Brynhildr looks a little troubled, probably because this conversation is advancing so fast.
It makes sense, because she’s dealing with someone she purposefully stayed away from, but if Katima is making an effort to talk, she’s going to have to do the same.
“Hum… So I have to talk to the high elf?”
“Yes. Brynhildr has to get along with the alfar, so Miss Miriel and the others can start talking to the northern great spirits.”
“Yes…”
Brynhildr nods, but her expression is still stiff. But she’s facing Katima, for the sake of the great spirits she worships.
“My name is Brynhildr… A high elf…”
“Katima. Nice to meet you.”
Brynhildr sounds hesitant, but Katima puts out her hand immediately.
She slowly reaches out, but the moment she grabs her hand, the presences around me move.
I feel like they’re surprised about Katima shaking hands with a high elf, but there doesn’t seem to be any anger. I feel like this will go well.
“What about you, Snow?”
“Hn…”
“Hm?”
Normally she’d jump in and do the same as Katima, but she feels kind of low on energy.
She’s looking around. Is she looking for something?
“Snow!”
“…!”
She hears a girl’s voice, and her expression brightens up.
I look up, and see a girl waving from one of the caves.
“Mia!”
Snow raises her hands and hops to show she’s here.
I get it. Luna, Tiltue, and Katima are her friends too, but they’re more like big sisters who play with her.
Mia is about the only girl her age she knows, so she’s probably important to her.
“Katima, can Snow have a look around the village?”
“Yes, everyone will be happy to have her. And people aren’t staying in just because they’re wary, they feel bad because they scared Miss Snow last time.”
“Eh? Really?”
“Yes. They’re still wary though.”
Sounds like we’re troubling them a bit.
As I think that I should bring them some meat from monsters I hunt next time, I grab Snow, and jump to the cliff, where Mia is.
I leave Snow, and go around a bit talking about what’s been going on with the high elves and the southern great spirits, and what they think of alfar.
Everyone I tell this to is surprised and impressed.
As I tell them how the high elves feel about them, they say that they never interacted with elves because they have deep rooted notions about them.
Well, that’s what I figured.
It’s not just alfar and elves either. The other strongest races here don’t get along particularly well with others either, and they mostly stay with their kind in their territories.
In a way, what I’m doing might be just for my own self-satisfaction. But at the same time, seeing people like Tiltue and Luna, as well as the new arrivals on this island having fun, makes me feel like it might be okay, even for my own self-satisfaction.
After a while, I see people leave their homes and approach Katima and Brynhildr.
I’m sure it will be fine if it keeps going like this.
“You never let people get bored, do you?”
I go up the cliff and towards a certain house, and see Saria, the one who raised Katima, smiling.
When I look at her, with her silver hair in a ponytail, it looks like she’s my age, but since Katima calls her grandma, she has to be much older.
“Hello Saria. I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”
“And I plan to be until you make babies with Katima, so do it already.”
“I won’t…”
“Are you faithful to Reina? Then make babies with her and have Katima on the side.”
She’s suddenly talking like Wil, but the difference is that she’s not just making fun of me.
I try to match her seriousness, but she doesn’t back down.
“Fine. If it were anyone else bringing a high elf here all of a sudden, you would’ve been beaten…”
“Is that bad?”
“No. The elder said this before too, but this island is on the move, so we have to accept changes.”
I smile awkwardly, but I get that she accepts.
That’s good. The elder is usually asleep, so Saria is basically the leader of the alfar. If this is how she feels, I’m sure there won’t be any trouble.
“The great spirits have been visiting us frequently thanks to you, so we are all grateful.”
She says with a kind of gentle tone, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
“So, are you going to see the great spirits with that high elf? It will be dark by the time you get there, so stay here until tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
“And take Katima and…”
“I’m going to go call Brynhildr then.”
I hear her smacking her tongue at me, but if I stay here and listen, she definitely won’t let me stay in a different room, so I run away by jumping down.
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Thanks for the treat.