Act XII: Lake Light

The night had passed in tense anticipation for both sides.

Tagus waited for the attack plan to unfold, while Brando worried about his inability to manage time. Madara's army and Bucci's eleven youths marched together in the silent darkness, their fates distant yet intertwined.

But the sun would rise, as it always did. The first rays of light seemed to barely brush past their hair, yet the morning flew by, half the day passing uneventfully, without even encountering the most common brown bears in the region.

However, after entering summer, the wild brown bears had become gentle creatures.

It was noon.

Hearing a rustling sound of branches being pushed aside ahead, Brando couldn't help but squint. Sunlight streamed through the new green leaves, creating beautiful dappled gold between the gaps. He lifted his head from the makeshift stretcher, following the sound, and a bright reflection met his eyes, like a mirror.

It was a lake.

Like an emerald jewel embedded beneath the mountains and forests, its surface was polished into a shimmering expanse.

"Look, it's a lake!" Little Finis exclaimed in surprise.

Freya immediately landed a light blow on his head, making the youth yelp.

This was not a good time for travel. Each of them needed to be cautious, as no one knew if they might encounter Madara's army nearby. Although the night had been peaceful, Brando had said it was because the area lacked strategic value.

As for what strategic value was, the girl didn't know.

The young man from Brags always seemed to know more than everyone else. Though she was a little unwilling, she had to admit it.

She wondered if all young people from the city were this capable.

Subtly, Freya's perception shifted from one extreme to another. She couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. If she had also come from the Brags militia training camp, she would surely have learned better than that shameless fellow.

It was so unfair.

But only God knew that there wasn't even such a thing as a "Brags militia training camp." Sophie, or rather, Brando. His militia training had been completed in Drage. Of course, he would never expose this trick at this moment; he needed to maintain some authority to gain the trust of these young people – a group without a leader could not escape hardship.

Freya might be capable of taking on that role in the future, but not now.

With that thought, Brando couldn't help but glance at her. The girl with the long ponytail was assessing their surroundings. After a moment of hesitation, she relaxed her grip on her sword and let out a breath.

"Let's rest here for a moment," Freya commanded after confirming there was no danger.

Everyone collectively sighed in relief.

"I'm going to die!"

"I bet when we get to Ridenburg, I won't do anything else but collapse and sleep."

"Let's worry about that when we get there."

"Essen, shut your crow's mouth!" Conversations among the youths immediately erupted from the edge of the woods. Although they deliberately kept their voices down, their words were filled with a sense of relief.

Everyone was utterly exhausted.

The night hadn't been that long, but for their taut nerves, it was no less than torture. It was hard for ordinary people to imagine the pressure of life-and-death situations – the group had navigated the mountains and forests by the dim starlight, surrounded by pitch-black darkness, with only the interwoven night songs of vibrating insect wings and the distant calls of owls piercing the forest.

In the darkness, rustling sounds seemed to pass through one bush after another, an overwhelming silence enveloping everyone, like a silent ghost gripping each person's soul, an icy aura that made their nerves tighten.

Behind the dense foliage lay an unknown. Had they heard of mountain monsters described in bedtime stories?

At sunrise, the cold dew slowly dissipated. The youths looked as if they had been fished out of water, their faces pale, their wet hair clinging to their foreheads. Even Brando was no exception. He used to sleep in his own comfortable bed, far from all conflict – not lying on a stretcher, listening to all sorts of strange and peculiar sounds around him.

Especially in the unknown darkness, waist-high grass would occasionally brush against his face, and he would feel insects crawling on his neck, sending shivers down his spine.

May Martha guide me, the thought of having to endure more than a week of such days made him feel a bit frantic. He now desperately missed his past life, even if it was a bit pathetic, he wanted to return to a stable life.

Otaku always make grand declarations when they resolve to do something, but their enthusiasm comes and goes quickly. However, upon seeing the fatigue and worry on Freya's face, their protagonist's heart settled again.

Because he was trusted—

He suddenly realized that he had to shed the identity of Sophie and try to embrace a new life. He couldn't help but touch his chest, and then he understood – the one who had died was not Brando, but Sophie.

It wasn't that he had accepted this world, but that this world had accepted him.

Brando's stretcher was placed by the lake, and colorful pebbles could be seen not far away. He first checked on Josen's condition. The latter had miraculously survived, but his physical state was far from optimistic.

"How is he?" Markmi, who was beside him, couldn't help but ask.

"It's hard to say." Sophie, no, he should be called Brando now. He shook his head.

Markmi fell silent, staring blankly at the distant lake surface. This lake was called Clear Lake. Their reaching this point meant they were close enough to Green Village, but among everyone present, only Brando probably had a firm grasp of the direction. The young man looked in one direction, and in that direction, through the gaps in the forest, there were faint gray trails of smoke in the sky.

It seemed Cabes had already attacked the village. Its fate was no different from Bucci's. Madara's army advanced quickly, just as he remembered from the game.

In fact, Brando still remembered this lake. He looked up, gazing at the far bank of the lake across the vast expanse of blue water. The trees on that side were lush and green, and beneath the dark distant mountains, he could no longer see the familiar figures of the past.

He remembered spending a long time leveling up in this area, facing brown bears and foxes. Thinking about the days he earned money selling leather in the game, Brando couldn't help but smile.

He withdrew his hand from Josen's forehead and said to Markmi, "Do me a favor."

"What for?"

"Help me take off the bandages."

Brando needed to change his bandages, but before that, he wanted Romane to distribute the sausage he had brought from his home, calling it a chance for everyone to taste the flavor of Golan-Elsen's black sausage.

It was enough to make him laugh and cry that none of these young people had thought to prepare any food before escaping Bucci. Not even Freya, who seemed so composed, had considered it.

So, their only remaining food reserve was this roll of sausage.

"Why don't you tell us what you saw on the day you left Bucci? Understanding the enemy better would… Ow, Markmi, easy." He winced, gasping in pain.

Freya sighed when she saw this scene. "I'll do it, you move aside, Macmi."

The young man was stunned. The girl with the long ponytail had already walked up to him.

"Is it okay that the food was distributed so completely?" she asked in a small voice, hesitating as she carefully unwrapped Brando's bandages.

"What problem?"

This guy, he knows exactly what I'm talking about!

Freya gritted her teeth, but what made Brando laugh was that even so, this kind girl didn't dare to make any little movements with her hands.

"You know what I'm talking about, we can't get to Ridenburg anymore, can we?" Freya lowered her voice even further, almost inaudibly.

Brando couldn't help but look at the girl more closely. Of course, he always felt that the light brown ponytail suited her temperament perfectly. He thought for a moment and then asked, "Your aunt and uncle should be in the group, right?"

Freya lowered her head, and her bandaging hand paused.

"I'm sorry," Brando sighed. "If there's a chance, I'll try my best. But I can't promise anything, I can't bear such a heavy responsibility."

"Thank you."

An almost imperceptible reply.

"Big Sister Freya, Big Brother Brando, what are you whispering about?" Little Finis's untimely voice rang out. He was leaning against a beech tree, curiously observing the two of them. If Big Sister Freya was someone he had always admired, then Brando was the new idol for this young boy.

His words successfully attracted everyone's attention, and their gazes all turned towards them.

Freya's face suddenly flushed. Only then did she realize she was too close to that guy. She quickly took a step back and explained, "It-it's nothing, just-just discussing..." Unfortunately, this simple girl didn't understand that it would be better if she didn't explain. But this retreat and explanation made everyone think she was trying to cover something up.

Especially her burning red face. When had their captain ever been so shy?

Romane rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up from the ground. She seemed to have just figured out what was happening. Although Freya was afraid she would misunderstand and kept giving her meaningful glances, she didn't expect their merchant lady to smile indifferently as if her wires were crossed. "It's okay, Freya."

"Romane, you—" The ponytail girl couldn't finish her sentence and instead turned completely red.

She glared at Romane, almost wanting to strangle that brat to death.

Brando, however, noticed a worried gaze from the crowd directed at them. It was from that young man named Nibeto. He was slightly taken aback. Could he have feelings for Freya? But lacking courage wouldn't do. He couldn't help but shake his head.

"Alright," he interjected, "I was discussing food distribution with your captain."

As Brando spoke, it was as if he possessed a natural authority, causing everyone to stop and involuntarily turn their attention to him.

But what was with Miss Romanee's sparkling gaze? He wondered if she was looking at a pile of treasure. The young man shook his head and continued, "This amount of food, even if we ration it, won't be enough for us to eat. Besides, we still need to maintain our strength to deal with potential enemies."

"But—" Freya had only said half a word when she saw Brando shake his head at her.

"Green Village isn't far. Why don't we go find food there? The undead don't need food or shelter, and those things originally belonged to us humans. We naturally have the right to take them back," he replied.

"Green Village? Wasn't it attacked by Madara?" Ike asked, sitting on the ground. The wound on his leg had been bandaged by Brando and had almost recovered by today.

The healing effect provided by bandages is a potential recovery value, indicating the slow effect produced during the next application (replacement). In the game, it takes effect once every six minutes, while in this world, the recovery cycle is extended to one day. Therefore, the wound will heal slowly over a day until the next bandage change.

"Of course, there are enemies, but we'll be moving in small groups and won't necessarily engage in direct confrontation," Brando replied. He had already planned the escape route and was now confident.

"Small groups, does that mean infiltration?" Little Finis's interest was immediately piqued.

"En, I'll pick a few people to go with me." Brando nodded, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "Ike and Vlad are injured. Macmi and Nibeto, you two stay and take care of them. Romane, you stay and take care of Betha. As for the others, Essen and Freya, you two will come with me."

"No!"

"No!" Freya and Little Finis objected together.

"Essen and I can go, but Brando, you must stay." The ponytail girl took a deep breath. Did this guy even know how serious his injuries were?

"I'm going too," the little rascal jumped up first.

Brando looked at the two of them and sighed, "Alright, I'll answer your questions one by one." As he spoke, he bit the bandage in his mouth, then wrapped it around his body a few times, tightening it.

A faint green +2 appeared above him.

He took a breath and felt his strength gradually returning to his body. Although he was still very weak, especially since the corrosive poison was still eroding his vitality from within his bones, he could at least move on his own.

He looked up and asked, "Miss Freya, what is your reason for asking me to stay? Is it my injuries?"

"You know it is." The ponytail girl turned her head away.

Brando smiled slightly. That wasn't necessarily true.