In southern Brettania, the most notable location is Reynes city, also known as the old capital. Legends told that 700 hundred years ago when the kingdom was founded, people first settled on the plains between the west sea and the Sierra mountain range, soon it was developed into what’s now known as Reynes city. Due to the threat of monsters from the direction of the mountain range, A wall that blocks the great ravine of Sierra was built by Balor the king of the giants as a sign of friendship. It was dubbed the Wall of Balor to honor his deed. 500 years ago the royal family moved to a city in the north and has stayed there since. While no longer being the royal capital, Reynes is still the kingdom’s important stronghold in the south and one of the ports that connects to Alba Loga continent.  

From Reynes city is a 7 days in horse carriage to Catona village in the east. This village is a frontier village that’s still in the middle of development, though there has been no visible progress in the past 100 years.

It’s has been 2 weeks since the conversation at The Toothless Sparrows, Aldwin’s group finally reached Catona after catching the periodic caravan that go to the village once every 2 months. Their destination is in the depth of Ciallmhar forest that’s further east.

“Waahh, lookie lookie! It’s knight-sama!” –Child 1

“It’s not knight-sama, it’s adventurer-san!” –Child 2

“Is that a real sword? Amazing amazing!” –Child 3

Our surrounding started to become noisy with the chirping of little children. They stare at us from a small distance away with their eyes glittering. I guess this place doesn’t receive adventurers often? There’s nothing around here that would attract our kind usually. Catona is actually a gathering of several farming villages that were built right next to each other, they used to have different names but they all merged into one now. The overall population is around 1000, it’s almost on the scale of a small town but it didn’t manage to expand even after 100 years. Perhaps due to the area around here not being very fertile. Either way, an adventurer doesn’t have much reasons to visit such a place.

“That onee-san is so pretty!” –Child 4

“Princess? Princess?” –Child 5

“I will be an adventurer when I grow older too!” –Child 6

“Ahahaha, I touched his sword!” –Child 7

It seems that the peanut gallery is getting bigger.

“They’re multiplying…”

“Urg…I’m not good with children” –Beck

“Ufufu, they’re all so cute” –Cara 

“Let’s just hurry to an inn before it becomes too crowded to move”

“Let’s ask them to guide us” –Cara

Cara asked the tallest girl of the bunch to show us the way to an inn. It looks like there’s no inn in this village, but there’s a spare house for peddlers who came by to temporary stay in. And so we were guided to the village chief to get permission to use it for a day. While we’re walking the, the tall girl walk in front, with Cara holding hands with two young girls right behind, and there is a trail of children following behind her. It’s like a teacher taking a bunch of children on a trip.

Consider how wild Cara normally acts, it’s quite surprising that she’s good with children. For some reason I can’t take my eyes off her. Since I was able to see a rare side of Cara let’s consider this a good day.

Also let’s ignore Beck grinning mischievously next to me.

Ignore him, ignore him.

.

.

.

“Welcome to Catona adventurer-dono, what brings you here in this remote village?” –Chief

We are greeted by a middle-aged man who seems to be in his late forties. Did he just return from the field? He’s holding a straw bag full of freshly picked vegetables and holding a smoking pipe on the other hand.

“Are you the village chief? My name’s Aldwin. We’re on our way to Ciallmhar forest for an investigation. Is it possible to use the temporary house for guest in this village to stay the night?”

“Hohoho, quite a polite lad for an adventurer aren’t you.

There’s no problem but it’s unusual to see someone who’s interested in that forest, did something happen?” –Chief

“It’s nothing dangerous, there’s a rumor that some rare herb grow in there, so we’re just trying to make sure”

“Rare herb isn’t it? I have never heard of something like that, are you sure you’re not getting tricked?” –Chief

“We’ll just blame our bad luck then”

“Hohoho, well whatever, you adventurers have your own circumstances. It’s nothing that’s related to us village folks. Stay as long as you like, have the children guide you to the place. You’re just in time for harvest season so make sure to buy some fresh vegetables okay?” –Chief

“We’ll do just that, thank you”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

“Adventurer-dono, leaving already?” –Chief

When morning arrived, we came to bid farewell to the Chief and thanked him again for lending us the house.

“Yea, we’d like to finish this job as soon as possible”

“Well, I don’t mean to pry but, exactly how far are you going into the forest?” –Chief

“We plans to go into the deepest section, the unmapped area”

“That’s quite a long trip isn’t it, just reaching the forest on foot will take at least 10 days” –Chief

From Catona village, walk south through an area of rocky hills and shallow swamps, only then you’ll reach Ciallmhar forest. It’s impossible for carriage or horse to reach since the rocky hills make horses trip quite often, most of the time ends up in the horse dying a useless death. And even if they make it through the hills, there’s the famous poison swamp after. There’s no other choice but to travel by foot.

“Do you know how long does it take to reach the unmapped area?” –Beck

“That’s hard to say, we never went there after all, since there’re monsters. If I were to make a guess then it’ll probably take double that if you want to reach the deepest part” –Chief

So 20 days trip to the depth of the forest? That’s quite troubling, the amount of supplies we have to carry to last 20 days will be a burden.

“Right, right, maybe you should stop by Cial village and rest up there. It’ll lighten the burden of the journey” –Chief

“Cial village?” –Beck

“Was there such a village?”

“It’s actually an unnamed village, but since it’s in Ciallmhar forest we just call it Cial.

Sometime ago a guy from some noble family in Reynes wanted to develop that place in hope of becoming a feudal lord. He said he it’d be okay if he were to use terrace farming on the hills. He did success in making a farming village but nobody bothered going there since the route was too long and harsh. In the end it became a mountain village that’s forgotten by the kingdom” –Chief

“Hoh… to think someone actually went and made a village in that godforsaken forest. But that’s good news for us”

“Once in a while some villagers from there come over here to buy necessities like spices and tools. Hasn’t seen them since 2 months ago though” –Chief

We asked the village chief for directions, prepared supplies for 10 days then head toward Ciallmhar forest. The next stop will be the small village there. If by some chance we can’t find the village or gets delayed on the way then we’ll rely on the forest’s blessings and hunt monsters and animals for food. Though unlikely, if we’re unable to support ourselves in the forest then we’ll use the back-up supplies which are worth 5 days carefully and return to Catona, then rethink our strategy.

After having our lunch in the village, we parted ways and resumed our journey. The children were crying and waving to Cara. I felt a little bad and almost stayed for a few more days but Beck reminded me that we should finish this as soon as possible, before Ivory can raise some troubles.

“Aww, they were so cute~” –Cara

“I didn’t know that you like children so much”

“About as much as anyone. Our line of work has little to do with children though so I guess I don’t come into contact with them too often” –Cara

At Cara’s remark, Beck winked to me.

This rascal… I know too well what he’s trying to make me do. I’m not going to say some cheeky pick-up lines like “How about we make one then?”. She’ll seriously cut me up. If she cuts me at a bad spot I won’t even be able to have children then. So definitely I’m not saying it.

I’m not saying it so stop kicking me!

“Talk about children, I wonder how those brats are doing” –Beck

Seems to be tired of trying to rile me up, Beck changed subject.

“You mean the strange brats that didn’t know Danaan language?”

“Oh right, hasn’t it been a month and a half already? I think I saw some kids that resemble them once doing some day labor jobs on the walls” –Cara

“I see, seems like they’re doing what they have to. If the people we helped actually dropped dead starving in the slum I’d feel pretty bad”

“What are you saying now, wasn’t you the one who wanted them to figure their own life out?” –Beck

“Shut up, I was just being a good role model”

“Still, it’s pretty strange to not know Danaan language, with them being in the middle of Brettania and all, even I had to learn it in order to travel around when I left the elven city” –Cara

“Strange isn’t it? Come to think of it the previous owner of the Sage’s map had a strange servant kid and he deciphered the letters didn’t he” –Beck

“I wonder if by some chance those three kids back then also know something about the language written on the scroll?” –Cara

“Hahaha, no way something that convenient is going to happens”

“Well, I guess you’re right” –Beck        

“Still, it’s pretty wasteful for them to just commit their selves to labor jobs. Those kids had potential, especially the red head”

“What is this all of a sudden?” –Cara

“Feeling like leaving your skills behind for the younger generations already? You’re getting old” –Beck

“I’m not even 30 yet!”

But… teaching the younglings my skills huh? That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

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“A lot of highly skilled adventurers take in apprentices too, being called sensei might be nice.

We could even create a clan” –Cara

“I’m not too good at being in such a big group” –Beck

A clan is a group of many parties, usually having a couple dozens of members, some big clans even have thousands. They’re created to support each other and working toward the same goal, most often to raise rank or to target specific areas of operation. The ones that reach over a thousand are considered to be pretty much a mercenary organization and often take part in wars.

“That’s right, we’re used to travelling with just the three of us. But being in a clan doesn’t mean you always have to follow the clan’s directions. In long journeys like this I actually want a bigger group that we can count on for supports”

“Hmm that’s true… Having to eat nothing but dried meat jerky and stone-hard bread for at least a month is pretty depressing” –Beck

So it’s about food in the end?

I’m not sure if we’ll ever create a clan, but if we create one then I’d probably invite those kids back then, they can take their time to learn both the language and the skills. Thinking about what kind of adventurer they’ll become I feels a little excitement rising in my chest.

The training will be harsh, I’ll make sure to beat all the techniques into them.

[MC POV]

Nin nin

Ninja Shoujo Kagami makes an appearance!

After a long period of training in the mountains I’ve reached enlightenment in the way of the shinobi.

Just kidding.

Hopping from tree to tree like a ninja, I swiftly make my way through the forest. The area around the village is already like my own backyard. After having recovered my strength I took the weapons the villagers left behind and went hunting. It’s not like I have become a weapon master overnight, but at least I was able to hold them properly. It’s still only at the level of being able to judge the distance and range of the spear and keeping a decent grip on it though. As for the bow, it’s completely no good, I can’t ever get a proper aim on that thing. The best thing I’ve learned from my one week of hunting was that this body isn’t just stronger than your average human, it’s also incredibly nimble. I can even jump between tree branches without making a sound. There’s also an additional bonus of being able to grab on all kinds of surface easily. Hardening the tiny hairs on my leg and arm to tighten the grip, I can walk leisurely up on a tree, though I won’t say it’s as easy as walking on land since there’s gravity in the equation as well…

Enough about that, I detected some human scent over on this part so I went to take a look but…

What’s up with these people!?

The plated armor nii-san just sliced a panther monster in half with a one-handed swing.

Is this even humanly possible?

What’s with his arm strength? Though his technique was splendid, it’s hard to imagine a swing without even taking a stance could effortlessly cut that big panther into two separate pieces.

During this one week of hunting, I have found the panther to be of no threat to me and I can dispose of them quite easily. But that nii-san is on a completely different level. Even if it’s the me right now, if the panthers come in packs then I would have to be vigilant about it and play dirty, jumping between trees and throw spear at them from a higher ground.

His 2 party members are also no pushover either. The pretty onee-san accurately nails her arrows through the panther’s heart while both she and the monster are moving. She’s carrying a sword but it doesn’t seem to be necessary since the armored nii-san is making a guro movie off any panther that approaches. The other guy who’s dressed in light armor, he’s also slicing monsters too, but from a distance. Taking a closer look there’s some green flash shooting out of his hand… magic? Awesome, it’s the first magic I see since that time with the exploding arrow that elf guy shot. But this is much cooler, he waved his hand and both the tree and the monster were made into slices nicely. The distance is… about 30 meters? That’s pretty useful. Though why is he dressed like a warrior? There’s even a sword hanging at his waist.

I guess wearing a big wizard hat won’t make your magic stronger… still that’s pretty disappointing.

On to the topic at hand, aren’t I like, in a super pinch right now?

Aren’t these guys way too strong?

That direction they’re taking will lead straight into the village. I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence or intentional, but this is bad on many levels. It’s been only one week since the massacre, the blood is all dried up but there was no way to clean the stain off the wooden floor. If they realize what were the events that transpired this village… They would probably seek me out and kill me right? They don’t seem to have any reservation in cutting down monsters. There’s no reason to. Even if they can’t find me, they would probably report this matter and come back with more people, it’s checkmate then.

Well, it’s checkmate even if they don’t go back, since people will probably send a search group. The villagers might have little relation with the outside, but since these people came from far away, there’s a chance others will come looking for them if they don’t return.

Maybe I should just pack my stuff and run away…

But where to? It wouldn’t be funny if the area I escape to has even more dangerous creatures. I do plan to leave one of these days anyway, since the matter of the village will be discovered sooner or later, but at least not right now. Ari-chan is taking it’s time to recover, it’ll probably need another week to fully heal. And I also need my food, there’s no way I can evacuate them now that these people are almost at the village’s door step.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

[Aldwin POV]

“Oh, I see it, I see it”

We were attacked by a few monsters on the way here, but they were weak as expected. And so without any major delays, the village started to show itself from the top of a hill as we pushed our way through the forest. It seems like a fairly desolate village, there’re at most over 10 houses. The hill slope has been turned into a giant stair of earth for terrace farming. It’s quite a spectacle.

“Finally I can eat proper food, these last 10 days were painful” –Beck

“Don’t expect too much though, they seems like a poor village”

“One bowl of porridge will do, at least it’s better than these rock hard bread that can probably be used as weapons” –Beck

Following the animal trail that leads to the village, we found our self at the destination shortly, but there seems to be no one around.

“Excuse me~! Anyone here?”

“Strange, where have they gone?” –Beck

“Farming maybe?” –Cara

“I was watching the field while we were walking but there were no sign of human over there either, this is strange”

“Maybe this village is already abandoned? I mean from what Catona’s chief said, they seems to be isolated and have little contact with the outside, no one would notice even if they moved” –Beck

“That can’t be, look at the tomatoes and eggplants, it’s obvious that people were tending to them recently”

“I have a bad feeling about it…

…There’s a scent of death lingering around this place” –Cara 

Cara’s intuition is quite reliable usually. Even though she’s no good at magic she’s still an elf. It seems that she’s sensitive to the movement of spirits, that which exists in the surrounding as a part of nature. So it’s probably more of a detection ability rather than intuition.

“Let’s split up and look around the village, if anything happens then shout out”

“Roger~” –Beck

“Understood” –Cara

The more I searched, the more I realize how grim the situation is. There are dried blood stains in many houses, the floor in the biggest house is especially gruesome, it was painted black with human juices. Don’t tell me the whole village has been wiped out? This can’t be the work of bandits, the chief told me there’re no bandits around here, after all there’s nothing to steal. Not to mention, there’s not a single corpse around. So it’s the work of a pack of monsters then? But the Catona chief told me that this area is outside of the monster’s turf.

After we finished searching, everybody gathered in the middle of the village and discuss their findings. Both of them have an unpleasant look on their faces as they knit their eyebrows.

“…So every other houses are the same then?”

“Regrettably, I think it’s as we feared” –Cara

“What should we do, leader?” –Beck

“We have our own job to do, but it’s hard to ignore this kind of incident. Not to mention the things that attacked this village might cause troubles for us on our way to the Sage’s hideout too. It’s probably best to stay here for a couple of days, then search out and eliminate the cause. If it proves too much for us to handle then we’ll go back and ask for reinforcements”

“Fine by me, I’d prefer it if we do that after getting the Sage’s treasures though” –Beck

“Well, I’d like that too but…. We’re facing an unknown enemy here”

“Beck, what’s that on your hand?” –Cara

“Hmm? Oh this? I thought we could use it for dinner” –Beck

Beck was holding a cloth wrapped object about the size of a buckler. He hummed while opening it, showing a big piece of … smoked meat?

“!!!!!

BECK!! Throw that away!” –Cara

“Eh? Huh? What’s with you nee-san?” –Beck

Cara suddenly shouts in a desperate voice that is rarely heard from her. Exactly when was the last time she became so flustered? Beck was startled by the unexpected behavior from Cara and became lost at what to do.

“UEUuuEEEeu…..GUeeuuuUuUeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE” –Cara

Cara hunched down as she vomits on the ground, streams of tears running down her cheek.