Liza approached Ben who was standing there, still deep in thought.

“Great job! Your plan was a resounding success!”

Ben nodded but remained quiet. Looking at his grave complexion, Liza shook her head. She thought he ought to be happy and proud about the result of his scheme, not brooding like that. Realizing he needed more time, she left him alone for the moment.

Leaving him behind, Liza went to check how Eliot and Boro were doing. She was worried about them because the bandit leader was skilled, he even managed to parry one of her arrows in mid-flight. She came just in time to see Eliot, his entire flank bloodied, carving the heart out of the man’s chest.

“No, Eliot! You can’t eat that! Here, let me take this. You can have it Boro,” said Liza.

Watching his friend getting all the good stuff while he got nothing made Eliot sulk. He puffed his cheeks and turned his face away from Liza, who smiled wryly. Liza ignored his sulking and checked his wound. She gasped. It was a nasty cut that was bleeding profusely. That man really was an expert to injure Eliot like this.

Liza tore a piece of cloth from the dead man’s garment and pressed it on the wound. She grabbed Eliot’s hand and put it on the rag, telling him to keep pressuring it. It was only an emergency treatment to stop the bleeding while she went to get the medicines.

The villagers watched Liza coming and going with complex looks. Everyone knew she was instrumental for their victory, but they also knew she was the one that killed the hostage. The dead woman’s parents were crying their hearts out and rushed at Liza, but they were stopped by the other residents who consoled them and took them away. Liza felt a pang of guilt in her heart watching this, but it was soon gone and she held her head high again. She believed her decision to be the correct one, sacrificing one life to save many.

Grabbing her things from the elder’s house, Liza returned to treat Eliot properly. After she was done with the young man, she went to check on Ben again to see how he was doing. She came to find him standing on the same spot, still looking dazed.

[He’s still like that? Guess I’ll have to be the “bad guy” again…]

Liza drew her long knife and approached Ben. The villagers watched on with wide eyes, unsure of what she was going to do. Ben on the other hand didn’t seem to notice her as she got near him. He only came back to when he felt something clasping on his hand with force. Realizing what was going on, Ben trembled.

“Wait, no! NO!” shouted Ben.

Ben struggled with all his (pitiful) might. Liza ignored him and dragged him along towards a collapsed bandit that was still alive. Before she could pull Ben all the way to their target, a few villagers blocked her path.

“What are you doing? Let him go!” said a villager.

“Get out of my way, don’t poke your nose into our business,” replied Liza frostily.

“Please don’t do this! I don’t wanna! I’m no killer!” cried Ben.

The villager shuddered when confronted with Liza’s powerful gaze, but he stood his ground all the same. Noticing things were going bad, Carl hurried and intervened. He felt it was his responsibility to placate both sides as a new member of Kelna and someone more experienced.

“Back off people! Please excuse them Liza.”

“That’s ok. Can you move out of the way now? It’s tiring dragging him around like this.”

“Please stop her mister guard, I don’t want to do this!” pleaded Ben.

“Could you at least tell me what’s going on? What are you forcing him for? He seems quite pitiful.”

“I’m going to have him finish off all the bandits. He’s too soft, he needs a baptism of blood.”

“No, please! I’m no killer! They’re people! I’m not a murderer!”

Astonished, Carl watched as Ben pushed and pulled, trying his best to get rid of the knife and out of Liza’s control. The girl on the other hand was unfazed, one of her hands clasping around his wrist and the other making sure he held onto the knife.

[What a strange guy! All this fuss for that?] thought Carl.

The former guard got out of the way and made sure the other villagers stayed clear. They watched curiously as Liza forced Ben’s hand to pierce the outlaw’s heart. Ben shook violently. He was no longer shouting or struggling. Liza dragged him on like a ragdoll and finished the bandits one by one. She let her grip go after the last one and took her knife back, letting Ben sit weakly on the ground.

“Those that you killed today were bandits. They threatened not only your life and the lives of these villagers, but of many other innocents too. Look around you, see how many lives you saved and remember: you did a good thing today,” said Liza resolutely.

Her words seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, as there was no reaction from Ben. The villagers that had watched the show in its entirety nodded at her speech. What she said was the truth, to them these people deserved a thousand deaths.

With the bandits executed and everyone treated for their injuries, Isadora started organizing the villagers again. They dug graves for the few villagers that perished in combat and a massive ditch for the invaders. After that was done, a huge commemoration was in order.

The residents gathered around a big bonfire in the square and began cooking, drinking, singing and dancing. The joy of avoiding disaster, the joy of being alive. Those that had closer relationships with the brave ones that perished joined in too, dancing and shouting with tears in their eyes.

Liza was sitting with her companions, watching the festivities. Eliot was stuffing his mouth nonstop to make up for the heart he’d to give up earlier. Boro wouldn’t miss this opportunity to eat as much as he wanted either. Ben was sitting to the side, his eyes completely glazed.

The villagers took turns to come and thank them, offering dishes and beverages as tokens of appreciation. They were only rather stiff in front of Liza. After some people had come and gone, Isadora approached them carrying a heavy sack.

“They told me what happened, you’ve my thanks Liza.”

“I did what had to be done. I’m surprised they don’t hate me for it.”

“They don’t know how to feel about it. They understand why it had to be done, but they can’t accept it. The human heart is an irrational thing after all… You would make a good elder Liza.”

“Ah~, I don’t think so. I’m rough and can’t sugar coat things, people would find hard to follow my lead.”

“Yet you’ve the decisiveness to do what must be done. Anyway, here’s a few days of supplies. I’ll have Jimmy show you to the cabin before dusk. You can come to the village anytime you like, but I’ll send someone to check on you every few days anyway.”

“Thanks.”

“No, no, thank you for your help. Give my thanks to Ben afterwards, he seems out of it right now.”

“Will do.”

The commemoration kept going and more people came to exchange words with them. They were mostly pleasantries and heartfelt gratitude for their help in this dire situation. Eventually, Carl came up to them too.

“Thank you for your help in defending the village, my wife and son are alive due to your group’s assistance,” said Carl.

“No problem, but what will you do now mister guard?”

“I’m no longer a guard. Although when I first discovered you were hiding here I was tempted to go back and inform the lord, that’s no longer the case.”

“Ho, that’s good. I’ve heard why you quitted. Your family is lucky to have you.”

“Wah~ not at all, I’m blessed to have them!”

Carl was caught off guard with the praise and blushed slightly. They exchanged a few more words before he left to be with his wife and son. The festivities continued till the middle of the afternoon.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Jimmy the bold!” said Liza as she saw the lad approach them.

“Haha, you flatter me miss Liza,” said the boy shyly.

“It’s true though, I was impressed when you volunteered to scout the bandits. You did a splendid job!”

“Hahaha, I did, didn’t I? I’m here to guide you to your place miss,” said Jimmy feeling proud.

“Off we go then!”

Liza got up and forcibly dragged Eliot and Boro away from the food, with Ben following them absentmindedly. Jimmy guided them into the grove, all the way to a wooden cabin. It was a cosy place with three small rooms and a front porch.

“I’m impressed with how clean and well-kept it is, wasn’t this place abandoned for some time?” asked Liza.

“Hehe, granny Isa had me come and tidy it up the moment it was decided you were all staying,” said Jimmy.

“Really now? You’ve my thanks Jimmy.”

Jimmy scratched his cheek shyly. He talked with Liza for a bit longer before deciding to leave and let them rest. After he was gone, Eliot and Boro went exploring while Liza sat with Ben on a bench in the porch.

They stayed in silence, looking at the tranquil woods and hearing the soothing sounds of the birds. Liza was really pleased with this location, it was isolated enough without being unreachable, forested enough without being a jungle and most importantly, peaceful. She gazed at Ben from time to time, paying careful attention to his complexion. She was worried about how he would handle today’s experiences.

Outwardly Ben looked normal, but inside he was a mess. His stomach was constantly revolving, his breathing was unsteady, and his chest felt like it was crumbling under an invisible pressure. His emotions were all over the place to such an extent that he found himself in an almost catatonic state. In fact, if it weren’t for the ring voicing his thoughts he probably wouldn’t be able to communicate right now.

“Why did you do that? That time with the goblin as well.” asked Ben.

His ethereal voice was always without emotion, only increasing or decreasing in volume depending on the situation. At this moment the ghostly voice was so quiet it was almost a whisper, which went to show how frail his current state of mind was.

“I’m helping you. Maybe you can’t see it now and maybe you’ll hate me for it, but it’s needed. This isn’t the world you came from, you got to be ruthless when the situation calls for it.”

“But we’d already won. They were sleeping due to the tranquilizer and were no longer a threat. We could have restrained them and sent them to the authorities.”

“If we did that they’d end up being public hanged in the city. We just saved some time and effort, both for us and for the gallows.”

There was another period of silence. Liza knew Ben was still not convinced and sighed.

“Look, Ben, I get that you’re not used to this, but we ABSOLUTELY did a good thing today. Some individuals at the end of the day can’t be considered people and you should have no remorse when killing them.”

“That seems… extreme.”

“I don’t think so. Let me tell you a personal story. When I was small I lived in a little village much like this one, full of honest, hardworking folks, real salt of the earth. It was a peaceful and boring place, till one day when a group of bandits arrived. Everyone hid in their homes and the elder gave all our money to the outlaws, asking them to spare us. Do you know what they did?”

Ben kept quiet. He’d a guess, but he didn’t dare to voice it.

“They killed the elder on the spot, complaining there was too little gold! What did they expect raiding a farming village?! They began breaking into the houses and killing at leisure. My mom hid me in the oven and stacked a bunch of firewood to cover up the entrance. She made me swore to keep quiet, so I did. I stood there and watched as they broke in and… as they broke in and…”

At this point Liza choked up and couldn’t keep going. Her fists were clenched hard enough to draw blood from her palms. Ben looked at her in silence. He could only imagine what she must have been forced to watch as a kid.

“I’m sorry. To lose your parents like that… I can’t imagine it,” said Ben.

Hearing this Liza got angry again, but it was a different kind of anger.

“Not my parents, only my mother. My father abandoned us when I was still small. While I was growing up my mother kept praising him and saying how amazing he was, much to his embarrassment. But she was wrong! How can a father that abandons his kid and wife be any good? Where was he when we needed him the most? Wasn’t he the strongest? The ogre killer? Blargh!”

Liza unclenched her hands and brushed her face against her sleeve. She gave an awkward laugh and shook her head nonstop.

“Hahaha, I lost my composure. I was worried you’d go to a dark place with everything that happened, but it ended up being me the one who cried. Quite pathetic,” said Liza.

“That’s not pathetic at all. I’m impressed you can still laugh and cry after everything you went through.”

“I’ve master and uncle Paul to thank for that. They found me in that destroyed village and took me in. They saved me in more ways than one.”

There was a subtle smile on her face as she remembered her saviours.

“You’re strong. Much stronger than I thought,” said Ben.

“Really now…” replied Liza quietly.

They remained the rest of the time in silence, looking at the trees distractedly, both lost in their own thoughts.