A Quiet Farewell
In accordance with the deceased's final wishes, Jack's funeral was to be a simple affair. This was partly due to Yohan's suggestion that there was no need to force grief upon the villagers, who were already in the middle of celebrating. Yohan and his companions, accompanied by an elderly villager, made their way toward Billy's cabin.
"So, we're burying Mr. Jack near my flower bed," Billy said as they arrived at the cabin. He looked down at the flower bed he had personally tended around his home and turned to Yohan.
"Yeah. Even if it's just a cenotaph, his family is already there." The spot Yohan had chosen to bury Jack was the very flower bed containing the memorial for Jack's daughter.
"I understand. If that's the case, I'll gladly help. She would surely be happy about it too."
"I hope so." Fortunately, Billy readily agreed. Guided by the light of an oil lantern brought from the village, Yohan and Billy began digging a large pit behind the flower bed with their shovels.
"Old man, why don't you head back? It gets pretty cold around here at night." Yohan paused his vigorous shoveling to speak to the elderly villager, who had been silently watching them.
"It's his final journey. Someone from his own kind should at least watch over him," the old man replied before letting out a dry cough. Yohan and Falco briefly exchanged glances.
"If that's all, don't worry about it. We've got a fellow villager right here. This big green lump."
"A green... what did you just call me?" Billy's expression soured at Yohan's choice of words, but he quickly relaxed his face and nodded.
"I've never once considered myself a part of that Troll Village, past or present," Billy said, addressing the old man. The elder looked taken aback for a moment, but soon offered a gentle smile and nodded.
"I see. I was mistaken. Forgive me." With those final words, the old man headed back to the village, leaving only the three of them by Billy's flower bed.
"Alright, let's finish digging."
"Okay." At Yohan's word, they resumed their work. By the time the pit had reached a sufficient depth...
"Yohan."
"Yeah, what is it?" Billy, who had been silently shoveling dirt, suddenly spoke up. Yohan wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve as he replied.
"Thanks for what you said earlier."
"For calling you a green lump?"
"No. For calling me a villager." Billy expressed his gratitude in a flat, quiet tone. Yohan brushed it off as if it were nothing.
"This should do it." They had finally finished digging. Yohan drove his shovel into the dirt and stretched his back.
"I'm ready on this end too." Right on cue, Falco brought over the coffin to house Jack's body. It was a makeshift creation put together using timber Billy had kept for cabin repairs and planks salvaged from a broken carriage. Though crude in shape, it was far better than nothing.
"Y-your craftsmanship is actually quite impressive. Honestly, I'm surprised." As Falco proudly puffed her chest, Billy didn't hold back his praise.
"People usually think only dwarves are good with their hands while us point-ears just pick fruit all day, but not all elves are like that." Falco boasted, offering an unprompted explanation. Yohan glanced at her and let out a chuckle.
"Still, a vegetarian troll is pretty weird."
"Ahaha..." Billy could only offer an awkward laugh at Falco's follow-up remark.
"Alright, let's wrap this up."
"Yes." Yohan patted Billy's shoulder lightly. The two of them immediately moved Jack's body from the cart they had borrowed from the village into the coffin. Then, they placed some of his remaining personal belongings near his head.
Billy took charge of lowering the coffin into the pit. He seemed genuinely pleased that his innate monstrous strength could be put to such a meaningful use. Yohan and Billy then took up their shovels and filled the grave back up with dirt. Using the leftover soil, they managed to shape a modest burial mound.
Meanwhile, Falco retrieved Jack's sword, which had also been kept in the cart, and drove it into the ground in front of the mound. There's no headstone, but with his sword planted here, Jack should be satisfied, Yohan thought, brushing the dirt off his hands.
A heavy silence fell over the clearing. Without a word, each of them paid their respects to Jack in their own way. Billy bowed his head and closed his eyes, while Falco clasped her hands together in prayer. Yohan silently stared down at the sword planted before the grave.
They stood like that for a long time. Suddenly, the corner of Yohan's mouth trembled, and his usually indifferent face began to crumple. He tried his hardest to suppress the emotions welling up inside him, but in the end, he couldn't stop the tears from spilling out of his tightly shut eyes.
"Yohan?" Falco asked, noticing his sudden change. He hastily wiped the moisture from his eyes with his sleeve, but his nose was bright red, failing to hide his grief.
"Have you grown attached to him in such a short time?"
He remained silent even at the Goddess's question.
"Just..." After a long silence, Yohan finally spoke, looking up at the night sky. "This old man... his family is all dead."
Jack's wife and daughter had both been murdered by those man-eating trolls. The sheer tragedy of it weighed heavily on Yohan's chest.
"Whew... Normally, when a parent dies, their child is supposed to weep before their grave." Yohan's gaze remained fixed on the night sky, but his dark eyes trembled with emotion.
"But this guy can't have that. He doesn't have a kid or a wife left to cry for him at his funeral." At his words, Falco and Billy lowered their heads. The Goddess, who had manifested beside him unnoticed, offered a bittersweet smile and gently wrapped her hands around Yohan's dirt-stained hand.
"So, yeah... I'm doing it for him. That's all." Yohan kept his head held high until the very end. "So just... don't mind me." If he dared to look down now, the tears pooling in his eyes would surely overflow.
As the night faded and dawn began to break, Yohan's group returned to the village to return the borrowed cart.
"Ugh, the smell of booze." As they entered, the three of them were hit by the overwhelming stench of fruit wine wafting through the entire village. Discarded bottles and wooden cups littered the streets, and completely wasted villagers lay sprawled out everywhere, their faces twisted from sleeping in the freezing dawn air.
"What in the world..."
"It looks like they all decided to drink themselves to death," Billy replied to Yohan's muttered disbelief.
"I should've joined them," Falco grumbled. While the other two were utterly dumbfounded, she seemed genuinely disappointed to have missed out on the wild overnight drinking session.
"What a disaster."
"These are people who have lived their entire lives shivering in fear of being eaten. Now that they have finally broken free from that curse thanks to you, surely they deserve to enjoy themselves for at least one night?"
"True enough," Yohan muttered back. Since her words made sense, he let it go. Now that there were no more trolls threatening their lives, it was understandable that the villagers had drunk themselves into a stupor.
"Th-they're back."
"Did they finish burying Jack?" A few villagers, sensing their presence, managed to drag themselves up. They seemed to have realized that Yohan had spent the night holding a funeral for Jack.
Ahem. Since they already knew what was going on, this would make things quicker. Yohan cleared his throat as he looked at the shivering villagers, who were damp with morning dew.
"Alright, everyone, up and at 'em. I don't care how much you drank last night, but we're busy people, so let's move it." At Yohan's shout, not only those sprawled on the dirt but also the villagers who had managed to stumble back into their homes poked their heads out.
"You're back."
"Everyone, wake up. He says he has something to tell us." The villagers' attitude had completely changed compared to the day before. Noticing this, Yohan smiled wryly. He understood that their previous hostility toward outsiders had ultimately been born from their fear of the man-eating trolls.
Soon, all the conscious villagers gathered in front of Yohan. A few children and some adults were still completely passed out from the alcohol, but since he didn't need to address literally everyone, Yohan didn't mind.
"So, what's this about?"
"Is there another problem?" At the villagers' questions, Yohan shrugged. "It's nothing major, but there's something I need you all to hear."
"We're listening, so spit it out." Yohan turned his head and briefly exchanged glances with Falco. She seemed to have guessed what he was about to say.
"Yesterday... wait, was it two days ago? Anyway, I introduced myself and what I do. You all remember, right?" When Yohan asked, the villagers nodded in unison.
"Yeah, you said you were the Apostle of some god or another."
"Didn't you say you were the Apostle of a beautiful goddess?"
"Fufu."
Silly remarks broke out among the villagers. Meanwhile, the Goddess, apparently pleased by even this nonsense, let out a smug chuckle.
"Yeah, right. I don't know about the 'beautiful' part, but anyway, I am Yohan, the Apostle of the Unnamed Goddess."
"Ah, right. The Unnamed Goddess. That was it."
"And I don't know how much you guys have heard about the outside world, but there's a country called the Holy Kingdom in the center of the continent we live on." Yohan explained to the villagers that the Holy Kingdom persecuted any faith that didn't have their official approval. A few villagers tilted their heads in confusion, but the quick-witted ones immediately caught on and nodded.
"So, what does unauthorized religion being banned have to do with us?"
"You idiot. He's saying he's an Apostle of one of those unauthorized religions."
"Huh? Then is that guy a heretic?"
Clack. At the villagers' chatter, Falco's eyes turned cold, and she suddenly reached to draw her sword.
"Whoa, whoa! Calm down!" Startled, Yohan quickly grabbed Falco's wrist.
"Tch." At Yohan's restraint, Falco clicked her tongue and slid her half-drawn sword back into its scabbard. I guess saving them from man-eating trolls is one thing, but she absolutely won't tolerate anyone insulting our Goddess, Yohan thought, letting out a soft sigh.
"She truly is to my liking. Quite different from ordinary point-ears. Unlike a certain someone who nearly gave me a heart attack worrying about another scene."
Yohan wanted nothing more than to flip off the sky. But he couldn't do that here, of all places. He had to maintain at least a shred of dignity as the Apostle of the Unnamed Goddess.
"Anyway. No one cares where you go or what you do to make a living now. You can go live in a nearby city, or you can take this opportunity to travel far away."
"It's too much hassle. Can't we just keep living here?"
"Ah, for Christ's sake, do whatever the hell you want!" Barely a few seconds after resolving to keep his dignity, Yohan finally exploded at the villagers' nonsense.
"Ugh, these absolute dumbasses..."
"C-calm down. They're people who have literally been trapped in these mountains almost their entire lives," Billy said, stepping in to hold Yohan back. Meanwhile, Falco let out a quiet giggle, finding the whole situation amusing.
"Ahem. Anyway. Let's say you guys go somewhere and run into a priest or a Heresy Inquisitor from the Holy Kingdom. They're obviously going to ask if you saw any signs of heresy on your way."
"Ah—so you're saying we shouldn't mention that you helped us." Finally, they were speaking the same language. Yohan dragged a hand down his face, utterly exhausted.