"Heed my words, my dear apostle. For I shall bestow upon you the sacred quest of saving the world."
"You're talking to me, Ms. Lynn?"
"No, Mr. Arezu. I'm talking to the horse pulling our wagon."
This playful and sarcastic exchange between Lynn and Arezu was what Alex, Liz, and Hannah had to witness following their battle with the orcs.
As for the details of the so-called sacred quest being assigned to the apostle—whether that be the horse or Arezu—it involved dismantling the three slain orcs, collecting materials and loot, and disposing of the corpses.
"You're telling me to do all of that by myself?" Arezu asked, unable to hide his displeasure at the outrageous demands Lynn was placing on him. Seeing his reaction, Lynn shifted from her playful tone to a more serious one—at least, that's what Arezu thought.
"Of course not, Mr. Arezu. We'll definitely help—but you'll be doing all the dirty work."
Arezu stepped in front of Lynn. He wasn't trying to intimidate her, but being taller and staring down at her made it seem that way—especially with his growing irritation at her blunt words. Lynn, however, didn't flinch. She simply looked up at him with an innocent smile, as if confident he'd obey her ridiculous command.
"And why do I have to do all the dirty work alone?"
"Because the horse can't, Mr. Arezu!"
Is this girl seriously not bullying me for fun? Arezu wondered, trying to contain his irritation at being compared to a horse.
Perhaps Lynn had finally had her fill of teasing Arezu—or so it seemed—because her next remark sounded more sensible.
"It's not like there's a lot to salvage from the orcs, so the dismantling won't be too hard. And since you're already drenched in orc blood, we'd really appreciate it if you handled that part."
Arezu turned his gaze from Lynn to Alex, Liz, and Hannah, who had been silently watching. Without saying a word, he asked for their opinion. The three nodded in agreement.
"Sorry, I don't know how to dismantle," Liz admitted plainly, a surprising admission for an adventurer.
"It would really help, Arezu," Hannah added, showing her gratitude.
"Just do what the lady says," Alex said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Setting aside Hannah—whose white vestments were certainly not suitable for such a messy task—Arezu wanted to say something. That Liz should at least try to learn dismantling. That Alex should act more like a leader. That Lynn should be more reasonable. But he was only a temporary member of the party, and it wasn't his place to lecture them.
"Fine, if you all agree..." Though clearly reluctant, Arezu accepted the so-called sacred quest. And hearing his submission, the one who bestowed the quest offered a reward to her dear apostle.
"Don't worry, Mr. Arezu. Once we're done dismantling, I'll help you clean your clothes."
"And whose fault is it that I'm drenched in orc blood?"
Arezu hadn't meant to be sarcastic, but the remark came off as slightly rude—though he was partially at fault for the bloodbath. Lynn, however, responded with a genuine and pleased smile, more honest than any expression he'd ever seen from her.
As agreed, Arezu handled the dismantling of the orcs under Lynn's supervision.
To his knowledge, orc skin was too coarse to be made into leather, and their meat was tainted by miasma, rendering it inedible. The only worthwhile materials were the monster core—found near the heart—and the right ear, which served as proof of the kill for the Adventurers' Guild.
Arezu first tackled the orc that he and Lynn had defeated. He sliced off its right ear with his dagger and handed it to Lynn, who promptly stored it in a leather pouch. Next came the monster core. He cut open the orc's chest, and as blood gushed out, he reached in and pulled out a rough, fist-sized brownish crystal.
Lynn cheerfully deposited the core into her bag as Arezu walked toward the next orc. Suddenly, Lynn grabbed the only unstained part of his coat—with her blood-covered hands.
"We're not done with this orc yet, Mr. Arezu."
Ignoring his protests about her dirtying his coat further, Lynn pulled him back to the body.
"I get it, so stop pulling." Arezu crouched beside the corpse and asked which other parts were worth harvesting.
"Please harvest the balls, Mr. Arezu."
Since Arezu had split the orc's head, retrieving the eyeballs would be easy. But as he reached for the eye, puzzled about its value, Lynn clarified with something far more disturbing.
"Ah, I meant the other balls, Mr. Arezu."
He looked back at Lynn, questioning what he'd just heard.
Reading his expression, Lynn bluntly pointed to the orc's lower region.
"The ones under its crotch..."
"What the heck do you need those for?!"
Arezu completed the dismantling of all three orcs, enduring the trauma of touching—and seeing—things no one should ever have to. At one point, he nearly vomited. At worst, he was ready to abandon the goblin-slaying quest altogether. But somehow, his resolve endured.
Now seated beside the wagon, recovering from mental and emotional damage, Arezu watched the others handle the rest of the cleanup.
Lynn moved to the edge of the forest road, where the trees thinned out. She raised her right hand toward an open clearing, focused her mana, and cast her spell.
The ground before her quaked, and a deep, wide fissure opened—enough to bury all three orcs.
So she really is a mage. Arezu thought, watching Lynn drag the orcs' greatsword and enchanted staff with a pleased—and slightly greedy—smile. Meanwhile, Alex, Liz, and Hannah hauled the bodies into the pit.
The disposal ended with Hannah offering a prayer for the monsters, and Lynn sealing the fissure using the same spell. The last thing left before they could continue their journey was to clean Arezu's bloodstained clothes.
Lynn cast a water spell, forming a large sphere of water in the air above her.
Compared to Tremor, a basic spell, Waterjet was an impressive intermediate spell. Its display drew praise from Alex, Liz, and Hannah. But rather than bask in their admiration, Lynn was annoyed that Arezu was staring at the water sphere instead at her.
Despite his ignorance of magic, Arezu admired the spell—not for its power, but for the perfectly formed sphere, about a cubic meter in volume.
It's like she gathered all the water elements in the air… His analysis was abruptly cut off by a dreadful intuition upon noticing Lynn's annoyed glare.
"Ms. Lynn… you're not going to trap me inside that sphere to clean me, are you?"
"Why would I do that when I can do this?"
Lynn raised her hand. The sphere released a pressurized blast of water, obliterating the trunk of a small tree a dozen meters away.
"Are you ready, Mr. Arezu?"
"Wait! Please don't mess around with that dangerous spell..."