Chapter 36 — Village's Chief

The chief nods at Hilda with a polite smile, his tone almost too formal for the situation at hand. "Good evening, Hilda."

He takes a step closer, his eyes darting towards the bird momentarily before returning to Hilda again. "Ah, I see your daughter has found another one of those birds," he comments with a hint of laughter in his voice. "They seem to be popping up everywhere lately..."

Hilda raises a brow at the comment, crossing her arms over her chest. "Another one?" she repeats, her tone taking on a more wary edge now. "As in you've seen more of these?"

The chief nods, still amused. "Indeed. In fact, I received a report this morning that a whole flock of them was seen passing through the northernmost woods." He chuckles again, his gaze shifting briefly back to the bird on the fence.

The chief's gaze snaps back to Hilda then, his expression taking on a more serious tone. "Speaking of which," he says, all business now, "I hear that wounded adventurer is doing surprisingly well—considering his injuries, of course."

He gives her a questioning glance as if expecting an update. Hilda shrugs, her own expression betraying a mixture of concern and curiosity. "He's a tough lad, that one," she says thoughtfully. "Stubborn and refuses to stay in bed, even when I've told him to take it easy."

The chief chuckles softly, shaking his head in amusement. "Sounds like your typical stubborn adventurer," he remarks with a slight grin. "Always too stubborn to realize their own limitations."

Hilda rolls her eyes, a mix of fond exasperation and concern etched deep in her features. "That's putting it mildly," she mutters with dry humor. "He's going to open up those stitches at this rate... or get himself into more trouble."

That earns a snort of laughter from the chief, who grins at her dry tone. "You should know by now that trouble is their middle name," he says in response. "They wouldn't be adventurers if they didn't get themselves into scrapes every other time of the week."

Hilda snorts again, her lips curving in a reluctant half-smile. "You're right about that, at least," she concedes with a shake of her head. "They're all thrill-seekers at heart... and most of them have more than one loose screw, honestly."

While the two were busy talking, May's eyes lit up as she spotted Yasu approaching, her earlier excitement about the bird momentarily forgotten. "Yaysu!" she calls out eagerly, waving a hand in his direction—completely oblivious to how badly he must still be hurting from earlier.

She hops off the fence, nearly startling their shimmering guest, and skips towards him before stopping just short of bumping into him outright. "This is an Aurora Avian," she announces proudly if this should explain everything important about it.

Yasu's smile is small—distant, almost mechanical in its emptiness—but he nods all the same. "Yeah, about that..."

As if summoned by her name alone, Lumina lifts off from the fence with a flutter of iridescent wings and flits directly to Yasu's shoulder like some kind of living jewel now nestled there.

May gasps, staring up at him with starry-eyed awe. "How'd you do that?!"

Yasu's smile softens at May's obvious wonder, his usual aloofness cracking a little as he nods in the affirmative. "Let's just say we're close friends, actually," he answers, the small chuckle escaping him. "Been friends for the past few years, even."

Lumina chirps and rubs her head against his cheek, like a show of affection and agreement at once. He glances down at her fondly, his expression almost warm for once.

The atmosphere shifts abruptly as Hilda steps closer, her expression stern now. "You're supposed to be resting," she says firmly, eyeing him up and down with clear disapproval. "Not wandering around when you're still injured."

Yasu's smile vanishes, his expression closing off again. "I'm fine," he replies gruffly, stubbornly.

Hilda rolls her eyes, her expression clearly telling him she's not falling for it this time. "You're not fine, and you're not kidding anyone either," she remarks dryly.

The village chief clears his throat loudly, fixing Yasu with a stern look that clearly expects some kind of deference.

Yasu blinks at him—genuinely puzzled—before turning back to Hilda and deadpanning: "Who's this dude?"

THWACK.

Hilda doesn’t hesitate; she swings her wooden spoon, directly into the side of Yasu’s head with terrifying accuracy. "That," she hisses through gritted teeth, "is your damn chief. Now you will apologize."

Yasu immediately drops into a deep bow—so low his forehead nearly touches the dirt, Lumina still perched on his shoulders like some kind of shimmering accessory to this whole ordeal. "My deepest apologies, Chief!" he blurts out quickly.

"Where'd she even get that wooden spoon?! I could've sworn she wasn't holding anything before." Yasu thought to himself as he gritted his teeth.

The village chief stares for a moment before bursting into laughter at the sheer absurdity of it all—his belly shaking with amusement as he wipes an imaginary tear from his eye. "You," he wheezes between chuckles, pointing accusingly at Yasu's hunched form while barely containing himself further: "Are one helluva weird adventurer."

Yasu straightens up with an awkward, sheepish expression on his face—his head still ringing from the earlier spoon-based assault. "Y-yes sir," he manages, awkwardly extending his hand as requested.

The chief—Edward, he corrects—takes it, his grip firm as he laughs again. "No need for formalities. Just call me Edward."

Yasu nods stiffly, still trying to process everything that just happened. Lumina chirps at his shoulder curiously, her bright eyes fixed intently on Edward.

Edward eyes Yasu's bandaged side with a critical eye, his brows furrowed with concern. "How's your injury healing up?" he asks, his tone almost too casual for the question behind it. "I heard that bird chirping constantly by my window. It seemed almost as if it were following me around."

He glances sideways at Lumina, who chirps almost in confirmation as if to say Yes, that's exactly why... before continuing slowly: "... And it led me to find you unconscious on the ground."

Yasu glances down at Lumina, his expression almost soft as he reaches up to pat her gently. "You mean..." he responds with a small smile. "... Lumina did all this for me?" he murmurs, his heart warm with a sudden burst of affection for Lumina. She chirps in response, nudging her beak against his cheek as if to say "Of course I did."

Yasu's fingers dig through his shoulder bag for a moment, eventually emerging with a plump blueberry clenched in his fingers. "As for your reward...I survived, and... it's all thanks to you." Lumina chirps happily at that, nuzzling her head against Yasu's hand in clear affection before digging into Yasu's reward.

Edward watches the exchange, his own expression softening at the sight of them. "Seems like quite the special relationship you two have there," he observes curiously.

His gaze shifts from Yasu's injured side up to his face. "What caused that injury?" he asks curiously, his eyes narrowing slightly now.

Just as Yasu opens his mouth, May immediately pipes up with her own addition to the conversation. "He got hit by a wild boar!" she declares loudly.

Yasu cringes at her volume, immediately shoving some berries in her mouth to keep her from spreading such nonsense. "That's enough of that," he mutters, his expression half-exasperated, half-grateful now. "Quit spreading false information and it was IN-fact a bear!"

May happily chews the berries Yasu stuffed in her mouth, her face a perfect picture of mischief as she grins widely. Yasu rolls his eyes, clearly not amused, but before he can say anything more, a sharp, familiar voice calls out.

"May..."

Hilda who has been watching, grabs May by the wrist, tugging her away briskly. "Speaking of that cheeky grin of yours, you're covered in dirt and stink like being in the coop," she scolds as May squeals in protest. "Get cleaned up, young lady—now."

May wails dramatically, kicking her legs as Hilda drags her away. "Nooo! I wanna pet the pretty bird!" she protests, reaching one arm out desperately towards Lumina like a tragic heroine being ripped from true love.

Yasu watches this unfold with an expression caught somewhere between amusement."... Maybe later," he mutters.

With May's whining having faded into the distance, the conversation quiets to include only Edward and Yasu again. Edward clears his throat once, his gaze fixed intently on Yasu's face now. "So," he begins slowly, his tone almost too nonchalant. "You mind me asking why you're here with such... severe injuries? That quest you're taking isn't some D rank."

Yasu shifts uncomfortably under the weight of the question, suddenly very much aware of how much he does not want to answer that question right now. "... Just passing through," he says, his gaze darting away from Edward's.

He shakes his head at Yasu's answer "Never mind that. It's been far too long since we had one of you here. It's clear you're here because of that beast, aren't you? Considering the risk with high rewards." He responds eagerly.

Yasu blinks repeatedly in confusion. "Sorry... could you elaborate on that? And no I'm just here to rest up for a few days before moving on again."

Edward sighs, his expression turning almost mournful. "You know what this village used to be, don't you? This was a place for outcasts—people who were tired of taxes, corrupted kings, running from debt, and all those other shitty things. A place where we could live in peace..."

He shakes his head, his gaze drifting towards the horizon like a melancholic old man. "... But then that damn thing showed up, and now no one can live in peace again."

Yasu shifts awkwardly again, trying to shake off the heavy atmosphere Edward's words have left behind. "Er... yeah," he mutters, his tone forced into a false casualness now. "I'm sure other adventurers will come along to cure this place of its curse and such. Now if you excuse me..."

He attempts to move past Edward then, eager to escape the intensity of the conversation—only to be stopped by a strong hand on his shoulder. "Hold up there," Edward says coolly, holding Yasu in place effortlessly as Lumina chirps alertly on his other shoulder.