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The Erul Tribe village was currently in chaos due to various problems.
First, the village atmosphere had drastically worsened as the health of the priestess rapidly deteriorated.
Second, some villagers had independently infiltrated a noble’s territory, which was bad enough, but they were all captured as prisoners and were now under pressure to negotiate.
Neither the first nor the second issue was a problem that could be easily dismissed.
As the villagers grew uneasy, the council of elders, the village’s leadership, felt the heat.
“How did this happen…”
An elder of the Erul Tribe groaned with a pained voice, his face marked with deep wrinkles and a scruffy beard. The other elders sitting beside him also wore troubled expressions.
The oldest man seated at the highest position in the council spoke up first.
“Is there no other way to help our fallen priestess?”
“Yes, Great Elder. The village healers are monitoring the priestess’s condition day and night, but so far, they haven’t had any success.”
“Ugh…”
Deep sighs erupted among the elders.
“Shouldn’t we invite a healer from outside the village?”
“To entrust the priestess’s treatment to an outsider is… is…”
“In a situation where no successor has been decided, shouldn’t our top priority be to restore the priestess’s health?”
“She is not young anymore. Even if we bring in a healer from outside, how effective would it be?”
The gathered elders each voiced their opinions. Many words were exchanged in an instant, but the atmosphere only grew more chaotic, and no useful suggestions were made.
“Ahem!”
The Great Elder, as he was called, loudly cleared his throat to calm the chaotic atmosphere. He then asked the Erul Tribe man who had answered his question earlier.
“How is the prisoner negotiation going?”
“We’ve finished a brief exchange of opinions with the other party before starting the formal negotiations. The captured prisoners are all being treated properly. However…”
The man, who had been smoothly explaining, furrowed his brow and hesitated.
“Is there a problem with the negotiation?”
“Well… The territory our captured villagers had infiltrated seems to have had more influence than we initially thought.”
“What do you mean? Didn’t we first think it was a small territory in a remote area, with the lord having only recently received a noble title?”
“I thought so too at first. But when I looked closely at those who came for the negotiation, that wasn’t the case at all. Three influential nobles from a powerful family appeared, and even the Demon Lord’s Castle seemed to be monitoring the situation.”
“Heh…”
The Great Elder let out a bitter laugh at the man’s explanation. Murmurs grew among the other listening elders.
The Erul Tribe had maintained its independence and minimal relations with its neighbors since ancient times, but that didn’t mean they could completely ignore their surroundings.
It was bad enough dealing with powerful noble families, but now the Demon Lord’s Castle was getting involved?
The Great Elder felt a sudden headache, and the expressions of the other elders darkened as they realized the gravity of the situation.
In the midst of the chaotic atmosphere, someone abruptly stood up and pointed at one side of the room. Over there, a group of Erul Tribe elders with red fur were gathered.
“It’s all because of you guys acting on your own!”
The other elders, excluding the red Erul Tribe members, nodded and chimed in.
“You’re right.”
“How will you take responsibility for this situation?”
One of the red Erul Tribe members calmly responded.
“I acknowledge the mistake of my subordinates acting independently. But isn’t your side guilty of the same thing?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you secretly send Anis and Daur to that territory? Did you think we wouldn’t know that there’s a child with the blood of the priestess there?”
“Hmph! You’re the ones who started this sinister plan.”
The face of the elder on the other side turned red at the red Erul Tribe elder’s shameless response.
“Are you saying this situation is our fault?”
“Did I say anything wrong?”
“You… insolent… you arrogant brat!”
The agitated elder shouted so loudly that his body shook. If those around him hadn’t stopped him, he would have charged at the red Erul Tribe elder immediately.
“Enough! This is disgraceful behavior for people holding the title of elder!”
The head elder’s shout made the atmosphere in the room turn icy cold.
As the elders glanced at each other, the head elder let out a small sigh.
“Sigh… This morning, I received word that Daur and Anis will arrive soon with some guests.”
Upon hearing the news about the guests, various emotions appeared on the faces of the elders.
“The lord of the territory where our people were captured for trespassing claims to be the guardian of a Erul Tribe child and is coming here.”
-Murmurs.
-Murmurs.
As soon as they heard that the lord was personally coming here, the murmuring among the elders grew louder.
The head elder waited for the murmurs to die down before speaking again.
“I will receive them as ordinary guests. If they demand an apology for our wrongdoing, I am willing to oblige. I hope that no one here will engage in any unnecessary actions.”
At the head elder’s firm stance, the other elders bowed their heads in unison. However, the unseen glances in their eyes shone with different meanings.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Wow…”
As we emerged from the foggy forest, the surroundings brightened, and a large village revealed itself.
“This is the Erul Tribe’s village, ‘Shireunoon.'”
Shireunoon, the hometown of all Erul Tribe members.
The first thought that came to mind upon seeing Shireunoon was that it was much larger than expected.
I thought that its size would be limited due to being surrounded by a forest, but it was large enough to resemble a city rather than a village.
A bit smaller than the large cities seen in the demon world, but much larger than an ordinary village?
Another impressive feature was the unique architectural style found only in Erul Tribe villages.
Most of the buildings were wooden structures, and the atmosphere resembled that of East Asian countries on Earth.
Neat and sophisticated wooden buildings.
There was a peculiar feeling of both familiar comfort and refreshing novelty at the same time.
The group followed Daur and Anis towards the village entrance. Guards who spotted us from a distance approached.
“Have you returned, Lord Daur?”
“Yes. As I informed you earlier, I have brought guests.”
Daur took the lead in talking with the guards wielding spears. Most of the guards were Erul Tribe members with red fur.
“Lord Daur, are these all the guests?”
“All of them are here… Huh?”
Daur, who had been looking around the group, suddenly stopped speaking with a bewildered expression. I also realized belatedly why he was confused.
…
Terzan must have hidden herself during the journey.
She had been with us until we crossed the barrier, but as soon as we crossed it, she had disappeared.
“Yes, everyone here is a guest.”
Instead of the bewildered Daur, Anis spoke. The guards nodded without any suspicion.
“We received instructions to let the guests into the village immediately upon arrival. You two can head straight to the village with the guests.”
Without asking further questions or searching us, the guards opened the way for us to proceed.
The group followed Daur and Anis through the village entrance.
As we passed the entrance, we could fully take in the scenery of the village.
As we moved further inward, turning our heads this way and that way, we gradually began to encounter villagers going about their business.
“Whoa…”
“Oh my…?”
The villagers who saw us all had the same surprised expression.
It wasn’t a negative feeling, but more of a reaction as if they had encountered something truly fascinating.
Anis turned to us and smiled awkwardly.
“It’s probably because there are hardly any visitors from outside…”
I smiled slightly, as if to say it was okay, relieving her embarrassment. In fact, I was also curiously observing the villagers, so I didn’t feel too uncomfortable.
At first, the Erul Tribe people expressed astonishment that guests had arrived, but slowly, their expressions turned to curiosity.
At the end of those questioning gazes was Speranza, who was holding my hand. It felt like as if they were thinking, ‘Why is that child with those people?’
Speranza felt those gazes too and shrank back, hiding behind my leg.
Perhaps it was bittersweet to me that Speranza, who could be considered from this hometown, was receiving such stares.
As we moved towards the center of the village, there was more and more to see.
From merchants selling goods to restaurants emitting delicious smells. And at some point, small footsteps followed us from behind.
“Look over there. That’s a demon with horns on their head.”
“Huh? That person doesn’t have any horns.”
“Ugh, big brother, big sister, come with me.”
Erul Tribe children followed us, their fox ears perked up, and their eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Oh, how cute they are.
Pretending not to notice, I secretly observed the children. Perhaps because of Speranza, I felt a strong affection for the Erul Tribe children.
In the midst of this, the smallest child in the group wobbled and suddenly fell forward.
“Ouch!”
“Oops! Are you okay?”
“Uwaaa… big brother…”
“It’s because you walked too fast.”
“Me? What did I do?”
The little Erul child’s eyes welled up with tears. As the older child, who seemed to be his sibling, was flustered, I quickly approached the fallen child.
“Are you okay?”
“Ah!”
“Oh?”
Ignoring the surprised reactions of the two children, I first helped the fallen child stand up.
The child suddenly burst into tears as if overwhelmed by sadness.
“Sob… waaaah!”
I calmly picked up the child and tried to comfort him.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. You’re not hurt too badly. Lia, could you hand me a handkerchief, please?”
“Yes, Sihyeon. Just a moment.”
I took the handkerchief from Lia and wiped the child’s face. His nose was slightly red, as if he had bumped it when he fell.
I carefully checked to make sure there were no other injuries.
That being said…
It’s been a while since I’ve had to comfort a crying child like this.
As I looked at the sobbing child in my arms, memories from the past came flooding back, giving me a bittersweet feeling.