We don't make any gravestones for the dead, but the mages do grow a small memorial for them from the roots of the double helix tree and carve the names of their comrades on it.

We share a minute of silence, watching the pyre burn with the corpses as Roxanne's fire quickly consumes the bodies. With a little help of [Wind Magic], these ashes are buried in a hole, while the ashes from the Dawn of Fire soldiers are left in the open for the wind to scatter.

For the elves, they wish to be buried near a tree, so that they can be a part of it after their deaths. To leave the ashes in the open means they will be spread so thin that their contribution to the High Forest won't be noticed. It's not the worst of fates, but it's still one that's undesirable for most.

"I'll advise for a Spirit mage from the temple to come here, in case any malicious spirits remain," Ciel says, solemnly.

"How are you feeling?" I ask her.

She turns to me and smiles warmly. "I'm fine, how are you feeling?"

"This headache is still killing me."

She pairs her horse with mine and takes my barbute off of me, then she caresses my head with her delicate hands.

"I want some, too," Roxanne says with a weak voice and a cheeky smile.

"Hop on his horse," Ciel says.

Roxanne caresses my head while Ciel caresses Roxanne's.

"You saved me again, Wolfy. Do I get to marry you twice, now?" Roxanne asks with a sultry tone she has to force due to her weak voice.

"We will remarry every year. Let's celebrate our love," I say and she giggles softly. Then she sighs and kisses the top of my head

Her pale, thin fingers run through my hair. Her delicate, loving touch puts my mind at ease and I notice how tense my whole body has been. I stop sharing my sight with the bird and simply sink into the dark abyss of my mind.

But just as the physical tension fades away, the mental guilt comes rushing in. The image of her neck being scorched by the arrow; the sound of her shrieks; the smell of her burnt flesh; the rough texture of her burned skin. I'm tormented by these senses that wrack me with guilt.

"I'm sorry, Roxanne. Allowing you to go with Alissa was too reckless," I say and feel my words almost get stuck in my throat.

"I'm sorry for making you worry," she whispers softly in my ear.

I pull her hand up from my waist and kiss it repeatedly.

Although, I can't say that we will never do that again. We are warriors, risking our lives is our destiny, but next time I'll do better, much better!

"Stop being silly!" Hana exclaims a distance behind us.

"I can still walk!" Klein protests.

"Doesn't mean you have to!"

"You're still bleeding, Klein. Just accept it," Ciel says.

I make the bird look back and see Hana pulling Klein up to her horse, crutches and all.

Klein winces but soon finds a comfortable position sitting side-saddle instead of astride.

Hana hugs her tight and deposits her head on the monkey girl's shoulder. Klein turns to face her and kisses Hana's cheek, then allows herself to be completely enveloped by her embrace and closes her eyes. But Hana doesn't smile, she looks just like me, filled with guilt. She looks at my bird and bites her lip in anxiety.

Half of the footmen are inside the wagons, trying to get some sleep, while the rest are in front of us, marching with stern faces and weapons drawn. The three nobles are in the middle of them, completely solemn. In front of them, the handless mercenaries walk with drooped heads and dead eyes.

The soldiers whisper amongst themselves and glare at the mercenaries with murderous eyes. A single word of a chant and they'll butcher them all. Cutting off the hands of a mage stops most direct spells, but some, like [Heart of Fire], don't need hands for casting them, though they still aid the spell.

If during the day the High Forest is rather dark, things get even gloomier after nightfall. The weak purple glow gives an odd air to the environment. The cute and colorful luminous plants look dangerous and unwelcoming at night.

Tiredness sweeps over us, and Roxanne and I almost fall asleep on our horse.

"Wolfy, you should sleep. You need to recover from the mana overuse," Alissa says.

"I'll hold you and control the horse," Roxanne says and pulls out Gecynd's Christmas wreath that allows her to talk to the horses.

"Okay," I whisper and black out.

Today is the 20th.

I'm awoken by Gify's "massage" and the soft moans of my women.

Wait what…? I said I wouldn't be NTR'd by my own pets…

Gihihih!

But then, I notice that he's only massaging their shoulders. He nibbles my cheek lovingly as an apology.

Gih!

Don't lie. I could feel the love coming through that nibble. You are clearly apologizing for messing with me.

He stops the "massage" only for me.

Noo, meanie!

Gih!

Never!

Giih!

F-fine. But if I apologize, you won't get dinner.

Guh.

He turns on the "massage" again. It was the best decision for both of us.

I can finally see and hear again, so I summon another Holly, two light elementals, and a nature elemental. Then the headache starts up again, so I leave it at that.

The nature elemental turns into vines and wraps herself around the throats of the prisoners. Now there's no way they will be able to cast a spell without being interrupted.

Klein's leg stopped bleeding and recovered some muscle mass, but she will need [Regrow] for any more than that.

Most of the men who lost limbs have had them reattached, but there are still plenty of parts missing, mostly fingers.

Ciel looks horrible; she used [Redirect Mana] twice, so she's suffering from overuse. Alissa hugs her from behind while she sleeps, tenderly caressing Ciel's silky black hair.

Krista hands me a cup of steaming hot tea. "Thank you for your hard work," she says with a strained smile.

"How's Anton?" I ask.

She looks down and smiles shyly. "Still sleeping. Ciel closed the wound, but it still looks nasty. Your elementals might help."

"Yeah, but it'll be slow."

She nods and climbs up onto Rande's carriage, where she's cooking some soup.

The smell soon awakens Ciel and we have a 4 AM meal.

I switch with Roxanne and hold her in my arms while she tries to sleep. I use [Regeneration] on her to complete the recovery of her throat.

The mangled, scarred skin slowly fades away and only her beautiful pale skin remains. She moans cutely from the pleasure my spell gives her.

"Do you want me to heal the scar on your belly, too?" I ask.

Her eyes immediately open wide and she grabs my spell hand. "No!"

"Okay…" I say, feeling a little awkward.

She relaxes in my arms and closes her eyes again. "Sorry, Wolfy, but consider that scar as the symbol of your marriage proposal. It's special, like the ones on your neck and wrist."

"Your skin is perfectly smooth, except for the scar received when we fought together and nearly died. That is what you consider to be the symbol of our marriage?" I ask with a wry smile.

Her horns shine, showing rigidity and sharpness.

"No…" She turns around and sends me an annoyed glare. "You risked your life to save me from death, yet you didn't even try to take advantage of me for that. I just want to keep this as a reminder of what you did and what I should strive to be."

"W-wow…"

That pulled on my heartstrings so hard I'm left speechless.

She nuzzles her head against my shoulder and kisses my neck softly. "Now, let me sleep while I smell your scent…"

Morning finally comes as the purple light fades away and the rainbow of colors is turned back on again. Then a few streaks of sunlight pass down through the leaves and light up the environment even more.

Osaria suddenly walks up beside my horse while using a [Regeneration] magic tool on herself. She seems to have recovered from her burns, though one of her eyes is still cloudy and she's lacking some hair on the burnt side of her head, giving her a rather sexy-punk look.

"Uh… have the red birds taken flight?" Osaria asks me.

I blink twice and stare at her blankly. "What?"

"The birds! The red cawing ones who like to make my ears buzz!" She grabs my boot and looks very annoyed.

Oura suddenly comes out of the carriage and pulls her back.

"I think the anesthetics are still affecting her," Oura says with an apologetic smile.

Osaria rolls her single normal eye and says, "I just wanted to spit at the red birds."

Ciel wakes up and Alissa switches with Lina so that she can help Krista prepare breakfast. But instead of Lina hugging Ciel, she's the one who's hugged like a vertical body pillow.

Sometime later, we stop for breakfast. Taking turns watching the prisoners, we have an energy-rich breakfast full of carbs. Krista pulls out all the cookies she has and spreads them among us, while also giving us another round of not-earl-grey tea.

Rande seems to relax from the permanent frown that he wore since the attack. He now spends his time either close to his mother and talking to her, or glaring at the prisoners.

The three nobles are still very solemn. Some dirty looks are sent their way when they aren't looking, but nobody has the courage to say anything to them. Lord Ricardo has an enchanted suit of armor; he could certainly cut his way through all of the footmen.

After breakfast, I cast [Swift Foot] again and ride with Alissa while I hold [Regeneration] over her half-burnt tail. The skin is fine, but the hairs need to grow out again. There's a way to do it by combining an aspect of [Growth] with [Regeneration], so I try to remember the chant that professor Tanya taught us back at the university.

Not long after we resume our march, we meet a Gatun patrol from Goloria. The stern and disciplined patrolmen seem completely different from the weary and frightened men from the other side of the High Forest.

They approach us cautiously. The sight of so many bound, handless men being escorted by a bunch of wounded, angry soldiers with missing limbs would make anyone become very alert.

"I am Lord Ricardo Lhorido of the small town of Colmela, far to the north of Goloria," the Lord announces with a dignified tone.

The mounted patrol comes closer and analyzes all of us.

"What's the reason for these men to be bound and left handless?" The apparent patrol commander asks. His glossy wooden helmet has a single yellow stripe on the side, differentiating him from the others.

"Barbarians! Kidnappers that aimed to kidnap me and my two other traveling companions, Noblewoman Silvina Airo and Nobleman Ento Raconio."

The commander whispers to one his men and he pulls out an Identification Crystal.

"Forgive me for this, my Lord, but we have to confirm your identity," the commander says and bows deeply.

"No offense taken."

The soldier confirms their identities and the patrol fans out, surrounding the prisoners.

"They are all capable of magic, so the nature elemental wrapped around their necks must stay," Ricardo says and the commander nods.

The commander takes off his helmet and we are greeted by a grizzly man with golden flowing hair that belongs in women's erotica. "I assume you will want an investigation?" He asks.

"Yes."

"Then we shall travel together to Goloria."

The patrol shares their healing supplies, but they don't make much of an impact since Ciel already did most of the work.

Some of the wounded are allowed to ride with the patrols, reducing the weight that the horses pulling the carriages have to bear, which increases our speed.

The patrol takes charge of keeping the prisoners under control, so the three nobles take up the commander's offer and ride Gatuns of their own. Even the chubby Ento looks dignified while riding the huge and long-limbed cat.

The twenty-man patrol separates the soldiers from the prisoners, allowing them to relax more and the tension to decrease.

The soldier that's been friendly with Ciel and Hana comes towards us. "Excuse me, Sir Ryder?" He asks politely.

"Just Wolf is fine," I say.

"Wolf it is, then," the human man says and smiles. "I and the boys would like to pay you all a round at the tavern. We know it's not much, but we would like to thank you for all your hard work."

Another human soldier comes up beside him with a cheeky smile and slings his arm over the first one. "We would've been dead more than three times already if not for you. Just what the fuck is wrong with this forest?"

"Nothing!" Exclaims an elven soldier from behind us, slightly defensive.

"It's too damp, too dark, too smelly, too wild. How have you all not gone crazy from all the Weepers? The creepy-ass goblin shlocks had been haunting us for what, a whole day-cycle?" The second soldier shoots back.

Shlock? The slang shlock?

"Felt like the whole way!" Exclaims a fourth soldier.

The first soldier turns to us and smiles wryly.

"Sure, tomorrow we should be rested, so let's meet up somewhere at night," I say and smile faintly.

"The Prancing Cat!" Suggests an elven soldier.

"Pansy Cat, more like; your sweet water won't get us anywhere!" Complains a human soldier.

"Better than Tatopa piss!"

Lina's Trivia: that's the not-potato.

"We're supposed to get drunk! Not rot our teeth with sugar!"

"If I put alcohol in my piss, would you drink it?"

"Hers, I would," the human soldier points to one of the female elven Space mages.

"And I would charge you a silver per gulp!" The mage yells with a sneer.

"Hey, that's cheap," Hana comments lowly.

"How do you know that?" I turn to her and lift my eyebrows as hard as I can.

"Got offered some coin for that a few times after a certain… 'incident,'" she says with a smirk.

The banter between the men continues on, so I turn to the slightly awkward soldier still walking beside us.

"Sorry, what's your name?" I ask.

"Julien."

"Right, Julien, let's go to the…" I turn to Klein, who's sitting on Hana's lap.

"Blurred Wheel," she says with a soft smile.

"Heyoo! Good one, Klein!" A soldier exclaims.

"That one, it is," Julien says with a smile.

The brown-haired man excuses himself and returns to staying near the few commoners we are protecting.

Most of the men here are quite handsome, so I'll have to keep my guard up when we go there.

Lunch is more lively; the patrolmen mingle with the soldiers quite well and some light alcohol is passed around. Rande, the commander, and the nobles all ignore it, to let the anger of the men be washed away a little by the booze.

"Wolf!" Osaria calls for my attention and comes up to us as we mount the horses again.

"Hey there, bird spitter, did you find the red ones that you wanted?" Roxanne says with a smirk.

Osaria stops and slowly her palm covers her eyes. "Can you please never mention that again?"

"Oh, she's back to normal," Hana says and laughs.

I can see from behind Osaria's hand that her ashamed frown is growing even deeper.

"So, spit slinger, did you find the red ones?"

"I spat at the feet of one of the barbarians, yes," Osaria says with a flat tone.

"Ooh…" Hana now realizes the meaning of Osaria's previous babble.

"Considering how beautiful you are, they might have preferred for you to spit on their faces," I say.

"It might be the last woman they will touch for a while," Alissa says with a bit of poison on her tongue.

"They can still fuck each other even if they become criminal slaves," Hana says.

Alissa and Lina wrinkle their noses at this.

"Well, uh, I have a favor to ask, Wolf," Osaria starts, she sounds serious and even a little shy.

"What is it?" I ask. My heart starts beating faster as I look at her face. It doesn't matter if she's wounded, she's still stunning.

"Can you heal my hair with your [Regeneration]?" She asks with an adorable smile and taps the bald spot where she lost one-third of her hair.

"Sure," I say and look around at the girls.

They all nod, but Roxanne seems to have a dozen emotions racing through her head. Suddenly, she taps my horse's saddle and asks with a strained grin, "Why don't you get up here and he'll heal you along the way?"

Intermission – 15

"DAREAN ARNALD! WHERE ARE MY MEN?!" The grizzly dragonkin lifts me off the floor by my neck and growls, weak flames escaping from his crooked mouth.

"Wait… you've read the… report… right?!" I force out in a hoarse voice as his hand crushes my throat and his claws dig into my skin.

"Yes! Your information got them fucked in the ass! They had more tricks under their robes than you've had cocks up your ass! Now, give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right here!" His half-burnt face gets closer to mine and his stinky breath hits me in the face.

"Well, I can still-…"

I focus on my personal [Wind Scythe] gem which was implanted just below my ribs and activate it. A small blade of wind forms and erupts out from inside of me, giving me a small cut as it does. But then the blade grows in size immediately, growing so large that it bisects Captain Hidoi in half from below his armpits.

"Fuck!" His bodyguard tries to duck but gets his forehead split open. The gray sludge of his brain spills down onto the floor when his face hits the ground.

The second bodyguard draws his sword as Captain Hidoi collapses and passes out, his two halves separating as his body collapses. The last bodyguard looks at me with surprise and fear, his eyes watching for every single twitch of my muscles.

"You can go, I won't kill you," I say to the man.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing?! Do you think that you can get out of Escanso alive? Even if you stay, the Archmages will blow up any hole you try to hide in!" He spews, his hand shaking in fear.

I cackle a laugh.

Oh, damn, that really made me sound like a maniac.

I look him in the eye with a manic smile and say, "I'm already dead, but I'll choose where I die. Now go!"

He spits at my feet and walks backward. He finds the door and fumbles, searching for the handle while his eyes still stay locked with mine, then he finally manages to open the door and immediately sprints out.

I hear a crash and chuckle again. The fool even jumped out of the window.

Thanks to Hidoi, I only have one last chance at this…

I sigh and pull out a bounty plate. I dip the corner of it in the pool of Hidoi's blood and watch as the letters form.

Now… how can I get an audience with the Lord…