It’s been a week since we entered the forest. We had a day when we didn’t advance and just rested, but it looks like we’ll be reaching Fuxto right on schedule. From what I can see on Map, there’s about an hour left to go.
I don’t see any reactions from monsters either.
I think about that while walking, but then I suddenly notice a fluctuation of magic energy. A sort of itch creeps up on my back, and apparently Chris, Mia, and Kotori feel it too.
There’s nothing on Map, but when I use Presence Detection and Magic Energy Detection, the latter picks up a small reaction.
“Ooh, you noticed it, Sora?”
Asks Ryuryu, sensing something from my subtle movements.
“What was that?”
“The barrier ’round the village. It tells us when there are monsters around, and it has a technique on it to keep them away.”
“Isn’t that amazing?”
With a barrier like this, people who live in villages threatened by monsters would be a lot safer.
I’m sure a lot of villages… Or even towns, would love to know about it.
“It is, but it uses lots of magic items and stuff. And you need people to maintain it.”
So it’s not a simple process. But if we knew how it works, wouldn’t it be possible to produce those magic items?
As I think that, I sense reactions coming from the village. We’re walking slowly, but they’re running this way, dozens of people.
I also feel like they’re split into groups.
Then they slow down when they get close, and one group approaches us slowly.
“Oh, it’s you, Ryuryu?”
They let down their guard once they see her.
“It’s been a while!”
“I feel like it’s been more than a while.”
Says a fox beast person holding a spear, with an awkward smile.
With the battle in Elesya’s capital and the tournament shortly after, it was impossible for her to come home. Wait, no, she said before that she hasn’t been here in over ten years.
Apparently their race has a long lifespan, so maybe they just view time differently.
Although Chris is an elf, and that’s not the case for her. Maybe her sense of time is the same as ours because she’s still young.
“Lemme introduce you. This is Leight, the one in charge of the guards of the village. You are, right?”
“Yes, I still am. My name is Leight. You brought so many outsiders this time… The chief is going to make a racket again, you know?”
“They’re here to meet gramps. I got permission from the beast king and my sister too.”
“Darc? Okay… But are you sure? We don’t have a place for all these people to stay.”
“Don’t worry ’bout that.”
Ryuryu already told us that before we came here, so I’m planning to use magic to build a house.
I think there’s enough space for that.
Ryuryu didn’t understand what I meant by that when I first told her, but she was surprised when I demonstrated it.
We’re led to the village by Leight, and we hear that the barrier Ryuryu mentioned tells them how many people pass by it.
They knew we weren’t monsters too, but it doesn’t tell them if we’re bandits or other kinds of enemies, so that’s why they were wary at first.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Ryuryu… Is Miss Nene with you?”
We’re taken to the chief’s house, where we see a beast person that’s even smaller than Ryuryu, wearing glasses.
“My sister didn’t come with us.”
“…So why are you here?”
Ryuryu hands over a letter, and the chief… Foth, trembles.
“…Darc… You can try if you want, but I think Darc’s too closed-minded to teach anything.”
“I’m gonna be the one asking. And I need some empty land, and to drop off goods in storage.”
“…All right, I’ll have Leight take you there.”
Is all Foth says before calling Leight and disappearing to the back of the room.
“Are we unwanted guests?”
“The chief is always like that. Still hasn’t gotten over my sister leaving. And… There’s other stuff too.”
I feel like I shouldn’t pry, so I don’t.
We stop by a storeroom first, where I drop the stuff Ryuryu asked me to buy.
Leight is surprised to see me pull all this stuff out of the Item Box.
“Thanks for the food. We’ve been running low recently.”
According to Leight, it’s been getting harder to find monsters in the forest, so they haven’t been hunting as much.
They don’t just rely on monsters, and they process things to preserve them, but even that has been chipped away.
Maybe that’s why we didn’t come across a lot of monsters on the way here either.
“But isn’t there a lot of alcohol?”
“It’s an offering for gramps.”
Leight accepts that without looking surprised.
Darc the blacksmith is a dwarf, and from the looks of things, they love alcohol in this world too.
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Thanks for the treat.