Outskirts of Caharsa City,
The border of the Chythyllu Forest was Asvi Winefield's playground. As long as there were no A-Rank Beasts around, he could freely roam the area without a shred of worry.
And thanks to his party which consisted of Gold-Rank Adventurers like him, they could easily kill B-Rank Beasts if they were in the mood for it.
However, today was just a casual day of adventuring, that's why Asvi Winefield just got D and C-Rank Quests. They had hunted enough B-Rank Beasts this past week so it wasn't necessary to do more quests.
The only reason why they took on a couple of low-rank quests was to reduce the number of quests on the quest board. At the very least, they wanted to lighten the load for the other adventurers present.
Nevertheless, that didn't stop Asvi from venturing too far into the forest and hunting down Tusk Boars. These are B-Rank Beasts that freely roamed around the forest.
"Come on, Asvi, we're done for the day," Fioana Lancaster, the scout of the group, tried to convince Asvi to tone down his rampage.
But Asvi wasn't listening, he just kept on hammering down the Tusk Boars as if they were ground meat on a chopping board. And yes, he wielded a large hammer and a shield.
"Not yet, I'm craving Tusk Boar meat today..." He grunted. Even though he rarely eats the thing, he still hunted them down as if there was no tomorrow.
After bringing down a herd of Tusk Boars (he killed about twenty of them), he piled them up and had their porter store them in his limited storage space. Fortunately, he was able to fit all twenty of them but that took a toll on his Zecian Aura.
Krggrghk~!
From a distance, the party heard a low growl. Even though it was faint, they immediately recognized where the sound came from.
"You took from nature, and nature will take from you." Lucius Harvesta, the black-haired mage of the group, muttered under his breath as he pulled up the collar of his robe.
"Everyone! Assume formation five!" Asvi instantly ordered as if it were second nature.
"I'm going to charge... Lucius, back me up! Fioana, protect Sickle." Asvi continued, telling Fioana to stick close to the porter while they deal with the beast.
All three of them nodded their heads as they assumed formation five.
Right on time, a huge boar appeared from behind the leaves. It angrily spat the leaves it was eating.
"A Tusk Boar Commander," Asvi commented.
A commander was different from a Tusk Boar. First, it stood on its hind legs, and it wielded an oversized mace. It was also equipped with a full set of armor and a helmet that sit nicely on its head.
It had decent intelligence as well so it could direct a small group of Tusk Boars without difficulty. Just from its description alone, one could tell that it was an A-Rank Beast.
"Good... I was just about warmed up." Asvi licked his lips. This was the first time he would engage a Tusk Boar Commander, and it thrilled him a little bit.
— — —
With a confused expression, Theresa blinked twice at Albrecht who stared back at her. Her face turned a darker shade of red as she pressed her palms on her face.
Albrecht could've sworn that smoke was coming out of Theresa's head. Then again, he was relieved that Theresa didn't slap him across the face.
'This reaction's not bad, I guess.' Albrecht told himself.
Just then, Claude approached Albrecht and grabbed him by the neck. "W-what did you just do?!" He growled as his eyes turned bloodshot.
(This was a normal reaction for vampires when they're overcome with great emotions.)
Albrecht's neck instinctively tightened as Claude's grip tightened around his neck.
Before he could snap off Albrecht's neck, however, Anastasia stepped forward and pulled her brother. "What are you doing, big brother?!" Anastasia exclaimed.
"Yeah... what's wrong with you? The chieftess is healed, you should be thanking me to no end instead of attempting to murder me."
"Is our mom healed? Look again, does she look okay to you?" Claude pointed at his mom, his voice still ringing with an angry tone.
'To be fair, she's awake.' Albrecht pouted as he spoke inwardly.
Then again, the chieftess didn't look okay at all. Her face was so red that it reached her ears and neck. It's as if she was being suffocated or something like that.
At face value, she didn't look okay at all.
But Albrecht knew otherwise. She was perfectly healthy, aside from the fact that she felt awkward about the kiss.
"Take responsibility, Albrecht-san!" Anastasia pouted, but she firmly held back her brother.
"Eh?" Albrecht's brows twitched as he thought of a way to resolve the situation.
—
"N-no—"
For the first time ever since Theresa woke up, she finally spoke.
Hesitantly, she removed her hands from covering her face, and she turned away when her eyes met Albrecht's.
She softly gasped before addressing him.
"I-I'm perfectly fine, you don't have to worry about me." She gently spoke, almost like a whisper.
A gasp left Albrecht's mouth as his heart pounded loudly. Not only did Theresa have the gentlest of voices, but she also had the purest of reactions.
"Really?" Anastasia blinked as her gaze shifted from Albrecht to her mom.
This was the first time they heard her speak in such a long time, and it plucked at their heartstrings.
Pretty soon, the entire room became a crying session and Albrecht stood in the middle of it.
Anastasia cried. Claude cried. Even Walterford, whom Albrecht didn't imagine to cry, started bawling his eyes out.
The maids cried as well, but they did so quietly, whimpering while they turned away from the chieftess.
Theresa couldn't help but smile.
After briefly bowing towards Albrecht, she extended her hands as a gesture for her children to hug her.
She couldn't help but tear up. It had been so long since she last hugged her children. She had been in a coma for half a year now, after all.
"This is nice," Albrecht turned away to wipe a stray tear. He was not one to get overly emotional but somehow, a tear fell from his left eye.
—
BAM!
However, the reunion fell short as the door to the house flew open. And in came a six-foot man, wielding a huge club.
"Oi, we've come to take over! We heard the chieftess was dead!" The man announced as he swung his club, destroying the chieftess's house in an instant.