Why Should I Be Afraid?

The next day arrived.

The villagers resumed their usual work. Occasionally, they would glance up at the high surface above the cave behind the shop, where Fenrir now resided.

Initially, Fenrir wanted to stay inside the cave, but when he entered and found the herbal garden, he immediately changed his mind.

Cien offered Fenrir to stay in the backyard or the front of the shop, but Fenrir declined.

After some thought, Cien suggested the flat and spacious roof of the cave, where Fenrir could overlook the village from above.

The White Wolf was finally content. He effortlessly leaped up and made the upper area his new home.

Before leaving Fenrir, Cien advised him not to use his [Might of King] skill, as it could scare away the monsters around the protected area.

Now that the villagers knew of Fenrir's presence up there, they felt as if the Angel of Death was watching over their every move, making them a bit uneasy.

Cien, observing this from the terrace of his shop, smiled wryly. He decided to start spreading information about Proxies to change the villagers' perception.

Around noon, during lunchtime, Cien and Kirana decided to eat at Yelina's place. There they met Mia, who had already woken up, Balmut, and several other villagers.

Cien asked the villagers to gather around while placing their food orders.

After gathering, Cien turned to Mia and asked, "Do you know about Proxies?"

Mia looked confused, "Do you mean representatives?"

"Proxy of the Gods."

Mia shook her head.

Cien thought for a moment, surprised that someone in Mia's position (Princess's Aide) didn't have this information.

He wondered if Shiwa knew about it, but unfortunately, Shiwa and Veronica had already returned to Huntara.

Taking a moment to sigh, Cien proceeded to explain about Proxies, Blessings, and their connection to the Gods.

Listening to Cien's explanation, Mia and the others became more enlightened.

Mia had never known about this information before, and she found the new knowledge quite enjoyable.

Mia had many questions about Proxies, but Cien's knowledge was limited.

He could only provide basic information. More detailed knowledge was in the book, but he had returned it to his Teacher.

Mia felt gloomy. She wondered if she could study it in Huntara later, but Cien strongly advised her not to do so.

Information about Proxies was strictly forbidden, and Mia would face punishment if she attempted to study it.

"Tch, frustrating."

Cien chuckled dryly at Mia's reaction.

As for the other villagers, including Terrion, who joined the discussion, they were not too amazed.

They were grateful for the new knowledge, but unfortunately, it seemed not directly relevant to them. Instead, they began to wonder why Cien suddenly provided this information.

"Because the feared Fenrir you all know is actually a Proxy of the Moon Goddess."

""!!!""

Upon hearing this, they were frozen in shock. They asked Cien if he was sure about his statement.

"Absolutely sure. To make Fenrir willing to protect this village, I made a contract with him. And because Fenrir is a Proxy, the contract is directly overseen by the Moon Goddess. So, yes, he is indeed a Proxy of the Goddess of the Moon."

"That means he directly receives Blessings and serves the Goddess!"

"Wow! A prophet!"

"An incarnation."

"An angel!"

"A messenger of the Gods!"

"..."

Various reactions emerged. Cien wasn't sure whether to confirm or deny these perceptions.

A prophet? An incarnation? He believed that Fenrir himself would deny all of these claims.

He thought it would be better to explain it again to Mia, so she could relay the information to the villagers more accurately.

Just as Cien turned to Mia, he was taken aback by her shining eyes.

"Um, what's with you?"

"I can learn more about Proxies by asking Fenrir!"

"...yeah. Are you brave enough?"

Mia's enthusiasm surprised Cien, but he also knew that Fenrir wasn't easy to approach, especially for someone who didn't know him well.

Fenrir was a mysterious and intimidating figure, even as a Proxy. Cien wondered if Mia could handle such a conversation.

"Why not? He's not a cruel monster, right? He's a creature blessed by the Goddess of the Moon herself, so why should I be afraid?"

'Whoa… it's amazing how quickly someone's perspective can change.'

Cien let out a long sigh of relief. At least, for now, the issue with Fenrir seemed to be resolved. Maybe.

He was confident that Mia would explain more details to the other villagers to help them understand.

Cien planned to return to the shop after finishing his lunch. However, he was unexpectedly stopped by Balmut and some other villagers.

When he asked for the reason, they explained that they intended to build a house for Fenrir up there. They needed Cien's permission as the village leader.

"...okay, it's not a problem. Go ahead, but it's better if you talk to Fenrir first."

Cien turned to walk away, but his hand was pulled back.

"Yes?"

"Um, Milord... how do we get up there?"

"..."

Indeed. Cien hadn't thought about this. He knew the way up the cliff by slightly circling the forest in the west. But if they wanted to build a house for Fenrir, this distance might be an issue.

Cien let out another long sigh. He then told Balmut and Mia to accompany him.

Kirana didn't join them as she had plans with Lilinette.

Cien returned to the shop, took his bow and some magical arrows. Then he went out and headed to the front of the cave behind the shop, with Mia and Balmut following closely behind.

In front of the cave, Cien briefly examined the surface of the cliff.

Calculating the distance in his mind, he then walked away.

Mia and Balmut naturally followed without a word. Curious about what Cien was going to do, they watched Cien with arrows in his hand.

Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!

Cien released four consecutive magical arrows. They struck the cliff's wall with a regular and slight distance in diagonal line between each arrow to the upper ground of the cave.

"[Earth Wall]."

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Instantly, four walls of earth formed from the magic circles produced at the arrowheads. The walls transformed into a staircase, allowing them to climb the cliff.

Of course, just four walls were not enough.

Cien kept shooting arrows until the staircase reached the top of the cliff. There, they saw Fenrir peering down from above.

<What are you doing?>

"Building a staircase."

Cien and Fenrir stared at each other in silence, exchanging glances without saying anything.

<For what purpose?>

"Many people want to meet you. Going around is too tiring, so I made a shortcut," Cien then pointed to the two people beside him, "These two are among those who wish to speak with you. Don't hurt them. The Moon Goddess will punish you."

<Grr, I know!>

Puk!

Cien patted Balmut and Mia on the back.

"Go ahead. He won't bite. Talk and ask as you please, but will he answer?" Cien shrugged, "You just have to try. Good luck!"

With that, Cien left the two to face Fenrir alone, each with a different reaction.

Mia was filled with anticipation, while Balmut was excessively nervous.

Cien didn't dwell on it too much. His current thoughts were focused on studying weapon recipes for Kirana and continuing to make the Lusting antidote.

***

Meanwhile, in another place, in the city of Ethyria, the Westya Kingdom.

Ethel had arrived in the easternmost city of Westya. She was now in the living room of Grenhall's residence.

She wanted to meet her friend, Luis Grenhall, the former Duke Grenhall before he handed over his status and power to his son, Terrion Grenhall. (His name coincidentally matched an adventurer from Death Valley village.)

Luis and Cien were close friends. They often drank together whenever they met and planned various projects together.

Luis had also been the one who rescued Ethel and Kirana from their misery.

He provided them with material aid and temporary shelter in Ethyria before C-Owl flourished, and they moved to Almarin.

"Hohoho~ Ethel, it's delightful to see you visiting here."

An elderly man with white hair but still robust and seemingly healthy arrived with a warm smile. He approached and lovingly embraced Ethel, like a father to his own child.

Luis then instructed Ethel and her two followers to sit down.

The two followers were Cherry and Casey. However, they declined to sit and chose to stand behind Ethel's chair instead.

Luis didn't mind and asked a servant to pour tea before starting the conversation.

"Are you here just to greet this old man, Ethel?"

Ethel took a sip of her tea and then smiled faintly while shaking her head slightly.

"No, I have some news, Luis."

"News?"

Luis then noticed Ethel's eyes glance towards his servants.

Realizing what Ethel wanted, Luis raised his hand, signaling his servants to leave the room. Ethel did the same with Cherry and Casey, asking them to leave.

"Is this information so valuable that we have to go to such lengths? Don't tell me C-Owl is up to some dirty tricks again?"

Ethel chuckled, "They're all good kids, Luis. Their first job was just to protect me. I warned them not to repeat it, so don't worry. At least as long as no one dares to disturb our peace, everything will remain peaceful."

"Sigh... who would have thought you all would grow into what you are now? Honestly, Ethel, you are all terrifying. Who knows how many dirty secrets you know, maybe even about my family."

Ethel didn't respond, she just smiled sweetly at Luis.

The old man sighed again, took a long breath, and then sipped the tea in his cup.

"So if it's not about C-Owl, what do you want to talk about?"

"Cien is still alive, Luis."

".....huh?"

Luis felt like there was something wrong with his hearing. He tried to recall Ethel's words from a few seconds ago. It echoed in his mind as he gazed at Ethel's widening and beautiful smile.

"Are you joking with me?"

Ethel chuckled softly at the question.

"That's exactly how I felt when I first heard it. But unfortunately, it's not a joke, Luis. Cien is indeed still alive. He's now living in Death Valley."

"Death Valley... wait, Ethel, are you sure that Cien is really alive?"

"Very sure. I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but the two servants who just left are direct eyewitnesses who interacted with Cien in Ashur."

"Ashur?"

Ethel nodded, "Apart from those two servants, there are other testimonies from a merchant named Niles, who is an old friend of Cien, and also Duke Bahman and his aide."

"..."