It's been nearly a month since we had left Dragon Valley, and due to taking the scenic route, we wouldn't be back home for another few weeks.
As for why we were taking the scenic route, that was due to wanting to visit as many places as possible, mainly the homelands of some of the Familia members.
One of the first stops after leaving Dragon Valley was Karuna.
Karuna was an interesting place and the only settlement I would consider a 'city' I've seen in this world besides Orario.
It had a weird mix of European architecture with many basement houses, which housed most of the large Dwarf population.
It was also the home of Maryuu, Ryana, and Asta, all three having grown up the the same orphanage before leaving for Orario.
It was interesting to see the three members on the quieter side show such liveliness as we walked through the bustling streets.
Unfortunately for the Elves, we didn't enter any Elven forests as we were unlikely to be welcomed with open arms.
Although I suppose it was not so unfortunate in Ryuu's case.
I did not want to see how my long-eared inlaws would react to... everything.
As Lyra came from the Empire and Kaguya and Haruhime from the Far East, we didn't visit their hometowns as it was a bit too far for our liking, but we did get to visit Noin's village, and we were even able to meet her parents!
As most of the girls had come to Orario before they were even considered adults, it was not a surprise that parents were a rarity, either because of them befalling a tragedy, or them just being dicks, like in Ryuu's case.
And then, the last stop on our homecoming tour was Alise's village.
It was quite emotional if I do say so myself.
While her parents had died from monsters years ago, the villagers welcomed us with open arms, and we even had a little festival to celebrate our arrival.
Later, Alise explained that in the time before she came to Orario, the entire village adopted her as one of their own, making sure the newly orphaned girl was well taken care of.
She was quite happy that the sentiment had not been lost over the years.
But aside from that, we saw vast plains... enormous mountain ranges... shimmering lakes...
I had set my goal for this quest to discover the world and allow the children to do so as well, and suffice it to say... I had succeeded.
In regards to training, I had begun teaching Ais the basics of basics in order for her to use Sword Saint arts, just like Take had done with me.
Though... she still had a ways to go, as my fundamentals were strong even before Take's training.
I knew that Ais' swordsmanship, while amazing, lacked a lot of the basics.
This was likely due to her not having anyone to learn swordsmanship under, so she learned primarily through instincts and experience.
But ever so slowly, she was getting better, and by now her hand-to-hand combat wasn't just a crazed flex of strength, but a controlled and stable art form.
And as for me, I had finally done a status update after quite a while.
-======================================================-
Name: Sirius Lovion
Level: 6
Strength: S914
Endurance: A876
Dexterity: S952
Agility: S926
Magic: SS1008
Magic Sense: D
Abnormal Resistance: E
Magic Swordsman: C
Spirit Pleasure: D
Supreme Blade: D
Skills:
Heroic Will
Strike of Hope
Stellar Sword Style
Magia Imperium
Concursus Pugnae
Magic:
Celestial Ascent
Aqua Corona
Elemental Orb
-======================================================-
I was nearly ready to level up, though I wanted to raise my stats a little bit more before I did so.
Since the power one gained from a level up was static, or nearly static, as you reached higher levels, the stats you had before levelling up got more and more important.
So starting now, I was waiting until I had SS rank in every stat before going to the next level.
Not that it mattered at the moment.
Hmm... I wonder what my next feat could be.
Well, I'll probably find it on the newer dungeon floors, and with my luck, it'll be by accident.
"Sirius." Neze says, breaking me out of my thoughts.
Glancing over at her, I notice her eyes are narrowed in concern while her ears are twitching slightly.
"Did you pick up something?" I ask.
Neze was always in the first carriage in the formation, as not only was she one of the best sensors of the Familia, but her scouting skills were natural, unlike Kaguya's which relies on magic.
"Blood. And from what I can tell, lots of it." She responds.
Shit.
There was a small village up ahead, from what I remember of the map.
I don't think a small village out here would have any competent combatants to defend against a threat.
"Monsters?" I ask.
"I'm... not sure. The scent of blood is overwhelming, so I can't tell."
Well, not like it matters anyway.
But if it was so bad that she couldn't distinguish anything from the blood...
"Get Maryuu and Ryuu to follow."
Hopefully, the blood was mostly from the injured rather than the dead, but I wouldn't keep my hopes up.
I then hop off my horse before shooting forward, with stellar magic coursing through my body, the surroundings fade into a blur as my speed increases.
A few seconds later, I see it.
A plume of smoke rises over a collection of houses, and the various figures running around.
By now, I could smell it too.
The smell of blood.
The smell of death.
I had normalized myself to the scent of the various monsters I had killed, as well as the Ikelos scumbags that one time.
But for some reason... right now the scent was sickening.
Was it because it was from the innocent?
Who knows.
Chanting Aqua Corona, I feel the wind part against my body as I go even faster.
And in the next few moments, I find myself in front of a scene of absolute decimation.
The cries of pain and sorrow enter my ears.
The scent of blood enters my nose.
The atmosphere is tense, the type of tenseness that causes one's ears to ring and jaw to clench.
Looking around, I see the corpses of villagers strewn across the village square and the surrounding houses.
Some were missing their heads.
Some with their eyes gouged.
Others only have a torso, with their arms and legs lying at their sides.
Judging from the pained expressions, they did not die painless deaths.
It was mostly men, but I could see a few women and children too.
With most of the men being killed, the others were likely being saved for slavery and for the women, other more nefarious purposes too.
The fact the survivors were all gathered around the centre fountain only cemented my hypothesis.
A gruesome, disgusting sight one would expect from a nightmare.
And the cause of all this...
"Gahaha! Scream more, bitch! Come on, come on!"
Bandits.
And quite a few of them too.
One was about to finish off a young woman who was holding her child in fear, another was picking out the teeth of a deceased man, and another was ushering a group of tied-up children, no older than seven, into a cage.
The scenes get more vivid, the screams get louder, the scents get more sickening...
It's too much.
The sadness, the pain... I want it all to-
"Stop."
As if a divine command, all movement comes to a stop and the surroundings turn eerily quiet, save for the faint crackling of flames.
If it wasn't for the massacre in front of me, I could even say it was peaceful.
For some reason, I couldn't really think clearly right now.
Was it shock?
Was it anger?
Sadness?
I don't know, but everything felt... muted.
As if I was watching through the perspective of someone else, like a movie.
But this was reality.
I had forgotten.
Being with such a happy Familia, a strong Familia, I had forgotten how dangerous and cruel this world really was.
I was lucky to not have faced any tragedy when this world was overflowing with it.
Slowly, with the surrounding people still in a silent trance, I unsheathe Infinite Eclipse.
I knew, that in this world, things were not always as they appeared.
Hypnosis, mind control, extortion... humans could be made to do the most heinous acts for valid reasons through no fault of their own.
But these guys... to look so gleeful in the act... to butcher innocent children...
There was no mind control.
They were just unforgivable.
Raising my sword overhead, the black blade glints under the sunlight as I offer my final piece of advice to these savages.
"Repent in hell, scum."
I swing down.
The winds buffer and the air hisses as my blade reaches the end of its swing, releasing a myriad of slashes.
It was a storm, a hurricane of cuts sharp enough to cut boulders, but a controlled storm, as the blades only flew toward the perpetrators of the massacre.
There were no screams as the bandits' bodies simply exploded into a mess of flesh and blood, the surroundings remained motionless as they were painted red.
The raiders had lasted less than a few seconds after my entrance, but that did nothing to the decimation that had already occurred.
If only I could have arrived earlier...
"W-W-Wha!?"
Oh? It seems that one of them was still alive.
Looking over at the now one-armed man who was staring at me with a mix of fear and shock, I realized why he wasn't killed like the rest of his group.
This bastard was a level 3.
As I take a step towards him, his trembling increases as he falls onto his rear.
Level 3 was quite strong for being outside Orario, so I'm guessing this is the first time he's seen such power.
And having it directed against him... well, his soiled pants were to be expected.
"S-Stay away! Y-You fucker! We have the Empire backing us!"
The man seems to gain some confidence at his words and my silence.
"Y-Yeah! That's right! N-Now... if you let me go, and heal my arm, I might be able to grant you mercy-"
His remaining arm flies through the air with the flick of my sword.
Was this guy delirious?
"Empire?"
My voice... it was colder than usual.
Was this due to the disconnected state I was in?
"T-That's right! So you better-"
"But I'm confused... how would you tell the Empire about me from the afterlife?"
He freezes at my words, his previous confidence disappearing into thin air.
"Now... why did you attack this village?" I ask, slow and controlled.
"M-M-Money... we needed money."
So as expected, they were planning to sell the women and children as slaves after looting the place.
"I see... I understand... it's a harsh world after all... sometimes stealing is the only way to get by."
I see his eyes light up as he gains some hope at my words.
Too bad I was about to take it away from him.
"R-Right! So-"
"But what I don't understand... was why you needed to kill... why you needed to maim... even the children that were meant to be your products... and you guys looked to be quite happy while doing it... So what about that?"
That seems to give him pause.
"T-That's... because it's... f-fun." He responds.
"Fun?" I ask.
"Y-Yeah, it's just human nature, right? S-So just let me go, yeah? Please?"
Weird.
Was he actually insane?
With such nonsensical words, I would expect to notice him lying, but I couldn't find a hint of falsehood.
Was it the norm for this world?
To hurt so easily.
But that was hard to believe.
Was he telling the truth?
That the good people, like Alise, Ryuu, and my Familia, were different, and people like him were the normal ones, at least if you gave them enough power.
I didn't know.
"Human nature, huh? Well... perhaps that's true." I respond.
"Right!" He says, eyes brimming with hope.
"Right. Then... you understand, right?"
My words seem to confuse him once again, but that confusion doesn't last long, as with a flick, my dagger Starlight embeds itself into his skull, his eyes turning vacant in a moment.
Wiping off the blood on my dagger, I take another look at the surroundings.
The previous expressions of fear turned to hope, and then from hope into despair as reality set in for the villagers.
Reality...
Right... this was a wake-up call and a much-needed one at that.
A realization, or rather a reminder, of the truth of this world after having forgotten for so long.
Despite how beautiful and amazing it could be, this world... was not kind.
----- Ryuu POV -----
"Oh my God." Maryuu says from beside me.
A disgusting, despicable scene.
Something like this... such cruelty... I hadn't seen something like this since the days of Evilus.
Luckily, it seemed that the bandits had already been judged by my husband's blade, but... he was acting weird.
Emotionless... hollow...
It was kind of scary.
We had arrived just in time to see him finish off the final one, and how he talked, how his eyes slowly scanned the scene of destruction listlessly... it was much different than his usual, bright self.
But, in the next moment, as if his previous state was a lie, light returns to those beautiful blue eyes.
"Everyone, I'm sorry I couldn't save your people... but I could avenge them. You're safe now."
His words resound through the area as he nears the closest casualty, taking the crying infant from the dead mother and healing the child that was sobbing beside the corpse.
Resting his hand against the boy's head, he allows him to cry into his chest as he gently washes out the blood from the boy's hair with Aqua Corona.
Thank god, he was back to his usual self.
As Maryuu cast Rea Vindemia, healing all of the villagers in the area, I made my way over to my husband.
"Husband... are you alright?" I ask softly.
"Yes... though I do regret not holding back. An easy death doesn't fit those things."
It seemed he was still not completely back to his usual self.
I suppose it's natural, he had never seen scenes such as these, nor had he killed so many people, unlike the experienced me.
It's my duty as a loving wife and his senior in adventuring to guide him through this time.
"Husband, we can talk about this later, okay? I know you don't have much experience in killing." I say.
"No, I do. I just came back from a month straight of killing." He says.
"Husband... you know what I mean."
"No, I don't. Those guys were monsters in human skin. No, they were worse. Monsters kill because it's their instinct. There's no joy, no excitement... Those guys on the other hand..."
I suppose he had a point.
I too had similar thoughts after witnessing Evilus' actions firsthand.
But these thoughts would likely subside after he calmed down.
Although the mood would be horrible... I did know a way to make him feel better.
But I would have to test the waters later.
Hmm... maybe some time with the kids would help?
"Anyway, we should gather the survivors. This village's main product seemed to be forestry, and with the houses mostly burned down..."
I quickly understood what Sirius was saying.
With an industry focusing on forestry and lumber, the presence of men was needed, but since most, if not all, of the men had been killed, this village was unlikely to make it through the next winter.
That was if they could rebuild their houses, of course.
"Luckily, it seems the bandits left us some extra carriages, so transport will not be a problem." I say.
That seems to bring a small smile back on my husband's face.
"Good. But... do you think there will be any available housing?" He says.
"Around the outskirts should be fine. Us and the Ganesha Familia have finally been able to crack down on the slums in our free time, so it won't be unsafe." I respond.
He then leans in and gives me a kiss on the cheek, causing my face to heat up.
"You're the best. But... I feel horrible, making them move so fast after this." He says with compassion.
"Unfortunately, they can't stay here in the middle of winter. Especially not the children." I say while looking at the boy who had fallen asleep in Sirius' arms.
Even the crying infant had somehow calmed down.
I thought it was just our children, but I guess he's just good with kids in general.
"Haa... Well, let's get this over with."
The mood sombre, we head toward the weeping villagers, hoping that they would quickly approve of our idea to transfer them to Orario.
After all, I knew that survivors were often the most difficult to deal with.
It's been nearly a month since we had left Dragon Valley, and due to taking the scenic route, we wouldn't be back home for another few weeks.
As for why we were taking the scenic route, that was due to wanting to visit as many places as possible, mainly the homelands of some of the Familia members.
One of the first stops after leaving Dragon Valley was Karuna.
Karuna was an interesting place and the only settlement I would consider a 'city' I've seen in this world besides Orario.
It had a weird mix of European architecture with many basement houses, which housed most of the large Dwarf population.
It was also the home of Maryuu, Ryana, and Asta, all three having grown up the the same orphanage before leaving for Orario.
It was interesting to see the three members on the quieter side show such liveliness as we walked through the bustling streets.
Unfortunately for the Elves, we didn't enter any Elven forests as we were unlikely to be welcomed with open arms.
Although I suppose it was not so unfortunate in Ryuu's case.
I did not want to see how my long-eared inlaws would react to... everything.
As Lyra came from the Empire and Kaguya and Haruhime from the Far East, we didn't visit their hometowns as it was a bit too far for our liking, but we did get to visit Noin's village, and we were even able to meet her parents!
As most of the girls had come to Orario before they were even considered adults, it was not a surprise that parents were a rarity, either because of them befalling a tragedy, or them just being dicks, like in Ryuu's case.
And then, the last stop on our homecoming tour was Alise's village.
It was quite emotional if I do say so myself.
While her parents had died from monsters years ago, the villagers welcomed us with open arms, and we even had a little festival to celebrate our arrival.
Later, Alise explained that in the time before she came to Orario, the entire village adopted her as one of their own, making sure the newly orphaned girl was well taken care of.
She was quite happy that the sentiment had not been lost over the years.
But aside from that, we saw vast plains... enormous mountain ranges... shimmering lakes...
I had set my goal for this quest to discover the world and allow the children to do so as well, and suffice it to say... I had succeeded.
In regards to training, I had begun teaching Ais the basics of basics in order for her to use Sword Saint arts, just like Take had done with me.
Though... she still had a ways to go, as my fundamentals were strong even before Take's training.
I knew that Ais' swordsmanship, while amazing, lacked a lot of the basics.
This was likely due to her not having anyone to learn swordsmanship under, so she learned primarily through instincts and experience.
But ever so slowly, she was getting better, and by now her hand-to-hand combat wasn't just a crazed flex of strength, but a controlled and stable art form.
And as for me, I had finally done a status update after quite a while.
-======================================================-
Name: Sirius Lovion
Level: 6
Strength: S914
Endurance: A876
Dexterity: S952
Agility: S926
Magic: SS1008
Magic Sense: D
Abnormal Resistance: E
Magic Swordsman: C
Spirit Pleasure: D
Supreme Blade: D
Skills:
Heroic Will
Strike of Hope
Stellar Sword Style
Magia Imperium
Concursus Pugnae
Magic:
Celestial Ascent
Aqua Corona
Elemental Orb
-======================================================-
I was nearly ready to level up, though I wanted to raise my stats a little bit more before I did so.
Since the power one gained from a level up was static, or nearly static, as you reached higher levels, the stats you had before levelling up got more and more important.
So starting now, I was waiting until I had SS rank in every stat before going to the next level.
Not that it mattered at the moment.
Hmm... I wonder what my next feat could be.
Well, I'll probably find it on the newer dungeon floors, and with my luck, it'll be by accident.
"Sirius." Neze says, breaking me out of my thoughts.
Glancing over at her, I notice her eyes are narrowed in concern while her ears are twitching slightly.
"Did you pick up something?" I ask.
Neze was always in the first carriage in the formation, as not only was she one of the best sensors of the Familia, but her scouting skills were natural, unlike Kaguya's which relies on magic.
"Blood. And from what I can tell, lots of it." She responds.
Shit.
There was a small village up ahead, from what I remember of the map.
I don't think a small village out here would have any competent combatants to defend against a threat.
"Monsters?" I ask.
"I'm... not sure. The scent of blood is overwhelming, so I can't tell."
Well, not like it matters anyway.
But if it was so bad that she couldn't distinguish anything from the blood...
"Get Maryuu and Ryuu to follow."
Hopefully, the blood was mostly from the injured rather than the dead, but I wouldn't keep my hopes up.
I then hop off my horse before shooting forward, with stellar magic coursing through my body, the surroundings fade into a blur as my speed increases.
A few seconds later, I see it.
A plume of smoke rises over a collection of houses, and the various figures running around.
By now, I could smell it too.
The smell of blood.
The smell of death.
I had normalized myself to the scent of the various monsters I had killed, as well as the Ikelos scumbags that one time.
But for some reason... right now the scent was sickening.
Was it because it was from the innocent?
Who knows.
Chanting Aqua Corona, I feel the wind part against my body as I go even faster.
And in the next few moments, I find myself in front of a scene of absolute decimation.
The cries of pain and sorrow enter my ears.
The scent of blood enters my nose.
The atmosphere is tense, the type of tenseness that causes one's ears to ring and jaw to clench.
Looking around, I see the corpses of villagers strewn across the village square and the surrounding houses.
Some were missing their heads.
Some with their eyes gouged.
Others only have a torso, with their arms and legs lying at their sides.
Judging from the pained expressions, they did not die painless deaths.
It was mostly men, but I could see a few women and children too.
With most of the men being killed, the others were likely being saved for slavery and for the women, other more nefarious purposes too.
The fact the survivors were all gathered around the centre fountain only cemented my hypothesis.
A gruesome, disgusting sight one would expect from a nightmare.
And the cause of all this...
"Gahaha! Scream more, bitch! Come on, come on!"
Bandits.
And quite a few of them too.
One was about to finish off a young woman who was holding her child in fear, another was picking out the teeth of a deceased man, and another was ushering a group of tied-up children, no older than seven, into a cage.
The scenes get more vivid, the screams get louder, the scents get more sickening...
It's too much.
The sadness, the pain... I want it all to-
"Stop."
As if a divine command, all movement comes to a stop and the surroundings turn eerily quiet, save for the faint crackling of flames.
If it wasn't for the massacre in front of me, I could even say it was peaceful.
For some reason, I couldn't really think clearly right now.
Was it shock?
Was it anger?
Sadness?
I don't know, but everything felt... muted.
As if I was watching through the perspective of someone else, like a movie.
But this was reality.
I had forgotten.
Being with such a happy Familia, a strong Familia, I had forgotten how dangerous and cruel this world really was.
I was lucky to not have faced any tragedy when this world was overflowing with it.
Slowly, with the surrounding people still in a silent trance, I unsheathe Infinite Eclipse.
I knew, that in this world, things were not always as they appeared.
Hypnosis, mind control, extortion... humans could be made to do the most heinous acts for valid reasons through no fault of their own.
But these guys... to look so gleeful in the act... to butcher innocent children...
There was no mind control.
They were just unforgivable.
Raising my sword overhead, the black blade glints under the sunlight as I offer my final piece of advice to these savages.
"Repent in hell, scum."
I swing down.
The winds buffer and the air hisses as my blade reaches the end of its swing, releasing a myriad of slashes.
It was a storm, a hurricane of cuts sharp enough to cut boulders, but a controlled storm, as the blades only flew toward the perpetrators of the massacre.
There were no screams as the bandits' bodies simply exploded into a mess of flesh and blood, the surroundings remained motionless as they were painted red.
The raiders had lasted less than a few seconds after my entrance, but that did nothing to the decimation that had already occurred.
If only I could have arrived earlier...
"W-W-Wha!?"
Oh? It seems that one of them was still alive.
Looking over at the now one-armed man who was staring at me with a mix of fear and shock, I realized why he wasn't killed like the rest of his group.
This bastard was a level 3.
As I take a step towards him, his trembling increases as he falls onto his rear.
Level 3 was quite strong for being outside Orario, so I'm guessing this is the first time he's seen such power.
And having it directed against him... well, his soiled pants were to be expected.
"S-Stay away! Y-You fucker! We have the Empire backing us!"
The man seems to gain some confidence at his words and my silence.
"Y-Yeah! That's right! N-Now... if you let me go, and heal my arm, I might be able to grant you mercy-"
His remaining arm flies through the air with the flick of my sword.
Was this guy delirious?
"Empire?"
My voice... it was colder than usual.
Was this due to the disconnected state I was in?
"T-That's right! So you better-"
"But I'm confused... how would you tell the Empire about me from the afterlife?"
He freezes at my words, his previous confidence disappearing into thin air.
"Now... why did you attack this village?" I ask, slow and controlled.
"M-M-Money... we needed money."
So as expected, they were planning to sell the women and children as slaves after looting the place.
"I see... I understand... it's a harsh world after all... sometimes stealing is the only way to get by."
I see his eyes light up as he gains some hope at my words.
Too bad I was about to take it away from him.
"R-Right! So-"
"But what I don't understand... was why you needed to kill... why you needed to maim... even the children that were meant to be your products... and you guys looked to be quite happy while doing it... So what about that?"
That seems to give him pause.
"T-That's... because it's... f-fun." He responds.
"Fun?" I ask.
"Y-Yeah, it's just human nature, right? S-So just let me go, yeah? Please?"
Weird.
Was he actually insane?
With such nonsensical words, I would expect to notice him lying, but I couldn't find a hint of falsehood.
Was it the norm for this world?
To hurt so easily.
But that was hard to believe.
Was he telling the truth?
That the good people, like Alise, Ryuu, and my Familia, were different, and people like him were the normal ones, at least if you gave them enough power.
I didn't know.
"Human nature, huh? Well... perhaps that's true." I respond.
"Right!" He says, eyes brimming with hope.
"Right. Then... you understand, right?"
My words seem to confuse him once again, but that confusion doesn't last long, as with a flick, my dagger Starlight embeds itself into his skull, his eyes turning vacant in a moment.
Wiping off the blood on my dagger, I take another look at the surroundings.
The previous expressions of fear turned to hope, and then from hope into despair as reality set in for the villagers.
Reality...
Right... this was a wake-up call and a much-needed one at that.
A realization, or rather a reminder, of the truth of this world after having forgotten for so long.
Despite how beautiful and amazing it could be, this world... was not kind.
----- Ryuu POV -----
"Oh my God." Maryuu says from beside me.
A disgusting, despicable scene.
Something like this... such cruelty... I hadn't seen something like this since the days of Evilus.
Luckily, it seemed that the bandits had already been judged by my husband's blade, but... he was acting weird.
Emotionless... hollow...
It was kind of scary.
We had arrived just in time to see him finish off the final one, and how he talked, how his eyes slowly scanned the scene of destruction listlessly... it was much different than his usual, bright self.
But, in the next moment, as if his previous state was a lie, light returns to those beautiful blue eyes.
"Everyone, I'm sorry I couldn't save your people... but I could avenge them. You're safe now."
His words resound through the area as he nears the closest casualty, taking the crying infant from the dead mother and healing the child that was sobbing beside the corpse.
Resting his hand against the boy's head, he allows him to cry into his chest as he gently washes out the blood from the boy's hair with Aqua Corona.
Thank god, he was back to his usual self.
As Maryuu cast Rea Vindemia, healing all of the villagers in the area, I made my way over to my husband.
"Husband... are you alright?" I ask softly.
"Yes... though I do regret not holding back. An easy death doesn't fit those things."
It seemed he was still not completely back to his usual self.
I suppose it's natural, he had never seen scenes such as these, nor had he killed so many people, unlike the experienced me.
It's my duty as a loving wife and his senior in adventuring to guide him through this time.
"Husband, we can talk about this later, okay? I know you don't have much experience in killing." I say.
"No, I do. I just came back from a month straight of killing." He says.
"Husband... you know what I mean."
"No, I don't. Those guys were monsters in human skin. No, they were worse. Monsters kill because it's their instinct. There's no joy, no excitement... Those guys on the other hand..."
I suppose he had a point.
I too had similar thoughts after witnessing Evilus' actions firsthand.
But these thoughts would likely subside after he calmed down.
Although the mood would be horrible... I did know a way to make him feel better.
But I would have to test the waters later.
Hmm... maybe some time with the kids would help?
"Anyway, we should gather the survivors. This village's main product seemed to be forestry, and with the houses mostly burned down..."
I quickly understood what Sirius was saying.
With an industry focusing on forestry and lumber, the presence of men was needed, but since most, if not all, of the men had been killed, this village was unlikely to make it through the next winter.
That was if they could rebuild their houses, of course.
"Luckily, it seems the bandits left us some extra carriages, so transport will not be a problem." I say.
That seems to bring a small smile back on my husband's face.
"Good. But... do you think there will be any available housing?" He says.
"Around the outskirts should be fine. Us and the Ganesha Familia have finally been able to crack down on the slums in our free time, so it won't be unsafe." I respond.
He then leans in and gives me a kiss on the cheek, causing my face to heat up.
"You're the best. But... I feel horrible, making them move so fast after this." He says with compassion.
"Unfortunately, they can't stay here in the middle of winter. Especially not the children." I say while looking at the boy who had fallen asleep in Sirius' arms.
Even the crying infant had somehow calmed down.
I thought it was just our children, but I guess he's just good with kids in general.
"Haa... Well, let's get this over with."
The mood sombre, we head toward the weeping villagers, hoping that they would quickly approve of our idea to transfer them to Orario.
After all, I knew that survivors were often the most difficult to deal with.
