Chapter 44: What is His Goal?
By the end of it, Elen returned home with a few more deers and a boar as well. Not to mention, Sigurd left another crate of fruits and vegetables at the gate.
Everyone celebrated her return before working together to process everything.
It ended being a very tiring experience as the pair hunted for several days before coming back. And as soon as she returned, they bombarded her with questions, asking about the whole experience and about Sigurd. Among them were the children, ranging from the age of two to fourteen.
"What was it like?"
"How was it hunting with Sigurd?"
"Do you think he might be our new Lord?"
"Is he scary?"
"Oh, oh, is he fluffy?"
On that last question, Elen couldn't help but think back to her riding his back.
"His fur... it was really fluffy, wasn't it?" she thought to herself, "Really fluffy."
She then shook her head of these thoughts and frowned at them all.
"Big sister is tired okay! Let me sleep first then I'll answer all of your questions."
There was a collective groan before all of them said "okay", scattering apart. She watched them go before breaking into a smile.
"If he was our new lord, what would happen?" she thought, "He's a giant bear but... he can talk and think. What would they think?"
The young woman sighed before finishing her meal and heading back to her home. It was a small house, with two floors and two bedrooms but there was only her. Walking into her empty home, she looked around before sighing, placing her things down.
It didn't take long for her to start a bath and soak herself in water and soap. All of the exhaustion was released as she took in a deep breath, relaxing her entire body.
From that moment, she began to recall all that had happened between her and Sigurd in the past few days.
From helping her drain a deer to killing the Tarragon Snake, she felt a sense of excitement and pride from it all. But then her turns changed, turning to a rather doubtful expression.
"If he has never known about human life, how does he know all of this knowledge?" she wondered.
From telling her tips on butchering to guiding her in shooting her bow, Elen felt that it was strange.
Why was Sigurd comfortable with teaching her? If he's a bear or monster, why does he know such things?
"Is it perhaps from those non-human races he talked about? Elves and Dwarves? If it is them then maybe they taught him but what kind of person is he to be able to learn all of this?" she wondered.
Even as she tried to answer these questions on her own, they only ended with even more questions, ones that she had no way of knowing. That is unless she asked him.
"Maybe when he comes back next time, he did say he would return with the snake butchered", she thought.
Getting out of the bath, Elen dried herself before putting on more comfortable clothes, something loose and easy to move around in. And from there, she went to bed. But it was not before giving him another thought.
"Should I continue to trust him?" she thought, "Is he planning something else? I don't know."
It was right of her to suspect him. In her eyes, Sigurd was a being that could take over the Rho Sector if he so wanted to. He could have slaughtered everyone with ease but he didn't. Instead, he provided them with supplies and food, risking danger to help her hunt.
"He's done so much for us but all I've given back were a few books... That can't be his only goal."
She was still wary of him, she had to be.
Out of everyone in the sector, Elen was the strongest and was now their leader. Without her, the Rho Sector would not have survived for as long as it did. But with him, it may continue for much longer. As happy as she was about this, the young woman couldn't help but be doubtful about his true goals.
"Maybe he'll tell me next time... or I'll ask him instead... Either way, I have to find out... what he wants from us..."
She felt her eyes close as she laid in bed.
The bath may have left her feeling refreshed but the tiredness soon kicked in.
"What else... does he want?"
As she fell asleep and the rest of the sector grew quiet, Sigurd had returned to the mountain with the Tarragon Snake in his cuff. Back in his home, he sat down on his cushion and began to wipe off the blood on his fur.
"Ah, a bath would do me well, wouldn't it?" he thought, "Fortunately, it isn't that hard to clean it off but still... a bath would be nice."
Looking around, he cleared up some space for the beast but his face had a hesitant expression.
"I can fit this right?" he thought.
It was certainly spacious and he didn't take that much room but... the Tarragon Snake is an enormous creature. Was there enough space for it?"
The Guardian thought carefully before pushing around his thing, trying to make as much open space as possible before putting his cuff forward.
"Time to take it out."
Without a moment to waste, the cuff shined as the Tarragon Snake's corpse reappeared landing on the stone floor with a loud thud. Blood began to trickle out of its many wounds and collect under its body.
"Ah damn it, I forgot to drain it, this is going to be a bit of a mess."
He quickly noticed but let it be.
If he was going to have the ratfolk butcher the snake here, it would've been messy in the end. There was no point in cleaning it now.
"Alright, let's go get Ron and Puck."
After a quick trip to the Haven's Exchange, he returned with a group of ratfolk, carrying a bag of their tools for them.
There was a shine in each and every one of their eyes, excited for what was in store for them.
"To think, a beast from the human territories! Not even in the mountains but the human territories, Puck! Aren't you excited?!"
"What do you think?! A Tarragon Snake? I've never heard of such a thing but with what Lord Sigurd said, it must be a serpent of some kind!"
Ron and Puck, the head butchers of this group, were very similar in appearance. Both of them were slightly larger than the others, and their fur was light brown. Their aprons were of a much higher quality, made of brought leather instead of thick cloth.
The differences being their names stitched on the aprons and Puck wearing a pair of large round glasses. They were the kind with thick rims, made to not fall in any circumstances.
Coming down the lift, everyone other than Sigurd was jittery, unable to keep their excitement in.
But as they descended, the home of the Guardian slowly revealed itself as did the corpse of the Tarragon Snake. The scent of iron wafted into their noses as they saw the dead beast laying in a pool of its blood.
When the lift finally stopped, none of them had any words to say.
"Alright then, the fight was messy so its body isn't in the best condition but please salvage as much as you can."
After speaking, Sigurd moved forward, allowing everyone to spread out and marvel at the beast. Whether or not it was in perfect condition or unrecognizable, the sheer size was enough for them to make their jaws drop.
"This... this is what you've hunted? How?"
Puck looked at him, straightening his glasses as he gazed at Sigurd in awe. The Guardian gave a helpless smile as he answered.
"I got lucky, just when I thought it wouldn't drop it fell right before me. I haven't found the chance to drain it for you all so it might be messy."
Puck waved his hand.
"Oh, cleaning it up won't be hard! We can do it all quick! Right, guys?!" he shouted.
The other butchers shouted in agreement before grabbing their tools and starting their work. In a matter of minutes, the blood had been collected into buckets and the skinning began. Sigurd watched them work before calling out.
"Can you leave me the head first? I need it for something", he asked.
This time, Ron nodded before working together with Puck.
Shared in their heads was a large guillotine but it wasn't large enough to cut the snake. However, the pair suddenly pulled it apart, imbuing this butcher's "knife" with their magic. As they pulled, the blade began to glow and hum before growing bigger and bigger until it was enough to cut through the snake's neck.
They hopped up onto the snake and positioned themselves so that the guillotine would behead the beast.
"Let's go!"
They looked at each other in the eyes and nodded, jumping off and pulled the guillotine down with them. Just like that, it cut through the snake's neck, beheading it in one move. The head rolled off to which Sigurd took into his cuff.
"Thank you all! I'll be back soon so please take your time."
He bowed to them in gratitude before leaving, exiting his home.
"Time to go to Dyrnwyn's", he muttered.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone