Beastmen Village
「...! Master Lars!」
I was startled when I heard my name called and turned around. There stood Irinya, teary-eyed, opening the wooden door. She held something like a wooden bowl in her hands, but she dropped it and ran toward me.
「I'm so glad!」
She wrapped her hands around my head, tears streaming down her face. Seeing Irinya like this made my nose tingle, and I nearly started crying too.
「Irinya, you were safe too. Thank goodness... did you bring me here?」
I asked, but Irinya couldn't answer through her tears. As I gently patted her back to calm her down, a voice suddenly came from the direction of the door where Irinya had appeared.
「So, you're awake.」
It was a somewhat deep voice. When I looked up, I saw a large man with black hair standing there. I initially thought he was nearly two meters tall, but I realized I was mistaken as he ducked through the door and approached me.
He was probably around one hundred eighty to one hundred ninety centimeters. Instead, he was broad-shouldered and muscular. He wore a short-sleeved fabric garment, but you could tell he was muscular even through that. His hair was long, slicked back, and he had large triangular beast ears on his head.
「Oh, nice to meet you.」
Feeling it was appropriate to introduce myself, I greeted him that way. The man squinted down at me and gave a small nod.
「... I'm Abel. Abel Dieter. Is it true that you're Irinya's master?」
The man who introduced himself as Abel asked, and I hesitated for a moment before answering.
「Ah, well...」
After replying, I realized something. Recently, there has been an increase in kidnappings of nobility-related individuals for ransom. Could it be that they're thinking they might get a ransom if I'm actually noble?
I thought it through and then figured it's fine since I'm not valuable enough to be kidnapped. While I was shaking my head in self-mockery, Abel furrowed his brow and made a crease in his forehead.
「What are you laughing at?」
His cautious inquiry made me smile wryly as I replied.
「Oh, well... it's just hard to believe that a child like me could be a master, don't you think?」
Saying that, Abel turned his back on me with a snort.
「... There have been many beastmen enslaved simply for being beastmen. It's not strange for a child to be a master.」
With a slightly bitter tone, Abel stated this and then left the room. Watching him leave silently, I finally spoke to the now calmer Irinya.
「Irinya, where are we?」
I asked, and Irinya sniffled as she lifted her face.
「This is a village of beastmen within the forest. It seems that former slave beastmen worked hard to build a village here in the woods...」
「The forest where we were supposed to go? The one they said was dangerous because of the large magical beasts? They cleared it and made a village?」
Astonished by Irinya's words, I asked again. She nodded and looked out the window at the village below. By the well stood two women, and from the opposite house, a young man approached. All of them had beast ears on their heads.
「... Yesterday, we were rescued by the villagers here and brought back. Master Lars, you hit the ground when the carriage overturned...」
「What? So it's already been a day? What about the others?」
It seemed the villagers had saved us. However, new concerns kept popping up. As I fired off questions, Irinya responded, somewhat flustered.
「Ah, y-yes. It has been a day since then. We stayed within the forest, so I don't know what happened to the others...」
「Y-yeah, I guess you're right. Irinya, are you okay? Are you hurt?」
「Ah, yes! I'm completely fine...」
As Irinya answered, another visitor came to the room.
「He regained consciousness?」
「How are you feeling?」
It was a somewhat high-pitched male voice. As both Irinya and I turned, two slender men stood there. They were of similar height, both with white hair and large, fluffy beast ears. One had his hair tied back, while the other let it hang loose. The two looked very similar, but one had ears pointing upward, and the other's ears drooped downward.
「Oh, Mikel and Rolf.」
At Irinya's call, both raised one hand in greeting.
「Hey there.」
「Is this kid Lars?」
They said in a cheerful manner, observing me. I couldn't tell which one was Mikel and which was Rolf, but they were likely twins. They looked identical.
While I was thinking that, Irinya smiled and looked at me.
「These two here saved us.」
「Oh, I see! Thank you, Mikel and Rolf!」
I quickly expressed my gratitude, realizing it was thanks to these two that we'd been saved after passing out in the forest. Although I was offering words of thanks with that in mind, the two of them suddenly froze, looking surprised for some reason.
-------------= Author's Notes -------------=
If you found yourself curious about 'what happens next,' it would make me happy if you could press the ☆ button at the bottom of the page!
It motivates the author!・:*+.\(( °ω° ))/.:+
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
It seems the pot incident will be brushed under the rug, huh?
【(⩌_⩌ )】