Once I made it back inside the village, I made an apologetic face seeing the destruction of the wooden houses. The village was already in bad condition, but my battle with Gael only made it a lot worse. It seems I may have gone a bit overboard; however, I felt relieved seeing that the villagers were all safe and sound. I might be able to help with most of the repairs before I leave.
Many of the villagers slowly came up towards me. Among them, a woman who seemed to be in her early twenties lowered her head to me. Ehm, confused, I looked at the woman. Why was she bowing to me? I wondered. The woman had long brown hair that reached her waist. Her eyes were filled with a sense of maturity.
"Thank you for protecting my child."
The woman said in a voice that conveyed deep gratitude. Hearing that, I made a blank expression; however, my eyes caught sight of a small boy hiding behind her back.
(Oh... the kid from back then)
I smiled, finally understanding why the woman was thanking me. I thought that I would be met with ridicule for destroying their village more than it already was.
"It was nothing, so don't worry about it."
I replied with a faint smile. When my gaze met the sky, I noticed it was dyed with an orange colour, as the sun set could be seen in the eastern sky. Signalling the end of the day. I calmly walked over to the village chief's house. There was a green transparent barrier surrounding the entire house. Alya must have put it up in case the house gets caught up in the earlier battle.
"Hey, Alya, can you let me in?!"
I shouted while standing before the house entrance. No sooner was the barrier surrounding the house removed. I then calmly walked inside. What greeted me was a bunch of eyes filled with thankfulness, curiosity and appreciation.
Hmm... what's with this atmosphere? It's even worse than outside. I thought, sighing.
"Fufufu... what's wrong? Hero, are you not satisfied with the welcome you've been given?"
Alya said a mischievous smile bloomed on her well-ordered face, her face filled with pride. However, my brow twitched when hearing her wording, 'Hero', since when was I promoted to such a title? I sighed, ignoring the implication behind her word. Instead, I turned my head towards the village chief, who seemed to have regained consciousness.
Two children were hugging him from either side. The small girl with orange coloured hair continued to clutch the old man's sleeves while her eyes were filled with tears. Seeing them in such a state, I hesitated about approaching them or not.
"Alya is the old man, okay? I remember he had serious injuries."
I turned to Alya and asked.
"Uhm... he's perfectly fine. Some of his bones and organs had taken serious damage. But I was able to repair them, although it will still take a few minutes before he's back in perfect condition. Though... my mana has been completely diminished after healing the entire village since we came here."
Alya explained, frowning.
"I see... well its fine then, you can regain mana from me later, once we go to sleep."
I said, sighing.
"So, how about you, Haruto... Judging from the exhausted look present on your face, it seems your fight wasn't an easy one."
Alya said, staring at my appearance closely. I could only shrug my shoulders in response. Maybe I should report this to the adventurer guild, even though the guild isn't responsible for what the adventurers do outside the guild; in my opinion, they're still to blame for their actions.
"I should thank you for saving us, young man."
I turned my head back to the village chief when hearing him addressing me. He stood up while making a slightly pained expression, showing that his injuries aren't completely healed.
"Hey, don't stand up so suddenly! Your injuries aren't completely healed yet; you still need at least five minutes before you're able to move around."
Alya exclaimed.
"It's fine, it's just a little pain from my side. It should fade in a while, in any case, as the chief of this village, I find it unacceptable for me not to thank the hero who saved my village."
He said, smiling.
"Th-Thank you for saving my grandpa."
A girl with orange coloured hair said in a timid voice.
"It was nothing."
I said somewhat awkwardly. She gazed at me from close by. I stared into her eyes, which, despite being a bit red from tears, are filled with gentleness.
A deep blush dyed my face. Stare!! Cough! Cough! A piercing gaze came from Alya.
"Well, anyway. What will you do about your village now?"
I inquired curiously, while skilfully changing the topic.
"Hmm... I would like to rebuild our village, which had been greatly destroyed, but our greatest problem is our lack of food. It would be great if we could travel towards the surrounding kingdoms, but. The forest is filled with dangerous beasts. And monster ranking from hazard class to disaster class, it's impossible for us to get through. And the most dangerous monster is the nine-tailed fox living up the mountain."
The village chief explained, with a complicated expression.
(That nine-tailed fox monster sounds like a really strong beast. Now I'm even more curious about it.)
I exhaled a deep sigh before speaking.
"Could you tell me more about the nine-tailed fox's abilities?"
I inquired, completely curious about this information. Two pairs of deep green eyes looked at me curiously. However, I chose to ignore it.
"The nine-tailed fox beast, according to the ones who were lucky enough to survive it with only a loss of their arms, informed that it has the power to completely control ice and lightning."
The village chief informed.
"Ice and lightning, huh... sound like a tough opponent."
I muttered. I can counter its ice with my fire magic, and I can use earth to defend against its lightning. Also, I always have Alya as backup whenever I need it. So, maybe just maybe there is a chance I can win.
While I was pondering such things, the village chief raised his hand quietly.
"Hmm... yes."
"I would like to request help from the young master who saved our village. I know this is asking for much, but would you escort us towards the closest town near our village?"
He asked, lowering his head. Pleadingly. The two children by his side also lowered their heads, followed by the rest of the villagers. Seeing that Alya sighed a deep breath, before shifting her gaze towards me.
After thinking for a few seconds, I opened my mouth.
"What exactly could we have gained from this request? If you could give us something worth our service, I'll accept it."
I stated calmly. Even though I would like to help them without gaining anything in return, I know that would be completely foolish. It would be bad if people tried to take advantage of my kindness after all.
Hearing my words, the village chief took out a small orb from his rugged clothes.
"Hmm... what is that?"
I asked curiously. Based on the shininess of the orb, which sparkled so brightly like a diamond. It's obviously something of high-quality and very valuable.
"I don't know what this is; it's been in my family for a generation now, and is the most valuable item I currently own. I was planning to give it to those adventurers if they ever abandon us, I think something I should give to you instead."
He stated. Holding out the orb in his hand. I see... I gazed at the orb mysteriously for a while, not knowing its purpose. I turned my gaze towards Alya, who was staring at the orb with shock present in her eyes. Hmm... seeing that I looked at her, completely confused.
"Is there something wrong, Alya?"
I asked.
"Th-That orb is enchanted with powerful time-space magic."