Chapter 536:
It All Feels So Normal
AS WE GATHERED POTIONS at the dump, I glanced at the Snakey in the distance.
“I know we’re an odd sight, but nothing feels out of place to me,” I remarked.
This was our first time being at a dump with a serpent, but oddly enough, it felt very normal to us.
“You’re right. Funny how that is.” My father smiled at the sight of the serpent.
When we first set out on our way to the dump, a serpent appeared in our path. We were a bit surprised, but I recognized the magic energy, so I let the serpent come with us…and it just felt so normal. Too normal. After staring hard for a while, the serpent happily approached us.
“Sorry, buddy, but I can’t play with you today. We have to collect potions for the slimes.”
Snakey nodded in understanding and smiled softly as I petted its nose. The familiar adorableness put a smile on my face.
“Okay, let’s fill these magic bags,” my father said.
“Okay.”
We quickly loaded potions, swords, and magic items into our empty magic bags. I kept focused and worked hard for a while, until my back started to hurt.
“Mmmng,” I moaned, stretching my back. I looked around to see my father doing the same thing in the distance. When our eyes met, we laughed. I looked for Sora and found the slime happily eating a sword a few yards away.
“And where’s Flame?” I asked myself.
I turned my eyes toward the shuwaaa sounds and saw Flame and Sol together. Flame was eating potions, and Sol was devouring a giant magic item.
“Everyone’s got a hearty appetite today, I see.”
Sol and Flame jiggled in reply. Feeling a shadow over my face, I looked beside me to see Snakey with a magic item in its mouth. It gently set it at my feet.
“Oh, did you pick this up for me? Thank you.”
I stashed the item in my magic bag. Seeing me do this, the serpent brought me another item. After we repeated this many times, I went ahead and asked Snakey to gather magic items while I focused on potions.
“With your help, our magic bags are filling up fast. Thank you,” my father told the serpent, who answered with a happy wave of its long body.
“Okay, did everyone get enough to eat?” my father asked.
Sora and Flame jiggled in reply as they digested their potions.
“Pefu!”
Sol was already full and enjoying a nap. When we all left the dump, we found Ciel and Toron lounging at the root of a tree nearby.
“Sorry we took so long. You okay?” my father asked.
Mrrrow.
“Gyah!”
“We’d better get moving,” he said. “It’s almost noon, and our enemies might make a move soon.”
“Right. Hey, Toron…you okay, buddy?”
Lately, Toron liked to lie down horizontally when it was resting. It was adorable, but a hard position to get out of. Since Toron didn’t have hands that could move deftly, the little tree always looked like it was struggling when it got up.
Mrrrow.
Ciel’s keen nose gave Toron some support to help it stand. Gotta hand it to Ciel.
“Thanks, Ciel. Good job, Toron.”
“Gyah!”
My father smiled at the very self-satisfied Toron. “Let’s head out. What do you want to do about the serpent?”
Right after my father asked that question, Snakey looked into the forest. I did the same, but all I could see was a bunch of trees.
“What’s up?” I asked. The serpent just kept staring into the forest in reply. What’s going on? Is Snakey trying to tell us something? “Is there something out there?” I asked.
Snakey swayed in reply, which meant there probably was something out there. Was it at the place the serpents tried to take us to before we came to this village? They’d said they weren’t in a hurry, but maybe they wanted to take us there right now. Then again, Zinal and Fische wanted to go there, too.
“Serpent, we’ll bring Zinal and Fische out here with us tomorrow. Is that okay, or will that be too late?”
The serpent pondered my father’s question…then looked at him and nodded.
“Got it. Sit tight. We’ll be back tomorrow.”
Satisfied by my father’s reply, Snakey slipped out of sight. As I watched the vanishing figure, I sensed another aura in the distance. An unfamiliar one.
“Hey, Dad, somebody’s coming this way.”
“Okay. Ciel, turn into a sli—ah, already done it.”
Ciel had already turned into a slime and was at our feet.
“Ciel’s gotten really fast at that. Doesn’t make a sound, either,” my father remarked.
“Yeah, the shapeshifting happens before I get a chance to watch.” I looked in awe at Ciel, who seemed to be leaning a little.
“Ciel looks proud,” my father remarked.
Mrrrow.
My father laughed. “Cute. Okay, everyone, get in the bag. Is the aura still coming our way?”
The aura was approaching us fast.
“Yeah. It’s getting close.”
Everyone hopped into their bag. My father put Toron in its basket and covered it with a thin bag so nobody could see inside. “That should do it. See you tomorrow, Serpent.” He waved at the serpent in the distance, who was still barely visible.
“See you tomorrow,” I said as I waved.
Snakey’s mouth opened, and its tongue slithered out.
“Did that mean See you tomorrow?” I asked.
“Not sure. But if we weren’t on good terms with that serpent, the move would’ve looked anything but friendly.”
I smiled. A big serpent sticking its tongue out was indeed a menacing sight.
We parted ways with Snakey and headed back to the village. After we’d walked for a while, a group of people heading from the village to the dump came into view. There were five in total.
“Should we duck into the forest?” I asked.
“Nah, we can stay on the road. If we avoid those people, it’ll only raise suspicion, and they might not be our enemies anyway.”
He had a point. When we crossed paths, we nodded politely, then I stole a discreet look at them. Four of them were dressed as adventurers, and one was wearing a village watch uniform. After we had put plenty of distance between them and us, I looked over my shoulder at them.
“They seemed nervous about something,” my father said.
I nodded in agreement. The expressions I’d seen on their faces were panic and fear.
“The village watchman looked particularly worried,” I said.
“Sure did.”
The four adventurers had looked nervous, too, but the village watchman had an unhealthy complexion.
“Well, first order of business, we meet up with Zinal and Fische,” my father said.
“Yeah.”
When my father and I got back to the village, we saw adventurers running about in a frenzy. We both gave them a curious look.
“What’s going on?” my father asked the gatekeeper, who appeared a little perplexed. That brought a suspicious frown to my father’s face.
“Er, just a little fire at the adventurer guild,” the gatekeeper nervously answered my stern father.
A fire? Zinal had said all they were going to do was start a rumor. Did this mean something else had happened?
“Is everything okay?” my father pressed.
“Yes, everything’s fine. Only part of the first floor burned, and it was put out right away.”
That was a relief to hear.
“But why are the adventurers so nervous?” my father asked.
The gatekeeper smiled uncomfortably. “Well…the guild master was apparently murdered, and the adventurers are looking for the adventurer guild associates who let it happen.”
Aha. Well, they’re getting what they deserve.
My father also shrugged carelessly at the news.