133 3.45 Requesting aid

In comparison, the villages on the northern side of the city barely had any cultivable lands.

In the center of this kingdom, there was a place called the Dragon valley. It was a valley surrounded by a mountain range that was several times larger than the Himalayas from my previous world.

There were several rocky hills around those parts, so the landform wasn't exactly suitable for cultivation. And on top of that, there was a constant threat of monsters.

This was the reason why I chose to visit the southern villages first.

The farmers used to save some grains in a fear that the crops may not come out well next year. But there was barely an occasion where that fear came true.

Usually, they would just sell the fresh crop next year and use the crops from last year. And surprising, the crops from last year used to taste better than the new crops.

This was based on my experience from the time I lived in the Calm village. I saw many families do that, and that was indeed a really wise choice.

After flying southward for a while, we stopped near a familiar-looking village. I remembered stopping here last time when we were traveling to the city.

I realized we might scare the villages if we fly directly into the village, so we stopped in the nearby plains and walked towards the village from there.

It would still be surprising since we didn't have any horses or equipment, but it would be a lot less surprising than landing there out of nowhere.

I remembered that Jin's house was the first one on the right side of the main street, so the two of us walked towards that house.

The streets were empty since the chilly wind was blowing outside. Everyone was probably inside their house, preparing the meals.

When I looked closer, I saw a few people staring at us from the windows of their houses. That wasn't surprising since visitors must be rare around this time of the year.

I knocked on the door, and my knock was answered by a beautiful chubby woman with bunny ears.

"Who are you?"

It was dark so it wasn't a surprise that she couldn't recognize me. She brought forward a magic light that she was holding and took a closer look at my face. As she was doing that, I was trying to remember her name that I had forgotten.

"Wait, looks like I have seen you somewhere"—She looked behind— "Honey, can you come here? We have guests."

I was somewhat relieved when she called Jin. It would have been weird to say I knew her when I had already forgotten her name.

A man with similar bunny ears came out. Unlike last time, he was wearing casual clothes, but I could easily recognize him at first sight.

"We stopped by when we were traveling to the city, remember?" It looked like he wasn't picking up the hint, so I continued. "I was with Andrew and Jabal."

"Ahaa! I know you. You were one of the kids from then. What brings you to our little village today?"

His expressions changed suddenly. A while ago, it felt like he was talking to me as a stranger, and now it was as if we were neighbors. I guess it was the effect of giving him hints and making him remember instead of telling him who I was.

"I won't be able to stay here much longer, but there is something I want to discuss."

Jin took a long breath. He probably sensed the seriousness in my voice. "Okay then, please come in."

Inside, there was a small table where four people could sit comfortably. Sofas were considered luxury items in this world, so only rich people had those.

"Nira, prepare some tea."

It was only then that I recalled what her name was. I felt a little frustrated about not being able to remember that before, but I didn't show it outside.

"Before we begin, who is this lady? I don't remember seeing her before."

"Oh, she is my friend from the city. The two of us came here together since we need your help."

Instead of waiting for his response to my answer, I decided to take the conversation directly towards the main subject.

"My help regarding what?"

"You must not be aware, but the Shinga city is no more. It was completely destroyed by the demons."

Jin's jaw dropped in surprise. I could hear the sound of something falling in the kitchen, so Nira must be hearing our conversation as well.

"Is that… true?"

He must have thought I was out of mind, and I don't blame him if he did. The news was just that unbelievable.

"Yes, if you don't believe me, you can try visiting the city yourself."

He composed himself by taking a long breath. "Alright, I am willing to believe that for a second. Now, tell me what brings you here?"

It was a good thing that he decided to take the conversation in that direction. It would have been a pain to make him believe that it happened without any evidence.

"There was a fire that burned most of the Residential and Trading district. Knights and Noble's district were also destroyed by the demon rampage. Because of that, we are in a serious scarcity of food and resources. I was hoping that your villages and the villages around would be able to assist."

"Okay."

Jin lowered his head for a second and started thinking. After a while, he looked back at me and continued.

"I will gather the villagers tomorrow and collect what we can arrange. We might be able to send a few carriages to the city."

I was surprised that he agreed to that so easily, but it was probably because he knew me already.

"Thank you. I will let the duke know; he will definitely appreciate your help. Now then…"

I stood up from my chair, and following me; Flare stood up as well.

"...We still need to notify the nearby villages, so I think I should take my leave now."

"So soon? It will take a few hours to reach the nearby village, and it's already dark. You two should probably stay here. I still want to hear more about what happened."

"Unfortunately, there isn't much time left. Master has to visit over thirty—"

Flare was probably about to say over thirty villages, but since that would make things even more confusing, I interrupted her.

"What she means is we are in a hurry, and we need to be there fast. I will stop by when I am traveling around these parts. Once again, thank you for your help, and sorry for showing up at a time like this."

"No, that's alright. It's our obligation to help the city since it has always helped us farming villages. I should thank you for letting me know instead."

After the conversation, I bowed slightly as an apology. The two of us then walked out of the house and towards the next village.

: Reconstruction