Village Chief

Azra's words sent a bolt of lightning through Mahenny's head, and he froze for a few seconds. When Mahenny's thoughts started moving again, he assumed a thoughtful expression and looked at the ground for a few seconds.

Mahenny twisted and turned his head a bit. It seemed like he was trying to look at the state of the plane. He looked straight at the rising sun, which he immediately regretted. His eyes were used to the darkness and were still adjusting to the brightness.

Eventually, Mahenny looked at Tissa with his once again bloodshot eyes. Mahenny nodded and turned to Azra.

"I think we should talk to the chief."

The usually eccentric and eager Mahenny had suddenly turned somber, but Azra played along and got rid of the smile he put on when Mahenny jumped around in joy.

"The village chief?"

"That's the one. And there's no time to waste. Let's go at once!"

Mahenny didn't wait for Azra and stormed off, Tissa tight on his heel.

Azra held back a sigh and rushed to keep up.

Azra and Mahenny walked at a brisk pace, and it didn't take long for them to arrive in front of the village chief's three-story house.

Mahenny didn't stop at the door and barged right in, setting off a bell, just like the one in Gus' shop. Azra only had a few moments to wonder why the village chief would have such a bell on his house before the smell of freshly baked bread filled his nose.

Azra couldn't help but take a deep breath at the scent, but he quickly composed himself. And right on time since a voice followed the bell's tinkling.

"Welcome- Oh, it's you- Mahenny, what have I told you about bringing your animals into the store!?"

"Not to do it…?"

"Exactly! Have Tissa wait outside if you want something, or don't even bother coming back!"

Mahenny reluctantly faced Tissa with a pleading gaze. Thankfully Tissa didn't put up any resistance. After tapping Mahenny's leg with a paw, the snow-white bunny left the store on her own.

"Well then, what can I get for you, gentlemen?"

Mahenny looked a little nervous as he answered, but Azra didn't interfere since he didn't know if the man in front of them was the chief or just a baker using the ground floor of the chief's building as a bakery.

"A-Actually, we're not here for bread."

"Official business, then?"

"Yes, sir."

The large, bald man's face turned serious again after having just become jovial after scolding Mahenny. But unlike when he was scolding Mahenny, the village chief only looked like he was taking things seriously and not as if he was getting ready to throw Mahenny out the door.

The village chief took off his apron and hung it on a hook next to the counter as he began walking to a stairway behind the same counter.

"Follow me, then."

Before climbing the stairs, the village chief bent around the corner to face the back of the shop where the baking took place.

"Honey, I'm gonna deal with some village business, but it's Mahenny, so I'll be right back!"

"Okay!"

The village chief continued up the stairs after getting an answer, bending down a little while entering the doorway. The doorway wasn't small, and Azra easily passed through it. But the village chief was a bear of a man, the stairs that looked to be solid wood even creaked a little under the chief's log-like legs.

The village chief led Azra and Mahenny into a simply decorated office with a couple of sofas and a coffee table.

Azra and Mahenny followed the village chief's direction and sat down on one of the sofas while the chief grabbed a tray with pastries and three cups of tea.

The regular-sized cups looked like a pebble in the chief's large hands. The chief's hands and forearms looked big and strong enough to squeeze a person's head, but they moved with enough delicacy that Azra wouldn't be surprised if the chief could peel a grape barehanded.

The chief sat down and looked at Azra. After putting down the tray, he reached out with a large hand.

"I don't believe we've met yet. I am Twells, the acting village chief."

Azra let the chief grab his hand, and he hid the mixed feelings he got from feeling like a toddler as he answered.

"Rumors travel like wildfire in villages like these, so I'm sure you've already heard of me, but my name is Azra. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise."

After greeting Azra with a business-like smile, Twells turned to Mahenny again.

"What's the official business this time, and what's it got to do with the Thorns' guest?"

"R-right! It's- Well- Hmm. I don't really know where to begin. Let me think a little."

"Hah… Can you at least tell me why you involved Azra?"

"That I can do. But I didn't involve Azra. He came to me."

Twells turned to Azra with a raised eyebrow since it would probably prove more efficient to talk to him than to get a straight answer out of Mahenny.

"I apologize for Mahenny, but do you mind telling me what's going on?"

"Don't worry about it. It isn't something easy to explain, so don't hold it against Mahenny. I will keep it extremely short because I also don't really know what to say."

"Well?"

"We think the plane might be recovering."

"..."

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Twells turned to Mahenny with a frown.

"Is this another one of your jokes or delusions?"

Mahenny looked a little stunned at the accusation that came from out of nowhere.

"N-no, not at all!"

His flustering didn't help convince Twells he wasn't guilty of doing something stupid. Twells sighed and motioned to get up, but Azra stopped him before he could.

"This isn't something Mahenny is responsible for making me believe."

Azra's words managed to convince Twells to listen to the rest.

Azra went on to talk about how he helped Mahenny prepare for the beasts Lo and Erlo would bring back. And how he found growing sprouts in places that hadn't had anything grow except tumbleweed since the height of the drought.

Mahenny was about to chime in about the Lazy Sunflower, but Azra mentioned it before he could.

Twells looked a little impatient, despite not being an impatient man, at first when Azra talked about something mostly irrelevant. But he sank into deep thought when Azra mentioned how things had started growing again.

It wasn't weird that no one had thought about weeds beginning to sprout again since there was a forest growing more than a stone's throw away from the village. However, just because the forest survived the drought didn't mean it had continued growing. The trees and plants still alive in the forest had barely managed to hang on, but they were still there, so the villagers weren't completely unaccustomed to grass.

It was reasonable no one had noticed or thought much of Allgras sprouts and whatever plants had begun growing again. But plant growth wasn't enough to claim the plane was recovering.

Azra answered Twells question that he asked by raising his eyebrows.

"Honestly, aside from the plants, it's nothing more than a hunch. And I know I'm just a stranger, and I have no right to advise you on what to do. But bear with me.

"What happens if I'm wrong? Nothing.

"Now, what happens if I'm right?"

Azra waited a little for dramatic effect. He had already leaned forward as he began talking more intensely, and Mahenny and Twells had also leaned forward as their interest grew slightly. Azra didn't wait more than a few seconds, but it was enough for at least Twells' thoughts to begin spinning.

Twells felt like he was beginning to see why Azra wanted to meet him, but he couldn't quite figure out why he seemed so concerned about the plane's recovery. He might have figured it out on his own if given a few minutes to think, but Azra began talking again.

"The plants coming back is just the beginning. Everything that stopped because of the demons' attack will begin moving again. The weather, the seasons, the mana. I might be exaggerating now, but I think we might be facing some pretty harsh weather in the future.

"And I don't think that will be it, either. If the mana recovers, the beasts will recover from the Rage Powder and its side effects even quicker."

Twells looked thoughtfully at Azra. It seemed like he felt some admiration for Azra's deep but possibly overly concerned thoughts.

"Rough weather is a natural part of any nature attribute plane. And isn't the mana coming back a good thing for us as well? Most of us in the village might be too old, but there are still a few youngsters who haven't been able to grow properly due to the lacking mana. Won't they become stronger now?"

"Stronger than the beasts who survived the Rage Powder?"

Azra looked at Twells with a serenely concerned expression to try and make him realize things were a lot more grave than they looked to be at first glance.

Mahenny had left the conversation ages ago.