I’m called by Katima again and return to the elder’s house, and when I get there I see Reina looking flushed and a grinning Saria.
And the elder that was fast asleep earlier has his eyes open.
“Arata, sit over there.”
“Ah, yes.”
I sit next to Reina, like Katima said, and the elder moves for just a moment.
“…”
“…”
He doesn’t say anything. This feeling of tension just reverberates among the silence.
“…”
“…Gu…”
Katima, did he fall asleep again? It was really quiet, but I’m pretty sure I just heard what sounded like him sleeping…
But just as I’m thinking that, she gets up, and leans over to his ear…
“Elder! You’re sleeping again! W-a-k-e u-p!”
“Fuah!?”
Yells the elder as he opens his eyes in reaction to Katima yelling near his ear.
The startle makes him suddenly get up, and he starts looking around.
“Oh, Katima. What a surprise.”
“How come you went right back to sleep?”
“Well, the danger is gone, so I don’t need to stay awake…”
The elder smiles peacefully, and probably because the atmosphere around him is always easy-going in the first place, when he smiles, it becomes even brighter.
“Leaving that aside, welcome visitors.”
“By the way, you said the same thing earlier when Arata wasn’t here.”
“Ooh, is that right?”
“…Ahh…”
I guess he was awake when I wasn’t here, but he doesn’t remember it.
But still, there was that expression on Reina’s face, Saria’s bad look… What happened while I was gone for just a bit?
“So… You’re the one who said to go get him because there was danger…”
“But I told you that it’s gone.”
“Eh…”
Katima is perplexed. Not that much time passed, so it really is perplexing that he told her to go get me because there was danger, and now that I’m here it’s gone.
As I watch their back and forth, the elder slowly turns to me and smiles.
“…Ah, are you talking about those wyverns?”
“You saved one of our children. I thank you for that.”
“No no, it’s only natural to react when something like that happens right in front of me.”
“Hn? What are you talking about?”
I guess Katima didn’t see that sight earlier.
I explain it to her, and she looks happy.
“I see. So that’s why there were so many people around you.”
“Yes…”
As we talk, I feel someone looking at me from the side. Reina is looking at me like she’s asking if I found trouble again.
No. I didn’t do anything wrong, and I didn’t bring any trouble.
I transmit that to her with my eyes, but unfortunately, it doesn’t look like she believes me.
“Hey hey, there are other people present. Don’t look into each other’s eyes like that.”
“Reina and Arata are very friendly. They’re always looking at each other like that.”
“Wai! Katima!?”
Reina is flustered at the two silver haired girls’ kind of playful words.
I’m a bit embarrassed now too. Wait, is that how people see us all the time?
“See grandma, that’s how it is. You should give up.”
“Ahn? It’s not like you have to hog a man to yourself. Can’t you get with him too already?”
“…Elder, grandma is scary.”
“Hohoho. Saria wants grandchildren soon. I’d like to see that too.”
“To you elder, everyone on this island are like grandchildren.”
Katima is usually calm but kind of spontaneous, but now she’s acting a little more like a kid.
Is it because she feels more at ease in her home?
“Anyway, guests. Let me thank you first. Both for saving Katima, and for that earlier business with the wyverns.”
“Ah, yes. But I really just did what came naturally…”
I bow after the elder bows deeply. As a Japanese person, this is kind of a reflex to me.
“In any case, since we have guests, how about a big welcome?”
Then they start talking, and bring us food.
Fish from the river and meat among other things. It’s all well seasoned ingredients from around here, and it’s all good. And the drinks they bring us have a strong flavor.
Saria is a good talker, and tells us all sorts of things about the village. But apparently she has a habit of exaggerating too, and Katima has to correct her from time to time.
I feel like normally other people naturally fall into the role of straight man with her. But here, she’s mostly the one in the straight woman role.
It feels kind of new to me to see her like that. It’s like a whole new side of Katima.
“That reminds me, I haven’t seen the great spirits lately.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. They usually come around the village to watch over us, but…”
Alfar worship fire, earth, and dark great spirits. And Katima said that their days are peaceful because the great spirits watch over them.
“I think the attack of the wyverns is also related to that.”
“Do they not usually get close?”
“Sometimes when they stray from the group, but that’s it. They know what happens if they mess with us, so they don’t normally come here in groups like that…”
I thought it was strange that there were so many wyverns when I looked up at the sky.
Not to mention that if it was normal for the alfar to be targeted like that, they would live their lives in a state of constant threat.
“Maybe something happened to the great spirits.”
I see Katima looking worried for the first time.
“How about visiting them?”
“Eh?”
“How about going to the great spirits to see how they’re doing?”
Then they’d know what’s going on, right?
If nothing’s wrong, good, but if something happened, we could help.
That’s what I’m thinking at least, but Katima shakes her head.
“A-alfar can’t disrespect the great spirits and go to where they live…”
“I see.”
To alfar, great spirits are like gods. Going where they live might be a very cursed course of action.
“What if I go?”
“Eh!?”
“I could go there and pretend I ended up there by mistake… How about that?”
Saria and the elder are listening closely, and when I turn to them, I see them thinking about it for a bit, and then shaking their heads.
“The place where the great spirits live is very dangerous…”
“Yes. It’s not something we can ask so lightly. And we wouldn’t feel good if the great spirits killed you out of anger.”
“It’s fine.”
I smile, and release a bit of power.
“I’m probably tough enough that I won’t die even if they attack me.”
““…!?””
It’s not for nothing that some of the strongest beings on this island like Suzaku and Wil treat me like a monster.
“Maybe you can… Then please do. Please see how the great spirits are doing.”
After looking surprised by my power, the elder bows and asks me to do it.
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And then, Arata goes to visit the Great Spirit.
Thanks.