A Village deep in the woods

Sorry for the constant delay, here's the thing:

I'll maintain the usual chapters for now until I finish the second part of the side chapter, then I'll release it, and after a day or two, move it so both parts are one after the other.

We continue this chapter with Silver and company traveling across the mountains.

Just that, bye.

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/Step step…/

'On their way, they discussed many things, some of them being monsters and their impact on the environment and its ecosystem.'

'And after a light discussion, he gave Artemis her bow back, which had been stored in his inventory for safety and to lighten their burden.'

'Although Silver could easily protect them all, even now, aside from their clothes, they weren't carrying anything with them, which was something that greatly distressed Artemis, she just felt better with a bow in hand and a full quiver on her back.'

"Hm?"

Have I finally found it?

'Nonetheless, as he walked, Silver's attention was momentarily taken away as he looked to the NorthEast.'

'There, deeper in the mountains next to a long river that went through the many precipices and ravines hidden by the rocks, a rather large Village stood within a hidden forest.'

'Enough to be called a small town even.'

'There was a simple path connecting the main road to the Village through a bridge going over the river, but it didn't seem to be used often due to how hidden it was.'

'Hidden wasn't the right word, it was simply covered in vines and plants.'

'In the first place, there was no reason for it to be hidden anyway as it was unlikely to meet anyone here, Silver could likely count on one hand how many traveled across this path in the last year or so…'

'And most of them would be adventurers, people who usually didn't go that far from the city unless it was due to an important reason, like a commission or simple retirement, which was rare.'

'However, what's important was the fact that this Village was a bit different from the others they had seen so far…'

'It was clearly located at the heart of the mountains in an area with quite a few monsters, yet it looked peaceful as if nothing had ever attacked it.'

'There were no broken trees, no toppled houses, no shattered blocks of stone hauled by wyverns, and the river was full of fish and the forest of birds...'

'Only a large forest and the many farm fields within it.'

"..."

This has to be the place... 

No amount of luck can give birth to such a place unless all of the odds of the universe come together...

'Silver's right eye shined with faint light as he used his Plasmids, taking control over his "drone".'

'Right now, he had several birds flying in the sky, observing the surroundings and making sure nothing dangerous approached them.'

'Silver could likely prevent anything bad from happening with or without them but he wouldn't take any chances.'

'Aside from that, those birds could notify him in case anything of interest passed by.'

'Thanks to them, he found around three broken wagons full of items inside, mostly broken or full of rotten materials.'

'Together with a carriage with jewelry and gold, and now, an entire Village, the third one they found, albeit the other two Villages were rather obvious as they were in the path.'

'Of course, that wasn't something he told nor showed the two Goddesses next to him, seeing the bodies that usually accompany such disasters would only work to spoil their overall happy mood.'

'So with his eyes sharpening, he said:'

"I think there's a Village nearby, and we've walked for quite a while, would you like to make a quick stop to rest and take a look while we're at it?" He asked calmly as he looked at the two Goddesses

"Of course, but... A Village? So deep in the mountains?" Artemis asked with a confused expression when she heard his words

"I'm curious about it too, but I'm pretty sure there's one nearby." Silver added with a light smile

"How do they fend off the monsters?" Hestia asked as she touched her chin

"Let's figure that out then." Silver said with a smile as he turned to the right, following the off-road path leading to the Village

'It was full of vegetation and given how perilous this place is, no one would try to risk going onto the wilds, that must be how the Village defends itself from Human problems.'

'After all, monsters aren't the sole issue people have to deal with while living outside of a city's strong walls…'

'And oftentimes, even people protected by large walls will fall victim to the greed of man instead of the ferocity of a monster...'

'More often than not, those were just decorative.'

…

/Half an hour later…/

'Following their descent into the overturned path, they eventually arrived at the entrance of a Village, a large wooden arc with a few words inscribed in it.'

'It read, "Welcome to Edas Village".'

'There were no walls protecting it, only a tall wobbly fence barely good enough to prevent children from wandering off too far.'

'Though, knowing how children are, there is definitely a hole hidden somewhere they use to go out of its perimeter.'

'Silver wondered where they got the metal to make the nails for their fences, given they're quite a few hours away from the city and that it would be quite dangerous for them to walk there...'

'But then again, being surrounded by mountains on all sides, there's no one stopping them from collecting directly from the source... Or if they were lucky, maybe they can just scoop it up from the rivers' shores.'

"Hum…"

There are no monsters around… Nothing, not even a sign of one.

In this entire massive forest a few Kilometers in diameter hidden in one of the most dangerous regions surrounding Orario, there's absolutely nothing here, only common wild animals.

Yup, that confirms it, this is the place. It has to be.

If it's not then something pretty serious is going on...

'Inspecting his surroundings, Silver was quite impressed by the Village's peaceful scenario.'

'And for a moment, he thought that maybe… It wouldn't be so bad to live like this…'

'Until he remembered that would mean not being able to sleep in his Ultra deluxe mattress bed made with the silk of Dungeon spiders...'

'Though with his powers, life anywhere can be made trivial as long as he had food and water.'

'He may be efficient, but he can't keep condensing water from the atmosphere to recover his stamina and Mind, it may work for a while but eventually, things would balance out.'

'It's not like water is a block of coal he can use to fuel his body to keep mining for more...'

/Whistle.../

/THUD THUD THUD!!/

'As they approached, they met with their first Villager.'

'Right next to the gate was a man crouched on the ground, hammering a nail onto the fence surrounding the Village as he whistled in a low tone.'

"Hm? Who...? Oh! HEY! We have visitors!" The man exclaimed as he saw them approach 

'He then turned around and walked deep into the Village, leaving the trio hanging awkwardly as they walked to the entrance.'

/Chatter…/

'As they got near, a small crowd gathered around the entrance, mostly children although there were some adults in their midst.'

'They all seemed very curious about them but from the atmosphere and the looks on their faces, on the mountain path, sometimes through their feet, others times through Silver's Plasmids, the trio had already gone quite deep in the mountains, so much so they met monsters more than once.'

'Albeit they didn't seem to abhor their presence, they instead seemed rather welcoming.'

'There was no deception hidden in their smiles, they were genuinely happy to see newcomers, meaning that they lived good lives without much hardship, at least in the regard of human interaction.'

'Of course, they could all be good-hearted people by nature.'

'Still, life in the woods is certainly challenging in its own right, imagine conceiving in such remote places…'

'Even so, they looked extremely happy, their clothes were tidy and their roads were paved and clean, there was a lot of care everywhere even if things looked rustic.'

'It was an extremely pretty and well-organized Village.'

/Step step…/

"What are you three standing there dangling about? Come inside else you'll get all dusty." An old lady said with a chuckle as she approached the three of them, passing by the crowd 'quickly' 

'She looked at Hestia and Artemis, and with all of her dexterity, she gave them a bow as she realized their identity, though before she finished it, Artemis approached them, stopping her from hurting herself.'

"Eh… I… Of course!" Hestia replied as she beamed a large smile as a bead of sweat fell from her forehead

'Maybe it was due to her experiences within Orario, but she was a bit awkward at first, but soon enough, she molded herself to the atmosphere, being the kind-hearted Goddess many loved.'

"Thank you for welcoming us, my pleasure." Artemis said as she followed after the old lady

"..."

'Silver on the other hand remained silent as he walked behind them.'

'Not because he wanted to, but because he just didn't find a chance to speak...'

/Tug…/

'But as he passed by the gates, one of the children grabbed his pants, pulling it a bit, stopping him in his tracks.'

"Hm?"

"H-Hey! Mister! Are you an adventurer?" The child asked curiously 

'It was a small Chienthrope with circular brown ears and hair, rather cute.'

"Yes, I am, why the question?" He replied with a smile as he turned to the child

"Those goddesses, which one of them is yours?" He asked innocently as he clapped his hands together 

"The Gods give their blessings to adventurers to make them strong don't they?"

"..."

Is this supposed to be a trick question?

'Silver's expression twisted a little bit, but as he realized he was just dealing with a child, he eventually laughed and said:'

"If you're asking about the one that gave me the blessing, then it would be the one with the twin tails."

But if you're asking me... Forget it...

"Ohhh! W-What's her name? No! What's your name?" He asked as his eyes began to sparkle with light

"J-Jibu, ask him his Level too." One of the other children asked as they approached them, somewhat shy as he hid behind someone else

"I… I also heard they have nicknames…" Another child, another shy one, asked as she also approached them

"Me? I'm uh…"

Quite a few questions…

'Silver maintained his cool but it was hard to reply to each child when they were competing with one another to climb him, asking questions as they pulled his pants.'

'It was a struggle to even keep them on at this rate.'

"Now now, children, stop bothering our guest." A woman said as she approached them

'She stopped in front of Silver as she gently pulled some of the children onto her legs, saying:'

"I apologize, it's just that we haven't had a guest in so long… As long as I can remember, it's the first time these children are seeing anyone from outside. They don't know how important such information is for an adventurer." 

"Haa… It's not really a problem, it's not anything special…" Silver replied with a smile as he looked at her and the children

"Most call me Silver, and I'm a Level... 4 adventurer of the Hestia Familia, and that goddess over there is Hestia." He said as he pointed at her from afar

"We were making our way back to my home, a Village at the foot of the mountain, it's honestly pretty similar to this one."

'Silver thought about keeping his Level low, fearfull they may be intimidated, but in the end he just said the truth.'

'Satisfied with his answer, Silver turned to the children... Only to see a bunch of confused expressions.'

"Level 4? Is that high?" The children that asked the question asked out loud as he looked at his fingers

One... Two... Four...

"It's not, I can easily count to seventeen!" Another child said proudly as she shook her head

"Hey hey! Mister Adventurer! Are there any Level 17 adventurers in Orario?" Another child asked in curiosity 

"Hahaha… O-Of course..."

"I do have a long way to go before getting to Level 17…" Silver said as a bead of sweat fell from his forehead

By Level 17 wouldn't I be strong enough to evaporate the Dungeon in one strike?

Urg... It's better not to think too much about it.

"See?"

...

/Laughs/

'The children began to laugh as they clustered closer to him, asking more questions about literally everything and anything all at the same time, causing Silver to be a bit overwhelmed as he tried to answer them all.'

""...""

'Meanwhile, Hestia and Artemis vanished as they went deeper into the Village, only stopping once to look at him play with the children before leaving him behind to deal with them alone…'

'And they were smiling as they did so.'

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