The atmosphere that day was very cheery as Besia and Veina seemed to be in their best mood while Fesia and Besia's grandmother were packing up their things. Everyone was prepared to go to the city, but Jason was a bit reluctant to return. Yes the living conditions were slightly better and food and water was easier to acquire, but the dungeon and the anthills were something he really didn't want to leave behind.

' Man, it's only been about a week and it feels like months have passed. I've gotten used to this place so much. Well, I guess this is it, but I wonder.... what did the Dark Church accomplish from this? They didn't even attack the city, in fact they didn't even scratch it's outer walls. 

I guess that they caused some havoc when they first attacked, but was that it? It seems like such a waste to do only this small a damage.' thought Jason to himself as he tried to think of a reason for doing what they did. 

It didn't make senses to him. He wouldn't have risked so much for just keeping the city closed for a week, but he was wrong as he was so uninformed about the real situation. Although their plans were discovered , the Dark Church had gained much from this endeavor , while the empire had lost much more.

As Jason was thinking, something he had had to do much more since he had come to this world, Veina came over and sat next to him.

"Brother, why are you so serious? Aren't you happy that it's all over? We can return to our lives now." 

"Haah~" Jason sighed as a smile bloomed in his face. He looked at his sister and patted her head which made Veina as little annoyed. This made Jason smile even more. " Haha, Veina I love how ' optimistic ' you can be. I would say it's one of your best qualities."

"Uh, thanks I guess, but what does ' optimistic ' mean?" questioned Veina as she didn't understand what Jason just called her. It was understandable though as he had said optimistic in English.

"It means that you only think about the good things that may/are going to happen." said Jason as he patted her head some more, but he suddenly stopped as Veina asked him another question.

"Then, does that mean that you're not an 'optimistic', brother? Do you not think about the good things that are going to happen?"

"Well.... it's kind of complicated, but yes, I'm not really an 'optimistic'. This situation seems to good to be true to me, but I would definitely like to be wrong."

"Brother...." quietly Veina as she saw the far gazing eyes of her brother. She wondered what things were going on inside his head.  Since the time the Dark Church had destroyed their home he had completed changed. He sometimes seemed so stupid not knowing the simplest things and sometimes he seemed to know things beyond her understanding. It was so hard to get a read on his true nature, especially since he lost his memories and went from someone who lamented not becoming an adventurer , to 'this'.

........... 

Time passed away and everyone was ready to go when Jason received a mental message from the he fox who was always close. He wondered what it was about, and if it was related to the Dark Church, but he didn't dwell to much on it as he could just ask. And so ,he moved some way from the camp and as many other times the figure of the elf appeared out of nowhere. He just smiled as he saw that, but he was also somewhat jealous.

' Man I hope I can gain a magic skill as soon as possible. '

As he was thinking about that the elf approached only stopping when Jason took a step back .

"I guess it's something important?" questioned Jason while a little surprised by aggressiveness of the elf.

"Yes, I've been instructed to grant you rewards for the great contribution you have made." calmly said  the elf, but it made Jason a little giddy.

"Rewards? I would never refuse something like that, but may I know for what? I don't think I've done that much lately." 

' Not much.....

As she heard those words the elf stopped for a second and thought about what would have happened if the human before her didn't exist, and came to the conclusion that the situation would have been much worse , both for the empire and for Grail Grove also.

" No, you've done much." said the elf as she shook her head. " Because of you the situation has ended quicker than it would have. "

This explanation made Jason have even more questions than before."Oh, could you explain? I don't quite get how I helped?"

"Unfortunately, this is all I can explain about the situation.  If I explained any more it would only be dangerous for your life..... 

"Ah, I understand!" suddenly said Jason  " As I'm an informant I could be discovered anytime and having that kind of information would be a bad idea, right?"

The elf nodded her head.

"Well, at least can I know what my rewards will be? Also now that the city is opened, do I have to enter it right now?"

"Those are good questions, and I shall explain.

Firstly , for the reward you can request something, but it has a limit, a 50 gold limit. Then about the second question.....you will stay in the forest at the moment. The city is in turmoil right now, and someone like a refugee will not be able to live comfortably. The city guards and even the army that has arrived are struggling to keep the peace of the city at the moment."

Jason sighed, not sure if he should feel worried . He  though interested in what was really happening inside the city.

"The situation is that bad? I thought that now that the Dark Church retreated it would be better. "

"Yes, it should have been, but their despicable ways have created havock. 

At the beginning of the attack, the Dark Church not only killed some high level adventures, stole numerous items from the guild, but they also poisoned most of the wells inside the city. In less than two days over a quarter of the city's residents were sick from the water,  and now over half have suffered, with more than 5000 people who have died until now."

"5000 people have died?! " questioned Jason in horror. He hadn't  expected the damage to be so severe, with thousands of people dead, but the elf was not over yet.

"That is only a rough estimate for the meantime , and that is only taking into account on the residents of the city. The surrounding villages that were also destroyed contained more than 2000 residents and they also held a big amount of the grain that would be used in the winter, so it's expected that food shortages will also happened."

"Haaaaaaaa.....I there anything else?" said Jason jokingly, but he didn't expect for there to be more. 

"Yes, there is also rumor that a plague had begun to spread amongst the lower class , but it isn't confirmed yet."

Jason just blinked a couple of times in amazement at the Dark Church's capacity for chaos. It made Jason think that becoming a hermit wouldn't he that bad of an idea, but it was just a passing thought.

"I understand the situation. " said Jason seriously "I'll stay at the treehouse for the meantime, and I think I have thought what I would like to have as a reward."

"Very well....