It had been a few days since the strange pair had rescued him.
　Elfiszak was inside their hut, healing his wounds.
　In the past few days, we've learned a few things.

　Apparently, there is a village of some size around here.
　The village hides its existence through magic and lives quietly.
　Surprisingly, there are humans and demons, and to a lesser extent, sub-humans, living together in that village.

　Looking at their faces, it's hard to imagine two races killing each other, but seeing Ferna and Rai, both human and demon, getting along well with each other, it's hard to believe it's not true.

　Ferna and Rai live in the village and are apparently part of the vigilante group that protects the village.
　Ferna is a sorcerer and Rai is a warrior, acting in pairs.
　From the looks of it, they are both skilled.

　Ferna said the reason they came to the bottom of the valley was to check on the anomaly that was happening in the vicinity of the village.
　That anomaly is - that black monster.

　It seems that it has suddenly appeared since a certain time and is attacking the demons in the neighborhood indiscriminately.
　Because of this, the balance in the neighborhood has been disrupted, with demons running away from the monster and coming to the perimeter of the village.
　The two of them seem to be using the hut base to search for what that monster is and where it is now.

''There's a lot we don't know,''

　A monster that is neither a demon nor a demon race, who was still pinned down even after eating the evil eye.
　And Ferna and the others who are working together even though they are supposed to be enemies.
　The more information they gathered, the more questions they had, the more questions they had.

''I'm home!''
...... is back.

　The door opens and Ferna and Rae come into the hut.
'Huh. Ferna sits in a chair, saying something strangely old-fashioned, "I got some good exercise," while Rai silently closes the door, dangling wild rabbits and wild birds that she must have hunted on her belt.
　They seemed to have gone out to investigate the fossil, but from the looks of the two of them, they couldn't find it.

You can find traces of something rampaging, but the important thing is that the monster was not found today either. It seems to have gone into hiding somewhere.
'Ho. You have that much strength and yet you act without any signs of being noticed? You seem to have quite a high level of intelligence.
I tried to follow the smell of ......, but the trouble is that it's bathing or something to get rid of its own smell. He's too cautious for a mere demon. Things may be more serious than I thought.

　Although not as good as the werewolf or man-dog breeds, Rai has excellent senses.
　It's not just that he's been looking for such a thing for several days and hasn't been able to find it.
　Rai wrinkles his brow at the awkward situation and lets out a troublesome sigh.

'Maybe we should report it to everyone for once. ...... but I'm tired of thinking about all the bad stuff. Now that we've caught the animals, let's make a meal of it!
...... Right.

　Nodding, Rai grabbed the wild rabbits and wild birds that were hanging from his belt and headed for the cooking area.
　Elfiszak let out a breath of admiration as Rai deftly plucked the skin and feathers.
　I don't know what kind of effect it's having, but it seems they're doing some kind of prep work, like bleeding it out or something.

''Isn't Elfi hungry too?''
......m.

　Ferna gives a carefree smile to Elfiszak, who is sitting on the bed.
　Feeling itchy at the unfamiliar nickname, Elfi, I give a small nod.

　It's been a few days since they met.
　Ferna continues to treat the supposedly unfamiliar Elfiszak in a friendly manner.
　On the contrary, she is getting closer to him with a bang.
　Being called by nicknames, having her hair combed, and being asked about the demon race were all new to her.

　Rai's initially wary demeanor has gradually softened.
　Perhaps he has gentle roots.
　Even though it's a good thing, he's been fetching water for washing up and sharing food with us.

　It's a good thing that we're a part of the same race, because we're friends.
　The people of the village would not think of helping such an inscrutable being from the outside.
　Even I am not going to be alarmed and try to help them.

　I've never seen Ferna, Rai and that black monster before.
　There are still many things I don't understand.

　--But there is one thing I do know for sure.

Here it is.

　Rai brings the finished dish to the table.
　Chicken and rabbit grilled with herbs are placed in a wooden bowl.
　The meat is browned to a crisp, and the aroma of the herb-grilled meat tickles my nostrils.
　The seasoning is salt, liquor, and a sauce made from fermented fish, which originated in the Empire.

''O...... oh.''

　The food that came out made Elfiszak's mouth involuntarily leak out.

　What Elfiszak understood.
　That is - a meal is not just for nourishment.

　On his first day at the hut, Elfi ate Rai's food.
　He shuddered at how good it was.

　Not stinky. Not astringent. Not bitter. Not painful.
　The chicken, which was just seasoned and grilled, was surprisingly delicious.
　It was so good that my tear glands were stimulated and I almost cried, without knowing why.
　It was so good that I wondered what I had been eating.

　If you ask them, they prepare the ingredients and season them according to the procedures handed down from the old days.
　Of course, demons do cook, too. They have their own seasonings.
　But they are different in class.
　I licked the seasoning and it was delicious at the point of seasoning.
　Most of these seasonings were created by humans through trial and error and a long history, Lai said.

　The villagers had said that humans were inferior, not fighting head on, but playing tricks on them.
　But that's not true.
　It's not a simple trick.
　It's a technique created by hard work, study and insatiable ambition.

　--The food they make is so shocking that it makes you think about how to make it.

nmmu ...... nmmu ......
'Hmm. You really do look like a good eater.

　Ferna's face broke into a smile as Elfiszak single-mindedly brought the food that was served to her mouth.
　From the point of view of the two of them, it was the usual food, but it was nice to see them eating so well.

...... style.

　Elfiszak finishes his food and pats his belly with satisfaction.

'How was the food?'
I'm pleased. Very tasty.
'Yes!　That's good to hear!

　As for the food, I have no complaints about life in this hut.
　In fact, it's even more comfortable than the village I've lived in.
　The furniture and other items of furniture show that they are trying to improve their lives.

Are you really satisfied?
Yeah.

　Asked by Rai, Elfiszak nodded again.

'...... I see.'

　After a bit of meditation.

You're not laughing.

　Suddenly, Rae said something like that.

'I'm not one to laugh either, but you're like a doll.
...... laugh, huh?

　As Rae had said, Elfiszak did not laugh.
　It's because he's never had an event in his life that has moved him greatly.
　He wasn't much of a conversationalist with his parents.
　He has never had any friends, and he has never had to laugh.

Is it wrong that I can't laugh?
I'm not saying you shouldn't. I'm just curious.
...... I just don't know what time to laugh at.

　The village warriors smiled when they killed humans and subhumans, for example.
　But Elfiszak could not laugh.
　He didn't even see the point of laughing.

'It's easy. All you have to do is laugh when you're happy or happy!'

　Ferna answered Elfiszak's question with a sly smile.
　'Come to think of it, this girl always seems to be smiling.

''For example, you could laugh while eating a good meal.
Hmmm: ......
If you laugh, you can tell people that you are happy. When you laugh, you let people know that you are happy. And when you are happy, you can share your joy with others.

　Hearing Ferna's words didn't sound like much.
　But I felt good when I was eating my food.
　And I don't feel bad while talking to these two.

'...... Let's think about it for a bit,'
Yeah. You don't have to force a laugh. But I think it would be so much fun to laugh at each other with Elfie.

　Ferna's smile at that moment stayed in my mind somehow.

◆

　Then a few more days passed.
　The more I spent time with the two of them, the more I felt a warm, puckering feeling I'd never felt before.
　I still didn't know what these feelings were, but I wanted to know.

　Besides, it was very interesting to hear about humans from the two of them.
　They said that in the urban areas of the human country, they had the latest and most delicious cuisine.
　In addition, I heard that new magic arts and magic items are being created one after another in the Empire.
　I began to want to know more about humans as well.

　The three of them grew closer together, but in the end, they didn't find the black monster, which was Ferna and the others' original goal.
　Therefore, the two of them seemed to have decided to go back to the village once to report back to the village.
　When Elfiszak's wounds were almost closed, Ferna invited him to come to her village.

'...... Ferna. It's not a good time. We were just attacked by the demon king's army and casualties have just occurred. It wouldn't look good for the people in the village to take the demons back.

　Rai seemed to be against bringing Elfiszak back with him.
　It wasn't so much that Elfiszak was untrustworthy, but rather that he was a demon race.
　I wanted to know more about these two and their lives.

''As long as they're not the demon race?''

　That's why I decided to fit the 'disguise bracelets' that I borrowed from the village.
　The current Elfiszak has lost the horns on his head and his magic power has also changed to that of a human.
　No matter how you look at it, it's just a human being.
　There is a disadvantage of suppressing magic power, but it can't be helped if you want to go to the village.

''What's that magic power granting item (magic item) ....... If we had such a thing, wouldn't we be able to invade the enemy country all we want?
I took it as a way to get away from home. Very handy.
'Heh. But it's kind of strange not to have horns!

　Elfie answers a shuddering Rai with a nonchalant answer.
　Next to her, Ferna is staring at the part where the horns used to be, as if she were interested.

'You're lying, you guys: ......'

　Rai let out a big sigh after putting his hand over his eyes to hold back a headache.
　'Well,' Rae nodded, separating the conversation.

'...... That should be okay then.'

　On condition that he would not be removed from the village, Elfiszak was to go to the village where they were living.

◆

　The first thing that surprised me when I came to the village was the precision of the warding magic that was deployed.
　In addition to its high resistance to physical and magical attacks, it cleverly hides the village itself.
　Unless one is very well versed in magic, it would be difficult to find this village.

''You're back. Are you two uninjured?

　As they entered the village, the villagers called out to Rai and Ferna one by one.
　The villagers were a mixture of humans, demons and subhumans.　
　It is clear from their lively appearance that they truly live without regard to race.

''Oh. Where's your boy?
'I saved her from an attack by a black monster that was hurting her.
'I spent some time with him and brought him in when I decided I could trust him. And the injury wasn't completely closed up yet.

　When they said that.

Oh, yeah. Well, that's a disaster. You should take it easy in the village until the wound is closed.

　The villagers readily accepted Elfiszak.
　They were too far removed from their own village, which would ostracize and try to kill them if they saw them as another race.
　There was a tolerance in this village to accept those who were different from them.

　For the next few days, Elfiszak stayed and lived in Ferna's house.

　In the process, he discovered that the food was still ingeniously prepared and that they had devised ways to make their lives better.
　A good example of this is the magic-granting product installed in the house, where water and flames come out just by pouring magic power into it.
　They are trying to save time by allowing them to do more with fewer steps.
　Since they are able to live such a convenient life in a village, I wonder how rich life is in the capital city where humans live.

　They also put a lot of effort into the education of their warriors.
　They emphasized strength as a group rather than individual strength.
　This is very different from the demon race, where many people are overconfident in their own strength.

　From what I saw in this village and the battles of the Cathedral Knights, I understood.
　They are aware of their own weaknesses and continue to devise ways to compensate for those weaknesses with people other than their strength.
　They try to take the easy part and waste as much as possible.
　Unlike the demons who continue to jostle to be the strongest, they understand that they are weak and are trying to move forward.

　--great, I thought.

　I don't blindly believe what I'm told.
　They think for themselves what is right, and they keep looking for someone who is more right than the answer they have.
　I thought with all my heart that they were worthy of respect.

　And at the same time.
　At the same time, I witnessed the misery that the war continues to mark.

　I saw the missing bodies of some of the villagers.
　It seems that a large number of casualties had been caused by the rampaging Demon King's army while they were out there.
　That's why I heard that many of the villagers were scared of the Demon King's army.

............
What's going on, Elfie?

　As I was standing in front of the tomb, Ferna called out to me.

''The people of this village may be frightened by the 'Demon King's Army', but they're not frightened by the 'Demon Race', are they?'''

　Somehow, Elfiszak said something like that.

''That's right. There are demons that are not part of the demon king's army, and there is no need to be afraid of the demon race itself. There are plenty of good demons, too.
...... Right.

　Ferna's words made me want to ask her unexpectedly.

'Ferna. Have you ever thought about what you were born for?
'Hmm?　That's a difficult thing to say all of a sudden. ...... Right.

　After a few moments of contemplation.

'I haven't really thought about it that much, but maybe I was born to heal all my injuries and make sure everyone could live in the village in peace. And I'm pretty good at healing magic!
Is that why you were born?
'Hmm ....... Well, now that I think about it, maybe I'm not wrong.

　Hearing Ferna's words, Elfiszak understood.
　The reason he had been searching for, the reason he had been born.
　It is not something that occurs the moment you are born, nor is it something that is decided by others.

　On top of that, what is the meaning of my birth?
　As yet, Elfiszak could not decide.



　-- It was three days later that the village was attacked by the black monster.