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Chapter 8 - Narrative of the Peaceful Village (6)

Soft sunlight was pouring over Sun Village. The rooftops were made of wood. They were all lined up neatly surrounded by fields of green grass that were swaying gently in the breeze. The air was filled with the smell of wood and damp earth. In the distance there were some mountains that formed a natural barrier like a line of defense that was just standing there quietly.

The air in the morning was cool and refreshing. There was a mist just above the ground and birds were singing all over the place along with the sound of roosters crowing making it feel like a dream that would never end. Even though it was a village people who visited could not help but feel a strange sense of energy. The people who lived in Sun Village were really beautiful. The men and women both had eyes and nice bodies like they had been picked out specially. They did not get their beauty from clothes but it just came from inside them naturally.

Now a big pack of wolves had surrounded the village their eyes glowing in the morning light like a bunch of little flames. The wind was carrying the smell of the wolves and the sound of their breathing up to a hill nearby, where Elric and some people from Sun Village were hiding. One of them asked, his voice shaking, "What should we do?"

Elric said, "We cannot go back to the village now we have to kill the wolves from here."

As he was talking he looked at Elric briefly.

"If I had some bullets I could shoot them from this distance."

Elric was quiet for a moment then he started counting the wolves in his head. His eyes got a little wider. There were than twenty of them. "That will work. We only have a few dozen bullets left so we need to lure the wolves and send someone to get more ammunition." Elric frowned away.

"You came out with that many bullets? That does not sound very careful."

The people from Sun Village. Looked displeased but they quickly calmed down.

They said "Look closely our village does not get attacked by beasts all the time so we do not need a lot of hunters. Importantly bullets have to be made from a special stone called cerulean stone."

Elric was quiet thinking to himself. That makes sense they do not hunt wolves for food here they just hunt them to keep their numbers down. On the hand Sun Village does not really need to get rid of wolves because they live closer to Star Village so they do not have a lot of hunters.

As Elric realized this he suddenly understood something.

"The bullets and guns we use they come from your village do not they?"

One of them said, "Obviously what a annoying question is that?"

Then Elric thought, based on what they said their village exports weapons? How is that possible? This is supposed to be a village... At that moment someone grabbed Elrics wrist. "Stop hesitating take the bullets and start shooting we will go into the village to get more."

Elric took the bullets then he looked down at the battlefield calmly.

"I am ready just tell me when to shoot."

It did not take long before they started the operation. Gunfire broke the silence of the forest and the people from Sun Village were able to sneak into the village. Elric was left with eight bullets so he slowed down his shots focusing on the wolves that were blocking the village entrance.

Before long the villagers came back with ammunition and Elric kept shooting from afar. They were almost done.... Then he ran out of bullets. A wolf let out a howl and one of the men was attacked and killed right away. Elric froze, his eyes wide with guilt and despair.. Then the villagers handed him some more bullets and he took a deep breath gripped his gun tightly and started shooting again.

When they were all done one of the men said, "Not bad for a looking kid."

Elric smiled a little.

"Thank you for the compliment."

The man said, "By the way that guy..."

He looked at the man who had been killed. "Forget about ugly guy."

Elric heart was pounding with anger.

"You are making fun of peoples looks..."

"What you want to fight?"

Elric clenched his teeth and shook his head a little.

Do not forget this is a narrative it is not real so do not take it seriously... Yeah do not think much about it...

Someone shouted from behind

"Stop spacing out lets go to the village."

Elric nodded. "What about the bullets we agreed on?"

But the main problem was not solved the bullets he had just gotten were already. There was no way to get more.

If noon came he would not have any tools left to hunt.

One of the men said, "Hahaha what's the rush? Here take this."

He handed Elric one bullet.

"One bullet? Are you crazy? That is not enough!"

"The cerulean stone mine had a collapse so we cannot make any bullets." They were talking like it was no deal.

Elric needed to give stone to the village chief to the priest and even use it for shooting. One bullet would never be enough.

Did he take the path? Before he left the village chief had given him a piece of paper that said to let the wolves attack.. Judging from everything that had happened the chief was suspicious. After reading the Star Princes diary and talking to the villagers someone that suspicious giving instructions... He had decided to do the opposite. Help Sun Village instead.. In return there was not enough azure stone.

Elric swallowed, stood still for a moment and then said, "You do not seem concerned all." His voice was filled with irritation. "If the wolves attack again you will not be able to handle it. The bullets you gave me are not even worth the risk."

One of the men. Said, "This is only the second time we have had beasts attack there probably will not be a third."

"Wolves are not smart if they come again we will just lure them towards Star Village."

The men were talking without looking and it was clear they did not care. They wanted to push the danger onto another village. It was not even a fair way to survive. Elric asked, "The reason bullets disappear after being fired... It is because they are made from that stone right?" One of the men looked proud like he was talking about something.

"That is right no one has ever found a mineral like this before. We sell it to the king and other kingdoms that is why our village is so wealthy."

Not after Elrics group arrived at the gates of Sun Village. The big wooden doors opened slowly. What they saw was beyond what they had expected. The paths were made of stone. Were polished smooth and they were arranged in fancy patterns. The sunlight that came through the stained glass of a building made shiny reflections. The pillars were shaped like arches. Had intricate carvings and some of the buildings looked more like mansions than normal homes.

Elric said under his breath as he stood at the entrance "This is crazy..."

"Haha that reaction is perfect country folks get shocked like this."

Elric turned to stare his face serious. Wait... Earlier they mentioned the king and kingdoms. "Selling it to the king." His thoughts started racing away.

Damn it... Do not tell me there is more to this narrative... No... Stay calm the title is "A Village" the word "village" is there for a reason... There should not be places to go.

One of the men said "Of course what is so strange about that?"

Elric said "Nothing."

After they exchanged some greetings the villagers let Elric stay for one night. But the atmosphere around him was tense the villagers were looking at him with indifference and coldness. It was clear they did not like him. Maybe it was because he was an outsider or because he did not look good enough.

He needed to go to hunting according to the rules so staying overnight was not really an option. Still to get much information, as possible he tried to talk to the villagers.. Every time he tried they blocked him with their prejudice. No one wanted to talk to him all. Fortunately there were a people who were also treated poorly because of how they looked and they were willing to talk to him giving him some information

He also went to the village church. Under the church was a room where people shared hidden information just like in Star Village.

But something was different. The priest was a young girl.

She wore a robe. Her eyes were pale and calm but sharp. Her dark hair was tied up neatly. She seemed very grown up for her age.

"What do you want?" she asked directly. "We will give you information if you give us wolf fur."

Elric nodded slowly. Gave her some wolf fur from his bag.

He got it from the wolves that attacked him earlier.

The bullets were gone again which was really strange. When he asked questions he found out that cerulean stone was a special kind of rock that broke down immediately if it was not used in the villages guns.

When you shot the gun the stone disappeared into pieces leaving no trace. That is why kingdoms wanted it. They could use it to kill people without leaving any evidence.

The girl looked at the fur for a moment then looked up at him.

"This is quality. You must be the one who fought the wolves outside."

Elric said yes.

"In that case you can ask us five questions as a reward."

He thought for a moment. He already knew what he wanted to ask.

One thing people talked about a lot was the stone.

It was probably important to the narrative.

"My first question. Who found the stone mine?"

The girl was quiet for a moment thinking deeply before answering softly.

"I cannot answer that."

He thought for a moment. If she cannot answer it is pointless to ask more about it.

"My next question. Who was kicked out of this village and why?"

He asked firmly. He heard some people from Sun Village and the chief of Star Village talking about this.

The suspicious things are often hidden in plain sight.

If this world is just a made-up narrative...

Then every narrative has to have a surprise.

It does not make sense that wolves would attack a village like that...

Based on where they live they should have attacked Star Village first.. They went straight to Sun Village.

The more he thought about it the stranger it seemed. Wolves do not act like that without a reason.

Also there was no leader among the wolves. That made it even stranger. A group of wolves should always have a leader.

"The person who was kicked out... Was a boy with a scar from stone on his back. Nobody gave him a name " the girl said.

"He was kicked out... Because of how he looked? Because he was ugly?"

Elric frowned, feeling annoyed.

The girl shook her head slowly.

"Not because he was ugly.... Because he was too handsome. The villagers were jealous of him."

"Did his parents stop it? Where are they now?"

The girl thought for a moment before answering.

"That is your question. Do you want to ask it "

Elric gritted his teeth. This was too important to ignore.

"Okay I will ask it."

"He was an orphan. He had parents but they were the ones who wanted to kick him out... The ones who should have protected him."

Elric was shocked feeling sad and hurt.

This was very cruel.

"Where are they now?"

"They are dead."

The girl thought for a moment then gave him a piece of paper.

"You can take this. It has news about that boy."

Elric took it carefully. The paper was old and rough like a newspaper from a time ago.

...This is...

"He was called 'the experimenter.'"

"Yes. He often asked questions that others did not like why humans can be crueler than animals or how to make a scary force."

Elric was amazed. The boys thoughts were very advanced. He was not just imagining things. He was very talented.

Maybe... This boy was in danger, from kingdoms? That is why he wanted to create a force. As a child he had something driving him to do this.

Wait...

"My question..." Elric said quietly.

He closed his eyes thinking. Some things he would never learn from the priest of Star Village.

"My last question is... Who is the chief of Star Village?"

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