There is an omen about a new encounter.
“Oh… There are remnants of a fire.”
We start seeing vestiges like this, that don’t come from us. At the very least, it gives off the impression that someone might be living nearby.
These vestiges are very small, but they are definitely a sign that someone else is here.
Learning about this makes me feel uneasy. It reminds me of when mister Athos disappeared, and makes me wonder if someone important to me is going to disappear again.
Thinking about this scares me.
“…I think that, at the very least, we can rule out the possibility of it being someone from the kingdom of Fairytrof or the kingdom of Migha. Both of them treat this area as unexplored territory.
I can’t imagine what kind of person might be living here, but I just hope it’s someone we can handle.”
Says miss Lan. The kingdoms of Fairytrof and Migha are the human countries related to me.
She says someone from those countries can’t be here, but is that really true?
Who is it?
“…Is that so…”
Now that we’re here, we can finally rest after being on the run for so long. I get the feeling that I’m slowly getting better at talking. Talking to everyone a lot has become part of my daily routine.
I think our situation is getting better little by little, in different ways.
Now that we’re living here close to the lake, I feel like our lives have stabilized. There is still a lot to feel anxious about, but I think people are slowly beginning to smile more and more.
I wish everything was going better, and that everything could be protected, but it’s impossible for everything to just suddenly become good.
I understand this, so I have to stay calm. When I get impatient, I have to remind myself I can’t be, and that I have to be happy with the way things are slowly getting better.
I’m a little nervous about people living nearby, but it’s still peaceful.
And then, they come into contact with us.
This happens when I’m with Rema and Ruma, the little brother and sister gryphons. I’ve been told not to go very far because we’re not very familiar with this area yet, so we’re close to the lake, looking at the water.
I had never seen a lake before coming here. There’s so much water, and when I look at it, I can see my face. I can see some fish too, and it feels strange when I look at the water after a tree branch falls in it.
I see the adults preparing something they hunted. Most of the adult gryphons go out with the adult beast people, but some stay.
I’ve told them not to over-do it. We don’t know if there aren’t beings around here that the gryphons can do nothing against, and that scares me. I’ve told them many times to run away if it really looks like they might be in danger. I will be very sad if the gryphons are gone too.
“Rema, Ruma, the wind, feels nice.”
“Gurugururu (It feels nice.)”
“Guru. (Yes.)”
They respond energetically. I’ve been trying to talk more to the gryphons and Scifo. We’ve always been comfortable even when we don’t talk, so a lot of times we just stay silent and relax.
It’s nice and peaceful.
I don’t want to doubt that this will continue. I can’t help but imagine each uneventful peaceful day being followed by another one.
But that is not what happens.
“Gurugurururururu!! (Someone’s here!!)”
“Gurururururu! (Lerunda, behind!)”
Rema and Ruma raise their voices, but I don’t understand why. Through the corner of my eye, I can see the adults, who are a little far away, looking behind me. They look surprised.
I slowly turn around.
“…A human child?”
“And beast people over there.”
What I see are people unlike anyone I’ve ever seen. They’re not human… But they’re not like the beast people I’m used to seeing. They don’t have ears and tails like beast people, but their ears draw my attention. They’re longer and pointier than human ears.
Grandma taught me about them. They’re probably a race called elves.
I’m surprised. I’ve never seen elves before.
I’m also surprised by how cold their eyes feel when they look at me. No, it’s not just me, they’re looking at beast people the same way. Why is that?
I can’t help but think it’s strange, and feel scared at the same time.
“We have been living on this land for a long time, and you have arrived here after us. We are here to ask why you… And the human you brought with you, are here. Answer us.”
Among several elves, the one that seems like their leader comes forward and talks to us with a cold voice.
—Girl and a new encounter.
(The girl that is probably the miko encounters elves.)
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reminds me of slime tensei
oh, not water species after all.