***
One week later.
Nemora Village.
Gideon's condition was slowly improving—his wounds had dried, and his bruises had faded. He could see Luke and the others already busy with their assignments.
Luke had started gathering the young men to help with the perimeter and the watchtower. Working with fellow humans felt far more comfortable for Luke than working alongside wolves.
For now, they had built a defensive perimeter with a palisade and planted landmines.
Lena and Lyra hadn't moved to the next stage yet. The two of them were still working together, analyzing the habits of the villagers.
They had found several issues, such as the habit of rarely bathing and generally poor sanitation.
They both realized the village was far from any river or spring, making it difficult for people to wash themselves regularly. Lena began considering the idea of digging a well for them.
The villagers already had a well, but it was dirty and contaminated with trash and animal carcasses. They had no other source of clean water besides that single well.
Gideon stepped out of the inn. He turned his head and noticed several people hanging from the gallows.
They were the bandits who had been caught by the villagers days ago. It seemed Noele wasn't joking about enforcing the laws in the village.
Silva looked toward the inn. She saw another man in a tactical shirt and black cargo pants step out—everyone knew he was Gideon's team leader.
She gathered her courage to approach Gideon, unsure of what to say. She still remembered the near-death experience of almost being assaulted by two soldiers.
After witnessing Gideon and his team fight, she was convinced they were the ones who had saved her that day.
"Why were you able to defeat Moko's soldiers so easily?" Silva asked, catching Gideon's attention.
"Excuse me?"
"What is that black metal you use?" Silva asked.
"Is it magic?"
"How does it work?" she pressed.
She needed the information to confirm her suspicions. If the way it worked was simple and didn't involve magic, she could be sure Gideon's team had been the ones to save her.
Gideon wasn't carrying his M4A1 in hand anymore. The situation was calmer compared to before—no more village tensions, and threats from bandits or Moko soldiers had faded.
The SIG M17 was enough for their personal defense; no need to carry the much heavier rifle in daily activities.
Silva's eyes fixed on the black metal object holstered at Gideon's belt. Gideon noticed her staring at his handgun. He unfastened the holster and drew the weapon, holding it in his right hand.
"This is a gun, not magic."
"It works simply. You load bullets inside, then the gun ignites a primer that burns the gunpowder. The bullet is propelled forward at high speed by the explosion," Gideon explained.
"In short, this gun works based on the natural properties of materials—no magic or anything like that."
"Can you show me?" Silva asked.
"Sorry. I only use it when there's a real threat."
"Hmm… like when bandits come to threaten the village?" Silva asked. Gideon cleared his throat in agreement.
He re-holstered the handgun and glanced to the side, spotting someone approaching from the south. It wasn't a human—it was a wolffolk.
He came with another of his kind, both heading straight toward Gideon.
"Wolf folk?" Silva asked.
Gideon narrowed his eyes and walked toward the village gate, raising his hand to signal them to stop. The two wolffolk nodded. They were here to deliver a message to Gideon and his team.
"What is it?" Gideon asked.
"Leader Bian sends a message. The seven southern mythical races have gathered," one of them replied.
'Hmm… so the talks about uniting the mythical races have already begun, huh.'
"He asks for your presence there, to reaffirm your idea and convince the seven leaders of the mythical races," they continued.
Gideon fell silent. He turned back, watching Luke and the others working on their tasks.
"What's your name, miss?" Gideon asked.
"Silva… I'm Silva."
"Miss Silva. Can you help me?" Gideon asked.
"Help with what?"
He explained the help he needed. He wanted Silva to go around the village and meet each member of his team—easy to recognize by their appearance—and deliver his message to them.
That way, the three wouldn't worry if he suddenly disappeared without explanation.
"And what's in it for me?" Silva asked.
"I'll teach you how to use this gun," Gideon replied.
Silva became visibly excited. She nodded and left the village gate, while Gideon walked away with the two wolffolk toward the wolf village, where the meeting would be held.
Along the way, the two wolffolk said little, keeping quiet until they arrived. Just before entering the village, Gideon stopped when Lady Mitsuko came to greet him first.
"How have you been, Mr. Gideon?" Mitsuko asked warmly.
"I'm fine. Thank you for asking."
The two wolffolk went ahead after Gideon said he would speak with Mitsuko first. They didn't mind, leaving him with the kitsune leader.
"So, which mythical races are here?" Gideon asked curiously.
"Kitsune, Forest Wolf, Mountain Lion, Birdfolk, Mermaid, Satyr, and Lamia."
"Lion? Don't the wolves hate them?" Gideon asked. Mitsuko shrugged.
"I don't know. But they still invited them here."
Gideon stayed silent, his gaze fixed ahead where many guards from six different races stood around the village hall—a cone-shaped building serving as the venue for their first meeting.
"I must admit, your idea of uniting all the mythical races is brilliant. But it's far from certain."
"What do you mean?" Gideon asked.
"You'll find out soon enough."
"Let's go inside."
He nodded. Gideon and Lady Mitsuko walked into the wolf village together. Their arrival drew the attention of the guards outside the cone-shaped building.
Aside from the wolves and kitsune, the other races glared sharply at the human.
The door to the building opened. Inside, Gideon saw and felt only silence—no conversations at all between the leaders of the southern mythical races.
'Looks like each race holds its own grudges against the others.'
'This is harder than I thought.'
All eyes turned to Gideon as he entered alongside Lady Mitsuko. They hadn't expected a human to attend the meeting, and Gideon could feel the resentment in their stares—especially from the Mountain Lion leader.
"Human!" barked a muscular man with a lion's face.
"What's the meaning of this, you stinking wolf?! You invited a human here?" the man snapped, looking at Bian.
"He's the one who came up with this idea. Let me introduce him to you," Bian replied, rising from his seat and stepping toward Gideon.
Lady Mitsuko took her seat among the leaders. Some were puzzled by her closeness to the human, while others didn't mind—it wasn't strange, given the man's good looks. The kitsune valued beauty and handsomeness.
"This is Gideon. He and his team built the waterwheel. They have done much for both the wolf village and the kitsune village," Bian said.
"Kitsune Village?" they echoed, turning toward Mitsuko.
"Do you remember the red butterfly curse?" Mitsuko asked.
"He and his team stopped it… without magic."
"And let me tell you all," Bian continued, stepping forward to address the leaders.
"He and his team stopped the Moko Kingdom's invasion in a single night!" Bian said firmly.
The room erupted in shock—eyes wide, jaws clenched. To them, he was just an athletic man whose build was nowhere near that of the Mountain Lion leader.
Yet, somehow, he had defeated thousands of Moko soldiers in one night.
"Impossible!"
"A skinny man like that couldn't have killed thousands of Moko's soldiers in one night!" the Mountain Lion leader roared.
"It's natural for you to doubt me—that's because you haven't seen how they fight."
"Fight?" the lion-faced man asked in confusion.
"I'm certain that once you see their fighting style, you'll believe me."