W: Something's Wrong!

"Phew... Sorry, I scared you, didn't I..."

"Bzz..."

The towering Wendigo slowly rose to his feet, grabbed a handful of snow, and wiped his claw tips until they returned to their original color.

Cradling the trembling Ten Percent Off, Gorth replied to the messages in the group chat.

[Gregor: Third, how's the situation?]

[Gorth: It's fine.]

[Vane: No way, Third? You didn't just hide there and wait for them to leave on their own, did you?]

[Gorth: I did hide.]

[Vane: Ugh~ How pathetic...]

[Gorth: But they found me.]

[Vane: Huh? Is that person okay?]

Gorth silently raised his eyes and swept his gaze across the sunny dolls gently turning in the wind from the branches.

[Gorth: ...I think they didn't have any objections.]

Ignoring Vane's response, Gorth gave a light wave of his right hand.

Having received the command, the Black Forest came alive. Thick roots burst through the snow and coiled around the hanging corpses.

Gnarled branches wrapped around them, dragged them away, and finally swallowed them completely into the trunks or beneath the ground.

The entire process was silent and swift. Apart from the faint sounds of snow and soil being disturbed, there was nothing else.

When everything fell quiet again, the forest returned to normal.

But...

Gorth lowered his head to look at the Infected beside him. The other man was shaking like a leaf, yet he had stubbornly refused to move even a single step.

Gorth: "..."

Why didn't you run!? I've been waiting forever!

Gorth had a bit of a headache. He had deliberately dragged things out for so long, hoping this survivor would take the chance to slip away.

Instead, the guy had stood there without moving an inch and watched the entire thing. Now he knew to be afraid.

"Phew..."

Gorth helplessly bent down, and the heat of his breath condensed into two thick plumes of white mist in the freezing air.

The Infected immediately prostrated himself, lying flat in the snow without even daring to raise his head.

Gorth instinctively reached out to help him up, paused, and ultimately only hooked a finger into the back collar of his clothes.

After a moment of silence, Gorth started walking toward the edge of the forest at an unhurried pace.

Suspended in midair, the Infected shouted several incoherent words in agitation, but after a few seconds, he fell silent. Only tears he could no longer hold back continued to slide down his cheeks.

Gorth glanced at the human in his hand, who had begun crying soundlessly, ignored him, and continued onward.

When they reached the boundary between the forest and the snowfield, Gorth swung his arm and threw him out of the forest, sending him tumbling through the snow.

The Infected rolled miserably through the snow several times, his face still marked by undried tears and confusion.

"Plop."

A bloody piece of raw meat landed in the snow before him. The Infected raised his head in disbelief.

The Wendigo at the forest's edge pointed at the raw meat in the snow, then pointed into the distance.

Without another word, he turned and walked back into the forest.

The surrounding trees automatically drew their branches together, concealing his massive form.

Seeing that figure about to disappear, the Infected hurriedly shouted:

"Thank you! Thank you, sir!"

"My name is Kevin! Can you tell me your name!?"

The Wendigo neither turned around nor responded. He was simply swallowed by the twisted woods, as though he had never existed.

The Infected remained stunned in the snow for a long time, until the howling blizzard began to intensify.

He gave the Black Forest one deep look, bent down to pick up the life-saving raw meat, and headed in the direction the Wendigo had pointed.

Only after Kevin's back disappeared into the snowstorm did the Wendigo emerge from the shadows.

Watching the ever-worsening blizzard, Gorth could not help but sigh.

With a blizzard this heavy, even with food, it'll be hard for him to survive...

Shaking his head, Gorth vanished in a flash of light.

Just as I thought...

I'm not cut out to be a good person.

Back in the hall, Gorth had barely steadied himself before a wave of noise hit him.

Several people sat in a circle, their burning gazes fixed on Ten Percent Off in the middle.

Ifrit raised her hand.

"Boss! I want to watch Journey to the West!"

Vane immediately objected and reached to snatch Ten Percent Off.

"No! We're watching One Piece first! There's an update today!"

[Fourth, don't compete with a child...]

Vane pulled Ten Percent Off into his arms and wiped away tears that did not exist.

"Boohoo... Ten Percent Off and I have been separated for so long. We endured countless hardships before we could finally reunite, yet you're cruel enough to tear us apart~"

[...You were apart for less than ten minutes.]

"I don't care!" Vane shifted his gaze and spotted Gorth, who had just returned. "Third, you tell us! What should we watch?"

Gorth tilted his head, not expecting the war to suddenly spread to him.

"Uh... Animal World?"

"I don't want to watch that!" x2

A moment later...

(Spring has arrived. All things are coming back to life. Once again, it is the season for animals to reproduce...)

Gregor: "..."

Ifrit and Vane, who had just been arguing endlessly, now sat side by side, staring intently at the screen as though their dispute had never happened.

Gregor shook his head and motioned for Gorth to follow him away.

When they reached the nursery, Gregor asked directly.

[Did you take care of everything?]

"Mm..."

Gorth hesitated for a moment. The image of the Infected named Kevin flashed through his mind.

"Everything's taken care of."

[That's good.] Gregor let out a breath of relief.

[Just to be safe, Third, stay home for the next few days. The food we brought back is enough anyway.]

"Okay."

A brief silence fell between them. Gorth opened his mouth, then closed it again, as though weighing his words.

"Boss..."

[Hm?]

"I killed people."

[Mm.]

Gregor's response was simple. There was not the slightest surprise in it; he merely accepted the fact calmly.

"But I don't regret it."

[Mm.]

Gorth fell silent for a few seconds, his hand tightening slightly before he finally said softly:

"Thank you, Boss."

[...Go get some rest.]

Gorth disappeared at the end of the stairs. Gregor stood where he was for a while before finally letting out a heavy sigh.

He focused and tried once more to reach the person who had never answered him.

[...Are you there?]

"..."

Gregor remained silent, trying hard to organize his words before finally forming an awkward yet sincere sentence.

[I'm sorry...]

[I don't know what else to say... Anyway... I'm sorry.]

Time passed in silence.

Gregor could sense that Vane and Ifrit had both, intentionally or otherwise, spared a fraction of their attention for him.

[We... went to the dungeon. We cleared two floors, but the dungeon has new rules. We can't enter again until seven days later.]

"..."

[We got a spare crown. Invisibility can protect you better. Come back and take it whenever you have time.]

"..."

[Third's shadow can store items. We brought out quite a few weapons and supplies this time. Third will be home for the next few days, so if you need anything, you can ask him for it anytime.]

"..."

[Anyway...]

[Be careful.]

Time: Evening

Location: Kazdel

The mercenaries, after marching all day, sat gathered in a circle.

The afterglow of the setting sun painted the Kazdel wasteland a dusky gold. After a full day of forced marching, the mercenaries could finally stop.

They sat around a bonfire. It should have been a noisy dinner hour, but the atmosphere was somewhat gloomy.

Everyone's eyes drifted toward Vera, who sat at the edge.

Her eyes were closed as though she were resting, but the tapping finger revealed that she was far from calm.

The mercenaries exchanged looks and whispered among themselves.

"What do we do? Boss seems to be in an awful mood..."

"She's been off since this morning. The pressure's so low it's terrifying."

"How about... someone tells Boss a joke to lighten the mood?"

"Forget it. What normal jokes are there in Kazdel? Don't make Boss feel even worse."

"But we can't just sit here and watch..."

"I'll ask her."

Rice took a deep breath and cautiously shuffled over to Vera's side. Before he could decide how to begin, Vera's voice reached him.

"What is it..."

Rice hurriedly forced out a smile.

"Boss, um... You seem like you've got something on your mind."

"Don't bottle it up! We may not be good at much, but killing—cough! Solving problems is something we're pretty quick at!"

"Huh? If it's something that even she finds troublesome, you think you can solve it?"

Rice turned his head in confusion. W had appeared in the nearby shadows at some point.

The remark punctured the courage Rice had painstakingly worked up, and the surrounding mercenaries stiffened as well.

"Whether they can do it or not is beside the point..."

Vera finally opened her eyes and cast W a look of undisguised disgust.

"Why are you always hanging around me?"

She truly could not understand it. Her relationship with W should have been terrible, and her attitude toward her could only be called awful.

Yet this woman was like a piece of gum she could not shake off, randomly spawning in corners around her at all times.

The smile on W's face did not change in the slightest. Instead, she looked a little smug.

"What? Is our esteemed employer concerned about the areas her employees are allowed to operate in now?"

"Concerned? Not really..."

"I just hope that if you have nothing to do, you'll have the decency to stay farther away from me."

"Oh?" W narrowed her eyes, drawing out the word.

"Looks like our employer really hates me~"

"Anyone would feel uncomfortable around a lunatic covered in bombs with a questionable mental state."

Vera spoke bluntly. Not only did W fail to get angry, she deliberately stepped nearly half a pace closer.

"Is that so~ Then what if I get a little closer~?"

A vein twitched at Vera's temple. Rather than lash out, she rose cleanly to her feet.

"...Then I'll move farther away."

With that, she turned and left. W skipped along behind her, continuing to bother her.

Rice watched clearly from the side. As Vera bickered with W, the oppressive atmosphere around her had actually dissipated somewhat.

Could this be the special way women bond with each other...?

"W!"

Seeing the signs that Vera was about to explode, Hedley finally could not help but speak up.

It was not that he was worried W would get taught a lesson. She would have brought that on herself.

He was afraid this young lady would drag all of them spectators into it while she was lecturing W.

"Tch!"

W shot Hedley an annoyed glare, but she did not continue pestering Vera. Still, her eyes remained fixed on her.

Hedley sighed, unable to understand why W was so interested in Vera.

"W... if you have nothing better to do, go keep watch around the area. Make sure no tails followed us."

W curled her lips, about to retort out of habit, but then her eyes shifted and she changed her mind.

"Keep watch? Sure~ But... dear employer,"

She raised her voice and called toward Vera's retreating back.

"Since you have nothing to do anyway, how about coming with me? You can personally supervise the quality of my work too~"

"Alright."

W:???

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