CHAPTER 3 FROM THE NORTH MOUNTAINS
Well this is a problem…Aiz thought.
A fireplace crackled. The room’s warmth penetrated the chill that had gotten into her bones from the rain. Aiz had stripped off her battle gear and underwear, leaving her naked as she wiped down her supple, smooth arms. She glanced to the side.
“Ah, you’re really pretty, Miss Aiz…I’m sorry all I have to offer is my tacky clothes. I’ll at least pick out the cutest outfit I have for you!”
Seeing Aiz’s gorgeous figure, which most adventurers couldn’t possibly ignore, the good-natured village girl enthusiastically prepared an armful of clothes. The way her eyes sparkled in excitement reminded Aiz of Lefiya, so Aiz could guess what was about to happen to her.
Though she was certainly somewhat concerned about being used as a doll for dress-up, the bigger issue was the situation they had landed in.
Rakia had somehow managed to kidnap a goddess.
Upon hearing the news, many gods and goddesses as well as representatives from various familias gathered at the north gate. Amid that confusion, Aiz had volunteered to rescue Hestia.
Bell from Hestia Familia had volunteered as well. Loki and Finn, who had taken over as commanders of the Orario forces, had approved it, so she and Bell formed an emergency two-man rescue party.
Directly after setting out from Orario, they caught up to the Rakian army in the Beor Mountain Range that lay due north of the city, but in the ensuing skirmish, the captive goddess, Hestia, had been knocked off a cliff into a valley. Bell jumped from the mountain path down the cliff face before anyone else could move and Aiz followed after—that was how disaster struck.
The Beor Mountain Range was a collection of peaks that formed a natural fortress. There were extant monster species that had first emerged back during the Ancient Times, and the Devil Mountains’ extreme inclines and poor trails made it easy to get lost, even for an adventurer used to exploring the Dungeon. Heading out in the current torrential rain was simply asking for trouble.
In the midst of all that, the ones who lent them a helping hand were the residents of Edas Village.
“All right, perfect! You look way better than I ever did in it!”
“Thank you…”
Her time as the village girl’s dress-up doll was shorter than expected. Aiz had donned a long red skirt with colorful embroidery, a white blouse, and a multicolored button-up vest. She looked like an average village girl, but it was much cuter than her standard adventurer’s battle clothes and equipment. Plus, she wasn’t used to dressing in this style of clothing. Aiz blushed ever so slightly. Rina, the human girl standing before her, broke into a smile.
After falling into the valley, they had been attacked by monsters. The residents of Edas Village had found them after hearing the cries of the monsters and guided them back to here. They were shown to the largest residence, which belonged to the village elder.
Rina was the elder’s daughter.
“Oh, Miss Adventurer…Have you finished changing?”
“Yes. Thank you for everything.”
After leaving Rina’s room and going into the hallway, she ran into the village elder himself.
His name was Kam. With dull white hair and a small beard, he was well into his twilight years and walked with a cane. He was a human like his daughter, Rina, but he was paler. Aiz could tell he was afflicted by some kind of sickness.
She smiled pleasantly in her new outfit for the kind old man who was making such an effort to care for them despite his condition.
“It really suits you. You almost look like a goddess.”
“…Thank you very much.”
Blushing, Aiz could only repeat her thanks.
Kam smiled slightly, and he seemed almost nostalgic as he admired her long golden hair and beauty that could rival the gods themselves. Shaking his head slightly, he spoke again.
“The goddess…Lady Hestia’s condition doesn’t seem critical. Bell is in the inner room taking care of her.”
“Okay…”
“I told Bell the same, but please make yourself at home here. If there are any problems, feel free to ask Rina or someone else. Ask for anything at all.”
Rina smiled in agreement. Aiz lowered her head in thanks for their incredible hospitality.
“Ah…Aiz.”
“Everything okay?”
“Fine. She’s just sleeping now…”
Hestia was sleeping on the bed and Bell sat right beside her, watching over her rest as a fire crackled in the hearth. Aiz had actually been asking about Bell, who was clearly worn out, but all he could think of at the moment was Hestia.
Unlike the two adventurers, Hestia was as weak as the average person when her Arcanum was sealed. Thanks to Bell shielding her, she wasn’t terribly injured, but in addition to falling into the valley, she had been drenched in the downpour.
Mm-hmm…This is…problematic.
Until Hestia recovered, they couldn’t leave this village.
Even though they had been in an accident, it wouldn’t be that difficult for Aiz to return to Orario by herself. All she had to do was head for a place where she could get a clear view, then set a course to the city. Even if she had to blaze her own path, she could make it down the mountain without issue. However, the Rakians were still in the area.
They wouldn’t stop Aiz, but they had more than enough to surround and defeat a second-tier adventurer like Bell. If Hestia was kidnapped again while Aiz was busy getting help from Orario, she wouldn’t be able to live with herself.
After they’d carried Hestia to this residence, Aiz had gone out again searching for the path they had fought on earlier, but she couldn’t find a trace of the enemy. It was hard to imagine they had noticed Edas Village, at least…But the best option was for all three of them to move together. After talking it over with Bell earlier, she had agreed to this plan.
“Aiz, I’m really sorry…for causing so much trouble.”
“It’s fine…Besides…it’s not your fault.”
This was the third time Bell had apologized for getting her involved, but she only shook her head.
He looked up apologetically and reacted with surprise when he finally noticed her village-girl outfit. Then, as if realizing he was blushing, he quickly turned away.
Aiz tilted her head in confusion, not sure why he was the one getting embarrassed. Eventually, she peered out the window
The rain was still pouring in the dark night.
Are Tione, Tiona, and Lefiya worried…? It’s probably a problem for Finn and Loki, too…
Their familia was trying to deal with the Evils that were rearing their head. This wasn’t the time for one of the core members of Loki Familia to be somewhere far away from Orario, but…
Aiz imagined her comrades’ faces as she said a silent apology to each of them, with the high elf last of all.
Riveria…will probably get mad at me.
Outside the city—far from her home—that thought suddenly came to mind.
Along with it was the unfamiliar feeling of a child being scolded by her mother for coming home late.
Harsh weather persistently hung over the Beor Mountain Range.
It was their second day staying in the village. Aiz watched the rain continue to fall from the windowsill.
Another search-and-rescue squad would probably be forming up in Orario around now. But in this weather, the risk of another accident was high, so they wouldn’t range out too far afield looking for them.
Because of the rain, Aiz couldn’t leave the house, either. She was disappointed she couldn’t do her daily practice, but she couldn’t bring herself to swing a sword inside a house they were borrowing.
Looking around, she could see a few people out walking around in rain gear. They seemed to be preparing for something, carrying what looked to be ritual tools.
“I’m sorry for asking you to help me with the chores.”
“No problem…You’re letting us stay here, after all.”
Aiz snapped back to her senses as the girl next to her spoke up.
Rina was smiling as she shook her black hair back and forth. Aiz was standing in the washing area.
Unlike Orario, this village far up in the mountains didn’t have magic-stone technology everywhere. Apparently, they usually pulled water from a nearby spring, but at the moment, they were using a bucket filled with rainwater.
“I’d heard stories before, but adventurers from Orario are really amazing. Falling into the valley without getting hurt and even clearing out a horde of monsters, all without breaking a sweat.”
“Hmm? I guess I’m used to it?”
“Ah-ha-ha. So I guess there are a lot of adventurers like you in Orario.”
“Have you ever been…?”
“I’ve never gone. I haven’t left the village much. I’m interested, but I have to take care of my dad.”
Rina was a good-natured, caring girl. A total sweetheart.
Aiz thought she was far more attractive than herself, a woman of few words and muted expression.
From listening to her talk, she gathered they were around the same age. However, despite being her father, Kam was old enough to be her grandfather. Aiz was curious about that, but she kept it to herself.
“Has this village always been here?”
“Yes. They say its history goes back to the Ancient Times. It used to be an elf village.”
Aiz was surprised to hear that, but it made sense. Deep inside the harsh mountaintops, surrounded by precipitous rock faces, this was the perfect place for a hidden settlement.
Edas Village was apparently a gathering of people who had abandoned the world.
Humans who had fallen into despair at their situation and demi-humans who had gotten into trouble, people who had fallen in love with someone from another race—anyone who had lost their place in the world. The residents of this village had welcomed those who wandered into the Beor Mountain Range since long ago. There were even some stray adventurers who had been chased out of Orario. More than half the villagers were descendants of those wanderers for one reason or another. Because of their background, they were tolerant of outsiders and people who had run into trouble like Aiz’s group.
It wasn’t marked on any map, a village for drifters who had nowhere else to go.
A world I didn’t know existed…
For Aiz, who had spent all her time swinging her sword deep in Orario’s Dungeon, it was a world she had never encountered before. Aiz was woefully ignorant and inexperienced with anything that didn’t relate directly to fighting and the Dungeon. That was exactly why Riveria and the others had tried to expose her to various different things when she was younger.
There was one time Riveria had invited her out.
“Why don’t you try traveling outside Orario once?”
At the time, Aiz was desperate to obtain more power as soon as possible, so she had refused the offer, but she thought she understood now what Riveria had wanted to convey to her.
She didn’t know anything. About this Earth—about the world as it was now.
“Thank you very much. That’s everything.”
“If you need help with anything else…”
“In that case, could you go check on the goddess for me? With this rain, there are so many things I have to get done…”
Rina looked a little embarrassed as she accepted Aiz’s offer to continue helping.
With a fresh towel and a bucket of water, Aiz headed to the room where Hestia was resting.
“Ah…I’m sorry for asking you to get supplies.”
“No need…Here.”
Bell turned around when Aiz entered the room. He was still sitting in the chair next to the bed like he had been the day before.
After exchanging a couple of words with him, she handed over the simple bucket. The boy wet a towel in the water and wrung it out before replacing the cloth lying across the goddess’s forehead. He also refilled the water pitcher absentmindedly. Aiz couldn’t exactly take care of a different familia’s patron deity, so she simply watched, leaving it to the goddess’s follower. Bell’s motions seemed well practiced.
It was like she was peeking into the very beginnings of the tiny familia that had consisted of just the two of them until recently. Or perhaps it was simply his upbringing. Either way, Aiz felt like she was getting a glimpse of another side of him she hadn’t seen before. He had probably tended to someone before Hestia, perhaps a family member.
“Uuunnn…”
“Ah. Goddess. Are you okay? Do you need anything?”
At that point, Hestia’s eyes opened.
As Bell leaned in, she said, “I’m fine, thank you…” before turning her blue-tinted eyes toward Aiz.
“I’m sorry, Wallensomething…I caused…you a lot of trouble.”
“No…”
“Also…thank you. For helping Bell…and me.”
The goddess offered a sincere apology and gratitude. Though she was still suffering from a fever, she managed to smile.
Aiz felt like whenever they met, Hestia was always giving her warnings or advice, but the goddess had a genuine divinity about her, too. She and that simple boy made a good familia.
“I’m sorry, Bell…Is it okay if I go back to sleep?”
“Yes, of course. Take your time and rest.”
Hestia lowered her eyes apologetically, her voice tinged with fatigue. Bell nodded kindly and adjusted her blanket.
Watching him provide such tender care and attention, Aiz suddenly thought of Riveria.
She couldn’t remember anymore, but they had probably played out this scenario themselves.
“She’s…much better…”
“Yes…Thanks to Kam and the others…and you.”
There was an empty plate atop a small table in the room. Hestia had eaten the porridge set out this morning, apparently. Her voice had regained much of its strength as well. She wasn’t fully recovered, but her condition had improved greatly after a day’s rest.
Hestia was lightly sweating, but Aiz decided it would be better for her or Rina to towel her off later. She shifted her gaze to Bell.
“Did you…get any rest?”
He was still in the exact same spot as the day before, continuing to take care of the goddess.
Bell had scarcely left the room. The boy didn’t appear too tired on the outside, but she could tell that he had stayed up all night.
“It’s nothing. I may look like a mess, but I am a Level Three, after all.”
It was true that adventurers who had leveled up were significantly tougher than the average person. It might have been a different story in the Dungeon, where just standing inside could be draining, but one or two all-nighters here wouldn’t be the end of the world…But that was no excuse to force things, either.
As Bell tried to laugh it off, Aiz countered quietly.
“You need to rest. You were…running around the mountain yesterday.”
“…”
“Hestia…wouldn’t want this, either…I think.”
Gnawing her lip as she struggled to find the words, Aiz somehow managed to speak her thoughts. She spoke quietly so that their conversation wouldn’t find its way into the goddess’s dreams.
Bell’s smile withered, and he looked down.
“But it’s my fault…I caused so many problems for the goddess and you…”
He closed his rubellite eyes once, then shifted his gaze to the goddess as his sentence trailed off. Aiz thought that Bell’s kindness and modesty were virtues, but they were also a source of his painful tendency to be self-deprecating. She had already told him last night that none of this was his fault, but he still blamed himself.
“All this happened because the goddess and I got into a fight…If it wasn’t for that, she wouldn’t have gotten kidnapped…”
The boy had suddenly taken things in a totally unexpected direction.
“A fight…? You…and Hestia?”
“Ah, no…Not really a fight per se, but…Anyway, it’s complicated…”
Aiz was genuinely surprised as he struggled to correct himself before trailing off into silence once more. She couldn’t imagine the gentle boy before her getting into a fight with anyone, let alone his goddess. Even Aiz, who was generally blind to people’s unspoken thoughts, could tell that something had happened.
As she stared at him, Bell looked even more uncomfortable than before. Making up her mind, she pulled a chair next to the boy and sat down.
“A-Aiz…?”
“…”
“Uh, um…”
“…Talk.”
“Eh?”
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