“Ah ha ha ha ha! I don’t get it!”
“You think you can gloss over it by laughing?!”
Not that I picked up the faintest hint of manipulation behind her carefree smile. No, it seemed to me that she really was the kind of person who didn’t stress out over the little things. Her innocence was so incredible that it was kind of staggering. I got the sense that she was gonna be an amazing person in the future. As I was thinking that, I continued to watch the skies to see if any magic was being cast upward into the air.
A few hours later, Loli Loli and I descended back down onto the ground. We hadn’t found a thing. No matter how long we waited, we didn’t see any magic cast into the air at all. Even after searching the area with a fine-toothed comb, there was no sign of Javagiir.
As we landed in the center of the village, Filia and Ashley came running up to us. Several people from the village were with them. They had probably been sharing their reports with each other.
“How’d things go for you guys?” I asked.
Filia shook her head, her silver hair bouncing. “We didn’t find him. What about you, Yuri?”
“Same.”
The villagers’ faces fell at this, which made sense. If Moichi’s shop was to be attacked, then there was a possibility that the village would be attacked as well. Naturally, they wanted as many adventurers as possible to help them out.
“Everyone, listen!” Ashley’s voice rang out over the crowd. “We couldn’t find the adventurer Javagiir, but please don’t worry. Because I—no, my friends and I—we’ll definitely protect this village.”
As she spoke, she radiated dignity and inspired her neighbors. Her declaration made everyone stand up just a bit straighter. The anxiety plaguing the villagers’ faces faded away at Ashley’s words. It really did seem like she was the emotional pillar of the community.
“If you make that kind of grand pronouncement, you’ll be in a heap of trouble if you don’t deliver,” I teased.
“Aww.” Ashley smirked, jabbing me with her elbow. “If you’re scared, you can take the day off, you know?”
I didn’t know how to respond to that! “Ha, don’t be ridiculous. If anythin’, it’s the opposite. I’m excited!” I flashed a toothy smile.
What could I say? I really got fired up in these kinds of situations! I didn’t know what kind of enemy we were gonna face, but it’d be a bummer if they were weak. Hopefully they’d at least be good enough to get me revved up, right? Whew, hot damn—I couldn’t wait!
“Is it almost time? Is it almost midnight?” I asked.
“Not yet, Yuri. We still have several hours until midnight,” replied Filia. Where I was fidgety, she seemed calm and composed.
“Hey, Filia, can ya use any magic that can move time forward or anythin’?” I asked.
“Believe it or not, even I—the transcendentally beautiful elf Filia—cannot do such a thing.”
Even Filia couldn’t? Well, I guessed it made sense. Even muscle magic couldn’t do that, so I’d figured as much.
“Besides,” Filia added, “if I could manipulate time, I’d just repeat holidays endlessly, so time wouldn’t even advance. He he!”
“Uh, that’s not…that’s not a good thing. You know that, right?”
I mean, this was the first time I’d ever heard anyone actually say “he he” out loud in that kinda voice.
Filia stuck her chest out proudly, wearing an oddly smug look on her face. I didn’t know if she was maintaining her composure or if she really just didn’t feel nervous in the first place.
The way she glanced at me said clearly that she’d read my mind, and she gently patted her slender abdomen. “When I feel really awkward, I get a stomachache. That’s why I try not to let myself get too worked up. We’re here to protect the villagers. How would it make them feel if I looked out of it?”
Huh, she really did have a lot on her mind, eh? Filia was always so considerate, and I really…wasn’t. She was pretty amazing! Though her mental state was a little fragile. If she could fix that, she’d become even stronger.
“Hey Filia, let me teach ya about a kind of muscle training to strengthen your mental fortitude.”
“No, thank you. Wait a minute…muscle training can’t do that, can it?”
“Oho, you interested? Are ya? Are ya?” I pressed Filia over and over, staring at her intensely from a close distance, my pupils dilated.
Filia hid her face from me. “Eek! Scary! Yuri, your eyes are scary!”
Aw, jeez, I’d really freaked her out. I backed off. “When we go back to Jeepupp, I’ll spend a whole day teachin’ ya about it, so I hope you’re lookin’ forward to it.”
“Ugh, I should’ve known better than to look remotely interested…I want to rewind time…” Filia groaned.
For some reason, Filia was drooping over in disappointment. Still, I smiled; at least she was interested!
More time passed, and night fell.
“Oh, hey, that reminds me. Loli Loli, I wanted to talk with you,” said Moichi. We’d shared what info we had, and we were about to split up for the night.
“With me? What about?” Loli Loli cocked her head to the side, looking totally baffled.
Then Moichi presented something to her. “You worked really hard for the village to help find this person, Loli Loli. We all felt so pathetic for being scared of such a sweet girl. I don’t know if this is enough to be a good apology or anythin’, but we wanted you to have this. It’s a gift from everyone in the village.”
“Is this…a flower crown?”
It was some kind of circular ornament. The ring was made up of colorful, light flowers, and it could be placed upon her head.
“Yep. There were some old folks who were too frail to go out and join the search, so instead they made this with flowers they’d picked for the festival.”
As Moichi presented the flower crown to Loli Loli, the elderly people of the village approached as well.
“We’re sorry, Loli Loli, for being afraid of you. Please forgive us.”
“Indeed. We didn’t know much about your taste, so this might not be the best gift. But it contains our apologies and our gratitude. Please accept it.”
“Are you sure I can have something this wonderful? Even though I’m a majin?” asked Loli Loli, bewildered. Her brown arms trembled slightly.
“Think of it this way,” Filia said gently. “I’m an elf, and Yuri is a muscle. But we get along well with everyone here. Race has nothing to do with making a connection to others. You can accept it, Loli Loli.”
I coughed. “Hey, uh, Filia? Nice speech and all, but you, uh, you know I’m human, right?” Sure, I absolutely loved my muscles, but I still ought to be categorized as a human being.
“We were all deeply moved by how hard you worked for the sake of my shop and the village,” said Moichi to Loli Loli. “Please, take it.”
“Um. Yeah…okay.”
Moichi placed the flower crown on Loli Loli’s head, laying the ring of flowers gently atop her smooth blonde hair. “Looks good on you!”
“R-really?”
“Yeah.”
Loli Loli stood there, seemingly unsure of what to do. She looked like an angel that had just touched down to earth. The flower crown was her halo.
“Thank you for coming to our village, Loli Loli,” said Moichi, and the rest of the villagers followed suit with words of thanks.
Soon enough, Loli Loli was sniffling. “I feel like I’ve lost my mind…” Her blue eyes filled with tears. “It’s weird. I’m happy, but I’m crying…”
Filia bent down and wiped away the tears streaming down Loli Loli’s face. She smiled lovingly at the girl. “Don’t worry, Loli Loli. You haven’t lost your mind. Those are called tears of joy.”
“Tears of joy…? Tears of joy are so salty!”
“Are you lickin’ ’em?” I asked with a wry chuckle.
“Wahh! I never thought something would make me cry like this!”
“Oh, dear, you’re all snotty now,” Ashley chuckled, a little astonished. “All right, all right, here you go.” She took out a piece of tissue paper and held it up to Loli Loli’s nose. “Okay, blow.”
Loli Loli blew her nose with a loud honk, and then smiled at everyone with moist eyes. “I owe you all a great deal of thanks! I, Loli Loli, have grown to love this village, so I want it to be well taken care of! He he he!”
Loli Loli then lovingly touched the flower tiara on her head. Her innocent grin brought a smile to everyone’s faces.