Unsettling Times

That same day, just before lunch, Oria is taken to the village chapel, where she's treated further by Miss Rosine. Despite her wounds have already been closed, Rosine applies some bandages around her head that have been imbued with her magic.

"And there," the priestess said finishing bandaging the girl. "How are you feeling, Oria?"

"Hm! Never been better." Oria replied cheerfully. Tili, who's been sitting on the bed beside Oria, hugs her. "There's no need to act strong, Oria… if it hurts, you can say it." she said in a low voice.

"Ahaha… thank you, Tili. But seriously, I'm okay! I already told you, didn't I? I don't feel pain from Alex's attack," Oria tried to reason with her. Rosine however, recommends her to rest despite her feeling all right, "Even so, you still need to rest. Though your wounds are gone, you're still shocked from that unexpected blow."

Oria grins, "Ehehe… y-yeah… I'm kinda still shocked, to be honest. I didn't think Alex would have an art attack like that. But Miss Rosine, I'm really fine!"

The serene priestess glares at her seriously, "O-r-i-a. You will rest for the next few days. Do. You. Understand?"

"Eeep… o-okay…" Oria kneeled to her order. For some reason, her [Danger Perception] is alarming her for a second. Now, it's gone as she affirmed the priestess's demand.

"Dear Goddess…"

"Huhu. If Sis has spoken like that, you can only give up, Oria. She's scary when she's angry, you know?" Tili said.

"Now, now, Tili. Don't try to make things murkier than it is," the priestess turned at her, smiling sincerely, though her smile meant otherwise.

"Eek… s-sorry, Sis."

"Phew… I'm really helped, Rosine," Katze let out a relieved breath. "That wannabe knight boy… I'll beat his ass later for hurting Oria like that," she said in a threatening voice, fisting her hands together.

"Knight?" Oria wondered.

"Oh, you don't know, yet? Well, the four kids taught by Rosine, and Old Man Marcus are known as the stars of the village—the children that has the best potential to leave the village early. Each of them aspires to become something in the future."

Rosine adds to her explanation, "Precisely. Alexander wants to become a knight to protect this village. Kon wants to be a ranger, a sneaky marksman and guardian of the forest."

"I want to become a priestess like my sister, huhu," Tili bragged her ambition. "Well, the official name is Clergy, though. Right, Sis?"

"That's right," her sister confirmed.

"Huh… What about Ayako? What does she want to be?" Oria got even more curious. Rosine kindly tells her, "She's willing to go to the eastern continent and become a samurai."

"What's a samurai?"

"Well, they're like knights in a way, but they have their own perks," Katze explained.

"Knight, ranger, priestess, samurai… huh…" Oria memorized those terms. Her face frowns as she thinks about them.

"You'll understand more about them when you're twelve," the red-haired woman added. "That Alex kid, though… he wishes to become a knight like his big brother, but he's ill-tempered."

Rosine nods, "I agree. Old Man Marcus is still figuring a way how to teach him to control his anger. I hope he will find a way soon." Katze laughs when Rosine said it, "Hahah! He himself has a bad temper. But yeah… I hope he'll do something about Alex's problem."

"Let's just hope for the best for all of us," Rosine stated.

"Uh-huh. Oria, shall we go home?" Katze gestured outside.

"Eh? Now?"

"Well, duh. Rosine said that you must rest. So, let's go."

"O-Oh… r-right…"

With that, Katze and Oria excuse themselves and heads back home. They go through a different route where nobody can see the little girl's face messy with dried blood. On the way, Katze never let go of her grip to Oria. She holds her hand tightly. When the child looks up to her face, she can somehow see a regretful face hidden in that energetic expression. Oria looks back on the road, her expression turns murky and she's murmuring in her head.

"(Have I caused trouble for Miss Katze…?)"

As soon as Katze reaches home with Oria, she forcibly opens the door, nearly breaking the hinges. Their arrival surprises Granny Poly who's currently sewing a cloth.

"Keh! Katze, don't bang the door when you enter the house, will ya?!" but that erupting voice is held back instantly the moment she sees Oria's bandages. She quickly asked, "What happened?" but the young red-haired woman simply says, "It's just a minor issue. I'll get Oria to her room first, okay?" she then goes upstairs with the little girl.

Having lived together with her granddaughter for so long, Mrs. Poly naturally knows that something is up. "Hmm… a minor issue, huh…? That grieving expression of hers is back again."

…

..

.

Evening comes. It's just past six, yet the house feels eerily silent as if it's midnight.

When Katze told her granny what happened, it sent her into a flinging rage. But she quickly calmed down when she heard that she's been healed by Rosine. Katze bathed her, washing off the blood on her face and hair. And now, in her room, Oria was told to sleep, but she couldn't. Her eyes refused to close tightly. Her brain disallows her to rest just yet.

Oria is troubled by the situation. She's still pondering whether she's made things worse or not.

Little did she know, on the first floor in the living room, Katze, Mrs. Poly, Rosine, and Marcus the blacksmith are having a discussion together. The priestess and the blacksmith came to visit to discuss today's incident.

Marcus deeply apologizes to Mrs. Poly for what happened back then. His husked voice that was imposing now turned delicate. "I'm terribly sorry for what has fallen to Oria, Granny. It was I who was at fault. This incident could've been averted if only I don't bring up that matter. Even if it is unavoidable, I should've been able to prevent Alex from harming Oria. I failed as his teacher."

Granny shakes her head, "What has happened then so be it. As long as Oria is fine, I won't mind."

Rosine also begs for her mercy, "I apologize, too, Mrs. Poly. I should've been more careful. I wasn't fully aware of Alex's intention to harm her."

But Granny grows tired of their apologetic mannerism, "Keeeh! Should've been that, should've been this! Oria claims she's okay and fine, then so be it! What you two should've been reflecting is that whether what you two have said to Alex-boy would ruin his mental or not!" she ranted at the two.

"T-That's…" Marcus was about to utter a word, but he couldn't. "…Yeah. I guess I was too cruel to him today," the blacksmith scratched his head.

"If he ever suffers a psychological problem, then you as his mentor MUST take full responsibility! You get it, you big-assed fool?"

"Y-Yeah… I understood, Mrs. Poly."

The old woman points to Rosine afterwards, "You, too, Miss Rosine. You must accompany Marcus if Alex's psychology fails. I heard he's been locking himself in his room even as we speak. It's not too late to help him out."

"…I understand, Mrs. Poly. I will do what I can to help him out of his misery."

Finally, the old woman turns at her granddaughter, who's been looking all murky, "And Katze… why do you show that ill-looking face?" she said irritatingly, "you should be happy that she's okay. If you keep showing that expression, she will misunderstand that she's been troubling us. Dux warned me about it. You guys may not know it, but she's incredibly sensitive to her surroundings."

"…" Katze chose to stay silent while grieving to herself. Seeing her like that, the old woman sighs. "…It still hits you hard, eh, Katze? I'll let you some space to refresh yourself. Go rest in your room."

The red-haired woman silently stands up and bows to everyone. Quietly, she leaves them and heads upstairs to her room. Rosine and Marcus knew her situation as much as the old woman.

"Kattie…"

"She's still yet to move on from that, eh…"

"Anyway," Mrs. Poly cut into their words, "what do you two plan to do now?"

"I guess I will visit Alex's home," said the blacksmith. "I've roughed him up today both physically and mentally. I must apologize to him, too."

"Hm. Good, then. And Miss Rosine…" Mrs. Poly looks at her, "…you, who have direct connections to your apostle, are you going to report about Oria?"

"…I'm afraid I will hold on for now," Rosine slowly shook her head. "I don't think I've grasped the situation entirely, yet. It's premature to report now. Indeed, she claimed to have a skill that even seasoned adventurers have a hard time to obtain is bothering me, but there's a missing piece that I've yet to discover."

"Hm," the blacksmith agreed. "It's best to not say anything for the time being, Miss Rosine. When she first showed me a magistone and some ironites, I got the shock of my life. Those materials can only be obtained from a dungeon, but she obtained it from elsewhere. She even had killed one of the trickiest monsters around 'ere."

"Mollis monsters, huh…" Granny resounded quietly.

"If only we 'ave an Appraisal Stone, it will be easier for us to know who she is," Marcus stated. "…I guess we can only slowly discover who and what she actually is."

Granny and Rosine nods in agreement, "Yeah. That may be the right choice."

"Musing about this will have no end. Let's just focus on preparing the festival for the time being. It's only a few days left before it starts, right?" the blacksmith persuaded. "Well, then, if you'll excuse me, I would like to go to Alex's parents' house first."

"Yes. Please, do, Mr. Marcus. May the Goddess protect you with her guiding light from all menace in this world."

"Haha, thanks, Miss Rosine."

But as he grabs the doorknob and opens it…

"HAHAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Someone suddenly laughs hysterically by the door, shocking the heck out of the unsuspecting blacksmith. He reflectively punches the person at the door, but the uninvited visitor dodges him… with his tentacle arm.

"Nyuhuhuhuhu…" that shrilly and funny laugh calmed the intensity of the situation. "G-o-t-c-h-a!"

Surprisingly, Dux visits the boutique shop again.

"M-Master Dux?" the blacksmith just realized. "Good Goddess, I thought you're some ghost or something. I would've sent you to hell if you're a burglar."

Dux counters his words almost instantly, "In that case, I'll send you to hell first, Marky, nyerehehe."

"Dux… what are you doing, visiting me again?" Mrs. Poly joined their conversation, followed by Rosine. "Master Dux… it's been a long time since we last met."

"What's wrong with me visiting your regularly? Anyway, it's been a while, too, Rosie," Dux responded to them. "By the way, what a surprise, eh? Everyone's here, I see. That'll speed things up," said the arcane mage happily. He's surprisingly glad to see especially Marcus and Rosine to be there in the boutique shop.

"What do you mean…?" everyone looked at the grinning wizard. "Mark, Rosie, Granny, there's something I want to talk about. If it's possible, I would like Katze to hear this too. Don't say she's already asleep."

"There's some situation happened today. Don't worry, I'll relay it to her," Granny stated.

Marcus clears his throat before asking, "Just what is it that you want to discuss with us, Master Dux?"

"Is it something serious?" Rosine asked.

The wizard fixes his hat position before finally telling them.

"Yes… it's regarding the safety of Fred Village."