For Fiarca from Nervana Forest, it was natural to be skeptical. Silanda took that comment as a grave insult. She stepped forward, bristling with anger.

“Do you think anyone would willingly spend over a decade trapped in a sunless cave just to play spy for that woman?”

“Sillanda, stop.”

Senu quickly intercepted Silanda. Though she remained quiet, her challenging gaze towards Fiarca persisted.

Fiarca wasn’t backing down, either. Rigata, who had been sitting, stood up as well, and the atmosphere tensed up instantly. Seeing that a change in topic was urgently needed, Enya inserted herself between the two.

“Speaking of which, is Yaru all right?”

It wasn’t just to divert Fiarca’s attention. She was genuinely concerned about Yaru. At this point, they had essentially left Yaru behind amidst a territory swarmed with Peludas and wolves.

Enya glanced at Nihitan, who was observing the situation with a dispassionately calm demeanor.

Nihitan’s attitude confused her.

‘Wasn’t Nihitan Yaru’s companion?’

They even had a daughter named Yasmin together. Enya remembered a time when Yaru playfully clung around Nihitan’s neck, which added to her confusion.

“Is Nihitan worried about Yaru at all?”

As she finally approached him to ask, Nihitan lifted his head to look directly at Enya, one eyebrow raised intriguingly.

She couldn’t read his expression.

Just as Nihitan was about to speak, Fiarca interrupted.

“I’ve told you, Enya. You don’t need to worry about Yaru, remember? Yaru is a warrior who set a record for the longest time surviving in the forest filled with skull spiders during her coming-of-age ceremony. No matter what, she always makes it back alive.”

Enya vaguely remembered hearing something similar during a ceremony with the Nervana Forest people.

“But, but still…”

Fiarca cut off her concern with a nonchalant addition.

“Besides, in the forest, Yaru was the tribe’s network for communication. This kind of situation is common for him.”

Fiarca looked around confidently as she spoke.

“No one can catch Yaru in an area with trees.”

“Even so…”

Enya couldn’t let go of her concern. No matter how strong she was, Yaru was shorter than her.

As she remembered the closely cropped hair at the nape of Yaru’s neck, she furrowed her brows unconsciously. Yaru, who was small in stature and youthful like a girl, was left alone in the chaos. Yet here, these people were acting as if worrying about Yaru was rude.

“Still, maybe we should go back to look for Yaru…”

Just as Enya began to speak, rustling sounds started emerging from somewhere.

The noise came from above, precisely from the upper regions of the trees where they were gathered. The sound, initially resembling leaves brushing against each other in the wind, grew louder and nearer. Everyone directed their gaze towards the source of the sound.

Whaa—!

Suddenly, something revealed itself from behind the tree they were resting by. A white face popped out from the dense foliage.

Enya’s eyes widened in recognition.

“Yaru…!”

Yaru’s face lit up with joy upon seeing them.

“I’ve found you! You’re all here!”

Yaru’s sudden appearance shocked everyone, though Fiarca and Nihitan from Nervana Forest greeted her nonchalantly.

“What’s up, Yaru. You’re late. Did your skills rust in the meantime?”

Fiarca teased Yaru.

Enya quickly checked Nihitan’s expression, who looked back at her. His indifferent face seemed to say, ‘See, I told you there was no need to worry.’

Enya hurried to greet Yaru.

“Yaru! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Except for the people of Nervana Forest, everyone was astonished that Yaru could catch up to them so quickly without any mode of transportation.

“Why are all these trees so short around here, huh!”

Yaru, having jumped down from the tree, grumbled and brushed off leaves and branches from her body.

It was unbelievable.

They had ridden on gerpans for a long while to reach this place, and Yaru had followed them on foot without any means of transportation.

Enya quickly went to her and helped to pick off the twigs and leaves sticking to her body.

“I’m so glad you’re back safely. But how did you come so quickly…”

“I just hopped from tree to tree.”

Yaru replied nonchalantly as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. By then, Nihitan had approached them. He cast a glance at Yaru before he uttered.

“You’re a bit late.”

“I told you, the trees here are so flimsy I had to touch the ground now and then.”

Yaru retorted, already beginning to grumble as Nihitan joined them.

“Ugh! How come every tree here is so stumpy and the leaves so flimsy? It was so frustrating that I thought I’d die of slowness. We need to head back to Nervana Forest soon.”

Instead of complaining, Yaru broke into a grin.

“Did you miss me?”

Nihitan didn’t answer. He maintained his stoic face despite her playful gaze. To Enya, it appeared he was utterly unmoved, while Yaru was all laughs and smiles.

“Oh my, to see you looking very worried. I guess this is worth doing?”

The two didn’t even exchange glances. Enya felt awkwardly sandwiched between the two and instinctively stepped back.

Watching them, Fiarca approached her and whispered.

“Did I ever mention Yaru’s nickname is ‘Monkey’?”

Enya ignored Fiarca. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, she quickly spoke up.

“Anyway, it’s a relief that Yaru came back unharmed.”

Yaru didn’t just return without any harm. She seemed even more energetic than before. The group sat down to discuss the situation. After Fiarca had explained Yaru everything, she summarized their situation.

“Looks like we have three possible actions from here. The first is, of course, returning to Aquilea.”

“That seems almost impossible now.”

Rigata spoke, furrowing his brow deeply.

“The likelihood of Perugia’s forces still stationed within Aquilea is high. Moreover, given the recent commotion, it’s probable that Servia’s forces might also retreat to the tribe to reorganize.”

Rigata’s interaction with the people of Nervana Forest seemed quite natural. It seemed that there had been significant exchanges between them.

Yaru immediately chimed in.

“This awesome big brother is right.”

Enya blinked rapidly at Yaru’s words.

‘Awesome big brother…’

Neither Nihitan nor Rigata seemed to care about Yaru’s provocative nickname. Fiarca and Ihita, needless to say, didn’t even bother. Soon, Enya realized that in her absence, everyone had grown quite accustomed to Yaru’s bold manner of speaking.

Yaru continued casually.

“On my way here, I saw Servia’s forces retreating. It looked like they were heading back to Aquilea.”

Fiarca made a frustrated sound.

“Then, we can forget about the option of returning to Aquilea.”

“Wait, wait a minute!”

Ihita, who had been quietly listening, suddenly shouted.

“What are you talking about?! Of course, we should return to Aquilea, even if we have to wait!”

Ihita’s voice grew harsh with her rough breathing.

“Isn’t it obvious? Tarhan has disappeared! Naturally, we should find Enya and return to Aquilea! Everything will be resolved once Tarhan arrives, won’t it?”

Everyone went silent, seemingly surprised by Ihita’s strong opinion. Ihita hugged herself, looking around anxiously.

“I just want to go back to the tribe now. I’m sick of this life. It’s cold, uncomfortable…”

Fiarca glared at Ihita and reprimanded her.

“I’ve told you! We can’t go back yet. Even if we do, we’ll just have to hide and wait for Perugia or Servia’s forces to leave Aquilea. What’s the point?”

“We, we can just wait!”

“How long do you think that will take? Are you suggesting we waste time like that?”

As Fiarca shook her head in disbelief, Ihita’s face fell as she cried out.

“Anyway, I’m going back to Aquilea!”

The atmosphere turned somber in an instant. Enya comforted the teary Ihita and patted her on the back.

“Let’s not rush, Ihita. Let’s keep all options open for now.”

Ihita sniffled.

Even though she had always been bright and cheerful, she was still just a girl, not yet of age. It was clear that all of this was overwhelming for her.

Enya looked at Ihita sympathetically before turning her gaze to Fiarca.

“Then, what is the second option, Fiarca?”

Fiarca looked at Ihita puzzledly and awkwardly responded.

“Well… we can go directly to the Argon Desert, where the allied forces are stationed.”

“That’s… unacceptable.”

Until then, Senu, who had quietly listened to the entire conversation, spoke up.

All eyes turned to the cave group, who were sitting a bit apart from the others. Silanda, with a grim expression, and Jahan, who looked anxious, were beside Senu, watching the discussion unfold. The sudden involvement of the cave group brought a wave of tension.

“We agreed to accompany Enya to meet this Tarhan.”

Senu declared firmly.

“Going back to the Argon Desert, where he has already left, is pointless.”

“…That’s too selfish of you.”

Rigata then spoke up. He sharply pointed out, sitting on a rock slightly away, different from the rest.

“Have you forgotten about the ongoing war situation between the great plains and the desert?”

With Tarhan gone, the few warriors who had followed him and some members of the Nervana forest were still in the desert.

Rigata furrowed his brows and crossed his arms.

“Finding Tarhan isn’t everything. Our duty is to deal with the responsibilities he left behind.”

Enya watched Rigata anxiously.

He was right. With Tarhan vanished, the position of his followers within the allied forces was highly unstable. They might already be suffering under Gernan’s oppression.

“I agree with this man.”

Nihitan, who had been silent, nodded quietly. His statement carried weight as a young leader among the Nervana forest men. As soon as Nihitan spoke, Yaru and Fiarca’s faces became serious.

Fiarca nodded in agreement.

“We can’t just leave our people in the desert.”

Enya’s face hardened.

‘What should I do in such a situation?’

Everyone had differing opinions, making it impossible to judge who was right or wrong.

Rigata then gave a bitter laugh and rubbed his face dryly. His gaze, directed toward her, carried a heavy silence.

“Honestly, I never imagined Tarhan would embark on such an impulsive endeavor.”

Rigata’s words shook Enya’s heart violently.

She felt her face drain of color.

Rigata had been a loyal follower of Tarhan’s side for many years. Enya, too, was surprised by his decision, though the complexity of feelings Rigata must have felt, having closely observed Tarhan’s responsible leadership for the longest time, was beyond words.

“I think I understand somewhat how he felt.”

Yaru then murmured coldly.

“It’s like the last thread he was clinging to in his mind finally snapped. That man, I’ve seen him pushing his limits for a while now.”

__