「The next morning.」

Colin opened his eyes, stretched, and stared at the thatched roof just above him.

After putting on his Chain Armor Shirt and hanging his Hand Half Sword at his waist, he walked out of the room.

He waved away a sparrow drinking from the water bucket, then cupped his hands, splashed water on his face, and scrubbed vigorously—yesterday, Orelia had used a restorative Divine Art to completely heal his wounds.

Colin let out a long breath.

’Perhaps the most practical function of the human brain is the ability to wake up and forget most of yesterday’s troubles.’

Just as he was about to pack his things and wake Kase, one of the militiamen he had seen yesterday ran over from a distance, holding out two signed notes.

He explained breathlessly, "This one is a document certifying that you saved the village, sir. The other is a pickup order. The Baron here has an arrangement with Thousand Masts City. Just present the order at the Overseas Commerce Association in the city, and you can collect the hyena hides."

"Alright." Colin took the two slips of paper hesitantly.

Not having the goods in hand always made him feel a bit uneasy, but there was no reason for this militiaman to deceive him.

Just then, Kase came out, yawning.

"By the way, if you’re sure the village chief had no contact with any suspicious individuals, you should still be careful," Colin advised. "This sort of thing doesn’t spread for no reason. There might be other cultists or accomplices in the surrounding forests. But without any leads, there’s no way to investigate."

The militiaman nodded solemnly.

"Then we should be on guard on our way back, right? Ahem! AHEM HEM..." Kase rinsed his mouth with some water and cleared his throat, coughing so hard it sounded like he was about to hack up a lung.

Colin said, "More or less."

At that moment, Orelia also walked over from the direction of the mill. She was wearing a new woolen cloak and had a medium-sized leather bag on her back.

Even though she had also helped save the village, no one besides Old Harvey was willing to let the Half-Demon stay in their home.

"Mr. Colin, are we returning to Thousand Masts City today?" Orelia asked.

"You’re just in time. We’ll pack up and leave right away," Colin said.

Conveniently, the Priest also had to report back to Thousand Masts City, so they could watch out for each other on the way back.

After he spoke, he and Kase gathered their packs. Once everything was in order, they led Orelia out of the village.

The atmosphere was different from when they had left Silverpine Village.

The whole of Pig Badger Village felt lifeless.

Only when Colin’s party passed by would the villagers, busy with their own affairs, look up to give a brief nod of acknowledgment.

This was understandable, really.

After all, the experience of "Adventurers showed up and killed some unknown monster" was completely different from "We were controlled by cultists and forced to do all sorts of absurd things."

’I can only hope the people in this village move on from this quickly.’

After leaving Pig Badger Village, the trio took a small detour to another village to buy some food, so as not to waste the emergency rations in their packs.

Those things could last for several years, at least, and they were quite expensive.

Compared to the relaxed journey there, the group was much more cautious on the way back.

In addition to covering their tracks, Kase would scout the surroundings every few hours to make sure they weren’t being followed. He also took simple measures to deal with their trail and scent along the way.

Worried about potential Cultists or Jackal Wolfmen, the group deliberately took a longer route to a watchtower standing by the trade road.

Colin walked up to the door and knocked.

The small window on the iron-banded wooden door slid open with a SHUFF, revealing a pair of wary eyes.

"Who are you?"

"From the City Watchers. We’re looking to spend the night," Colin said, showing his ring.

"Perfect timing. We’re also from the City Watchers, but you don’t look like a soldier." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Colin said, "We’re external personnel hired by Thousand Masts City."

"I heard those guys did hire some Adventurers to deal with the recent troubles," another person inside the door chimed in.

Another series of CLANGS and RATTLES came from behind the door.

Then, with a long CREAK, the heavy, iron-bound door slowly opened.

Colin glanced inside. The ground floor of the watchtower held a long table with a dozen or so chairs, an iron fireplace in the corner, and several weapon racks holding Short Spears.

But right now, there were only two soldiers in Cotton Armor on the ground floor.

The two men tensed up immediately upon seeing the Half-Orc and the Tiefling behind Colin.

One of them said, "What kind of group is this?"

"The kind that stays alive. Why are there only two of you here?" Colin changed the subject as he and Kase re-bolted the iron-bound door. The action seemed to make the soldiers relax a little.

"Don’t ask. They found some Cultists over in Pig Badger Village recently, so our captain and more than ten others were transferred to go investigate the surrounding area."

The other man added, "The two of us were left behind to guard the gate."

"I see."

’So it ended up being related to me after all,’ Colin thought. ’Well, it makes no difference. Having this watchtower as a defensive position is better than being ambushed in the wild.’

He chuckled inwardly at the thought.

’It’s not even confirmed if there are any other cultists yet. No need to worry about it unnecessarily.’

The trio found a corner to sit down in. They placed the sausage bread they had bought that morning on the fireplace to warm it up, and soon the whole watchtower was filled with the aroma of meat and wheat.

Colin stuffed the sausage into the bread, making a simple hot dog, and started eating.

Seeing him eat like that, Orelia and Kase also stuffed their sausages into their bread and began to eat, causing the two soldiers nearby to keep glancing over.

"The night’s going to be boring anyway. Any of you know how to play cards?" one of the soldiers asked, gathering up the scattered wooden cards and dice on the table.

"I’ll go check the surroundings to make sure no one’s following us." Kase shoved the rest of his food into his mouth, pushed his chair back, and left.

Colin said, "I don’t."

’Unless he was one hundred percent certain he would win, he wasn’t about to gamble with money he’d risked his life for.’

The two soldiers then looked at the Tiefling.

"I’m a Cultivator," Orelia said quickly.

"What’s being a Cultivator got to do with it? The Goddess of Wealth Cultivator who runs the trading post is a master at it."

The Tiefling stammered, "At least... my Monastery doesn’t encourage... this kind of game."

"How boring." "Come on, one Copper Coin a hand."

The two Guards bickered a bit before starting a game between themselves.

Having finished his food, Colin had nothing better to do and began to study the special commission on his Golden Finger.

This thing was probably a quest given by the [Silent] ring.

The map to the statue’s location had only been a fleeting image in his memory at the time, but whenever Colin thought about it, the map would reappear in his mind with perfect clarity.

Colin raised his hand, holding the ring up to the light to examine it closely.

’So what’s the reward for this commission? Could it be unlocking the restrictions on this Magic Item? If so, that would be an incredible reward.’

A single "Ordinary Magical Item," the [Winter Wolf Necklace], had been enough to completely screw over the Frostland Druids. If he could get one more Magic Item, its effect would surely be significant as well.

As he thought about it, the [Flame Tongue Greatsword] he had seen before popped into his mind.

’A single swing could deal up to twenty-five points of Damage, casually surpassing my strongest attack right now... Of course, an item of that caliber would be much harder to obtain.’

As his thoughts drifted, a series of urgent footsteps suddenly sounded from outside.

Colin’s heart immediately sank.

Right after, Kase burst in and shouted, "Something’s coming!"