I've been flying in the sky for several hours since then.

　In the eastern sky, the sun is peeking out - it's already dawn.

(...I'm a little sleepy.)

　According to Renu, they are already in Gitarka territory.

　But the village where Renu was born and raised is a bit further away, on the outskirts of the territory.

　The distance from Tupet town to here in a straight line would have been more than 500 km, I think.

(Certainly, a round trip by land would not be possible in three days...)

　I let out a white breath.

　Below us, a silver world spread out in the morning sun.

　A sea of white trees with jumbled ice.

　A vast snowfield.

　Frozen lakes.

　Snow mountains.

　Occasionally, the white world is filled with animals and demons that live there.

　Huio.

　Our exhaled breath flows backwards, tinted white.

　I could feel the warmth of the sun's rays on my skin.

Oh ... the city.

　Along the river in the distance, we found a city surrounded by hexagonal walls.

　It's a pretty big city.

　In the center of the city, we can see a small castle-like structure.

"This is Garpent, the capital of the Gitarka territory.

　Renu told me that.

(Heh....)

　The Teteto Confederacy is made up of 20 small nations.

　Gitarka territory is one of those small countries.

　In its territorial capital, Garpent, there's a territorial king who is the king of that small country.

　So it's small, but it's the capital of a country.

''When I was an adventurer myself, I used this Garpent Adventurer's Guild as a base for my activities.
Oh, really?

　I nodded at Renu's words.
　Then.

Do you want to come in for a visit?

　I asked.　

　'We've been flying all night, and I thought it would be nice to take a break.

　But Renu shook her head.

'No, let's just keep going.'
"...why?
''You will need to pay a toll tax to enter the city. Marl-san is fine, but since I'm a 'Demon Blood People' the toll tax will be five times higher.

(...what?)

'Restaurants and lodgings are roughly three to five times as expensive. So.....

　A sad, somewhat resigned voice.

　The Tet Tetet Confederacy's discrimination against the 'Demon Blood People' gets stronger the further north-east you go - although I had been taught that.

(I can't believe it's that bad...)

　Why does it have to be that way?

　I had heard about Renu's past of being discriminated against, but I couldn't help but feel frustrated and seething.

''..........''

　Renu-san looks at my profile like that.

　Kyu.

　I felt a little bit of strength in the arm that was around my neck.

　For some reason, he sounded gentle.

I also attacked a fellow guild member. I've gone missing as it is, and I'm sure I'm being treated as a criminal. That's why I think it's best to stay away from the city.

　He added.

　Aren't the guild's friends the ones who embezzled Renu-san's desperately collected money orders?

　And the Adventurer's Guild didn't do anything for Renu-san because they didn't want to be bothered.

　Treating them as criminals...?

...Yeah, I guess so.

　I nodded.

'I don't want to go anywhere near that city. I don't want to go there anymore either.
Yes.

　Renu smiled fleetingly.

　A gray city built of stone.

　Amidst the whiteness of the snow, it looked blackened and somehow, it gave the impression of being very cold.

　Bah.

　I flapped the metal wings on my back.

　Leaving behind an iridescent glow, I turned my back away from the territorial capital of Garpent and accelerated at once into the dawn sky.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


Oh..... Over there.

　About two hours later, Renu's brown fingers were pointed to the ground.

　Beyond that was a sea of trees in the mountains.

　They were all huge trees, with each snow-covered tree about 3 meters in diameter and over 30 meters tall.



　From me, the village was still out of sight.

　But I believed Renu's words, and I turned my course towards it, the wings on my back shining in rainbow colors.

　Huoong.

　It glides just above the trees as it descends with the wind out of its way.

(Ah....)

　Through the trees, I could see a wooden building.

　Bafu.

　It slowed down with its wings spread wide, turning in a large arc, passing through a gap in the trees and landing there.

　

(Phew.)

　We landed safely.

　Leaving me breathing heavily, Renu took off her winter robe and ran towards the building, kicking the snow in the direction of the building.

　Wow, wait!

　He hurriedly chased after her.

　Even though she was wearing light clothes without a winter robe, Renu forgot about the cold and kept running, her red hair and white breath fluttering in the air.

　Eventually, her legs stopped.

''Ha, ha.''

　Renu's breathing is rough.

(Phew, phew.)

　Running in the snow is hard.

　I finally catch up with him, and next to him, I breathe up and down on his shoulders.

　Then I look up.

...What?

　I was amazed at the scene from there.

　It was a small village built to hide in the trees of the Sea of Trees.

　It had an atmosphere like a hidden village, just like the one I had seen in Illtimina-san's spirit world in the past... Perhaps Renu-san's village was one of the villages where the 'Demon Blood People' lived in hiding.

　And that village...............was destroyed just like Illtimina-san's hometown.

　Broken houses.

　Abandoned fields.

　The wooden fences that wrapped the village were falling all over the place.

　Snow lay heavy on the wreckage.

　I looked closely at the wooden buildings I saw, and found that they were barely externally preserved, with holes in their roofs and rotten walls that had fallen apart in some places.

(Wha...what is this...?)

　I was stunned.

　Then I came to myself with a huff, and fearfully looked up at the profile of Renu-san next to me.　

"..........

　But there was no surprise in Renu-san's expression.

　What was in those lapis lazuli eyes was the color of deep, deep sadness.......that's all.

(Renu-san........did you know?)

　That your home village had been destroyed...?

　crunchy

　Stepping through the snow, Renu starts walking.

'My parents and sister's graves are over here.
Uh-huh.

　I rush after him.

　Crunch, crunch, crunch.

　The two of us walked through an empty, snow-covered, abandoned village.

　........can I ask you something?

　As I hesitated, as a child I didn't understand, Renu, walking in front of me, told me in a voice filled with sadness.

'When my parents and sister died, many of the same villagers died of starvation. The village was abandoned because there were too few people to keep it going.
...Yeah, I see.

　You weren't attacked by a 'man-hunt' like Iltimina-san's hometown, were you?

　That was a bit of a relief.

　But how painful must it have been to decide to abandon the village they lived in after so many people died?

　And how does Renu feel seeing such a scene in her native village...................

(............)

　Eventually, Renu's feet stopped at the outskirts of the village.

　There were many........no, dozens of snow-covered wooden stakes standing there.

　This is all.........

　Renu approached the three wooden piles that stood close together in the middle of them.

'I'm home, Dad, Mom and Corrine.'

　A brown hand brushes away the snow on the wooden pile.

　He pats the surface of the stake.

I have to go to the Kingdom of Shumuria. I don't know if I'll ever be able to return. I'm sorry.
..........
But I have to go.

　In his eyes is a heart that trembles at its own sin.

　For atonement.

　She is ready to go to a foreign land.

(Renu-san has done nothing wrong...)

　That's what she wanted to say.

　But her mind wouldn't be convinced, nor would she accept it.

　So I had no choice but to remain silent.

"..........

　Instead, I take off my thermal robe and drape it over her shivering body.

　Noticing this, Renu looks at me.

　I clasp my hands together.

　I close my eyes and bow my head for a moment, facing Renu's parents and sister's grave.

'...................'
..........

　The cold breeze of the Teteto blew through the sky of the treeline, caressing our bodies.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.


　We decided to rest in the village for a while.

　We rented a relatively well-built house and wrapped ourselves in blankets.

　Renu also lay down right next to me.

(I'm a bit ... tired, I guess.)

　Perhaps because I had been flying all night, my consciousness was immediately cut off, and I fell straight into the world of sleep.

　.............
　.............
　..............

　How long did he sleep?

　When I woke up, it was dim all around me.

(Huh?)

　Renu is gone.　

　Only a blanket was left on the floor.

　I got up and walked out of the building.

　In the sky above me, stars were shining - it was already night.

(...how many hours have I been asleep?)

　It looks like I've been absent for a long time.

　Crunch, crunch, crunch.

　We stepped through the snow and walked on.

　Ms. Renu was soon to be found.

　She was sitting with her knees in front of a row of villagers' graves, in front of the place where Renu's family was laid to rest.

　How long had she been there?

　White snow has piled up on his habitual red hair and the shoulders of his clothes.

'Miss Renu,'

　She jerked and shivered at the sound of my voice and turned around.

　The accumulated snow spilled out.

'....Marl-san, you're up.
Yes.

　When I touched its brown hands, they were cold as ice.

　I quickly used the fire magic stone to start a fire.

　I also boil water and give her some to drink.

I'm sorry I fell asleep. It was cold, wasn't it?
No.

　Renu smiled fleetingly.

'I was talking to my family and everyone in the village about so many things, I forgot how cold it was.
..........

　But still, I can't believe I've been outside all this time.

(Maybe Renu was thinking it was okay to just freeze to death...)

　I remember what she did when she woke up just yesterday.

　Maybe I should have paid more attention to her behavior.

　Right now, Renu-san is drinking hot water with a delicious look.

''..........''

　I looked back at the grave.

　I stare at the three wooden stakes where Renu's parents and sister are said to be sleeping.

　Renu has returned from a demon to a person.

　But I knew that we had to not only heal his body, but also help his mind.

(.........but what should we do?)

　I look up to the heavens.

　Deep in the mountains, in a village in the middle of a sea of trees, beyond the tips of the trees, the beautiful stars are twinkling.

　The moonlight that shines there reflects faintly on the snowy earth.

　In contrast to that light, the depths of the trees were dim, and the darkness of anxiety that seemed to stretch on forever.

(?)

　At that time, a 'pale light' passed through that darkness.

　Eh, what?

　A single ball of light with a faint glow.

　It flickered and hid behind the trees.

　As I was scowling, I suddenly felt the presence of the 'fairy sword' that was inserted into my right hip.
　.........eh?

　Pulling a bit out of the scabbard, the pale, transparent sword blade glows faintly.

(Huh?)　(What is this?)

　I'm confused.

''...?　Mr. Merle?　

　Renu notices and calls out to me.

　And that's when.

''-----''

　Something whispered to me.

　Not a voice, but only words of emotion that seemed to resonate directly in my head.

''--Dangerous?''

　I felt like I could translate that.

　In that moment.

　Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

　A shudder ran through the snowy earth, and from behind me, I heard the creaking of the trees.

''!
What?

　Me and Renu get up in a hurry.

　What is it?

　Is something approaching from the darkness beyond those trees?

　Thud, thud, thud.

　The sound gets a little louder.

　I pulled the 'fairy sword' out of its scabbard and released it.

　In the light of the fire, the beautiful blade glistens as if it were wet.

　Suddenly, the sound died out.

"..........
..........

　Then a fishy smell mingled with the flowing wind.

　Then, out of the depths of the darkness, an object appeared in the light of the campfire.

　It was a snow deer with huge antlers.

　It was a wild animal that was said to be found in this region.

　Its upper body is illuminated by the flames of the bonfire.

(.........?)

　But it's strange.

　A snow deer is a big animal, but that head is unusually high compared to its imagined stature.

　When I thought that.

　mekki

　There was a strange sound, and the snow deer's head shook.

''!''　

　No, not just the snow deer!

　Mekikikikikki.

　The lower half of the snow deer's body was being swallowed up by a giant mouth hidden in the darkness.

　Its upper half was also slowly being swallowed up.

　The darkness flickered, and a huge monster appeared, devouring that snow deer.

　Pure white body hair.

　A huge lizard's physique that rivals that of a dragon.

　Chameleon-like eyeballs.

　And a crushed head tosser.

　Mekyon.

　The snow deer's body disappeared completely into the mouth of that demon.

　

　Renu-san lets out a trembling voice.

''.........Snow Basilisk.

　As if reacting to it, a huge eyeball looks at us.

　The flames of anger and vengeance.

　The monster that was injured by me, the one that reigns over the snowy world, has appeared before us again.