“Return to your village with the Archduke’s thanks,” Dame Vesivua said with the dignity of a bored city official.

Just like at the previous village, there was no fanfare, no trumpets, or speeches, not even any medals of recognition. The only reward was a purse of coins for the village chief, given to Veil. The notion that the chief had gained more out of this than Dallion himself burned the boy up inside. What calmed him down was the knowing that there wasn’t anything much to spend the money on until the next travelling merchant arrived.

“Return the gear that was given to you and return with the Seven’s blessings.” The Dame finished, then slowly rode off, followed by the majority of the group, leaving only the Cleric behind.

You could have at least waited a minute, Dallion grumbled internally.

“Dartbows and emblems,” the Cleric said.

Gloria and Veil handed theirs over without hesitation. Dallion did with fifty percent hesitation. It would have been nice to keep the emblem. With it the village chief would have no hold over him—Dallion could fail a thousand times in an awakened state and still he wouldn’t have his powers sealed. Just holding it filled him with power.

“I don’t suppose I can keep this as a reward?” Dallion asked, looking at the pendant in the palm of his hand. It was just a piece of jewelry, a decoration like a game achievement back on Earth… and at the same time it wasn’t.

“No.” The Cleric grabbed it. “Emblems belong to the Order.”

“Well, it was worth a try.” Dallion let out a forced laugh.

“You two head back,” the Cleric said to Veil and Gloria. “I have something to discuss with Dallion.”

First name basis?

Dallion didn’t know whether to feel honored or worried. The Luor siblings were of a similar opinion, for they left with as little as a wave. It was better for everyone that way, for one thing it avoided the awkwardness of meeting the village chief. As far as the Luor family, and the village itself, were concerned, they were still supposed to hate Dallion’s guts.

“You never said who taught you how to make rockets.” The Cleric pulled down his hood.

“It’s a long story,” Dallion smiled. Not this again. “I was lucky it worked.”

“No, it wasn’t luck.” The Cleric put a dartbow in Dallion’s hands. “Emblems belong to the Order, but weapons don’t. It’s common that some get lost or damaged, especially when fighting something as dangerous as a chainling.”

No way! You’re giving me a dartbow? That’s almost as good as getting an emblem.

“Yeah, lost,” Dallion nodded, unable to keep the grin off his face.

“No bolt clip, but that shouldn’t be a problem while in the awakened state. Keep it hidden when you enter the village.”

“You don’t need to tell me twice.” Dallion tucked it under his shirt. “Won’t you get in trouble?”

“Who am I to go against the Initiate’s orders? Besides, the hunt was a success. In the eyes of the Archduke and the Order, that’s all that’s important.”

“Well, I don’t know what to say. Thanks… Cleric.” Using a title instead of a name felt weird. “You take care of yourself.”

“Thank you, Dallion.” The Cleric pulled his hood back up. “Blessings of the Seven.”

This was entirely unexpected. Dallion couldn’t contain his joy. Part of him wanted to rush back home and show everyone what he’d received as well as mention that he was the one who had killed the chainling, of course. Sadly, he couldn’t do any of that. After a serious conversation with Gloria and Veil, the three had decided to keep the events a secret. On the one hand, that would help hide Dallion’s actual strength from the village chief, and on the other the Luor family would get all the glory from the hunt. In no way was it fair, but it was practical.

Okay, time to head home. Dallion took a deep breath and walked on.

The village seemed in a far worse state that when Dallion had left. Objectively, that wasn’t true. Everything remained in the exact same state as it had been a week ago. The knowledge Dallion had gained by destroying the echo, though, made it look an even greater dump. Back when Dallion was a child, the houses had been in much better shape and didn’t have to rely on awakened challenges to get mended.

“Brother!” Linner rushed at him. The boy’s energy and enthusiasm appeared to be among the universal constants. “You’re back!”

“Hey, Lin!” Dallion scooped his brother from the ground and put him on his shoulders. Ever since he had improved his body stat, the child had felt as light as a feather. “How have you been? Behaved well, I hope?”

“Of course!” Lin grinned. Of course, Dallion knew that was hardly the case. His brother was a constant handful. “So, what happened? Were there monsters? Did you fight a lot?”

“How about we leave that for a bit later, okay?” Dallion laughed. “I’m sure mom and dad also want to hear.”

“Okay… but not too long!”

Dallion’s parents greeted him in a much more reasonable way. His mother, visibly relieved at his safe return, managed to hold back her tears. Meanwhile, his father itched to give him a bear hug, only deciding against it since Linner was on Dallion’s shoulders. As it turned out, sometimes carrying one’s brother came with unexpected benefits.

“Where’s grandpa?” Dallion looked about.

“He and the other elders were called to the chief’s house when the young master Veil arrived,” Dallion’s father explained.

Young master Veil? Reality smacked Dallion in the face. Here, every member of the Luor family was viewed as nobility.

“We were scared that you hadn’t survived,” Dallion’s mother explained. “Bless the young master for telling us you’re coming. He even gave us a copper coin to celebrate the occasion.”

Giving my own reward to my family as charity? Dallion knew that it was the only way his family could get anything out of the situation they were in, but even so couldn’t help but feel slightly insulted.

“Yeah, he’s all heart. Did the chief call for me?”

“No.” Dallion’s mother shook her head. “The elder convinced him to delay that for tomorrow. You have today to spend with us.”

“Great. That means I’ll get to hear everything that happened while I was gone. And also, I’ll tell a few stories of my own.”

“Yaaaay!” Linner yelled with joy from Dallion’s back.

And when we’re done talking, I’ll go do some practice with an old friend.