That was a close call.

　We were on our way to Lex's brother's hometown when we were attacked by a pack of forest wolves.
We were just about to be wiped out when this guy suddenly appeared and saved our lives.

"Hey, you know my brother Lex's brother now?　I said, "but what are you, Lex's brother?

Me?　I'm from the same village as him.

　So you're from my brother's village?　

So you're from Zenjie's village?

Oh, we are. What is it with you people?

　Mina heaved a sigh of relief when she heard the old man's words and finally made it.

''But it's a shame, he went to the city thinking he was going to be an adventurer.

No, we were on our way to the village of Zenje, where Mr. Lex introduced us.

In my village?　It's nothing, it's just a small village in the middle of nowhere.

'No, it's not!　This is the village where Lex's brother was born.　This can't just be a village!

　You don't understand, do you, old man?
　It's a village where my brother was born, so it has to be a great village.

"Hahaha, so it's because of the village where Lex was born. Maybe that's true.

　Oh, man, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Well, we're guests of honor. I'll show you around. My name is Kalio. I'm Kario.

I'm Gyro!　Nice to meet you, old Kallio!

'Hey!　Rude!　Sorry, my idiot.

"Hahaha, youngsters should be as cocky as that!　After all, Lex was a strangely polite guy, even when he was a kid.

'Really?　Oh, my name is Mina.

My name is Norbu.

"Megri.

Well, now that we have our quarry in hand, it's time to go to the village.

Did you put it away?

　By "prey," you mean that forest wolf you just defeated?
　But you put it away because....

Huh?

　When I came to my senses, the forest wolf and the dead wolf that had been all over the place a while ago were gone.
　Where the hell did they go?

Let's go then!

　You're not going to be able to do that.

We're almost to our village now, so you'll just have to be patient.

　Uncle Kalio said and preceded him.

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

What's up, Megri?

　Mina notices me and calls out to me.
　She's not a great talker, but she's the de facto leader of the party because she's got an eye for an eye.

''She's so strong.''

Yes, I can do body-enhancing magic, and I'm the only one from Lex's village who can.

It's not.

What?

　Doesn't Mina realize that?

'We all know Lex is strong. But where do you think that Lex's strength comes from?

Does that mean, perhaps, that Mr. Kalio is Lex's mentor?

　Norbu also joined the conversation.
　As expected of a man who has been trained in the church, he has a good sense of what to expect.
　I'm not very good at getting to the point, though.

Are you sure about that?

No matter how strong you are, Lex is not born strong. There must be a great master.

Well, if you think about it, that makes sense.

　If that uncle is Lex's master, then maybe we can become as strong as Lex if we study under him.

"Hey, did your uncle become as strong as Lex's brother by training under him?

Huh?

　Ba ... Gyro suddenly said something outrageous.
　It's usually the opposite, even if it's not normal, it's the opposite.

Bah, you can't be serious!

Oh, that's the best shot you've got, boy!　Thanks to learning a body-strengthening spell from that guy from Lex, I became stronger too!

""What? !"

　What the hell?　Isn't this uncle Lex's mentor?

Uh, um, isn't Mr. Kalio Lex's mentor?

　Norbu did his best to ask the question.

'I'm Lex's?'

　Calio's uncle gets a scowl. It's kind of cute.
　But the next thing I know, he starts laughing out loud.

''Hahahahaha!　I'm Lex's mentor?　I'm not!

　Apparently not.
　So does that mean Lex has a different master?

Whoa, I see a village in sight.

　Calio's uncle points to the end of the road.
　And when we saw the scene ahead of us we were ... exclaimed.

'Nanniare?'

　You're not going to be able to do that.

　We followed Mr. Kallio, a man who claimed to be a resident of Zenje's village, and we were in awe when we saw Zenje's village.

'What is this, it's like a fort!

　Yes, the village of Zenjie is not an idyllic rural village, but is surrounded by solid walls like a fort.

It's a bit of a surprise to people who have never been here before. Well, we were quite surprised when we got this done!

What do you mean?　Didn't you guys make this?

　At my question, Mr. Kalio shakes his head and denies it.

'No way, we can't make something this awesome.

So that means...

　Calio nodded at Jairo's words.

'Ooh, Lex's guy made it in one night!

'One night!'

　You gasp at the unexpected outrageousness of the situation.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this. It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

""Ugh."

　We couldn't help but feel heartbroken as we remembered our past debacle.

　No, but this time we were heading for the human village, properly sizing them up!
　And since it's Lex's hometown, he thought there would be a strong man or two, or rather, there actually were!

Well, when everyone in the village was in trouble, Lex built a wall for us in the night. That was really awesome!

That's it?

　Aren't these people nuts?

'Whoa!　That's Lex's brother, man!

　I'm going to ignore it, because that's what idiots always get up to. It's not going to happen.

"Hey, I'm back! Open up!

　Mr. Calio called out, and a strange old man appeared from the top of the wall.

'Oh?'　You're awfully early today.

Yeah, I saw a whole flock of them nearby. And I brought some of Lex's guests with me.

Well, it's a rare guest of Lexus'.

　Then the grandfather looks at us.

"Ho-ho-ho, what a messy bunch of girls. Lexi-Boy doesn't have a problem with that.

　I'm afraid I've been strangely misunderstood.

'Just open the door quickly, old man.

Yes.

　The grandfather replied cheerfully, and the wall opened up noisily.

It's a wall, but it's a door!

　It seems that part of the wall is a huge door.

Here, don't go in!

　We were urged by the old man who came downstairs to enter the village.

　And when we saw the scene in the village, we were surprised again, because it was so different from what we had imagined.
　Nope, we shrugged it off.

'It's an ordinary village.'

　Yes, the village of Zenje was an ordinary village.
　There were fields, a canal, a big round thing that I don't know what it was, and several small houses lined up in a row.

'It's a normal village, isn't it?

"Ordinary Village

Oh, my brother's hometown is just an ordinary village... hmm.

　Even Lex stupid Jairo had to admit that Zenjie's village was so normal that even Lex stupid Jairo had to admit it was a normal village.

'Let's close it up then.'

　The big door closes with a creaking sound.
　It looks like the old man is closing it manually, but that can't be possible, can it?　It's such a big door.
　Also, there are no stairs or ladders, but how did they get down there?

Lex's house is this way.

　Kalio leads us to Lex's house.
　It's a relief because I thought he was just going to show me to the village.

'Flame infer no!

''Huh?''

　Suddenly, the field to our right was engulfed in flames and our vision turned red.　
　Even though we were a long way from the field, a considerable amount of heat reached us.

''Wha, what?

''Hey, you guys!　Lex told you to put up wards when you use magic!

I'm sorry.

　I look and see a little boy with his head down in a pecking order, and that's what he did now!

'Leanne!　You better take care of those kids!

Uncle Gomen, he started it out of nowhere before I could stop him!

I don't know what to do... It's their first time weeding. They're having a bit of fun.

""Weed!"

　What does he think of using magic that can produce flames in a mere blade of grass?
　What's up with this guy who reacts to it as a matter of course?
　The people in the surrounding villages are not just angry, they are laughing at you, saying it's not worth it.

What is this village all about?

　However, we soon came to understand that this was just a simple greeting.