4 The thankful Girls

After a couple of minutes the fox demi-human finally regained her composure. I can sense fear in her, it might be best if I introduce myself. I pulled back my hood to be polite. Using the common language of this world I hope she understands me. 'I'm Byakko Hime, your friends they should not be in any life-threatening situation at the moment the bunny girl seems to have some nasty bruises and will probably need to get treated.'

The fox girl quickly knelt down on a knee and looked down to avoid eye contact. 'Thank you very much for saving our lives Byakko hime-sama. This one is Shinonome Momiji of the Renard race a shrine maiden from the far east.' said the fox girl.

Surprised by the fox girl's bending a knee and her awkward way of speaking did she somehow mistook me as a noble or something? 'Please stand up you don't need to bow to me and please speak with ease Miss Shinonome. Do you know where is the closest village town or city from here? Also how is your body condition?'

Momiji stands up still bowing 'Thank you Byakko hime-sama, the closest village is called Modoc it is about three hours away if we follow the road west. If we follow the road east it will lead us to city of Meilstora I estimate it to be about four to five hours away. I am not injured just slight mental fatigue, the reason I passed out is due to Mind Zero after casting a heal spell on Kaede err the bunny girl.' said Momiji.

Staying in the forest during the night will be the worst case scenario. And I have no knowledge on the surrounding forest and what dangers there is, heading for the village seem to be the safer bet. 'Miss Shinonome do you know what are the dangers around these forest and roads when night hits? What monsters are there and any hostile groups in this area?' I hope she knows so I can figure out the best course of action to take.

'The dangerous ones are goblins, wolves and kobolds that appear in this area the wolves are more active at night. Kobolds normally travel in groups of 3-5 wolves hunts in large packs but they stay clear from the roads most of the time. There are bandit groups in the area but they stay clear from Meilstora and they should not be a threat to someone like you Byakko hime-sama who posses a Falna.' said Momiji.

The bunny girl starts to move and asked 'What happened Momiji are we dead?' asked the bunny girl. Momiji looked at me and I gave her a slight nod while saying 'Go help your friend we can continue later'. Seeing the bunny girl struggling to sit up Momiji gave her a hand and leaned her against the tree. 'We are not dead Kaede, we were saved by Byakko hime-sama. Coco is still passed out from Mind Zero she should be waking up soon. What is your current condition?' Momiji asks while pulling open the bunny girl's kimono revealing her chest which was wrapped with sarashi.

'I can't move my right arm and my whole body aches. Other than that I should be able to walk but I will be unable to fight. Momiji help me up I need to thank Byakko hime-sama properly.' said the bunny girl. Before she could get up I said to them 'Please rest for the time being, you can thank me later. For now I would like to know what are your plans do you want to head towards the village or city or camp out in the forest?' and looked towards Momiji.

Momiji nodded to me 'We were headed to Meilstora before but with the current situation, we have to wait for Coco to wake up before we can start moving we will not have enough time before we lose daylight. Modoc will be the only choice as staying out here after dark can get us into a lot of dangerous situation. Even heading for Modoc we will most likely not make it if we run into more Kobolds. Byakko hime-sama we already owe you with our lives but could you help us.' she says while bowing down.

Judging by what she said earlier the bandits might be strong, Momiji seem to have mistaken me for having a Falna. 'Miss Shinonome I have never joined any familia thus I do not have a Falna. If I may ask are you three from any familia? Having no information on the bandits and their strength I can't say if I can protect you 3 from them but Kobolds are not an issue. I will do my best to accompany the 3 of you to Modoc, also I have no identification papers will it be a problem?'

With a very shocked expression on her face 'We have not joined any familia before as well. Not having identification papers is not an issue at all to enter Modoc. For Meilstora a fee will be needed to enter for those who are not citizens of Opera Country, a temporary identification card will be made for non citizens so long you follow their rules there will be no issue.' Momiji replied.

Looking at the bunny girl's shoulder, it is most likely dislocated. Seems like I've popped dislocated joints back in place before and have some knowledge on it. I walked over to the bunny girl and examine her shoulder and said 'Your shoulder should be dislocated I will pop it back into it's socket it should help for now until you can get it treated. Please lay down on your back and brace yourself for the pain clench your teeth so you don't bite your tongue. I will count to 3 before I pop it.'

Momiji helped her to lay flat then moved aside for me. I counted to 3 out loud and in one swift motion I popped it back in place. I helped her up to her feet and placed her arm into the left side of her kimono to hold her arm in a somewhat 90 degrees angle. 'How is it? Do you think you can walk to Modoc, try not to move your arm too much.'

The bunny girl moved her arm a little and smiled while saying 'Thank you very much Byakko hime-sama, it hurts but I can move my arm now. I can walk to Modoc once Coco wakes up' I cut her off after hearing her say she can walk. 'Lets get ready to head to Modoc we can talk on the way. Go pick up your weapons, I will carry the little girl and her hammer. Miss Shinonome please hold on to the magic stones we will split them later.'

While I was about to carry the little girl she woke up and sat up knocking her head into mine making a cute tiny squeak sound while holding her head with her hands. I pat her head and said 'There there little girl are you alright I'm sorry to startle you. Are you alright?'

'I'm not a little girl I'm Coco Collins a Pallum' she says in a very soft voice while looking around before grabbing her hammer beside her before running towards Momiji. Momiji starts explaining to Coco the situation. The bunny girl gave me a deep bow and said 'My name is Tsukinokami Kaede a Hume Bunny from the far east please call me Kaede thank you for saving our lives and I'm in your care Byakko hime-sama.'

I guess she didn't get a chance to properly introduce herself. 'You don't need to bow to me Miss Kaede, I did what was within my capabilities like anyone would have.' Hearing our conversation Momiji chimed in and said 'Byakko hime-sama not everyone would have helped, and please call me Momiji.' Coco went down on one knee and said 'Thank you very much for saving my life Princess Byakko.'

Why would she call me a princess, I dug through my memories then it struck me. It's what Bibian named this body given to me, Byakko Hime as shown on my status. The name sounds similiar to the people from the Far East in this world and Hime means princess in their language. So Momiji and Kaede thought I introduced myself as Princess Byakko. The royalties and nobles of this world can be quite particular about greetings and etiquette most of them are unreasonable and have a superiority complex.

Now I need to explain to them. How troublesome. 'Please stand up I'm not a princess it seems that there's a misunderstanding, my name is Hime and my surname is Byakko. Miss Momiji if you would lead the way towards Modoc.'