Chapter 39 – Return

This was going to be a headache. The laws of the kingdom stated that I had to help the victims if they expressed their desire to want to live. But none of them responded to the stimuli we tried to give them.

I walked over to one of her and put my hand on her cheeks. The woman reacted by trembling, but her face didn't move. She didn't say anything and her vision was still out of focus.

-     Let's get them out of here first. If anyone knows healing magic, it would be good for them to start treating them.

The women nodded, and one of them approached the women. This woman was wearing a temple robe. She was the woman who said that nobles were dangerous. This woman's sight was interesting. The white coat with gold tones caught my eye. It must belong to the cult of the goddess Crystal judging by her ornaments.

Worshippers of the goddess Crystal were differentiated by a rhomboidal crystal in the middle of their robes. This was the symbol of the goddess which meant purity.

This priestess has a large bust that did not lose to Olivia's. The features on her face weren't bad either. Her flowing blonde hair stood out from the crowd. Apparently, she has a bad view of nobles, so it wouldn't be good to try to do something with her now.

The woman prayed until a golden light emerged and covered the woman. Unlike a healing spell, which required a magic circle and elemental energy to function, these empty chants to the goddess were known as prayers. Prayers did not require elemental energy and instead functioned through faith in the deity to whom one prays.

This has a drawback as it depends a lot on the regularity with which one prays, one's faith, and the mood of the goddess. For it was the goddess herself who performed the miracle of healing the wounded.

The glow dimmed, but the woman remained the same. The only thing that stopped was the bleeding in her vagina. This was the most delicate woman. She had just given birth to an abomination and her life hung in the balance.

While the women were being treated, I went to check my earnings. The treasures should be where the hobgoblin came out. So, I headed in that direction.

At the end of the cave was a room large enough for a person to enter. On the other hand, the space was very wide and in it was filled with broken swords, copper coins and even a wheelbarrow was inside. When I saw it, an idea occurred to me.

I put the coins away, the broken swords were of no use to me so I left them. None were worth it and all were rusty.

I took the wheelbarrow out of the room, putting it in inventory and then taking it out. When I got back to the place, the woman finished treating everyone.

-     Take.

I tossed ragged sheets that were among the coins. These women were naked. I couldn't get them into the city like that.

The girls understood what I wanted to do and started covering for them.

-     Trinch them in this wagon. I'll take them to the city after I finish mining the magic cores and burning the corpses. Hopefully the sun hasn't set yet.

They all nodded and moved as quickly as possible. Within minutes all 10 women were accommodated and we left the cave. On the way back I learned that the energetic girl's name was Luna. She was 16 years old just like me and she was an adventurer. Her group had taken a mission from the neighboring city to collect some material on the mountain. What they didn't expect was for the hobgoblin to capture them.

All four women had no money, nor had they eaten in days, their equipment and weapons were broken. So, I offered them to stay in the mansion.

As we were leaving the woods, dusk came. The forest was silent, which meant danger.

*Crackle *Crackle

The sound of moving leaves came from the bushes. The sight of a wolf was clear.

-     It's mine!

The muscular woman lunged in. The wolf reacted and charged at her as well. But the woman was faster and with an uppercut followed by a straight punch she finished off the wolf. By moon I learned that her name was Anastasia.

-     Oh. You're good. Interested in joining my guard?

This woman was stronger than my guards who would need at least 4 or 5 to take down that wolf.

-     Hehe. I'll have to think about it.

The woman scratched her nose and continued to push the wagon. As we were leaving the woods, I noticed the last woman to say anything to date. Curiously, I asked Luna who she was.

-     Uh. She is Sister Samantha. She was our porter.

The porter was an insignificant position at a party. Those people were in charge of collecting the monsters' materials and carrying the luggage. In return, they were given copper coins. Although it sounded harsh, the most coveted job for novice adventurers.

Her appearance was ordinary, so I didn't even bother to pay attention to her.

When we arrived in the city we were greeted by the guards.

-     Identify yourselves!

The gates of the city were closed to passers-by at this hour. However, I was the lord of this territory.

-     It seems like my training wasn't enough.