Chapter 21 - A New Member

Foreword: Revised on December 22, 2020.

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It was a wonderful morning; the sun was slowly climbing up to the zenith, the birds were chirping energetically, and the animals were frolicking. Overall, it was a perfect morning any could ask for.

KA-BOOOOOM!!!

…A huge explosion, which would have made a certain explosion maniac feeling jealous, occurred in the field a little far from the village of Füs, ruining the perfect atmosphere of the morning.

The cause of the explosion stood on her spot with a dumbfounded expression while holding her wand tightly. It was no other than Tianne.

FWOOSH!

The shockwave followed after the explosion caused her hood to fall and blew her medium-length blond hair.

"That's stupidly powerful…" Llusse, who was standing at Tianne's side, commented with a sweatdrop.

They were looking at the results of Tianne's spell; there was a long trench running straight through the nearby mountain. They could also see that the cracked and melting surface of the earth.

"You just bore straight through the mountain and created a new path to the other side…" Llusse added, amazement lacing her voice. She was impressed by the destruction in front of her.

"I-I am so sorry! I never meant to do that!" Tianne stuttered apologetically after recovering from her shock; she looked guilty, nervous, and remorseful.

"Haha! You technically made a shortcut, so don't worry about it!" Llusse waved off Tianne's apology, trying to make the cleric feel better.

SHWING!

Llusse and Tianne turned to the source of that sound and saw Filia cutting a huge boulder horizontally. It was outrageous swordplay that made anyone speechless. However, the cleric and the archer had gotten used to the outrageous things after being accustomed to the absurdity around the hero.

"Speaking of which, Filia has been pretty much the same…" Llusse pointed out.

"Wow! It feels like cutting butter with a hot knife!" Filia voiced her experience after sheathing her sword back. She then joined Llusse and Tianne.

"It looks like the legendary hero's power is the real deal," added Llusse with her usual tough charade.

"Now that you mention it," began Filia while sheathing her sword, "Should we search for him?"

"…Do you think he might have gotten lost at some point?" Tianne couldn't help but feel concerned about her man's well-being.

Her sentiment was understandable. She only knew that the hero wasn't native to this world and knew nothing of this place.

"…I guess it can't be helped." Llusse nodded in agreement while crossing her arms under her breasts. "Let's find him!"

All of sudden, their gazes turned in a certain direction. They'd sensed a presence approaching and saw a girl walking up toward them. Her blue eyes were roaming around, staring at the long and deep trench in the ground, the split and cut boulders, and the trio.

The unknown girl seemed amazed by what she saw.

The trio wondered who she was…

Before long, the girl reached them. She stopped in front of them. "Pardon my intrusion. My name is Aina, a mage from a faraway place. Are you three the companions of the summoned hero?" The unknown girl, now known as Aina, asked.

The trio looked at each other in confusion before looking at Aina again. Then, Filia stepped ahead and replied, "Indeed, we are. I'm Filia Shiora, the swordswoman and one of the hero's companions. Would you kindly tell us about your intentions?"

"I'm here to offer my strength and magic to assist the hero in his noble quest to defeat the Dark Lord," Aina answered calmly and then added inquiringly, "Do you receive another person in your group?"

Filia turned her head to her friends, wondering how she should answer Aina. However, Tianne and Llusse seemed unsure.

Realizing her friends were no help, Filia put on a pensive expression for moments before turning her attention to Aina. "Well…"

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Sometime later, Filia, Tianne, Llusse, and Aina could be seen walking together in the village of Füs. They'd returned a while ago.

"Where the heck is the hero?!" Llusse exclaimed irritably all of sudden.

"Calm yourself, Llusse."

"Perhaps, the hero has returned to the inn."

Filia and Tianne, who were walking beside Llusse, had tense smiles while trying to calm the elf.

All the while, Aina followed the trio silently, seemingly deep in thought. For now, she was following them to meet the hero; the trio had told her that they couldn't give her an answer without the hero's opinion. Thus, she was accompanying them to search for the hero.

They'd been looking for their missing hero all over the village of Füs, but they couldn't find him. They'd finally stopped looking for him in the village and decided to return to the inn; lunchtime was approaching.

They thought he was back there. However, they didn't realize that they had been fooled by him and Natalia. The hero they were looking for never stepped outside the inn. Not even Aina was aware of this.

"Have you heard the news about the landslide?" (Villager A)

The trio plus one stopped and glanced at the speaking villager after overhearing that. The villager was chatting with another villager.

"Yeah. I've heard it from one of my acquaintances, who's a hunter. What of it?" (Villager B)

"That landslide blocking the main road to the other villages and the capital; this is troubling…" (Villager A)

"Do you think the landslide was related to the earthquake this morning?" (Villager B)

"Dunno… But, it would be a pain to fix it. The traffic will stop for several days until then. What a pain…" (Villager A)

Filia, Tianne, Llusse, and Aina fell silent after hearing the talks of the villagers. Tianne had a guilty expression as Filia, Llusse, and Aina glanced at her.

They knew the origin of the landslide. To be exact, Tianne was the cause of the landslide. Therefore, the cleric felt guilty.

"Don't worry. It's not your fault. You never meant to do it." Llusse patted Tianne's shoulder consolingly.

Tianne just smiled awkwardly, still feeling guilty and remorseful. At least, she understood Llusse's intention and felt grateful for it.

"Come on. Let's head for the inn. It's almost lunchtime, and we have to meet with the hero to talk about Aina's request to join us." (Filia)

Tianne and Llusse turned their gaze to Filia and nodded in understanding. After that, the trio plus one continued walking to the inn.