Chapter 9

After the two of them brought me to the entrance of the village, we went straight to the village chiefs' villa in the middle.

Though the village looked a bit old, with little cracks in the walls, and some weeds growing in between the cracks of cobble roads, there was a lively and cheerful aura in the village.

Looking at it during the day was different from before as at the time, it was still in the middle of the night with a layer of fog blocking the view.

Quickly passing by the outer and inner circle, we reach the core area in a matter of minutes.

Unlike the outer circle, where there was a lot of dust and old buildings, the core area was much cleaner and the buildings were clearly newly built, maybe they were constructed within the last few years.

The surrounding people looked at me strangely, as they probably haven't seen me around and were naturally curious. Some looked at me with disgust, some with pity.

A dirty and wounded child was bound to garner attention in a remote village like this.

Although they didn't bother us, I could feel their stares from a mile away.

Quickly, we walk up the steps of the chiefs' villa as Lang knocks on the white wooden door.

Knock

Knock

Knock

After a few seconds, the wooden door opened inwardly, revealing a middle-aged man with brown, small grey hairs and calm caramel eyes.

"Yes? Do you need anything?"

He asks the two before shifting his focus to me.

"...Who is this?"

The man, who I assume is this village's chief asks once more, with visible tenseness.

I 'flinch' and shrink back into Sein's arms.

"We found her in the outer area of the forest. ...Well we couldn't just leave her alone there so we brought her here."

Lang says in all seriousness, none of the usual lighthearted playfulness could be felt in his tone.

After the chief observes me for a few seconds, he nods slightly and beckons us into the house.

The interior of the villa was pretty simple and aged, framed photos of people who I can assume are the chiefs' family.

He walks into a different section of the house, before coming out with a plate of freshly brewed tea.

By then Sein had already set me down on a clean white double couch.

Dirt smudged the pure white couch as I visibly paled in 'fright', jumping off the couch and dusting off the dirt that got stuck onto the couch.

"I-I'm sorry!"

I say in a small and squeaky voice.

Looking up at the chief, I could see that his eyes held less vigilance than before.

It could be that he has a soft spot for children, the framed pictures also had pictures of a kid that looks around 17 years old.

"Ah, it's alright," he looks at the two hunters who were standing behind me, "...now, can you explain what happened?"

His voice, though seemingly calm on the surface held some anger underneath it. That I could definitely understand.

Because after all, bringing an unidentified person into a small village would be dangerous. Even if it was a small kid like myself.

Sein and Lang, knowing their mistake, paled a little and immediately started explaining in a rushed manner.

---

"I see."

His brows furrow a little before looking at me.

"Can you tell me what you were doing in the forest?"

Knowing that I would be questioned about my origins, I had already come up with a background for myself a long time ago.

"U-um... Father told me to go out and g-gain experience..."

Putting on a look of 'contemplation', I continue bullshitting.

"H-he said he didn't want to r-raise a... Uhm... greenhouse flower... a-and he put me in t-this forest..."

I trail off and had on a pitiful expression.

Seeing the looks of pity and sympathy on the 3 grown men, I could see that they believed my story.

Though quickly after, the chief once more had some slight suspicion directed at me.

Tsk tsk. Old man, why would a child like me lie to you? Have some trust ah.

"B-but then I met this... big bird and it ch-chased me here..."

Naturally, the big bird I'm talking about is the only large bird in the forest.

After I went back to hunt and level up, I saw a large red-tailed hawk, which I could assume was a peak tier 1 beast, with half a step into the realm of tier 2 beasts.

In VANHA, strength could be divided into 12 tiers. The first 10 tiers each have 100 levels and the last 2 tiers don't have any levels.

Meaning the red-tailed hawk was around level 90-99.

The faces of the three above me froze and quickly morphed into a face of shock.

"Really?! How did you survive? Where is it now?"

Questions were asked in quick succession by the chief.

Realizing his shameful demeanor, questioning a young kid in this manner, he lightly coughs and once more asks what happened in a more fitting way.

"Ah-em... May, may I be informed of what happened in detail?"

"Uhm... I ran a lot... and then there w-was this bright f-flash of l-light... i-it flew away after t-that...?"

Trailing off with my words, I said, as though I little unsure if they would believe me.

The red-tailed hawk flying away from me was true, which could be attributed to my aura. The aura of a primordial.

Primordial's were the first of a species, they had absolute suppression over all others with the same blood. Kind of like how a true dragon can suppress a beast stronger than it with its noble blood.

In the current world, primordial's are rarely seen anymore. Either they are dead, in seclusion, or traveling elsewhere.

The birth of a primordial is immensely rare, and they were all old monsters.

So naturally, a hawk with a faint vermilion bloodline would be suppressed by me, a pureblood primordial.

Lang and Sein looked at the dirty little girl who was fidgeting a little weirdly.

Only the chief looked at me with a bit of respect. It was probably because he deduced the 'truth'.

In his mind, it probably went along the lines of this.

'This young girl here must be from a secluded ancient family and was sent out in order to experience the vicissitudes of the world! And in order to protect her, they must have given her a high-tier charm!'

Which was, of course, was what went through his mind right now.

"M-may I be informed of this young girls name?"

He stutters, which is not a very aesthetically pleasing sight of a middle-aged man stuttering but he looked like a nervous child right now ah.

Straightening my back a little, I look as though I just remembered something, and grab the tips of my makeshift dress, bowing a little.

"M-my apologies for n-not introducing myself earlier! I am Val Anre Hilm, eldest young miss of the Hilm family. Forgive my rudeness, elder."

Hehe, my standing should be clear to them now.