With more time to pay attention to the peculiar healing spell, Catherine noticed that just as her wounds healed and her mana pool refilled, the leaves began to dry out and crumble into dust.
She had heard about herbs aiding the power of the spells, but seeing them used like that was a first for her.
"Enhanced heal."
Since their wounds were more complicated than some cuts and bruises, Ross used the spell again, emptying his herb pouch but achieving the goal of healing himself and Catherine completely, with the bonus of their mana pool being capped out.
"Sooo… what are you doing here, Cath? I thought you went back to Chainlink for the winter break…"
Melinda moved back to pick up the bloody antler after all and asked awkwardly, trying to act calm as she approached the spasming monster's head.
"I… I was… I r-returned early b-because I w-wanted to complete some q-quests w-without my mom and dad k-knowing…"
Catherine fidgeted and said timidly, leaning back and partially hiding behind Ross.
"Cool, cool… although I must say that…"
"UBGHUGH!"
The gold-haired girl nodded her head while looking away, trying to think up some excuses for herself, and then unceremoniously stabbed the antler into the exposed brain of the deer-like monster, instantly stirring it up and turning the gray matter into a watery mush that spilled out as the monster let out its last squeal-like growl.
"...you never struck me as a reckless type that would go hunt Battle-Scar Blood Boarkin Orcs on your own…"
"N-no…! I… I was h-hunting Dwarf L-lurking Foxes…!"
Melinda pushed the antler even deeper into the monster's skull and muttered more to herself than to anyone else, but Catherine heard it and let out a flustered yelp as she moved around, taking off the bag that by some miracle survived the whole ordeal, opened it and showed off the carcasses of the three yellow fox monsters - that by some miracle or other divine intervention stayed intact through everything that the girl went through.
"Let's be clear then… you were hunting foxes and then got ambushed by Boarkin Orcs, and then… Ross came to your aid?
"K-kind of… Y-yes…! Th-thank you very much, M-mister Ross…!"
Melinda breathed out, straightening her back, and clarified, to which Catherine nodded her head with an awkward expression before turning to the hooded individual and bowing her head to him while blushing.
"Ross! You went out of your way to help a human?! Good job! I'm so proud of you!"
"...eh…?"
But then Melinda called out with excitement and skipped over to the seated pair, crouching by the hooded individual and patting his arm with a proud expression… making Catherine let out a confused voice.
"Wh-what is going o-on…?"
The black-haired girl cowered and looked between the happy Melinda and the silent Ross with worried eyes.
"Progress, that's what! Ross was always smart and rather docile, but now I have final proof that will convince Adi that bringing him into the city is okay!"
"...wh-what…?"
Melinda cheered triumphantly, but her explanation confused and troubled Catherine even more.
"Hmm? Oh, right, the cloak with distorted perception enchantment… Ross, could you…?"
"Of course."
The gold-haired girl tilted her head, confused at her friend's reaction, but then she let out a gasp of realization and motioned at the hooded individual to reveal his face - and so he did.
"!!!"
Catherine's eyes widened as he pulled off his hood, and she stared at him, completely speechless.
The hooded individual… Ross…
It was unmistakable… he was…
"Ta-da! Ross is a Pigkin Orc I picked up! I helped him train so he could join up with Zane since, you know… Apparently, the champion of the goddess Perseverance is supposed to be so filled with so much godly charisma that he can even turn monsters to the good side!"
Melinda presented Ross, the Pigkin Orc, acting like a proud parent.
Ross said nothing, without his hood on his beastly features could not unnoticed.
The slightly humanized pig head… The light-blond, almost whitish hair that was more like bristles or even straight-up fur… the pig-like snout… the barely noticeable tiny tusks that pushed out his lower lip just a little bit. The long ears drooping and fold down from the sides of his head.
Even his blue eyes were beady and beastly despite the clear intelligence behind them.
"Oh, those are cardinal Hi-via's words, not mine, by the way. I'm only acting accordingly."
The gold-haired girl added, nudging her stunned friend in the side with a cheeky smirk.
"My lady… Something is wrong…"
"...!"
It seemed that Catherine didn't fully believe her sight because when Ross spoke to Melinda, she flinched at hearing his voice as she saw the matching movement of his lips.
Now it was clear that the way Ross talked wasn't just an unusual foreign accent - he sounded like that because he was using a human language despite being a monster and one from a species that wasn't considered properly developed or even intelligent enough to form early society.
"Yeah, I know. Warchief having a pet Flame Skull champion… Outrageous, never happened in the game and all! Since when were Boarkin orcs supposed to overcome their fear of elemental magic?"
Melinda wasn't all that bothered about Catheirne's reaction to Ross—if anything, she was happy that her friend wasn't asking her any questions regarding her strength, as she was supposedly keeping her Gargantuan a secret still—so she casually responded to the Pigkin Orc with a sigh.
"No… my lady… It wasn't a Flame Skull… I am certain… that thing was Deep-Dusk Hearth Head you told me about."
Ross shook his head, looking first at the half-buried jaws of the monster and then at the upper part of its skull underneath a broken tree.
"Hearth Head? No way. The only Hearth Head we know of is sealed off back in Silveria's northern region, and if there were more ruins with seals like that, Adi would have found out about them. Besides, if that thing was it, then it would have the Hearth Core…"
Melinda furrowed her brows and shook her head at the suggestion, pointing out before taking a look at the upper part of the monstrous skull…
*thump*
"...inside…"
..and losing all confidence, muttering the last word in disbelief as her eyes focused on the crimson marble the size of a honey melon that had rolled out of the bisected skull.