The Insectoid Researcher male was bombarded with questions by Pauline.
The Insectoid Researcher man, observing Pauline as he circled her, was writing something down.
“Your clothes are…”
“I bought them and embroidered them myself. I thought they were too plain and boring.”
“Who taught you that? Your companions? Do you get sick from being separated from your flock?”
Pauline was at a loss due to the endless stream of questions.
“I did it myself. At first, I felt strange, but now I’m fine.”
The man nodded, “Hmm, hmm,” as he scribbled with his pen. Nina peeked at it from the side.
“Why would this child get sick?”
“Ah, species that live in flocks like these experience role and physical changes due to the hormones each other emits.”
“Hmm, so you mean the effect disappears when you’re alone. Besides, your handwriting is terrible.”
Was that really possible? I hadn’t thought about it at all. Perhaps Pauline had been suffering without us knowing.
“Hey, we want to get going now, is that okay?”
“Are you leaving already? Could I accompany you for a little longer?”
Nina narrowed her eyes as he directed a dazzling gaze at her. Well, it was fine, but I didn’t think there would be anything particularly interesting if he tagged along. On the contrary, he might get caught up in danger.
“Oh, that’s right. You were looking for a Giant Centipede, weren’t you? If so, there’s one to the south of here. I hear they coexist with another species.”
“Wh-what?! Where is that!”
I told the man to ask at the Naga Village ahead. Although he was frustrated about Pauline, he set off running towards the unseen sight.
“Phew, I’m glad. Just thinking about someone like that tagging along doubles my fatigue.”
“Fuu, me too. Being asked so many questions, I didn’t know what to do.”
Nina and Pauline sighed in unison. It must have been a disaster for Pauline, in particular. She was bombarded with questions by a researcher who suddenly appeared.
“So, what’s our next objective?”
“There’s a Dark Harpy village near here. But it’ll be difficult for all of us to go. So, everyone else will stay at the camp, and I’ll go alone to resupply.”
Nina nodded in understanding. Especially since she was a Naga Tribe, she must have had a bad relationship with Dark Harpies. She decided to cause as little trouble as possible and get only what was necessary.
After a short rest, we resumed our journey. We cut our way through the overgrown grass on the rough road. As I wiped the sweat from my brow, a strange sound, “Maa,” suddenly came from under my feet.
Looking down in a hurry, I saw several creatures resembling tadpoles in a small puddle. They were emitting strange sounds like “Kyuu” and “Puu” towards my feet.
“Whoa, what is this! So cute!”
“Hey, Piyo, don’t touch it without permission. It might be something strange again.”
As Piyo reached out to touch them, they scattered and let out sounds of various pitches. It was like a chorus of tadpoles. It was probably a warning, but it was amusing to watch. Piyo was starting to get covered in mud, so I had to forcibly stop him.
“Hehe, there are strange creatures here too. If they cry with such voices, I’d want to gather them and listen.”
“If they kept crying, it would be unbearably noisy.”
Philiana and Nina laughed, watching the tadpoles hopping around their feet.
We walked for a while longer, and as the sun began to set, we set up camp. Beyond here lies a Flower Harpy village. Once we could resupply, we would head there.
“I’m going to go for a bit.”
“I’ll go with you. We don’t know what kind of residents are there.”
Sharin, as always, came with me. Honestly, I felt uneasy going alone, so I was grateful. I asked if she didn’t need to rest, but Dark Harpies are nocturnal, so the shops wouldn’t be open if not after sunset.
We left the camp and headed towards the village. As we moved away from our companions, their liveliness disappeared, and we were enveloped in a strange tension. We might be attacked by ruffians looking for valuables. The surroundings were surrounded by tall grass and trees. As we walked, sweat trickling down my back, I saw buildings in an open area.
It was more accurate to call them simple huts rather than houses. Besides them, horse-drawn carts and residences like house trailers were scattered about. Empty bottles littered the ground, and trash bags were haphazardly tossed into dirty trash cans.
“It doesn’t seem very safe.”
As Sharin said, it was understandable why the Nagaraja would struggle with this.
