As the gentle darkness wrapped itself around the village, I realized that their boasts about a banquet were no exaggerations. If the scenery during the day was the picture of their daily lives, then the one before me right now was truly what I’d call “festive”.

A giant bonfire in the middle of the empty lot. People, young and old alike, gathered around, sharing their stories and laughs. Gone was the tense atmosphere from the morning—even the toughest armored folks were greeting me with a smile from time to time as I went past them one by one. It wasn’t all fun and games for me, however… Well, even I would get drunk on the festivities sometimes, but there was still one thing that served as a cold bucket of water to douse any attachment that the air was making towards me.

The corpses of the two Herakabuto from the attack were hung right above the bonfire, with two armored people standing on each side to rotate them like roast skewers. The limbs had all had its exoskeleton removed, the meat cut off and buried at the side, where the excited children were fighting for the juiciest parts. Of course, I knew that I couldn’t force them to follow my way of living. But the disgusting aroma of sizzling fat and meat covered in herbs and spices was enough to make me brace myself with every step, lest I vomited right then and there.

At least, I didn’t have to join any of them. My place for the night wasn’t there in the first place.

Walking past them as fast as my manners could allow me to, I made my way to a raised platform made from the dead trunk of a tree nearby, seemingly one of the trees that were knocked down from the first Herakabuto attack—the one that the group of five managed to handle before me.

There, they awaited me all in order.

“Yo, kid! Come here!” Greeting me was Midorikawa as usual. The man showed astounding resilience even after being thrown like rags; it only took him a single afternoon of rest to be running his mouth like nothing had happened at all.

Giving a polite nod in return, I made my way to my supposed seat, at the far edge to the right where Midorikawa was patting at—which was to say, right next to him.

“Aw, Green, no fair!” The lone girl of the party, Yamabuki, puffed her cheeks in protest. “You’re always hogging him! Let us have some fun too!”

“Ya snooze ya lose, Sis! And I bet the kid doesn’t even like old ladies!”

“Why, you…!”

“You guys are siblings?” I interjected.

“What? Nah,” Midorikawa shook his head and grinned. “We’re just close like family. We’re not actually blood-related.”

On a rare occasion, the man retracted his goofy attitude and replaced his toothy grin with a somber smile. “But when you’ve known each other ever since you were born, grew up with each other, even witnessed each other’s Evolution… if that ain’t family, I dunno what to call it.”

It didn’t take a genius to know that they were childhood friends from that conversation, but other than that, it was just a bunch of strange words that I thought I’d understood, but didn’t.

“Evolution?” I asked.

“Oh, right, you’re still an Unborn,” replied Yamabuki. “I don’t know what it’s called in the east…”

“The same thing,” the man in blue, Aozaki, interrupted us. “It’s just the same thing, Yellow. We’re not that different.”

“Still touchy-feely as always, huh, Blue?” Giggled the girl, before turning to me again. “Anyway, I guess this means you were lost from your tribe before you got to know about it… Poor thing.

“Evolution is, essentially, a sacred ritual between you and your partner. You see how everyone over there had something of their own?”

Following Yamabuki’s gesture, I turned to look at the crowd celebrating around the bonfire. Even if the giant flame was casting shadows on their faces, I could still see the silhouette of little critters around them. Some were Akari-sized, enough for them to sit on the kids’ heads or shoulders, while some were larger, around the size of a Golden Retriever. Each of them had different features of their own—some had spiky limbs, others grew horns on their heads; some had large wings the size of their own bodies, while others only had slits for wings.

“That’s everyone’s partner when they were still Unborns,” continued Yamabuki. “Of course, that included us too. When the bond between Unborn and Omushi reached its limits, a ritual will be held…”

“They die,” the man in black armor, Kurogiri, jumped into the conversation. “You don’t need to sugarcoat it, Yellow. The boy deserves to know.”

“It’s a matter of principle, Black!” Shouted the girl in anger. “What’s with you and your mouth? He’s still an Unborn!”

So, an Omushi doesn’t live for long… Well, they are insects, but… it’s never easy taking news like that. I tried my best to not let out a sigh.

“Coddling him won’t do anything good,” scoffed Kurogiri.

“Ugh, this is why I never liked you, you…”

“Now now, you two, don’t sour the mood,” seeing war about to break out, Akabane quickly stepped into action, pushing himself in between the two and patted both on the shoulder. Or rather, “hit” would be the better word, considering that the noise coming from his contact was enough to jump even Midorikawa.

“Anyway, if you’d like to learn more about Evolution, we’re glad to teach you later. But for now, it’s time for a party, no?” Akabane concluded, tossing me a strange fruit that looked like a yellow pear, but had the texture of a fuzzy peach. “Eat up, Yakushi-kun. You can’t find better Pearch fruits than now. Its sweetness is to die for.”

“Um… it wouldn’t have the same kind of sweetness as that Shinbachira honey, right?” I eyed the man with a hint of doubt.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Haha, of course not!” A pat on the shoulder reaffirmed me, though the strength behind it did cause me to flinch for just a second.

“Well… here goes nothing, then.”

The moment I took a bite at the fuzzy fruit, a burst of juices overflowed in my mouth. There was sweetness as Akabane had mentioned, but it was nowhere near the kind of intoxicating numbness that I had experienced before. Instead, it was a light and fresh flavor, the kind you’d find in the highest-quality spring water. Just a bite of this fruit, and I could already feel my tiredness being washed away, enough for me to last for days to come.

“Well? How was it?” A proud grin came from the usually serious man, boasting at his delicacy.

“This is amazing!” I exclaimed.

“Right? One fruit, and you’re hydrated for a whole day. It’s our main source of water for expeditions, since its compactness makes storing a non-issue.”

The smile on my mouth froze at the information, while the surge of water from the surprise nearly made me choke on sight.

“W-Wait, then wouldn’t this be really important?” After a short cough, I asked. “Why are you treating me with it?”

Only when Akabane’s smile turned from joy to sly did I realize the kind of situation I was in. Of course, there were no free lunches with these people, no matter how nice they might be, and now that I’ve accepted their gift, I no longer held an advantage in this board.

“First, let me answer a certain question that has been on your mind, Yakushi-kun. Do you remember those two Herakabuto that attacked us?”

I nodded without another word.

“I know the face you made after knocking it down. You were wondering if you could kill it or not, right?”

“There was… no reason to,” I stuttered. “If it was just a wild animal on a rampage, then…”

“It’s not. Their attack on our village was deliberate.”

“How could you tell?”

“Because…” Akabane paused for a moment, before switching his glance over to the other four.

“... Follow us.” Aozaki stood up first, followed by the rest, then gestured towards me.

As the bonfire grew smaller and smaller, the six of us ventured deeper and deeper into the forest. If I was by myself, navigating at this time would have been impossible, but with Akabane and the others clearing the path before me with their armored slashes, there was no issue keeping up.

Our little excursion led us to another empty lot. But the sight before me was unlike any other I’d seen.

“What… happened here?” My hand shivered as I struggled to point at the twisted and broken trees, each of them having the size of one of their treehouses back in their village.

“This was once our village border,” answered Akabane in a regretful voice, his hands patting on one of the stumps. “In fact, around a year ago, our village was twice, maybe thrice the size it is now. But for some reason, Omushi attacks on us have been occurring more and more frequently, and each time, well… here you are. If this keeps up, the hostile Omushi will swallow our village whole.”

“I… I’m sorry.”

“The only thing we can at least be glad about is that we tried to keep casualties minimal, but our number of Evolved is dwindling. Back at the bonfire, how many do you think are like us?”

“You mean, wearing armor like you?” I asked, trying to recall the festive scene from before. “I guess… about half of the people?”

“A third. We only have a third as Evolved in our village,” answered Akabane. “A year ago, that number was half. And even then, that was nowhere near enough Evolved in a normal village—we should be having three quarters, at least.”

“So, in short…”

“We’re lacking in manpower. Very much.”

“... I see where this is going,” I let out a sigh. “Basically, you want me to aid you, right?”

“In expeditions, specifically,” nodded Akabane. “Among Unborns, I’ve never seen anyone with the kind of battle prowess as you showed. Though you lack our strength, you make it up with your understanding of the battlefield, and your synergy with your partner Omushi is by far the best I’ve ever witnessed. With you around, we can expand our search to places we could have never gone to, and then…”

“You can kill all the threats to your village before they have the chance to strike, am I right?”

“Yes, that’s right. So, what says you, Yakushi-kun? We can protect our village, while you can grow stronger and Evolve. It’s a win-win situation for both sides.”

I didn’t like this trade one bit. If it was for defense like the attack during the day, then I would understand. But the way they were going with it, they’d only invade the other animals’ living habitat. And what if it was because of their reckless expansion that the animals decided to strike in the first place? What if these people were the ones to anger the animals first?

But at the same time, I couldn’t refute their idea either. The die had already been cast. If they left these beasts alone, would they stop the attack? Or would they try to enact another tragedy like how they destroyed this place, or how they were attacking earlier?

“I…”

As the words were about to spill from my mouth, a sharp pain struck my forehead, along with the familiar chirp that had awoken me from falling into mistakes time and time again.

“Kuri! Kuri!” Akari cried out, repeatedly smacking my head with her forearms.

It was at that moment that a stroke of genius came to my mind. The solution was very simple. In fact, too simple that I was sure they had missed it altogether.

“On one condition,” I raised a finger to gesture. “If we find anything, before we engage in combat with them, let me try to reason with them first.”

“But… your flesh is exposed!” Akabane protested. “One wrong move, and…”

“You said it before, right? My synergy with Akari is unmatched. Meaning that I have more talent at connecting with another Omushi more than anyone else in this village. Then let me try; if I can reach an understanding with them, then maybe we don’t have to continue this constant cycle of kill or be killed, and work together for a better life for both sides.”

“But what about you? What if you…”

“I’m not from this village, right? Then think of me as something expendable,” I let out a grin. “Even if I die, no one would mourn for me anyway, so if you planned to use me from the start, use me right.”

Akabane was stunned. I couldn’t read his mind, but from the looks on his face, he must have been torn. This was for the best—I hadn’t trusted them completely yet, and so, they must be the same against me. That was the only way for us to work together and move forward.

“... We won’t let you throw your life away for nothing,” in the end, the man in red spoke with conviction, raising his hand for one final shake. “If things get dangerous, you can trust that we will do anything we can to protect you… even if it’s betraying our promise. We have a deal, Yakushi-kun.”

“Glad to be working with you.” I reached out in return.

At the same time, however, a familiar, annoying sound resonated in my head.

[Quest updated: Befriending the wild. Would you like to check your stats menu?]

Buzz off. This isn’t a game—this is the world I’m living in now.

“Yakushi-kun? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” letting out an awkward laugh towards Akabane, I answered. “Let’s go.”

We got into the same formation as before, with me at the back and the others at the front, lined up in a straight line, and made our way back to the village. But there was one difference from our previous trip: Akabane was the one directly in front of me when we moved to the spot, but now, in front of me was Kurogiri instead.

And because of that, only I could hear a whisper coming from the man in black armor.

“No one would mourn for you, huh? Not anymore.”