Chapter 33:

Reunited

Doppolia: A New Magical World


As we walked past the gate and into the village, Dryd reminded me of Stalu in size. But, unlike the crowdedness of the streets, the town felt more open. The atmosphere was warm and inviting.

Small elves frolicked through the uncrowded streets while others chatted peacefully nearby. For a place invaded by a captain of the demon king’s army, the citizens seemed to feel safe.

Anojin carefully examined his surroundings. He holstered his shield and wondered, “Why is everyone so happy? I thought this place was under attack.”

Naima replied without stopping. “I will let my little sister explain the situation. Don’t worry, we’re almost at my house.”

Several minutes after walking around, we arrived at a small concrete house near the outskirts of the village. The one-story house was about three times the size of my apartment.

Naima led us to the front door. I expected her to open the door. However, she leaned forward and took a deep breath before yelling with all her might.

“Hinabe, I’m home!”

Nobody answered for a while.

We watched as she awkwardly shouted at the door like she was talking to a brick wall. After a cringe-worthy shout, somebody opened the door for Naima.

An older elf woman yanked the door open and retaliated at Naima, matching her energy. “She’s sleeping right now, dear!”

“Oh, sorry!”

The elf woman glanced over Naima’s shoulder. She returned to her normal voice as soon as she spotted us. She asked Naima, “Are those Hinabe’s friends?”

“Yeah, they are.”

Naima moved to the side to give the elf a clear view of us. Upon closer inspection, the older woman bore a striking resemblance to the sisters.

The woman broke into a genuine smile. “Sorry for the long travel, Hinabe’s friends. I am Naima and Hinabe’s mother.”

The mother observed our sticky appearance. “…Judging from the slime, I assume Naima took you guys to the other entrance.”

Other entrance?” I pondered. “Are you saying there’s another entrance?”

“Yes.” Naima’s mother began explaining. “There’s a path near the border that takes people down to the village. It’s the official entrance and is safe for visitors to use. Using the slime plants is the other entrance. It’s not official, but it's dangerous.”

“Naima discovered it one day, and despite us telling her not to, she only enters that way.”

Naima awkwardly scratched her neck after being caught. Our eyes glared at the elf with murderous intent.

Her mother sensed the hostility in our reaction. Before we unleashed our anger at Naima, her mother suggested, “You guys should come inside. I’m sure Hinabe will be glad to see you guys.”

We gladly accepted her offer and walked behind Naima as we headed into the house.

Once we entered the corridor, they escorted us around the house. The interior had a similar layout to my Japanese house. The mother began showing us around the house.

They took us past the kitchen and into the living room. As we had a tour, I couldn’t help but think about their attitudes. Why does everyone sound normal? Wasn’t Hinabe in trouble?

As we approached the room, Naima rushed into the room, shouting her sister’s name. “Hinabe! Wake up!”

We turned the corner and noticed a small elf lying flat on the floor, drooling from her lips.

Naima tossed herself at Hinabe, crushing her sister with all her body. Her weight forced Hinabe to wake up.

Based on seeing how Naima woke Hinabe up, I understood how Hinabe felt okay with Amada doing the same.

Hinabe struggled to breathe. “I’m…a..wake…Nai…ma!”

“Oh, great! Guess who decided to visit you?”

Hinabe turned her head, glancing at us over Naima’s shoulder. Her cheeks blushed with happiness.

Naima got off Hinabe. Hinabe recovered herself and jumped towards us, her arms extended. We caught her, giving her a group hug.

Surprisingly, Hinabe looked fine. I figured she would have been injured or something. But she seemed completely normal. Amada couldn’t resist asking the question we all had in our minds.

“Hinabe, are you okay? Your sister told us you were in trouble.”

“Miss Hinabe. Are you hurt? Don’t worry, your personal crusader is here for you!”

I joined the conversation. “Yeah. Naima said one of the captains of the demon king’s army was here.”

“Yeah, he was. He called himself Captain Yuro. He showed up around a week ago. He came here to challenge the strongest warriors in the village for a fight.”

Captain Yuro? Why did that name sound familiar? I looked back into my memories to search for that name. In an instant, I realized the name.

…That’s the same devil who was at the royal mansion!

He supposedly came to the village around the same time he stopped showing up at the mansion. It was all adding up.

Hinabe continued her explanation. “No one wanted to accept his challenge. He came back every other day, seeking a duel. He asked and asked until yesterday. The captain snapped and started attacking the village in a rampage.”

“Our strongest elves decided to challenge him. However, they were easily defeated. After fighting them, he continued to ask for a duel. Eventually, there was no one left who wanted to fight him.”

“He explained to us that we wanted to fight King Endo and you, Takumi. But you constantly rejected him. Because you two rejected him, he wanted to fight us as a way to relieve his sadness. I told him that I was friends with you and that you would accept his challenge.”

“What?!” Anojin, Amada, and I were thrown into utter shock.

“Why on earth did you do that for?” I shouted. I struggled to keep my mouth shut. I refused to lash out at her. I rejected him before, so why did she say yes for me?!

She shyly answered. “…Because he really wanted to fight you.”

My body moved towards Hinabe to show her my “appreciation”. Luckily, Amada noticed my anger and held me back.

As she stopped me in my tracks, she thought back to Hinabe’s explanation of the situation. “Hold on, you said yesterday?”

“Yes, I told him yesterday.”

Everyone pondered the time. If the captain of the demon king’s army attacked the village yesterday…

“Then that means that he is coming today!” Anojin said, connecting the dots.

I turned my attention to Naima with my eyes beaming at her. “If this happened yesterday, why didn’t you warn us earlier?”

“Hehe, sorry,” Naima confessed with a convincing grin, hoping for forgiveness like a child. “I forgot to head out yesterday and slept in.”

Slept in…? I lashed out, marching towards the sisters with ill intent. “You really are related to that sleepy elf.”

Amada couldn’t hold me for long, so Anojin stepped in.

We bickered among ourselves inside the house. Suddenly, we felt a mysterious presence enter the village. The evil aura felt threatening, as if it were tugging at my heart. I felt this back at the mansion, but not to this extent.

“He’s here!”

The timing could not have been worse! There was no time to plan a strategy. I’m positive Captain Yuro could sense my presence as well. Now, it was only a matter of time before we clashed.

sTakumi
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