Chai relied on his memory to take them to the lumberjack’s village, which he said was not too far from the altar.
As the three followed the small path in the forest, they encountered a monster. A two meter long, lustrous black centipede blocked their path.
“No! No way no way!”
Ameriko screamed. She was so troubled by this monster with many legs that she forgot to summon a gun.
“Oh alright…”
Himeno summoned a Japanese sword, and easily cut the monster in large pieces.
“Himeno… Doesn’t that bother you?”
“I am fine with opponents I can kill without reservation.”
“Oh…
Himeno said with a smile, while holding up the centipede’s head skewered on her sword. Ameriko turned pale as she saw a peek of an unexpected psychopathic side of Himeno.
They eventually reached an open, bright area.
“There it is.”
Chai walked in front of the other two, and pointed to a village comprised of log cabins of various sizes. A wooden fence surrounded it, and it seemed less like a village and more like a settlement.
“I’m surprised you were able to find it in the middle of the forest.”
“I’m an elf you know? You can leave anything related to the forest to me. The state of all the trees, growing vegetation, blooming flowers, sounds of bugs and birds… I can use all sorts of things to know where I am.”
“That’s incredible Chai.”
“It truly is. As expected from an elf.”
“Well, you know…!”
Ameriko and Himeno giggled internally at how useful the elf they saved turned out to be.
“Alright. Let’s enter this ‘sacrifice village’ right away!”
“What kind of frightening name are you giving it?”
“Watch out. Don’t let your guard down around them.”
“Okay!”
The trio casually headed towards the entrance, a wooden gate, and a few people were ready to receive them.
They were not orcs or elves, they were regular humans. Their skin was white and their faces had chiseled features. Their hair was either blonde or brown and their clothes were relatively well put together. They reminded them of Nordic European people from the middle ages.
“Welcome, traveling witches…”
“We’re not witches!”
“Now now, wait Ameriko.”
“We saw it all from beginning to end. You fought that terrifying orc and defeated it with overwhelming magic… You saved our village. We cannot thank you enough.”
Said an old man with white and beard, who appeared to be the village elder. Several men stood behind him, who all lowered their heads.
“Oh? You were watching?”
“So you understand the situation? That makes this much faster.”
They were worried the villagers would complain about them releasing the sacrifice and killing their sacred orc, or something along those lines.
The village was quiet, and the other villagers hid while watching them from afar.
“Welcome to Orcwen (Pig Oink village).”
“Yes, welcome to our village. Come in.”
A bearded middle aged man and a younger, more timid looking man stepped forward to greet them.
Perhaps they were the elder’s assistants. They acted very gentlemanly, but also persistently looked at Himeno and Ameriko in a very intense way. Their smiles also looked awkward.
Maybe they were nervous about talking to witches, or perhaps something weighed on their conscience.
“Ah! How dare you!? Ameriko, Himeno, it’s them!”
Chai said with anger as he hid behind the two women.
“Fah?”
“They’re the ones who pretended to be friendly and did that to me!”
“Y-you’re the one that tricked us! Dammit!”
“Yes…! You’re the cute little devil that was pretending to be a girl!”
The two men berated Chai with high-pitched voices.
“Ah!? You’re the ones who assumed I was girl! I never said I was a girl!”
Said Chai while crossing his arms and looking away in indignation. The cute elf’s expression and actions were reminiscent of an innocent girl.
It was not difficult to see why it would fool people that appeared to have little to no contact with women. They also most certainly took him in with ulterior motives in mind.
“D-don’t try to act cute!”
“Yes! That’s on purpose…!”
“And you were so friendly and welcoming when I first got here… You even gave me these clothes… Drugging me like that is just awful.”
Said Chai while lifting the bottom of his thin and frilly wedding dress. It actually looked less like regular sleep wear and more like a negligee a bride would wear on her wedding night.
“That’s… Well…”
“W-we had to, to save our village from the orcs…”
“Yes! I-if we didn’t offer a woman as a sacrifice, the village would be attacked. So…”
The other men from the village also argued in their favor.
“I get it.”
“It’s awful all around.”
Ameriko and Himeno understood the situation and why they tried to sacrifice a traveler like Chai.
“But that doesn’t make it right to dress up a kid like a bride and offer him to an orc! That’s a human rights violation!”
“Yes. What you have done is nothing short of attempted murder.”
Ameriko and Himeno lowered their voices, and criticized the villagers, who could not respond.
“…Fofofo, now now witches. This village has its circumstances and its laws. It is commonly said that if you enter a village, you have to follow its rules…
The men in this village also… Misunderstood something, I admit that. As the representative of this village, I offer you my apologies.”
The white haired and bearded old man said while lowering his head.
“Well if you’re saying all that… Alright.”
It seemed Chai was weak against old men, but the village chief was probably sly. He quickly changed his expression into a smile and rubbed his hands.
“I see! Well then, allow us to prepare a place for you to stay and a nice meal. You can go rest for now. I’m sure you are tired after defeating that terrible orc…”
“Hmm, well I guess that’s true.”
“We accept your kind offer.”
“…I’m not sure about this…”
◇
“Nice guys.”
“We still cannot let our guard down.”
“Yes yes, Himeno is right. They… Especially those guys that were nice to me at first.”
They were led to a small wooden cabin. Apparently it was vacant because its owner never returned to it after an orc attack.
They could use all the daily necessities they needed, and had everything necessary to rest.
The sun went down, and the lights in the village were lit. However, they could not hear cheerful singing, laughter, or anything. It was silent, as though they were doing their best not to make noise.
The vegetable oil lamps on the wall and ceiling kept the room dimly lit.
The food they were given was simple, but still tasty. Barley bread, dried meat, fruits, and cheese.
Suffice to say, they had the person that brought them their food taste it first, to make sure no drugs were mixed into it.
“I found a backpack.”
“Nice! Let’s take what we need. New toothbrushes, soap, toilet paper, sanitary-protection products…”
“I can see you are the type to take everything that is not nailed down when you go to a hotel.”
“It’s fine Himeno. It’s all included in the hotel bill.”
Asserted Ameriko, even though they were staying there for free.
Before dinner, they heard from the elder that this village had been fighting with orcs ever since it was first settled. Both kept each other in check while guaranteeing their own right to live, but the humans still cleared the forest while maintaining this balance.
But one day, out of nowhere, a being calling itself orclord appeared, and the situation was reversed. Humans were being overwhelmed by the orcs.
The orclord could use human words, and demanded nice food and women. Anyone who opposed it was killed, so the village had no choice but to give in… The elder said.
“Now that I think about it… There aren’t many women here.”
You noticed it too Ameriko? Especially young girls…”
The fire in the fireplace danced.
It was a simple log cabin, but had a small kitchen, bathroom with a bath. And two beds.
It would have a nice mood to it if they were there on vacation.
In the fireplace, there was some sort of contraption to heat water like a boiler. A water wheel scooped it up and filled the bath and provided water for a shower as well.
Chai was the first to take a shower. As they finally heard the sound of water, both sat down on a bed.
It was the first day of their adventure, but it was a full one.
“I’m so glad we can rest on a bed like this. I don’t think I would’ve been able to camp in a forest that has giant bugs like the one we saw.”
“It really is very fortunate. I want to take a hot shower as well.”
“Let’s shower together.”
Said Ameriko without any shame. Himeno winced a little, and her face turned red.
“W-we cannot…”
“Eh? It’s fine, we’re both girls. There’s no need to be embarrassed.”
“That is not it… We never know when something might happen, so one of us has to stand guard. What if the orcs attack while we are in the shower?”
“…I guess that’s true.”
Ameriko said she understood, but did not seem to have fully given up.
“Ahh… That felt good.”
Chai exited the shower room. He borrowed a thin white shirt that was in the cabin, and had a towel on his head.
His wet hair clung to the nape of his neck, and his clavicle and chest looked charming. His waist was wrapped with a loincloth starting from his bellybutton, and below that were his slender legs.
“Ofu…! That is a sight for sore eyes…”
“A sight for what?”
“N-nothing.”
Said Himeno, as Ameriko took off her clothes and threw them away on the way to the shower room.
“I’m next.”
“We have a change of sheets for this bed right? The owner isn’t around but someone did live here.”
Said Chai while diving onto the bed anyway, with Himeno watching his every move.
“By the way… T-there are only two beds. What are we going to do?”
“Hn? I can sleep on the floor.”
Said Chai.
“N-no! What if you catch a cold?”
“I won’t. Just having a roof over my head is better than camping.”
Chai said with his face against the bed and flapping his legs. Himeno gulped while not taking her eyes off his slender legs with brawny thighs. Delusions and anguish about wanting to be alone with him started racing through her mind.
“Ahem. A-alright then, you can sleep in my bed. Since we are both small, it will not be cramped.”
Himeno said nonchalantly while drawing circles in the sheets with her finger.
It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to legally use an adorable shota elf as a hugging pillow.
“Eh? Then I’d rather sleep with Ameriko.”
“W-what!?”
“She has big boobs.”
“Vuath jid you shay!?”
Yelled Himeno as she became petrified.
He was a legal shota elf, but a perverted one that liked boobs.
“Ah… The water was really nice…! What’s wrong Himeno?”
The sight of a steamy Ameriko with a towel wrapped around herself and her big breasts was dazzling.
“O-ou!? I just collapsed from exhaustion. I will be taking a shower now…”
Himeno staggered her way towards the shower room .
“Are you alright? Maybe I really should go with you…”
“No!”
“Ameriko, we were just talking about how we only have two beds.”
“Oh. What should we do?”
Ameriko dried her blonde hair in front of the fireplace, and despite her answer, did not seem very troubled.
“I’ll sleep with Himeno. She looks a bit emotionallyexcited unstable and tired, so I’ll hug her and comfort her.”
They were exhausted after being suddenly thrown into a different world.
A lot happened between them, but the old acquaintances would have to work together.
And since there was a lot Ameriko felt unsure and didn’t understand about Himeno, she thought a little skinship would bring them closer and help them understand each other.
“I see. Then I’ll sleep here.”
“Okay! But you can come in if you feel lonely.”
“Don’t treat me like a kid.”
Chai wanted to be treated like an adult, as he had his pride as a warrior of the forest.
“That was a nice shower. It brought me right back to life.”
Himeno returned, looking to be in a much better mood.
“Let’s sleep together after you dry your hair!”
Ameriko put two pillows next to each other, raised one finger, and winked with a refreshing smile on her face. She looked like she was excited, as though she was about to take part in some sort of sporting competition.
“What happened and how did we settle on that!?”
On the bed next to theirs, Chai was already sleeping.
Join my patreon to support me and read ahead.