Chapter 7: The Hero’s Daughter’s Resolve

The softly weeping girl wiped away the traces of tears from her eyes. When she rose, her face had settled into a serene calm, her gaze devoid of any lingering weakness.

Votila found it utterly impossible to reconcile the tranquil, composed girl before him with the silently weeping child he had witnessed moments ago.

The black cat’s reaction surprised Mulee Hua somewhat. She turned, looking towards the distance where a patch of swaying tree shadows caught her eye.

“Come out,” Mulee Hua called out. “I’ve seen you.”

Her words drifted through the air, and a young man dressed as a hunter emerged, his face flushed with embarrassment. It was Gusede, whom she had encountered at the agency.

“I thought I had hidden myself quite well,” he muttered. “Why could even a small cat discover me?”

“Tracking a lone girl isn’t a good habit, brave one,” Mulee Hua remarked, a faint chill in her tone.

“I saw you leave the town limits alone, so I followed,” Gusede explained. “It’s not very peaceful around town lately. You’re not safe by yourself.”

Mulee Hua frowned slightly.

“I have no intention of joining your militia,” she stated, “so there’s no need for you to keep an eye on me like this.”

“I heard about that from others,” Gusede said, scratching his head. “I was just worried. For a young girl like you to run out alone, what if you encounter danger? Especially since I spoke so strongly at the agency…”

Votila felt that this person didn’t seem as bad as he had initially perceived him to be at the agency.

Seeing that Mulee Hua had no intention of responding, Gusede stepped forward and looked at the tombstone beside the girl.

“Is this… your father?”

“It’s my father’s cenotaph.”

“A cenotaph?” Gusede was somewhat surprised. He had heard snippets about Mulee Hua’s father but knew nothing of the full story.

Oz Apocalys, the hero who guarded the town. Fifteen years ago, the town had been ravaged by a beast tide.

Oz and his wife, Cecilia, combined their strength to quell the disaster, but Cecilia, having only recently given birth, succumbed to exhaustion and died.

Thus, the couple became heroes of the town. This was the heroic tale that children in the town grew up hearing.

Later, rumors spread that five years ago, Oz Apocalys encountered a demonic beast while patrolling the forest alone. He was never seen again.

“They couldn’t find his body.”

“What happened back then?”

Mulee Hua glanced at Gusede, speaking slowly as if recounting a perfectly ordinary event.

“My father, Oz Apocalys, was the former captain of the Doremi Militia. Five years ago, a powerful demonic beast appeared in the Doremi Forest, threatening the town’s safety at any moment.

But the beast was too powerful, and no one was willing to confront it. Rochster was embroiled in war, so my father accepted the order to hunt down that demonic beast alone. He never returned…”

Gusede listened in silence. Although he had questions, he patiently waited for the girl to finish.

“If it weren’t for that demonic beast, if my father hadn’t been the militia leader, if it weren’t for protecting this town, if it weren’t for this so-called responsibility… my father wouldn’t have died.”

Mulee Hua’s expression remained perfectly serene. Gusede couldn’t tell if she was truly calm or merely appeared so.

“So, you refused Captain Odur’s request?”

“So, you’re unwilling to join the militia?”

“So, you harbor resentment towards the idea of protecting the town?”

Mulee Hua answered Gusede’s three questions with only silence.

Gusede felt he had received his answer. He then said, “While I don’t agree with Captain Odur inviting you, I think your way of thinking is wrong!”

“Why?”

“Because… because…” The young man’s face reddened. He wanted to offer a rebuttal but struggled to find the words.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t wanted the girl to join the militia in the first place. How had he ended up trying to change her mind about *not* joining?

Nevertheless, Gusede voiced his current thoughts: “Because you are the daughter of a hero!”

The girl let out a soft laugh.

For some reason, Gusede found the girl’s smile unsettling. Though she was laughing, her smile conveyed no emotion whatsoever.

It was a smile utterly devoid of warmth.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing…” The girl’s smile faded as she tilted her head, looking at something behind Gusede. “It seems something has happened over there.”

As she spoke, they faintly heard the distant pealing of bells.

“That sound… is it the town’s alarm bell?!”

Gusede spun around, just in time to see a red signal flare rising in the distance. A red flare signified distress and warning, and its origin was a small village outside the town.

“I have to go! Be careful yourself.” With that abrupt declaration, Gusede rushed off in the direction of the signal flare.

“Meow?” Votila climbed up Mulee Hua’s skirt onto her shoulder.

“These people… why are they so annoying?” Mulee Hua gently stroked the black cat’s small head. “How I choose to think, how I choose to act – that’s my business. I don’t need anyone to dictate my choices.”

“Perhaps, this is what they call morality. Five years ago, they said the same thing to Father. That demonic beast had to be dealt with by a hero.”

Meow? Votila seemed a little confused.

Mulee Hua didn’t elaborate further. She lifted the black cat and held him in her arms.

“The world is cold and heartless. Only this cat has some warmth. Come on, let’s go back, Rinna.”

Votila squirmed slightly in discontent, but after sniffing the girl’s scent, he settled contentedly on her chest.

The world is cold and heartless, and only…

A roar from an unknown beast echoed from afar. Even at such a distance, it sent a chilling dread through them.

This is?! Votila felt a sudden jolt, a powerful, unexpected tremor that nearly made him leap from the girl’s embrace.

What was that thing?

Why did it possess such a familiar aura? Why did that sound fill him with such inexplicable aversion and sorrow?

Votila was somewhat aghast. He turned his head to look at Mulee Hua.

Mulee Hua looked at Votila with a hint of confusion, wondering why the small cat had suddenly tensed up.

‘This girl isn’t reacting. Am I the only one who feels this?’ Votila pondered with concern.

‘Should I go check it out? The location seems to be in the direction of that village from earlier.’

Votila considered it for a moment, then finally leaped out of the girl’s arms.

“Ah? Rinna?” The girl let out a cry of surprise. “What’s wrong, Rinna? Where are you going?”

Votila looked back, seeing the girl’s worried gaze. It wasn’t the usual facade she showed others, but genuine, heartfelt concern. This, Votila could confirm with his Dragon’s Eye.

‘Girl…’

‘I’m just going to take a look, to see what that unsettling aura is all about.’

Thinking this, Votila averted his gaze, no longer looking at the girl, and turned to leave.

“Rinna… come back… don’t go…”

Faintly, Votila seemed to hear the girl’s cries, tinged with a hint of a sob.

“I don’t want to be alone again…”

A discomfort stirred within Votila’s heart.

What was happening? This utterly unpleasant sensation.

Unspeakable emotions welled up in his chest, and Votila transmuted all the trepidation into a surge of fury. His entire body seemed to transform into a black lightning bolt, streaking forward, yet the bell on his collar made no sound.

Ahead, perhaps, lay the source of everything. Once he reached it, all would be revealed.

Votila thought.

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