Congratulations, You're Now More Valuable (and in More Danger)
By the time they returned to the NGCO branch, Shunya was dragging his feet so hard he nearly wore a trench into the floor.
Jean looked up from his desk, eyebrows rising at the sight of their battered clothes, monster blood stains, and the faint aura of exhaustion around them. "You were supposed to investigate. Not drag half the forest back with you."
Naomi dropped the Blood Tusker -That-Was not' s horn onto the counter with a loud thunk. "Consider the investigation complete."
Vikoria added quietly, "It was not supposed to be there. Something is driving beasts closer to the villages."
Jean's gaze lingered on Shunya, who was currently trying to balance the horn on his head like some cursed hat. "And him? Still breathing, I see."
"Barely," Shunya muttered. "I almost became forest stew. Again."
Naomi smirked. "But you did not. That's progress you have made."
