Chapter 8

"You saw what?" the chief asked, shocked.

The hunters had just returned from the hunt and were currently in the chief's hut, reporting what they had seen. The chief had taken one look at their distressed faces and immediately ordered them to tell him everything within the privacy of his hut to not cause immediate panic.

"Like I said, these weird flying creatures that looked like small flying Khezu without legs," Gigi said.

"They hovered around the Nerscylla and made the hunt a lot harder than it should be," Leon added.

"Not to mention, the Nerscylla looked weirdly red-"

"The Nerscylla looked red?" the chief asked again.

Gigi frowned. "Yes, as I said red and-"

"Jenna!" The chief turned towards their receptionist, who had been standing next to him listening to the report. "Send a message to the Guild at once and relay everything the hunters had said."

"Yes sir!"

After she left, the chief sighed and shook his head, "Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse…"

Gigi loudly cleared her throat, placing both hands on her hips and looking like a stern teacher scolding a naughty child. "Excuse me. First, I don't appreciate being interrupted, and second, can you please tell us what is happening?"

"Right, sorry. Anyway, you are not going to like this…"

…

Yuna was mad at him. That he was positively sure. He is once again reminded that the young lady rarely ever did get angry at him. Sure, he knew he wasn't perfect and Yuna got annoyed with him several times over the years, but she was quick to forgive, and all was well. Well, perhaps that one-time Yuna got angry at him for not allowing her to venture out of the castle, but that was when she was still a child and still innocent. But it was different this time.

He knew he screwed up.

"I still can't believe you Satoru!"

"I know and I'm-"

"No, shut up! You're telling me that you've been hiding the fact that you've been infected this entire time? I can't even-" She growled in frustration, kicking the ground and furiously pacing inside the hut.

"Yuna-"

"And now? You're going to die!" she cried out. "You're going to die and you're going to leave me! Just like everyone else!" She couldn't believe this was happening. The plague had wiped out most if not all her people and there had been no cure. She had no idea how long Satoru had left before he would succumb to the illness but the thought of it frightened her to no end.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps just outside the hut caught her attention.

"Excuse me?"

Yuna's eyes brightened slightly, "Gigi!" She saw the huntress push the curtains aside and poked her head into the hut.

"We've returned and we bring some…bad news."

"Oh." Just when she thought things couldn't get worse.

"May we come in?"

"Y-Yes of course."

One by one, the rest of the hunters entered the tent.

"Oh my god!" Yuna gasped upon seeing Camilla. "What happened?"

Realizing that she was referring to the burn marks on her face, the huntress scoffed. "Nerscylla poison. Don't question it," she said, a hint of a warning in the tone of her voice. Camilla appeared to be in a bad mood, so Yuna wisely chose not to bring it up again.

"So-" Gigi began. "Stuff happened and though we successfully brought down our target, we encountered something…sinister."

They then explained what they had seen along with the talk they had with the chief, all while Yuna and Satoru listened, their expressions growing more troubled with every second.

"And that's pretty much it," Gigi finished. "A plague outbreak infecting not only people but monsters too, only in the latter's case it's made them more aggressive."

"The Guild still does not know the definite cause, but it's highly believed to be linked to those red tiny Khezu-like things we encountered," Camilla said, face scrunching up in disgust upon recalling the creatures. "Apparently getting bit once is enough to infect you."

"Well, it just so happens this idiot here-" Yuna turned and glared at the offender. "-got himself bitten back in our homeland and refused to see a doctor. And now he's going to…he's going to…" Yuna's lips trembled, and she looked as if she was about to cry again. Gritting her teeth, she mumbled an apology before stomping out of the tent.

"I'll make sure she doesn't wander off too far," Camilla offered after a few moments of silence, before leaving the tent herself.

"And I'll make sure our supplies are ready for our journey to Dundorma. Julian let's go," Gigi said. But before she and Julian exited the tent, she turned and briefly gave a knowing look. "Leon?"

"Yeah?" the hunter responded, having been uncharacteristically quiet the entire time.

"I…I'll leave you to talk to him…And don't take too long."

"No need to worry about me," he replied calmly.

Gigi looked like she wanted to say something else but quickly shook her head as she and Julian wordlessly left, leaving Leon and Satoru alone in the tent. There was a minute of awkward silence before Satoru decided to speak up.

"She mentioned you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah, because I wanted to show you this." He approached Satoru's bed and rolled up the sleeves of his undershirt.

The man's eyes widened, "Oh…You got bitten too."

Leon nodded as he rolled his sleeves back. "After seeing how upset Yuna got over you, I had to wait for her to leave." Leon then chuckled dryly. "She would probably faint from shock if she saw this."

Satoru hesitated on what to say before steeling himself and speaking again. "And…how are you feeling?"

"I don't know," the younger man answered. "I mean, the moment I took this job, I knew I may die out in the field, but I never expected to possibly die from something so not exciting. Took me a little while to process that when we had a talk with the chief and he mentioned how easy it is for someone to just die out of nowhere due to the virus. Made me rethink my mortality."

Satoru noted how eerily calm Leon was despite knowing he could die in less than a week. "I see," the Wyverian simply said.

"Sorry for dampening the mood with the news of my possible imminent death," Leon joked.

Satoru, however, didn't laugh. "How are your friends handling this?"

The hunter sighed. "About as well as you think. Julian's the sensitive one so he's likely taking this the worst. Probably silently sobbing against Gigi's shoulders. I think Gigi and Camilla will beat my ass though, so I was hoping they'll be too tired and just fall asleep."

At this, Satoru smiled sadly, "It's nice to know you'll have people who will be willing to stay by your side until the very end."

Leon smiled as well before turning around, ready to leave. "Anyway, sorry for keeping you. I'll be heading out now. And regarding Yuna…We've already promised to escort her to her destination, and we haven't forgotten that. We will take her there; you have our word."

Satoru bowed in gratitude, "I wish you the best of luck."

Leon flashed a thumbs up and turned back towards the entrance. But just as he pushed the tarp, he stopped. "Satoru I…I thank you for letting me get this off my chest. It was nice to talk to someone as long-lived as you are."

"There's no need to thank me," Satoru replied and watched as Leon gave a small wave before disappearing out of sight.

…

When Leon entered his tent, he was surprised to find Gigi and Camilla there. The two looked exceptionally furious and he gulped.

"Let's not be hasty here-" he began, trying to calm them down. Before he could finish, however, Gigi surged forward and punched him directly in the stomach. Hard.

The hunter keeled over in pain. But the huntress was not done yet and proceeded to land a kick up his chin, sending him flat on his back.

"Camilla," Gigi said as the other huntress walked over to him.

"Wait, what are you- Ack!" Camilla grabbed him with one hand by the throat and effortlessly lifted the hunter, leaving his feet helplessly dangling in the air. She then proceeded to carry him over to the other side of the tent before throwing him onto his bed.

"Look, I know you two are mad-"

"You. Stay. Put," Camilla interrupted, speaking firmly and harshly.

"What?"

"You will stay here and rest. The rest of us will handle the preparations for the trip tomorrow."

"Huh?"

Gigi sighed. "Just sleep. We'll handle the rest."

Leon sat up, grunting at the pain. "Why are you doing this?"

"Why are we doing this-" Gigi repeated, vexed at this whole situation. "You will stay put, or so help me I will beat your ass further."

"Gigi-"

"And you made Julian cry! Made me cr-" She immediately shut her mouth before she could continue and promptly stomped off, with Camilla following closely behind.

Once they were gone, Leon slumped back onto the bed. They really did beat me up…he thought.

…

The next day, the group was preparing to leave and head to Dundorma. Unfortunately, Satoru was too weak to follow, and he vouched for it, knowing he would only serve to hinder them on their journey. So, with a heavy heart, Satoru had stayed behind to continue receiving treatment but wished them the best of luck and secretly hoped that Yuna would arrive at Cathar by the time he succumbed to the illness, however long that may be.

Unwilling to face Satoru and knowing she would have ended up staying with him, Yuna forced herself to not say goodbye and immediately boarded the wagon.

"Are you sure?" Leon had tried to make sure after seeing the downcast expression on her face.

"I'm positive," she had answered resolutely.

Soon, they were ready to leave.

"Is it possible to ask for all of you to stay?" the chief asked one more time. "Your presence is of great help to us, and we'll be willing to pay for all your expenses in exchange."

Gigi shook her head, "Sorry, but we're busy." Her answer received an elbow to the gut courtesy of Camilla.

"What she meant to say was that as much as we'd like to, we can't stay due to reasons we'd rather not say. I hope you understand."

"That's a shame, but I suppose it wasn't right of me to ask anyway. Have a safe trip then!"

The hunters waved goodbye to the Troverians as their wagon proceeded towards the other entrance to their village, where a few guards opened a large steel gate used to keep dangerous monsters out. Yuna looked back and watched guards bid them farewell before closing the gate and vanishing out of sight. The young Wyverian sighed and turned back around, tucking her knees closer to herself.

Noticing that Yuna looked sad, Julian quickly thought of a solution. "Say, do you guys remember that super catchy song that's been making waves across hunters recently?"

"…Oh no, don't remind me," Gigi grumbled.

"Oh, you mean that song? I love that song!" Camilla proclaimed from the front of the wagon.

"Julian don't you dare speak a word-" Leon said but Julian ignored him and opened his mouth to sing.

"U – I – Pa!"

Gigi covered her ears. "Oh boy here we go-"

Orima mimi nari tari rure daso!

wri se kaki gamente e garu wuda!

gomoi wrudin wareta hemna a desu~

"Hai!" Camilla chimed in as Yuna's ears perked up and a smile began to form.

Tshitado da-

Kakago e hi!

Julian and Camilla finished the song and Yuna was clapping softly, a bright smile on her face. "Where did you hear that?" she inquired. Her mood had considerably improved, and Julian sent a brief knowing look to Camilla.

"We heard it being sung by hunters everywhere, but we have no idea where it originated," Julian told her.

Camilla hummed. "It's catchy as hell though. Once it gets into your head, it sticks."

Gigi rolled her eyes. "Yes, unfortunately, to the point you hear it literally everywhere, and starts to get annoying," she said. Leon nodded in agreement.

"C'mon don't be such downers you two!" Camilla began to hum the tune again, much to the horror of Gigi and Leon. "Yuna, sing along with us!"

"I don't know if I can…" she replied shyly.

"Just follow my lead," Julian insisted. "U-"

"U?"

"I-"

"I?

"Pa!"

"P-Pa!"

"U – I – Pa!" Julian finished.

"…U – I – Pa!" Yuna's smile was wide, prompting Gigi and Leon to cover their ears again the moment they saw her open her mouth.

"Fuck me-" both hunters muttered before all hell broke loose.

By nightfall, the group stopped their wagon, choosing to rest under a large tree for cover. Unlike the desert and plains, the nights in the open grasslands were much more temperate, which meant creatures of all shapes and sizes could be seen wandering around. In the distance, they could see a herd of Aptonoth peacefully grazing. Small groups of the deer-like Kelbi also accompanied them, their sharp ears always on alert for danger. And all around the area were dozens and dozens of tiny yellow lights that illuminated the night.

It also happened to make the perfect venue to have a campfire dinner.

"Julian, can you please chop the tomatoes and then add them to the pot?"

"You got it."

"And I need you to drain the beans, Camilla."

"No problem!"

"Are the spices ready Leon?"

"Still measuring them!"

Yuna felt awkward just sitting there, watching as the hunters worked together to cook their dinner. She wanted to help but her only experience in the kitchen had been with the help of Satoru, who often helped her sneak into the castle kitchen to make her favorite late-night snacks without her parents knowing.

"We're making chili," Gigi had told her when she had asked what they were having for dinner. She had no idea what it was but whatever Gigi cooked, she knew it was bound to be delicious.

Deciding that she didn't want to be a burden, Yuna stood up and walked over to the hunters. "Can I help?"

Gigi glanced up from stirring the pot, "Hmm…you know how to use a grater?"

Yuna briefly recalled that one time she used what she assumed was a grater. "I think so."

"Then do you mind grating the cheese? It's gonna go on top of the chili later."

Yuna nodded and immediately set to work.

Sometime later and after several bandages were applied to the cuts on her fingers, Yuna sat down with a bowl of chili. She licked her lips before using her spoon and immediately diving in without any regard for manners.

"Woah slow down there princess!" Camilla said, laughing as she took a seat next to Yuna, crossing her legs under her and placing her bowl on her lap.

"Oh!" Yuna quickly wiped her mouth with her hand. "Sorry I-" Then she realized what she had done and hastily wiped her sleeve on her clothes, before letting out an "Eeep!" and nearly dropping her bowl in the process.

"Careful, you'll spill it," Gigi admonished good-naturedly as she and Julian joined them both around the campfire.

Yuna's expression morphed into one of fear. "Oh dear, that would be horrible!"

Leon was the last to sit down and he made himself comfortable in the space next to Gigi. Just as he was about to eat, his bowl was snatched from his hands. "Hey!"

Gigi narrowed her eyes at the contents of his bowl before immediately standing up and gesturing for him to follow. "This isn't enough. C'mon."

Leon scoffed. "What are you my mom?"

Gigi was not amused by his reply and promptly stepped over to the hunter, grabbing him by the arm and forcefully making him stand on his feet. "Don't test me."

Recalling how Gigi had beaten him up back at Harth, Leon begrudgingly shut his mouth and wordlessly followed the huntress to get more chili.

"Umm, what just happened?" Yuna asked once they were out of earshot.

"It's Gigi's job to ensure we get all the energy and nutrients needed. She's just making sure Leon is eating enough," Julian explained.

"Gigi takes her cooking very seriously," Camilla added, swallowing a mouthful of chili. "And we've learned it's best to just shut up and eat whatever she cooks for us."

"If it means eating food this delicious? I wouldn't mind at all," Yuna said, taking another spoonful of the chili and humming in delight.

Camilla laughed. "Hah! I like that attitude!"

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking…" Julian began tentatively before continuing, "Are you alright with this whole thing?"

Yuna tilted her head to the side. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Just you alone, without Satoru to keep you company."

In response, she lowered her bowl to her lap. "…Can I be honest? I am quite frankly, terrified. All my life, Satoru has always kept a close eye on me and kept me safe. There have been several attempts on my life, mostly from political rivals who aren't too keen on a half-breed like me ascending the throne and Satoru has protected me throughout all of that."

"And that unfortunately includes the current bounty on your head…" Camilla grimaced.

Yuna nodded sadly. "I always felt safe around him, but now that he's not around, I'm terrified of what's going to happen to me. But although I am terrified, I am not worried. After all…" She then smiled at the hunters. "I have you guys to protect me, right?"

Both Julian and Camilla visibly blushed, with the latter letting out another hearty laugh. "Well damn. Keep that up and I might just end up falling for you!"

"Huh?"

"Unfortunately, I'm spoken for have been happily married to her for a few years now," Camilla noted with a dreamy sigh.

"Wait, you're married?"

The huntress blinked twice before sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck. "Oops, guess I haven't told you that haven't I?"

"No, you didn't," Julian deadpanned.

"What haven't you told her?" Gigi asked as she and Leon returned. Upon seeing them, Camilla frowned.

"What took you guys so long?"

"We just had a little chat about Leon's eating habits and lost track of time, nothing important. Anyway, what's got her so worked up?" Gigi asked again, referring to Yuna.

"Camilla revealed to her that she was married," Julian said.

"…That's it? We all already know that."

"No, I mean…" Yuna tried to clarify. "I'm sorry if this comes off as offensive or rude but you umm look…"

The huntress chuckled. "Too young? Yeah, I get that. Believe it or not, I'm only twenty-three and with a child to boot."

"A child?" Yuna repeated, bewildered.

Camilla nodded. "I wish you could see him. He's the cutest little thing and I love him to bits. That is why my goal is to earn enough money to be able to send him to the best school in Dundorma once he's of age."

Yuna couldn't help but smile, "That is so sweet of you." Curiosity piqued her and she looked at the rest of the hunters, eager to know what they aspired to do. "And what about everyone else?"

"I…I want to make a name for myself," Julian answered first. "I want to become a G-rank hunter, the best there is, to show the world that I'm not a coward and weakling. That I'm not a disgrace, or failure or-"

Gigi frowned and interrupted him. "You are neither of those Julian. And what did I tell you about quitting your self-deprecation?"

"…Right, sorry."

Gigi's expression softened in response. She scooted closer to Julian and pressed her forehead to his. "Don't apologize."

"Gigi…"

The pair didn't notice Yuna, Camilla and Leon giving each other knowing looks as they witnessed the scene before them. However, upon realizing that, both hunters blushed and quickly separated.

"A-Anyway," Gigi cleared her throat. "To answer your question princess, my goal is Julian's goal too. Being a hunter is quite fun and it wouldn't hurt to have your name known throughout the region."

Yuna hummed. "I see." Everyone then turned their attention to the last person in the group, who upon realizing everyone was staring at him, put his half-empty bowl down.

"Do I really have to answer?"

"Yes," they all deadpanned.

The hunter sighed. "My goal…is to travel the world. I've been to my fair share of places during my time as a mercenary, but I've never been to the eastern parts of the continent, nor have I ever been to the New World."

"If I remember, only the best hunters get to go to the New World right?" Julian noted with a thoughtful look. "And there's some rigorous selection process hunters must go through."

"Yeah…and I neither have the skills nor the funds to qualify," Leon said with a wistful look on his face.

"I'm sure you'll get to that level soon," Yuna tried to reassure him. "Actually, I believe that all of you will achieve your goals someday. I know my words don't mean much, but I do mean them."

"If superstitions were to be believed, then the words of a princess mean we're all blessed with good luck," Camilla said with a hearty chuckle.

"Then how about a toast?" Julian suggested.

"Hell yeah. Gigi, bring out the alcohol!"

"You're all lucky we didn't forget to buy some from the Harth," Gigi grumbled, standing up and walking over to the wagon to fetch them the drinks. She returned a minute later carrying a wooden keg alongside several cups.

When offered a cup, Yuna shook her head. "Oh no, I told you I don't drink."

"Oh c'mon, just try a little," Camilla insisted.

"I don't know…Satoru said that royals like me should avoid alcohol until I'm older."

"And how old are you exactly?" Leon asked, earning a smack on the back of his head courtesy of Gigi.

"Have some decency idiot," she chastised, handing him his drink.

"No it's fine, I'm not offended. To answer your question, I am merely eighty years old," she stated. The hunters took several moments to process that, staring at Yuna for a brief period.

"Of course. We're forgetting that Wyverians age differently than humans…" Camilla finally said, taking a long sip from her drink. "But that aside, c'mon princess! Satoru isn't here so why not give it a shot?"

"I-I suppose one sip couldn't hurt…"

Grinning, Camilla grabbed a cup and filled it with some ale before handing it to Yuna. She sniffed the drink before taking a tentative sip. Yuna closed her eyes, licking her lips a few times as the hunters watched and waited for her reaction.

"Well?" Camilla asked.

Yuna licked her lips again before taking another sip, a longer one to their surprise and amusement. "Hmm…" And then she lifted the cup to her lips, tilting her head backward and practically chugging down the ale. Seconds later, she was finished and nonchalantly wiped her mouth with her sleeve, manners be damned.

"So? How was it?" Camilla asked again, smirking.

"It was…good."

Gigi raised a brow. "Just good?"

Leon shrugged. "Considering she basically did more than 'just a sip', I'd say she really likes it."

"Alright, alright! I liked it," Yuna admitted, resisting the temptation to finish the rest of her drink. "Loved it even."

"Haha, that's the spirit!"

"Let's all toast then," Julian said, raising his cup. "To a successful future!"

Everyone raised their cups as well. "Yeah!"

…