"Oh, Marsha, can you gather the people tomorrow in the square?"

"In the square? For what?"

For some reason, this request is making Marsha's heart pound, like it was the beginning of bad news.

But it wasn't.

"I've taken down the two Alpha Ghosts in the inner area, and one of the Null Zones has fallen under my control," Deklan explained, remembering that this all happened before Marsha had even had the chance to enter the inner area. "It's hard, really hard, but I succeeded."

"What?!" Marsha covered her mouth and gasped. "Is that really true, young master?"

"Yep. That's why I want to introduce the Ghosts that are going to be protecting them to the people."

"That's… incredible! Of course. Of course, I'll gather the people."

"Help me convince them that it's going to be fine, will you? Fortunately, the Ghosts aren't the ones that attacked the hamlet, so they shouldn't be too intimidated. But still, I need your help to calm the people down when I show the Ghosts."

"Yes, I'll do my best. I'll make sure to help them understand."

Deklan nodded his head firmly.

He knew that it wasn't going to be easy, but that's fine.

For the people, their only choice was to accept the Ghosts to protect them or stay defenseless.

The Twin Tower of Darnina greatly increased their survivability, but they remained vulnerable to siege by other Ghosts. A scenario—where they would be left hopeless. But with the Ghosts of the Shadowed Town allied to their side, that critical weakness would be no more.

If the people are smart, then they should know which one to choose.

Even so, an assuring voice like Marsha's would be of great help to convince them better.

"Also, how many people are left? And how many able-bodied people?"

"Not-Not a lot… Barely two dozen. As for the able-bodied, there are only Brian and Lilia left. Both are the only young people, except you and me."

"Hmm, in that case, how about taking in Kaelyn's group?"

Marsha's eyes widened a little, staring at Deklan in surprise as she wasn't expecting him to say that.

After what happened, there was no way the people would accept that outcome.

"I mean, think about it; the hamlet would not survive at this rate. Not with the number of people left. I think the only way for the hamlet to survive is to accept Kaelyn's group, as they needed a place to stay."

"But still… We can't accept them that quickly…"

Marsha bit her lower lip, looking down at the table, thinking of another alternative.

It wouldn't be fair to the people if this happened.

"What about letting them stay near the hamlet and wait for the people to grow closer to them, first?"

"Hmm… Okay, let's do that."

Deklan accepted without hesitation.

From the very start, he was already aiming for Kaelyn's group to stay near the hamlet first.

He knew Marsha wouldn't readily agree to accept Kaelyn's group into the hamlet.

All he was hoping for was that she'd offer the alternative herself, and she had.

"I'll speak with Kaelyn tomorrow," He said, rising to his feet. "It's late. You should head back."

Upon hearing this, Marsha looked up and him, her lips parted a little as if she wanted to say something.

But swallowed the words back down, and stood up, too.

"In that case… Good night, young master. I'll be taking my leave."

"Yep. Get some sleep."

The next day.

For the entire day, Deklan woke up early and didn't waste any time to do the things he needed to do. First, he went to the Shadowed Town and told the Ghosts about what he was planning to have all of them do later.

None of the Ghosts could talk, but they could understand him perfectly.

It was weird at first, but he got used to it quickly enough.

Since he was their Alpha, he could also allow them to leave the Shadowed Town.

But a notice from the system stated that there needed to be a few who stayed behind, which was not a problem at all.

Next, he talked with Kaelyn and told her about his talk with Marsha last night.

And they decided that Kaelyn's group would move closer later in the evening, letting the people fully prepare themselves for being introduced to the Ghosts first. Kaelyn was quite attentive, and that made the work easier.

Once the time came to introduce the Ghosts, it surprisingly went smoother than anticipated.

Of course, some people were evidently scared, but none of them left.

It was quite a miracle.

Deklan praised the people for being brave inside, as it hadn't been that long since the hamlet was badly attacked by Ghosts. He was expecting them to be chaotic—but none uttered a single complaint, which was mostly thanks to Marsha assuring them.

For now, the Ghosts would be roaming around the area.

None of them would be entering the hamlet, helping the people adjust to their existence first.

Based on the system, the Twin Tower of Darnina was under Marsha's command, so she could mark the Ghosts so that they could come in—and go from the hamlet. But she opted not to do that, at least not for the time being.

[You can control the Twin Tower of Darnina like Marsha, host, since it's in your territory.]

Oh, can I, now? I thought the towers needed the blood thingy.

[Normally, yes. But the Ward can override its mechanism without a problem.]

Deklan found it useful to know about this, but he's going to let Marsha run things.

It would help her adapt to becoming the person in charge before his departure.

Once the Ghosts were introduced, Deklan told them to stay around the hamlet and get to know all the people of the Slosa Hamlet. As for himself, he went back into the forest, heading to where Kaelyn was, as it was bringing her group next.

Even though it wasn't evening yet, far from it, he went to meet with Kaelyn anyway.

"How did it go?" She asked.

Kaelyn was perched on the carriage step and tilted her head to her side, a silent invitation for Deklan to join her and tell her how the introduction went. Her eyes sparkled a little at the sight of him, but dimmed when he approached.

A flicker of curiosity, or perhaps interest. Nobody knows.

"Better than expected, actually. Most are elders, so they are quiet—except for that Brian guy. He outright refused the idea of allying with ghosts." Deklan shook his head. "I don't understand the hatred. Yes— Ghosts ransacked the hamlet. But not all ghosts are bad, right?"

"Good Ghosts? You mean Spirits? Yes, Spirits are good. But all Ghosts are bad."

"Spirits and Ghosts, both of them are Ghosts in the end. It's the same."

"You're speaking like you're not from this world."

Deklan turned to look at Kaelyn, tilting his head, gesturing for her to elaborate on what she meant.

It was his intention, anyway, to come here and talk more with Kaelyn to really understand the state of this world, and also learn more about being an Exorcist. He couldn't be too out of place, or that'll only put him into a lot more unnecessary trouble.

"Spirits and Ghosts came from the same dimension, yes, but they are different. Spirits lived in the light side of the intangible dimension, while Ghosts lived in the dark side. Comparing the two is the same as comparing a human to a fish. Yes, we are living beings of this dimension, but we're not the same."

"Hmm… I guess so. But still, are there really no good Ghosts?"

"No. Thinking otherwise would only make you die sooner."

"Then how do you explain the Alpha Ghost I saved?"

"You saved a tiger, and the tiger decided not to kill you. Does that mean the tiger is good? No."

"Touche."

Deklan wasn't insisting that there are Ghosts out there that are good.

He was simply trying to see how the people in the world think, and taunting them with Ghosts are the best way to do it, in his opinion. Besides, he already got a taste of how fierce Ghosts really are, and that's proof enough.

Even Pumple is no exception.

There are no good Ghosts. There are only tamed Ghosts. Unfortunately, I'm the only Ghost tamer.

Deklan rubbed his nose, feeling good about himself.

Even though he was robbed from his world—and brought there unwillingly, at least the bitch that sent him here has a heart. She wanted something from him, yes, but with her kind of power, she could send more people like Deklan to this world and reward the strongest.

Of course, she could give this power to the others as well.

But considering how she got tricked, he doubted she was that strong in the first place.

[No, you can't, host. You need me.]

Hah! Joke's on you, I only need the Ward! You're not needed!

"How about a good day when you finally smiled again?" Deklan asked, nudging her with his elbow.

"If you don't have anything to talk about anymore," Kaelyn sighed and turned. "Then I'm going inside."

She doesn't want to deal with Deklan's womanizer mode right now.

Better flee rather than listen to him.

"Oh, come on, I was only playing around," Deklan complained, throwing his hands to the air. But that didn't make Kaelyn stop. "Okay! Okay! I want to ask you Exorcist, questions! I was only breaking the tension earlier!"

"Nope, too late. I'm not answering more questions," Kaelyn slammed the door in his face.

All Deklan could do was smile acutely, cursing himself for his stupid decision.

He was planning a few hours' visit to know more about Exorcists, especially the spells which he might need to know before venturing into the world. But it was cut short to a few minutes, a fraction of what he expected.

Either way, Deklan headed back to check on the hamlet.

Later that night.

Deklan was standing in the backyard of the hut, arms folded as he stared at the Ward.

"I'm leaving, alright, but how am I going to carry this thing? Can I bring it with me somehow? Or is it stuck to this place?" He thought aloud, rubbing his chin in contemplation. "I can't leave it behind. I still need the dimensional fruits."

It would be a hassle if Deklan needed to regularly come back for the fruits.

That would only mean he can't leave for the time being.

"The Ward is called the Ancient Dimensional Tree, right? It has 'dimensional' in its name. I should be able to bring it with me, somehow," Deklan stepped closer and reached out his hand, placing his hand on its sturdy surface. "Come to me…"

Rustle—!

As soon as Deklan said that, the tree began to shake—rustling its leaves.

No wind tonight, but the trees shook like there was a hurricane nearby.

Before Deklan could react, the tree splashed with energy, and then it formed into a vortex.

Its entire body faded into an unknown energy, expanding the vortex bit by bit. Even the two graves were turning into energy, feeding the vortex too, until it shot a beam of energy towards Deklan's right arm.

"Oh…? It can really understand me."

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