290 – Village Crisis

I spread my wings to leave the abyss nest, and meet up with the petit nightmare, araenie, and lesser treant that are waiting for me at the top.

“Kikih! Kikih!”
“Gaah!”

The petit nightmare tries to get on my partner’s head, but she resists.
Though I don’t care about them, what’s more important is…

I turn to look in the direction the forest children pointed, towards the village.
I spot them on a nearby tree root.
Our eyes meet, then they disappear once again.

They really are trying to lead me somewhere, I think.
Following along might be for the best.
I don’t know what their relation is to the Lithovars.
I though they might be hostile, since God’s Voice said they live by absorbing the magic power of trees and are called the guardians of the forest.

I guess I’ll check next time I see Hibi.
There’s that…and there’s one more thing I need to ask.
I need to ask about the standing of the dragon-god.
I really don’t want to, since I know it’ll get a bit awkward, but… It’s not as though I can let that stop me and stay silent… I have no idea what she’ll say, though.

“…”

Aro stares anxiously in the direction the forest children disappeared, towards the village.
That reminds me, Hibi’s the only one I can question about the dragon-god, but Aro should know about the forest children.
She doesn’t have any difficulty in talking any more, so I’ll try asking her.

“GuOh”

I cry in a low voice, and Aro turns to look at me.

“For the feared gods to show themselves with a purpose is exceedingly rare…”

Ooh, there’s a slight lisp, but she’s speaking normally.
I once again feel amazed at how far she’s come…? Wait, feared gods?

I frown, and Aro tilts her head to the side.
It seems the forest children are called feared gods here.

Eh… Those little guys? Feared gods? Not fearless gods, then? What did they do?

“A long time ago, an ancestor roused their anger and caused a huge landslide, is what miko-sama said…”

Seeing my confusion, Aro explains.

Ehh… Was that really those guys’ doing…? Couldn’t that Hibi-san be exaggerating a bit? I have doubts about the dragon-god too, so I have some resistance to just accepting this without question…

But if they really can do that sort of thing, I ought to be careful not to anger them.
I get the feeling they’ve been observing me suspiciously up to now.
U-using Fake Life would be bad…right?

In any case, if I’m going to follow their guidance, then let’s get going.
They won’t get angry with me for going where they say.

I’m worried something’s happening in the village, too… It’s possible that, after I defeated their boss, the abysses fell into chaos and surged into the village.
If that’s what’s happening, I won’t be able to look them in the eyes.

I drop Aro and the others off at the shrine on the way, then continue on to the village by myself.
I thought she might want to go to the village too, but after thinking for a bit, she shook her head slightly.
She might not have found her resolve just yet.
Until she says she wants to go, I’ll just watch over her quietly.

As I get closer to the Lithovar village, I notice things are off.
It’s strangely quiet… I don’t see a single person around.
It doesn’t look at all like the aftermath of a battle with abysses.
Even when I look around, there’s nowhere near enough traces of blood.

“Gaaa…?”

As though thinking it strange, my partner tilts her head.

Using [Presence Perception], I’m able to confirm that there are people further inside.
For some reason, they’re stock still.

“GuoOOOH!”

I raise my voice.
Normally, Hibi should come flying out with this.
I’ll have her explain what’s happening.
I don’t like rudely calling out to her like this, but there’s something’s wrong with the village.

A short moment later, two spear-wielding Lithovars run up to me.
They might have been guarding nearby.

“Wh-what should we do… Dragon-god-sama has come!”
“B-but, but…”

…H-huh? I’m not all that welcome? Are they simply in shock… Eh? Seriously, what’s going on?

Other Lithovars start coming out of their houses and appearing in front of me, but there’s really something strange with them.
I notice one person walking while supported on the shoulder of another, and then I see more of them that seem to be in a poor state of health.
What’s more is that their expressions are all dark, as though exhausted.
N-normally they’d be in high spirits after seeing me…

One person… My attention shifts to one man in the middle in particularly bad condition.
Sweat drips from his forehead as he leans against the wall.
The people around him are fretting and tell him to come down.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
[Roji Rogum]
Species: Lithovar
Condition: Poisoned, Paralysed
Lv: 27/65
HP: 26/155

MP: 132/132
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

…P-poison and paralysis? Could the anti-dragon-god guys have done something? They poisoned my partner with paralysis poison before.
I thought things would go better after I defeated the manticore… but I guess that was naive.
No, it’s not like it’s certain that that’s what’s happening.

A-anyway, I can’t leave this be.
[High Rest] can… But it’s not like it’s one or two people… My MP… Well, I shouldn’t run out.
It might be worth having them gather all those that are in danger into one place.
To do that, I first need to get Hibi…

“Is there anyone who can hear dragon-god-sama’s voice?! If we do not borrow dragon-god-sama’s wisdom, it will be terrible! Besides, at this rate, we may be abandoned!”

A single old woman screams hysterically at the people around her.
Eh? H-huh, is Hibi perhaps not around?

“I’ll try looking around in the equipment storage.”
“That won’t do! Only women of the miko family can enter there! Do you want to rouse the anger of the feared gods?!”
“B-but, since Hibi-sama has died…”

H-hibi has…died?