Chapter 102 The Unwelcomed Guest

Somehow he did manage to get a decent amount of rest by the time morning came. As the sun rose, he looked outside while yawning to find the village occupied by mist. The rain had yet to stop, with no signs of it coming to an end.

It was worrying to him that an entire day had passed while Vandread was still in the hands of the Outriders, but the best he could do in his situation was simply believe in the man’s strength. At the very least, it seemed highly unlikely somebody with an abnormal body like Vandread would meet his end easily.

“…It feels like I finally drew the good end of the stick for once,” he mumbled.

It seemed he was the only one still inside the dome-shaped house, which was odd to him as he was practically a stranger, but it seemed the differences in culture were apparent.

He decided to leave the house, venturing out into the village as he descended the windy, tree-attached bridge.

“–” He looked around.

The refreshing smell of brisk rain running slick on the large leaves overhung on the forest trees was a reinvigorating atmosphere; he felt like a plant being watered and bathed in nutrients just by the calming scenery.

Already, kids were playing in the rain, mostly playing what looked to be tag, but aiming to grab each others’ tails. As he reached the floor layer of Verma village, he saw one of the children playing was Alekkai’s daughter–Veila.

“Mornin’, erm…Emalo? Enilly?” Veila greeted him, putting her finger to her chin as she tried to call his name.

He laughed, patting her head, “It’s Emilio.”

“Emilio! Want to play with us?” Veila asked.

As this was asked, he could see the other children looking at him with their giddy, innocent smiles as well, but he declined. Of course, his rejection of playing the game was met with some disappointment from the children, but they were over it within seconds.

It did feel out of his scope already to be playing such games, but he was mostly curious about the village itself.

“Young man.”

He was caught off-guard amidst his walk around the village, turning to find an elderly woman sitting on a seat made out of repurposed tree branches and leaves.

“Huh?”

“It’s rare to have guests in this village. Here,” the elderly woman smiled, handing him something.

It was something wrapped in fresh leaves; as he unwrapped it, he found it to be a fluffy pastry that gave off a sweet, vanilla scent.

“What’s this?” He asked.

“A Lycor strune,” the elderly woman told him, “I’d find it to be a shame if one visited our small land and they didn’t get to experience our food.”

While he was a bit confused for a moment, he realized the elderly demi-human was simply being kind, to which he smiled and nodded, taking a large bite out of the sweet bread. Just as he thought, it was delicate and refreshing; it was lightly sweetened.

“It’s great,” he smiled.

The wizened woman smiled with a small laugh, “How wonderful. Thank you for giving it a try.”

He shook his head, “No–thanks for the food, granny!”

As he went on his way, eating the rest of the unique bread, he found himself fully woken up and freshened on the misty morning.

I get it now, Alekkai. This village is a precious place, he thought.

As night crawled around, it was that time. He didn’t know how to feel about it yet, but watching Alekkai gather the squad for the assault on the Outrider village, he felt the reality of what was coming swirling in his stomach.

–

[The Outrider Village | Vandread]

“…Just great…”

Standing with his wrists bound by rope, Vandread was locked inside of a cage with wooden bars. The man’s shirt was stripped away, deprived of his various blades as his scar-covered, dark-skinned body was subject to the rainfall.

Around the cage, guards stood; warriors dressed in bearskin kilts. They were each tall, with the shortest being just at the cusp of two meters; the members of the Outrider tribe were built broad and muscular, with long arms that had prominent, wide and bushy forearms.

Well, it definitely seems like they didn’t get the brat. That’s good. Problem now is how do I get out of this situation? They’ve got a real troublesome few in this clan…”Strength of a bear”–that’s an understatement, he thought.

The members of the Outrider tribes were bear demi-humans; the appearance of men, but the power and build of nature’s imposing, bristly kings. There was no doubt in his mind what kind of strength a clan like the Outriders possessed when also taking into mind the “strength rules all” mindset they held.

He watched with his platinum eyes, scanning the surrounding area as he counted three guards specifically put around his cage.

Beneath his feet, the soil had shifted into mud; he slowly slid his foot back, moving it at a snail’s pace as to not make a sound nor draw the attention of any of the large sentinels.

On the heel of his right foot, there was a stitched scar that stretched its length, one that he plucked out silently and with minimal movement, using his left foot to do so.

“Valu to ma.”

One of the guards spoke in a bellowing voice to the other, though it was impossible for the man to understand the language they spoke in.

“Vaga le swirshu! Ga-ha-ha!”

“Ha-ha!”

It seemed the guards were making some sort of joke about their prisoner; each of them had almost identical, roaring laughs.

To his favor, the guards faced away from him; rather than guarding him as in watching him for suspicious movement, it seemed they were more focused on watching for anybody that would try to break him out.

Though he prepared to make his move, ripping the stitches from his heel, he was hesitant to take action until he could see a pair of Outrider warriors marching his way.

They carried a large pot, filled with water so hot that steam danced in the air above it. He knew what they were planning to do to him.

What a drag. I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, he thought.