Chapter 143
We followed the forest wolf through the forest, and by the time the sun started to set, we arrived at the village . I immediately noticed that the roofs of many houses had windmills . They probably got a lot of wind here then .
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“Ruff!”
The forest wolf barked and then darted off . It seemed that we had been right about it being a guard dog here . A lone monster would not have run into the village like that, and the forest wolf had been wagging its tail before abandoning us . I almost thought the tail would fly off on its own .
“Ah, he’s come back! Hey, Mido! Marco’s returned!”
An old man came rushing out of a house after hearing the forest wolf bark…well, actually, he wasn’t that old . Maybe middle-aged . He squatted down to hug the wolf before turning around to call for someone else . This was followed by a young boy appearing from the back of the house . From what I understood of the situation, this sweaty boy was the wolf’s owner . He must have been frantically searching all over for his wolf . Was the older man waiting in the house just in case the wolf returned? I could tell by how happy they were, that they had been incredibly worried .
“Marco! Ah, I’m so happy… But, you’re terribly hurt! …Oh, but were you treated?”
“We helped him because he was wounded . ”
I called out once they calmed down and started to inspect the forest wolf…Marco . At this, the two stopped hugging Marco and looked up at us .
“Adventurers… You helped him?”
“Yeah . I found him covered in blood in the forest . So I had him drink some potions . ”
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
The boy called Mido stood up and bowed . Daniela patted him on the head .
“But it is a surprise to hear that Adventurers found a monster without killing it…”
They were happy to see their forest wolf returned . However, they could not help but wonder at the reason . They seemed almost suspicious of me .
“Well, I have a connection with the forest wolves . So I try not to kill them unless they attack me first . ”
“Oh…?”
The older man rubbed his chin as he stared at me . It was quite rude, to be honest . But given the circumstances, I pretended not to notice . Daniela saw that I did nothing and followed suit .
“Oh, right . Uh…Marco? He led us to this village . And we were wondering if there are any inns here?”
“So you are travelers then?”
“Yes . ”
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The man looked at our clothes and weapons and nodded .
“This is a very small village as it happens . We have no inns . ”
“…I see . Well, we’ll find a spot where we won’t get in anyone’s way then . ”
“Then you must stay with us . ”
The man suggested with a bright smile . This was a rather sudden change in attitude…though, it was welcome, regardless .
“I believe that I can trust you . Besides, we must thank you for helping Marco . ”
“Yes! Please stay with us!”
Mido let go of Marco and stood up so he could pull Daniela and me by the hand .
“Are you sure?”
“Aye . Stay and rest . ”
The man started to lead the way . I glanced over to Daniela . ‘Well, I guess we have no choice . ’ She said with her eyes . Yeah…we’ll have to accept their hospitality for a night .
“Thank you . Uh…”
“Oh, I haven’t introduced myself yet . I’m Yis . And you?”
“I’m Asagi . This is Daniela . Nice to meet you . ”
“A pleasure . ”
“Aye, the pleasure is mine . Welcome to Dana village . Now, please come inside . ”
Yis opened the door for us, and so we went inside . Mido and Marco followed .
The house had multiple rooms and the first one we entered was the living room . There were several other doors connecting from there . According to Yis, he had built the other rooms himself . Indeed, it was unusual for there to be a house this big in such a small village .
Out of the rooms, two were Mido and Yis’s rooms while one was a storage room . The last room was given to me and Daniela for the night . We would also be having dinner with them . It was to show our gratitude to them for letting us stay . Well, I would be the one cooking .
“Do you have ingredients?”
“Yes . As we travel a lot, I keep a lot of things in my bag . ”
“I see… A hollow bag . That is rare…”
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Yis looked surprised when I pulled out some meat and vegetables from the bag . I felt a little embarrassed . It’s not like I bought it myself… I hope Russell was doing well . I was really starting to miss Fhiraldo . Some of the things that happened really sucked, but the town had so much more to offer, including some great people . Besides, it’s where I met Daniela .
“Hm? What, Asagi?”
“Uhh, nothing . Alright, I’m getting serious tonight!”
And out came the ingredients . Meat, vegetables, fish, fruits . The fish were river fish . I had caught them by attaching a strip of vine and using some sharp monster bones as hooks and then holding it over the water with some bait . The fish looked quite edible . Good, even . It would be grilled with some salt . The meat and vegetables were fried separately with the special sauce . After that, I made some soup . It was a little spicey . The fruits were squeezed to make juice, which balanced out the meal nicely .
I put all of the dishes down on the table and gave Marco some meat that I had cooked separately .
“Sorry to keep you waiting . Now, dig in!”
“Ah, don’t mind if I do . ”
“Thank you!”
“Ruff!”
“Munch-munch . ”
Yis and Mido put their hands together before eating . Marco barked happily before digging in . Daniela tore into the fish straightway as if she was done waiting . After the first bite, everyone was smiling . Good . I was relieved that they liked it . Now, time to eat my own…
“Hey, Daniela . ”
“Mmm . . mm . . hmm?”
“Where’s my fish?”
“Mmm…gulp . Why, it is right here . In my stomach . ”
“…”
I don’t know what it was about Daniela, but all I could think of was, ‘oh, so it tasted that good, eh?’ She really was…there was no use, really .
After the meal, we drank the fruit juice and talked merrily . Well, it was mostly me talking about our adventures . Daniela had eaten too much and was outside walking it off .
“I see… You two have sure seen your share of hardships . ”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that . We’ve only started traveling recently . I haven’t been adventuring that long either…”
“Still, you must be very skilled to have gone up against so many orcs . ”
“Ahahahaha . You should know, I’m immune to flattery . ”
Yis laughed as he drained his cup .
“Well, it just so happens, Asagi, that I have a favor to ask of you . ”
“Really? I hope it’s not something too difficult…”
“No . You saw how wounded Marco was . The reason for that is, well, a monster has been attacking the village’s livestock . ”
Yis said while he stared at the table . I looked down to Marco, who was sleeping on the floor . His deepest wounds had healed, but there was a very visible scar .
“…To be honest, I would like to do something about the monster who did this . ”
“I’m very glad to hear it . Well, you can, of course, think about it . I’m sure you’ll want to discuss it with Miss Daniela . ”
“Yes, thank you . ”
I would talk to her when she returned . We continued to talk after that, though this time Yis told me about himself .
He had been an Adventurer once . He had hunted many monsters in many places, but a grievous wound had forced him to retire . Ever since then, he had lived quietly in this village where he was born .
It was during that time that Mido and Marco had come to the village together . This sudden arrival of a boy and monster had caused an uproar in the village .
“Many people wanted to kill them . But I knew that the boy meant no harm, and so I was strongly against it . ”
“How did you know?”
I asked, and Yis gave me a hard stare .
“Hmm . I thought that you knew . ”
“You mean, when you were observing us in the beginning?”
“Ah, so you do know . ”
“I don’t understand how it works . But I had an idea . ”
Yis looked satisfied with this as he ran a finger over his left eyelid .
“A fairy tinkered with this eye . It was a long time ago when I was greatly injured . A fairy helped me, but there was a mishap . ”
“A mishap?”
Yis looked like he was trying to suppress a roar of laughter as he recalled it .
“Quite a mishap, too . This fairy had forgotten that human eyes are different from fairy eyes . And so now, this eye can see good and evil in people . ”
Yis added that he may originally have been the type of person that fairies were fond of .
“So, fairies can see good and evil as well?”
“Aye . Though, not many people know it . Miss Daniela, she can see fairies too, can’t she? She must have understood what I was seeing . ”
“Interesting…”
Daniela had a tendency of becoming a poor talker when it mattered . Or she just forgets to tell me important things… Or maybe she just thought I already knew . That was nice in a way, but perhaps she had too much trust in me . I was still an ignorant person from another world .
“Well, that was how I developed this unique skill . It’s called Eye of Character . As the name suggests, it allows me to see a person’s character . ”
“I had no idea that skills could develop in such a way . ”
“It is definitely unusual . But it allowed me to save Mido’s life . And Marco is well . Hahaha . All good things . ”
I drained my cup . But it was just juice . Not the best way to end a meal .
Just then, the window in the living room began to rattle . It seemed like a strong wind, but that was a little strange, given the time…and then something slapped my cheek . I turned in surprise, but no one was there . I just felt a gentle breeze move towards the door .
“Was that…a spirit?”
“The wind is strong . Something might have happened out there . ”
“Wind… Do you think that something might have happened to Daniela?”
I frantically went for my sword, but Yis grabbed my arm .
“Wait, Asagi . I’ll go too . ”
“Thank you!”
“I hoped that we would have a peaceful night…but it looks like it’s come . I can tell . ”
“It?”
I tried to calm down as I waited for his reply . Yis picked up his own sword that was against the wall . He turned to me with a serious expression .
“The wyvern . ”