After some acting that he was in extreme pain, Zaos helped the villagers in disposing of the corpses. He more or less knew the theory of how to create a magic item that could restore health. Still, he never heard of those being commercialized, so to avoid problems, Zaos decided not to try to create them for the time being. Besides, he could always heal his wounds at home.
Some of the villager girls try to appeal to Zaos while tending his wounds. Still, Zaos ignored their advances and only smiled at them when they said anything too spicy. A smile was the best way to avoid getting himself involved in matters that could escalate too much.
"Hey, chief," Zaos said after his wounds had been covered in bandages. "I didn't hear of bandits in a while. Did your people were the first ones to be attacked in this new wave of attacks?"
The village chief was a weary old man who was a bit hot-blooded since he had been a soldier in his youth. However, after losing all his friends in battles against pirates over the years, he decided to retire. His name was Rillitar, and he probably was of the oldest persons Zaos had met since even his eyebrows had turned white. Despite that, the old man still worked every day tending fields. That was why he had the health of a bull.
"You again… the girls get so noisy when you show up and they stay like that for days…" Rillitar said, visibly annoyed. "I heard a few rumors with other travelling merchants that this has been happening for a month. You didn't hear because you live in seclusion."
Zaos wanted to deny that, but it made sense. Even though he tried to gather Intel as much as possible. He barely left home, and now Aleni was a figure important for Milliendra, so she couldn't leave often.
"Rather than that, I should be the one asking questions here…" Rillitar frowned. "How a lazy merchant like you managed to defeat seven bandits while they were on horses?"
"I got lucky… more or less," Zaos pointed toward the wounds in his body. "In any case, I want to buy some honey for Millie, I want to sell some magic weapons and tools as well, but I suppose you won't need them for a while."
"Nonsense, we can't tend the fields with weapons," Rillitar said.
In the end, Zaos managed to sell some magic tools. That always happens since he sells them below the usual price, and they tend to last one month, as they should. After a while, Zaos learned that some merchant scammers sell semi-new tools and they barely last three weeks. That is why Rillitar likes to buy from Zaos. He wasn't that type of merchant, and since he lived close by, he had even fewer reasons to scam them.
After finishing his business, Zaos headed home. After all that mess, he will arrive pretty late, so he couldn't waste too much time talking with the chief. In any case, Zaos began to wonder if it was time to go for some bandit hunting again. It would be better to find out if they are connected to the previous incident as soon as possible to avoid the problems that they might cause for Millie.
Zaos arrived pretty late at his home, but he still sighed in relief when he noticed that nothing had changed while he had been away. Much to his surprise, Milliendra showed up and left the house as soon as she heard the sound of the horses.
"Daddy!" Milliendra said and then rushed to hug Zaos.
"You should be sleeping already," Zaos returned the hug and messed with her hair.
As expected, even Aleni couldn't keep up with Milliendra's energy. That was why she wasn't sleeping yet. In any case, Milliendra didn't notice anything since Zaos healed himself on the way back, and he also got rid of the bandages. However, Aleni was quiet, as if she had noticed something. He needed to talk about that, but before it, he decided to play with Milliendra since she clearly was looking forward to it.
"What happened? You are late and you smell a bit like blood," Aleni said when Milliendra finally fell asleep.
"The village was attacked and I reached just in time to see everything," Zaos said. "After some acting, I helped the villagers get rid of the bandits, but…"
"Are those bandits connected to the other ones?" Aleni asked.
"It is hard to say… they had magic weapons, but their quality wasn't good," Zaos replied. "They attacked in the middle of the day as well… their modus operandi is completely different this time."
The previous group attacked only merchants and mostly at night, so it was hard to see any connection. Not to mention, the villages of that region weren't that rich. Most people only work to fill their bellies and to get the things that they need in their daily lives, after all. It sure wouldn't be that profitable to attack them.
"We need to keep an eye on the nearest villages," Aleni said. "If this group isn't alone, they will try to get their revenge by attacking other places."
"I thought you didn't like them…" Zaos frowned.
"I don't like dealing with them, but that doesn't mean I want them dead," Aleni said. "Besides, it will be better if we find out if this situation is connected to the other as soon as possible, for Millie's sake."
Zaos nodded. However, the same problems as before would rise… if they deal with the bandits, who will look after Milliendra? Leaving her alone while they go bandit hunting was out of the question, but Zaos was starting to think that it was time to teach her some defensive spells. Milliendra had a stupid amount of mana for someone of her age, so she should be able to easily protect herself if she focused on defense.
Milliendra
Health: 120/120
Mana: 1850/1850
Stamina: 100/100
Strength: 60
Magic: 925
Endurance: 50
Resistance: 925
Focus: 04
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