"Hmm... Is it going to take much longer to get there?"

Fujiwara asked, releasing a bored sigh. A look of boredom was plastered on her beautiful face as she leaned back in the carriage, gazing fixedly outside.

"I don't think it's much farther. We should be a little over halfway"

Said Aoi, examining the map Sylvia had provided us. Although I initially declined, Aoi ended up accepting, arguing that it would help our navigation. Well, I couldn't really picture a scenario where we would get lost, but it wouldn't hurt to bring the map, just as a precaution.

"Why don't you take the time to enjoy the scenery while you wait? It's not like being in a hurry will get us there any faster anyway"

Saemi suggested with a teasing smile on her face, looking at Fujiwara. Saemi was nestled in the right corner of the carriage, while Fujiwara was in the left corner and Aoi was in the middle.

"Hmm..."

While Saemi and Fujiwara teased each other, a sleepy voice echoed a little below me. Turning my gaze downward, a white mane filled my field of vision. Since we got on the carriage, Ana had rested her head and somehow turned my leg into an improvised pillow.

"Don't worry, Ana. You can go back to sleep"

as I stroked Ana's hair, my words seemed to reassure her. She snuggled even closer to me and began rubbing her head against my hand. The way Ana acted, resembling a cute squirrel, truly charmed me.

"Ana, that's not fair"

While I was distracted by Ana, Fujiwara, Saemi, and Aoi started talking at once, catching my attention. When I looked in their direction, I realized they were all staring at Ana as if they were seeing a potential enemy.

Hearing the girls' words, Ana, with her expressionless face, turned her gaze to the three. In a surprising moment, a small smile appeared on Ana's face. Seeing this, Saemi, Fujiwara, and Aoi looked at Ana in disbelief, while I could only laugh at the situation. With this relaxed atmosphere, we finally arrived at the village where the Wyvern had been spotted.

In front of the village, we were greeted by a short and relatively old man. Behind him, some villagers were gathered, including a few children. However, contrary to what I expected, instead of a warm welcome, the atmosphere was exactly the opposite of what I imagined.

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"They sent kids to handle the Wyvern?"

"Even being a small village, the kingdom should have more consideration"

"What will we do? Do they know why they're here? The last adventurers we paid just left when they found out it was a Wyvern and even took our money"

The atmosphere seemed gloomy and tense. Although their words were harsh, I decided to overlook it, considering the difficult situation they were all in. Moreover, if instead of muscular adventurers they encountered a young man and four girls, anyone could think the same way they did.

"This is the village being attacked by a Wyvern? We came here at Princess Sylvia's request to defeat it"

I said gently as I approached the man, who was likely the village leader, given his distinctive attire. As I had suspected, the man stepped forward.

"Pleasure to meet you, young adventurer. I am the leader of this small village"

He said, turning his gaze toward the mountain ranges behind the forest.

"In response to your question, we are the village you are looking for, but... unfortunately, I fear we have no money to pay you back. Although we sent a letter to the royal palace, we have yet to receive any response. But since the carriage you came in had the emblem of the royal family of Arclight, I assume you have been sent by them"

The man continued, turning his gaze in my direction. His words surprised me, as Sylvia had not mentioned this complication. In fact, she might not even be aware of this situation.

"In fact..."

I began to say but was interrupted when a stone flew toward me, catching me off guard. However, just before it could hit me, a dark shadow emerged from the ground and sliced the stone into small pieces. I looked to where the stone had come from and saw a boy with red hair among the crowd of villagers, along with a little girl, also with red hair, clinging to him.

Though I was surprised by the situation, I didn't have time to think about what was happening as a bloodlust erupted from the area.

(Shade, don't)

I said decisively, conveying my reprimand mentally.

(But, my king)

Shade exclaimed, her voice laden with irritation. However, it was odd to think she had just tried to attack the children simply because they had thrown a stone in my direction.

(They are just children, and besides, something must have happened)

I argued, trying to calm Shade's ferocity while keeping my gaze steady on the children. With my words, I felt Shade's bloodlust slowly fade away. Somehow, it seemed I had managed to appease her. Furthermore, looking around, I noticed I was the only one who had felt the bloodlust Shade had emanated moments ago.

Honestly, I was quite grateful for that since it would be quite troublesome to explain to them what had happened. Not to mention they would probably be terrified of me.

"Go away, you liar. Just like the others who came before, you'll just take our money and leave"

The boy's words made the girls and me exchange glances. As I suspected, something had really happened before we arrived here.

"Please forgive him. He lost his father a few days ago in one of the Wyvern attacks. He, his mother, and his sister are still getting over it"

The man's words caught me off guard, as I had not been informed that there had been deaths before.