Speaking of which, Master Noah. I have a little proposition for you.

Hmm?

　After watching the children playing for a while, Alisa suddenly said so.
　As she stood up, her golden hair swayed softly in the wind.

''What's wrong?''

'Ah. It will take Mr. Lute some time to draw up the plans, and the children are playing to their heart's content. Would it be all right for Lord Noah to leave here for a moment?

Well, I think it's okay.

Then I'll show you the village. You don't know where it is yet, do you?

Oh, that's right, too.

　Indeed, the only information I know about the village is my house, Alisa's house and the elders' house.
　I have no idea what else is out there or anything. I hadn't noticed it before.

'Then follow me. It won't take much time, however.

Yeah. Well, good luck with that.

I'll take care of it.

　I leave the shade of the trees with Alisa.
　It seems that my house is located on the outskirts of the village, and the houses in the neighborhood seem to be empty.
　It's a square corner of the village, surrounded by a fence to ward off evil spirits. There is a fence behind my house, and the area around my house is farmland and vacant land. Even though it's farmland, it's not maintained at all, it's just a bunch of wasteland.
　I'll have to plant something eventually, and I'll have to be more self-sufficient.

This is sort of the main street in the village. You can get most things from here.

"Mmm-hmm.

'There's a well over there where you can get water for life. It's rather crowded in the morning, but it's a good place to get acquainted with the people in the village. Water is the heart of our lives.

It's true.

　Well, it's a small hidden village, so it's not that big.
　It's not like there's a shop or anything, it's really just the bare minimum of necessities for life, you know.

The bottles of water are made by Mr. Albers over there. As for the furniture, Heero, who lives next door to the Albers' house, makes the best ones. I'll ask for this one myself.

Oh, yeah. Well, good luck with that.

　Well, I could go and ask him myself.
　I don't feel comfortable asking you to make something for me when we first meet.

And that's the warehouse over there.

Warehouse?

Yeah. Yeah, we store the produce from the village in that warehouse. And then those who need it will take it home with them. If you are going to start farming, then you can take the produce into that warehouse. In return, you are free to take what is in that warehouse with you.

Well.....

　I see.
　I thought that in the village of the elves, where there was no concept of currency, bartering was the main way to go. But it seems that my thinking was different.
　The idea of mutual aid - helping each other out - is exactly what they are living for. Everyone contributes to the village by doing what they can, and then they all share in the work.
　They don't have a monopoly on what they can do, like humans do. It is a very peaceful village.

Aren't we going to run out of crops?

I have. Sometimes it's a bad harvest and sometimes it doesn't produce at all.

In that case....

'The warriors are going to pick fruit from the forest at great risk. If we can't even pick the nuts... well, we'll all survive the hunger. If I'm the only one starving, I won't be able to endure it, but I can endure it if I consider that everyone else is enduring it too.

　It's kind of a spiritual theory.
　But I don't think it's a bad idea to live together like that, all of us working together. It's something we can do because we trust each other. They don't have the idea of one person keeping it all to themselves or anything like that.
　Elves are a mild-mannered race, I'm deeply impressed.

'I heard that elves are vegetarian, but do they eat meat at all?

'I wouldn't eat it. I ate it once, but I just couldn't eat it because it smelled so bad.

....

　Meat stinks. I love meat.
　But I don't blame you. I prefer to do things the way they're done. I'll have Gilanka go hunting for enough meat for me to eat.
　And then there's the vegetables. If you're free to take them home, we can make a menu.

I think that's about it. Also, is there anything else you want to ask?

'Ummm...'

　I'll give it some thought.
　I've heard most of it, and I think we're good to go. For now, as long as we have water and food, we can live.
　Ah, yes.

"I haven't contributed anything yet, but can I still take food on my own?

　I'm still new here.
　I haven't even grown any crops yet, and the elves don't seem to eat the smoked meat I've made for them.
　I haven't done anything to contribute to the food side of things. Oh, maybe we should go into the forest and pick some nuts. I don't know what kind of berries are edible. Because I traveled alone and my main source of food was meat.

　But my question was answered with a small sigh.
　Alisa let out a small sigh.

''No.......Noah-dono, what are you saying?

'What?　Did I say something weird?

If it wasn't for Lord Noah, this village would still be trembling with the threat of demons. It was Lord Noah who saved our days of being threatened by dragons.

....

　Yeah, I'm sure of it.
　I've saved the village. There's no way I didn't contribute anything, right?
　Alisa gave a small smile at me.

''But that kind of selflessness is probably one of the best things about Noah-dono.

Yeah?

　I don't think I'm being selfless.
　I want to eat meat, I want to make many demons my friends, and I set out on a journey with only one mind to stop being a brave man.

Oh. I was ready to dedicate myself to this. I knew that I could do whatever I wanted to Noah-dono.

'No, that's not...'

'I don't mean to sound too proud of myself but by human standards, elves are beautiful, aren't they?　I'm such an elf, and you can do whatever you want with me... and I thought I declared that.

....

　No, no, no.
　No, no, no.
　It's true that I think Arisa is cute, and I like cute girls too. I mean, there isn't a guy in the world who doesn't like pretty girls, I swear.
　But that's not the same thing. I only brought the dragon, Puppy, into the fold for my own reasons, and there is no need for Alisa to become my slave.

　Yes.
　It's not that I'm a slob, but here's the thing: I'm not.
　If Alisa and I are going to have that kind of relationship, I don't want to be indebted to her or anything like that, I want to face her with pure feelings.

Well, I digress. Well, let's get back to it now. I'm sure Mr. Lute will have the drawings ready by now.

Uh-huh. Yeah.

　It's not good.
　I'm a guy. I'm also a guy. I'm a little bit conscious of Arisa. I have to do something to stop her.

Hm...?

What's going on?

No....smoke coming up...?

"Huh?

　The direction we were going - my house is there, from there.
　For some reason, there was smoke coming up from there. And it's a big smoke.
　I don't know what it means, but I open my eyes. I can't see my house yet, though it's surrounded by other houses.

　I couldn't help but run in frustration.
　I wonder where the fire is coming from - I wonder where the fire is coming from.

'Hey you!　What the hell are you doing?!

No, no, no, no. I-I never meant for any of us to do anything like this.

You know this is the Lord's house and I will not allow you to do anything foolish.

But I, too, want my children to see it.

　It was there, for some reason, burning.
　My new house was there.

"....

　Hey, pup.
　What the hell did you do, man?