There’s a grassy field beyond the forest, and a country.
I know it’s called the Kingdom of Lunid, but I don’t have permission to go there yet, so I haven’t been there.
And so, all I know from that country is what I hear from people who have actually visited it.
The more I hear about it, the more I want to go.
Some people have gone there to gather information and trade.
People on the other side probably don’t think we live in the middle of this dangerous forest. They probably think it’s still unexplored.
“Mister Nirushi, did you see beast people in the Kingdom of Lunid?”
“No. I saw other races, but no beast people like us.”
More people are going to Lunid. And once they investigate more, I’ll go there too, if there’s no danger.
I’m excited about that, so I ask Mister Nirushi more about Lunid.
He says they didn’t see any beast people the last time they were there. That’s part of the reason why they hid their ears and tails as they explored. There are other races over there other than humans, but they couldn’t look into why there weren’t beast people at that stage. But will the people going there now bring more information?
“I hope we can get along with that country.”
“Yes… But I think it’s too optimistic.”
“Yes. Even if we want to get along, we don’t know if the others feel the same way.”
I want us to be friends if we can, but I don’t know how they feel. And I don’t know what people in the Kingdom of Lunid think of the being known as the miko either.
“I wonder what other countries think of miko. We need to know that too, or it’d be trouble if I went…”
“That’s true. Even if they don’t know about miko, they might try to capture what they see as a kid that’s somehow special.”
Mister Nirushi says that even if it’s not because I’m the miko, they might come after me because I have abilities other people don’t have. But still, taking away kids… Maybe there are people out there who would do that.
Few people know about this village where we live, but people have been saying for a long time that it would be trouble if lots of people knew where it is. The Kingdom of Migha didn’t make that choice, so that’s why we established relations with them. And that country called Rezzed of the Confederation of Saff isn’t trying anything violent with us either.
But I’m sure something like what happened with Mister Athos will happen again if we keep getting into contact with other people, and this place becomes known.
“Is the Kingdom of Lunid big? Does it have lots of people? If they wanted to do something about the village where we live… That’s scary.”
“We still can’t see the whole picture, but it looks like they have a considerable population. I want to be able to stand and fight instead of running away, if something like that happens again.”
“Yes.”
When Mister Athos died, we ran away. People ran away from that village that was so important to them, so they wouldn’t lose even more.
I think everyone’s stronger compared to those days. I’ve learned more about miko too, and I can use my powers better than before.
“There are a lot of monsters around here, and it’s a dangerous place if you think about it normally. I think it’d be hard to attack it if it came to that. And thanks to you, it’d be hard for them to reach this village too.”
“Yes, but… I hope something scary like that doesn’t happen. I don’t really want to fight.”
“I feel the same way, but it could be unavoidable. But don’t worry about it. If something happens that leads to blood being shed, we adults will take care of it,”
“Thank you, Mister Nirushi. But I’ll do something too! I’ll do what I can. I’m sure there are things I can do.”
Mister Nirushi says that they’ll handle it if something like that happens, because he’s really nice. But I want to protect everyone too.
That’s why I said that and smiled.
But he looks worried, and tells me it’s not the same as fighting monsters.
Those would be people like us, not monsters. People we can talk to. But… I’d still want to do something to protect everyone.
“I see… If you’re serious, I won’t stop you.”
“Yes. But we still don’t know if the Kingdom of Lunid would do something scary like that. We should make it so it doesn’t happen. So please, tell me more about them, so we can be friends.”
Something scary like that might happen, but it’s still just a possibility.
Mister Nirushi nods, and I listen more about the Kingdom of Lunid.
— The girl learns about the Kingdom of Lunid – Part one
(The miko hears about a place she’s yet to visit.)
