.

"Yes. I thought my husband's spirit was playing tricks on me."

"I am sorry, I am not your husband."

He said while approaching her.

"That I know. How are you doing young man?"

"I am doing fine. What about you madam?"

"A little shaken up, but otherwise, as always."

They both looked at each other pleasantly, until she offered a seat to him.

"Anyway, you've came to ask me something I believe?"

Orion sat, and became serious.

"Is it possible to create a trading route toward a small beastman village?"

He went straight to the point.

"Do you have that power, or is it something Florian has to approve?"

Lobelia looked at him and sat down. She crossed her legs, and entered a mood that could be seen as her experience being a leader.

"I do have some power concerning the trades. When Florian is out, like today, I have the full power. Well, the power he left to me anyway."

"But if it concerns you, unless you ask for an impossible request, Florian would most likely agree. But, I am not Florian. I will ruthlessly work for conditions on my side."

Orion nodded.

"I prefer it this way."

"Alright, speak. What do you want from us?"

Taking a deep breath, Orion took pleasure in this type of fight too.

"I would like for you to open a trade route with Auro, a beastman village. What I request is that you send a few livestock to them, and in exchange, they sell a part of what they produce to you."

She placed a hand to her chin, and analyzed his words.

"Auro. It's not that far from here. Maybe a week or two depending on the way of transport."

"But livestock... you know how it works right? It is a gamble."

Staring at him, she noticed Orion had closed his eyes.

"Of course, I understand fully. You place in the ends of people you have no idea of their capabilities to nurture the goods, and hope that they make a profit in the end."

"The worst part is that it takes time for the livestock to be mature and produce any kind of product."

With a nod, she agreed.

"So you do understand. You are more knowledgeable than I give you credit for."

"Yes, that is exactly the problem. We don't know about anything from this village. They are beastmen, so we need to be careful not to antagonize them either. I heard a lot of rumors about the 'Savior' of the beastman, Dylan, going in an out of this village in the past."

Here was the moment were Orion decided to play his cards right.

"What if I said that this village is my hometown, and that Dylan was coming to see me. Would you believe it?"

Her face instantly changed to doubt, but it reverted to neutral right after.

"Are you- No, you are serious. I can't find any reason to lie right now."

"Well, it is the reality of things."

He shrugged.

"So, you came to change a bad situation happening in that village, thinking that it would be time for a change?"

"I've heard many people ask me to help them, but I have always refused. Do you know why?"

Orion thought for a minute.

"Lack of trust?"

"Close. I simply never saw any ounce of decency in their words. They came in fully expecting us to support them, without any return whatsoever."

She crossed her arms.

"But you, you immediately spoke about giving back at a later date. As a merchant, I wouldn't gamble on such a thing, but if you have plan on making it successful, for whatever that is, than maybe I will accept your proposition."

"Now tell me. What is your most inner thought on this? Why do you want to help that village?"

Orion was slightly shocked. He managed to come so close to a good conclusion, but she saw through him quite easily.

*sigh*

"I've underestimated you. I should have known you would be able to notice that I had ulterior motives."

"Alright, I'll be honest. If Auro is able to produce eggs, meat, milk, and whatever is possible other than that, sure, the village would thrive compared to simply hunting for food. The economy would also grow, leading to advancement in multiple sectors."

"But?"

This was the logical ending that Lobelia already knew it would lead to.

"I'm just doing that for Amelia in the end."

"Eh?"

She seemed completely lost at his words.

'Did he just say that he was doing this for... his friend?'

"If she can obtain more ingredients for her hobby, then she will be happy. If she cooks great meals, then Karteira would start to be thrilled too. And if I see these two happy, then I would ultimately be too. That's all."

His kind heart touched Lobelia so hard that tears began to flow from her eyes.

"If only half of the people thought like you. You are the first one to come to me with such a precious answer."

"I understand why Florian decided to give his trust to you. He is in good hands with you."

"Alright, I'll prepare whatever you want, and that trading route will be starting once it is prepared. You trust your people to succeed, and I will gamble on it too."

Orion brought out a piece of paper, and a handkerchief that he gave to her.

"Thank you."

She read the list of things he wanted after wiping the tears off, and nodded.

"You're not asking for that much, I see. Knowing what you want is a good thing."

"Yes, I want them to become a food source, different from Noctelagia being the main fish source."

Nodding, she placed the paper on the small table in front of her.

"I will approve this demand. Florian will hear about it later, so don't worry. I'm not doing this behind his back."

"Alright. Then, if it is done, I will go an notify them. There is a lot to prepare before receiving the livestock. Thank you for your time."

"Keep your kind heart, young man. I hope people like you were to appear more often."

She stood up and bowed slightly.

"I won't change. Also, I'm sorry for startling you earlier. Well then."

He walked through the door leading the portal, and returned to Horizon.

"I really hope you won't change. For Florian's sake too."

Lobelia sat down, and returned to her book.