What happened next surprised Eric.
These villagers could discuss how to deal with the Mad Frogmen in front of their dead companion, the villager supposedly killed by the Mad Frogmen.
But when Eric killed the ‘Ranger’, they lost the courage to negotiate.
When Judy suggested that they handle the Mad Frogmen problem,
the village chief was obsequious.
The villagers remained silent.
The ‘Ranger’ deceived them, yet they grieved and feared for his death.
The Mad Frogmen brought them huge profits every year, yet they had no patience with the Mad Frogmen.
Everyone buried the ‘Ranger’s’ body, and the village chief even recited a prayer for him, asking for divine forgiveness for his sins.
One could only say that some people truly deserved what they got.
As dusk fell, Atai'er spoke with the village chief, and the four of them finally stayed in the village.
Judy and Margaret, the two girls, were assigned to one room.
Atai'er and Eric shared a room.
That night, Eric suffered from insomnia.
Because it was the 15th full moon, the magic within Eric, his Moon Elf talent, yearned for moonlight.
Of course, it might also be that Judy wasn't there, missing a chattering little silly girl, which made Eric a bit unaccustomed.
Putting on his clothes, Eric walked out of the room.
The night of the full moon was a good time for Eric to practice his magic.
The village was very quiet at night.
Margaret sat by the well, her hands resting on the well's edge, her legs dangling, looking up at the moon.
Eric also looked up.
Today’s moon was very full, it was indeed the 15th of the month, and tomorrow, the 16th, the moon would be even rounder.
His Moon Elf talent activated on its own.
On such a beautiful night, Eric naturally felt peaceful and serene.
The magic within him echoed the moonlight, constantly improving his body, making him stronger, more agile, and his senses more acute.
“You can’t sleep either?”
Margaret initiated the conversation.
Eric sat down next to Margaret and said,
“A little.”
Margaret turned back and smiled, she said,
“How do you get Judy to sleep every day? She can chatter for hours, my head is spinning from listening to her.”
Eric smiled wryly and said,
“It’s fine once she gets sleepy, she’s always so excited.”
“Hahahahaha, that’s probably what it means to be carefree.”
Margaret teased, and both fell silent.
After a long while, Margaret brought her legs together, hugged them to her chest, and buried her head between her knees.
“Hey, Eric.”
“Hmm.”
“What does it feel like to kill someone?”
“Nothing.”
“Really?”
Margaret did not look up, her voice was a little low, and she said,
“I’m sorry, I lost my composure today.”
Eric glanced at Margaret and said,
“Just because you vomited?”
“Don’t you think I was very pathetic?”
“Why?”
“You and Judy felt nothing, but I was like that.”
“Cough… ha.”
Eric chuckled and said,
“Judy grew up in the Swamp, raised by the Swamp Witch; her relationship with magical beasts is probably closer than with people.”
As for himself.
If he still couldn’t see things clearly after two lifetimes, he would have lived in vain.
“And I’m quite special; in my opinion, humans are more terrifying than corpses, more terrifying than magical beasts,” Eric said.
Margaret did not respond.
Eric also said nothing more.
Everyone’s values are different, and a person’s life can only have one destiny.
If Margaret felt that her values were different from Eric and the others, then no matter what, Eric would let her leave.
He would not allow an obstructive person to stay by his side.
Thinking of this, Eric relaxed his body, sat down below the well’s edge, sat cross-legged, and said,
“I’m going to train my magic now, don’t disturb me.”
“Do you have to train your magic every night?”
Margaret was very surprised, she said,
“Won’t you overdo it?”
“No, only the 15th and 16th are special days.”
With that, Eric closed his eyes, and magic began to circulate within his body.
The moon also seemed to have a consciousness, beginning to gather moonlight onto Eric.
A comforting magic swirled around Eric.
Margaret lifted her head from her knees and looked at Eric.
This magic naturally affected Margaret as well, and her uneasy mood also began to relax with the moonlight.
“Are humans more terrifying than corpses, more terrifying than magical beasts?”
Margaret looked up at the moonlight, recalling what she had seen and heard today, and murmured,
“Perhaps I was too naive and foolish before.”
It was currently summer, and the night breeze was refreshing.
Margaret did not go back; she simply sat down below the well’s edge, just like Eric.
The breeze scattered her loose hair, Margaret tucked her hair behind her ears, looked at Eric beside her, and a faint smile touched her lips.
Although he was a shorty, wasn’t he comforting?
In the room, Atai'er opened his eyes.
His gaze fell on a longbow in the corner; the longbow, though no one infused it with magic, was slowly emitting a pure white moonlight.
The moon patterns on it pulsed, brightening and dimming as if breathing.
“Moon Elf, Moon Goddess… what a troublesome disciple.”
When Eric woke up again, there was already light in the sky.
Margaret had already left.
It was still quite early, and Eric had no plans for morning exercise today; magic training would not reduce fatigue, he needed to catch up on sleep.
Returning to the room, Atai'er had already gotten up.
“I’m going to the Swamp to take a look; this Mad Frogmen incident is an opportunity, you need to learn to handle problems yourself.”
Eric nodded.
Atai'er continued,
“Rest for a while, we’ll depart this afternoon.”
With that, Atai'er left the room.
When Eric woke up again, there was a fierce argument outside.
“Triple the price, don’t try to fool me, I know you earn far more than this from the Mad Frogmen.”
Margaret’s voice?
Eric rubbed his eyes.
She would actually do something like this?
The village chief said helplessly,
“Even so, 150 silver is almost a year’s income; we really are…”
Margaret’s voice was strong and firm, not giving an inch, she said,
“Since you don’t want to pay, we’ll report it to the royal capital’s army.”
“Anyway, our goal is to enter the Swamp, and we don’t care who helps us achieve it.”
“I want to see whether your tribute to the army will be more, or your payment to us will be more.”
The village chief exclaimed in shock,
“What? You—”
“We’re leaving immediately, either pay up, or we report to the royal capital.”
“Alright, alright, alright, triple the price, 150 silver coins, just 150 silver coins.”
Eric got dressed, checked his equipment, and went out.
He was surprised that Margaret would actually be willing to haggle with the villagers like a common merchant.
When Eric came out, Margaret had already negotiated the price.
“200 silver coins, the price has gone up now.”
“No, just now—”
“Say another word and the price goes up again.”
“Alright, alright, alright, 200, just 200, no more increases.”
“Pay now, immediately.”
The village chief looked helplessly at the villagers, taking everyone to gather the money.
200 silver coins, which is 2 gold coins, was enough to bleed this village dry.
Margaret saw Eric come out, smiled at him, and said,
“Good morning, Eric.”
“Good morning, Margaret.”
Hey, this young lady, she has a way about her.