Chapter 122: Operation Complete!

By the time Damian and the Four Valkyries reached the designated gathering point near the center of southern Moonveil Forest, most of the operation had already returned.

Twenty Adventurer teams occupied the temporary clearing in total, evenly divided between ten Silver-ranked groups and ten Gold-ranked groups.

Adventurer’s Guild support personnel moved between them recording casualties, verifying monster materials and collecting final reports, while several large wagons sat beneath the trees waiting to transport anything too inconvenient for personal storage.

Compared to the massive force that had left Rosewood Town, the gathering seemed strangely small, but that was intentional.

The wider purge involved dozens of independent groups, guild personnel, Mages, Clerics, scouts and auxiliary forces scattered across southern Moonveil, but these twenty teams had formed the primary Adventurer strike groups assigned to the most dangerous sectors.

And naturally...

The Four Valkyries were the last team to arrive.

Damian glanced toward the women beside him.

Technically, their delay had nothing to do with incompetence.

They had simply spent part of the morning confessing hidden royal identities, accepting or rejecting romantic advances, revealing Demonic bloodlines, discovering that one of them descended directly from a Pillar God and generally experiencing enough emotional development to fuel several Chapters of somebody else’s life.

Yet despite all that nonsense, they had still cleared their assigned zone.

Damian stepped into the clearing with them, immediately drawing several looks.

Then one irritating voice arrived from the side.

"Well, well. The famous Copper Adventurer finally returns with his personal collection of hangers-on."

Damian did not even need to look to see that the naysayer was Silas Vane.

The lean Rogue stood beside the Ash Jackals with his arms loosely folded, that permanently amused expression sitting upon his scarred face as though being unpleasant remained his favorite recreational activity.

His gaze traveled openly across Eunice, Paulina, Julia and Janet.

"Quite the arrangement you’ve built, ’Lord’ Baines. The famous and beloved Four Valkyries surrounding one man? No wonder your sector took so long to report back. I imagine clearing monsters wasn’t the only thing keeping everyone busy," Silas teased with a mocking smile.

Paulina’s ears flattened immediately, Julia’s eyes sharpened, Eunice frowned, and even Damian opened his mouth to retort, but he never got the chance.

Janet had apparently been carrying unresolved aggression all morning.

The Demon Princess, currently back inside her Halfling disguise, turned toward Silas with a smile so sweet that Damian instantly knew someone was about to suffer.

"Oh, Old Dog Silas! You’re still here?" Janet asked brightly.

Silas blinked.

Janet clasped both hands behind her back. "I thought the Adventurer’s Guild would’ve finally sold you to the male brothel after realizing nobody else wanted you."

Several nearby Adventurers snorted while Silas’s smile thinned.

Janet continued before he could answer. "And what was that about Damian having four women around him? Tsk, tsk, don’t be jealous, young’un!"

Janet made a gesture of ’gambatte’. "I’m sure if you save enough money, eventually you can hire four desperate women willing to stand near you too."

Laughter immediately spread across the closest teams, causing Silas’s expression to darken considerably.

"Careful, little Halfling!" he growled dangerously.

"Oh, I’m terrified! Single dog Silas Vane might actually have the balls to touch a woman! Whatever will I do?!" Janet pressed one hand against her chest.

This time, even several of his own team members looked away to hide their expressions.

Silas’s cheek twitched in annoyance, causing Janet’s eyes to narrow as she smelled blood, entering second gear.

"You know, I finally understand why your party is called the ’Ash Jackals’. It’s because the name ’Ass Jackals’ was already taken by your father’s group, so you had to settle for the next best thing!" Janet clapped with realization.

Someone choked first, then laughter exploded throughout the clearing!

Even several Gold Adventurers who clearly had no personal investment in the argument began laughing purely because Silas’s face was becoming increasingly red.

Janet pointed toward him mercilessly.

"And don’t worry about us being Damian’s women or not. At least we stand around him because we actually like him. Pfft, how much do you pay your lot every week just to pretend they’re loyal?"

The Ash Jackals immediately stopped laughing as Silas slowly looked toward them.

Several members suddenly found the ground extremely fascinating.

Damian covered his mouth with a grim expression, a hint of fear in his heart.

Nope, I’m staying out of this!!

Janet had been exposed as a Demon Princess, threatened with public buttock humiliation, and forcibly dragged through an emotional confession within the past few hours.

Silas had simply chosen the wrong day to become her outlet for venting.

When Janet finally ran out of ammunition, she folded her arms proudly.

Silas stared at her with a face almost matching the color of her true skin.

"...Finished?" he asked her in a menacing tone.

Janet lazily checked her fingernails. "Meh, for now."

Damian snorted with amusement, because that was literally the same answer Silas had given him during their first argument!

Judging by the laughter that erupted again, several older Adventurers remembered it too.

Silas’s expression became absolutely hideous.

Before he could salvage what remained of his dignity, the flap of the central command tent opened as Roland Hammond stepped outside.

The massive Lion Beastman only needed to clear his throat once and the conversation immediately died.

"Are all primary teams present?" Roland asked a nearby aide.

The Adventurer’s Guild officer checked his slate.

"Yes, Guildmaster. All twenty strike parties are accounted for and present."

Roland nodded and stepped farther into the clearing.

Selene Vael emerged shortly afterward, carrying her staff loosely while her violet hair spilled over one shoulder.

Damian raised an eyebrow when she noticed him.

Selene smiled, then her eyes moved toward the women standing around him, and that smile weakened slightly.

’Interesting...’ Selene thought to herself grimly.

Roland didn’t notice this reaction, or perhaps he did and possessed enough survival instinct to ignore it.

"First, the important news," Roland announced, his booming voice carrying easily throughout the clearing.

"The southern Moonveil suppression operation has succeeded in its primary objectives. Every designated sector has been cleared or rendered non-hostile, multiple Fey passages have been secured, hostile monster populations linked to the crisis have been heavily reduced and the central organizer behind the entire disturbance is dead," Roland revealed in one breath.

Murmurs immediately spread through the clearing as Roland allowed them several seconds to digest the news.

"Ravelhorn the Reveler was killed yesterday evening."

The murmuring became louder, several people visibly relaxing while others simply stared in surprise.

Then, Roland continued. "He died at the hands of Damian Baines."

Silence, complete and utter silence.

Damian slowly looked around, taking in the reactions with a look of interest.

Oh boy, this was going to be fun!

Silas was naturally the first person incapable of leaving things alone.

"Little Copper Boy Baines? You’re saying he killed Ravelhorn?" he repeated incredulously.

Roland’s golden eyes settled on him. "Yes indeed."

Silas frowned. "The same Ravelhorn we were told was a Great Fey of Challenge Rating level 8?"

"The very same," Roland continued, folding his massive arms across his chest.

Silas glanced toward Damian. "That is... difficult to believe. If you said Copper Boy Baines managed to trick him into his harem, it would be more believable."

Roland’s expression did not change. "Then believe Lady Selene and myself. We personally inspected the battlefield and arrived shortly after the engagement concluded."

That shut him up.

Unfortunately for everyone else’s sanity, Roland still wasn’t finished.

"Ravelhorn’s initial strength had also been underestimated. He was already operating within the Master Stage before the final battle."

Several faces changed greatly before Selene casually added, "And he broke through into Arch Fey during the engagement."

The silence somehow became heavier.

One Gold Adventurer slowly asked, "...Legend?"

Selene nodded. "A newly advanced one, but yes."

Every head turned toward Damian, who immediately smiled charmingly. "How’s it going?"

Nobody answered the ill-timed greeting.

Damian suddenly became acutely aware of how ridiculous he probably looked from their perspective.

Here stood a young Human who had arrived in Rosewood barely over a week ago, who remained officially registered as a Copper Adventurer, wore immaculate black-and-gold Mage equipment, carried an absurd sword, possessed noble status...

And currently had four exotic beauties arranged around him like some shameless fantasy harem lord who had accidentally wandered into the wrong genre.

Then everyone remembered the explosion, the sky lighting up, the distant horizon burning, the shockwave, and the enormous magical disturbance strong enough that practically every experienced person in southern Moonveil had stopped what they were doing and stared toward it.

That... that had been him?

Several throats visibly moved.

Silas’s expression became particularly entertaining.

The Rogue looked toward Damian, then toward Roland, then Selene, and then back toward Damian.

His skin gradually lost color, becoming as pale as a ghost, while behind him, the ’Ass Jackals’ began performing a fascinating social maneuver Damian recognized immediately.

One man stepped half a pace sideways, then another.

A third member of the party suddenly became interested in speaking with somebody from another team.

Within ten seconds, the previously tight formation around Silas had developed suspicious amounts of breathing room.

Loyalty!!

What a beautiful thing, huh?

Silas noticed as well, his face becoming incomparably ugly.

Damian nearly felt bad for him... nearly.

Meanwhile, the Four Valkyries reacted in the exact opposite manner.

Paulina folded her arms and lifted her chin as though everyone else’s surprise was embarrassing.

Julia casually adjusted the strap of her bow with an expression that practically said, ’Obviously he killed a Legend. Why are you people acting weird?’

Janet looked especially smug, and even Eunice managed a faint smile.

The four women had learned everything last night, yet they now carried themselves like veteran insiders who had possessed this knowledge for years while the rest of the world struggled desperately to catch up.

Roland and Selene stared at them speechlessly.

"...These little girls," Roland muttered with exasperation.

Selene’s attention lingered longer.

She could tell that something was very different about them all.

She noticed Paulina first.

The Wolf Beastwoman stood closer to Damian than before, and her tail moved every time he shifted.

Then Julia.

The Elf kept her normal prickly expression, yet her position subtly favored Damian, her awareness constantly including him even while pretending otherwise.

Janet was Janet, that explained nothing.

But then Selene noticed the way Damian himself looked at Paulina and Julia, causing her violet eyes to narrow.

Wait... No.

Surely not?

Her thoughts suddenly returned to the Mages Association, the sofa, the flirting, the teasing and the deliberate effort she had invested into cultivating a relationship with this abnormal Otherworlder before someone else claimed too much territory.

A faint chill entered her heart.

Had something happened?

Already?!

Selene’s gaze sharpened as Paulina unconsciously leaned against Damian for half a second before straightening.

Oh, by the spectacles of Eldrian!

A hint of genuine panic finally entered the Legendary Mage’s heart!

Things were moving considerably faster than she expected!

She had assumed Damian would need time to settle down, months perhaps.

That would be enough time for Selene to remain nearby, guide him, steadily deepen their familiarity and eventually decide whether she truly wanted to pursue something serious.

But if she kept waiting...

At this rate, she might wake up one morning and discover Damian surrounded by enough women to require numbered seating!

And then what?

Become the mysterious older Mage who occasionally flirted with him while watching his actual family grow from the sidelines?

Absolutely not!

Selene’s expression remained perfectly composed.

Internally, however... all her plans were being revised, immediately.

It seemed more... aggressive... measures would be needed.

One of the Gold team leaders fortunately saved her from her dangerous thoughts by raising a hand.

"Guildmaster, what are our next orders? With Ravelhorn dead, do we push toward Blackroot Den?"

Roland’s expression became serious again.

"Unfortunately, not anymore."

That surprised several people.

"The Dark Goblins abandoned Blackroot Den before our forces could surround it. Guild scouts confirmed the settlement is nearly empty."

Murmurs returned, but Roland continued.

"They split into numerous independent groups and fled in different directions, including deeper sections of Moonveil. Little Janet’s reconnaissance helped confirm the pattern and several initial routes."

Janet puffed out her chest.

Damian glanced sideways.

Apparently she had no issue receiving public credit when the credit didn’t involve being a Demon Princess.

Tsk, typical!

Roland explained the strategic problem in simple terms.

Following every group would require fragmenting the operation across increasingly dangerous territory, and several routes already entered regions where even Gold teams could encounter serious resistance from unrelated monsters.

A Gold Adventurer frowned. "So that’s it? We just let them escape for free?"

Roland glanced toward Damian.

"Not necessarily. Viscount Baines has volunteered to handle the matter."

Silence.

Several people looked at Damian again, then remembered the crater.

Nobody objected.

One Silver Adventurer actually shrugged.

"Fair enough."

Damian shook his head with amusement.

Yesterday, telling these people he planned to independently hunt scattered Dark Goblins across half the forest probably would have produced an argument about recklessness.

Today though?

Apparently demonstrating Legend-level artillery granted enormous credibility!

Heh!

Roland gave the final dismissal orders afterward.

The organized purge was effectively concluded for the participating Adventurer teams.

Only guild-affiliated rangers, scouts and specialized personnel would remain active throughout Moonveil Forest to monitor displaced monsters and secured crossings, but the twenty primary parties were free to return to Rosewood Town.

That announcement transformed the atmosphere immediately as people began packing, weapons were cleaned then sheathed, and monster materials changed hands.

Right away, arguments started regarding kill credit, loot division and which tavern would be receiving an irresponsible amount of business tonight.

Everyone was in excellent spirits!

Well... almost everyone.

A carriage rolled into the clearing from one of the safer northern routes.

Damian recognized it immediately as Stephen sat at the driver’s position.

And standing beside the carriage... was Kellan.

The teenager wore properly fitted medium armor tailored closely to his frame, the design deliberately echoing Garrick’s old equipment without simply copying it, while in his hands rested Garrick’s old spear.

Damian smiled at the resemblance, feeling as if the old man was smiling over the boy’s shoulder.

Kellan spotted him immediately, excitement flashing across the young Fighter’s face, followed almost instantly by nervousness.

He walked over briskly.

"Lord Damian!"

"Good, you’re here on time, Kellan."

The carriage door opened behind him as Stella descended first.

The Half-Tiefling wore her battle equipment and carried her greatsword, while Ronan followed in his own gear with both longswords secured comfortably.

Damian nodded with satisfaction.

Good, everyone he needed was here!

He led all three toward the Four Valkyries.

"Perfect timing. You already know them generally, but introductions are probably overdue now that circumstances have changed," Damian stated with a smile.

Paulina’s ears immediately perked, Julia became suspicious, Janet’s smile turned evil, while Eunice quietly watched.

Damian gestured toward the three women.

"Kellan, Ronan, Stella. From now on, refer to Paulina, Julia and Janet as Madam when acting in your capacity as my retainers."

Silence.

Julia’s face instantly reddened, Paulina’s tail began wagging, and Janet rubbed the space beneath her nose proudly.

Kellan blinked once, then looked at Paulina, Julia and Janet.

Honestly, he did not seem particularly surprised.

These were the women who had first carried Damian into Rosewood Town, remained closely connected to him afterward, and somehow kept appearing around his Lord every time something ridiculous happened.

The outcome felt almost inevitable.

Kellan bowed politely. "Madam Paulina, Madam Julia, Madam Janet."

Paulina beamed, Julia looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her, while Janet nearly ascended.

"Good child!" she praised Kellan in a matronly manner.

"I’m older than you look," Kellan muttered.

Janet naturally ignored the fellow.

Ronan’s reaction was subtler.

The veteran glanced across the three women, then toward Damian, his lips twitching.

This little Lord of his...

He certainly knew how to enjoy life!

He had power, wealth, noble status and beautiful women from multiple races?

Ronan suddenly felt his alcohol addiction was embarrassingly unambitious.

Stella reacted most normally outwardly.

She stepped forward and bowed with flawless discipline.

"Madam Paulina. Madam Julia. Madam Janet. I am pleased to formally greet you!"

Nothing about her tone or her expression changed.

Nobody unfamiliar with Stella would have noticed anything.

Inside though, her heart sank to the very bottom.

So... it had already happened then?

Stella had never considered herself foolish.

After joining the Baines Noble Family, watching Damian’s impossible growth and slowly understanding what kind of man stood at the center of this household, certain thoughts had naturally emerged.

They were inappropriate and ambitious thoughts, something a mere retainer probably shouldn’t entertain about the Patriarch she had sworn to serve.

Even her embarrassing mistake inside the Mages Association had not extinguished them.

Back then, she had bowed more deeply to Selene than to Damian because Valorian etiquette told her that a Legendary Mage deserved greater formal respect.

Damian’s displeasure had taught Stella a painful lesson about understanding the person she actually served rather than blindly following cultural expectations.

Then she learned Damian had somehow become an Adept in mere days.

Since then, the thoughts in her heart had only grown.

Stella had quietly imagined that if she performed well enough, proved loyal enough, became strong enough and established herself deeply enough inside the Baines Noble Family...

Perhaps one day she could stop being merely Retainer Stella and become Madam Stella!

Standing here now, she suddenly understood how naive that dream had been.

If she could see Damian’s value...

Why wouldn’t other women?

Selene Vael herself had practically draped her legendary curves across Damian during their Mages Association visit!

A Legendary Mage!

If a woman like Selene could look at Damian with obvious interest, then what exactly made Stella believe she had no competition?

Her fingers tightened slightly around each other as her insecurities reared their ugly heads.

She was merely an average Half-Tiefling.

Stella lacked the wild, barbaric beauty many full-blooded Tiefling women possessed, the sort of appearance that made men imagine danger, passion and terrible decisions immediately.

Yet she also lacked the fair softness and demure femininity common among many Human women.

Instead, Stella sat awkwardly between both worlds.

Her body possessed supple curves, but years of combat had given her a mildly muscular frame.

Her features were attractive, certainly, but not overwhelmingly exotic.

She was feminine without appearing delicate and powerful without carrying Paulina’s overwhelming physical presence.

Then Stella looked toward Damian’s new women.

Julia was an Elf with an absurdly beautiful face and hips that could probably start diplomatic incidents.

Paulina possessed that sturdy, predatory Beastwoman beauty, all strength, muscle, curves and instinct.

And Janet?

Janet was tiny, her head barely reaching Damian’s lower abdomen.

That... was somehow worse.

The Halfling had weaponized diminutive temptation into an art form without even trying!

And Eunice...

Even Eunice, who had not received the title of Madam, stood in another league.

She possessed a mature, motherly beauty capable of reaching into the most deeply buried boyish corner of a man’s heart and whispering that everything would be okay.

Stella suddenly felt very ordinary.

Her professional smile remained flawless, nobody noticing the bitterness hiding beneath it.

Nobody... except Janet.

The disguised Demon Princess’s brown eyes shifted toward Stella, then narrowed.

Interesting, very interesting!

Janet recognized that look.

She had spent a long time surrounded by people hiding desire beneath dignity, shame, social expectation or simple fear.

Stella Baines was staring at Damian the way someone stared at a door they had only just realized might already be closing.

Janet’s heart immediately became cheerful, and her tail would have been wagging if it wasn’t hidden.

Earlier today, Damian had exposed her identity, threatened to hang her bare-assed from a tree and then shamelessly rejected her rejection!

Janet had naturally wondered how she might repay such kindness.

Now?

Her lips slowly curved.

’Hehehe...’

Perhaps revenge on Damian wouldn’t be so difficult after all!