When I was about to return to the shrine, I saw Derek climbing up the stairs from the town hall’s basement while being surrounded by Lithuvar folks.
They’re following Derek around, worriedly.

“Your wounds haven’t fully healed yet, are you sure you want to leave?”

Hibi asked him a question, and Derek paused for a while before nodding.

“I can’t stay here for long. I have to let the others know I’m alive. If more time passes, then……”

Then… what? I wondered what he was gonna say but he stopped there.
Maybe it’s a problem for the future.
Like, if he doesn’t return after a long time, they’ll treat him as M.I.A. or worst, dead, and no search party will look for him.

“But, will you really be alright on your own?”

The Lithuvar man who supported Derek from before asked.
He was wielding a spear ready on hand.
As if like he was offering to be his escort or something.

“…… I’ll be fine. Besides, if I meet up with them and you’re with me, there’ll be confusion.”

“Do you plan on traversing the forest unarmed like that?”

The man offers his spear to Derek while asking him that.
Derek was puzzled at first, but then calmly took the spear.

“It’s my trusty spear. The Abyss often attack from behind, so watch your back. Grafants are slow and you only need to scare them away with Mors. But, I guess the one thing you really need to watch out for is the Abyss. Especially at this time of year.”

“…………”

Derek looked at the spear on his hands, and though he didn’t say thanks, he bowed slightly.
As he was about to leave, he looked back at all the villagers who were watching over him.
He looked at the man who gave him the spear, and then he looked at Hibi.

When Derek and Hibi’s eyes met, his face turned red and he looked away.
Hibi tilted her head, wondering what that was all about.

D-Don’t tell me… he fell in love to someone in a dangerous place like this?
Although I admit that Hibi is indeed a beauty.
And, there was that one time where he and Hibi had a heart-toheart back in the underground basement, so this isn’t an impossible outcome to happen.
He was so hostile at first, to think he’d have a soft spot like this.

“…… I, want to express my gratitude, at a later date. After everything has settled…… can I come visit again?”

When Hibi heard Derek’s question, she stayed silent for a while before shaking her head.

“…… Outsiders shouldn’t bother coming to our village often. Had you not been wounded when we found you, we would’ve threatened you to turn back. Back then, when you said “You’re going to feed me to your evil god!”…… if I’m being honest, that’s a lie, and we would never do that, but this is how it is. It’s best if you just forget everything that happened today.”

Hearing Hibi say that, the rest of the Lithuvar Tribe drooped in sadness.

…… Are they saying that to protect outsiders from the Manticore?
But, that would mean sacrificing their relatives and fellow villagers instead.
Have they been doing this for years?

I suddenly remember the other village who tricked me with their kindness and didn’t hesitate to poison me just to add me in their stack of other sacrifices.
The two villages are really polar opposites of each other, huh.

So, since they’ll threaten anyone else away from the village and only help out the injured by treating their wounds in the village……
Then it’s no wonder the Manticore easily fooled them by disguising itself as an injured traveler.

“………… I, see.”

Derek stays quiet for a few seconds before bowing greatly to the whole tribe.

“From the bottom of my heart, I thank you, for saving my life. But, even if you tell me to forget everything about today, I could never bring myself to.”

After that wholehearted gratitude, Derek walks a few more steps to the forest before looking back at us again.

“Later today, this place will be………… no, nevermind.”

His expression looked like he had mixed feelings about something.
He was having doubts whether to say it or not, and in the end, he just walked out without saying anything.
However, before he went out of sight, he turned around and muttered “It’s gonna be okay, nothing big is gonna happen” in a soft tone.

What, is something gonna happen soon?
Maybe he just saw a strange monster pass by or something.

I decided to follow him until he safely gets out of the forest…… but, when I went after him, his face turned pale and he immediately ran at full speed.
…… Well, I’m glad he’s already feeling better to be able to run like that.

“Gra~a”

Partner just used〖High Rest〗on Derek as he runs.
With his physical strength regained, he was able to run faster.

Guess Partner also softened up too.

Still, with his status, I don’t think can match against the Abyss if he was attacked out of nowhere, will he really be alright?
As long as it’s nothing big, I should keep a low profile while I follow him.
If I get spotted at the wrong time, I could end up in a battle against Derek’s comrades and I don’t want that.
Assuming Partner stays put enough and not get wild.

On the way, we passed by the shrine and I shifted to using〖Presence Sense〗to watch over Derek at a distance.
I was planning to rush over to him if ever something jumps at him, but nothing so far.

I then felt a sword being dropped on the ground.
Derek should’ve also noticed it, but he didn’t pick it up.
I don’t know if it’s because he thinks spears are better suited to fend off against monsters, or if he just wanted to use the spear he received from the Lithuvar man, or perhaps he just feigned ignorance about the sword entirely.

When I first saw Derek, he kept screaming “Barbarians! Barbarians!”, but now he realized he was wrong.
He knows this deeply now.

When Derek arrived at a shallow part of the forest, I determined that he was safe and I went back to the shrine.
…… Though, I was kinda off-route on the way back since nothing much happened during the escort.
Something tells me I’m about to do more than one detour just to get home.
Oh well, not that I mind.