The scouts leave the village for the first time

The village's manpower had grown by quite a few. It had been 15 days since the attack, and the village had gained 2 new recruits. Although 2 did not seem to be much, they had an excellent effect on the village's morale and security.

Seeing the village gain more and more capable warriors left those remaining villagers at ease. If they were to include Gresvin and the village elder, then there were a total of nine warriors.

A few of the buildings had been built at the back end, where the forest meets the village. It was in close proximity to the cabin, which had also been rebuilt and decorated, where Gresvin had stayed.

It became the area where the village's warriors would stay.

Today was rather an exciting day for the villagers for one reason. Their crops were ready for harvesting. Normally, bandits would not pillage the crops and fields before harvesting the food that was there, and due to the outlanders' defeat two weeks back, the crops had been preserved, and no damage had occurred.

Gresvin had ordered a few men to go and hunt some animals; seeing as it was a rather joyous occasion, they would hold a feast as a celebration. Gresvin and his followers had grown closer to the villagers over the past two weeks and now could be considered to have earned their trust.

Gresvin and his recruits had, for safety's sake, set out a small perimeter around the fields to scan and patrol the surroundings for any unusual activities. Today was no different; while the villagers enthusiastically harvested the crops, the warriors stood guard.

Nothing happened during the harvesting, which gladdened Gresvin. No matter how much experience he could gather from battle, he did not wish it upon the villages surrounding them. He hoped nothing would happen that put the festival in jeopardy.

The whole village returned to the village square, where the feast would be held. When Gresvin and the other villagers returned, two warriors were waiting in the square; behind them were two animals of rather colossal stature.

"Woodland elk!" the villagers exclaimed. Woodland elk were native to the forest regions more south but would occasionally pop up more north. They were significant for a mammal of this type, and the meat of the two animals could feed the current village occupants for almost three days.

The festival was held, and no problems occurred during it. The villagers cooked food, danced, and sang around the square. 

Gresvin, however, did not join the festive activities. He and Marcus stood guard on a newly constructed lookout point behind the village. The tower had been built at a slight elevation, and the warriors could see over the distance and into the horizon.

"My Lord, is there something that bothers you?" Marcus asked out in concern, seeing Gresvin frown as his gaze lingered on the horizon. 

"Mm, I was told that once a village has been marked, occasional raids would happen, but it has been two weeks and no bandit has been seen. This doesn't match with the info I have." Gresvin voiced his doubts.

"Indeed," Marcus agreed, "But, is it not a good sign for us? I mean, we have been able to continue peacefully, and thanks to the village elder, we have been constantly expanding the village," he added.

"Yes, it may, but too much, especially in these plains, may not be good. I fear that the enemy may be too strong for us to handle," Gresvin replied with worry.

Marcus looked at Gresvin in surprise before he spoke, "Then… what would you like us to do, my Lord?"

"Wait another week, if there are no signs of bandits then I want you to start leading a small group of men and scout the surroundings." Marcus nodded in response before walking down the tower.

Gresvin stood and watched the villagers dance in the square. 'Hopefully, we don't have to face off against a strong enemy anytime soon,' he sighed and turned his attention to the night sky, where the pale blue moon stood watch.

"Please give us strength," he whispered.

The night passed, and nothing out of the ordinary had happened. The villagers continued until early morning before the last of them went to bed. It was only then that Gresvin returned to his cabin, and the warriors also returned to their own separate houses.

The cabin where Gresvin slept was elevated and stood on high; the rest of the houses were slightly below his. In total, there were about 10 houses below Gresvin's cabin; one house could accommodate four people, and in the next few months, there was no need for them to expand the housing.

Now, they only needed to take care of the food and water supplies for the foreseeable future.For that reason, Gresvin went to the village elder to discuss further roads to explore. The two of them had already discussed what could be done, but Gresvin still felt that more would be needed. He wanted to make sure everything would be sufficient.

While Gresvin made his way toward the town, he could not help but recall the last few days. An unexplainable feeling had occurred every time he talked with the elder. This was not a random thing that happened ever so often, but the elder seemed to agree with almost everything Gresvin wanted. He had only made a few suggestions here and there, but every single time, Gresvin did not even need to give his reason for it before the elder already agreed.

This feeling kept making him recall the notification that appeared when the system first awakened. 'This is probably what it meant to earn their loyalty,' he pondered as he went down the pathway. He had increasingly become aware of just how much that sentence meant.

Gresvin reached the village soon, and he could hear the villagers moving about; there was no time for being idle in such a small village. The voices seemed to have forgotten the sadness of the past; they were filled with joy and earnestness.