As I left the cavern, I was greeted by the expectant gazes of my companions.
They all seemed curious and slightly worried.
Kaira's arms were folded,the posture she adopted when she had been concerned for a long time and decided to process it as mild irritation instead.
Aldric stood slightly apart, his expression neutral, but his eyes tracked me with the focused attention of someone who had been counting the hours.
Timber's vines had crept several feet closer to the cave entrance than I had instructed him to stay. When he noticed me noticing, he quietly retracted them with the dignity of someone who had definitely not done that.
Napoleon pecked my boot once.
"I'm fine," I said, addressing all of them at once.
"You were in there for hours," Kaira said.
"I'm aware."
"What was inside?"
I glanced briefly back at the cave.
"It was a Forest Sprite. A child,presumably nine to eleven years old."
"A Forest Sprite? I heard they lived in the deepest parts of the Jura as a colony… so how is it that a child was here, inside swamp territory?"
"Well, she wasn't friendly enough to tell me why…"
After that, I explained everything to them. They listened with silent curiosity and amazement.
"I would love to meet such a person!" Kaira said enthusiastically.
"A strong kid," Aldric muttered slowly.
I nodded genuinely, then looked back at them. "Enough about that. She'll need time to loosen up a bit. Until then, we shouldn't bother her too much."
When everyone agreed, I warned Timber and Napoleon once more and then turned to Aldric.
"So what did you find out there?"
Aldric was silent for a few seconds before speaking. "I found a small stone structure. It almost looked like some sort of statue. How should I put it… it was weird. Somewhat creepy. Just seeing it made my spine chill for a brief moment. It felt ominous… I…"
This was the first time I had seen Aldric so out of character. He was clearly trying to maintain his composure. However, the harder he tried to feign calm, the more it crumbled.
I suppose I'll have to see the statue for myself to get a proper sense of it.
Seeing him attempt to act natural, I didn't press further. Instead, I shifted my gaze to Kaira.
"And what about you?"
Kaira chuckled loudly. "Those stone deposits were really something! Top-notch building material. It's so hard that not even I could break it!"
"Y-you tried to destroy my belongings? That's a crime against the capital right there!"
"Well, I just tested its durability! And, uh… um… it was for… well… yeah! It was for your own good! By checking them out, I already differentiated the good stone from the bad stone!"
I stared at her for several seconds, speechless.
What kind of explanation was that?
Was she trying to act cute? Or did she genuinely think I would fall for that?
In either case, I could only shake my head.
Finally, I turned to Timber. "What about you? Did you find a way to clear up the swamp?"
"Timber did… Timber can… clear swamp!"
"Good."
[Loyalty 87% -> 89%]
After talking a little longer,discussing the odds and benefits...I dismissed them all.
The sun had almost set, its yellow rays enveloping my territory. In the sky above, Pride was flying, occasionally glancing down at me.
[Loyalty 75% -> 77%]
Am I farming loyalty or what? No matter what I do now, their loyalty keeps increasing.
Well, no complaints from me.
After watching Pride for a few moments, I returned to my humble abode.
Time passed as night fell upon the Jura Forest, the two moons shining brightly in the sky.
Their glittering light nearly illuminated my humble territory as we lit a bonfire in the center.
We prepared the remaining boar meat and enjoyed it as a light barbecue.
Taking a quarter portion of it and a piece of firewood as a source of light, I went inside the cavern.
A few long, deliberate steps were enough to reach my intended spot.
In front of me, the green-gray girl was sitting with sharp, narrowed eyes. From her appearance and the delayed yawn she grudgingly tried to hide, I assumed she had been asleep before this.
It seemed she had taken the high-grade portion. After all, I could no longer see the earlier bruises or wounds.
Good.
My eyes drifted to the mud and what I presumed to be a small feral animal, almost identical to the rats on Earth.
Did she… eat that raw?
No wonder her condition had been so poor.
I placed the meat I had brought right in front of her, then bought two low-grade potions from the store just in case. I set one beside the food and gulped down the other.
[SP: 1,167]
I tore off a piece of meat and ate it right in front of her. She watched all of it unfold without a word.
"Don't eat those Raitos anymore. I'll be delivering food three times a day."
With those words, I gently caressed her long, messy green hair and stood up.
Then I left the cavern and headed directly to my house.
Midnight came.
Midnight in the Chief's House had a particular quality.
The fireplace had burned down to embers that cast a low, steady red glow across the fieldstone floor. The thatched roof was quiet and there wasn't any dramatic wind tonight, just the occasional distant sound from the forest, which Timber's presence at the perimeter kept from feeling threatening.
Kaira was asleep on her side, one arm tucked beneath her head. Aldric had his back against the wall, sword within reach even in sleep,the habit of someone who had learned that the difference between sleeping and dying was sometimes a single second.
I lay still for a while, listening to the rhythm of the room.
Then, quietly, I sat up.
I pulled on my boots without a sound and stepped outside.
The clearing was silver and dark under a sky thick with stars I still hadn't learned the names of. Timber stood at the edge of the territory, a massive silhouette with vines trailing like roots into the soil. Napoleon was a small, still shape on the rooftop. Pride hadn't moved from beside the entrance.
The first cave was thirty meters northwest, away from the Sprite's cave, away from the settlement's center.
I walked toward it without waking anyone.
The cave at midnight was colder than it had been during the day,the clay walls radiating the absence of the sun's warmth with quiet efficiency. The east-facing entrance showed nothing but darkness now, the morning light hours away.
I sat cross-legged in the center.
Pulled up the interface.
[Breakthrough Available: Initiate -> Adept]
Now… let's try breaking through.