With their next destination decided, Jhin and the others rested for the night before setting out from the Forest.
The Storage Space was now packed to the brim with meat and fruit. Food wouldn't be a concern for quite some time — as long as he didn't tap Pecorine's Void Weapon to unleash Princess Assault, they could eat comfortably for around two months.
"Pecorine, are you in a guild right now?"
Jhin had no idea whether Pecorine had a guild affiliation. In this world, people didn't exactly go around flaunting special banners or crests to announce which guild they belonged to — at most, they'd just mention it in passing.
If she did belong to one, Jhin planned to get a read on the place before deciding whether to join. If she didn't, then it was even simpler — he'd just invite her to found one with them.
"Hmm? I haven't joined any guild, you know. Didn't I mention it before? I'm an adventurer who wanders wherever she pleases — it wouldn't really make sense for me to tie myself down to one place."
Pecorine took a crisp, satisfying bite of the plump, juicy apple in her hand. Memories of her travels drifted through her mind, and her beautiful sea-blue eyes lit up with excitement.
"So you don't have a guild, then..."
He wasn't certain whether she planned to stay in Landosol temporarily or settle in long-term, but a cheerful, gorgeous girl — tough enough to tank hits and dish them out, able to eat like a champion and cook up a feast — traveling as a free agent at his side? How could he not at least try to rope her into forming a guild with them? It wasn't like he was going to pass that up.
"Pecorine, if you're thinking of staying in Landosol for the long haul, how would you feel about starting a guild together — you, me, and Kokkoro?"
His tone was sincere and earnest. Pecorine stared at her half-eaten apple, unsure whether to keep eating or put it away. She ended up hastily swallowing the piece in her mouth and tucking the apple behind her back so she wouldn't look too flippant when she gave her answer.
"Actually, Landosol is the final stop on this journey of mine. I'd been planning to either join or start a guild here — it's just that a small... accident sent me outside the city walls before I could."
At the word "accident," a faint shadow of grief passed through Pecorine's eyes — barely perceptible, and swiftly buried beneath the radiance of her smile before anyone could catch it.
"The time we've spent together has been wonderful. If I can form a guild with the two of you, I'm sure it'll be even more wonderful!"
"In that case..." Jhin smiled and extended his right hand toward Pecorine. "I look forward to working with you, Pecorine."
"Likewise — I look forward to it, Jhin, Kokkoro." Pecorine clasped their outstretched hands in hers and gave them an enthusiastic shake.
"Yes, Miss Pecorine."
"Kokkoro, I keep saying — just Pecorine is fine~"
"Th-Then... Pecorine."
"That's the spirit — now we sound like proper guildmates!" Pecorine beamed with undisguised joy and pulled Kokkoro into a warm hug, leaving the ever-composed Jhin quietly moved.
Dad, Mom — at the end of my journey, I found new friends. We're going to build a guild together.
That joy, laced with a tender undercurrent of longing, drifted upward with the breeze that stirred Pecorine's hair, carried slowly toward the open sky.
For the rest of the walk, the three of them didn't feel like adventurers returning from a mission at all — they felt like friends coming back from a leisurely stroll, wrapped in an easy, carefree warmth.
"Pecorine, is this the thornbush you mentioned — the Briar Fruit Tree?" Jhin pointed at a cluster of brambles, entirely deep green, spiraling outward in dense coils. At the center of the mass stood a clearly visible dark-brown trunk — a perfect match for Pecorine's description.
"Yep, that's the Briar Fruit Tree. It mainly grows in forests, but its seeds are incredibly resilient. If a bird eats the fruit, the plant can sprout just about anywhere — even far outside the forest."
Pecorine snapped off a sprig with her leather-gloved hand. Clear sap began to bead at the break. "Here, smell this — isn't it the same as that distinctive scent in the deep-forest boar meat?"
Jhin leaned in and took a sniff. Floral notes mingled with fresh grass — unmistakably the same. The sap from the stem was just brighter and cleaner, without the richness that came through in the meat.
Kokkoro, who had never encountered this plant in the Fairy Forest, asked with curious eyes: "What does the fruit look like?"
"Hmm... red, round, covered in little thorns. The flesh inside is red too. I don't think a description is going to help much — once we reach Landosol, you should be able to find vendors selling Briar Fruit. You'll know it the moment you see it."
"Then let's keep moving."
"Oh! Onward!" Pecorine thrust her right hand into the air and marched forward — then stopped dead after only a few steps, turning back with the most pitiable look on her face. "Jhin... I'm hungry."
"Pecorine, you get hungry fast — have you got a little monster living in your stomach?" Jhin teased, reaching into his Storage Space for the deep-forest boar meat he'd roasted in advance. Since time and temperature stood still inside the Space, the cuts were still giving off rolling waves of heat and the rich, smoky fragrance of fat rendered over charcoal.
Pecorine pulled off one glove and accepted the roasted meat wrapped in oil paper. She tore into a bite before deigning to reply. "Honestly, I already explained yesterday what my equipment does — don't tell me you've already forgotten?"
"Ha, I haven't forgotten at all — I lived through it firsthand, after all." After unleashing Princess Assault that first time, Jhin had put away three whole boars. The sheer volume wasn't purely the result of converting stamina to replace magical energy — Pecorine's equipment effect had played no small part.
The way Jhin saw it, her equipment was practically a sacred artifact for anyone who loved to eat. The more you ate, the stronger you got; the stronger you got, the more you ate. There was a ceiling on the power boost, naturally — otherwise Pecorine could just find a spot, put her head down, and eat nonstop for ten days straight, then emerge ready to level a continent.
Kokkoro spotted the towering walls slowly rising on the horizon and pointed excitedly. "Master, that over there — that's Landosol!"
"Oh~ It looks enormous."
"Well, it is the royal capital."
"Right — Kokkoro, Pecorine, once we're inside the city, don't let anything slip about the Hero. Keep my special abilities under wraps too. I don't qualify as a Hero, and the last thing I want is the Demon King or anyone with an agenda putting a target on my back."
Pecorine couldn't quite follow his reasoning. "Jhin, why don't you consider yourself a Hero?"
"A Hero is a title people give from the heart — not something that gets handed to you. The Hero's Sword is only the Hero's Sword because a Hero once wielded it, not because it chose a Hero."
"A Hero?" Inside a gleaming white palace that somehow felt suffocating, the figure seated on the throne let out a sharp, contemptuous laugh — as though determined to fill the dark space with malice. "Kairu, I didn't send you to dig up fairy tales. Until I give the order, you are not to enter the palace again — and don't go doing anything reckless like an assassination. Find out everything you can about her for me."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
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