“Haha, I’m getting old, so my body is weak like this. If I suddenly collapse, I’ll need someone to help me up.”
Baruma shrugged, seemingly indifferent to what Valoran said. Bried glared at Baruma, but could only see the terrifying red beast mask. Even though this was their first meeting, she felt a strong dislike for this guy.
Soon she found the reason: a well-dressed male Foxman warrior behind Baruma. Perhaps because he wore a chain headgear, his ears were long and large, but his head was relatively small, and under the brim was a fox head similar to an Azure Fox. His hands rested on the shoulders of two naked female Foxmen beside him, kneading their plumpness, and frighteningly, the two female Foxmen seemed very happy.
Seeing this, Kersey was scared and stepped back, while Cass turned his gaze away, trying not to look. If his subordinates were like this, then the leader Baruma couldn’t be any better; this old man must be the type who would abuse his daughter-in-law.
Cass had received information from the super beautiful warrior peak teacher, reminding himself and Kersey to avoid acting alone in the village as much as possible. One reason was this Baruma; now that Bried had actually met him, she also felt—he was strong. The shared information mentioned that Baruma’s Level was 37, but judging from his aura, it might be higher.
Bried took out a pulled-silk cake from the Ring Chart and took a few bites to calm down.
“You coming back is no problem, but—”
Baruma pointed his staff, which emitted an ancient aura, at Cass’s party.
“The problem is them. What’s with these three humans? Don’t tell me they want to enter our village.”
Valoran briefly mentioned that she was attacked. Although wearing a mask, one could hear Baruma snort coldly.
“They are my saviors.”
“Who knows if they’re spies sent by vampires, sneaking into our tribe to collaborate from within. I don’t welcome them in.”
“They’ll act with me and won’t wander around. And they won’t get itchy hands like you, Uncle.”
The attendant Nuo Yi beside Valoran wanted to say something, but Valoran stopped her with a hand.
‘Vampires? Why are they bringing that up suddenly?’ Bried found it confusing.
Just as Cass’s party thought the Dungeon Task was hindered, Valoran took out a totem from the simple long bag on her shoulder. The moment he saw it, Baruma was clearly taken aback.
“Uncle Kali’s badge. He’s your subordinate, right?” Valoran said seriously. “Three years ago, you said you received a revelation from the Ancestral Spirit during the ritual and sent him to the Second Floor to find treasure, but he’s already dead. This badge was given to me by these three human warriors, who crossed dangerous floors to bring it. You can smell it, and if you still don’t believe, you can use the Spirit Recall Technique to confirm.”
Baruma took it, looked at it for a while, and sighed.
“Kali… I thought he was still searching for treasure, so he failed.”
He then put it away into the Storage Space Magic, his animal ears drooping, his mask facing Cass’s party, then he looked at Valoran.
“You coming back at this time… isn’t very appropriate, and it’s probably not a coincidence. Good niece, keep an eye on them. I don’t want any more problems in the village. Dealing with vampires is already enough trouble.”
With that, Baruma left with his “welcoming party” in a grand manner.
“Whew…” Cass sighed.
Bried noticed Cass was sweating coldly. Only after Baruma agreed did Cass’s expression relax. Probably he was relieved that the task could proceed normally.
But Bried actually thought it would be better not to enter the village at all, though saying that was a bit bad. Baruma and the attitude of his people made Bried uncomfortable. For a moment, she wondered if they should camp outside the village and continue the task.
After that, Valoran introduced Cass’s party to everyone. Thanks to Baruma and his group being gone, the female Foxmen were very curious about Cass, surrounding him and asking all sorts of questions, and the atmosphere became lively again. Mainly topics like “Are you married?”, “How many children?”, “Your muscles look good”, “How many wives do you have?”—lustful topics.
Probably influenced by the atmosphere, Bried seemed to see hearts in the eyes of the female Foxmen. Being surrounded and pressed by a bunch of female Foxmen, Cass just wiped his cheek and smiled wryly. Probably because Cass, though male, looked different from the fox-headed men in the village, making them very interested.
‘He’s popular everywhere. Lucky I’m not a handsome guy, just an ordinary high school girl.’
“Could Cass be the reincarnation of a succubus? Not just at school, he’s also popular with girls in the dungeon.”
Kersey and Bried were left out. Both of them didn’t even bother to watch Cass being surrounded, instead they looked at the scenery and chatted, to the point that they ignored Cass who was surrounded and waving his arms high at them, signaling “Help me.”
Hearing Bried casually say “like him,” Kersey looked surprised.
“Huh? I only see him as a ‘friend.’ But I see you two whispering a lot lately…”
“I asked him for a favor, but…” Kersey lowered her eyes. “It seems that thing won’t work. It’s okay, I won’t give up so easily.”
Kersey showed a strong smile, but Bried had no idea what she meant.
Valoran said something to Nuo Yi, then pushed through the circle of female Foxmen and walked toward Bried and Kersey.
“I’d like to take you to get the reward first, but before that, we need to go to a place in the village. I’ve sent Nuo Yi to follow Cass; once they’re done chatting, she’ll bring him over.”
Bried glanced sideways and counted. There were over twenty female Foxmen around Cass, each comparable to supermodels. Cass in the circle was also waving excitedly (or desperately).
‘Chatting… they probably won’t be done until sunset.’ Bried thought, looking at the sun in the sky.
Following Valoran, they arrived at a medium-sized lawn. In the middle stood a tombstone, and behind it grew a maple tree smaller than the forest trees but still quite large. Valoran sat quietly in front of the tombstone, her head slightly bowed, staring at the base.
The light glistened on her tea-brown hair, making her look much more fragile.
Kersey looked around but didn’t say anything, waiting for Valoran to speak. Bried took two steps closer and looked at the tombstone. On the surface of the new white wooden board were carved large characters.
“Barus… so? Barusso Sasa.”
After reading it aloud, Bried realized the name was similar to that old man with the red mask. Could it be that the old man we just saw was actually an undead… Thinking that, Bried felt she should enchant her blade to exorcise him.
After a moment of silence, Valoran, the chieftain’s daughter, simply replied.
“He’s my father. The name is easy to confuse with my uncle’s, isn’t it? Last month, he died in battle protecting the village.”
“I’m sorry.”
Bried suddenly understood that Baruma’s earlier words about “gratitude” referred to Valoran returning to mourn her father. Hearing about someone else’s father dying, she didn’t know how to comfort her.
After all, apart from unfamiliar classmates, everyone she cared about was alive and well. For Bried, only 15 and living in a peaceful city, it was hard to empathize.
Bried tried to ask about her father who died last month.
“…What kind of person was your father?”
“…He was not only the chieftain but also the best warrior in the tribe, without equal. Before I left on my journey, I gave it my all and only managed a draw with him, and only then did he agree to let me travel. Such a strong father reportedly died at the hands of vampires. Several people saw his body swallowed by a black vortex, leaving nothing behind… This tombstone was made so that everyone could come and mourn.”
For a moment, Bried forgot she was an NPC. Was this the core of this dungeon task? Eliminate the vampires?
Not knowing how Valoran interpreted Bried and Kersey’s silence, her serious profile softened a bit as she spoke.
“You two don’t have to keep standing. Come, sit down. My father wasn’t one for sad atmospheres. Though there’s no chair or cushion here.”
Bried and Kersey sat down beside her. The freshly tended grave had thick grass that softly supported their bodies. Valoran picked up a leather bag next to her, one she had brought herself, took a sip after removing the cap, and then handed it to Bried.
At that moment, the thought in Bried’s mind that “she’s just an NPC” had faded by ninety percent. She naturally thanked Valoran and took the bag.
Bried tilted the bag, and a slightly thick liquid flowed out. It had a hint of sweet and sour, and after swallowing, it felt like burning liquor in her throat, but quickly left an extremely refreshing feeling.
‘Good thing it’s not coffee. I’m good with alcohol; my body metabolizes it easily.’
Kersey took it and also took a sip, then was so spicy that tears came to her eyes, and she coughed while covering her mouth with her hand, drawing a cheerful laugh from Valoran. At Valoran’s gesture, the bag was returned to her. She extended her left hand and poured the remaining liquor entirely onto Barusso’s tombstone.
“My father really liked this wine made from green berry fruit. I bought it in a town I passed while traveling on the Fourth Floor, intending to surprise him… but now, he never got to taste a single drop.”
The empty leather bag slipped from her left hand, making a soft sound on the grass. Valoran slowly reached out with both hands, picked it up, and stood up. There was no trace of sadness on her face.
“Sorry for taking your time to accompany me here to visit my father. I’ll take you to claim your reward, and then whether you want to stay overnight or continue traveling, feel free to—”
“We’re not going anywhere.” Bried stood up, her calm face belying the resolute will in her words. “Please let me lend you my sword. The Sword Heart within me tells me: you are a good person and need help.”
Recalling their joint battle earlier today, and how Valoran defended them against the bearded old man’s harassment upon entering the village, Bried knew Valoran wasn’t a bad person, though that old man Baruma was another matter. Both for the mission and to help Valoran.
“That’s right, my companions and I will stay with you and avenge your father.” Cass appeared from the path, coming behind the group. His blue hair was messy and his face looked tired, but his gaze was firm. Nuo Yi followed behind him.
“I can only use a bit of healing magic, but I hope I can help.” Then Kersey whispered, “Even though it’s a dungeon task, you guys are really enthusiastic…” She was at a loss in the atmosphere, so she could only smile awkwardly.
Valoran looked at each of the three in turn, showed a small smile, and then nodded.
“My saviors… I don’t know how to thank you. Maybe I should consider giving you the tribe’s artifact.”
“You can’t, Valoran. That item is under the care of the High Priest. It can’t be given to outsiders.”
“Miss Valoran, there’s no need to go that far…” Kersey wiped her sweat.
“Artifact? Is it a sword?” Bried was about to ask in detail—
“Valoran.”
A gentle call came from the lawn. A woman walked slowly, accompanied by two female Foxmen holding weapons. She was touching her obviously pregnant belly.
Her hair and fox ears were tea-brown. Her clothes were made of fine, high-quality fabric, and her face was extremely beautiful.
Her bulging belly didn’t affect her great figure; instead, it added a maternal glow. Seeing such a stunning beauty appear, Bried couldn’t help but gasp.
‘Strange, how… this face, I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere.’
And the answer came quickly from Valoran, whose eyes were moist and who showed the most beautiful smile yet.
“Mom… I’m home.”