Aeren stood at the edge of a clearing, leaning against a tree while observing the village and its monstrous inhabitants from a distance. As he studied the monster settlement, he contemplated barging in and finishing everything instantly, but his human form prevented him from taking such direct action. This mortal vessel craved entertainment with these creatures and yearned to witness their reactions. Though last time Aeren hadn't properly seen Seraphina's response during their confrontation, that gap interested him beyond his own realization—she had felt nothing, which excited him immensely. Could he find someone similar to Seraphina, someone painless and emotionless?
As Aeren observed, he noticed two monster guards stationed outside the village entrance. Inside, all the creatures were celebrating a feast of human flesh. He watched their victims' screams, terror, and various expressions of suffering. Several humans remained captured but not yet cooked. It proved quite fascinating seeing a scene where his own species was consumed like chickens devoured by humans—or anything else, really. This observation made Aeren realize something profound, and a smile crept across his face.
"Aeren, did you find any monsters outside?" Fredric spoke from behind, walking toward him. Though Fredric couldn't perceive Aeren's emotions, he closed the distance and sat beside him.
Aeren turned his head and regarded Fredric with an expressionless face while thinking: How much have I forgotten? I know my name is Aeren, but I don't recall my surname. I know I'm a prince of this empire, yet I can't remember any family members or anyone from the royal household. As for this person, he's told me minor details about myself, but nothing substantial about my past. I understand that I once grasped something profound—that's why I accepted this mortal form—and I'll break free from these constraints the moment a new realization strikes me.
These thoughts filled Aeren's mind as he observed Fredric, though he remained indifferent to his own predicament. Aeren simply wanted to experience adventure in this world, which is why he had joined them.
"I found a few and eliminated them," Aeren explained briefly without showing any reaction on his features as he turned back toward the Monster Village.
Fredric also surveyed the Monster Village situation and nodded at Aeren's words. "Good work, Aeren," he replied with a calm expression.
Aeren heard him, ignored the comment, and stood from his position while observing the village. "Did you discover anything about the village's condition?" Fredric asked, looking up at Aeren as he saw him rise.
Aeren glanced down at him, paused briefly, stared, and spoke. "No, there's nothing worth observing. Let's simply kill them. Otherwise, I'll proceed ahead while you three follow behind me." After explaining this, he leaped from the small green hill and landed on the ground below.
"Aeren, wait!" Fredric called out, but Aeren ignored his plea. He spotted the small gate a short distance away, and the monsters immediately noticed his presence.
Fredric looked down at Aeren and could see that the monsters had spotted him. He felt urgency building, but didn't jump immediately; instead, he looked behind and waited for his companions, Nina and Sophia.
"NINA, SOPHIA, HURRY! Aeren has jumped into the monster den!" Fredric screamed as he watched them approaching.
"WHAT? YOU IDIOT, DAMN IT!" Nina shouted back at him with fury as she began sprinting toward Fredric, confusion and anger both visible on her face.
Sophia also started running behind Nina, but didn't react as dramatically.
When Nina and Sophia reached Fredric, Nina panted, "Huff... where is he?"
Fredric looked at her exhausted expression. "There—the monsters have seen and sensed him, but haven't taken action yet. We need to be alert before engaging them."
Despite Aeren rushing into the monster village without consideration, Fredric needed to compose himself to find a way to protect Aeren while devising a strategy to eliminate all the monsters. Unlike Aeren, Fredric wasn't foolish enough to leap into danger without understanding the threat.
"Then let's jump," Nina declared and leaped like Aeren. Before she could land, Fredric caught her mid-air. "What are you doing, Fredric? My reward is getting away!" She looked back to see Fredric's hand gripping her.
"You blind fool! Aeren is inexperienced—I can understand him not recognizing danger—but you're a veteran professional, yet you're acting like an idiot. We need a strategy."
Swoosh...
While Fredric was restraining Nina, Sophia jumped. Shocked by these reckless companions, Fredric shouted, "What the hell is wrong with you blind idiots?" He watched as Sophia landed on the ground, and this time the monsters reacted with alertness, unlike their passive response to Aeren.
"We have to act now, Fredric. We have no choice anymore—we must protect them, or we'll regret it forever," Nina spoke with an innocent expression, though Fredric could see the greed behind her supposed concern. He could do nothing about the situation.
Sigh...
Fredric's head began throbbing from their reactions. They were treating the situation far too lightly, which could endanger all their lives, but their minds remained fixated on the reward for protecting Aeren.
Yes, they wanted to safeguard Aeren from danger to receive maximum compensation from the royal family, but they had forgotten they could die in the process. Fredric didn't know whether they recognized this risk or not. Even though a few gold coins held value, losing one's life for gold—did that really matter in situations like this? However, Fredric had no alternative now; he couldn't return alone and abandon them to death.
"Hah... Fine, let's go." Fredric surrendered and agreed that gold was worth more than their current existence.
Nina's face brightened when she heard his defeated tone, and he released her. "AHHHHH..."
Fredric smiled as he watched her fall toward the ground, hearing her delightful scream, and then he also jumped down. She crashed to the earth, followed by his landing.
"Ouch..." Nina hit the ground, feeling slight pain. Sophia noticed Nina's fall as she herself landed. Fredric touched down near Nina.
"Now I feel somewhat better," Fredric spoke to himself, though his words reached Nina's ears. She turned to glare at Fredric but did nothing except stand in place.
Sophia approached them while Aeren had advanced far ahead, unaware of their predicament.
Nina looked for Sophia coming toward them and scanned the area, but couldn't locate Aeren. This confused her, and she searched left and right but still couldn't find him. Sophia began feeling awkward under Nina's scrutinizing stare.
"What are you looking at, Nina?" Sophia asked nervously. She understood Nina's unspoken question and knew what she wanted to ask but couldn't voice directly, which is why she inquired indirectly.
Nina regarded her doubtfully with suspicious eyes. "Hmm," she examined Sophia from head to toe, and when she couldn't locate Aeren, she asked, "Where is my gold—I mean, Aeren?" She nearly spoke truthfully, having only imagined her reward and almost forgotten Aeren's name.
Fredric looked at her with disgust but said nothing, allowing them to converse. He didn't want to position himself between their obsession with gold and their conscience. Fredric had witnessed many people who would betray others for stolen gold, which is why he wanted to distance himself from any relationship involving their greed.
"Oh, the gold? He went toward the monster village before I could even get close to him," Sophia explained that he had departed, and they needed to reach him before the monsters captured him.
Meanwhile, Aeren stood before two monster guards who were observing him, looking down at this solitary human, though neither had reacted yet.