"What..? So the SBV is using the Earth Mother’s Insignia to cause a cold war between ITS and the merchant associations?" Quinn said, her brows knitting together as she leaned forward, deep in thought.

I could tell she was trying to make sense of it. ITS and merchants... that’s not exactly a battlefield you expect war from.

Lydia must’ve noticed her confusion too, because she sighed softly and explained, "Yes. ITS is a syndicate of merchants formed by the emperor’s court. They’re the ones who launch new trade schemes and release new products to the public. Anyone in ITS gets first pick when it comes to contracts and business deals."

Quinn frowned. "I see... but doesn’t that make the other merchants unhappy when the emperor’s side keeps prioritizing ITS?"

Lydia nodded. "Exactly. The whole point was to create competition, to make merchants desperate to join ITS. But SBV plans to twist that desperation. They want to turn competition into conflict, and make ITS and the associations fight each other instead."

Quinn leaned back, tapping her chin. "And ITS wants the Earth Mother’s Insignia badly, So SBV is taking advantage of that... by refusing to sell it directly and instead using phrases like ’fair opportunity’ to spark arguments between both sides?"

"Right," Lydia said, sounding impressed that Quinn pieced it together that fast. "They’re hosting a kind of.. like discreet auction... not like public ones or open auction types, only for the top heads of the associations and ITS."

"So they’re basically increasing the value of the insignia by making the big names fight over it," Quinn summarized.

"Sort of," Lydia replied, leaning against the table. She reached for an apple sitting in a small wooden bowl and bit into it.

"At least, that’s what Merin said," she added between chews.

I watched her munching on that apple. It looked sweet.

I wanted one too... But this wasn’t exactly the right time to ask. The mood was still tense, the air heavy with thoughts.

"Hmm~" Quinn hummed as she leaned back on the chair beside Tugnier’s bed, one hand resting behind her head. "But why is ITS... or rather, the emperor, so obsessed with the insignia anyway? It’s been lying in our beast kingdom’s vault for ages, doing nothing."

Lydia shrugged, her tone casual but her chewing turning a little louder. That apple must have tasted really good.

Damn! I really want one now.

"No idea. Seems like Merin wasn’t told anything about the emperor’s real reason for wanting it either." She glanced at me.

"I can guarantee that’s everything Merin knows," I said, raising my hand.

Honestly, these two now know more than Merin herself does.

Quinn tilted her chair back slightly, the legs creaking. "Hmm~" she hummed again, lost in thought.

"What’s there to think about?" Tugnier suddenly said, sitting up on his bed. "Let’s just go and smash their headquarters."

Thwack!

The sharp sound echoed through the room as Quinn slammed her fist against the top of Tugnier’s head.

"Just lay down , idiot!" Quinn barked.

Tugnier froze, then immediately dropped back onto the bed with a grumble.

"Seriously... this guy’s like a kid," Quinn muttered, rubbing her temple with a sigh.

Tugnier had been on bed rest ever since we came back to the cave.

Quinn barely left his side, sitting in that same chair the entire time.

Honestly, Tugnier looked almost fine now, the advanced potion did its job better than expected, but Quinn’s overprotectiveness was... something else.

Still, I couldn’t blame her. Before we gave him that potion, he was leaking buckets of blood.

One wrong move back then and he would’ve crossed the line between life and death.

But still.. My purpose here is complete.

I sighed as I pushed myself up from the chair.

The faint warmth of the fire behind me flickered against the stone walls, but all I could feel was a quiet unease in my chest.

I opened my mouth, trying to sound calm, but even to my own ears my voice felt stiff.

"So... um..." I started, clearing my throat. "Now that the threat is dealt with... we’ll take our leave."

Quinn looked at me, a small pause in her movements.

"Huh? Ah... yeah..." she said, forcing a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Thud.

The sound was small, just a light shuffle on the floor.

I turned my head to see the half-eaten apple Lydia had been holding slip from her hand and hit the ground, rolling a little before stopping near her boots.

"Lydia..?" Quinn called softly.

"Huh?" Lydia blinked, as if waking from a daze.

"Ahh... that must’ve just slipped out of my hand... haha..." she said, trying to laugh it off.

She bent down, picked up the apple, and was about to take another bite.

"The floor was dirty..." Quinn murmured, her tone gentle, almost motherly.

Lydia froze. She looked at the apple in her hand, its white flesh now browned with dust and grit.

Her lips parted slightly, trembling as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t. Slowly, her hand lowered.

"I–I’ll go get Merin," Lydia said suddenly.

Before either of us could stop her, she turned and ran out of the cave.

Quinn and I watched her go in silence. The sound of her hurried footsteps faded into the tunnel.

Quinn sighed finally, her voice softer now, her gaze distant. "It’s night... too dark outside. Do you really need to go right away?"

I scratched the back of my neck, looking away. "We already talked about this. The longer Merin stays here, the higher the risk."

Then I looked back at her, meeting her eyes. "You remember the plan, right?"

Quinn exhaled slowly, the sigh heavy with reluctance. "Yeah. We move in the opposite direction from you, batch by batch," she said, repeating it like she was trying to convince herself.

I nodded. "That way, if anyone tries to trace Merin’s energy or aura trail, they’ll go after us instead of you. There should be many palces to the east from the forest for you to find new place for settlement."

Quinn nodded again. I could sense the sadness she was trying to hide, the tightness around her mouth, the way she kept her arms folded like she was bracing herself.

Just a few days together, but she’d grown attached to Sera... and to me, in her own quiet way. She really was a good commander, but too kind for this cruel world.

But still, this part is bothering me.. just few days, we are human and they are orcs on a mission in human lands, unauthorised.

How are they believing me this much? To the point they even let me decide their next stealth location.

Something is not adding up.

I sighed inwardly.

I should leave before this gets any more awkward.

"You still here?" Tugnier’s groggy voice cut through the silence. He sat up on the bed, rubbing his eyes lazily.

"Get going already. You didn’t even want a send-off because it’d ’attract attention from exhausted orcs,’ remember?" He waved his hand dismissively. "For someone who said that, you sure take your time leaving."

Thwak!

The sound of Quinn’s fist meeting the top of his head echoed in the cave again. Tugnier turned away, and lay back down quietly, one hand rubbing his scalp.

"Stay safe," Quinn said, her tone soft again, the irritation fading from her face. "I met Sera before she went to sleep. Make sure to look after her well, okay?"

I nodded. "You take care too. Next time we meet..." I smiled faintly, "you’ll be shocked to see how much Sera’s grown."

Quinn let out a small laugh into her hand, smiling through the faint shimmer of moisture in her eyes.

"Sure," she whispered.

I reached down and picked up my Blood Raven. Slinging it over my shoulder, I turned and walked toward the exit without looking back.

The cool air from the tunnel hit my face as I stepped out.

***********

"It’s been an hour since Rune left," Quinn said softly.

Her gaze was fixed on Lydia, who stood outside near the edge of the camp, looking in the direction Rune and his group had gone.

Even now, she hadn’t moved from that spot. The cool night breeze tugged gently at her skirt and hair, but she didn’t seem to feel it.

Her eyes were empty, distant... as if the rest of the world had faded away.

Quinn sighed quietly and turned away from the window she’d been watching through.

Tugnier was still sitting in his usual spot, half-lying on the bed like someone too lazy to care.

On the table beside him was an apple. Quinn picked it up and handed it to him.

"Lydia’s not taking it well..." Quinn murmured, concern filling her tone.

Tugnier took the apple without a word and bit into it with a loud crunch. "

Too bad," he said between chews. "If she had gone with Rune, she would’ve grown a lot stronger."

Quinn’s brow furrowed. She bit her lower lip, then looked at Tugnier again, determination flickering in her eyes.

"What do you say... if I want Lydia to go with Rune?" she asked.

Tugnier stopped mid-bite and looked at her blankly. Then, without any expression, he turned back to his apple.

"Sixty percent," he said flatly.

Quinn blinked. "Sixty percent?"

"I want sixty percent of her unit," Tugnier said, his tone as casual as if he were bargaining over a meal. "You can have the remaining forty." He took another bite of the apple.

A vein pulsed at Quinn’s temple. Her hand shot out before she could stop herself, grabbing him by the collar.

"Take this seriously, damn it!" she snapped, shaking him.

"Ack!ackkk!"

Tugnier choked, coughing violently as bits of apple got stuck in his throat. He waved his arms desperately until Quinn let him go.

Quinn sighed and looked down, her voice softer now. "But... will she even agree to leave?" she asked quietly.

Tugnier was still hacking and searching for water like a man who’d been stranded in a desert.

"You know how she is," Quinn continued, almost to herself. "She’s always holding on to the past. She thinks she owes us for saving her... and because of that, she keeps trying to repay it by staying."

Tugnier finally found a glass of water and chugged it down in one go. The sound of him gulping filled the silence.

When he was done, he slammed the glass down and glared at her. "Are you trying to kill me?" he shouted hoarsely.

Quinn didn’t even flinch. Her eyes were moist now, filled with worry. "I think she’s refusing to leave because she feels it would be selfish. Like... if she goes off with Rune, she’d be abandoning us."

Tugnier sighed again, the anger in his eyes fading. He leaned back in his bed’s head rest, rubbing his neck. "You really care about that girl, don’t you?"

"What should I do, Tugnier?" Quinn asked quietly.

She stood, then slowly walked over and sat beside him on the edge of the bed. Her shoulders drooped, the weight of her thoughts pressing her down.

"Quinn," Tugnier said after a moment, his voice suddenly calm.

She lifted her head slightly to look at him.

"I feel like..." he began, a lazy smile creeping onto his lips, "...leaving the details of our next location with those humans is troublesome, you know?"

Quinn’s brows knitted in confusion. "What are you say—" she stopped mid-sentence. Her eyes widened as realization hit her.

"That’s it!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

Before Tugnier could react, she leaned forward, pressed a quick kiss against his lips, and pulled away with a bright, reckless smile.

"I love you!" she shouted, already halfway to the door.

And just like that, she was gone , the sound of her footsteps echoing down the corridor.

He blinked once. Then twice.

Tugnier sat frozen, staring blankly at the empty doorway.

The half-eaten apple slipped from his hand and rolled off his knee, hitting the floor with a dull thud before coming to rest near his boot.

"...What just happened?" he muttered to himself, still staring into space.