The group had been caught by the guards at the entrance and were placed under house arrest.
“Daaah! We’ve been caught!” Nina’s voice echoed in the room they were led to in the mansion.
“I know you’re saying that, but I guess this is how it would turn out.”
“Indeed. It’s probably for the best that we’re just under house arrest near the town,” Sharin replied. Nina gnashed her teeth, looking frustrated by Sharin’s answer.
Incidentally, the building they were confined to was quite spacious, with several rooms. It didn’t seem uncomfortable. But they couldn’t stay like this forever. They had to think of a way to escape as soon as possible.
All the windows were closed, and likely guards were watching from the surroundings. Still, it was quite something that we, without any titles, were being this closely watched. Wondering what to do, I was about to sit on a sofa nearby when I heard a knock on the door. All eyes turned to the entrance of the room.
After a moment, a youth from the Elf race entered the room gently. No, that’s wrong. A harpy… no, that’s not right either. Their clear, beautiful eyes were different colors, deep blue and purple, one on each side. They had long, light greenish-blue hair, long, feathered ears, and bird-like feet similar to Piyo’s. Their clothes consisted of a poncho covering half their body and expensive-looking brown shorts. What kind of being was this youth? Or perhaps a girl? What race even was it? Could it be a new member of the harpy tribe?
As we stood there frozen in surprise, they swiftly approached us and bowed.
“Hello, I am Karum. I will be taking care of you all for the time being. Please take care of me.”
“Uh, well, I am Arisugawa Hiroaki. Please take care of me…”
“Boku,” so it’s a boy, right? Come to think of it, I feel like I’ve often been confused about gender since coming to this world. Anyway, this person is our caretaker and a guard, I suppose. They are wearing a slender sword at their waist.
“Excuse me, I’ll prepare some tea right away. Please enjoy the snacks while you wait.”
They smiled, curving their thin lips. Piyo, who had already stuffed their mouth with snacks, looked at Kalm awkwardly. Then, they bustled off towards the kitchen. We naturally exchanged glances.
“Is that person an elf, or perhaps a harpy?”
“I thought they were a harpy, but Piyo, what do you think?”
“Mugugu, maybe a harpy?”
Philiana and Nina began whispering. If they were harpies, they should have wings. Perhaps they were hiding them under that poncho. Even if this town is dominated by elves, it’s not strange for other races to live there. For the time being, I sat down on the sofa and considered our next steps.
If they were a guard, we first had to deceive their eyes. Karubene should handle that role, creating some sort of disturbance. Then, the remaining members would take advantage of the commotion. Only a few would leave. It was dangerous, but those few would head for Shindo. We’d research that in the library, and then… Ugh, I can’t picture what comes after that. Even if we found out the truth there, our numbers would be too small. And what would happen to the members left behind? In that case, I’m sorry, but this youth…
“I’m back. Please enjoy.”
Kalm quietly placed the cups on the table. I don’t know this youth’s true strength. I couldn’t act because I couldn’t read them.
“Oh, please don’t mind me and make yourselves comfortable,” Veronica said, leaning against the wall, breaking the strange tension.
“Hey, is it okay to smoke here?”
