Claire expected more. She stood over the trolls' lifeless bodies in a bit of disbelief. The adrenaline was fading away, and she truly realized how much easier this felt. She was quite dumbfounded by her new strength. She'd heard both Ursa and Hannah talk about how capable she was, but this was physical proof.
And she had to process that.
Hannah's own emotions were also coming down. She didn't know why Toni's dance instilled so much confidence in her, but it did. She, too, was contemplating the battle. Both women were stuck staring at nothing and deep within their own thoughts. Meanwhile, their party members were scouting the area.
Jasmine snuck into the mill itself to check for structural damage. There were holes in the walls, and the wheat mill looked damaged, but it was repairable. The nearby town would be able to produce flour in a matter of weeks. Hopefully, they had enough for winter, too. Other than that, the building itself was relatively okay. The structural repairs would be fairly minor, and the water mill outside was unaffected.
The trolls hadn't actually used the building as their shelter. It was the nearby barn they used. Ursa had caught them just after exiting the building, but the damage to that was less of a concern. The animals the trolls likely used as food were, but it's better than the entire wheat mill being unusable.
Overall, the village was lucky that the trolls had just moved in. Had they been in the area for a while, the mill would have been broken down for weapons. Not to mention raids on the village. It could have snowballed into a far worse threat overall.
Sadly, for Claire, their newness to the area meant there was no collected or lost loot to be found. When she finally snapped out of her post-battle thoughts, she scavenged the area for anything. The most she found were sharpened stakes and makeshift weapons. She felt a bit disappointed, but it also meant no adventurers lost their lives to these monsters.
Claire felt a bit guilty for feeling disappointed and ashamed for getting so excited about finding equipment. Probably for the best that they didn't find anything.
"Well, it looks like this place can be repaired before winter," Jasmine said from behind Claire. "Except for the barn. That would need too much repair."
"That's good," Claire turned and smiled at her. "Means the villagers should be largely unaffected."
Jasmine nodded. Then she paused and pursed her lips. "I'm glad I told you how proud I was before this…"
Claire tilted her head. "What do you mean?" She managed to get out as a warm feeling grew in her chest.
"You took direct blows from trolls earlier like they were nothing," Jasmine slowly approached her. "It actually shocked me. Part of me was afraid to find you like last time."
That got Claire out of her fuzzy feelings. She nodded slowly. "I could hardly believe it, too."
"I guess I was still denying how strong you've become," Jasmine finally stopped before Claire. She felt like she looked up more to meet her eyes. "I think you grew an inch or two, too."
Claire bit back a smile and the urge to kiss Jasmine. She knew she smelled horrendously of troll at that moment. "Did I?"
"Yeah, maybe it was the help of your Goddess, or maybe it was you filling out because of your class," Jasmine smiled. She reached out for Claire's free hand and grasped it. "Probably a bit of both."
"And my strength?" Claire whispered.
"Obviously, from your amazing training and teacher," Jasmine giggled. She pulled on Claire's hand to direct her. "Your class can only get you so far. Even with a Goddess assisting you."
Claire let herself be dragged away. The two met up with the rest of the party, who were gathered around the bodies and discussing the battle. Toni was the most animated of the bunch; he was talking excitedly to Hannah. The knight was listening, but did not seem so happy.
"-be next time, I can be by you and Claire. I really want to try my taunting dance!" Toni was nearly bouncing while he spoke.
"Master, that's far too dangerous," Hannah grimaced at even the mention. "Victoria would literally kill me, let alone Lady Efreit."
"Probably not a good idea unless we find an easy monster," Jasmine backed Hannah up. "You aren't experienced in fighting at all. Even low-tier monsters would be a problem."
"What about slimes?" Claire asked.
"Like the ones we fought!" Elsie excitedly jumped in.
"A-ah, Elsie," Ana pulled on her sister's arm. "Don't encourage him."
"Why not?" Elsie smiled at the dancer. "He could have potential."
"Y-yes, but Hannah is right," Ana replied sheepishly. "Besides, you just want to see his b-butt shake when he dances."
"I will not deny that," Elsie said smugly, but proudly.
Hannah shot her a glare. "Only if we find slime weak enough. I will not let Toni get harmed in any way."
Toni opened his mouth to reply, but stopped. He even stopped bouncing. "I guess you are right. I'm getting ahead of myself…"
Hannah sighed and wrapped her arms around him. "I don't mean to stifle you or your freedom, but this isn't a game. If you get hurt or worse, your mother and grandmother wouldn't know what to do with themselves. Let alone how I'd feel. Just let's get you trained first."
"I know an excellent teacher," Claire chimed in. She squeezed Jasmine's hand tightly. "Though her punishments are killer."
"We'll see," Jasmine smiled at her. "Toni can admit when he's wrong already."
"Hey!" Claire protested. "That was never my problem."
Hannah let go of Toni and knelt down in front of him. She took one of his hands and clasped hers around it. "Like I said, I don't mean to be a downer. I just want you to be safe. We'll train you until you are ready. Just be patient, okay?"
Toni smiled and nodded at her. "I just got so excited at the thought! I am sorry for suggesting it."
"Don't be," Hannah exhaled. She glanced over at the assassin. "Starting to understand your annoyance with Claire's Goddess. I have a feeling Toni's going to get more combat skills."
Jasmine shot her a quick smile and a nod.
"What makes you say that?" Toni tilted his head.
"Just a hunch," Hannah got to her feet. "We'll prepare for the worst."
"What are we doing with the bodies?" Ursa finally chimed in. She'd been standing to the side the entire time. "Just leaving them?"
"We are," Jasmine tugged Claire's hand towards the carriage. "I told the mayor to use the money from their materials for the repairs."
"Are we going to ever make a profit?" Elsie whined.
"Not at the expense of villages like this one," Claire replied swiftly. Again, she let herself get dragged along by Jasmine.
"Ugh," Elsie sighed dramatically. "I guess it would feel shitty to take valuable resources from these people."
"Elsie," Ana tugged her sister's dress. "They're not listening."
"Aww," Elsie frowned. She felt a bit embarrassed, but also a bit left out. "Been missing the attention from their scoldings…"
Ana petted Elsie's head. "L-let the excitement die down a bit. Samira just joined, and it was T-Toni's first battle. "
Elsie shook off Ana's hand, then took it. "Well, at least I have my adorable sister."
The two walked hand-in-hand behind the rest of their party. They were all in a great mood and ready to report that the trolls were taken care of. The spirits were high in the carriage on the way back to the nearby village. If only they weren't near people, then they could truly let their emotions run high.
Anthony:
Level: 9
HP: 13/13
Mana: 18/25
Exp: 15
Dance of Haste: Empower your lover's speed. Dances hasten your lovers' actions, making them faster. Bestowed ShieldMaiden gains a boosted benefit.
Stats:
Strength: 5 Magic: 10
Dexterity: 19 Resistance: 12
Constitution: 4 Wisdom: 7
Charisma: 17 Divinity: 11
Defense: 9 (+4)