In the cold forest, we finally managed to meet a giant.
For the time being, I first told him that I wanted to speak with the village chief. He didn’t seem suspicious and appeared to be leading us there.
As we walked through the village, residents began to gather from who knows where, drawn by the rumors. As expected of giants, even the women were much larger than me. It became a small festival with the arrival of unfamiliar outsiders.
“Huh? What’s this? So cute!”
“There are so many of you. Where did you come from?”
From their perspective, we must have been no bigger than children. Still, thanks to that, we weren’t being treated with suspicion at the moment. The man headed deeper into the mountain. It seemed he had work to do further ahead.
“Hey! We have guests! Izy, are you there?”
So, the village chief’s name was Izy. A man holding a giant axe then turned towards us from ahead.
“What is it? It’s unusual to see you here. What’s up?”
“They say these guys are looking for a place to stay.”
Izy wiped the sweat from his brow and looked down at us.
“Hello. My name is Hiroaki. I’m traveling, and we were wondering if you could lend us some lodging.”
“Hmm, as you can see, this village isn’t really a place for entertaining guests.”
“Even a stable is fine. Please.”
Perhaps feeling it would be cruel to simply turn us away, Izy led us to his home.
“I only have a vacant hut, but would that be alright?”
“Yes, that’s more than enough.”
While it might have been a small hut to them, it was sufficient for us. As expected, there were various things stored inside, but we could at least leave our luggage.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen travelers. And nothing but young women, too. What did you guys come all this way to see?”
Alright, it’s time to get down to business.
“We came to find the Hummingbird Har.”
Upon hearing that, the village chief’s expression, which had been vacant until then, changed completely. Suspicion flickered in his eyes, and the muscles in his face tensed.
“I’m telling you for your own good, stop this.”
“Why is that?”
“I’ve seen too many people like you before. Those who went into the forest never returned. Do you know what kind of race they are?”
“The smallest and most beautiful Harpy in the world.”
He nodded in agreement, but it didn’t seem to be the whole story.
“They are truly living jewels. But anyone who has come into contact with them has vanished without exception. We don’t get involved either. Are you hunters?”
“No, we’re not, but what do you mean by hunters?”
“Fools who dream of getting rich quick. There are plenty of eccentric wealthy people who would pay any amount.”
It seemed we wouldn’t be able to meet them easily. Well, if it had been that simple, they would have already fallen into someone’s hands.
“Still, we have to meet them.”
“I’ve given you my warning. Also, the forest has been acting strangely lately. Because of that, even we can’t venture into it anymore.”
With that, Izy returned to his work. I didn’t understand what he meant by the forest acting strangely, but I felt I needed more information.
“So, what should we do? Let’s rest here for a bit and then depart.”
“Yes, and it would be good if we could gather some information about the forest in the meantime.”
Philiana unloaded the cart she was pulling. This would likely be their last resting point. If they ventured further into the forest, they wouldn’t know what awaited them.
I leaned against a block of straw in the hut. Of course, there would be battles. Honestly, I didn’t want to fight anymore, but the ultimate goal was to thwart the ambitions of Auroa, the man leading the Dark Elf. There was no way this could be resolved through mere discussion.
Suddenly, I noticed the sun beginning to set. It seemed I had fallen asleep. Looking around, some of my companions had already gone somewhere. Beside me was Philiana, who had also been resting.
“Ah, you’re awake?”
“Haha, I guess I dozed off. Would you like to look around the village a bit?”
“Yes, of course.”
Philiana put away the book she was reading and stood up. It seemed the scent of dinner preparations drifted from the gaps in the windows of various homes.
“Hehe, I’m getting hungry. Oh, hello.”
Someone seemed to be peeking out from the shadow of a house. When Philiana waved, they quickly retreated. It appeared a village youth had come to see Philiana.
“Is there something you need?”
“Ah, a-ah, no. U-uh, umm…”
The young man, blushing furiously, tried to play it cool, puffing out his lips. As for me, I was just here on reconnaissance and had no particular interest, or so I must appear.
“Not really, my old man said guests were here. I just came to see. You’re smaller than I thought.”
Ah, he was clearly curious but ended up saying something rude. His flustered state was both pathetic and endearing.
