Chapter 81

The bandits fled one by one, leaving only Ilza and the Elven women tied to the stakes behind. Confirming that the bandits were gone, Ilza and the others, with cheeks wet not only from the rain but also from tears of gratitude, rushed to their captive sisters.

“Sisters! We’ve come to save you!”

The women, who had been staring in terror at the wooden spirit floating above the tent, came to their senses at the sound of Ilza’s voice.

“Everyone! We’re fine, so run away quickly!”

Though they claimed to be wooden spirits, the Elven women had never seen or heard of such monsters and desperately shouted, fearing that Ilza and the others might be harmed. Ilza and the others tried to calm them, but their panic did not subside.

“Is everyone okay?”

As she said this, the women saw something rustling through the leaves and running towards them, and they were so shocked they nearly fainted, screaming.

It was a small tree-like thing, about the height of a person, with a profusion of leaves.

When the Elven women, who were terrified of another wooden spirit, saw it, the tree extended two thick, white branches like human arms and waved them frantically in a strangely human-like manner.

“Sisters, calm down! It’s me, Erika!”

The women, who had been in a panic, gradually regained their composure at the familiar voice and name. Upon closer inspection, the thick, white branches that looked like human arms were indeed human arms.

“E, Erika? Is it really Erika?”

When the wooden spirit parted the branches around its head, Erika’s face clearly appeared. The women realized that what had looked like a wooden spirit was just a rope wrapped around the branches, and they breathed a sigh of relief, while at the same time marveling at the peculiar outfit.

“What is that outfit?”

As Erika untangled the ropes wrapped around her body, she replied.

“This is a ghillie suit or something like that.”

“Ghillie suit?”

The sisters, unfamiliar with the term, echoed the question.

“Yes. It’s something to blend into the forest.”

What Erika was referring to was actually a ghillie suit. It is a type of camouflage equipment designed to blend into the surrounding landscape and make it difficult for enemies to spot, by sewing natural materials such as weeds and twigs, or materials that resemble them, onto clothing.

“That thing is also nothing to be afraid of. It was called forth by the one who saved you.”

Erika pointed to the wooden spirit still floating above the tent.

“Oh, to call forth such a thing… Could it be that the Wind God took pity on us and sent a messenger?!”

Perhaps reacting to the relief from their panic, the sisters were now on the verge of tears and seemed ready to pray on the spot, but Ilza stopped them with a gesture.

“No. It’s just a strange human.”

Thinking of the kind-hearted human the sisters had praised as a messenger, Erika couldn’t help but smile.

“Kisa, you can come out now!”

When Erika called out, there was no response.

Worried that something might have happened to Kisa, Erika ran towards the tent. On the way, she felt as if she had stepped on a leather bag filled with water and quickly moved her foot. Then, she crouched down and touched the ground, and suddenly tore it away.

“There you were. What happened?”

What Erika tore away was not the ground but a large fur pelt covered in mud and sewn with weeds, another type of ghillie suit. Underneath, Kisa was lying on the ground, holding a helmet stuffed with boxes.

When Kisa, who had been called by Erika, turned his head like a robot with a drained battery, he said,

“Arrows suddenly rained down in front of me. I thought I was going to die…”

It seemed he had fainted from fear.

Actually, the arrows had not reached his body, but Erika noticed that several arrows were stuck in the fur pelt Kisa had been wearing and decided to keep quiet about it.

“You shouldn’t be so surprised by just arrows. What would you have done if the bandits had come at you?”

Erika, exasperated, asked. Kisa’s eyes widened, and then he forced a smile and said,

“I hadn’t thought about it at all…”

Erika, stunned, watched as the helmet stuffed with boxes fell from Kisa’s hand. When it hit the ground, the visor opened, and a lit fuse was inserted into a ceramic bottle, which rolled out.

◆◇◆◇◆

Though there was a concern that the bandits might return once they had calmed down, Kisa and the others decided it was too dangerous to walk through the mountains at night and decided to spend the night at the campsite. Of course, they took turns with the rescued women to keep watch and ensure safety. As soon as the sun rose, they set the bandits’ tent on fire and moved to a nearby forest.

“Hey, shouldn’t we go further away?”

Erika, watching the black smoke rising from the burning tent through the trees, called out to Kisa.

“Hmm… I thought someone might see this and come looking for me.”

Kisa, still looking up at the smoke, gave a lackluster response.

“I see.”

Erika, at a loss for words, hesitated. She had many things she wanted to talk about with Kisa, but with so much happening, she didn’t know where to start. After pondering for a while, she decided to ask about something the sisters and Ilza had asked her to.

“Still, I can’t believe it. How did you manage to call forth that monster?”

“I didn’t call it forth; I just projected a shadow.”

The wooden spirit was actually the shadow of a crystal shard Erika had. From Erika’s words, “unless a god appears,” Kisa had the idea to create a magic lantern to project the tree inside the crystal shard instead of calling forth the Wind God.

A magic lantern is a device that projects images drawn on glass or other materials onto a screen using a lamp and lens, and it is considered the precursor to the modern slide projector.

Kisa used this magic lantern to project a ghost or skeleton to surprise the audience, much like the phantasmagoria shows that were popular in late 18th-century Europe.

Kisa was fortunate to have the crystal shard, a telescope lens, and a small bottle of distilled alcohol (which served as an alcohol lamp) at hand. Combining these, he created a simple magic lantern.

However, there were still difficulties. The main problem was that the small alcohol lamp produced a weak light, making it hard to project a clear image. However, this was overcome by placing the helmet Nal had been wearing behind the lamp to reflect the wasted light.

Even with all the effort, the projected image would have been poor by modern Japanese standards, barely visible as a faint shadow in the darkness.

This alone would not have been enough for the bandits to understand what was happening. It was the children’s realistic acting and the suggestion of the phrase “wooden spirit” that allowed their imagination to fill in the gaps and make the bandits believe in the “wooden spirit.”

Kisa explained all this, but Erika found it hard to understand.

When Kisa finished speaking, Erika was at a loss for words again.

She opened and closed her mouth aimlessly for a while, then, as if making a decision, clenched her fist and spoke to Kisa.

“Kisa, you’re going back to Bornis, right?”

Kisa, unaware of Erika’s expression, simply replied, “Yeah.”

“If your friend isn’t found, would you come to Bornis with us? You know, there might still be bandits around, and it’s safer to be with everyone, right?!”

Erika’s cheeks were slightly flushed as she spoke with unusual urgency.

“Hmm… Sure.”

Kisa, who had been giving a lackluster response, suddenly brightened.

“Here they come!”

Erika, startled by Kisa’s words, looked around, but there was no sign of anyone appearing as he had said.

Moreover, Kisa’s gaze was still fixed on the sky.

“Hey!”

Kisa suddenly shouted and waved his outstretched arms widely.

Erika, following Kisa’s gaze, looked up at the sky but saw only the rising black smoke. At most, there was a single bird flying.

At that moment, Erika felt a strange sense of dissonance.

The bird, circling in the sky, seemed to have an odd shape. The distance also felt off, making the bird seem abnormally large. Erika had never seen such a huge bird.

After circling for a while, the bird drew an 8 in the sky and then flew south.

“Let’s go! That way!”

Kisa, too, ran in the direction the bird had flown.

Erika, in a hurry, led her sister and Ilza to follow. By the time they caught up, Kisa had already descended to the foot of the mountain.

Following Kisa’s gaze, which was fixed on the direction the bird had flown, Erika saw a group of people approaching, raising a cloud of dust on the horizon.

Erika was wary, thinking they might be bandits coming for revenge, but Kisa’s face was beaming with joy as he waved his arms frantically.

“It’s okay! They must be our people!”

The group approaching, raising a cloud of dust, was a cavalry unit riding beasts. Their perfectly synchronized movements suggested they were not bandits but a well-trained army.

Erika, worried and cautious, watched as one of the beasts broke away from the group and rapidly closed the distance.

As it approached, Erika realized it was not a beast but a Zoan, a race known as the masters of the plains.

Covered in bright chestnut fur, the Zoan ran on four legs, wearing a cuirass and carrying a distinctive curved mountain knife at its waist.

“Is that a Zoan…?”

Erika, surprised to see the Zoan for the first time, watched as the Zoan leaped at Kisa as if to bite his throat.

However, it did not knock him down. Instead, the Zoan grabbed Kisa’s shoulders firmly and shouted in a voice trembling with joy.

“I’m so glad! I always believed you would be alive!”

The Zoan, a woman, as indicated by the prominent chest of the cuirass made of brightly dyed vines, had a slightly high-pitched adult female voice.

“Great God of Beasts, I thank you! Oh! When I heard you had fallen into the river, my heart nearly stopped!”

The Zoan, ignoring the nearby Elves, continued to speak to Kisa.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Does anything hurt? Are you hungry?”

“I’m fine. Really, I’m fine!”

Kisa, squirming as if tickled, finally made the Zoan relax.

“However, the color of the signal fire was different, but it was good to come and check just in case. I’m really glad!”

“I’m sorry. I ran out of the signal fire material, so I had to burn the bandits’ tent as a substitute.”

The Zoan, who had been trembling with joy, twitched her fur-covered cheek at Kisa’s words.

“…Bandits?”

“It’s okay. I’ve already driven them away.”

“…Driven away?”

Kisa’s casual response made the Zoan’s fur bristle, and her body began to tremble. She took a deep breath, and then, with a roar, released a loud, angry voice.

“What are you doing?!”

Erika, standing nearby, was nearly deafened by the loud noise.

“Again?! You’ve gone and involved yourself in another commotion, haven’t you?!”

Kisa, who had instinctively covered his ears, was forcibly pulled by the Zoan, who continued to yell.

“You always, always! Always! You’re always a coward, but when it comes to it, you rush in without thinking of the danger! And when you’re cornered, you snap and go on a rampage! How many times do I have to tell you to change that personality?!”

“I’m sorry!”

“You fool! You only worry me! Do you want to kill me with worry?!”

The Zoan, who looked ready to grab Kisa by the collar and lift him up, was suddenly struck on the head by a black-furred fist. The sound was so loud it made Erika’s head hurt, and the Zoan fell to the ground, clutching her head.

“You’re the fool!”

The one who shouted was a black-furred Zoan with a well-built body. The black-furred Zoan, with a scar running from his forehead to his right cheek, roared with anger.

“To scold your subordinate in public is unacceptable! Do you want to undermine your subordinate’s dignity?!”

“But, Fierce Fang…”

The female Zoan, holding her head, tried to explain in a pitiful voice, but the black-furred Zoan bared his fangs and silenced her.

“Hey, Garam. Enough with the sibling act.”

The one who interrupted the Zoan’s argument was another well-built red