Volume 2 - CH 3.7

“What am I doing?”

She was the one who asked Pia to persuade the village chief. She was the one who thought that if they talked to him properly, he would understand. She didn’t think things through. And she took it out on Pia.

“I’m such a jerk.”

A sudden knock came at the door.

“Breakfast is ready,” said a gentle voice. “Come to the dining room.”

It was her father.

Paula became an adventurer without consulting him. When she returned the day before yesterday, he did not say anything except, “Welcome back. Could you bring in the laundry?” as if she just returned from a quick trip.

“Coming.”

As she wiped her face, Paula remembered that she had to bring food to the girl that Hikaru left in her care. When she stepped out into the hallway, her father was waiting for her, so she decided to bring food to her later instead. Her father was astonished to see her red eyes.

“This is nothing,” Paula said.

“I know.”

His hair was the same shade of green as Paula’s, with streaks of gray. Whenever he smiled, the wrinkles around his eyes deepened. Paula almost didn’t remember him being this old.

“Paula.”

“Y-Yes?”

“I was born in this village and raised as a pastor. I didn’t want to force the same on you, but I think I might’ve subconsciously wished for it.”

Paula had no idea where this was coming from. She looked at the face of her lanky father.

“You seem to have grown a lot in the few months that you were away from the village. Did you meet someone special perhaps?”

Hikaru’s face flashed in her mind.

“What?! I, uh…”

“Ah, so I was right. I’ve always thought that we can never change what we are. But I see you’ve broken one of your shells. Come, let’s eat. The tomato soup will grow cold.”

Her father gave her a slight push from behind, and she started walking. She didn’t notice the girl watching them from a corner in the hallway.

Adventurers had put up tents in a corner of the village. The Four Eastern Stars were no exception, sleeping in their own tent, its ropes suspended around tree branches.

“Haah… I’m so exhausted.”

It was a custom-built tent that could fit not only four, but ten people. Even when standing upright, their head did not touch the ceiling. It was an excellent tool that could only be used by the Four Eastern Stars, who were accustomed to camping in the wild.

Sara stripped off all her gear and clothes, then leapt onto the pile of blankets with only her underwear on.

A black-haired girl stared down at her, arms crossed—Selica.

“What do you mean exhausted?! You can stay awake for three days and three nights!”

“Only when I force myself to stay up. Right now, I’m sleepy. I’m taking a nap.”

“And where are your clothes?!”

Her breasts were rather small in size, but the smooth curve from her hips to her thighs was quite sexy. It pissed Selica off slightly because it was something she didn’t have. She seemed to be showing off.

“I know there’s no other people around.”

“Good grief! So you found no problem during your recon?!”

“Nope,” Sara replied, lying on her stomach. Her eyes were already closed. “Visibility is pretty good, so I’m sure we’re fine. I gotta say, though. It was surprising. I checked the east and south sides, and they said they weren’t watching ‘cause it’s the opposite direction of the dungeon.”

“That’s a problem, then! So what did you do?!”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it. Thank you so much, Lady Selica. You saved the village.”

“What are you talking about?! Are you asleep already?!”

“Isn’t that why you brought it up? To say something like, ‘I killed the monsters on the eastern side.’”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“What?” Sara’s eyes snapped open, and she lifted her body up. “There’s a huge burnt area on the eastern side. That and the piles of ashes made me assume that you used Spirit Magic to incinerate them.”

“I’m not going east! Besides, I’m not going to use Fire Magic unless I’ve been asked to! And the wind has been blowing from the east since yesterday! We wouldn’t want to burn the village!”

“So who left those burn marks there?”

“…”

“…”

The two exchanged glances.

“Have you told Selyse about this?!”

“Nope. I think she’s fighting at the western front right now. Where’s Sophie?”

“Treating adventurers!”

Sara quickly put on the clothes she had taken off. “I’m gonna go take another look.”

“Wait! I’m coming with you!”

The two women dashed out of the tent and headed east of the village. There was only barren land there, with barely any grass, leading directly to a bare mountain. It wasn’t the result of burning, but rather the soil had always been infertile.

They spotted a burn mark just outside the village, a circle about ten meters in diameter. There were three piles of ashes, with no loot in them.

“What do you think?” Sara asked.

“It’s clearly Spirit Magic! Looks like a beginner Mage used all their power and just barely managed to eke out one spell!”

“But there’s more than one…”

“That’s the problem!”

There were a total of five marks. In every one of them were piles of ashes. All the marks were about the same size.

“Sara! Can you tell what kind of monster was killed from their ashes?!”

“Hmm… I can’t be sure. Most of them are the size of Forest Rat or something. But then there’s this.”

There were three very large piles.

“I think it’s a Treant,” Sara said. “How powerful is a Mage that can kill a Treant with fire magic?”

“Definitely a Rank D adventurer or higher! If they can cast this level of fire magic in rapid succession, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were Rank B!”

“Can you do that?”

“A foolish question!” Selica crossed her arms and threw out her chest.

Sara, a head taller than her, patted her on the head. “Good girl.”

Selica slapped her hand away. “There’s a Spirit Mage in the village!”

“No one asked, though.”

“I hope we’re on the same side!”

“I agree, but still…”

“They’re definitely an ally! Otherwise, the monsters would have invaded the village without anyone noticing! Just imagine the casualties!”

“I guess… They’re doing great work, but why are they hiding? If it weren’t for that, I’d be enthusiastic.”

They returned to the village, talking along the way. They could speculate all they wanted, but they could never be sure.

They didn’t notice the figure hiding behind a rock, watching them go.

“They found out, as expected.”

Lavia emerged from her hiding spot. After verifying that the two members of the two Four Eastern Stars were gone, she headed south, deep in thought. After eating the meal Paula had brought earlier, she went out for a walk. Of course, she had her Stealth on, so Paula wouldn’t have noticed her leaving.

She had noticed the battle between adventurers and monsters on the west and north sides last night. But the south and east sides were so neglected, so Lavia patrolled the areas alone.

Fortunately, the monsters didn’t bother hiding themselves. It would’ve been dangerous if a Lost Man appeared, but fortunately there were none, so she was free to fire magic from behind them.

The monsters only noticed her after the spell was cast—not while she was reciting the incantation, not even when the magic circle appeared—so she was able to take them down safely. She then collected the Spirit Magic stones.

Lavia yawned. “So sleepy.”

All this work had left her exhausted. Sara finally realized that the east and south sides were shorthanded, so scouts should be checking on them from now on. She might just have time to sleep. Lavia quietly returned to her room and lay down on her bed.

It was noon. Lavia was sleeping, Selyse was fighting off the monsters while giving out instructions, Pia was admiring her, Priscilla was sent somewhere, and Paula was wondering what to do with the villagers.

Cooking smoke was rising, and adventurers were having lunch.

“What do we do? We’re here on an escort commission, but the villagers aren’t leaving.”

“Hmm… But if we just follow the Four Eastern Stars, we can make some pretty good money.”

“And that’s what’s troubling. It’s dangerous, but we managed to take down a Lesser Wyvern earlier.”

“She said we’d split all the loot equally later. If we leave now, we might not get our share.”

While they were engaged in idle conversation, the air burst.

It sounded like a jet plane flying low was falling from the sky.

The shadow circling above the village of Cotton-elka was so large as to render all the monsters until now as mere jokes. Selyse was staring at the sky above. Sophie fell in beside her, and then Sara, and lastly Selica.

Paula and Pia also came out of their houses. So did Priscilla, who was staying at the village chief’s house.

“Something big is coming.”

Lavia woke up and went out the back door of the church to look up at the sky. Villagers came out of their houses, but no one said anything. No one screamed or cried. It is said that when a person is struck with abject terror, they become speechless.

People normally call this state despair.