Several days had passed since we destroyed the goblin nest.
The six women we had rescued had fully recovered, both from their wounds and from the effects of the aphrodisiac.
After making sure they were out of danger, Goliath and I returned to the cave accompanied by several villagers to recover everything that could be of use to us.
The villagers' reaction upon discovering the magnitude of the nest was quite understandable.
In the end, we counted more than a hundred goblins.
A hundred creatures that, had they completed the manufacture of their weapons, could have become a great threat. And that was without counting the troll that led them.
Unfortunately, the expedition turned out to be much less lucrative than I had expected.
The only valuable possessions were the objects the goblins had stolen from the adventurers and Zarleurio's belongings. We found a few silver coins and some items that might sell for a reasonable price, but nothing that deserved to be called a treasure.
The villagers insisted that we keep part of the loot as a reward for having helped them.
Goliath refused outright at first. According to him, we had acted to protect the village's inhabitants and not out of economic interest. However, faced with the insistence of those men and women, he eventually gave in.
That was how we got our share.
As for the belongings of the six rescued women, we returned them to their respective owners. Apparently, they were all adventurers who had accepted some assignment in the region before ending up in the goblins' clutches.
With that resolved, night finally arrived.
An enormous bonfire illuminated the center of the village. The villagers had prepared food, brought out their reserves of beer, and organized a celebration to commemorate the destruction of the nest. And, of course, they also wanted to celebrate the return of their beloved Lia.
The protagonist of that celebration was right in front of me.
Goliath played with a group of children while several villagers gathered around him. From time to time, one of them offered him food or asked him a question, and he responded with that smile of his that seemed capable of dispelling any worry.
His popularity had only increased since our return.
I lowered my gaze to my cup.
It was completely empty.
It didn't take long for me to notice a village woman approaching to refill it.
"Thank you," I said, raising the container slightly.
The woman shook her head.
"No, thank you."
Her expression softened and, for a moment, a shadow of worry crossed her eyes.
"If you hadn't appeared, perhaps this village wouldn't exist anymore. It terrifies me to think what would have happened if no one had finished off those goblins."
I took a small sip before responding.
"I didn't do much. It was her."
I raised a finger and pointed at Goliath, who at that moment was being surrounded by several children who seemed to compete for his attention.
"She defeated the goblins and the troll. All on her own."
The village woman observed me with a tender smile, the kind a mother dedicates to her son when he lies.
"I know you're trying to be humble and give all the credit to little Lia."
I shrugged.
"Think what you want. Ha, ha."
"Ha, ha."
The woman let out a small laugh and walked away to attend to other guests.
I focused on my drink again.
It was then that a shadow slowly approached.
At first, I thought it was another villager coming to thank us for our help. However, when the figure got close enough to be illuminated by the bonfire's flames, I recognized her face.
Long dark blue hair, light blue eyes, and a slender figure that still seemed too fragile to stand for very long.
It was one of the adventurers we had rescued.
And she was also the woman who, under the effects of the aphrodisiac, had groped me during the journey back.
"Well... This is going to be awkward."
The woman stopped in front of me. Her hands trembled slightly and her lips moved several times before she managed to utter a word.
"E-excuse me..."
I set the cup aside.
"Yes?"
She lowered her head and bowed deeply before me.
"Th-thank you. Thank you for saving us..."
Her voice broke halfway through the sentence.
I watched as small tears began to slide down her cheeks.
I stayed silent for a few moments.
Now that I could observe her more carefully, it was evident that she still hadn't fully recovered. Her body was too thin, as if she had gone days without eating, and her legs trembled from the effort of remaining standing.
"Relax," I told her, pointing to one of the logs placed around the bonfire. "Come, sit for a moment."
I moved my cup aside to make room for her.
She obeyed slowly, though she didn't stop keeping her head down.
I offered her a plate of food that was beside me, but she rejected it with a small movement of her hand.
"Thank you, but I've already eaten."
"I see."
I didn't insist.
For a while, we simply listened to the crackling of the bonfire and the villagers' laughter. Around us, the celebration continued as if the world were a calm and safe place.
However, the woman in front of me seemed to be very far from that happiness.
I took a sip of my drink before breaking the silence.
"What's your name?"
She raised her head slightly.
"Ana. My name is Ana."
"I see. Tell me, Ana... are you all right?"
As soon as I asked that question, her expression crumbled.
She brought both hands to her face and her shoulders began to tremble.
"I don't know..." she murmured. "I don't know..."
Her voice was so weak that I could barely hear her over the noise of the celebration.
I set the cup aside and moved a little closer.
"I understand..."
I placed a hand on her back and gave her a few gentle pats, making sure not to startle her.
"You don't have to pretend you're fine. If you need to cry, do it."
Those words seemed to break the last barrier that was keeping her upright.
Her crying intensified. Tears began to fall down her cheeks as she tried to catch her breath between sobs.
I said nothing more.
There were no words capable of erasing what she had lived through.
I knew all too well the kind of cruelty that had been committed in that cave. I knew what it meant to lose control of your own body, to be incapable of defending yourself, and to feel that your cries for help were useless.
I looked slightly away.
"What a hypocrite you are, Varka."
Now I was here, consoling a victim of a cruelty that, in another era, I would have considered just another tool of conquest.
I didn't know if that made me a better person or if it was simply easier for me to feel pity for someone when I could see them crying in front of me.
After a good while, Ana's crying began to diminish.
Little by little, she removed her hands from her face and looked at me with reddened eyes. The tears that remained on her eyelashes shone under the bonfire's light.
"I'm sorry..." she murmured, wiping her cheeks. "And thank you. Really, thank you for rescuing us."
I nodded slowly and continued giving her a few pats on the back until she managed to calm down.
"You don't have to thank me for anything."
Ana gently shook her head.
"Yes, I do."
After hesitating for a few moments, she looked at me again.
"Could I... could I know your name?"
The question took me by surprise.
For some reason, the noise of the celebration seemed to fade around me.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but I had the feeling that some nearby villagers had also stopped talking. Since our arrival, no one had dared to ask me directly what my name was.
I didn't know if it was because of my appearance, my attitude, or simply because my presence was intimidating to them.
Whatever the reason, until that moment I had managed to keep my name a secret.
But for how much longer could I do it?
Sooner or later, Goliath would hear the stories about the old tyrant who had conquered the continent. And, if someone pronounced my name in front of him, perhaps he would begin to ask questions that I would prefer to avoid.
"I suppose I can't hide it forever."
I let out a sigh and set the cup on the ground.
"My name is... Varka."
Silence fell over us.
Ana's expression changed immediately. Her eyes flew wide open and her body tensed, as if she had just heard something that should never have been pronounced.
Around us, murmurs began to spread.
"Did you hear that?"
"Did he say Varka?"
"Like that monster...?"
The conversations multiplied within seconds. Some villagers looked at me with disbelief; others, with a mixture of fear and bewilderment.
Even Goliath, who until then had been playing with the children, turned his head upon hearing my name.
For an instant, our gazes met. I could distinguish the confusion in his pink eyes.
I simply offered an ironic smile and raised my cup.
"It's a rather ugly name, isn't it?"
No one laughed. Ana, still surprised, slowly shook her head.
"No..." she responded with a faltering voice.
Then she looked away to one side, as if she needed time to organize her thoughts.
"It's... a very particular name."
I lowered the cup and let out a small laugh.
"Yes. I suppose that's one way to put it."