Outside Aya Outpost, the battlefield cleanup proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Out of caution, Nelson dispatched three scouting cavalry squads to investigate in the direction of Navia City, using Aya Outpost as their center.
By sunset, the battlefield had been completely cleared.
The few remaining monsters posed no threat at all to the fully armed knightly force.
On the contrary, Nelson found quite a few things in the monsters' stomachs.
Most of them were brooches, rings, and necklaces.
This only made the soldiers clearing the battlefield even angrier.
Anyone who was not an idiot knew how these things had ended up there, especially since many of the ornaments still bore traces of their "owners."
"What a pity."
"May you rest in peace."
Nelson removed a ring from a section of pinky bone. After tossing the ring into a nearby bag, he solemnly placed the bone into a small box beside him.
The outpost commander had no way of knowing who the finger bone had belonged to.
But at the very least, he could let its owner rest in peace.
One small box after another was carried back into the outpost by the soldiers. As the only priestess in the outpost, Aitelinna temporarily took charge of them.
After offering a prayer for the dead, they would be buried in the cemetery beside the outpost.
"The choice between life and death is merciless, yet fate can be changed..."
"May you receive the compensation you deserve in the Land of the Dead, within the divine kingdom."
"May you rest in peace."
Unlike the funerals held by followers of the Thorn Temple, the identities of these deceased could not be confirmed, so Aitelinna chose the Thorn Lady's eulogy for all people.
Perhaps she had ambitions and plans of her own, but when praying for