Rhode and Elfman returned home with the two children, and aside from the tear and bloodstains on Hunter's padded clothing, he wasn't in much trouble anymore.
Now, Mrs. Vis and the two children were hugging each other, crying together.
Rhode succinctly summarized the events, as he was quite adept at highlighting the key points.
After he finished, the brother and sister recounted the incident on the mountain in fits and starts.
Jimmy emphasized how scared he was, how amazing the two big brothers were, and Hunter talked about how much pain he was in and how miraculous the 'Red Magic' was.
Vis just felt a lingering fear.
"Thank you, thank you all. If anything else had happened to them, I really wouldn't know what to do."
"It was just something we did on the way during our mission, and it seems your daughter completed our task, too."
Rhode speculated that he might not have the nerve to take the reward this time, "We should get a doctor to take a look first."
"Yes, I'll go right now!" Mrs. Vis took a couple of quick steps but then turned back to hug the two children again.
"Mom..." Jimmy remembered the words spoken to him by the very stern big brother on the way back, "I was wrong. I shouldn't have gone to the mountain on my own."
Hunter followed up with an apology: "Me too."
"First and foremost, the most important thing is that you're safe," Mrs. Vis said gently. "I'm proud of your courage and your concern for your family."
The two children's faces lit up, but soon after, Mrs. Vis released them, her expression turning serious,
"Then, from now on, absolutely, absolutely, no more doing such dangerous things!"
"Yes!"
It's hard to say if the two children really took it to heart, but Elfman seemed to have gotten the message.
He was still muttering the words: "Courage, and concern for the family..." when the doctor arrived.
Rhode let Elfman quietly contemplate and went to check on Mr. Calute's condition himself.
The doctor examined the herbs Jimmy brought back and immediately began preparing a potion for Mr. Calute, administering it to him.
It wasn't enough to make him recover immediately, but he soon came to.
"Can just a sip of medicine really work that quickly for a lung disease?" Rhode mumbled quietly, unsure about medical matters. Maybe the potion here is rather special.
Seeing Mr. Calute helped up to lean against the headboard and speak, Rhode could sense Mrs. Vis's joy.
He also thought Mr. Calute looked a bit familiar. Where had he seen him before?
"Are you... cough cough... the Mage sir..."
Calute was a bit excited, and Vis quickly helped him catch his breath: "Yes, yes, it was this Mage and his companion who rescued Jimmy and Hunter."
"No, no... I mean, cough cough, the Mage who can turn into a wolf!"
"You!" Rhode suddenly realized, "You're the driver of that miserly merchant who values money over life!"
This driver was actually quite ordinary, with no distinguishing features, but the impression that merchant left on Rhode was profound enough to make him sympathize with the driver at the time, which is why he remembered him.
Seeing that Rhode recognized him, Calute laughed, having no objection to Rhode's description of his former employer.
That man was indeed a miser who valued money over life.
To be honest, Calute felt he could probably blame his illness on him too.
Because Bania, when choosing business routes, only considered the distance and not the danger, always taking routes others tended to avoid.
He always said with pride that his success came from daring to take paths less traveled by others.
Calute remarked emotionally, "Once again, you've saved me this time."
"To be precise, it was the doctor and your family who saved you," Rhode said sincerely. "You have an excellent wife and two wonderful children."
Calute looked at his wife and held her hand with his rough and thin hands.
In that instant, Calute could feel the hardships she had endured from her fingertips. His mouth moved to say the shape of the word 'thank you'.
Vis smiled and shook her head at him.
She just wanted him to get better.
"Doctor, is Mr. Calute's condition going to be okay?" Rhode was pondering how soon he could finish up and head back.
"No, it's just stabilized for now. Because the illness has been ongoing for too long, he'll need at least one more dose tomorrow," the doctor said.
Rhode asked, "At least one dose? What about a full recovery?"
The doctor replied with difficulty, "The rest is just taking it slow; with time, he should fully recover. If he could take another dose, he might recover faster, but we're short on herbs."
Rhode nodded, "That's easy enough. We'll just make another trip later."
Vis, thinking of the blood on her son's clothes, couldn't help but say, "Mr. Rhode, Galanotos Snow Mountain is too dangerous. Are you really going to make a second trip?"
"Yes, that's right, cough cough... I could just rest and..."
"This is part of our job," Rhode said. "Oh, by the way, since most of the herbs were found by Jimmy, it's okay if you don't give us the reward."
Rhode figured he could speak for Elfman in this regard, probably.
If not, well, he'd owe Mira a favor.
"Mr. Rhode..."
Rhode waved his hand as he left the room, leaving behind a dashing silhouette.
"Elfman, can you still fight?"
"No problem." Elfman had calmed down and asked, "Did something happen?"
"We're short on herbs, so we need to make another trip."
"Alright, but are you okay?"
"We've rested for quite a while now, haven't we? We'll just take it slow on the way, and by the time we reach the mountain, we'll be ready," Rhode said. "Plus, this time we're going to avoid fighting as much as possible."
Last time, if it weren't for looking for the kids, Rhode wouldn't have rushed up the mountain, diving headfirst into a pack of beasts going all out.
The task was to find herbs, not to battle beasts.
The two donned their padded clothes and headed back up the mountain, returning to the village before nightfall.
When nobody from his own side was there to cause trouble for Rhode, following his plan to complete the task, the efficiency was impeccable.
Not only did they bring back a big bag of herbs, but on the way back, they also caught two Labans.
Rhode figured they might have gotten heatstroke and planned to bring them back, skin them to cool off, and then give them a hot bath or warm them by the fire.
"Elfman, what do you think about making a fur coat with this?"
"A coat?" Elfman touched the Laban's fur, "Feels like good quality. If you give it to sister, she should be very happy."
Rhode nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I think so too."
"I'm the one giving it!" Elfman glared.
Rhode quickly nodded, "Mm-hmm, you give it, you give it. I'll keep mine for myself."
After all, both of them were hunted by us, and the suggestion was ours too. Even if you give it, half of the credit still goes to us.
Besides... heh-heh-heh.
Elfman felt something was off somehow.