Chapter 12

When Rio and the others returned to the village, it was just as dawn was breaking and the sky was beginning to lighten.

The village, where torches burned brightly in vigilance against the evil beasts, rejoiced at having weathered the turmoil without any casualties. However, due to the ongoing vigilance against the evil beasts, they couldn't let their guard down, so a grand feast with lavish dishes was held as a token of appreciation. Rio, however, returned home straight away with his father Bald, who had joined them halfway through. For some reason, he brought a young girl with him.

Worried about Rio's safety, his mother hadn't been able to sleep. Her joy at seeing Rio return was mixed with confusion when she saw the cute girl standing next to him, wearing loose-fitting clothes.

"…Did my son split into a daughter?"

"There's no way. He's not injured, so just let him sleep."

While Bald led his mother to the bedroom and helped her lie down, Rio went around to the back of the house with a thick branch he used as a cane and a change of clothes. Finally able to wash his mud-covered body with proper water, Rio hurriedly fetched water from the river and returned to the bathhouse—only to collapse upon seeing a guest already there.

"Why are you here? You're not that dirty, are you?"

As he pointed this out to the girl, who was taking off the borrowed loose-fitting clothes, a female adventurer appeared from the house.

"Sorry. The clothes were so loose, I had to get her to change. I'll be quick, so please wait. After that, we need to take your statement, so come to the village chief's house when you're done."

"Understood."

Feeling a sense of exhaustion, Rio leaned the branch he used as a cane against the wall. He leaned against the wall separating the bathhouse, closed his eyes, and tried not to look at the girl changing.

"By the way, what are you going to do with the girl? Take her to town and declare her missing?"

"I'll make inquiries, but I can't take her to town. I can't take care of her. We'll discuss that at the village chief's house."

"Hmm."

Though the girl was mysterious, she didn't seem hostile. The situation when she was found was so suspicious that it was difficult to know how to handle her, but he didn't want her to suffer.

"I'm done. Be careful not to get water on your injuries."

"Thank you."

As the female adventurer and the girl left the bathhouse, Rio entered and started to take off his clothes, feeling a gaze on him.

"Why are you looking at me?"

The girl was staring at Rio as if observing him. With his upper body bare, Rio didn't know how to react and stared back, then realized something. The girl's gaze was exactly like that of an infant or a young child trying to understand something they saw for the first time. It was a pure, focused gaze without any emotion, not even curiosity. It was a gaze that didn't even know if a reaction was necessary, let alone what the correct reaction would be.

Realizing the meaning behind the girl's gaze, Rio, who was about the same age as her, was taken aback. Unaware of Rio's reaction, the female adventurer pulled the girl's hand.

"Staring like that makes it hard for him to change. Come over here. When you watch a boy your age change, you should do it from behind a bush and giggle. Come on, come on."

"Don't teach her weird things!"

"I won't teach her anything bad. It's a lady's prerogative."

"Ladies don't peek!"

"That's a misunderstanding. They do, just without getting caught."

"I didn't want to know that..."

"Knowing the bitter truth of reality is bittersweet and delicious."

"Get out quickly!"

Laughing, the female adventurer left the bathhouse, pulling the girl along. This time, Rio started to wash his body.

※

At the village chief's house, the village chief and other prominent villagers had gathered. Rio, sitting with Bald and the girl, felt uncomfortable but listened to the discussion. The only injured person was one of the evil weasels, who had been found by Rio. He had already received medical treatment and was expected to recover enough to walk in a few days.

The dojo master, Rakudoi, stood up and bowed deeply.

"This time, my dojo's students caused everyone a great deal of trouble. I am very sorry."

Rio glanced outside, wondering why the troublemakers, including Yudo, weren't there.

"Rakudoi was out of town. There was no way to stop them. Besides, this incident was a result of Yudo and the others trying to thank Rakudoi, who has always taken care of them, without consulting him. He bears no responsibility."

The village chief defended him. Bald looked like he wanted to say something, but since his son Rio had also gone missing and a search party had been sent out, he couldn't say much.

"Yudo and the others will be lectured by their parents. More importantly, let's discuss what to do next."

The village chief abandoned the blame game and switched to discussing measures against the evil beasts.

"During the search of the mountains, we found and eliminated the evil weasels. However, it's unlikely that they are the same evil beasts that injured the monkeys. The question is, where is the evil beast that injured the monkeys?"

Everyone agreed that it was just a case of children acting recklessly. Bald spread out a map of the mountains. It was a rough map with landmarks, not a precise survey. However, for those who had entered the mountains many times, it was enough to visualize the landscape.

"We did something similar to a mountain hunt while searching for Yudo and the others, but we didn't encounter them. Everyone, please explain your routes again. Furlau and the others, who are not from the village, will need to hear from Rio."

Rio explained the routes of the adventurers, Furlau and the others, and the routes of each group as they climbed the mountain were roughly visualized. The search for the evil beasts in the coming days would focus on areas that had not yet been checked.

Karil raised his only arm.

"I also noticed the absence of wild animals. Since Bald and Rio were moving in groups, the animals might have hidden. But I searched alone and didn't see a single rat. I didn't even find the bones of animals that had been killed and eaten. It might be the type that drags its prey into a den."

"Be careful of holes."

"Another thing that concerns me is what happened after Rio was washed away. Rio, you didn't see any beasts, did you?"

Everyone's gaze turned to Rio. He nodded and explained in detail what happened after he was washed away. When he finished describing how he joined up with Karil and the others, the village chief looked troubled.

"Is it possible that the evil beast was chasing its prey and moved downstream?"

"That's right. If it was moving, the investigation will take longer, and we won't be able to declare the area safe before the year ends."

"Come on, that's too much. Without mushrooms and mountain vegetables, we won't be able to stock up for winter."

One of the meeting participants complained, but there was nothing they could do about it. The village chief spoke in a heavy voice.

"It might be a harsh winter."