After the two came to an agreement, Finn's senses detected something.
"Anatalia, are there any other people aside from these?" Finn asked.
"No."
"What are you doing here with these people?" He probed this topic using this opportunity.
"We came here to explore this area in search of clues that'll lead to treasure." Anatalia replied honestly.
'Treasure… ah, are they looking for the sealed land? Or is there something else here…' Finn thought. "So, did you guys end up finding a clue?"
Antalia frowned as memories of the past months resurfaced. "Even after wasting months searching here, after all those unnecessary sacrifices, nothing important was found."
How she said her statement made Finn come to a final conclusion that they were indeed forced to do this. But he still sought confirmation, "Was there someone that sent you here? Is there a reason you risked your life like this?"
"The reason…" Before she could answer, Anatalia's face suddenly contorted to one of discomfort… and pain. "I don't want to talk about that."
Finn didn't pressure her and respected her space. He knew that not everyone liked to talk about their path.
Finn pondered something for a bit, then said, "Alright. I'll finish what I have to do here, we'll leave after. You should rest a bit."
Anatalia pursed her mouth seeing Finn was about to leave. "What do you want to do?"
Upon her question, Finn smiled, "Oh, don't mind me. I just want to take a look at those bodies."
Seeing she didn't say anymore, Finn found his way to the corpses. He probably couldn't sell their body parts, but they would have other loot on them. Even their weapons were looking kind of nice!
Finn turned his tentacles to hands and shamelessly went through their body. If these people gave him a good impression before they died, he would have respected them, but alas.
After going through all of their bodies, Finn recognized his gains.
He got some pearls and an orb from the magic users, the two heavy armors that looked valuable, potions that were on them, the weapons they all used, a paper holding information about the mana beasts that they encountered, and multiple coins that Finn didn't know the value of.
All of this went into his inventory.
Finn also turned the echoes of the others to energy.
He went back to Anatalia, looking at her injuries that were recovering faster than usual, but not at a speed Finn liked.
Using his tentacles to hold the potion out, Finn asked, "Do you know if any of this would be of help to you?"
Anatalia nodded, "Yes, these ones help replenish mana, while those ones should help with healing. I don't think these potions are high quality, the supervisors used those long ago."
"Ah, I see." Finn handed her most of the healing potions and said, "Use them as you see fit, we'll need you in top shape for this journey."
"Alright," Anatalia didn't hesitate to accept them. It was best she wasn't a drag on this journey so things would go well.
Finn also drank the mana replenishing potions, then actively absorbed mana to his core.
Moments passed and the healing potions effects were evident as Anatalia could now walk.
She told Finn they could leave at any moment, so without wasting any time, he turned to the adult form of a Fenrir.
"Sit on me and hold tight, I'll be right," Finn said.
Anatalia did as he said and climbed on. With her pointing towards directions, Finn started moving.
- - - - -
Seeing that the beast and the girl had left their surroundings, a figure walked out of the shadows of the trees, towards the grassy field.
It was a female with black hair tied into a ponytail and gold eyes that stood out. She wore a long black mage robe with gold linings.
She first emotionlessly looked towards the region where the beast had gone through, then scrutinized the grassy field.
Raising one of her palms up, magic circles appeared on top of the corpses that were here. The magic circles activated and the corpses burnt to nothing but ash that the wind sent blowing.
The emotionless lady confirmed that there was no evidence of something occurring here, and left this region at her own pace.
- - - - -
Finn and Anatalia had traveled for hours, only stopping when the sun was out.
They stayed in a cave they found empty and decided to stay there for a while.
When Anatalia looked hungry, Finn brought out monster parts from his inventory and asked, "Are you interested?"
Having eaten beast meat before, Anatalia replied, "I am."
Finn didn't have an affinity for fire, but with concentration, he conjured a small fire to roast it. He brought out special spices-luminescent grass-and sprinkled it on the meat as it roasted, letting the grass burn and mix with the meat.
Anatalia was confused, making Finn say, "Ah, these are grasses I got in the forest, it actually makes the meat taste better try it."
Accepting one of the legs Finn roasted, Anatalia dug in like a crazed bit. Only after devouring it did she give a comment, "It is nice. Thank you."
"It also replenishes mana, you can have more, I'm not hungry."
As Finn said, Anatalia hurriedly ate more, using her sharp canines to cut the slightly hard meat. This went on for a while.
After she ate Finished, they were both quiet. Anatalia wasn't comfortable with sleeping, and Finn could stay longer without sleep.
The silence only brewed more, until Finn tried bringing something up, "So, where are we headed? Your home or something?"
Anatalia's face paled upon hearing his question, "I can't say I have a home…"
Finn instantly realized he had asked a question relating to her past, and he knew best that not everyone liked to speak of the past. He instantly steered the conversation, "Where are we going then?"
"The town that is at the border of this region and the Empire, it is the best place that comes to mind at the moment." Antalia responded.
"I see, is there anything you want to do in this Empire now that you're free?" Finn asked.
Anatalia smiled slightly. "I want to explore… and find somewhere I like." Without saying anything further, she said, "What about you Finn?"
In his Fenrir state, Finn nodded as he said, "I don't know precisely. I want to explore too, find out more about somethings, I generally want to enjoy life out there."
Anatalia considered what he said for a bit, then replied, "I would have thought a ghost would be after possessing people and causing havoc."
Finn's eyes widened. "Ehh… You thought wrong. I am a good Ghost!"
Seeing Finn's reaction, Anatalia chuckled.
Finn was silent looking at her chuckle. It was nice… putting a smile on the face of someone who has gone through pain.
"W-why are you looking at me?" Anatalia said as Finn stared at her in silence.
Only then did Finn think about how must have looked. "Ah… eh, I'm unfamiliar with a person that has cat ears so I just thought about how nice you looked…"
'Compliments were alway a nice save!' Finn added inwardly.
"Nice eh…" Anatalia muttered under her breath before she asked, "In the world you came from, were there no beastfolks, or even Demi-humans at all?"
"My world was filled with humans and nothing else… well there were animals too, but you should get what I mean." Finn replied.
After imagining such a world, Antalia said, "No monsters?"
"There weren't even magical abilities."
"Ah, your world must have been boring."
Finn's eyes tweaked as he heard her say that. "Definitely not. Let me tell you, my world had…"
He listed things that he found exciting in his previous world, leaving Anatalia to listen quietly. She only blurted in when Finn mentioned something she was familiar with.
As they discussed further, they also talked about Finn's experiences in his past life.
Truth be told, Finn felt like he would like this world if things went well.
With this discussion ending, Finn questioned, "What exactly are otherworlders?"