Killian landed in the forest where no one could see him, and his attire transformed into his usual attire. With a fake panic expression, he rushed towards the locations of the others.
"Everyone?" Killian screamed as he jumped in, taking the attention of everyone.
The first people he got the attention of were the adventurers, whose eyes widened in joy upon seeing him fine.
"Killian!" screamed the adventurers as they rushed towards him, jumping on him as they gave him hugs.
"You stupid self-sacrificing bastard, I am glad you are still alive!" said the other adventurers.
"You idiot, I saw you being dragged by a killer mole! How did you survive?" asked the other adventurer.
Killian chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "I don't know; all I remember is that while I was being dragged by that scary monster in the woods, I saw a glimpse of a flying silhouette passing through me at great speed. The next thing I knew, the Killer Mole was dead."
"That silhouette was Zero, you lucky son of the woods!" answered one other adventurer.
Killian acted surprised by what he heard. "Zero? Do you mean, that Zero?"
"Yes, that Zero," the captain of the adventurer answered as he approached Killian.
"He is actually here, huh?" Killian said, acting dumb about the situation.
"He was here, but he flew towards the capital after killing our enemies and after beating us all into pulp," said one of the adventurers. "You are lucky you were not here; if you were, you would piss your pants in fear! That guy is a real deal terrifying!"
"I bet that would actually happen; just now I almost peed myself," Killian said, chuckling.
"Killian." All the attention was taken when Vahili's voice sounded as she approached Killian; behind her was Hyuna.
Killian bowed his head on Vahili and Hyuna. "Princess Vahili, Princess Hyuna, I am glad to see that both of you are fine."
"And you too are fine. I thought that was the last time we were going to talk," Vahili said with a sweet smile on her lips, showing relief.
"I got lucky," Killian simply replied.
Vahili rushed towards Killian and hugged him; Hyuna joined by hugging them both.
"Your highness, everyone is looking at us," Killian said, but showed no resistance.
On the other hand, the adventurers and knights surrounding them just looked away, whistling while acting like they didn't see anything.
After that, the entire army took a brief rest. The battle was over, and Killian joined his comrades and healed their wounds. To everyone's surprise, despite how hard the battle was, there was not a single casualty.
They were injured, and many of them were almost dragged to their very limit, but not even one died. As if an invisible, powerful force were protecting them, it was such a mystery in the minds of every warrior. But not even a single one of them tried to voice it out and remained believing that it was a miracle and they were just lucky.
When the warriors were healed enough to continue traveling, the forces once again split into two groups, one heading deeper into the forest toward the town of Brookhaven and the other going back to the capital.
"Are you sure you don't want to continue to our town, your highness? You could take a rest there," the captain of the adventurers said.
"As much as we want to, our goal is already achieved... to some extent. Besides, we need to head immediately to report what happened here," Vahili replied.
"Are you worried about Lady Mikaela?" The captain of the adventurers asked with concern in his eyes.
Vahili and Hyuna stared at each other, and Hyuna answered. "No. It is true that Zero is a very ruthless person, but I don't think he would do something as repulsive as hurting his friend. After all, both of them fought together as the closest companions of the hero fifty years ago."
The captain of the adventurers nodded. "I see. If you say it that way, it makes really a lot of sense."
Hyuna darted her eyes to Killian, who was just silently listening. "Killian, we are leaving now. In case you have changed your mind and decided to live in the capital, don't be shy to give us a visit. We will gladly help you."
"You still have time; you can go with us now. We can help you find opportunities in the city," Vahili said, trying to convince Killian.
Killian, without hesitation, smiled. "I'll take that into consideration. But if I ever go there, I don't think I would be running to the two of you to ask for help. I am just weak, but I still have pride. I still want to achieve things on my own."
"I think that's the closest we can get to a yes," Hyuna said with a teasing smile.
Vahili nodded. "Very well. Then, if you go to the capital, be sure to hide from us very well because if I see you there, escape is no longer an option for you."
"I don't know if I am going to take that as a good thing or a threat," Killian said with joke concern in his voice.
The crowd of the knights and adventurers laughed, with the captain of the adventurers tapping Killian's shoulders while holding his stomach.
"Then, this is a farewell," Hyuna and Vahili said as they walked towards their carriage.
The adventurers who were left behind knelt and watched as the knights and the carriages traveled back towards the capital. Slowly, their image disappeared from their sight.
The captain of the adventurers stood and raised his hand. "Adventurers of the town of Brookhaven, we have completed our mission." He walked in the direction of the town. "Let's go home."
The unanimous scream of adventurers sounded as they marched, following their captain. On the other hand, Killian remained standing, watching the others. Then he faced the direction of the kingdom of Satirica.
Killian's eyes narrowed. "It seems the time of lazing around is finally over for me." He slowly exhaled. "It's time to work."