Chapter 70: The Return Journey

“Do we need to deal with these bodies?”

Erin stood beside Lorin with a complicated expression. The wind blew her hair into her eyes, but she had no mind to brush it away. She suddenly felt she could no longer see through him.

In her eyes, Lorin had always had two sides. One was the everyday penny-pinching miser who would haggle for ages over a few Gold Coins, making people want to roll their eyes. The other was the man who saved her at critical moments, standing firmly in front of her and filling her with a sense of security.

However, the way he interrogated Gary just now unexpectedly reminded her of her own father. When she was little, her father would receive subordinates who had made mistakes in his study, and her mischievous younger self would often hide behind the bookshelf to peek. Those people always thought her father would fly into a rage, express deep disappointment, or throw his wine glass at their faces like the rumors claimed.

But her father never did that. He would only watch them in silence, waiting for them to slowly reveal their hidden cards and deep-seated fears bit by bit, before calmly deciding their fate.

The image of Lorin squatting in front of that merchant overlapped with the memory of her father sitting behind his desk in a way she couldn’t quite explain.

She realized he actually had this side to him, too.

“Although things don’t rot easily in winter, it’s best to dispose of them. It’d be bad if it caused a plague, and if some small animals carried the disease into the city, a lot of people would die,” Lorin said.

His voice reached Erin’s ears, pulling her thoughts back to reality. She turned to look at him. He was rubbing his chin, frowning as he inspected the corpses, muttering, “But digging a hole in this weather isn’t realistic, either.”

He seemed to have suddenly reverted to his usual self.

“Hmm? Why are you looking at me like that?” Lorin looked down and met her resentful gaze, quickly glancing at her hair.

[…Restless]

“What is this woman thinking about now?” he wondered.

“It’s nothing. Let’s hurry up and clean this up, or it’ll be dark soon,” Erin said, shaking her head.

Lorin didn’t press the issue to avoid a snub. He knew that when women said things like this, you usually couldn’t get anything out of them anyway.

“Let’s move ’em, let’s move ’em…” he said, bending down to get to work.

A Flame rose.

The scorching tongues of the Flame licked at the piled-up remains, destroying all traces and leaving behind nothing but a heap of embers. The trio set off once again, pulling the handcart.

The paths in the Mist Forest were not suitable for handcarts, as the uneven terrain easily jammed the wheels. Lorin tugged hard at the cart’s handles, already able to imagine how much effort those goblins had wasted dragging this thing here.

The quest reward was 40 Gold Coins. Combined with the bounties on the Bear Goblins and the goblins, plus the supplies in the back that could sell for at least a hundred Gold Coins, each of them could probably get a share of seventy or eighty Gold Coins.

They were going to be rich!!!

At the thought of Gold Coins, Lorin remembered the Magic Scroll that Gary had mentioned. He gently nudged the spacing-out Erin with his elbow. “Erin, do you know how to make a Magic Scroll?”

She thought this guy was truly something else.

Erin had just been caught up in her tangled thoughts, and being suddenly interrupted by him left her momentarily at a loss for where to even begin. She rubbed her temples rather helplessly and replied, “It’s a mandatory course for most Mages. Otherwise, how could they ever afford the expensive Casting Materials they consume daily? Those things are something even minor nobles can’t afford.”

Suddenly thinking of something, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. She cast a sidelong glance at Lorin and added, “But what does that have to do with you, a Sorcerer who can’t even chant a Spell properly?”

“Alright, alright, just you wait!” Lorin turned his face away resentfully. “I’ll learn it sooner or later!”

When that time came, he was definitely going to prove himself and make this little girl shut her trap.

***

“Pip’s belly is about to cave in from hunger…”

The short little guy pulled feebly at the cart’s handle, practically hanging his entire body off it—fortunately, he wasn’t heavy enough to actually do so.

The journey back was longer than expected. The fully loaded handcart was dead heavy, and by the time the trio reached the outskirts of Frost Valley City, it was already dusk, two days later. Entering the city this time went exceptionally smoothly.

The newly rotated Guard had no intention of making things difficult for them to begin with. After lifting the tarp and seeing the severed head of the Bear Goblin, his attitude became even more polite. He waved his hand to let them pass, skipping even the routine questioning.

They passed through the city gates and walked forward a short distance before all three of them stopped in their tracks simultaneously.

“Did we come to the wrong place?” Lorin stared at the scene before him in astonishment.

The night streets, usually pitch-black, were now as bright as day. The lampposts on both sides of the road were hung with orange oil lamps, extending from the city gates all the way to the end of their line of sight.

The streets were packed with people: merchants in thick wool coats, Adventurers donning old Leather Armor, children wearing pointed hats, and elderly folks leaning on canes… Crowds surged out from every alleyway, merging into the main street and flowing slowly in the same direction.

The expressions on their faces were surprisingly uniform—a relaxed and joyful look, as if they had temporarily set aside a whole year’s worth of hardship and exhaustion.

“Pip sees it! There’s a parade up ahead!”

The short little guy stepped onto the wheel of the cart, standing on his tiptoes and craning his neck. Lorin followed his gaze.

At the end of the street, a bright cluster of firelight was slowly moving toward them. People were holding burning pine branches high in the air. The fragrance of the lit pine, mixed with the crisp bitterness of holly, permeated the air above the entire street.

Lorin’s attention was captivated by the person walking at the very front.

Anya was wearing a pale gold robe embroidered with beautifully intricate golden patterns. These patterns resembled the decorations on ancient scrolls, making her look both gentle and divine. Her golden-brown hair fell casually over her shoulders, fluttering gently in the air in the direction of the wind.

In her hand, she held a long torch, and a bright Flame burned at its tip. Walking at the forefront of the light, she hummed a ballad that Lorin had never heard before.

“In this season when the frost winds cease and all things slumber,

Hang the holly and ivy high upon the beam.

The ever-burning sacred wood whispers in the hearth,

Banishing the long night, awaiting the first dawn’s gleam.

“Oh firelight, leap toward the heavens! Bring back the wandering sun, bring back the glory of spring. Melt this iron-cast darkness into morning dew, And let the ice-bound earth regain its beating heart.”

Her voice wasn’t loud; it was more like a soft murmur. But when this song was echoed by hundreds of people, it converged into a resonant, warm river. It smoothed out the winter’s chill and filled the night of Frost Valley City.

In this moment, all the hardships of livelihood and the barriers of class seemed to be melted away by this pure, ancient light and warmth. The longest night of winter had passed; the sun was returning.

“This is…”

“The Midwinter Festival.”