The sky was still a deep blue at the edges when Lys and Selene stepped out of the house. A thin line of pale light had just begun to separate the treeline of Gaiya Forest from the horizon. Their boots crunched softly against the cold dirt road. The village felt unusually quiet, the kind of early-morning stillness where everything seemed to be holding its breath, waiting to see if the day would bring calm or chaos.
Lys walked close to Selene, their shoulders brushing every few steps. The air carried a sharp chill that made him pull his cloak tighter. He could still feel the warmth of the bed he had left behind and the steady rhythm of Selene's breathing from when he had finally fallen asleep last night.
Now, both of them moved without speaking much, saving their words for what waited at the gate.
As they drew closer, the shapes of the strike team became clearer in the dim light. Rhuvia stood at the front, her posture straight and calm despite the early hour. Vessa paced slowly beside her, checking straps on a pack of horses. Maya was there too, with leather armor adjusted to her body size and several types of weapons secured at her waist, standing with a small group of Fiora hunters and several veteran adventurers.
Everyone looked geared up and ready. Their faces showed the tiredness of people who had barely slept, but their movements indicated that they were still sharp and practiced.
On one side, Priest John stood slightly apart from the others. His head was bowed and his hands raised in a quiet gesture of prayer. A faint warm light glowed softly between his palms and spread gently across the group. It wasn't flashy or bright enough to draw attention from far away.
It simply moved through the air like a soft blessing, touching each person for a moment before fading away.
Lys leaned slightly toward Selene and whispered, "Does that thing your father is doing actually do anything?"
Selene turned her head and gave him a long look, one eyebrow raised in clear disbelief that he had really asked a priestess that question. Lys quickly closed his mouth and looked straight ahead again. He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks as he himself got embarrassed after asking that question to her.
When John finished, he lowered his hands and gave the group a small nod. The mood shifted right away from the quiet prayer into practical movement.
Vessa turned, spotted Lys and Selene approaching, and let out a breath that sounded like a mix of relief and mild annoyance at the same time.
"You're late," Vessa said as they got closer. "I thought the two of you had forgotten."
"How could I forget?" Lys replied, trying to keep his voice steady. "We came as soon as we could."
Rhuvia stepped forward before Vessa could say anything more. "Enough. Give him the details, Vessa. We don't have time to waste standing around here."
Vessa nodded and turned fully toward Lys. Her expression grew serious as she started speaking, "While the strike team is in the forest, you will be in charge of village security. We're leaving a handful of adventurers behind, plus several Fiora hunters already on wall duty. Pell will handle logistics and information. Priest John and Miss Vivian will manage food and shelter for the new arrivals."
"Your job is simple. Make sure the walls hold. Keep the people inside safe. Do not go chasing after the dungeon behind us, whatever happens. Do not try to play hero. Hold the line until we return."
Suddenly hearing Vessa spouting all of this to him, Lys got his words caught in his mouth. He tried to open his mouth, but nothing came out right away. The weight of her words settled heavily on his shoulders. 'In charge of the whole village? What is she talking about?'
Yeah, he had expected to help with something, maybe guard duty or running messages, but not this, obviously? He sure didn't expect this, not even anything close to it.
Vessa continued before he could speak. "I chose you among all the villagers or any adventurers from this village because I'm certain you won't run if things get bad. Not because you're the strongest person available. But because I know that no matter how dangerous it becomes, you won't abandon this place."
The words landed differently than any compliment would have. Lys felt them settle somewhere deep in his chest. He looked around slowly. Selene watched him with steady eyes, giving him a small nod of support. John offered a quiet, encouraging smile, too. Vivian stood with her arms crossed, waiting patiently. Pell lingered nearby, his expression calm and trusting. Even the Fiora hunters didn't stare at him with doubt. They simply waited, already treating him as the person who is in charge from now on. From their point of view, there were no big ceremonies for one to get a leadership position. Just quiet acceptance from the person in question is enough.
Lys took a slow breath. This responsibility felt earned in a way he hadn't expected. He guessed from their point of view that, after everything that had happened since he almost died at the hands of wolves, the hobgoblin fight, the way he pushed himself to grow stronger at every chance he got, seeing all of this might've given them a sense of something that he himself might've missed about him. And now that they all looked to him as if him being in charge of their safety wasn't a big deal for them, Lys himself also got some confidence out of nowhere.
He realised that if they saw him fit to lead them, then why not take a chance in this, and see how far he could go. Maybe he'll grow more as a person before all of this is over. What's the worst that can happen? After all, most of the village's council members are still beside him to support him if things come to a head.
Determining himself, he met Vessa's eyes again.
"I understand," he said. "I'll hold the line. I won't let anything happen to the village while you guys are gone."
Hearing him say that, Vessa let out a long breath, the tension in her shoulders easing just a little. "Good."
Rhuvia glanced at Vessa with a small, satisfied look. "I told you he would accept. You were worrying over nothing, see?"
A short round of practical details followed after this exchange between them. Maya stepped closer and introduced Lys to the specific hunters who would rotate on wall duty, pointing out each one and explaining their strengths in short, clear sentences. Vessa described the sections of the wall each group would cover and the signal patterns they would use if they spotted movement in the forest. Rhuvia added a few words as she adjusted her pack of things on her own horse, mentioning that the gate had been reinforced overnight with extra wooden bracing and some earth magic work on the weaker spots.
"A standard horde shouldn't breach it," she said. "But anything bigger than that… that's what you need to watch out for. We're counting on you to hold the fort, Lys."
Lys felt the pressure build with every instruction each of them gave him, but he nodded along, committing each detail to memory. Selene stayed close, occasionally squeezing his shoulder with one hand, reassuring him that she was here too when she noticed his tension rising.