Reward (Part 2)

Beneath the brilliant starry sky, a bonfire blazed in an open space within the town.

Everyone had three or five close friends in life. With that in mind, Romon had invited his friends Fafier and Nick to share the prey.

The three sat in a circle around the bonfire, its scorching, bright flames swaying restlessly in the wind.

Romon held a wooden stick in one hand and carefully watched the flames. Two pork legs were wrapped in the tongues of fire as he turned them, adjusting their position and cautiously controlling the heat.

Under the searing flames, the prey crackled again and again. The fat beneath the skin could not withstand the heat and burst open, while an enticing fragrance gradually drifted through the air.

"Romon, what made you think of us today?" Fafier stared fixedly at the roast in Romon's hand. He was one of Romon's close friends, but Romon had been busy with his Druid training lately and had had no time for anything else. They had not kept in close contact for quite a while; when they met, they had only exchanged greetings.

Someone in Fafier's family had once served as a soldier for the lord, and they had enjoyed a period of prosperity. But they had failed to survive battle after battle, and the family had fallen into decline. His household was not well-off either. Having grown accustomed to hunger in his youth, he was skin and bones, yet he loved meat immensely. Still, he was agile and possessed quite a bit of strength.

"How could I not think of you?" Romon spread one hand and raised the roast pig strung on the stick in his other, putting on an expression of having been wronged. "The moment I caught some prey today, I called you over to eat."

"And you still claim you always think of your old friends." Nick put on a grief-stricken expression. "Whenever Fafier and I wanted to find you, we never knew where you had hidden yourself."

"When did I ever avoid you?" Romon explained awkwardly. Lowering his head to watch the fire, he muttered, "I was just busy with Druid training."

Young people cared most about saving face, and the old Romon had naturally been no different. Whenever he fantasized in his dreams about returning in glory before his friends and holding his head high, he would work especially hard. At the same time, he cared greatly about his image before them—he had hoped to speak with them again only after becoming a Druid.

"So you're not becoming a Druid anymore?" Nick found that strange and asked.

"It's not that I'm not becoming one." Romon laughed, trying to cover his embarrassment.

"Then why?" Fafier's curiosity was piqued as well.

"Alas!" Romon let out a long sigh, his face full of helplessness. "I have to consider making a living first."

Fafier and Nick were somewhat embarrassed. They were about Romon's age, no more than teenagers, but unlike Romon, they still had parents and did not have to rely on their own strength to look after themselves.

For a time, the three said nothing. The town beneath the stars fell quiet as well, and apart from the crackling of the roasting pork, no sound remained.

"Mm..." After a long while, Romon lifted the stick and carefully inspected the roasted pork leg. Its golden skin looked crisp and especially tempting. He cut a small slit into it with his knife, and a burst of white steam immediately rushed into his face. The meat inside was pale and white, with no trace of charring.

"Smells so good..." The three of them flared their nostrils, delight blooming across their faces and in their eyes as they sighed in unison.

"It's ready. Let's divide it up." Seeing that the prey had finished roasting, Romon finally spoke the words the other two had long been waiting for.

After splitting it up, the three began eating with great satisfaction.

"By the way, what are your plans?" Romon ate silently. "You can't live off your parents for your whole lives, can you?"

"Well, for me, it would be great if I could enlist and earn my keep as a soldier." Fafier ate with great care without even lifting his head. "My family has a shortbow, and I've learned some combat skills myself!"

Nick picked at the meat with a small knife as he ate. "I don't want to be a soldier. But it would be nice if I could become a merchant."

"Then go out adventuring with me!" Romon ate slowly, his face thoughtful. He knew that Fafier's true dream was to become a knight, while Nick hoped to become a great merchant.

"Being an adventurer is dangerous, isn't it? There's no security, either." Fafier thought for a moment. "I'd still rather wait until the baron recruits soldiers."

"Then Fafier, you should all the more come adventuring with me!" Romon laughed and tossed a piece of meat into his mouth. "Mm, hot... Tell me, what advantages does the lord gain by issuing rewards to outsiders?"

"Mm, perhaps it's cheaper this way. After all, training a good soldier costs a great deal." Fafier intended to enlist, so he was not unfamiliar with such matters.

"And he can select some real warriors!" Romon said as he chewed. "If I complete the lord's bounty and collect the reward, how could the lord not have a record of it?"

He ate another piece. "Anyone who dares venture into the wilderness naturally has the courage to fight. And if they can successfully bring back gains and collect the reward, that proves they have both wisdom and fighting ability."

"Mm, when the lord wants to expand his army..." Nick stopped working on his own share; he had already finished eating. He interjected, "Naturally, he'll choose those with the courage to adventure and the nerve to fight."

He sucked his fingers reluctantly, then continued, "Besides, our family backgrounds are spotless."

Fafier had originally wanted to add, "And our families live in the town, so we have no choice but to fight to defend it."

But then he remembered that no one had ever known anything about Romon's parents, so he swallowed those words back down.

"So what are we going to hunt?" Nick was rather tempted by the idea.

"We'll go into the forest and kill Goblins, cutting off their scalps to claim bounties." Romon spoke to Nick, then turned toward Fafier. "We'll hunt some game too. We can sell the pelts directly to Aunt Jenna's tailor shop. As for the meat, we can eat some ourselves and sell the rest."

"The forest? The forest is dangerous." Nick hesitated. "You could be ambushed there if you're not careful."

"It's fine. I'm a Druid!" This time, Romon did not say apprentice. "I know the situation in the forest as clearly as the lines on my palm."

What Romon meant by that was, "You won't know until you see it," but neither of them caught on.

"All right. I want to become a warrior, and I'll have to hunt in the forest anyway. If we form a group, we can look after each other." After thinking it over, Fafier agreed.

"Then count me in too!" Seeing that both of them were willing, Nick nodded in agreement as well.

"What do you two need to prepare?" Romon was delighted. "I need to buy some more things too."

"I don't need to prepare much. There's a bow at home, and I have some arrow shafts I made myself. I just need to buy some iron arrowheads." Fafier calculated. "One night of packing should be enough."

"I need to make some preparations. It'll probably take two or three days," Nick said.

The three immediately began discussing shared supplies and how they would coordinate with one another. Before long, they had divided up the tasks.

"If only we could eat meat every day!" Nick finally finished eating. His lips were smeared with grease as he sighed.

"Yeah. Having meat to eat is far better than gnawing on black bread." Fafier smiled and licked his lips clean. "Heh heh... Romon's roasting is really good too."

"Then if we catch prey in the future, I'll handle the cooking," Romon said.

The night gradually deepened. After chatting for a while, the three headed home together.

It was already dark, and the town was empty.

Without realizing it, he arrived before the altar of the Earth Goddess. Looking at the stone altar and its mottled colors, which bore the marks of age, he wandered inside. Upon the raised platform stood a statue—the Earth Goddess Isidis.

The walls were carved with reliefs of bulls, trees, flowers, and grasses. The goddess's statue did not stand separately; it was simply a three-foot marble carving upon the altar. She wore a crown woven from flowers and plants and a green gown. Her face was beautiful, and the curves of her womanly form could vaguely be seen, filled with feminine charm. Yet her eyes were especially lifelike.

The old Romon had habitually come here to pray, especially after he had attempted to become a Druid.

Whenever he had free time, the old Romon had helped the temple clean, and thus he had been allowed to read the temple's thick copy of the "Agricultural Goddess Scripture."

It was precisely this devotion, amid a town where most people drifted through life in a muddle, that had drawn Eileen's attention. She admired it greatly and would often spend entire evenings after evening prayers teaching him to read. She had also allowed him free access to the Agricultural Goddess's temple, including the garden behind it.

As a temple of the Agricultural Goddess, it generally possessed a granary and an impressive garden.

The granary was where the Temple purchased and stored grain, while the garden was where priests taught others how to properly cultivate plants, identify the symptoms of animal and plant diseases, and recognize herbs.

Thus, it contained not only ordinary crops, but also a great many medicinal herbs.

More importantly, the Temple possessed a rich collection of books beyond anything commoners dared imagine—luxuries that only clergy and nobles could enjoy.

Moonlight shone upon the Temple. It was silent and empty within. The moonlight poured through the large windows set with colored glass, making the place seem both magnificent and mysterious.

Countless green lights flickered within the Temple. This too was the power of nature, but it belonged only to the goddess. Only when Druids believed in the goddess could they receive her rewards.

Romon silently assumed a posture of prayer. The old Romon had always come here at night to pray after finishing work, and he had to at least maintain that habit on the surface.

The moment he stepped out of the prayer hall, he could not help but shudder.

"Ah, it's cold, child. You're dressed too lightly," a voice said. "Even in such circumstances, have you come to pray to the goddess?"

"Priest Tennis, I merely wished to tell the goddess what is in my heart," Romon said humbly.

Romon had no desire whatsoever to answer or refute him, because he knew very well that Eileen admired him greatly, whereas Priest Tennis deeply resented him because of it.

Seeing that he had nothing more to say, Romon took his leave and departed.

!!