Chapter 361: Homeward Road

The second day passed even more smoothly. The mountains gradually fell behind them, replaced by gentler forestsand wider roads occasionally used by merchants or hunters.

Although they avoided villages to prevent unnecessary attention, seeing signs of civilization again lifted everyone’s spirits considerably. Birds replaced monstrous roars. Wagon tracks replaced beast trails. Even the air somehow felt more familiar.

Boren eventually drifted toward Sage near the center of the formation, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as though he had been wrestling with an important philosophical question for the past several hours.

Sage noticed him from the corner of his eye and immediately sighed before Boren had even opened his mouth."If you’re about to ask me how much treasure we brought back," Sage said without slowing his pace, "the answer is still no."

Boren stopped for half a step, staring at him with genuine disbelief before quickly catching up again. "Hold on a second, that’s not fair. I hadn’t even said anything yet. Since when did you learn to read minds?"

"I don’t need to. You’ve asked me the same question at least twenty times since we left the river."

Boren looked completely unapologetic. "Well... maybe twenty-one is the lucky number. Come on, Guildmaster, I’m not asking for the exact amount. Just give me a rough idea. Are we talking about enough gold to buy a large house? A street? Half of Greyvale? I promise I won’t tell anyone."

Sage shook his head with an amused smile. "You would tell everyone within five minutes."

"...That’s... beside the point."

"And the answer is still no."

Boren let out an exaggerated groan that sounded loud enough for half the forest to hear before dramatically throwing both hands into the air. "You’ve changed, Boss. Back when we first met, you were an honest, straightforward man. Now you’ve become secretive. Wealth really does corrupt people."

Sage finally looked at him, unable to stop himself from laughing quietly. "The treasure belongs to everyone who risked their lives inside the Vault, not just me. We’ll counteverything properly once we’re back at the Guild, and everyone will know exactly what we found. Until then, be patient."

Boren narrowed his eyes suspiciously, studying Sage’s expression as though trying to uncover a hidden conspiracy. "The fact that you’re refusing to answer tells me everything I need to know. We are ridiculously rich now, aren’t we?"

"I never said that."

"No," Boren replied immediately, pointing a finger toward him with absolute confidence. "But you also didn’t deny it, and that’s practically a confession."

Gregor, who had been listening to the conversation from only a few steps away, couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore.

He shook his head before clapping Borenlightly on the shoulder. "You should probably give up. If the Guildmaster could keep a straight face while running from a serpent the size of a mountain, you’re not going to trick him into revealing the treasure."

Boren folded his arms stubbornly. "Giving up has never solved anything."

"It might solve this."

"It definitely won’t."

"You’ve been asking him since yesterday."

"And I’ll continue asking until I get an answer." Gregor grinned. "Then you’ll spend the rest of the trip disappointed."

"...Worth the effort."

Mina, who had been quietly listening while skipping between the adults, suddenlylooked up at Boren with an expression full of innocent curiosity. "Uncle Boren, I actually think petty uncle Sage is protecting you."

Boren blinked. "Protecting me? From what?"

She tilted her head as though the answer were obvious. "From fainting. If he tells you how much treasure we really have, you’ll probably fall over before we even reach Greyvale."

For a moment Boren actually stopped walking to think about it seriously. He imagined mountains of gold, ancient books, Skill Stones, rare weapons, and everything else they had stuffed into Sage’s mysterious storage before slowly nodding to himself.

"...You know what," he admitted with complete sincerity, "that’s actually possible."

The surrounding adventurers burst intolaughter again, and even Sage couldn’t stop the smile spreading across his face.

After everything they had endured inside the Vault, hearing everyone laugh so freely made the long journey feel much shorter.

Later that afternoon, as the group continued making steady progress across the familiar roads leading toward Greyvale, Gregor quietly increased his pace until he caught up with Valeria.

She had paused atop a rocky rise overlooking the route ahead, her crimson eyes calmly scanning the forests and distant hills to ensure there were no hidden dangers waiting for the group.

For several moments Gregor simply stood beside her without speaking, allowing the silence to settle naturally between them. The breeze stirred the grass around their feet while the rest of the expedition slowly approached from behind.

"There was something I wanted to say," Gregor finally began, rubbing the back of his neck with an awkward smile. "I know you’re probably going to tell me it isn’t necessary, but I’m saying it anyway."

Valeria turned her head slightly toward him. "Go on."

Gregor looked away for a moment, his gaze drifting toward the distant Evergreen Mountains they had spent three exhausting days crossing. "Back in the Vault... when that serpent came after us... I honestly thought that was the end. If you hadn’t stayed behind to hold it back, none of us would’ve reached the Return Gate. We’d all still be there... or worse."

Valeria remained quiet for a few seconds before answering in the same calm voice she always used. "You’re giving me too much credit. I wasn’t trying to defeat it. I only delayed it long enough for Sage’s plan to work."

Gregor nodded slowly. "Maybe that’s true, but it doesn’t change what happened. Whether you call it fighting, delaying, or buying time, you put yourself between that monster and the rest of us without hesitating. That’s something I won’t forget."

Valeria looked at him for a long moment before her gaze slowly returned to the road stretching ahead. "We all made it back."

Gregor smiled quietly before nodding to himself. "Yeah... we did."

Neither of them spoke again after that. They didn’t need to. Some gratitude was better understood in silence than in speeches.

By the afternoon of the third day the roads had become increasingly familiar.

The towering forests gradually gave way to open grasslands, abandoned watchtowers appeared beside the old trade routes, and weathered milestones began marking distances that every adventurer from Greyvale had memorized long ago. Without anyone saying a word, the pace of the entire expedition subtly increased.

Tired legs somehow found fresh strength, conversations became more lively, and even Boren managed to go almost an entire hour without complaining, a feat that several adventurers later insisted deserved to be recorded in the Guild’s history books.

Then Valeria, who had once again movedahead to scout the road, suddenly came to a stop on top of a gentle hill.

Everyone instinctively slowed before following her gaze. Beyond the rolling fields, past the winding road disappearing into the distance, the familiar stone walls of Greyvale stood proudly beneath the warm light of the setting sun.

Thin columns of smoke rose lazily from within the city, merchants could just barely be seen entering through the southern gate, and the Guild’s watchtower was visible above the rooftops exactly where they had left it days ago.

For a long moment, nobody spoke.

They simply stood there, looking at the city they had fought so hard to return to.

Then, one after another, smiles appeared across tired faces.

They were finally home.