"Hey, Brandon! Help me out with the meat!" A dark-skinned man called a handsome blonde. He had a large build and his once-bald head was now filled with curly hair.
The blonde, Brandon, then threw wind blades and cut the meat in relatively equal sizes.
On another side, a pale-skinned bald soldier grabbed the collar of a narrow-eyed man." Mao, stop eating that! That's still raw!"
The man looked heartbroken when the meat was taken away and thrown back to the fire.
"But—"
Several lively scenes happened simultaneously around the campfire.
The group ate happily, not saving on the Captain's signature sauce, and the indigenous mercenary team benefited from the good food.
Bart sat beside Garan, chewing the delicious Hyena thigh in his hand.
"What's that weapon?" He asked, head pointing at Jake and Brandon, the people who used the crossbow.
Garan paused, and looked at the man, before finally speaking. "It's something we're developing. We will sell it to you once we perfect it."
Those two had just triggered the Weapons Maker Occupation, allowing them to create weapons that could actually damage these monsters.
Even if it was just crossbows for now, they had more pronounced effects on these monsters than their guns ever did.
Bart brightened at this and cheered with his mug. "That's a deal, then."
They ate harmoniously for a while, with the injured ones handling their wounds, including Garan.
It was just that, Garan would soon find out he wouldn't even be able to handle his own wound in peace.
"Captain, are you okay?" A soft voice appeared near them and Bart—still chewing—gave him a teasing glance.
Vanessa looked at the man, trying to be subtle in her fascination.
Garan was not only the most capable man around, he was also the most charming man she had ever encountered.
He was extremely handsome with his ebony hair that was as dark as the night sky, still smooth after everything, and she was extremely curious what it would be like to bury her fingers there.
Then there were his gorgeous blue eyes as deep as the sea, magnified by his chiseled features and strong jaw, so charming as if a woman could stare at it all day and not feel bored.
Women would love to be protected by those wide shoulders and lean muscles. Being embraced by it would feel like a dream.
How amazing he was in every fight; Every and each one of his movements were lithe and purposeful, and they were incredibly sexy.
However, none of these thoughts showed on her face, keeping her graceful bearing.
Garan frowned and looked badly at the woman, who seemed unaware of his annoyance.
The woman smiled at the sight of his stare. "I'll help you–"
"No need." He said, as civilized as he could. But the woman still refused to hear the message, and she 'bravely' stepped a meter towards him.
He frowned even deeper; One meter was considered his personal space.
Garan eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. How many women who tried entering his personal space were kicked out by him?
He did not do so this time, because among her suitors were a number of his men. More importantly, her father, the general, was one of his mentors.
This face, unfortunately, still had to be given.
He called Turbo, someone with the most training in first aid. "You do it." The spiky-haired man flinched a little, looking at the two people in alteration, before standing up to help out the boss.
Although he still hadn't figured out how to use his element—water—to heal, he had a good background in medicine as well.
The woman frowned, but her face remained patient. "I'm the only military doctor here. It is my job." She said, with a tone as if she was gently convincing him.
"You think my men can't handle such a small wound?"
The woman paled, causing some of the men to look at Garan with a bit of disapproval.
Bart watched it all in interest. He knew this woman, the only surviving woman in this team.
She was a very beautiful woman with her reddish-brown hair and green eyes. She also had a curvaceous body that most men would love to touch.
With these features, combined with her noble temperament and rare medical ability, she had fascinated a lot of men.
He knew at least third of the men here, including some from his team, were her suitors.
From what he heard, this was the reason why she got to level ten in the first place. The men weakened the monsters and even demobilized them, and she would get the final kill.
But…, as fun of a show this woman could give, he had an instinctive dislike for such a woman.
"I only hope to do my job…" she mumbled softly, rousing the pity of a lot of the men.
She took another step closer, looking like the concerned maiden who only wanted to help.
Garan raised his hand to stop her. "I don't like women other than my wife getting close to me." He said, and he said so with finality.
He wasn't even exaggerating.
As a good-looking orphan, there were no few old women who wanted to pervert him. Sometimes… these women were even maternal figures he respected.
He bit flesh out of their hands, scratched their faces, and many other things that got him severely punished.
It was only when an accident happened to Althea when he was trapped in isolation that he started behaving himself like a normal civilized person around these disgusting women.
This was also why he felt extremely uncomfortable around the opposite sex.
Worse, if they showed even the most subtle intentions towards him, he would directly feel like vomiting.
Like at this moment.
Fortunately, he had the decency not to show it.
It was only when he was with Althea—the beautiful angel he more or less raised himself—that he didn't feel that way.
She had always been, and always will be, the only exception.
"You don't have to be so defensive—"
At this time Gill, his right hand man, sneered.
Vanessa turned her head to the other handsome soldier.
Gill was also a very charismatic man with sharp features and his skin smooth and white, very much unlike a soldier.
If she were to compare, she would associate him more to the male leads of those saucy stories her roommate used to gush on.
He was more akin to a vampire, especially with how he bit people with sarcastic remarks all the time.
"Don't think of us as fools, Vanessa. Captain doesn't like you, period, please stop being delusional." He said frankly, biting off a piece of meat in his hand and Vanessa felt he just bit off her dignity.
"No matter how beautiful, no woman is even worth a finger of sister Althea."
This guy was famous for his mercurial character, and was known to only be friendly to people he acknowledged.
At least the boss still gave her a bit of a face, Gill would not. Vanessa didn't dare provoke anymore, lest she wanted to be humiliated in public.
At this point young Luis, who was practicing his fire technique, exclaimed. "I did it! It lasted more than ten seconds!"
The people stared at him and after a while Turbo, who had been dutifully preparing the gauze and medicine, sneered at him and yelled in a joking tone: "Ancient matches last even longer."
Luis looked aghast. "You!"
Then he proceeded to show off and tried to throw his fire…speck…at the man.
Turbo sneered and his fingers made a gun gesture and a tiny line of water went out of the tip.
Needless to say, the speck was easily killed.
Luis looked at his drenched palm, and he felt like crying.
"No fair!"
This made everyone around laugh at him.
This little interlude successfully dissipated the awkward air created by Vanessa, and soon the group resumed eating happily and started chattering about random things again, until it was time to rest.
…
Garan took first watch, and he was set in the middle of the crowd, while the others took post in the surroundings.
He stared at the bonfire, the silence let him enter a state of deep melancholy.
He couldn't help but remember the sharp pain in his chest when he was fighting.
Was it his wife? Was his wife crying? He thought to himself but no one would be able to answer his question.
He took out a worn-out photo of his beautiful wife. It was a photo of her before their wedding, during their prenuptial photo shoot.
It was set in one of her favorite Botanical gardens, the one with the largest variety, and a famous tourist spot.
She was wearing a beautiful moss-green dress that matched her deep emerald eyes very well.
The various flowers in the background were mere foils to her brightness.
He had chosen this dress, himself.
She was smiling widely, looking at the person behind the camera—him—and he recalled that she called him at that time. He remembered when she held his hand and gave him a kiss, telling him how excited she was to tell him of her vows.
His finger unconsciously rubbed the sheet harder and it took part of the photo paper with it.
He frowned at the damage in the same place, thinking of how to keep it from falling apart.
It had always been kept safely in space, but his unconscious rubbing the past months wore it out.
If only he could charge his phone, he could stare at her with thousands of photos in there.
He heaved a sigh, pushing down the uncontrollable emotions because they wouldn't bring him anywhere near her.
It was not easy, however, it never was. Garan yearned for his wife and was worried about her health.
He was gone for so long, maybe he was already declared dead.
Which bastard was trying to 'console' her this time? It wasn't the first time he was thought dead.
Especially that bastard Ansel by virtue of his status as a younger brother-in-name, took advantage all the time.
Thinking of this, the sense of urgency to find his wife was raised at an all-time high.
He abruptly stood up and couldn't help but stare at the two moons, as if she could see it, as if they were looking at the same moom.
Wait for me, Althea.