Chapter 7

  Meeting New People 2

  At the southernmost side of the village, near the dock the fishermen used to make a living, certain distinguished people gathered together in a house that belonged to the most important person of the village. Only an hour after Ellyn set off with Rigel, a coordinated effort to not have the raven-haired girl come across that house even by happenstance, nor the people involved. Originally, the place of reunion was Marco's home, he convinced the others to switch to this location. There, three men and two women of various ages sat comfortably in the living room, surrounded by lovely decorations of little antiques collected over the years.

  There Akira, the village mayor announced,“Then shall we begin our meeting?”

  Marco was the first of the five to sit down. The man looked uncomfortable in his seat as his tall frame tensed cross-armed with every muscle as if he was on the lookout for enemies instead of being in the company of fellow colleagues. He had his reasons to feel restless, however. After all he could probably guess the points the meeting would address.

  “Ngh...”

  “You seem a little restless, Marco. Is everything alright?”

  Right next to him, there was a man with a concerned look on his face. Skinny and old, he had wrinkles that would make a sixty-five year old person look like just a teenager, white hair properly groomed to the side with a beard that has been equally taken good care of. He wore a comfortable-looking light brown with a deep blue undershirt and wrapped around a grey cloak to keep warm, it all looked of high quality too and lacked not fine details once you looked at it for less than a few moments. Still, the well-dressed man smiled like a gentle grandfather to his grandson and his voice carried a soothing feeling that put Marco slightly more at ease.

  “Mister Frederick...” Marco sighed, “You know-”

  “I am restless too, you know? How can anyone get into a meeting without having something in your stomach? You can't even function without it.”

  To their left, another man interjected while getting excited about his own idea. Contemporary with Marco in age, he sank into his seat and leaned back while spreading both legs to the point he might as well be laying down. He had short brown hair and a scruffy beard, wore a dark brown gambeson and light-colored pants and both appeared as good as new. Though they looked new, his fat belly deformed his clothes in such a way that it looked as if a couple more pasties would give them some "battle damage".

  “We just started our monthly meeting, Randall. Surely a man of your caliber can hold it for a little longer, right?” Frederick politely replied.

  “I can, but you know... you gotta give yourself some fuel for the tank. A captain must keep peak form, Gehahaha!” He said while slapping his belly.

  “Once again, we hear him confess his little volunteer guard was nothing more than a way of getting our few resources to stuff his belly full; Wonderful, absolutely wonderful.”

  “Haa? What did ya say!?”

  A new person intervened; a young adult woman who loud and clearly expressed her disdain towards the obese man’s presence. Her dark-red hair elegantly rested on her shoulders and on top of her back, combined with her black-sleeveless sweater, a long grey skirt, and glasses, she was quite adept in clothing which only made her look more beautiful than she already was. With her legs and arms crossed, her body language projected her confidence and in turn, her reliability. She looked down on the obese man, Randall, with her deep-blue eyes, which were worn down by age as well as years lacking sleep.

  Her striking figure and remarkable sense of dressing were only matched by the gentleman Frederick. Whenever he saw her or Frederick, Marco always wondered if he should make more of an effort on displaying his position within the village. Then again, he was fun of his clothing, and it might others think differently of him when he wanted to maintain an easy to approach look. Still, he always entertained the thought.

  The woman scoffed, “You heard me, fat ass. I’m honestly surprised you managed to get here this time, did the outpost not have enough food for you?”

  Frederick politely intervened, “Minerva, this is not the time for arguing...”

  “You woman...!” Randall yelled, “Hell-bent on being a fucking bitch already?!”

  “That’s enough, both of you!”

  Marco’s angered voice took over their bickering exchange, the woman sighed as she readjusted her black gloves after understanding that she was behaving improperly. Similarly, the large man begrudgingly heeded Marco’s words and turned his face away from her. By no means they were done saying things to each other, as it was common for the two to argue relentlessly over nothing, it was just that they had a job to do and didn't want Marco coming down on them like in the past.

  “Minerva, dear, it’s too early to be stressing yourself like this, you too, Randall.” Frederick said with a polite smile while offering tea to the sharp-tongued woman.

  “Frederick is right; you’ll have time for you two to hate each other later. Our monthly meeting comes first.” A tired-looking Marco nodded.

  “With all due respect; while I may be the youngest here, making you both my seniors...”

  Marco raised his eyebrows, “Yes...?”

  “I think we reached a point that even a child can tell the problem of our guard that supposedly protects the village. The predicament we are in wouldn’t exist if we had a competent leader commanding our men to fend off the bandits.” Minerva explained

  Her tone of voice and demeanor changed dramatically when her attention shifted to Marco and Frederick, showing a well-articulated and cautiously put-together string of words, showing proper manners and respect towards her two colleagues. It was a noticeable sharp contrast to how rude she was to Randall, yet this was also part of the usual with Minerva, and something Marco and Frederick had grown so used to they didn't notice it anymore.

  “Hah!” Randall scoffed, “Look at this bitch talking about shit she has never had a hand on. I would like to meet this oh-so-great leader that is willing to take the job when the bandits can just choose to skewer you if you look at ‘em wrong!”

  “Do they just not give a damn about what I just said?” Marco thought.

  “You mean how your kid had to be present to receive them because you were too drunk?” Minerva sneered.

  “How’s that school of yours going? Those kids have had a pretty lengthy vacation, don’t you think? When can you get those new books?”

  “Ngh! You-!” The woman was about to launch herself before being stopped by Frederick.

  Marco on his part sank into his chair, “O Gods please give me strength”.

  Marco rubbed his eyes in frustration as he resigned himself to his seat while the two adults barked at each other with no end in sight. It seemed while they avoided being scolded by Marco, their irritation superseded even that, and so they felt the need to go at each other's throats without sparing a thought for the two men alongside them. Next to him, Frederick offered a smile and tea in consolation, for even he knew no words can make it better.

  The monthly meetings were a formality that never held much value to Marco. He was only called to be in them due to being the only trained doctor in The Village, which granted him a privileged position. It was his job in the meeting to disclose how many people he attended and of what they were suffering off, but he could do that same thing in a written document at the end of the month. The meetings were simply to keep him involved in the matters of the other members, making it more difficult for him to detach himself from them. Such was the decision of the community council: Randall, Minerva, Frederick, and Akira, who desperately needed even one person who was capable of more than rudimentary medicines and injury treatment. In particular, injuries that required some level of surgery. By giving Marco a special position among the community, they sought to ensure he stayed in their community, otherwise they would need to go to the neighboring city to even seek help for serious emergencies—At a day's distance, it wasn't a reasonable to thing to ask to the youngest and eldest.

  The community council that managed the affairs of the village was structured as followed:

  Randall was in charge of security and the training of volunteers to hunt dangerous animals that got too close to the villagers. It also was meant to fight off the bandits... in paper, at least.

  Minerva oversaw the planning of local events and the education of the villagers. Hers was the consistently busiest work of them all by the sheer volume of tasks she had to keep track of.

  Marco operations to keep the village as clean as he could to avoid disease and infections, However, he also frequently aided Minerva in the planning of their local events.

  Frederick managed both budgets and as well as a form of vice-presidency. He took charge of matters when Akira couldn't and was a reliable advisor to all other members.

  Akira took the center lead in administrating their incredibly finite and scarce resources. She also had the final say on any matters concerning the village.

  The meetings were mostly composed of just boring reports that only changed based on bandit attacks. However, over the past five months, the meetings had consistently kept Marco on edge. Putting him, each time on the lookout for when they touch the topic of Ellyn’s incident and its ramifications again.

  “That’s enough. Your constant bickering of late is going to make me ill in the stomach.”

  A woman carried multiple cups of tea on a plate, of old age yet with her gaze that yielded to no one, as if the passage of time has only made her more determined. Akira graciously sat on the central chair, in front of her peers. Her dress was the type that vaguely resembles Marco’s own attire but intended for women, a foreign garment from far away. Mayor Akira calmly took a sip of tea before looking at each member of her cabinet.

  “Now then.” She announced, “We have some reports to go through. Let us start with Mister Frederick’s.”

  “Ah yes, I have quite the report on my hands.”

  Minerva locked her gaze on the old man with a weaker look to her eyes than before, anticipating the contents of said report,“You always say that when you have bad news.”

  “Well, what can I say? When none of our people were able to sell much at Finglas, you have the kind of report you can’t take your eyes off of. Our entire funds will be in an all-time low for a while.” He explained.

  “All of us? Really? No compromises? Not even to shut my son about the old equipment for good?” Randall wondered.

  The old man shook his head, “We need enough to still afford what we cannot grow on our own. We’re almost a thousand now, so we need to be extra careful, I’m afraid.”

  Randall sank his body into his chair, considering all sorts of problems the severe cuts will bring to him, personal use or otherwise. For all his bad behavior, he still was capable of sparing a thought for something other than his stomach. Though it came sparingly.

  “What about our artisans?” Minerva asked.

  Frederick looked at her for a moment, then, he slowly shook his head before he answered: “Artisans had always sold the lowest by comparison, there will be even less from them in the coming months thanks to our low number of materials. Our main source of income; the fishermen and farmers, have sold their worst since the right before The Famine. There is also the problem with the taxation from the bandits, the last increase they did hurt us badly, too.”

  Minerva lowered her shoulders. Her concerned eyes looked at Frederick as if waiting for something positive to add, but his face dashed her hopes with quiet, brutal honesty, “I will inform you all about details later, including your new budgets. Needless to say, the allocation towards the Wood Fang’s ‘protection tax’ remains unchanged. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for any equipment for the volunteers or supplies for our doctor, as well...”

  Randall said nothing and only grumbled to himself.

  Marco leaned forward, “Hey just how low are we right no-”

  “The school related events will all need revision, if not to be called off entirely.” Frederick cut him off, and then quietly apologized by lowering his head.

  Minerva bit her lip in frustration after she heard the calm, yet harsh voice of the old man.

  “Thank you, Frederick. I will look into this matter later to see what we can do to soften the blow. Now, into a similar topic related to the Wood Fang.”

  Both Randall and Minerva turned their heads at Akira’s direction with curiosity; Frederick lifted an eyebrow on his permanent poker face. Marco took a deep breath and readied himself to manage the old woman’s intentions.

  “Of course,” Akira continued, “I mean our little visitor: The girl from five months ago who now stays with Marco.”

  “…” Marco did not move.

  Akira coldly stared at him, while the other members followed with different looks to their faces that he was not able to describe. The older woman had all of his attention.

  “So, Marco, how’s the girl doing?” She asked.

  Marco clenched his teeth and cursed the woman under his breath. Even then, he composed himself and answered, “... She is doing fine. All her wounds closed recently, and she is able to walk now.”

  Frederick smiled, “Managing to bring back someone in that condition certainly wasn’t an easy task.”

  “Being affected by the War god’s magic made her recovery challenging, but luckily things are looking up.” Marco explained.

  “Yeah, that’s nice and all but that isn’t exactly why we are talking about her, right Akira?”

  Randall spoke while scratching her belly, after directing his words to Akira, the woman nodded in response,“Indeed. Now that she has been healed, I’m afraid I need to address her and the Wood Fang’s situation.”

  Marco bit his lips, feeling more and more pain the deeper he sunk his teeth unto the skin.

  “The Wood Fang...” Minerva whispered.

  “Grace period’s over. We heard your request and tried to get those bastards making them fight others of their ilk. It didn’t work. Now, it’s about damn time we deal with the person that killed Ray Wood Fang and made our lives harder by pissing off those animals.” Randall yelled.

  Minerva placed her hand under her chin with a troubled expression, “Certainly, we can’t go on with them strangling us like this. Though, I’m still wondering how a girl her age killed that many of the Wood Fang and Ray himself, did she really fight them with her bare hands and won…? That would be… unnerving.”

  Randall shrugged, “Who knows? Maybe she really is a monster like that boy said. Thinking about it scares the shit outta me.”

  “Regardless of the girl’s nature, the fact of the matter is that this action has kicked the hornet’s nest. The Wood Fang has been raging throughout the region, hunting everyone that could have been behind this offense. There had been enough smaller bandit groups to put the blame on them, but it wont be long until they come back here wondering why they haven't caught Ray's killer.” Frederick stated.

  “We have gotten lucky that his broter Roy still believes in our… uh, ‘relationship’ with the Wood Fang.” Minerva remarked, “However…”

  “If he decides that 'we' did it, then we’ll eat shit for it. It’s just a matter of time.”

  Ray Wood Fang, former leader of the Wood Fang Bandits, was among the dead during the incident that took place five months ago. It was a blow to the integrity of the bandits, causing smaller-in-comparison gangs to try to take advantage of their weakened state. However, in order to recover from the unexpected blow, the bandits had been re-establishing their control over the smaller gangs throughout the Bandit Lands as they look for the culprit; Either by assimilation or destruction. For them, the task was simple enough and they counted with the numbers to make it happen. The Wood Fang had almost two hundred and fifty members based on the lastest report, and by absorbing more groups they'll become larger and more dangerous.

  With the death of their leader, as well as other key members, Roy Wood Fang assumed leadership. Little brother of Ray, the man had been reported raging throughout the region with expected brutality, making the message clear: The Wood Fang will stop at nothing until their blades had found the culprit and displayed their head on a pike for everyone to see.

  “They have come each month for their usual tax collection and asked for information on Ray's corpse and it's whereabouts. We have managed to turn them away but…”

  The older woman took a sip of her tea with before continuing, “Unfortunately, it is indeed only a matter of time before they pin the blame on us, find the girl and see that we hid her throughout all these months. I know I agreed to allow you to take care of her…” She said in a level voice.

  Marco gave the older woman a sardonic smile, sweat rolled from his forehead, his muscles were tense, and his toned body was heating up from the stress so much that he could feel steam through his neck area, “So, are you going to send her to them as an apology gift? Don’t you think it’s a little late for that?” He retorted.

  “The whole village is in danger thanks to her, idiot! If that made them stop breathing on our necks while they sharpen their blades, then it’s worth the attempt.” Randall yelled.

  “By allowing her to stay here, you’ve made us complicit in Ray’s death, Randall. They won’t just walk away while knowing that.” Marco countered

  “We’ve had a deal with The Wood Fang for many years now; we can appeal to our time under their ‘protection’ and treat them with stories about the girl staying without our knowledge. There are easy solutions to this.”

  “Despite the fact that they pillage us just for the fun of it, are here you convincing yourself they won’t lash out at us just because Ray’s death happened within our walls-!”

  “Marco.”

  Frederick’s voice stopped him cold from lashing out against Randall. Marco could only give the older man a frustrated look before sinking back into his seat, leaving the room in dead silence for a couple of minutes. Minerva also leaned back in her seat, looking worried at Marco as she seemingly tried to voice her own opinions but lost the opportunity. Randall gave him an annoyed look before directing his eyes to the ground. A single ‘Tch’ was all he said.

  Akira remained still as a statue, wearing an emotionless mask in front of everyone. She then lowered her cup of tea and with a calm yet aloud tone she spoke, “Marco. I understand that we allowed you to take care of her. It would be inhuman of us to let a young girl bleed out on our streets, regardless of the circumstances. We also made no secret of our disdain for the Wood Fang. On a different occasion, we would be overjoyed to hear about Ray’s passing...”

  Marco leaned in, “Then-”

  “However,” Her voice rose high, “It is my- our duty to protect the people of this village above all else. You know this very well; No knight will come after the bandits. No one will come help us, only us. Of course, that includes you as well. As part of this village, we need you to think of us, all of us, before a single person.”

  “…” Marco clenched his teeth.

  “I know very well that it’s unlikely the Wood Fang would be easily appeased. However, we weren’t able to find a solution for almost half a year. We simply cannot wait until every other suspect of theirs is wiped out, and only we stand.” She declared.

  “What about Teacher’s wishes?” Marco appealed, “I didn’t watch over Ellyn just for her to be delivered as a sacrifice to the bandits. I must ask, do you think she would have allowed something like this?”

  Akira’s face shifted. Anger made manifest in the blink of an eye as Marco pressed on her most sensitive spot. He knew what he was doing, everyone knew. However, he won’t stay idle and break his promise to the most important person in his life. It was a matter that he would not concede, no matter what. Even when it meant opening other people’s wounds… wounds that may never heal.

  “...” Akira looked at him with great scorn.

  He wouldn’t back down. He promised her that he would follow her legacy and honor her memory. Yet decades had passed, and he had nothing meaningful to show for it. He had never done the same thing his teacher did for him. Now, he was here, witnessing the opportunity his life will get to fulfill this promise. The girl was his chance, perhaps his only chance, to finally do what he promised so many years ago.

  “There’s no way the Wood Fang will let you off the hook after lying to them and allowing her to stay for so long. Or is the deal with them so valuable that you’ll sell Karen’s last wish for it?” He insisted, a strong look that didn’t broke contact for even a second.

  “...” Akira silently stared at him with visible anger written all over her face.

  Ellyn continued to follow Rigel to their next destination. After all that movement earlier in the morning, she couldn’t say she was excited about the idea of talking to even more people that day. She knew she couldn’t turn back at this point, however.... she couldn’t help but feel wary of what kind of people she would run into next. Though her reason was simpler than her preference for quiet places: They had all been weird-

  “Where are you going?”

  Rigel’s voice came from behind, suddenly dragging her back to earth. After a quick look around, she realized she went in a completely different direction than he. A slight red tinge of embarrassment crossed her face in a second as the boy sighed.

  “Ah... I ah…”

  “Gee, don’t space out when you walk! You’re older than me, I shouldn’t be babysitting you.”

  She stuttered, “I-I’ll be careful.”

  Rigel took a step forward and looked at her up closely, and scanned her from head to toe before locking into her coffee-colored eyes. Despite the attempt, Ellyn was unable to escape the boy’s gaze, whose amethyst eyes were every bit as intense as his mother’s, much to Ellyn’s dismay.

  “W-what?” She asked, rapidly looking left and right.

  “Are you feeling alright?” He asked.

  Ellyn was unsure how to answer that out-of-nowhere question.

  “I... I am. Why ask all of a sudden?”

  “Well, you’ve looked like something is out to get you, while also getting lost in space with that gloomy look. I was wondering if anything was bothering you.”

  Ellyn looked once again into the amethyst eyes that watched her with intensity, but quickly gave up and averted her gaze. It was as if they saw directly through her with uncomfortable ease, making her feel exposed and with nowhere to hide. He definitely was her son, no doubt about it.

  Ellyn trailed off, “It’s nothing...”

  “Really? If you aren’t enjoying this, we can turn back to Marco’s home. It’s okay, you know?”

  She swallowed, “Y-yes. It’s just that the morning has been... quite eventful... I’m more of quiet places.”

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  He raised his eyebrows from her shaky response, but he soon backed away one step with a sigh.

  “I see. I know mom and auntie can be a little much, and Alan doesn’t give the best first impression. Still, I hope you didn’t take it too badly.”

  “N-no!” She waved her hands in denial, “It’s alright. I know they aren’t bad people. I just… need a bit of rest.”

  “We’re heading outside to wait for Darius and Olivia. It’s nice and quiet there. We can take a break with no one bothering us. Is that alright?” He noted.

  Ellyn nodded and began walking alongside Rigel. Reassured, the two headed off together towards the village’s main entrance and headed outside into the hills, as the noise of civilization died out the further they went.

  A few minutes later, they arrived at a small hill just outside the village, and under the shadow of a large tree, they sat down and saw the whole village resting carefully next to the sea, and around it two small cliffs at each side. She could see the streets, the buildings, and the people stretching below. In the far distance, four mountains lined up together that marked the beginning and end of the area now known as the Bandit Lands. They stood tall and firm as they loomed over with imposing majesty, forever embracing the Vbllage and the surrounding grassland into a special type of scenery that may be unique to this continent. Maybe even the entire world.

  While they were mountains indeed, their shape gave each the impression of a tree trunk that pierced the clouds beyond what they could see. Like something straight out of a painting depicting a strange dream, it didn’t seem real, yet it was still there. After all, she passed through those mountains when she arrived here. At the base, smaller rock formations peppered the surroundings and created the only entrances to the region. The natural gates allowing for at least two to three carriages side by side, sandwiched between the tall mountains, which made the entrances foreboding and imposing by design.

  Still, she saw a certain beauty in them; they kept the village in a quiet and beautiful state of tranquility, away from the troubles the rest of the world had. It was its own little world that only a handful of people really knew about. There was something special about that.

  As they both watched the imposing mountains, Ellyn and Rigel remained silent, sitting on that hill with their backs against the tree as the wind blew softly through the grass as time itself slowed down to let this moment linger for a little longer.

  The atmosphere was so enjoyable that Ellyn found herself completely lost in the landscape, seeing the mountains from Marco’s place was one thing but thanks to the angle, she could really see but a section of it. Now, she saw the giants cover wide areas while reaching unimaginable heights. It felt ripped from the pages of a book, as if a god carved every single one and meticulously placed them one by one to let none enter here—His domain.

  “Haa...” She sighed.

  Rigel looked at her with a curious face, “You sure like The Pillars, Huh.”

  “Eh? What do you mean?”

  “I thought that you’ll get used to seeing them after the first month or so, but five months in, and you are still getting hypnotized by them.” He noted.

  “Aah, well... I think they are neat. I’ve never seen something like that.”

  Rigel sighed before stretching his arms behind his back, letting his body rest on top of the grass, “I don’t know what you see in them. Sure, they look cool, but after a while most would get used to seeing them every day.”

  Ellyn turned her head away from the boy and back into the mountains. The landscape had an enticing look. It brought her peace of mind, wrapped in a warm homely feel, “I guess... I find them a bit ‘romantic’.”

  “Romantic? What do you mean?” Rigel turned around slightly baffled by the raven-haired girl’s choice of words.

  “I used to live in the mountains, long, long ago. These look nothing like any other mountain I’ve ever seen, but… that adds to their uniqueness, I think. It reminds me of them while also looking like something straight from a painting.”

  Rigel’s narrow expression softened; from confusion to melancholy.

  “I guess you can say thanks to that I find them a bit romantic, or nostalgic-” She stopped, “Rigel? What’s wrong?”

  Rigel flinched in response, “Eh? What?”

  “Did I say something weird? You don’t look well.” She asked with a troubled look.

  “No... I just think it’s nice that you can see them in a good way.”

  Ellyn tilted her head in confusion, “What do you see when you look at them?” She questioned, “Is there a reason why you don’t like them?”

  Rigel stopped for a second. After accommodating himself, he directed his attention towards the mountains.

  “Ellyn, every single one of those mountains holds the Wood Fang inside, it’s where they hide. Attempting to go outside is a coin toss of whether you’ll find them lurking behind those rocks. Nowadays, the adults that go outside to sell their things have to pay a ‘fee’ for passing through their territory.”

  The mountains, thanks to their placement, also cut off the village from the rest of the world. They alone cover heaven and earth with ease and spread wide across what could be considered the region’s border. The land itself was not small, either. It was a large, open grassland with small groves scarcely scattered through. It would take more than half a day to travel on a horse with only light equipment. What’s more, the mountains were the only way out towards the outside, combined with an infestation of bandits at the entrance...

  “Mn...” Ellyn refused to blink, giving him undivided attention.

  “Those ‘fees’ are huge chunks of what they earn. It has been like this for so long that everyone was used to it before I was born!”

  His face grew angry, showing the impotence of living an entire life in this cage without being able to do anything to improve its situation, neither for him nor the people around.

  “Naturally, mom and aunt are no exception to this problem, even if mom doesn’t go out of the village much.”

  Ellyn could only watch without words as she cursed her own selfishness and ignorance. Despite having experienced first-hand an encounter with the bandits, she ignored everything in favor of her own world and fantasy, never once seeking to know more about them or the people of this village.

  “I... I don’t know what to do to make things better for us. At least not as I am now...”

  Small particles of light began to dance around his hand and crushed together at the center. Soon, they formed a small, faint sphere of light, yet dominated the boy’s eyes with its shine.

  “But this.”

  “Star Magic...” She whispered.

  He nodded, “For a long time, this was the only type of magic many mages didn’t really know what to do with. It was unwieldy, too taxing, dangerous, and not applicable… However, books that taught me are but a couple of years old, and I learned something important: Things are changing. Cities received light at night with this magic, transport in elvish kingdoms is powered in part by this magic, and metals are brought forth with this magic! I don’t even know how that’s possible!”

  His amethyst eyes shone bright and enthusiastic, so much so he was on the verge of crying out of happiness.

  “Rigel…”

  “Mn. I’ll get out of here with this, I’ll go far and wide and- and- I’ll help mom and aunt get out of here too...” His voiced quivered.

  Ellyn admired the boy’s noble goal. Something like that has never crossed her mind, nothing but just wanting to be left alone all and as she waited out the rest of her life. She saw it as admirable, but was unable to relate. Not to noble goals like that, no. Her own motivation, if it could be called as such, was by comparison frivolous; days without bothering or being bothered, to look at the landscape or stay in bed. The only thing she thought was more than shallow wants was to make up for her uncle’s death and the troubles the village now faced. Even then, it was doubtful she could even achieve it.

  “... You’ve set your eyes high. That’s really impressive for someone so young.”

  “I know it won’t be easy. Still, have to do it. If I don’t then nothing will change.”

  He stared at her without wavering, making clear how serious he was about it. Ellyn simply smiled in return, out of respect for his boldness.

  “Then... I will cheer you on.” She smiled.

  “Heh, you’ll cheer me on?”

  “Yes.” She looked up to the sky, “I don’t have much to strive for. So, I will at least cheer you on your goals. Until-”

  “Here it comeeees! The last push!” A male voiced screamed.

  “The last... push... I’m... at my last push...” A female voice whimpered.

  Ellyn was interrupted by the loud voice of a young man and a girl coming from the distance. Rigel’s attention was snatched too as he heard their voices. He quickly got up and a smile formed on his face, “Ah! That’s them.”

  “Come on! You can’t hope to be a adventurer if your stamina lasts that little!!” The young man mocked.

  “Aaah... I’ve been… running for… hours… ugh…” The girl said while approaching total collapse from exhaustion.

  Ellyn was taken aback by the sudden interruption. Even more so at how Rigel instantly dropped the conversation to wave at the two people that approaching. First, a young man who was noticeably tall and with ample muscle to show, short brown hair. He wore a sweaty brown shirt and simple dark-colored pants, clothing exclusively to work out with.

  Alongside him, a woman attempted to keep up with his pace and not die in the process. Her deep-red, shoulder-length hair was a complete mess, and her attire was similar to the younger man, a dark green colored shirt and black pants.

  Though the thing Ellyn noticed the most was how her pale face was like she was about to faint at any moment. Never before had she seen such a wide difference in performance between two people doing the same thing.

  “Darius! Olivia! Over here!!” Rigel loudly called out.

  “Oh Rigel!” The young man, Darius, replied.

  “Haa-... Hiii...” The red-haired Olivia panted.

  Rigel enthusiastically waved back at them, calling their names and smiling from ear to ear as his friends approached. Ellyn stood a few meters behind him. As she saw the scene, she found herself smiling warmly at him from the bottom of her heart. There was no way she could tell him something as awful as that and sour the mood of their day.

  “I’ll cheer on you for as long as I can. Until the wrongdoings I did to your village and my uncle catch up to me.”

  Yet still, those words slid under her breath for no one but her to hear.

  “Hey!!”

  Rigel cheerfully waved at the two people approaching. Ellyn remained a few steps back, looking cautiously at the scene. Rigel’s friends were drenched in sweat after seemingly hours of running, but the difference in their condition was massive.

  The young man had a fresh, strong look on his face, showing proudly that he could continue for longer if he wanted to. In contrast, the girl who lagged a few steps back seems to have hit her limit a while ago and has been on the verge of collapsing... or dying, which concerned Ellyn a great deal. She also wondered whether to ask Rigel about it, out of concern for the redheaded girl. However, she saw that Rigel didn’t seem to mind, so she decided to let them arrive first.

  The boy then signaled Ellyn to follow him. After a short delay, they both walked towards the duo.

  “Darius, Olivia, good morning.” He said with a brilliant smile on his face.

  “Rigel! Good morning! Finally come to train with us?” Darius replied with the same cheerful mood.

  “I’ve just come to see my favorite seniors after a long and harsh workout!”

  “Aw~ how nice of you. Did you hear that, Olivia?”

  In front of Ellyn, there was a redheaded girl bent over with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath with all the strength she had left. Her knees were shaking and her gaze was unfocused. It truly seemed like she was seconds away from dropping dead on the spot. Which made it more concerning how Rigel and Darius seemed to just... not care about it.

  Ellyn hesitated, “... Are you... Are you alright?”

  She asked, while continuing to stare at her with a mixture of confusion and concern. The redheaded girl, Olivia, quickly gave up and let herself fall on the grass before desperately drinking away from her waterskin. Ellyn turned her head towards the two guys, who seemingly ignored their collapsed friend.

  “Rigel... We should help...”

  “She’ll be fine.”

  “She’ll be fine.”

  The two replied in unison. Their synchronization surprised her for a second, but she quickly accepted it as something they are used to doing. In all honestly, she was still worried about her, but she wasn't going to get her nose where it didn't belong. So she mentally apologized to Olivia for being a part of her pain... it wasn't like had anything to help her with, either.

  “More importantly, you came all the way here for us...” He tapped his stomach, “Did you bring food? I could use some of Alan’s cooking right about now.”

  The boy smiled, “Oh, yeah, I’ve got it right here. Come a bit closer.”

  “Oooh! You are the best, Rigel!”

  Darius happily approached Rigel, due to their height difference; he had to bend over to be at equal heights. But that was exactly what the boy wanted.

  “By the way, Darius... Do you know where my book on star magic is?” He asked with a blank smile.

  “Hmm...?”

  Such noise was all confirmation he needed, “Haaa!”

  “GAH!”

  Suddenly, Rigel kicked Darius in the knee. Normally, due to their difference in muscle mass and strength, it wouldn’t do much. However, his hit landed on an uncomfortable spot in the knee that causes an involuntary reaction on the nerves, forcing them to awkwardly move on their own. It was something Marco had taught him about a while ago. The sudden attack made him lose his balance, and without wasting time, Rigel pinched his hair right on top of the temple, twisting it and pulling it as hard as he could. Another weak point Marco taught him and a particularly sensitive spot for the young man.

  “Ah! AH! AGH!” He screamed.

  Darius’ head was uncomfortably pulled to the side, as he tried to grab Rigel’s hand to release him. However, it only caused him to get his pinky grabbed and bent in ways pinky fingers shouldn’t bend.

  “Wait, wait,” He pleaded, “not the fingers- GYAA!”

  “Say you are sorry!”

  “I DON’T KNOW WHERE THE BOOK IS!”

  “THAT’S JUST MORE REASON TO TWIST IT HARDER!”

  “GYAA!”

  Ellyn didn’t know what was going on, so she only watched as the smaller boy mercilessly mangled the taller, stronger-looking guy like an angry mother berating her child. The sight was curious in itself, but what also surprised her is that she didn’t know that getting pinched on the temples like that could work so well. It must be a sensitive spot...

  In the meantime, Olivia regained her breath after gulping down the water skin like her life depended on it. With a strong flip, the girl stood up, feeling completely reborn.

  “Ghuu... Haaa!”

  “Are you alright?” Ellyn asked.

  “I’m alive! A little jog isn’t going to defeat me so easily!” She said with a confident smile. Despite the fact that jog did defeated her.

  Ellyn, however, turned her gaze downwards, “Your legs are shaking.”

  As a reaction, Olivia used both her hands to forcefully stop her legs from shaking; all the while she maintained the same confident smile… only for her body to shake again anyway, like a twig on the verge of snapping.

  Ellyn stared in silence, “...”

  “...” So did Olivia.

  “A-A-Anyway! To whom I owe the pleasure...?” She asked.

  Olivia’s question made Rigel, who was still messing up Darius like a bullied child, realize something important.

  “Ah, right.”

  The boy casually released Darius, who immediately caressed his fingers and head as he complained under his breath.

  “We’ll talk about the book later. Ellyn,” He gestured, “sorry but can you come here.”

  Ellyn tilted her head, “...?”

  He then dragged her right next to him, and in a monotone voice, he spoke:

  “Everyone, this is Ellyn. She has been staying with us for a while, so I thought it would be prudent to introduce her to you guys.”

  “Huh…?!” Olivia’s eyes widened.

  Darius hesitated, “Rigel, this girl is...”

  “Ellyn, these are Darius and Olivia. They are good friends of mine, son and daughter of the security chief and the education director of the whole village respectively. Darius, Olivia, this is Ellyn.” Rigel continued in the same tone as before.

  Ellyn awkwardly stepped back. With a weak smile, she tried to wave at them.

  “Nice to meet you… I’m Ellyn...” She awkwardly smiled.

  “I see, so that’s her...” Darius said.

  Olivia noticed Darius losing himself in thought. She couldn’t help but think about it too.

  “That girl...” She whispered.

  “...” The two of them fell silent.

  Ellyn felt uncomfortable with the response she got. It made her swallow her breath. The only thing she could guess due to their words was that they already knew who she was. But that only made her all the more alert about the tiniest of details.

  “They’re staring at me a lot… they must know what happened. Their muscles are getting tens. I see. It might be on reaction, but they are adopting a defensive posture…” She thought.

  Being put on the spot like this already made her uncomfortable, yes, but those looks only made things worse. All the wariness she felt before came back up in greater force. Something deep inside was instinctively telling her to be on her guard.

  An uncomfortable sensation rose inside her. Something she hadn’t felt in five months. Something she was intimately familiar with. It was an intense heat that raged throughout her body, or at least, that’s how she always felt it. Her body was getting warmer and her sweat colder, her emotions burned and her thoughts muddled.

  “Ngh... This is... really stressful...”

  Like any other person, her muscles were tense and ready to take action. Unlike any other person, her senses were fined tuned to rapidly inform her of potential threats and how to take them down. It didn’t have to be lethal either, an innate gift that allowed her to take on any person that opposed her, even the Wood Fang. However, she wished to not do anything, for the impulse to not take control. Not again. She could only hope that disgusting feeling would go away once her emotions calmed down.

  “Ngh... Eh?”

  Suddenly the girl felt a light tap on her back, a delicate little tap that went almost unnoticed.

  “You don’t have to get so nervous with them. We just want to speak with you.”

  He turned his head to face her, looking at her with a soft smile on his face.

  “Rigel...”

  “Besides,” He chuckled, “these two are just annoying wimps with no bite at all. Don’t imagine things.”

  “HEY!” The two yelled.

  “See?” He pointed out.

  Before she realized it, her thoughts had all stopped. She found herself smiling back at the boy and wondering; what was she worried about in the first place? Always expecting her punishment, she had deemed every interaction about it; A dumb act of foolishness. Like Rigel, like Marco, Maya, Sherry, and Alan, all they wanted was to know her: Ellyn. She deeply thanked the boy in her mind, from the bottom of her heart, for looking at her like a normal girl, and treating her as such. It was a type of feeling of warmth that she had been afraid of, thinking it might burn her... but it wasn't the case at all.

  “Rigel... I’m sorry. Let me... Let me try again.”

  Her shoulders dropped. Relaxed, she met both new acquaintances in their eyes and smiled. Rigel might not know how much he just did for her, but she was incredibly grateful.

  She smiled, “I’m Ellyn. Ellyn Kilde. I… Rigel and Marco helped me out months ago, so I’ve been staying with him since then. I hope we can get along.”

  Darius scratched his chin, “Hm...”

  “It’s like that...” Olivia whispered.

  The two of them looked at the duo in a strange manner before they sank into thought again. Ellyn for a second got as nervous as she was plain confused, what did she do this time? She was seriously trying to not appear weird to them, yet why...?

  “Hey, you two, aren’t you taking too long to respond to a simple greeting?” Rigel said.

  Darius, who wore a stern look, turned to Rigel before speaking:

  “Sorry. But I do have to ask you, Rigel. We are friends, so I think it’s alright to say...”

  “... What?”

  His eyes narrowed.

  “Are you dating this girl?” He asked.

  Rigel’s mind went blank, yet his face shifted to cold-blooded rage in but a moment.

  “What.”

  “... Eh?” Ellyn’s mind went blank too.

  “I mean-” He grinned, “This is the girl you talked about since like, four months ago, right? It feels like each time we meet you had something to say about her. So, we need to come clean about this.”

  “Yeah, yeah!” Olivia chimed in, “It’s not like they are remarkable events either. Most of them are ‘we read a book’ or ‘we had lunch together'. But I understand, you are young and this is your first…”

  His eyes widened, “You guys asked every single time!”

  “...” Ellyn remained still as a statue.

  “You two keep this going and I swear-!”

  “Look. We get it;” Darius interrupted, “we are all looking for someone. Ah, Ellyn, yes? Sorry for taking a bit too long to respond. We got carried away on how our little brother is finally a man, you know?”

  He smiled proudly at Rigel with no hint of lie or mockery on his face. He truly believed his own words… Is what he probably wanted the boy to believe, but Rigel wasn’t easily tricked by that dumb-as-rocks giant anymore. He had already begun thinking of a way to destroy him for this offense. He would pay so dearly his penance would be legendary across the world. That, Rigel swore from the depths of his soul. Olivia smirked from ear to ear as she moved one step closer to Ellyn, in response; Ellyn moved one step away from her. Rigel meanwhile, progressively got redder and angrier; he was already preparing a star to throw at both of them.

  “Listen! I just helped in her recovery! If anything, I’m like an older brother to her!”

  Ellyn immediately turned her head and gave him a doubtful look. Without any words, she placed her palm on the top of his hair and measured his height. Though, she also noticed how soft his hair was, which gave made her want to pet him too. Her estimation was that Rigel was about a full head smaller than hear, perhaps a little more.

  Rigel turned around, grinding his teeth, “Ellyn... What are you doing...?”

  “No, I was just wondering if you really can be my older brother, given how tiny and youthful you are.” She replied

  “... Are you serious?”

  “…” She had a shy grin slowly forming on her face, “No...?”

  “Die.”

  “Pufuhuhu~... Hahaha~!” Olivia broke into laughter from observing them, loud enough to attract everyone’s attention.

  “It’s not funny! I’ll blast all of you!”

  Olivia wiped her tears, “N-no... Well, maybe but... Haa... You two just seem like you get along well.”

  “Hm!” Darius nodded, “It’s nice to see him getting along with someone other than us. It genuinely made me happy, for real.”

  Olivia took both Ellyn’s hands and smiled warmly at her. Ellyn stared directly into her deep-green colored eyes as they flickered with anticipation, as well as a strange look of relief that Ellyn was confuse by. The same familiar sensation she felt earlier sparked for a brief moment before vanishing right at the moment she looked at her, and Ellyn felt slightly embarrassed of her nervousness towards friendly strangers if they weren’t it would be much easier.

  “Sorry for the weird look we gave you. I kinda found out what Darius was thinking and couldn’t help but to play along. I hope you can forgive us for teasing you, but Rigel’s like my little brother, and sometimes I can’t help myself ?.”

  “Oh, I understand. Sometimes I also feel like teasing him” Ellyn replied.

  “I know, right?”

  “Olivia...” Rigel cracked his knuckles, “We are going to talk later.”

  “A-anyway! It’s in the past now! The important thing to me is that anyone that is a good friend of Rigel is also my friend. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  The two of them stepped back and positioned themselves next to each other. Front-facing Ellyn, they wore a confident look on their faces, “My name’s Darius. Darius Duinn. I’m the second in command of The Village’s Volunteer Guards.” The young man said, standing tall and confident of his physique like a hero of eld.

  “Y-You are part of the military?”

  “No, it’s nothing like that,” He scratched his head, “we are just neighbors keeping each other safe.”

  “I’m Olivia Carthach! I’m part of the guards and training to become an adventurer, so I can finish a book.” The young woman said, mischievously posing with a peace sign and show of her body.

  Ellyn tilted her head, “A book? Do you need inspiration or something?”

  “Hehehe… it is a bestiary, but it’s incomplete, you see. I need to be stronger if I’m to even survive out there.”

  “Ah, I see.”

  Rigel sighed. It took too much work to get them to do a simple presentation. He didn’t want to imagine what would happen next with these jesters, “Alright, we are finally done with introducing ourselves. Let’s head back to town already.” He spoke.

  Darius loudly tapped his belly, reminiscent of another man, “Hm! That entire workout has left me in need of something to eat. I bet you too, Olivia.”

  “I’m dying to get rid of this sweat from me and put on something nice and comfy. I also need to sit down. I still feel like my legs are screaming in pain.”

  “That’s good!” He cheered, “It means my technique is working!”

  “Only if it’s meant to kill me!” Olivia stomped on his foot, though it only shocked her own body as her weakened legs almost crumbled from the move. Darius on the other hand remained unfazed.

  “That’s what I said to that old guy Pete years ago, and look at me now, so muscly and strong.”

  “Too bad your brain is as flaccid as a damped pancake.” Rigel intervened, “Can’t even remember where the book you ‘borrowed’ is.”

  The young man rolled his eyes, “That again?!”

  “That again.” Rigel said with arms crossed.

  The trio began walking away towards the village as they chattered amongst themselves. Ellyn looked still from a distance and wondered about just how long they've known each other to act like that… but her train of thought was destroyed by Olivia who rushed to her side and dragged her to them. A single ‘Eep!’ from the girl was all she could say as she was taken away.

  “Don’t lag behind, Ellyn! I’ve got a lot of things to ask you!”

  “O-oh! Uh...”

  As she was dragged by the arm Ellyn turned her head towards Rigel with a concerned look, but she only got a waving hand in response, which made her grow even more worried. Darius and Rigel lagged a few steps behind. After a certain distance was set, Darius broke off his smile into a serene, calm look. His body was relaxed, but his posture remained upright and tall. Rigel also remained calm; he too, wanted to speak to Darius in private, after all.

  “Rigel, I need to ask... Are you REALLY sure about this?”

  “What does that mean?” He replied without turning.

  “You know what I mean, the girl-”

  “You met her already, right?”

  Darius swallowed, “... You know her for longer than me. After what happened, are you certain it is alright?”

  Rigel let out a deep sigh, “No. I’m not sure. In fact, she scares me more than any of you are scared of her. What I saw was no human. It was something way stronger than, and deadlier. I’ll be lying if I said I’m confident in it never appearing again…”

  He clenched his fist, “However, I don’t know why I feel more pity than fear. Why that thing I saw made me sad about her. I wanna find out why… Maybe I’ll find out if I help her in some way. Do you find it strange?”

  Darius thought for a second, and then he replied: “Maybe… I don’t fully get it, but if you really feel like you need to see it through, then I’ll respect that.”

  Rigel walked forward, recalling the two sides of Ellyn that he met. First the demon-like girl during the night of the incident, then the quiet teaser girl he met inside Marco’s home. Yet he wasn’t sure of what to make of Ellyn as a person. The girl from the outside was an anomaly amongst anomalies, a two-toned entity that didn’t make sense to him, nor could he imagine what it was like to exist in such a way. Immense power under a frame that might fall apart at any moment in a monstrous fashion, it was like her very existence was proof the gods’ sense of humor is nothing less than the most wicked and twisted of them all.

  “...Thanks, I mean it.”

  The young man smiled, “Alright then. I’ll trust your judgment. Let’s get going, I’m starving.”

  “Right! Let’s go.” Rigel smiled back

  The two silently walked towards Ellyn and Olivia.

  No other word on that matter was spoken after that.