Chapter 12: Veilio

"Ms. Achlys, I can see the entrance to the town. The sign we saw earlier was indeed a true one."

Mirage climbed down from a tree he was on, and came to Achlys and Betty who were sitting on some rocks. The goat was also tied to a tree, and Zena and the little baby were laying down on the wagon it was pulling.

"Good... it's been days since we could have proper rest."

"Uwaa, I'm so tired Lady Achlys..."

"Just hang on a little more Betty, it is Zena's turn to sit on the wagon. We will reach the village soon."

"Okay..."

The supposedly one week journey had taken more than ten days, but Mirage and the others were safely able to reach the town. They avoided any large wildlife, and used a repellent odor to keep smaller dangerous animals away.

Since there was a lack of monsters around these parts, it was considered safe to travel compared to other parts of the world. The desert are, for example, had plenty of scorpions and other venomous life present within its surroundings.

Thankfully, the only inconvenience Mirage and the party faced was to set up camps for sleeping. Since they didn't have a stable shelter, it was hard for them to feel comfortable.

'It is good that we arrived at our destination without any trouble. I was prepared for anything unexpected, but it is always better for things to go as they are expected to. Keeping alert all this time is slowly taking a toll on me too...'

'Ms. Achlys said that we first need to inform the mayor of this town about the predicament our town is facing. Since Rakia is already resuming their invasion, the war might even spread to these parts. After all, this is one of the closes towns around our village which is not as close to the elven royal capital.'

'Speaking of which, this town we are headed, Veilio, is actually towards where the city Orario would be. Of course, it is still at least a month long journey away on horse.'

Not long after, the party packed their stuff and continued toward the town under Mirage's directions. They were finally able to see the gate of the village after another hour of travel. An elven guard covered in leather armor and a longbow on their back greeted them at the gates.

"Halt! State your purpose for entering the town of Veilio!"

"I am Achlys, a god from the village of..."

Achlys explained their circumstances to the guard, and after the guard checked the seals on the letters Achlys showed, he asked another guard to take his post while he lead the party to the townhouse where they mayor was located.

The guard went asked one of the attendants outside of the house to inform the mayor of Achlys and the others' arrival. They didn't even have to wait for a minute before an elven lady looking to be in their thirties walked outside to greet them.

"You must be Lady Achlys, I hope our town was able to provide what you seek by arriving here."

"You are too kind, would you be able to get someone to look after this children for a short time? There is some things I must talk with you in person, and they are things that can't be said around children."

"Of course! Peony, can you take care of thes children while I speak with our esteemed guest?"

"Yes, Mrs. Mayor."

"Mira, look after the others while I'm gone, okay?"

"Don't worry Ms. Achlys."

Achlys nodded to Mirage, and followed the mayor of the town inside the house. While Achlys was talking with the mayor, the attendant named Peony took the children to one of the guest houses near the mayor's office for them to rest.

Peony tied the goat to a wooden fence near the house, and carried the sleeping Zena and baby to a bed inside one of the rooms. Mirage and Betty also followed her inside, and helped carry the other stuff in. Betty also got on a bed after getting in, and quickly fell asleep due to her exhaustion.

Mirage noticed that Peony didn't seem to disdain humans or the half-elf baby, and she didn't treat them with prejudice. This wasn't very unexpected to him, as someone who works as an attendant to the mayor of a town shouldn't be a racist.

"Ms. Peony, is it possible for me to ask some questions about this village to you?"

"Oh- yes, go ahead. You talk really well for a child of your age, what is your name?"

"Ah, sorry. I am Mirage, no last name. I just wanted to ask about the situation of this town. Do any gods live here?"

'I see, it is rare for places outside of orario to have gods, and there aren't a lot of gods in the elven woods either. Since we aren't in the center of the forest, we aren't necessarily repulsive towards gods. Unfortunately, not many gods are willing to come and stay in small towns like these..."

"I see..."

'So our small village of barely a hundred and fifty having three gods must be very rare thing in this world... but why did a small town have three gods in the first place?'

"Ms. Peony, I also wanted to ask about the population of Veilio, and if there are other races than elves living here."

"Hmm... I would say about two thirds of the people living here are elves... then the remaining one third is a combination of humans, prums, and some beastkin. Around thirteen hundred people live here, so the number of other races which live here are also plenty."

'I did see some people with animal ears and tails while walking here, but prums? Perhaps they look too much like human children even when they are adults, so I should pay attention to be able to identify them.'

"Oh, yes. Something that is unique to our town in the elven woods is that we have a blacksmith shop in our town. It is owned by an old human man, who moved here around twenty years ago. Some elves protested at first, but gave in after seeing the usefulness of metal tools. The water wells in our town were also upgraded thanks the old blacksmith, everyone respects him."

'An elven town with a blacksmith shop? Actually a town where one third of the population is not elf is actually a rarity in the first place. I thought our village was one of the few small elven settlements to accept humans and other races, but seems like people of this village are pretty understanding too.'

'After all, even a descendent of the royal elves went to Orario to join a Familia alongside a prum and a dwarf, there is no reason for other elves to slowly accept the other races even if they remain prideful.'