36 – The Mistake

{Vorn's POV}

I flew full speed under the night sky, taking Ayre with me. Ritor did call me and said he was okay, but I doubt it.

This morning, I got a warning in my UI. The goblin group's text color became orange instead of yellow, which meant their level was higher than Ritor and Garthur's. Maybe the two minotaurs could win, but it would take a lot of hard work and wounds.

As their lord, I had to make sure they were okay. I didn't want Ritor and Garthur to feel left out by me. It could trigger the seeds of rebellion, even though it might be tiny.

I want my subordinates to remain loyal.

Lately, Ritor has been stressed because the missions he got don't match his preferences. I know that.

If only I could teleport to be able to help Ritor immediately. Looks like I'll have to take that skill when I level up.

My fast-forward feature stopped, a sign that we had arrived at Honeywich. I came to the part of the village where many people gathered.

As soon as I landed, I found astonished glances from the villagers collecting the goblins' corpses.

"That's Lord Vorn!" The chief was the first to shout.

"Is that true!?" One of the residents replied. "He's our savior!?"

The cheers erupted. They wanted to come to me, but the chief blocked them. "Hey, Lord Vorn wants to talk to his men first."

I waved at them, changing my appearance to that of an ordinary human. "I'll see you later."

Damn, it feels good to be worshiped like this.

The first to come to me was Garthur, whose body was almost completely covered in bandages. Instead of saluting, he screamed like a girl. "Kyaaa!"

"What happened?" I frowned at the odd behavior.

Garthur pointed at Ayre with shaking hands. As soon as I looked at Ayre, I was also surprised.

The shapeshifter's face looked like clay that had been kneaded many times. The shape is irregular, and the position of the facial features is a mess.

"Holy shit. What happened to your face Ayre?" I could only lower my chin at the uncanny sight.

"Ah, sorry, this is the effect of flying so long and so fast." In just seconds, Ayre's face returned to its original state, with straight lips and a blank stare. "Sorry, I don't blame you, my lord. This is not a problem at all."

I laughed a little because it was pretty funny, then asked Garthur. "Where's Ritor?"

"He's being treated back there." Garthur pointed to a large tree. "Please, follow me, my lord."

After walking for a while and waving to passersby carrying torches, I found a woman with wavy brown hair tending Ritor.

"I told you, don't move." The woman looked annoyed. "I'm still treating you, sir Ritor."

"But, I must pay my respects." Ritor snorted. "I'm fine. How many times do I have to tell you?"

Seeing the savage Ritor become awkward, I chuckled. "It's okay, Ritor. Let her treat you."

"I'm really fine, my lord..."

"You're lying!" The woman knotted the bandage around Ritor's head so tightly it made the minotaur flinch. "Your wounds are terrible! And I need eight hours of persuading you until you are willing to be treated!"

"I already told you, we minotaurs have greater healing abilities than humans!" Ritor protested. "You don't have to worry about me!"

"Eight hours, lady?" I frowned. "Didn't Ritor tell you to stay hidden even after the battle for some time?" I remember leaving that order to Ritor. "Because there might still be goblins left."

"Yes, we did hide, lord Vorn." The man with the thick mustache came up to me. I know him. He used to talk to me when I first came to this village.

"But, this daughter of mine insists on treating lord Ritor and lord Garthur." The man smiled. "So, she continues to follow them, patrolling this village and its surroundings."

What a dedication.

"Thank you very much for taking care of my comrades, miss….?"

"This is Lana. And I'm Mathias Forker, her father." The man bowed down. "We should be the ones to thank you, Lord Vorn. This village would have been finished if you didn't send Mr. Ritor and Mr. Garthur."

"That's right, my lord. If it weren't for you, I don't know what would have happened to the other girls and me."

A commotion arose from near the pile of goblin corpses. I saw something moving in that pile that was starting to burn.

People fled because the giant goblin corpse in the pile rose with flames burning on its body.

I spread my wings, glided towards it, and then kicked the monster until it fell into the fire again. And that's when I saw a hand sticking out from under the giant creature. At just a glance, I could recognize the armor in that hand.

"Emily!!??" I hastily rolled over the giant monster's body, then pulled the woman's body out.

"Lord Vorn, your body is on fire!" One of the villagers screamed.

But I don't care. All I felt were vibrations in my body, not heat.

I took off my shirt to put the fire on Emily's face. Finding that it caught fire too and couldn't be used anymore, I threw it away. "Help me put out the fire in her!"

Several men removed their clothes and patted them against the fire on Emily's head.

Her body was protected by armor, so it didn't catch fire. But metal is a conductor of heat. I can't imagine how she felt under the fire.

"I was crushed by that giant ass goblin." She mumbled after the fire in her face was extinguished. "I finally woke up feeling the heat of the fire. I used my necromancy skill to move the monster…. Did you drop it again, Vorn?"

I grimaced, seeing her face, which was blackened from burning. Her left leg and two arms are also bent in the wrong direction. "Sorry. I didn't know that."

"Shit, I can't even get angry. My throat is still burning." She sighed. "My wounds will heal eventually, but it hurts so bad, you know?"

I turned my head back, finding Ritor and Garthur looking down without any word.

"I would like to speak to both of you, Ritor, Garthur." I hissed, then walked away. "Ayre, please help Emily."

I don't want to scold them in front of humans. It would only demean them. Besides, I don't want to be seen as pointing the blame at the two minotaurs. I'm guilty too.

But they were both idiots.