Chapter 22: The Lion's Vanguard

Vito only slept for a few hours before joining Iris in more of her self-imposed chores. He threw seeds around as Iris prepared her spells. She summoned Undine and used her miraculous healing water to restore the land. Gentle water cast divine rainbows as it rained down on the dry land. Whole swaths of fields erupted with grass and trees. Wheat, fruit, and vegetable plants grew in minutes.

The farmers and workers wasted no time. They sang Iris’s praises as they ran to the fields to plant seeds and harvest the crops. Children and adults alike ran into the rain to dance and play around. A few people held out buckets and other large containers to gather water for later use.

Vito gave Iris a stamina-restoring potion from his bag. She finished it in one gulp and sighed in relief. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. You made these people really happy. Are you sure you’re not one of these Saintess women?”

Iris dismissed the idea. “A Saintess receives an oracle from Ivalis. They have special sigils somewhere on their bodies to mark them as a direct servant of the goddess.”

Vito put his arm around her shoulders and motioned to the villagers. “If this isn’t the work of a Saintess, I don’t know what is. These people lost hope, and you brought it back,” he told her. She gave him a warm smile, her cheeks tinged with pink.

Vito grinned and called out to them. “Am I right, folks?!” The people loudly cheered for her. They began chanting “Saintess” over and over. Iris’s blush deepened as she put her hand on Vito’s.

Iris didn’t like being the center of attention. She quickly continued her work by restoring more of the land around Orinis. She spent the better part of the day bringing the village to life. People would come to her with offers of drink and food out of concern for her well-being. Iris didn’t stop for a meal besides the potions Vito handed her.

Their final stops were the village wells. Iris tossed small blue pearls she called “Tears of Undine.” They restored the wells and ensured the village would never run out. Vito scanned them before they vanished into the darkness. They were all S-Rank items, and Vito had never seen a “Divine-Class” category before. She used them all to help others without hesitation.

Once their work was finished, Vito and Iris decided to rejoin the group. Iris stopped to receive a gift of flowers from the children they had met before. She briefly jogged to catch up to Vito, only to stumble.

Vito quickly caught her before she could fall. He grabbed her hand and waist to keep her up. “I got you.”

Iris looked up and blushed. Vito held her close, his concern for her evident on his face. “…thank you.” She was flustered and at a loss for words.

Vito grinned and easily picked her up in his arms. “You must be tired. Let me carry you for a while.”

“Wh-what?! I can walk-” Vito cut her off by grabbing one of her flowers in his teeth. She laughed and took the flower out of his mouth to put it between her teeth as he had. Iris put her arm around Vito’s shoulders as he walked toward their group.

“We cannot possibly thank you enough for the kindness and generosity you have shown us,” Reinfar spoke to Greye.

“It is our pleasure, good elder. We know what it is like to struggle to survive,” Greye replied.

“Except Iris, she’s a noblewoman and a priestess,” Kaelyn added in a flat tone.

Greye lightly laughed. “Yet she stood with us and risked her life to protect Orinis. Very few nobles would ever risk their lives for others,” he argued. “She is one of us.”

He turned his attention back to the elder. “There are some out-of-work farmers in the capital who could use a new home and work.”

“They can find all of that and more here. I will see to it personally,” Reinfar promised him.

Vito set Iris on her feet and smiled. “With how much we grew today, you’ll need all the help you can get.”

A group of five adventurers approached them, each wearing typical armor and clothing for their profession, and smiles that Vito didn’t trust. Two swordsmen, a mage, a lancer, and a shield-bearer greeted them.

“Hail, good Greye. Lord Renaudin sent us to assist you in this quest,” one of the swordsmen announced. “My name is Zelkan, and this is my guild, the Lion’s Vanguard.”

Greye smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, but I’m afraid you may have wasted your trip. We’re already finished.”

Zelkan was visibly surprised. “Really? What transpired here?”

“A noble hired a dark guild to chase two elder dragons here with the intent to provoke them into attacking Orinis,” Greye began.

“We dealt with those elder dragons and the dark guild,” Vito interjected. “The guild has been very talkative. Their employer has been very generous, and I think it’s only a matter of time until they give us a name, if only so we can drop them off.” He looked to Greye and gave him a knowing look.

Zelkan clapped his armored hands together once. “Hey, we get paid either way,” he reasoned. “Thanks for taking care of the hard work for us. You guys did great!” He extended his hand to Greye. Vito watched the two men clasp hands, his heart racing in apprehension.

Greye’s eyes narrowed, and his hand took on a silver glow seconds before ice shards erupted from Zelkan’s hand. Greye suffered minor frost damage and stumbled forward as he felt the blood in his veins freeze. Zelkan drew a knife to end Greye to finish the job in an instant.

Vito threw his knife at Zelkan’s head, only to see it parried. Delwyn exploited the opening and dashed at blinding speeds to swing her sword at Zelkan’s neck. The warrior released Greye and fell back. Galien was on him in an instant and sent Zelkan flying with a mighty kick to his stomach.

Zelkan recovered and drew a great axe. Kaelyn fired a volley of exploding arrows. The enemy mage stopped them in mid-air and shook his finger as though he were chiding a naughty child. Vito recovered his knife and threw it again from the mage’s blind spot to the side. His knife sailed through the air and pierced the mage’s hand. He roared in pain as his staff fell, releasing the magic binding Kaelyn’s arrows.

The resulting explosion rocked the quiet village. People fled in all directions, the guards barely able to guide them to safe locations. Galien nodded to Vito and left to help with evacuations. Vito drew his sword and ran into the dust cloud to finish the mage. His blade clashed against another; the second swordsman charged against him. Vito’s Scan warned him that Gerente was level 42 and wielded the Litdaiu, an S-Rank flame blade.

Vito fell back and took a defensive stance. Gerente pointed the tip of his blade at Vito. The flame-like symbols on his blade began to glow and radiate from the hilt and rush to the tip to form a large fireball. Gerente smiled wickedly as he launched the fireball at Vito.

A stream of water flew through the air and extinguished the fireball on its way to crash into Gerente. Vito strengthened his body and dashed forward. Iris’s attack left an opening for him to exploit. Vito reversed his sword and smashed the pommel against Gerente’s throat. Iris’s gentle nature made him show restraint and mercy. Once he was down, Vito looked to his father.

Greye’s blade clashed against Zelkan’s. “Why did you attack us?! We’re here under Lord Renaudin’s orders!”

Zelkan sneered in reply. “Outcasts do as they’re ordered, and now you’re being ordered to die.”

“What?! He would never betray us!” Greye pushed Zelkan back with one swing.

“How can one betray a useful tool? That’s all you can ever hope to be. Take pride in the fact that you could be of use to your betters.”