Ghido welcomed us, and now he’s gone. He was taken somewhere by another demon that appeared from behind.
“Hearing about and actually seeing are completely different.”
“Yes. They’re kind of different from what I imagined demons were like too.”
Rurika and Sera are surprised, but Mia and Hikari look like they have mixed feelings.
Adonis did something terrible to Mia, and Hikari remembers fighting Ignis.
“My name is Hiriluk. I was told by Mister Ghido to guide you around town. If there is anything you want to ask, feel free to do so.”
This person named Hiriluk will be our guide instead. Apparently she’s a beast person, and she has ears that look like Sera’s on her head. But her tail is clearly fluffier.
Hikari’s eyes are glued on that wagging tail. I don’t blame her.
“I heard you are looking for an elf. Let me take you to Miss Suiren first.”
Hiriluk tells us a bit about the town as we walk.
This town currently has around two thousand inhabitants. There are people who were born here, those who got lost in the dark forest and were taken in, and people brought by demons like Ghido.
People generally lead self-sufficient lives, but they don’t seem to have a problem with their day to day lives.
Also, the whole town is underneath a special barrier, so no monsters wander in.
“Ah, Miss Hiriluk. Where’s Ghido?”
“Give this to Mister Ghido.”
“Where did Mister Ghido go?”
As we walk through town, children come running and ask questions.
Hiriluk crouches to meet their eyes.
“Mister Ghido is back in the castle because he has work to do. I’m guiding our guests here, so we can talk more later.”
She says with a gentle voice.
I guess this is where they finally notice our presence, because some look at us with interest, and some hide behind Hiriluk. But even the latter ones are still interested, because they peek our way.
“Well, I can come by and see you later. Or do you want to come along? We are going to see Miss Suiren.”
The kids decide to come along. Being surrounded by kids means it gets noisy all of a sudden.
They keep talking to Hiriluk as we walk, and she deals with them like she’s used to it.
The ones left out set their sights on us, and ask questions.
“You came through the forest right? Are you really strong?”
“I don’t know. Ghido brought us here. And we didn’t really fight monsters in the forest.”
“Really… If you were strong you could teach me how to fight.”
As I listen to the kids, I realize they really admire strength.
Maybe that’s one of the reasons why they, or their parents, came here. But above all else, I feel like they really want to be helpful.
Two thousand people live here. They’re self-sufficient, but that doesn’t mean the area of the town gets bigger as the population grows.
That’s why adults go out and hunt monsters.
It’s different now because the demons are awake, but when they’re dormant, the others have to hunt monsters without them. Everyone agreed that they should have a good amount of manpower when they go out.
I feel like in this world, it being what it is, a lot of people are self-reliant.
“By the way, who is the strongest demon?”
I ask the kids, since they all seem to admire strength, and they all say what immediately comes to mind.
“Ghido!”
“Mister Ignis.”
“Dracon?”
“Ado is cute…”
“It’s grandpa Ou.”
They keep throwing out names.
I don’t know most of them, but some of the kids mention things other than strength too.
“Yes yes. I can tell you all like demons very much. Let’s walk a little more quietly.”
As I see her clap her hands and silence the rowdy kids, I think about how it really looks like she’s used to this.
“But Miss Hiriluk is the one that’s really strong! If you go against her…”
A boy whispers in my ear, sounding impressed by her skills.
Didn’t you just yell that Ghido is the best? And the moment he starts saying that, Hiriluk gets close and drops her fist.
The other kids all look at the boy holding his head with exasperated looks on their faces. I think this might be something they see all the time.
“Well then, we can’t keep Miss Suiren waiting. Are you going to be quiet from now on?”
She says with a smile, but her eyes aren’t smiling.
Those kids were so noisy before, but now they’re just silently holding hands.
I guess Hiriluk is one person in this town we shouldn’t upset.
And then, she keeps talking about this town.
There are blacksmith, probably because they fight monsters, but since it’s not a place people visit, there’s no inn or anything like that.
We just need to borrow an empty area anyway, so we’ll talk about that more later.
Eventually we reach a kind of old… A big house that looks like it has a lot of history.
“This is where an elf lives, along with children who have no relatives.”
Hiriluk says as she opens the door and goes in.
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🎄Happy Holidays!🎄
Thanks for the treat.
You too.
Hope everyone had a great day. Dinner and trifle was tasty plus spending time with family