I fly north while holding Snow, and eventually see a cliff.
This cliff that could be called precipitous has several holes in it, where the alfar live.
They were attacked by stuff like wyverns before, but I don’t see many of them now that the great spirits are protecting them.
Instead, I see small birds flying around, so the mood around here is overall lighter.
“Whoa.”
I land, and young alfar who were working approach me.
Everyone looks happy.
“Miss Snow!”
“Everyone, Miss Snow is here to visit!”
Snow hides her face while I’m still holding her, not looking too happy about suddenly being surrounded.
Wasn’t she fine the last time we were here? Maybe it’s because it’s been a while.
I tap her back to reassure her, and tell a young alfar man what’s going on, so they all disperse.
But of course, since she’s like a god to them, they still watch from a distance.
There are a few things I want to ask, but then, a girl I know with twin-tails approaches us.
“Miss Snow! And Arata!”
“Ah, Katima.”
“…!?”
Snow quickly looks down, and taps me like always.
I put her down, and she runs to tackle Katima.
“Kati…”
“M-Miss Snow! Please slow down…!”
“Ma!”
“Ugeh!?”
Katima lets out a dull voice you wouldn’t think came out of a girl like her, but still holds on, to not fall on Snow.
She’s tough, but it’s not like she’s of one of the strongest races like Tiltue. It was her faithfulness that allowed her to bear it.
And while clearly hiding the pain, she smiles and pats Snow’s head.
“Miss Snow, welcome.”
“Snow’s here to play.”
“Yes. Everyone will be happy.”
There are jealous stares around us. And one of them comes from a girl that approaches us.
“Snow!”
“Ah! Meer!”
It’s the alfar girl I saved from a wyvern.
I didn’t catch her name before, but apparently it’s Meer.
She’s the one closest to Snow’s age in this village. They became friends, and she even gave her an ice sculpture.
“Daddy, can Snow go play?”
She asks with a kind of honeyed voice.
I think for a bit, but since there are a lot of alfar around, I get the feeling Mister Guen is here, and the wyverns aren’t here anymore, I don’t think there’s any danger.
“Sure.”
“Yay! Let’s go!”
“But don’t go outside the village.”
“Okay! Let’s go!”
“Yes!”
They hold hands and run off. It’s so adorable.
The adult alfar also smile as they watch this.
“So, why did you come here so suddenly?”
“Well…”
I tell her about what’s been happening, and ask if anyone wandered into this village.
Edinburgh was on the beach, Zephir in the demon gods’ village, and Ceres in the ancient dragons’ village, so it wouldn’t be strange for someone to be here…
“No, I don’t think any human’s been here.”
“I see.”
“We’d do it too, but I think divine beast people would go straight to you if they found a human they don’t know.”
That’s true. Graham didn’t take Ceres because she had a fever, but I feel like people I know would take them to my place.
That means Reina probably won’t have any luck in the divine beast people’s village…
“But I get it. If I see a human, I’ll take them to your home.”
“Yes, that’d be great.”
They were all on the same boat, but got here at different times.
That means they might not have gotten here yet.
“Is Mister Guen the one here today?”
“Yes. Do you want to see him?”
“Yes. I already told Mister Giarth, but I should talk to the other two…”
Miss Sheryl in particular is pretty merciless, so I’ll make sure to talk to her.
Well, considering how sweet she is to Snow, she’ll probably mellow if I take her with me.
“By the way, it was supposed to be the darkness great spirit’s turn today.”
“Eh? Was it?”
“Yes, but she said she had other things to do, so she swapped with the fire great spirit.”
That means they take turns watching over the alfar village. That’s how the three great spirits protect the alfar who worship them.
They stopped coming here because of Snow, but normally coming here to watch over them is part of their routine.
“So something might have happened.”
“Hm, I’ll ask Mister Guen.”
I focus to sharpen my senses, and feel a strong power coming from a flame in a corner of the village.
“Over there. Be right back.”
“Yes. Well, Katima doesn’t need to tell you to be careful or anything.”
I am going to see a powerful great spirit, you know?
Well, to me it’s more like a doting grandfather, but I guess Katima’s gotten used to that too.
I stand in front of a torch, and eyes appear in the fire.
“What is it Arata? I’m busy right now.”
“You’re just watching Snow.”
“I’m not like you, I can’t be with her all the time. It’s just now that she came to visit.”
“What if I said if you answer me, you can hold her?”
When I say that, he jumps out of the fire.
“So what is it? Ask anything of the fire great spirit Guen.”
He’s a lot bigger than me and his body is covered in flames. It makes sense that he’s called the king of flames.
Although he’s just standing in front of me now because he’s a doting grandfather.
“Do you know what Miss Sheryl is doing?”
“Ahn? I dunno. She just suddenly told me to watch the village. And I owed her one, so I did…”
“I see.”
“You can go there if you’re curious. I wouldn’t say that to anyone else, but you’ll be fine.”
He says, but I’m also scared of making her mad.
I don’t think I’d lose if we fought, but it’s more of an instinctual thing. I think I’d have to rely on Snow.
“All right. I’ll go to her place.”
“Ou. Ah, you’re looking for humans, right?”
“Yes. But no one has any leads…”
“Apparently there’s a fuss going on in the south, so I think you should go there.”
“South…”
The forest where I was before?
But there was nothing there…
“It’s a hard place to find, because the great spirits and elves keep it hidden.”
“I didn’t see anything the last time I was there. Is there a barrier?”
“Yes. They’ll probably come out if you take Snow with you.”
Come to think of it, there are six great spirits other than Snow.
Darkness, fire, and earth in the north, and light, wind, and water in the south.
The elves worship the ones in the south, so they are protected by them.
Miss Sheryl and the others here treat Snow like a cute granddaughter, so I imagine the ones in the south will do the same.
“Maybe the humans you’re looking for wandered in there.”
“Yes. I’ll look there.”
“Ou.”
I’ll just say hello to Miss Sheryl first.
She’s the most serious among the great spirits, so I’m wondering why she left her post.
“You can leave Snow here.”
“Miss Sheryl would kill me if I did.”
“You can’t die anyway.”
It’s just a way of saying that’s how bad it would get.
And I’d appreciate it if the great spirits of all people stopped treating me like I’m not human.
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