Orange Fruit Village had returned to its former peace.
Outside the village, the Walking Grass had evolved into Gloom, but they still guarded the grassy fields beyond the village.
There were two hundred Gloom in all, and the scent they gave off could truly be described as carrying for miles.
Perhaps thanks to the stench of the Gloom, not a single monster had approached Orange Fruit Village during this time.
Of course, a faint stench had drifted through the entire village during this time, but compared to before, the villagers' attitudes had undergone a complete reversal.
Peter had been keenly aware of how much the villagers had changed.
During this time, he had continued patrolling the village with his Gloom, and the villagers around them had all greeted them with friendly smiles.
"Aiven, you deliberately had the villagers take part in the defense during that battle, didn't you?"
Sutter had seen it all, and now Aiven's earlier words came back to him.
Sometimes, people had to experience something before they could learn to cherish it.
Now, the villagers had clearly learned that lesson. They knew what would happen to them if the Gloom didn't protect the village, so they cherished the Gloom all the more.
"Yeah. So far, it's worked very well." Aiven nodded with a smile, then added, "But we still need to find a way to solve the problem of the Gloom's stench."
Sutter immediately gave him a puzzled look. "Solve it? How?"
Aiven didn't answer directly. Instead, he gave a mysterious smile. After all this preparation, it was finally time to put his plan into action.
The Gloom Leader had been feeling very content lately.
Whenever it thought of the kind looks the villagers gave it as it walked through the streets, its heart felt sweet.
But