I was a little surprised when I heard that a visitor had come from outside the village. I was curious to know who it was. Everyone around me was talking about it.


　In front of me is Gaius.


"Gaius, I want to go see.
"Just stay here for a minute.
What are you doing?
It's just some people from another beastman village. It was a scary atmosphere, and they might not have good feelings towards humans. ......
Yeah, what ......?
So I told Mr. Lan not to come out. Dad said he'd wait until he heard what I wanted.
Is it unusual for you to come here like this?
He's been coming at regular intervals, so it's unusual for him to come at this time of year. He's been acting strangely, so something might have happened to him.


　I sorted out Gaius' story in my mind.
　This is a village of wolf beastmen. Everyone is in contact with the other beastmen villages. We do interact with them, but it's unusual for them to come at this time of year. And they're acting strange.


　Those beastmen may not have good feelings toward humans. So, I guess I can meet them if Mr. Athos decides that it's okay for me to meet them after I've heard what they want.


　Anyway, a village of other beastmen.
　Are they wolves, too?


Are they wolves, too?
No, that's a cat beastman village. It's the nearest beastman village. Well, it's close, but it's a long way.
Cats!


　I was a little excited, wondering if it had cat ears and a tail.


Lerunda, ......, likes ears and tails.
Hmm. Human, no. Fluffy, nice.


　I think it's nice to have fluffy ears and tails that humans don't have. But I've heard that touching them has a special meaning when you've touched them for the first time, so I just look at them.


"Are there any other cats?
"I'm sure there are, but there's no village nearby, so I've never met anyone but cat beastmen. I'm sure you've met a lot of beastmen.


　When I was in the village where I grew up, I had only seen humans, but I thought there were many kinds. I thought there were many kinds of beastmen.
　To be honest, I don't know what kind of thing would make people from other villages come to this village.
　I wonder what Mr. Athos is talking about.


"Lelanda, what's wrong?
"I was thinking.


　Gaius asks me when I've become mute from thinking. Yes, I'm thinking.


"About the people who came?
"No.
Are you worried about something?
A little.


　I'm starting to think that something might change.
　My life in the village where I was born and raised had changed because of the arrival of the priest. The priest came and said there must be a child here. So my parents took my sister as their child and abandoned me.


　Encounters bring change. Someone coming, someone meeting. It feels like something's changing.
　Because when I met Sipho and the gryphons... I started to live a more carefree life.
　Because I was living with the gryphons, I met Athos, Gaius and the others, and my life in the beast village started.


　I'm not sure what to make of that.


　I wonder if ...... will change again.


　I'm a little nervous because I know that good things and bad things are coming. Because it's fun. My heart is warm and I'm happy. I never imagined that such days would come. I never thought it would be so fun to be around the people I love. I wonder how my happy, joyful life is going to change.

　I'm a little worried.


Is anything going to change?
I don't think so.
Really?
I mean, if anything changes, don't worry about it!　If Lerunda's in trouble, I'll help her.
No, thank you.


　I'm glad to hear that. I feel anxious, but just the fact that Gaius says it's okay makes me feel that it's okay.
　It makes me feel positive that even if something changes, it will be okay with the people I love.

　Warm. It makes me feel very warm inside.




What's wrong with the cat people?
I wonder what's going on. I hope it's not bad.
It's sad. I hate it.
Yeah. I hate it when sad things happen. It'd be nice if we could just laugh about it.
Yeah.


　I feel the same way as Gaius, that I don't like sad things. I think it's better to be happy than sad. I'd rather see you laughing than sad.


If you're sad, go to .......

　I say the words as I think them.


"I want to laugh.
"You want to be able to laugh at sad faces?　Yes, I would like that. I'd like to be able to laugh when I look sad.
"Hmm.


　I was worried, but I thought about the cat beastmen who had come, and I thought, "If you're sad, I hope I can make you laugh.



　---- The girl and the harbinger 2
　(The girl, who is probably a godchild, has a conversation with the boy about the people from outside the village)