It’s not like he won’t come.
Kaiyak glanced down the mountain path multiple times.
Even now, with no signs of life, a strange anxiety plagued Kaiyak.
Was it reckless?
The James he knew wasn’t the type to sell out his comrades over a silly bounty notice.
Humans, sure, it’s a species that betrays and schemes as easily as breathing, so skepticism is understandable. But as far as he knew, Orcs were creatures that valued honor. They wouldn’t be so easily blinded by a handful of worthless coins to betray their comrades.
Yet, waiting for James to arrive deep into the night brought a nagging thought—what if, just what if, something had happened?
“…Should we leave?”
At Yona’s words, Kaiyak hesitated.
Hmph, he sniffled and rubbed the bridge of his nose while pondering.
Isn’t there still no real signs?
If James had squealed, it should be quite noisy by now.
But it was just too quiet.
The sound of the cold winter wind sweeping through.
The branches trembling as they failed to withstand the wind.
The sound of the last few leaves, barely clinging on, falling helplessly to the ground.
The somber wind melded with the desolate scenery, filling the forest with a dreary atmosphere.
“…Looks like my struggles weren’t in vain after all.”
Suddenly, Yona muttered to herself.
Kaiyak turned to see Yona staring intently at the newly planted divine tree.
As if to say, “What happened?” the newly sprouted divine tree had grown quite well.
The sapling, once no taller than Kaiyak, now towered high enough to make even him look up.
The lush branches reaching out showed that the divine tree had taken root and was growing safely.
Yona’s efforts weren’t wasted.
The new divine tree had surely established its roots here, its life force solidly taking hold.
That’s right. Yona’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain.
Soon, when spring arrives, this place will see the divine tree stretch out new branches and sprout leaves, finally letting its life shine forth.
Yona’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain.
Her sacrifice would be rewarded.
*
“…Just let it go. There’s no point in waiting any longer.”
Kaiyak shook off his hidden disappointment, standing up and dusting off his behind.
As he brushed away the fallen leaves and dirt, hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from somewhere nearby.
“Shh.”
At Alex’s signal, Kaiyak and Yona quickly hid behind a tree.
Just a single pair of footsteps.
The sound of crunching leaves, heavy breaths, the rough sound of skin tearing away from a gripping body.
Among these sounds, there was only one implication—someone was approaching now.
Amid the sounds of running, there was only one thing to point to—someone was approaching this place.
Alex tightened his grip on the shield.
If push came to shove, he was ready to smack them with the shield and roll them down the ridge like a tumbleweed.
Finally, someone emerged in the sacred grove.
Yona’s group had made camp on a hill overlooking the sacred grove just in case, so they had a clear view of what was happening down below.
In the bright white moonlight-filled clearing, a giant with green skin was entering while clutching a bundle of something.
The heavy breathing created a white mist around his mouth, painting a wintery scene that was utterly out of place.
“James! Hold still for a second.”
Kaiyak carefully swung his axe to the side and slowly made his way down the ridge.
With every move he made, the crunching leaves made noise, and perhaps sensing this, James also looked up at the ridge.
“Kaiyak, buddy. You’ve been waiting a long time, huh? Sorry about that.”
The glinting white fangs caught in the moonlight.
With a toothy grin showing the tusks protruding from his lips, the friendly-looking orc smiled.
James had arrived.
“I’ve heard all about you guys. You really caused quite the ruckus, didn’t you?”
For some reason, he kept chuckling while absentmindedly running his fingers through Rubina’s hair, who was sitting on his knee.
However, there was no response. Yona, Alex, and Kaiyak were too busy focusing on their meal to reply.
Instead of explaining why he was so late, James set the bundle he was holding down on the floor and began to unpack it.
He grumbled playfully that he had taken so long to prepare this and hurried over as fast as he could.
Slowly revealing themselves from the bundle were several wooden barrels filled with homemade food.
Freshly made, steam still rising from them—it was clear these had just been cooked.
Thanks to this, instead of enjoying a proper meal so far, they had been sustaining themselves on mountain fruits and grilled raw meat from beasts, with occasional grilled fish that Kaiyak would bring.
Naturally, it was expected they would lose their minds and rush at the food.
As a result, no one was responding to James’ words as they devoured the dishes before them.
Rubina was also busy munching on a pie, while James continued to pet her head with his typical friendly smile.
“Alright, it looks like you’re filling up your bellies. Let’s talk details now. What on earth happened? For starters, I’m really curious about Alex’s newfound intelligence.”
“I’m really curious about how my friend got his head back.”
Indeed, it was true.
James had figured out everything else, but when it came to Alex, he was completely unable to believe that this person was indeed Alex.
If this were true, wouldn’t that mean the Church of the Celestial God is worse than a demon? He was even getting all excited about it.
“If it’s hard to talk about, I guess there’s nothing to be done…”
That wasn’t the case, but where should I even start?
Looking back, there were so many things that it became more of a headache trying to figure out where to begin.
Ultimately, Yona started her story slowly from right after she parted ways with James—well, that is, from the moment Vervaria had taken residence within her.
“Ah, so that’s what happened.”
James nodded repeatedly while stroking his chin.
His face was super serious, and he didn’t seem to have any doubts about Yona’s explanation.
“…Do you actually believe me?”
“Mm? What do you mean by that?”
Yona hesitated for a moment.
Up until now, no one had really believed her.
Everyone just said she was lying, and even the hero wouldn’t trust her.
Priest Vigrind—maybe he would believe her.
But maybe not.
“…If the Church was going to go out of their way to put up wanted posters, they must really want me dead, so I was just wondering if you believe me.”
“Ah, is that what you’re talking about?”
James kept nodding and flashed a grin.
His exposed teeth sparkled in the moonlight.
“Who knows? The Church will say whatever suits them. What they say is their story, but I, you see, I believe what I’ve seen. Between a god I’ve never seen and Yona, whom I’ve seen with my own eyes, who do you think I’m going to choose to believe? Plus, with Kaiyak hanging around together, it’s likely you’ve been framed.”
“James…”
“But it’s not a frame, is it? You really did smash the Church’s main base.”
At that remark, Yona shrank her neck with a soft “ugh.”
The sight of Yona recoiling like a turtle was quite comical.
“But anyway, isn’t the Celestial God just a human god? I hear they’re spreading their faith among beastmen these days, but I haven’t converted yet. I figured there’s gotta be a reason you smashed it up. The hero and the saint must be having a rough time with this.”
Haha—James’s hearty laughter echoes through the winter night sky.
Yona felt something in her heart lighten.
Until now, Yona hadn’t received anyone’s belief properly.
Unknowingly, she had carried a heavy burden on her heart.
But hearing James’s trust and those words “I believe you” felt oddly uplifting.
I felt something strange after hearing that.
“So, what are we going to do from now on?”
It was James’s question.
Yona suddenly choked up, unable to respond and hesitated.
Alex, noticing this, wrapped his arms around Yona’s waist and replied to James instead.
“We’re planning to go to Evian.”
“Evian, Evian… you’re planning quite a trek, huh? With so many travelers, it won’t be easy to approach. What’s your plan?”
That left even Alex at a loss for words.
“…Well, I was thinking of sneaking in through the back gate of Evian.”
“And how are you going to get there? You lot are the kind that can get lost even with a map.”
“The road is…”
No, it didn’t seem that bad.
But saying “not really” felt a bit off.
Is it okay to say one knows their way in front of an Archer?
So Alex hesitated to respond.
“These people. Can’t they just ask for help?”
James chuckled, but the others couldn’t smile.
“Well, James, you do have a family to care for. If you try to help us and get dragged into something, that would be a big deal.”
“Then why did you come looking for me? Wasn’t it to ask for help?”
“…Uh, um.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t have that in mind.
Truly, there’s no one better than an Archer for sneaking in and erasing their traces.
Moreover, James, with his skills as a Shadow Archer, was exceptional at stealth and infiltration.
Kaiyak had his calculations too.
But now, seeing his face like this, the words “please help us” just wouldn’t come out.
Asking someone like James, who had a family to protect, to take such risks felt too reckless.
“Well, if it’s about the family, that’s okay. No matter what chaos the Church of the Celestial God stirs up… no one will touch you in a place like that.”
“What do you mean by that? Is something wrong?”
“No, no. It’s nothing like that.”
James wiggled one finger playfully, an ever-present smile on his face, indicating that nothing bad had happened.
“I sent the kids abroad. All of them. I even sent my wife to take care of the kids.”
“…Studying abroad?”
“I sent them to an academy in the Federation of our Orcs’ homeland, where the eight brothers unite. The Church of the Celestial God can go all out, but they can’t touch a single hair on me. This is all thanks to Yona’s hard-earned gold… well, I mean, it’s an opportunity I should repay since they deserve it. I don’t want to hear that the Orcs are ungrateful.”
“Huh…”
Kaiyak’s admiration flowed like a quiet winter breeze through the covered mountains.
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