Once the bell tower was cloaked in silence once more, an owl winged its way inside.

With a gaze that seemed almost human, it swept across the interior before transforming, much like liquid, into a man garbed in a black uniform.

He made a gesture, and several others rushed in, each clutching a pistol and eyeing their surroundings with vigilance.

The bullets in these firearms were of a special kind, imbued with a potent purifying property, capable of inflicting substantial damage upon both demons and malevolent entities.

"They've already departed," the man, who had previously been the owl, stated impassively.

The others were left looking utterly bewildered; they had arrived only to find themselves foiled.

However, the leading man felt a tinge of relief. For he could sense the lingering aura in the air, an unmistakable sign of a high-level malevolent presence.

He himself possessed merely the ability to engage in combat with a second-level evil entity. As for his fellow team members, they were even less formidable. Most were of the first level, and some were naught but ordinary individuals.

...

In the jolting deer-drawn cart, Danni discerned that the three individuals who had recently boarded seemed rather peculiar.

She sensed that they were all somewhat tense and had remained uncharacteristically silent throughout the journey.

Her intuition was on the mark, for these three had just witnessed Glen take a life, an event that had proven rather unsettling to them.

Nevertheless, they harbored no fear of Glen on account of this. Setting aside the fact that the deceased was a dark magician, even an ordinary person with malicious intent would have met a fitting end.

In places where the law held no sway, there were countless individuals who met their demise under mysterious circumstances. Luther and the Carter brothers had, to some extent, either heard of or witnessed such occurrences.

Unlike them, who were still reeling from the shock, Glen was at the front, guiding the cart, little Ricky nestled in his arms, chatting and laughing with abandon.

The little one, no longer as timid as at first, had transformed into a veritable font of curiosity, bombarding Glen with a litany of questions.

He inquired about the places they passed, the nature of the large deer, the distance to the sun, the moon, and the like.

Glen answered the questions he knew, and when he didn't, he spun tales, offering answers that were as childlike and fantastical as could be.

They would occasionally halt, taking time to rest and relax, before resuming their journey.

Finally, in the afternoon, they reached Dudd Town.

Upon seeing that the town bore no signs of destruction, Luther and the Carter brothers were overjoyed.

Although Glen had already informed them and they had placed their trust in his words, the sight with their own eyes still filled them with elation.

"I must return home and check if any thieves have broken in!" Carter exclaimed, then eagerly leaped from the cart.

Kagin naturally accompanied his brother.

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"Everything in the store is more or less ready. Remember to report for work promptly tomorrow morning!" Glen called out to them from afar.

"We understand!"

The two brothers strode away.

Luther couldn't help but chuckle as he watched them. Then, turning to Glen, he said,"I'm in no hurry to return home. Let me accompany you to the store and have a look."

Glen readily assented.

There seemed to be a significant increase in the number of knights in the town compared to before. Among them were land knights clad in cumbersome, heavy armor.

Glen surmised that they had been dispatched from above to clean up the battlefield and address any potential lingering issues.

This didn't overly concern him, though he did find it somewhat discomforting when, on occasion, he felt something scanning his entire body.

He knew this to be a technique employed by those knights.

When the deer-drawn cart came to a halt in front of Glen's store, Danni couldn't contain her praise for the uniquely decorated establishment.

"Is this the store you've opened? It's truly magnificent! I'm eager to know how you came up with such ideas!"

"Just a stroke of inspiration now and then. Let's go inside," Glen replied.

Glen took little Ricky's hand and pushed open the store door.

Once inside, Danni was unable to suppress her exclamations of wonder.

Ricky giggled and frolicked about the store, running with unrestrained glee.

"Luther, I've had employee uniforms custom-made for you. They're over there. Go and take a look,"

Glen pointed to a particular room.

"Very well, sir," Luther responded and then made his way towards the room Glen had indicated.

Glen then said to Danni,"Wait here for a moment. I'll go and prepare a room for you and the little one."

This was the place Glen intended for the mother and son to stay temporarily. Had he allowed Danni to go to Bayek, she would surely have urged him to leave that place. Thus, this was the only viable option.

And he would also be sleeping here during the few days that Danni and Ricky were in residence.

"I'd best go and do it myself. You don't seem to be accustomed to such tasks..."

Danni said instinctively.

"You're not familiar with this place," Glen said, placing a hand on Danni's shoulder, and then ascended the stairs himself.

The store had two floors. The second floor had originally been earmarked for storing goods, but now, after some tidying up, several of the rooms could be repurposed as bedrooms.

Danni found a seat and reached out to touch the clean table before her.

The table's style, described in modern terms, was minimalist, and it had a soothing effect on the eyes.

Ordinarily, a butcher shop wouldn't require such elaboration, but when designing it, Glen had decided to add a sideline of selling tea and beverages.

He was eager to see if the local folk would take a liking to the beverages he had concocted.

On one side of the store, fresh raw meat was on sale, while on the other, patrons could sit and enjoy a drink. It was a somewhat incongruous combination.

Danni, of course, was oblivious to all this. At present, she was merely filled with a sense of unreality.

The younger brother who had once been so idle now owned such a splendid store. She was genuinely happy for him.

Ricky scampered about the store and finally threw himself into Danni's arms. Looking up at her, he said,"Mom, this place is so beautiful. When will we build a house like this?"

"Perhaps in the future. Maybe Uncle Dylan will build one for us then," Danni said, merely to placate the child.

She didn't wish to burden her brother. In her view, Glen's business had only just gotten off the ground, and its future was uncertain.

However, these words reached Glen's ears as he stood on the second floor, and he silently committed them to memory.

...

Daugry, accompanied by several police officers, led five children before a female knight and said,

"Lady Knight, these children have all been orphaned. We hope to take them to the Relief Society. Your assistance would be most gratefully received."

The female knight cast a glance at the children. Some were wiping away tears, while others wore a dazed expression, a lingering aftermath of their grief. She nodded and said,

"Head over there and seek out Lady Knight Elena. She will take charge of this matter."

She pointed in a certain direction.

Daugry expressed his gratitude once more and then led the children in the direction she had indicated.

These five children had all been saved by Glen. Their parents, who had been outside the town, had tragically fallen victim to the strange red-clad figures.

Henceforth, they would have to grow up as orphans in the Relief Society affiliated with the Saint Sevi Church.

Daugry was uncertain whether the Relief Society would provide these poor children with the care they deserved, but this was the extent of what he could do.

Upon learning of the situation, Elena couldn't help but feel sorrow for the children.

She first crouched down and gently kissed their foreheads. Then she personally escorted them to a requisitioned building.

Inside were the refugees who had lost their loved ones in this unfortunate incident.

Elena made arrangements for a separate area for these children, and there would be people taking turns to look after them.