I'm not a Witcher anymore.

The next morning.

The fog outside the east gate of the town had not yet dissipated, and the sky had just begun to lighten, but the city walls and rooftops were already thinly coated with a layer of cold gold.

Zieg arrived the earliest.

He stood by the door, his breath dissipating into the morning mist.

The guards, still somewhat sleepy, stood by the gate, halberds in hand, wiping their faces every now and then. Their boots scraped against the stone floor, and the metal fittings at their waists clinked together, producing a few soft sounds.

Before long, the rest of the group arrived one after another.

Valeria was still wearing her light plate armor, the breastplate and shoulder armor gleaming silver in the morning light.

She glanced at everyone, and seeing that no one was late, gave a curt reply.

"very good."

Just then, the sound of a rumbling car came from the other side of the town.

A large freight wagon drove in from the town.

The carriage was sturdy with thick wooden planks nailed together, and the outer layer was covered with a tightly bound canvas. The two draft horses were plump and strong, and puffs of white breath floated around their mouths.

The driver was an elderly man, his hat pulled low, his coat patched, but he held the reins with unusual steadiness.

As the carriage pulled up, he bowed slightly to Valeria.

"Miss, here's your car."

Valeria handed over the money she had prepared beforehand.

"As agreed last night."

The driver took the money, his wrinkles smoothing out, and hurriedly responded.

"Don't worry, the carriage is stable and the horse is well-behaved."

Valeria didn't say much, and gestured for everyone to get into the car.

It's obviously more worthwhile to conserve energy before heading to Hemu Village than to waste it hiking on muddy roads.

As Zig stepped onto the platform, he made a mental note of the incident—this steel-level captain was indeed meticulous in his work.

The carriage exited through the east gate and proceeded along the road leading to Hemu Village.

The dirt road outside the city was uneven, and the wheels would occasionally run over gravel and shallow potholes, causing the carriage to sway.

The edges of the canvas billowed slightly in the morning breeze, and a bit of cool, damp air seeped in through the gaps, mixed with the smell of horses and hay, but it wasn't unpleasant.

The car was quiet at first.

Before long, Ravenna couldn't wait any longer.

She sat to one side with her knees drawn up, but her mind was racing. First, she talked about the heavy fog this morning, then she mentioned a roasted meat with pepper and wild honey that she had eaten in a town a few days ago. Then, somehow the topic turned to some strange creature with four ears that could run faster than a deer.

She speaks quickly and jumps around fast.

But he always manages to handle it well, so it doesn't annoy people.

At first, Lucy listened quietly, but later she was amused and smiled a couple of times.

Hill leaned against the car wall, not saying much at first, but occasionally adding a casual remark at the most unexpected moment, making Ravenna blink twice, and then she laughed out loud.

Even Valeria didn't stop her, only glancing at Ravenna when she went too far, letting her take back what she said.

Zig leaned against the back of the carriage, listening to the bumps of the wheels rolling over the dirt road. Intermittent chatter drifted over from inside the carriage, but his gaze remained fixed on the receding wasteland, the shadows of the forest, and the undulating mountain ridges in the distance.

He had thought that such casual conversations on the road would be annoying, but actually sitting here and listening was much better than staying silent the whole way.

As the sun rose higher, the morning mist was finally blown away by the wind.

The carriage continued forward, and the scenery along the way kept receding into the distance.

First, there are newly turned soil ridges and gently undulating grassy slopes, then scattered village houses, patches of woodland, and the end of a path that is whitened by the sunlight.

At noon, the coachman drove the carriage to a shallow stream by the roadside and stopped it.

Two horses lay down by the stream to drink, their breath spraying onto the water and creating ripples.

Everyone got out of the car, stretched their legs, and ate some of the dry rations they had brought with them.

Valeria unfolded the map, looked at the mountains and roads again to make sure they were on the right track, then put the parchment away and signaled to continue on their way.

The second half of the journey was much quieter.

Ravenna talked for a long time, and finally felt tired. She hugged her cloak and curled up in a corner of the carriage to doze off.

Lucy and Hill deliberately lowered their voices, and it was unclear what they were saying, but a few words were uttered so softly that they were almost inaudible.

Valeria was adjusting the leather buckles on the edges of her wrist guards and breastplate, her fingertips slowly tracing the leather and metal edges, her movements as practiced as if she were doing something perfectly ordinary.

Zig remained silent, leaning against the carriage wall with his eyes closed, listening intently to the sound of the wheels.

As dusk began to fall, the outline of Kawaki Village finally appeared in the distance.

The village was built against the mountain, with few houses; from a distance, it looked like a cluster of wooden huts scattered at the foot of the mountain.

The village is surrounded by a wooden fence that is not very sturdy, and in some places it is crooked, as if it has not been repaired for a long time.

Further away, a stream of water flows past the edge of the village and meanders downstream.

Before the carriage had even entered the village, the sound of crying came from not far away.

Not just once or twice.

Instead, it was the woman's agonizing sobs that echoed intermittently from the village entrance, sounding particularly jarring against the backdrop of the darkening evening sky.

The crying startled everyone in the carriage.

Valeria reached out and lifted the canvas, looking outside.

Sieg's gaze also passed over Valeria's shoulder and landed at the village entrance.

A large crowd had already gathered there.

The people on the outer circle were packed tightly together, and several people in the middle had already half-squatted down, as if they were surrounding something.

The crying came from that group of people, mixed with restrained words of comfort and heavy sighs, turning the once peaceful village entrance into a deathly silence.

The old coachman paused for a moment, then subconsciously tightened the reins.

"This is……"

"parking."

Valeria spoke quickly, her voice low but decisive, leaving no room for hesitation.

The driver suddenly pulled on the reins, causing the two horses to neigh, and the carriage stopped outside the village entrance.

Before the dust had even settled, Valeria jumped out of the car first.

Zig landed, and as his boots touched the hard, dry earth, people at the village entrance noticed them.

The villagers who had been gathered there then stepped aside to make way for them.

An older villager was the first to come to his senses, took half a step forward, and paused his gaze on the group of people.

"Who are you...?"

Valeria stepped forward.

"An adventurer from the border town."

"I have been entrusted by your elders to deal with the goblins on the mountain."

No sooner had he said that than someone suddenly lunged out from the crowd.

She was a middle-aged woman with her hair disheveled and tears still clinging to her face.

She rushed too fast and stumbled, almost falling to her knees and lunges in front of Valeria, grabbing her legs with both hands.

"Miss, please—"

Her voice was already hoarse, and her words were broken and incoherent as soon as they came out.

"Save my daughter... Please, save her..."

Valeria tensed up and didn't move for a moment.

The woman held on tightly, as if if she let go, the glimmer of hope that had just appeared before her would vanish.

Her forehead was pressed against Valeria's legs, her whole body trembling, her voice hoarse with the pain of crying.

"She's only fifteen...only fifteen..."

"Those monsters dragged her away..."

"Please, bring her back, please..."

The village entrance suddenly became eerily quiet.

The villagers standing around were completely silent, except for the woman's cries of pleas that kept crashing down on them, making their chests feel tight.

Valeria did not try to pry her hand off.

She leaned down and reached out to press her hand on the other person's trembling shoulder.

"Get up first."

"Explain yourself clearly so we know how to save them."

The woman seemed not to hear a word she was saying, her fingers gripping the edge of her heel nail tightly as she sobbed, unable to catch her breath.

Just then, a tired but still steady voice came from behind the crowd.

"Two people, help Martha down."

The crowd parted slightly, and an elderly man with gray hair stepped out.

He was a little hunched over, and his face was full of weariness from working long hours, but when he spoke, the villagers still subconsciously made way for him.

Upon hearing this, two young villagers immediately ran forward and helped the woman named Masha up on either side.

"Martha, get up first..."

"Now that the adventurers have come, we'll find a way to rescue them..."

Martha was crying so hard she could barely stand, but she wouldn't let go of her hand.

It wasn't until the two young men whispered a few words of advice in her ear and helped her up from the ground that she finally let go of their hands and was half-supported and half-dragged away.

When she was taken away, she turned her face away, her eyes red from crying.

"Please..."

"Save my daughter..."

The sound lingered into the village, gradually fading away, but no one could truly pretend they hadn't heard it.