Settling in

Warden indeed left everything to the villagers and went for a swim in the river in the middle of the night.

"Really? Who leaves their loot to take a dip in the river?" Kiara mumbled after the man left.

"A good-natured man," Liam answered her. 

Kiara snorted, sitting down with the sleeping bunny in her lap.

"Miss Kiara," Liam addressed her, unsure of how to be polite in what he was about to say. "I know you're on edge with the fight and everything else, but I must advise you to think carefully before running your mouth wild."

"What are you talking about?"

"That man saved our lives, the lives of the entire village, including your pet," Liam said, "and asked for nothing in return. The least you can do is to be courteous to him, but you haven't even thanked him once."

"I..." Kiara was lost for words, looking guilty. "I know you're worried about the bunny," Liam sighed. "Just apologize to him as soon as you can."

Liam crept around the village to find Xiv, who should be the new village chief with his father dead in the attack. The boy seemed to be holding up better than Liam imagined. He was talking with the girl with water power, both of them sitting outside a broken house, not so much talking but rather keeping each other company in silence.

"Xiv," Liam called. "Good, you're not seriously injured. The man that saved the village has left the loot for you to deal with."

"He left?" Xiv perked an eyebrow.

"Only to bathe in the river," Liam continued. "Anyway, organize the people to take care of the loot. The blood and heart of awakened beasts are some of the key ingredients for potions. Even if you don't have any alchemists in the village, they can be used to mend wounds and other needs. I see a lot of injured people; you can use those on them. Other than that, the fur and other organs are useful and can be exchanged for a hefty sum as well."

Xiv seemed momentarily stupefied to answer.

"The village lost a lot of people; make sure they didn't lose more without treatment," Liam finished, clasping the lad's shoulder.

Xiv nodded slowly. "I'll see what I can do." He was about to run to make arrangements, but Liam called after him.

"Also, Sir Warden—the man who saved the village—will come back soon; arrange someone to attend to him."

*** 

Warden had devoured food for a dozen men and still had space for more. He didn't know where his hunger came from, but he couldn't help but devour the food the villagers had prepared.

Most of the meat came from the awakened beasts that attacked. Interestingly, they first offered him the uncooked heart of the huge wolf to eat, as it was only natural that the slayer of the beast get the privilege of eating the heart. Supposedly, other than making a potion out of the heart, eating it raw was the only way to receive the most benefit from it.

Of course, a common person might get sick, but that wasn't the case for him. The main benefit didn't include just a little stat boost, but rather the heart seemed to increase one's metabolism, natural healing, and, most importantly, the speed at which one accumulates energy for a certain time.

Although from their expression, it felt natural to eat it raw, Warden felt it was wrong to eat something like a heart raw. He wasn't an uncivilized barbarian and just couldn't bring himself to do it. Perhaps his culture was different from theirs.

In the end, he asked them to cook it for him if they wanted him to eat it. After he saved the village, his treatment was at the top of the world. The only thing that unnerved him was how they called him Wolf Slayer.

A warm flow washed over his whole being as Warden finished eating. His body began to heat up much like the little bunny, but thankfully, he didn't glow like her. The hot flow wasn't simply raw energy, so it wasn't swallowed directly into his core. It cleared most of his recent exhaustion away easily and left a hunger for more. "Maybe if I eat a dozen of these, I won't feel so terrible anymore."

"It's exhilarating, right?" Liam said, tinkering with his arrows, which he managed to pick up from the aftermath of the fight.

"The lower ranks weren't," Warden said, "but this one certainly fixes some problems with my body."

"Haha, the Tainted ones are enough for our rank," Liam laughed. "For Sir, I believe nothing below the Cursed creature will suffice."

"If you keep calling them tainted and cursed, I don't feel like eating them."

Like, who in their right mind would eat something that's literally called a cursed creature?

"Good thing they don't really have any residual taint or anything; it makes me want to question the person with the bright idea to call them cursed creatures."

"Well, you've got a point," Liam chuckled. "But I don't believe someone specifically named them that. It was probably a name people came up with collectively after the havoc they wrought in the world."

Obviously, they didn't know these creatures would be delicacies and have such benefits.

"Regardless of how tasty they are after being cooked," Warden asked, "these creatures are a tremendous problem for small villages like these. Has it always been like this?"

"Not always," Liam said. "But it's the case around the beast tides. There hasn't been one for over a decade. I guess that made the Rangers more lax."

Warden had so many questions in his mind, but he didn't feel it appropriate to ask most of them. Although he didn't have any issue interacting with people, he felt a trace of unfamiliarity within himself to share things about himself. The fact that he didn't remember a single thing about himself made it even worse. In the end, he decided to play along with them as they believed him to be a homeless vagrant out on an adventure.

He didn't say anything about himself being that, but he seemed to be giving off that vibe. Perhaps he really was a homeless vagrant.

Warden sighed and was ready to rise up when a small, white, furry ball jumped into his lap, snuggling in deeply.

"Lil Cake woke up." He nuzzled the bunny and found the owner standing not far from him. He came a step forward, eyes resolute in the determination of a soldier. "Mister Warden, I think I owe you an apology."