[II] A Small Village

"Good morning, Tabimiko-san." As soon as Tabimiko set his foot outside, he was greeted by an old woman with a hunched back. The old woman was so old that her eyes were almost close, and her skin was so shriveled, it could be mistaken with the surface of a tree. It was morning, and as usual, since the past week, the first person to meet with him was her.

"Obba-san, I thought I told you? You should ask me for help with these things." Seeing that she was carrying a heavy amount of goods, he offered her his help. She gladly accepted, and he took the bag from her and carry it himself.

For a normal person, the bag would be heavy. But Tabimiko is a level 100 doppelganger, so it wasn't really a challenge for him. In fact, he could carry all of its weight in his pinky if he wanted to, even if he has the anatomy of a normal human.

"Hmm...? These are? Shells?" He said as he looks at the contents of the bag. At first, he thought that it would be food, but it seems that his guess was far from what it really was.

"Thank you, Tabimiko-san..."

"You didn't need to thank me. Anyway, where do I need to take this?"

"Please take it to the elder."

"To the elder? It's fine, but... what are these?" Overcome with curiosity, Tabimiko asked.

"Oh? Those are shells Anna and the children collected outside the village. We're planning to sell those to the city and get a small amount of income from it." The old lady answers.

Tabimiko turns to look at the contents again, and doubt that they would sell well.

He has spent weeks in this small village, and one thing he realizes about it is that it's unbelievably poor. From the houses that were built to the people that live in them, they are all miserable. They wore clothes that were tattered and they eat food that he could barely consider edible. He wanted to help them, but due to his current position as a lost person, he wasn't able to do much.

Still, he helps with all the trivial tasks that the village presented to him. Although not talented, he helps with cooking meals and farming crops. He also sometimes offers help with gathering other resources. Although he thinks he only does the smallest things, the villagers still deemed him as a very helpful and dependable person, enough that the village elder had asked him to take the hand of his daughter. Since he was here for a different reason, he rejects the idea.

Anna was the woman who was the daughter of the village elder. Since he has started to live in the village, she had helped him with many things. They became pretty close, and as far as he's concerned, she's not a bad person. He would definitely accept to marry her if he's not handling any tasks, and if he had spent enough time with her.

"Since you will meet with Anna, can you ask her to come here? Tell her that I have something to talk with her about." Before Tabimiko leaves, the old lady requested him.

"Then, I will also come back later, Obba-san. If the elder asks for something, I might return late." He said and leaves, carrying the bag the old lady gave him.

The village was really small; it would only take a few minutes to get from one location to another. He wasn't in a hurry, so along the way, he had met with the other villagers and greeted them. Everyone's face is already familiar with him, despite the little time he had spent with them. Tabimiko thanked his extroverted self for being able to completely blend in into the village with ease.

A moment has passed and he arrived at the elder's home. The elder's house isn't really different from the other houses, it's just as small and unappealing. As soon as he knocks on its wooden door, he met with Anna.

"Tabimiko-sama?" She calls his name. He nodded to her and said what he was there for.

"Oh? Then, please come in. My father is inside, I'll call him for you." As soon as she said that, she left him standing at the door. But as Anna has asked him, he came inside and sat on the table he found inside the room. He had visited this place many times over, and he knows exactly where he should place himself.

It didn't take long before Anna came back with her father, the elder. As expected, he was wrinkled and old, like the old woman who's he's currently living with.

"Tabimiko-san... what did you come here for?" The elder sat opposite his direction. Anna also sat down, but she took her seat just between the two of them.

"This." Tobimiko places the bag he was carrying at the table and said, "Obba-san asked me to deliver this to you."

"Ohho? Just in time!" The elder delightfully replied.

"Obba-san told me about the details... So, you're going to sell these things?"

"Yes, since we desperately need it, we're going to the city to get some food and medicine. We thought that we should also sell a few things along the way to earn more money to spend."

"You're going to the city?"

"That's right."

As they talk, Tobimiko was reminded of the time he reports to Jin about this village. He mentioned the different cities and countries the elder told him about, and he gave him all the details he found. All the information he gave was all base on the elder and the other villager's knowledge, so he doesn't know if they are really reliable or not. He never once went outside the village, so he thought that he should go to the city to see if what he had heard were true. But he still needs advice and confirmation from Jin.

For a moment, Tabimiko's mind was strayed from the conversation. He was only pulled back when the elder calls for him again.

"By the way Tabimiko-san, you said that you will leave the village any time soon. Have you got any plans when exactly?" He thought the elder was going to ask him to come, but he instead shifted to another topic.

"Yes, I'm planning of leaving within this week."

He has indeed told him in advance that he would leave the village. Since his task was already done, he can finally quit. However, that is not exactly the reason why he would need to leave. The real reason was because of his position in the guild, and more importantly, his NPCs.

Because of him, the guild is already certain that they are in a different world, and somehow, all their NPCs have acquired their own intellect. He had met with his NPCs only once when he came back to the guild, and he is not entirely sure if they can manage themselves properly without him. If he wants to continue any kind of form of information gathering in this village or the other cities, he would just need to ask one of his NPCs to replace him. In a sense, that would be more reasonable.

Looking at the elder, he seems to be looking down and not in a very good mood. The same was the case for Anna, who has a sheer look of regret on her face.

"I-Is that so?" The elder hesitatingly said.

"Then, let's talk about it later. For now, why don't you spend time with my daughter?" With a fake smile, the elder suggested. But more than a suggestion, what it really was is a request.

Tabimiko knows what's he's up to. He knows what he's on about. He also knows why Anna is showing him a desperate look.

Yes, although he did not really show what he's really capable of, both of them had like him enough to want him to join their village. He knows that much, but he doesn't think that he would prioritize them over his friends and teammates.

"Well, I also have something to tell Anna."

When Anna and the elder heard him say that, they both made hopeful expressions, but as soon as Tabimiko continued, their faces went back to their previous state.

"Obba-san told me to tell you to come to her house."

Yes, the two of them became hopeless again.