A short time later, the two women who took us to our rooms returned to let us know that dinner was ready. They led us back to the first floor, through a living room of sorts, and into a room with a raised wooden floor and a central hearth. A steaming pot hung above the fire, and the burble of boiling liquid filled the room.
The chamber reminded me of the old homes you’d find in a remote Japanese village. Nostalgia welled up inside me.
“Sit wherever you like, Arc,” Hanzo said. The white-bearded elder sat in front of the pot, legs crossed. “You know, I never would have guessed you were an elf, since you come from the same place as our great founder.”
I’d already taken off my helmet, revealing my dark elf face, temporarily restored thanks to the spring water’s curse-lifting powers.
“Ah, yes… My memory is still quite fuzzy. I’ve only recently been able to recall some of the details. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure that your founder and I truly come from the same village.”
I sat across from Hanzo, assuming his cross-legged posture, and set Ponta down next to me.
Ariane sat on my other side. She kept shifting and moving her legs, as if she wasn’t used to sitting on the floor.
Hanzo watched patiently as she settled. “Now, about our request for help. I hear that you are a mercenary, Arc. Of course, we intend to pay you for your services. But Chiyome mentioned that you might have another request.”
When Chiyome had approached me with her request, I agreed to take it on, so I was at a loss as to what sort of payment to ask for. I just wanted to help my friend, who was in trouble. I couldn’t really think of anything I needed.
“As I’m sure you have seen, our village is far from prosperous. If it is acceptable to you, I would like to offer you several of our finest women. What do you think? Heh heh.”
The old man raised a bushy eyebrow and gave me a suggestive smile. While that offer was tempting, I felt eyes drilling into me from the side. Replying to the offer, even jokingly, seemed like a poor choice.
Instead, I brought up my original request—the shrine. “I understand that this is a rather big favor to ask, but I would like permission to use the shrine your great founder built, near where you’ll be moving. That would be sufficient payment for me.” I mentioned that the Dragon Lord who watched over the region had already granted me permission.
Hanzo nodded. “After our great founder’s death, the third Hanzo abandoned the shrine, and it fell into ruin. Chiyome already retrieved our clan’s mystical treasure, so you are free to use the shrine as you see fit. Is there nothing else you wish to ask of us?”
I crossed my arms and thought it over.
Ponta looked up at me, cocking its head to imitate my posture. It wagged its tail, clearly impatient about the lack of dinner.
“From what I’ve seen already, your people are incredible at crafting,” I said. “I would like your help returning the shrine to its former glory. Would that be possible?”
It would take a lot of work to restore the shrine. I could easily buy the materials from human towns, but I didn’t feel remotely qualified to try repairing such a large building on my own.
Hanzo stroked his long, white beard. “We would gladly provide assistance. But is that all you want? I could find you a well-endowed young lady, you know…! Gyahaha.” As Hanzo spoke, his gaze turned quickly toward Ariane. Then he looked back at me and ended with a lecherous laugh. I couldn’t see for sure, but I was nearly certain that he was staring at Ariane’s chest.
Was this perverted old man really the Jinshin clan’s leader? I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was suddenly revealed to be a body double.
I felt Ariane’s death glare intensify, making the muscles in my neck tense up. This body was supposed to have the ability to bypass strong emotions, but Ariane’s glare was something different entirely.
Ponta pawed my lap, begging for food. I petted it to try and calm it down.
“Thank you, Hanzo,” I said. “That is incredibly generous.”
Hanzo nodded. “We’ll even lend you our best crafters. Chiyome!”
The cat-eared ninja girl glided into the room silently. She bowed once in the entrance before approaching.
Three others followed her, including a massive man around 230 centimeters tall, with hair the color of a tabby cat. I recognized Goemon, one of the six great ninjas, who joined Chiyome in our attack on the Etzat Market. This time, he wore the same form-fitting ninja garb as Chiyome. He entered the room in silence, offering only imperceptible glances as greetings.
An even larger man followed Goemon. He must have been at least 270 centimeters tall; his head almost scraped the ceiling. He bowed several times as he entered. The muscles in the man’s back bulged, as did his thick, muscular arms. His legs were short for his height, and two cute round ears sat on his head. Deep wrinkles creased his face, giving him a commanding presence.
Behind him followed a small, middle-aged man around 160 centimeters tall. The determination in his eyes made it clear that he was far from average. Faded scars covered his arms below rolled-up sleeves, and one long rabbit ear was torn off halfway down. As I watched, his brutal face developed a playful grin.
The four walked over to Hanzo and sat beside him, bowing to us. Ariane and I bowed back.
Hanzo gestured to the newcomers. “I believe you have both met Goemon, and of course you know Chiyome. This large man is Gowro, one of the bear people, and the chief of our village.”
The large man bowed low, forehead touching the floor. He looked back up, speaking with a heavy accent.
“I am Gowro, a member of the bear people and village chief. I am immensely grateful and honored that you will help us.” He bowed low again.
“Oh?” I said, a bit confused. “I thought Hanzo was chief.”
Hanzo explained. “This village was built by the Jinshin clan, but we don’t rule it. There are, in fact, multiple villages like this one across the continent.”
Hanzo glanced at the short man with rabbit ears.
A menacing look returned to the man’s face. “I am Pittah, one of the rabbit people. I serve as the village’s military commander. I will lead the advance party to prepare the new location for everyone’s arrival. I look forward to working with you, Arc.” His voice was an intimidating growl. Ponta scooted backward slightly at the sound.
So, a walking, talking skeleton like myself was fine, but the Yakuza-esque Pittah was a no-go for Ponta. I wasn’t sure how it decided where to draw the line, but clearly, spirit creatures weren’t drawn to beast species unconditionally.
Pittah slumped at Ponta’s rejection. It seemed he had a soft spot, despite being fierce-looking.
“What advance party, Pittah?” I asked.
Hanzo stroked his beard as he explained. “The Dragon Lord told Chiyome of a place that would be perfect for us: an open plain beside a large lake. However, I want an advance party to check it out personally. Once we examine the land, we would like you to teleport an engineering group to our new home. They can prepare the basic necessities for the rest of the village’s arrival.”
Traveling to the lake on foot would take quite a long time. While the advance party was busy examining the land, I would need to get a good feeling for the surroundings, so I could teleport the engineering group there. Since this new land didn’t have walls to drive off monsters, like the village did, they would need to build temporary defensive structures, along with sleeping quarters.
“How many days do you believe it will take until the engineering group is ready to accept the first settlers?” I asked. “And how many groups do you plan to break the village into?”
I wanted to know the plan so I could prepare accordingly.
Hanzo arched an eyebrow. “It will be at least a month or two until we’re ready to move the first settlers. After that, we plan to relocate about half the townspeople.”
“Ah, I see,” I said. “So, you won’t be abandoning this village?”
Hanzo shook his head. “This village belongs to our people. The place we’re moving to is safe from outside attack, but also incredibly difficult to reach. The third Hanzo abandoned the shrine because he couldn’t assist his comrades while maintaining a base there.”
Without the ability to use space-time ninjutsu, or some other teleportation magic, the only way in or out was through the monster-infested forests and cave.
The hulking warriors in front of me could probably make the journey, but there were also plenty of civilians and children in the village, who would undoubtedly suffer many casualties.
“I don’t understand,” I said. “Why do you wish to return to a place you abandoned?”
Hanzo shook his head. “Back in the days of the founding elder, our people settled in many villages. Whenever humans abducted our comrades, they were rescued and returned to their homes. But as the human population increased, it pushed the villages deeper into the woods and higher into the mountains, until we found ourselves where we are now, living only in places where humans dare not venture. Our numbers have dwindled greatly, as has travel between our villages.”
Everyone sat in silence, eyes downcast, the only sounds the bubbling stew and crackling wood.
In such a small village, with no one entering or leaving, it would only be a matter of time until everyone was related.
The new location might be surrounded by mountains, but it also had a vast field. They could even increase the field’s size by cutting down the surrounding trees. As they developed the land, they could bring settlers from other villages to diversify their population. At least, I assumed that was their plan.
According to Ariane, the mountain people had a massive country to themselves on the southern continent. Here in the north, however, the humans had crowded them into a corner.
“Should we send the advance party out first thing tomorrow, then?”
Hanzo bowed his head. “Yes, I would appreciate… Huh?!” He jerked backward to look at me, expression grim.
Until then, the conversation had gone smoothly, but the mood in the room had suddenly changed. I looked around, confused.
Hanzo wasn’t the only one who looked alarmed. Gowro, Pittah, and even Chiyome stared at me, wearing surprised expressions. Only Goemon seemed unphased.
Ariane looked alarmed. “Arc, y-you’re changing back!”
I ran my fingers across my face. The spring water had worn off much faster than I expected. I wondered if storing the water for a longer time weakened its effect.
“An undead?!”
The men on the other side of the hearth began to stand.
With a heavy sigh, I explained my body’s circumstances.