Returning to the settlement, no one was there to greet us.
I mean, sure, I wasn't expecting another feast or ceremony like before, but seriously, no one?
Not even Farida and Khovor?
What a tough life…
"Grul!"
Wait—wait.
Farida…Khovor…
They were waiting for me.
How foolish of me, to be so pessimistic.
All I needed was to have faith—
"A Saintess is here! We were just running by here to see her! Your breakfast and lunch is already made. See you back home!"
…
…
…Nevermind.
As I felt a bit sad about not having anyone to greet me once I returned, the party of adventurers were murmuring with each other.
"Saintess? The Saintess is here?!"
"Tyler, come on! We have to go to her!"
"The Saintess…It seems the Goddess church has a special interest here to send her of all people."
"Sain…tess? Sa-in…tess…SAIN TEST! Kuhahaha! Bundo knows what that is! Test for strong people, yes! I follow!"
And now the party was gone, too.
Of course, feeling left out, I decided to head to where everyone else was going.
Plus, if I don't have dementia, I might know who this Saintess is that they're referring to.
…
…
…
"—On the days of the eleventh and twelfth were when the world was granted enlightenment by the Goddess—"
At the end of my walk was a crowd of people encircling a girl who stood above the rest, quite literally, as she was on a raised platform with a podium.
It looked like she was giving a sermon about her religion: the Goddess religion.
This religion, as far as I remember, was the main religion that people around here have.
And by people, I mean the western lands, which was the one that had the most content and where beginners started off.
And the girl standing above it all…was the Saintess.
Another late game character.
But unlike Doc, I could tell that she was the character I knew because of her distinct features and sightings in early to mid game.
Skin as white as porcelain, platinum blonde hair, peach blossom eyes with a radiant blue color, and a heart-shaped face.
Suffice to say, if you asked most people who played the game who do they think were the most beautiful women in the game, the Saintess would be a top contender.
Well, saving the Saintess topic for later, I looked around to find the adventurers and the two brats that left me to dry.
There were a lot of people in the crowd; if it weren't for my tall and wide Orc body, the only thing I would've seen was someone's back.
Khovor and Farida were being carried by Kael and Silver, listening very closely to the Saintess.
I won't say that I felt jealous, seeing those two act like jovial uncles appeasing their nephew and niece.
I also won't say that I didn't feel jealous.
On the other side, the adventurer party was…what?
The adventurer party was attempting to run up a building's roof like squirrels to see the Saintess.
Maybe they've been in the forest for too long; feels like they've gone coo-coo.
Anyway, finally spotting the two groups that were closest to me, I shifted my attention back to the Saintess and—
She was looking at me.
…
…
…Or maybe not.
It seems that she simply glanced in my direction, probably to add interaction to her sermon by looking at the masses.
But for some reason, she stopped her sermon and decided to end it then and there.
"That will be all for today. For now, me and my priest brothers and priestess sisters will settle down and build a church here. I hope that I will see you all again there once it has been built. May the Goddess be with you, always."
What?
Why?
I just got here.
I never actually listened or read to the flavor text for the Goddess religion before, I thought it'd be a good time to finally know about it now.
But despite my internal objections, the Saintess had stepped down from the elevated platform, circled by dozens of holy knights and clergy as she left the scene.
The crowd, too, would begin to disperse.
As I stood there, feeling helpless, the two brats and their now-uncles approached me.
"Gruu~uul!"
"Gr…ul."
"Good to see you out in the morning instead of creeping at dawn, Grul."
"Grul."
A barrage of greetings from the brats I was looking for was finally here.
Where were they when I actually came back?
Oh wait, right, the Saintess.
Feeling a bit petty, I disallowed them from something that I oh-so-generously allowed them.
"Khovor, Farida. No more late night snacks."
They both gasped.
"Grul, that's a bit too cruel…"
"It is. There's a time and place for drastic punishments, and this is not one of those."
Their doting, mind-controlled uncles were quick to defend them.
But I stood my ground.
I wasn't doing this just because I felt petty, but because they really do need to stop eating snacks so late in the night.
I've spotted one-too-many times just how many snacks they've eaten after I come back home from the forest where I taught the adventurers.
Yes, they were probably eating that much because they were waiting for me to come home, but it's still too unhealthy for them.
Any staying up late is unhealthy, too, so it's a no-go either way.
"Final."
With that, the two kids could only hang their heads low in despair.
This is where I activate my ace in the hole.
"But, buy gifts for you both tomorrow. Bring you along."
"Woah!"
"M—Mmm…!"
And with that, their moods were revitalized once more.
The stick-and-carrot method.
Simple, yet so effective.
After that, we chatted about things we did in the weeks I was gone.
"Oh, right, Grul, you—"
"BUNDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
As Silver was about to say something to me—probably important since his tone was different—Bundo ran up to us.
"Bundo! Wait!"
"You idiot, stop! They're talking!"
"Haaa…"
Along with the rest of the adventurer group.
I should've taught them manners as well if I knew they would suck at that, too.
"Hello! I am Bundo! Bundo strong, big! Not as strong, big as Grul, but still strong, big!"
Contrary to their behavior during the feast, Silver and Kael looked at me like 'you know who these guys are?'
I, unfortunately, nodded.
Farida and Khovor were startled by the lively display from Bundo.
They retreated further into the gentle hold of Kael and Silver.
Seeing the kids uncomfortable, Kael was starting to feel restless, his hand on his sword's hilt.
It would be bad if a fight started right now; the relation of the kids and their soon-to-be mentors would start off very poorly if it did.
As I was about to move to prevent anything from happening, someone else beat me to it.
"I teach you many things! Kuhahaha—Ouch, ouch ouch!"
"You're scaring the poor kids, you chicken-brained…"
"Ahh! Bundo sorry! Bundo so sorry!"
Ayleen, the savior of the situation, pulled Bundo's ear and reprimanded him through gritted teeth.
I don't know if it was because he felt hurt from getting his ear pulled, or Ayleen's words putting some sense into him, but he apologized.
That was enough to calm down Kael's nerves, as well as Farida's and Khovor's.
"Sorry for that. This dullard hit his head when he was a child, and it affected his personality."
"Bundo was never hit in the head—"
"Anywho, we're the 'Fellowship' adventurer party."
Ayleen fabricated a lie in the moment that provided a valid reason for Bundo's outburst, gracefully moving past Bundo's rebuttal and introducing the adventurer party.
Which was called Fellowship.
For some reason, I was only knowing that now, too.
How come they never told me before?
Or did they?
But, I don't remember ever hearing about it before…
"I'm Ayleen. That's Tyler, Mel, short for Melophone, and finally—"
"Bundo!"
"—Bundo."
After she introduced the party, there was an awkward silence.
"W-well, we've met before, haven't we? But we never introduced each other…that's why we're introducing ourselves to you now. Could you, ah, tell us what your names are as well?"
She said that to the two kids.
They both looked at me, seemingly for approval.
Good attitude towards a stranger asking for your name.
I nodded, a bit proud of how they conducted themselves.
"I'm Farida."
"Kh…ov…or."
"Nice to meet you, Khovor and Farida…Has Grul told you about…uhm…us?"
Oh, right.
I haven't told the two about me getting them teachers/tutors yet.
As Farida and Khovor tilted their heads in confusion, I explained to them what Ayleen meant.
"They are your trainers."
"What?!"
"Grul?"
"…?!"
The two kids and two uncles were, to put it simply, dumbfounded.
"Grul, you could've asked me to assign Kael as their tutors; I doubt he'd mind. Or, even someone else, if need be. I wouldn't ask for a price—"
"No, they are better for them."
It was clear Kael and Silver were rather skeptical of my statement.
Nonetheless, I had picked my choice, and I wasn't going to let my efforts and time go to waste.
Hell, they could start training right here, right now.
…Actually, that gives me an idea.
"Tyler, Mel, Ayl, Bundo."
At my calling of their name, they all stood at attention.
"Training. Start now."
"WHAT?!"
"N-Now?!"
"G-Grul?!"
Of course, they were taken aback.
"W-we just came back from a long journey, Grul, I don't think—"
"Start. Now. Bring Farida and Khovor."
Nevertheless, I ordered them to.
And since it was our deal, they can't do anything but sigh and accept.
"A-Alright. Little Farida, little Khovor. Please, follow us."
"Kuhahaha! Follow Bundo!"
The two hesitated, but with my encouragement, they did.
Or at least tried to.
They were still being carried on hand by Kael and Silver.
Whom were not letting them drop down so easily.
"We'll join along…just in case."
"Is it alright with you that we watch as well, Grul? You are their guardian, after all."
I grunted approvingly.
I would be more than happy to see them join along.
It's like killing three birds with one stone: I get to show the fruits of my effort to them to dispel their worries, as well as get the two kids' and party's relationship on a strong start, and lastly, to get some well-deserved rest for myself.
I watched them walk away, waving my hand at the two kids' turned heads, looking at me with puppy dog eyes.
Sorry kids, but this is a necessary step.
I'll make it up to you both tomorrow.
…
…
…Damn, so this is what sending your kids to kindergarten feels like.
…
…
…Anyway, I'm off to go to sleep.
…
…
…Am I forgetting something, though?
…
…
…Nah, I'm off to sleep.
….
…
…
Walking back to my home, I felt a cold chill.
Was it just me, or was it a foretelling of future events?
I did notice some traces of footsteps near my home…
I don't know.
All I know is that I'm going to have a long, well-rested sleep right now.
I gently open the door.
*Ka-chunk…*
"It's nice to meet you, Grul. I am Isabella, a Chosen Saintess of the Goddess. May we have a talk?"
…
…
…Haaaaah…
One after another.
-Meanwhile-
As Kael and Silver followed the merry band of adventurers, Silver remembered an important notice that he was supposed to deliver to Grul.
'The Saintess was asking to meet with you, and I couldn't find any reason to refuse. Please be prepared for her arrival at your home.'
He was going to say that, had he not been interrupted by these new faces, who he only knew as people part of the group that Grul had saved during his return.
He thought about going back to inform Grul, but he shrugged.
For now, the most important thing was Khovor and Farida and their new supposed 'trainers'.
Grul can handle it himself just fine.