Chapter 12

It has been a few days since the day Minji was burned.

It was a little early for the evening, and as usual, she was on her way back from practicing magic in the forest.

In the distance, she saw Diego.

Diego usually worked in the cotton fields and was rarely in the village.

Even when he was in the village, he was often stationed at the watchtower, and it was rare to see him.

When he was seen, it was mostly with the vigilantes, teaching them how to use swords and spears.

It seemed that Diego had considerable experience and skill in combat.

That was why he seemed to be the leader of the village vigilantes.

Diego was shouting orders to the vigilantes.

His face was serious, but today he seemed more agitated than usual.

He might even be giving off a killing aura.

(What's going on? I've never seen the vigilantes so flustered.)

As she watched, the sound of a bell ringing in the distance could be heard.

It rang five times, paused for a few beats, and then rang five times again.

Wondering what it was, something suddenly came to mind.

The memory of Mika Noisheim surfaced in response to the bell.

( Five rings mean to evacuate to the assembly hall. What happened?)

Thanks to Mika Noisheim's memory, it was clear that there had been previous experiences of evacuating to the assembly hall.

Each time, it was because a pack of wild dogs or wolves had appeared near Rish Village.

Incidentally, three rings meant a fire, and four rings meant to stay at home.

One and two rings were used as time signals.

The time signal bell was in the bell tower at the mayor's house, and the warning bell was in the bell tower and the watchtower.

Mika's current location was closer to home than to the assembly hall.

In fact, it was just a stone's throw away.

She wished she had been informed earlier, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Seeing a villager carrying a baby heading towards the assembly hall, Mika decided to go there as well.

When she arrived at the central square, she could see that many villagers had already gathered at the assembly hall.

In front of the mayor's house, a group of men who seemed to be vigilantes were gathered, apparently in a meeting.

Some of the vigilantes were running towards the south gate, some with swords and others with spears made from sharpened sticks.

(Something must have happened at the south gate.)

Mika felt a tingling sensation.

This was what was known as curiosity.

It might be considered a "bad disease" for Mika these days.

Once she became curious, she couldn't rest until she took action.

(Maybe I'll just take a quick look.)

Just as this thought crossed her mind—

"Mika!"

Loretta's voice could be heard.

Turning in the direction of the voice, Mika saw Loretta running towards her along the path she had just walked.

She might have been at home.

"Hey, what are you doing here? Come on, let's go."

Loretta took Mika's hand and ran towards the assembly hall without giving her a chance to speak.

When they arrived at the assembly hall, Loretta called out to someone at the entrance, "It's Loretta Noisheim and Mika."

"Yes, Noisheim. Where's your mother?"

"She'll be here later. Just me and Mika for now."

After a quick check, they were instructed to go to the back of the assembly hall.

There were already about fifty people who had evacuated to the assembly hall.

Mika could see children holding hands and mothers with babies.

(Amelia is probably still at the textile factory? Did she send Loretta ahead to secure me with a secret order?)

I can evacuate on my own, you know. Mika complained inwardly but made sure not to mention that she had been planning to go to the south gate.

Since she hadn't taken any action, it was as good as not happening.

Loretta had come to the assembly hall before Amelia, probably because Amelia was worried about Mika and had instructed her to do so, but it wasn't a secret order or anything.

For a family with young children, it was a normal action.

The assembly hall was smaller than the school gym but still spacious enough to accommodate over 200 villagers with room to spare.

There were doors on the sides of the building, and several windows were also open.

However, it was quite hot due to the summer heat.

Loretta led Mika to the back, but it was unbearably hot.

The temperature seemed to be over 35 degrees.

Whatever had happened, staying in such a place for too long could lead to heatstroke.

"...It's hot."

Mika wanted to use "Water Splash" to drench his head, but his magic power was already depleted from today's practice.

Even if he had magic power left, he wouldn't do it.

He didn't want to reveal that he could use magic, and getting the place where everyone had evacuated wet would surely get him in trouble.

Fortunately, Mika's clothes were already damp from using "Water Splash" to clean up in the forest, but they weren't soaking wet.

Compared to the humid summers in Japan, the summers in Rish Village were much more comfortable.

Thanks to the low humidity, the perceived temperature was completely different as long as one avoided direct sunlight.

The assembly hall was probably closed and unused until just now, which is why it was so hot.

Hopefully, it would cool down if the doors and windows were left open.

While hoping for that, it was still hot.

Just as Mika was about to go to the nearest door to cool off, she realized that Loretta was still holding her hand.

Loretta was looking at the entrance with a worried expression.

"Sis, my hand."

Lifting and shaking the hand that was still held, Loretta noticed.

"Sis, let go of my hand."

"No."

"Why!?"

Mika's voice was louder than intended because she hadn't expected to be refused.

Loretta moved behind Mika, still holding her hand, and wrapped her arms around Mika's back.

Her unnecessary comment seemed to have raised the alert level even higher.

"Why are you so wet?"

"Because I took a bath."

Mika said with a sigh, but Loretta didn't let go.

She moved even closer, making it even hotter.

Mika felt that his credibility was almost zero, but it was probably due to the previous Mika's behavior.

It must be his fault.

Surely it was his fault for collapsing on the road, thrashing during a sponge bath, and refusing to share a bed.

(But I've been good lately.)

After the switch, Mika was confused and caused a lot of worry and trouble, but recently he had been well-behaved. ... On the surface.

However, it didn't seem to have changed the previous evaluations.

Sighing, Mika decided to give up and look at the entrance.

At that moment, he noticed something.

Loretta's hand and body were trembling slightly.

Looking up, he saw that Loretta was still looking at the entrance with a worried expression.

(...Scared?)

Yes, she must be scared.

Whatever was happening, the village had issued an evacuation order, and their mother, Amelia, was not there.

Loretta was trying to be brave and protect her younger brother, but she was still a 13-year-old girl.

She must be scared.

Mika's head suddenly felt cold, and his thoughts started to race.

"...'Limit Release.'"

Muttering the words quietly so no one could hear.

(I don't have much magic power left, but I'll use magic even if I collapse. The top priority is the safety of my family.

From past experiences, evacuation orders to the assembly hall have been issued when the village was attacked by a pack of beasts.

In the worst-case scenario, we should assume that a pack of beasts might come to the assembly hall.

(But don't rely on magic easily. My rash actions could put Loretta and others in danger. Use it only when it's the only way to avoid harm.)

If Mika tried to do something, his family would probably stop him.

His rash actions could put his family in danger.

(Without knowing the threat level of the enemy or the village's combat strength, there's nothing I can do. The best thing is to stay calm and not cause trouble.)

Prepare for the worst, but for now, just gather information within sight.

Asking around would cause trouble.

It's best to stay still for now.

Looking outside the open door, Mika could see men who seemed to be vigilantes holding spears made from sharpened sticks and large forks like farm tools.

They were probably sentries around the assembly hall.

(The attack hasn't started yet, has it? If it were happening now, the doors and windows would be sealed.)

Judging from the surroundings, the entrance became more chaotic, and people were coming and going more frequently.

A few men seemed to be bringing something with a cart.

The middle-aged man who looked like the mayor was giving instructions, and adults were bringing in some supplies.

(Those boxes and water jars... probably water, food, and medicine? I didn't see a food storage, but it must be somewhere.)

Mika hadn't noticed it while walking around the village.

It was natural not to notice just by looking from the outside.

There were also houses whose owners he didn't know.

One of them could be the food storage.

Observing the movement of people at the entrance, Mika spotted Rady and Kifurodo.

Some of the evacuated villagers had also noticed them, and people quickly gathered around.

Rady and Kifurodo guided the villagers to gather a little away from the entrance, speaking to each worried villager and reassuring them with a gentle smile.

(The "Smiling Madonna" is living up to her name. Religion really does help in situations like this.)

The role of providing spiritual support to people is significant.

In the face of difficulties and threats, few can always look forward or keep moving without stopping.

Still, many people don't fall into chaos or abandon everything because they have the mental support of knowing they are not alone.

It doesn't have to be limited to religion, but in this world, the role of the Church of the Light God is truly significant.

As Mika watched the group start praying, the sky outside the window turned red with the sunset.

The temperature inside the assembly hall started to drop, and the doors and windows were being closed.

The windows had lattice glass, and boards were being placed on the outside.

This was probably to prevent them from breaking in case of an attack.

Lamps hanging on the walls were lit, and a few portable lamps were placed.

With the windows closed, the room became quite dark.

Soon, about twenty people entered through the entrance, including Amelia.

Amelia looked around the assembly hall.

"Mom!"

Loretta raised her hand and called out to Amelia.

Amelia seemed to notice them and walked over, looking relieved.

"I'm glad you're both safe. Did you find Mika quickly?"

"Yeah. I boarded up the windows at home."

"That's good, thank you."

Amelia smiled and stroked Loretta's head.

It seemed that the secret order was real.

Loretta had gone back to the house from the textile factory to board up the windows and then came to the assembly hall to look for Mika.

If Mika had been at home, that would have been fine, but if not, they would have met at the assembly hall.

If Mika wasn't at the assembly hall, they would have searched the entire village.

Mika was relieved that he had come to the assembly hall.

"Do you know why the evacuation order was issued, Mom?"

Loretta asked.

Amelia's expression darkened slightly as she stepped closer.

"...I'm not sure, but it seems that beasts are coming from the forest."

"Beasts?"

Lowering her voice so no one else could hear, Loretta asked.

(What are beasts? I don't remember anything about them from Mika Noisheim's memories.)

The new word piqued Mika's interest.

Mika listened quietly to the conversation above his head.

"It happened about ten years ago. You were still very young then, so you might not remember."

"...Yeah."

It seemed that beasts rarely appeared