The Village's Circumstances and Izaam's Ordeal

As we approached Sair Village, armed adults had gathered near the village entrance. It wasn't just the village watchmen; even ordinary villagers were there. It looked as though the entire village had mobilized.

It was a small village, but this was far from normal. What in the world had happened?

"Darm-dono, what should we do?"

In any case, we should basically follow the client's wishes here. We could keep our distance for now, or we could boldly go to the village and ask what was happening. Whichever we chose, we only needed to act according to his convenience.

"Returning without buying or selling anything would be a disgrace to a merchant. But exposing my goods and subordinates to danger is also a problem. Everyone, wait here. I'll go alone."

"Please wait. There is no need for Darm-sama to go. If you do go, it would be wiser to take at least one guard."

Oh, is that how this goes? Darm-dono was trying to act alone, but one of his subordinates stopped him. In this case, the subordinate was probably right. No matter how well they knew each other, there was no guarantee that the agitated villagers wouldn't do something.

He might have had a strong sense of responsibility, but I couldn't simply stand by and watch him walk into danger. Perhaps I should lend him a hand here.

"Darm-dono, he is right. As the person hired to guard you, I object to your going alone."

"But..."

"You are worried that bringing complete strangers like us along would only complicate matters, aren't you? Please set your mind at ease. In fact, I have visited this village once before."

"You have?"

Perhaps my words had been unexpected, because Darm-dono looked surprised. Was it really that surprising? Well, no matter. I would continue trying to persuade him.

"They did not welcome me, but I did not harm a single one of them. For better or worse, my appearance is easy for people to remember. Many of the villagers will probably recall me."

"But..."

"Then how about this? Darm-dono, take only me with you to the village. They will be less wary if there is only one of us, and I can also use 【Time-Space Magic】. I will be able to escape if necessary."

"I understand. I will do as Izaam-sama says."

It seemed my persuasion had succeeded. If Darm-dono were to die, it would mean not only failing the quest but also disappointing Haze-dono. More than anything, it would be sad to lose someone I had spoken with this way, even if he was merely a resident of the game.

"Mot-san, take command. Eiji and Toji, stand by ready to fight at any time. Cal too, of course."

"We'll take over."

"Understood!"

"You be careful too, okay?"

"Grrr!"

With their voices at our backs, Darm-dono and I flew toward Sair Village. What in the world awaited us there? Even as I felt wary and sensed danger, I couldn't deny that I was also rather excited.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

The people of Sair Village seemed to have spotted us. When someone noticed us first and shouted something, they hurriedly pointed their spears in our direction and nocked arrows, looking ready to attack at any moment.

They seemed extremely hostile. Like a dangerous monster had appeared... Wait, from an objective standpoint, I was a dangerous and evil monster too. To make sure I could protect Darm-dono at any time, I decided to activate my Magic Shield and leave it on standby.

"That's... Hey! Lower your weapons!"

"That's the peddler Darm!"

The relatively well-armed people who appeared to be the village watchmen raised their voices. They had recognized Darm-dono. It was fortunate that some people capable of acting rationally remained. Darm-dono and I exchanged nods and began descending.

When we landed, the two people who appeared to be village watchmen and had been admonishing the other villagers came running over. The words 'We came at the worst possible time' were written plainly across both their faces.

"It's been a while, people of Sair Village. What happened?"

"Darm-dono, the thing is... W-who are you!?"

A villager had been about to explain what had happened in the village to Darm-dono, but just before he could, one of them noticed me and shouted. The other didn't cry out, but he frowned. As I thought, they remembered me—and still held a grudge. This was troublesome.

Apparently, Miss Margaret had failed to tell them that we were 'good monsters.' She might not have tried to tell them from the start, but I wanted to believe that wasn't the case.

In any event, just because they were hostile didn't mean that getting confrontational in return would get us anywhere. I would remain friendly.

"Hello, villager-kun. I've come as Darm-dono's guard today. You don't need to worry about me."

"What...!? How dare you...!"

"I am not lying. He and his companions are my guards. More importantly, might I ask what happened? Depending on the circumstances, we may have to come back another time."

The watchman who had shouted reacted angrily, as expected, but Darm-dono cut him off and brought up the main issue. He seemed to be saying that there was no point in listening to pointless abuse during an emergency. Perhaps the other watchman understood Darm-dono's intent as well, because he stepped in front of the man who looked ready to attack me and began explaining.

"...A monster appeared. And not one seen around here."

"Did a Cyclops come out of the forest?"

"No! That's not it! It wasn't some obvious monster like that!"

Darm-dono had apparently guessed that a powerful monster like a Cyclops had emerged from the nearby forest. I had made the same guess, but apparently that was wrong. The rude one was clearly denying it.

In fact, although he was putting on a brave front, the rude one also looked as though he was trembling. Could it be that he was frightened after seeing the monster? What in the world had he seen?

"At first, one of the villagers spotted something floating in the sky. It was a monster, and it was approaching us, so we attacked it from here and drove it off."

"Oh? From what you're saying, you succeeded in repelling it, didn't you?"

"Th-the problem isn't that! There shouldn't be a... a blasphemous monster like that!"

"...Many villagers agree with him. To make matters worse, part of the fence surrounding the village was damaged in yesterday's storm... We've decided to increase the number of people standing watch for a while. That's why everyone was so busy."

I knew that a storm had struck Vetus Floating Island last night in the game. The 'Ancient Ruined City' had also been a pain to explore, with its underground passages flooded and puddles forming everywhere. Apparently, the fence surrounding this village had been damaged, so they had to guard not only the entrance but also the opening in the fence. No wonder they were in such confusion.

Even so, I was surprised that the reason they were being excessively vigilant was the appearance of the monster they had driven off. An appearance frightening enough to make grown men tremble... They had called it blasphemous, too. Just how disgusting could it be? Now I wanted to meet it!

"What a disaster... So, will we be able to do business as usual? We have several goods that might be useful for repairing the fence."

"You'll have to discuss that with the village chief. This way, please."

While I was taking an inappropriately keen interest in the matter, it seemed we had reached an agreement. Urged on by the watchman, Darm-dono entered the village. I wanted to accompany him as his guard, but the rude one pointed his spearhead at me and declared:

"Not you! Maybe if you were the Birdian merchant we've been trading with for years, but we can't let some suspicious monster in!"

"Darm-dono, the whole village is rather tense right now... Um, could you have your guard wait here?"

Whoa, they weren't going to let me in? Then I couldn't guard him! This was a problem.

Still, I could understand why they didn't want me in the village. While the village was being threatened by a monster, it would be difficult to accept a strange monster like me entering. Although this made my coming here pointless, the decision belonged to Darm-dono.

"Could the village chief not come out this far? Izaam-sama, could you wait here for a little while?"

"I suppose it can't be helped. You shouldn't be in danger, but please be careful."

It wasn't as if this was my first visit, so a sudden attack seemed unlikely. I had also given him a Short Teleport talisman just in case. If anything, my accompanying him might cause more trouble. I had no choice but to wait.

I watched Darm-dono enter the village. The problem was that the sensible watchman had gone with him. I was left alone with the rude one, who was still glaring at me intensely. Give me a break, seriously.

"Hey, you."

"...What is it?"

"Tch, what a smug bastard."

Huh? He was insulting me over just that? And if he hated me, why talk to me at all...?

"You were the one who put strange ideas in Margaret's head!"

"Oh, is she well? Has her mother's illness been cured..."

"I'm the one asking questions!"

What...? Couldn't he have just told me? And 'strange things' definitely meant things about us, didn't it?

"Even if you call them strange things... what did she say?"

"Don't play dumb, you bastard! She said we were her benefactors and all, but you controlled her with magic or something, didn't you!?"

"...You think one of us controlled her? What would be the point of doing such a thing?"

"Shut up! Otherwise, there's no way that Margaret would have punched me!"

"Hmm? She punched you?"

I then received an explanation amid a barrage of insults. Apparently, just as she had said when we parted, Margaret had gone around the village telling everyone that we had saved her. Since they traded with the Birdians, most of the villagers had apparently accepted that monsters controlled by players could communicate, though they had been surprised.

However, some of the young men objected. According to them, there couldn't possibly be exceptions like that besides the Birdians. They began insisting that Miss Margaret had either been deceived or controlled, and that whoever was responsible had to be punished.

The person who objected most strongly was Margaret herself. She apparently told the young men that she was perfectly sane and that they shouldn't insult her benefactors, defending us in the process. An argument broke out, and as a result, this man, who had insulted us most viciously, was punched.

Aha... This man was in love with Miss Margaret, wasn't he? She had certainly been a cute girl. The other young men probably had feelings for her as well. The girl he had fallen for was praising someone else as her benefactor. He was jealous of that. Ugh, I wish I hadn't asked.

Regardless of gender, no one likes the person they love praising someone else. I understood that much. But if you insult that benefactor, of course the person you care about will get angry. Could he really not understand even that?

I hadn't come here to listen to resentful complaints born of some man's jealousy. Oh, Darm-dono, won't you come back soon...?

"Izaam-sama! We have permission!"

"Oh, that's wonderful! Come, let's go call everyone as soon as possible."

"Huh? Oh, y-yes. Let's."

"Hey, wait! We aren't finished talking...!"

I didn't want to stay there another second, so when Darm-dono finally returned, I hurried him along and took off into the sky. Perhaps my desperation came through, because Darm-dono followed me despite looking puzzled.

I thought I heard something from behind, but naturally I ignored it. Though I had done nothing wrong, I fled as though I were guilty, temporarily putting Sair Village behind me.