Dryd Village

The front door slowly opened, building up anticipation. As the doors opened, a young woman appeared before us.

She slightly lifted her head as soon as she felt our presence. “Oh, are you Takumi?”

Her white hair and pointy ears resembled Hinabe's. However, this elf’s ponytail, with high volume, and her average height set her apart.

“Yeah… Who are you?”

“My name is Naima. I’m Hinabe’s older sister. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Hinabe’s older sister’s outgoing personality contrasted with her own introverted nature. They were completely polar opposites. Are they sure they are actually related?

Naima glanced over at Amada. “Oh, and you must be Amada. Hinabe has said some great things about you.”

“Hinabe mentioned having an older sister to me,” said Amada. “She’s also said some good things about you.”

“Really? Hinabe did? What did she say?!”

Naima’s questions put Amada on the spot. “Oh…um.”

An awkward silence filled the air. Amada couldn’t think of anything. She said that to be polite, but did not think she would be tested.

Before she could think of something, Anojin cut through Amada and me. He took a knee and lowered his head as he charmingly held Naima’s hand. “I wasn’t aware that Miss Hinabe had such a beautiful angel in her family.”

“Oh, you must be Anojin. I heard you have a way with the ladies.”

“Indeed. As I am a crusader, I must fulfill my role of protecting my gorgeous angels in my team.”

Their flirting gradually irritated me. Get a room!

I decided to cut the chit-chat. She did not come here to meet us. There had to be a reason… something important.

“Naima, why are you here?!”

She snapped back into reality. “Oh, yeah, about that. It’s about Hinabe. She needs your help!”

“What happened to her?”

Naima further explained. “One of the demon king’s captains is in our village, wreaking havoc. She wants you guys to come to our village.”

The air grew tense as our guards became alert after hearing Hinabe was in trouble. Things were getting serious!

“We need to leave right away!” I declared. Anojin and Amada agreed without hesitation.

Naima’s face lit up with a grin after we decided to help. “Great, let’s head there right now!”

I quickly turned around to notify Kaito. “Sorry, Prince. I have to go.”

“No worries,” Kaito said calmly with a smile. “I completely understand.”

I could hear the sadness in his voice. Since he met another person from Japan, we created a close bond.

I respectfully reached my hand out to the prince. “Thank you so much for the hospitality.”

He accepted my handshake with joy. Although we were parting ways, this was not the last time we would see each other.

The servants went inside to grab our belongings. Since Mr. Satori also had armor stored next to the Tri-Carver, they assumed I would have wanted it as well. However, I refused to take the armor.

Not because I didn’t need it, but because it wouldn’t ruin my Cutesy Twin’s shirt. Also, I sounded like a hassle to walk around with all of that on.

The servants eventually found our belongings and handed them to us. Now, with my Tri-Carver in hand, we were ready to leave.

We respectfully bowed our heads to the royal family to give thanks. Soon after, we headed straight towards the village.

…

The journey was quite a distance from the capital. We travelled south of Stalu for three hours, visiting nearby villages. After some sightseeing, we strolled through a deep, green forest for the remaining distance.

I agreed to help Hinabe defeat another one of Satavio’s captains. The last time we fought one, things went surprisingly smoothly. That was only possible with the element of surprise and Astra’s personality. I did not think I could repeat that.

I hoped Hinabe was okay. She’s a healer, not a fighter. She could have fallen asleep during the battle. Oh, no! Maybe she’s in deeper trouble! We needed to hurry!

After strolling in the forest for quite some time, I grew impatient. There was no sign of any village, only trees and bushes. “How long until we get there?!”

“It won’t be long,” Naima said, brushing off the long walk as if it wasn’t exhausting. We continued straight until we arrived at the end of a cliff.

“Where are you taking us?” I asked curiously, trying to hide my irritation.

“Here. This is my village.”

I looked around, hoping to see any sign of human life. Maybe I just missed it. I scanned around the forest, hoping to prove myself wrong. Unfortunately, there was nothing but greenery. Did we get pranked?

“Umm… I’m not seeing it.” I cautiously hesitated.

As I faced the others, Amada looked at me, pointing towards the cliff. “Look down there.”

I carefully looked past the cliff. There was a massive hole in the forest, reaching deep down like the ocean. Good thing I wasn’t scared of heights!

Naima smiled as she pointed towards the hole. “Welcome to Dryd Village.”

…

I squinted my eyes to focus my gaze on the crater. To my surprise, I discovered human-made structures below. The scenery was beautiful. There were trees with golden leaves that emitted glowing particles around the village, highlighting the magical aspect of this world.

The Dryd village was home to many elves, each of a different size and gender. It was hidden away from any threats. The fall alone would ward off any danger.

Although it was a civilized village, there was no sign of an entrance.

I cautiously asked our navigator. “So, if this is your home. How do we go down?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” chuckled Naima as she hugged all three of us. “Like this!”

In a split second, I felt myself losing balance. I was slipping off the cliff. I quickly turned around and saw Anojin and Amada slipping as well. Naima shoved us over the cliff. Before I made any assumptions, Naima tossed herself over with us. Now, all of us were descending the cliff.

Our hearts raced. Amada and I screamed as death approached us. Was she planning on killing us?

“Are you insane?!” I screamed with all my might towards the elf. “We’re gonna die!”

In a panic, Anojin equipped his shield and aimed it towards the ground. “Miss Amada. Miss Naima. Hold on tight. I’m going to break our fall with my spell.”

The elf laughed excessively, holding her stomach in the air. “Relax, you guys will be fine. The slime plant will catch you guys.”

Slime plant? We all glanced below us while free-falling. There were huge plants with thick, large lime petals bordering the village.

I didn’t want to die, especially not like that. First, Anojin and I fell down the stairs before the fight with King Endo. And now this? What’s happening with me lately?

We were gaining speed downwards. It was only a matter of time before we reached the bottom. I had no way of breaking our fall. I know my body had some durability, but that was excessive.

We needed to trust Naima. We aimed for the plant, hoping it would save us.

“Ah!” Amada and I held each other, crying like scared children.

We landed on the plants. Our bodies sank into the slimy petals that absorbed the impact. My body felt disgusting as the plant coated us in a slime liquid. I understood why it was named a slime plant.

After it caught our fall, our mass weighed down the plants, forcing us to descend slowly.

Once we touched the ground, Amada and I hugged the ground, our bodies heavily shaking. The near-death experience terrorized us. Anojin kept his composure, but his fear was visible.

“Woo! How was that. Wasn’t that fun?!” Naima proudly exclaimed while coated in slime.

We refused to respond to her comment, trying to hold ourselves back from killing her ourselves.

After that terrible situation, we arrived at the real entrance of Dryd village.

…

The village retained its shape. There was no sign of disaster inside. Were they actually in danger? Where was the enemy?

After hugging the ground, we recollected ourselves, trying to wipe away the slime.

“Ew! My hair is ruined!” Amada complained as she messed with her hair.

I added while fidgeting with the slime, “Yeah, forget the enemy. I need to take a shower first.”

Once she saw we were ready, Naima clapped her hands to grab our attention. “Now that we've arrived, I’ll take you guys to my house to clean yourselves up. Hinabe will be there waiting.”

There wasn’t any urgency in the elf’s voice. Were they really in danger?

We followed behind Naima and headed into the village. Her calmness piqued my interest. However, cleaning ourselves up was our top priority. Once we fixed ourselves up, we hoped to find Hinabe was still alive.

…