When Cecilia and her team returned triumphantly from their guerilla mission, they were met with the cheers of the townspeople.
Even though it was late, Baroness Rose had gathered the townspeople on the street by the gate as they welcomed back Cecilia's group.
The townspeople were well aware of the monster wave, so they happily cheered for these people who had gone to protect them.
While it was a risk to let them know about the monster wave, Baroness Rose knew that it was impossible to hide it from them forever. So instead of hiding it, she told the townspeople and with her prestige, she was able to win their support.
In a situation like this, having the support of the people was worth much more than one would think.
Seeing the people that they protected cheering for them, the morale of the guards and knights soared.
At the same time, the families of the guards and knights had also been brought out.
They were allowed to run forward to hug their loved ones who had returned from the dangerous fight and all of them could feel the warmth of family surrounding them. They once again realized what they were fighting for and were filled with the determination to fight the monster wave.
This was the result that Baroness Rose had wanted when she had told everyone about the monster wave.
She knew that it was impossible to get through this disaster just with the power of the guards and knights alone. She knew that if they fought without telling anyone, they would eventually be whittled down by the monster wave that was coming at them.
Instead, they needed proper support, both physically and mentally.
By telling the people, they were able to openly gather supplies without having to hide the existence of the monster wave from them. At the same time, they were able to provide morale support for the guards and knights in the form of familial bonds.
By remembering what they were fighting for and being supported by those that they were fighting for, they would be able to show strength far greater than normal.
This was the gamble that Baroness Rose had taken when exposing the monster wave threat to the people and judging by the determined look in the eyes of the guards and knights, this gamble had paid off.
They were filled with motivation and determination to protect the ones that they loved.
As for Cecilia, while there were people cheering for her, there wasn't anyone that came forward to hold her like with her men.
That was because she didn't have family here like these people.
Her family was on the land of Baroness Rose's father, the count.
The only one here that could have been considered her family was her husband. However, going all the way back, he had never come out to welcome her back.
Not to mention…he was among the casualties in the demon order manor incident.
When Cecilia had heard about the death of her husband, she hadn't felt a single thing. It was mostly because in the first place, it was a marriage of convenience and not love.
As for her refusing Baroness Rose's advances…that was because of her strong sense of duty and righteousness.
But she had lost to her emotions in the end.
Still, it wasn't as if she regretted it.
After making her way through the crowd, she headed to where she wanted to go.
When she entered the room, there were a pair of arms that came around her, pulling her into an embrace.
Cecilia was caught off guard, but seeing that it was Baroness Rose, she relaxed herself and allowed herself to fall into that embrace.
Baroness Rose patted her on the back as she said, "I'm glad that nothing happened to you."
I was silently standing on the side at first, but then I couldn't help adding in a gentle voice, "Welcome home."
Cecilia's eyes couldn't help misting over when she heard this as a warm feeling filled her heart.
Even though he annoyed her because of how close he was with Baroness Rose, she still couldn't help feeling emotional when he said this.
It was impossible for her to not feel anything after everything that they had done.
After a long period of silence, Cecilia said, "I'm back."
Baroness Rose hugged her even tighter after hearing this.
I also couldn't help walking over to gently pat her hand.
After taking a while to calm ourselves, we sat down on the couch where Cecilia gave us a quick summary of what happened.
Baroness Rose couldn't help revealing a surprised look as she said, "How did you manage to take out all of those monsters at once?"
Cecilia turned to look at me with a strange look before saying, "It was as if I was stronger than normal."
I couldn't help being surprised when I heard this.
The nipple covers that I had given her actually had this effect?
No, I knew that they had this effect because of the description of these items I saw in the system.
These nipple covers were magic items that gave an increase to both strength and agility, the perfect item for a warrior like Cecilia.
But hearing how she had cut even ogres in half with her sword after receiving the buff from them, I couldn't help being shocked.
I never thought that a simple +5 to both strength and agility could do that much…
After she had finished telling the story of her fight, Cecilia couldn't help revealing a strange look as she looked at me.
I saw this and couldn't help asking, "Is something wrong?"
She acted hesitant at first as if she didn't know whether she should say what she wanted to say or not.
But after hesitating for a bit, she finally said in a slow and awkward voice, "You see…actually…I, I have a small favour that I want to ask of you…"