2 – The nice bandits and the guild girl

*Humming*

I was casually walking along the dirt road trying to reach the first village. Although I've been walking for almost an hour, my feet don't feel tired at all. You think that a child should need rest now and then, but maybe because of my animal traits I can keep going. Well, regardless, if I really want to live a slow and steady life, this long walk is necessary.

However I don't know how far a village is or even if I went in the right direction. But I was lucky. Next to the road I happened to see a few men camping. I'll just ask them for directions.

"Excuse me…"

"Huh? Oya? What do we have here? You lost kid?"

There were 6 guys sitting around an extinguished camp fire spot. They were making funny faces.

"Never seen one like you around here. You must be from the Warbeast race. Watcha' doing all alone?"

"I'm trying to reach the nearest village. Could you please tell me if I'm going the right way and how far is it?"

"Hehehe! That so? You know, little miss, this place is kinda dangerous for a child to be out on her own. How about you stick with us? Someone might try stealing this shiny staff. Want me to carry it?"

This guy was huge, bald and had the body of a body builder. He grabbed my staff and tried pulling on it but…

"What the…!?"

"Mine."

He tried pulling it as much as he could. Is he really concerned about me that much? Regardless, I couldn't feel anything. My grip didn't loosen and I didn't flinch an inch.

"Sorry. I rather carry this myself."

A guy wearing a robe came and put his hand on the bald guys' shoulder. He then took him a few feet away and whispered:

"Idiot. That staff is probably enchanted to not leave the owners hand. I read that some rare magical items had that property. You can't take it by force. Let me try."

Maybe because of my jackal ears… but I heard every word they said. Kaa and Laa don't have a power like that. I just simply didn't let go of it.

"Miss, would you mind letting me take a look at your staff? I just want to look at it's beauty. We'll play with you if you let me."

"Okay."

I handed over my staff. I mean if someone wants to look at something shiny, there's nothing wrong about that. And playing sounds fun. Couldn't hurt.

"Hahahaha! What an idiot. Kids sure are dumb. I can tell this is a high grade weapon because I'm a sorcerer. Whoever put this thing in your hands was a bigger idiot. Now, witness the power of a true…"

The moment he tried casting a spell through the staff, Kaa and Laa's eyes glowed with a powerful red color. The 2 heads came to life, turned around and simultaneously bit the man on his shoulders.

"Aaaa!! What the hell!!"

He immediately dropped the staff.

"Just what the fuck was that? You little bitch, I should…"

But before he could finish his sentence, his eyes rolled over and he fell on the ground like a rock.

"Oi, Lars! Wake up! What's going on?"

I extend my hand, and like a jedi knight, the staff returned in my hand. Jedi knight? Why do I know this word again? Star wars… seems so futuristic. Ugh, my head really is a mess.

"You brat! What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. It's his fault. Kaa and Laa will tolerate someone else touching them. But they won't let anyone other than me use their power. Their poison is the deadliest in the world. It takes just 5-7 seconds for a human to die."

"Why you little… that's it! I'm killing you!"

The bald guy charged at me like a raging bull, but… he's incredibly slow. In my eyes it's almost like he's moving in slow motion. He said he wants to kill me. That means these guys aren't good guys after all. With my free hand I grabbed his hand. He was light as a feather so I simply threw him above my head. Did I put too much force behind it? It felt adequate to me. But he was sent flying pretty far.

"Huh!? This can't be! How can a little girl… don't think you can mock us. Oh, great scorching flames, grant me your might! Fireball!!"

Another guy launched a ball of flames around the size of football. Normally one would dodge something like this, but it was like something triggered inside me. My instincts? I can also use magic and I have knowledge about many spells, even if my head is a mess. Regardless, this just means…

"Puff!"

"No way!! How did that happen!?"

"I just amplified my breath with mana and snuffed out that candle flame. Naughty guys like you need punished."

I jumped at him with the speed of a bullet. Was I always this fast? It felt so natural. I instantly closed the gap between us and gave him a forehead flick. However a gust of wind was generated and he was sent crashing into a giant boulder. Was I always this strong? It was just a forehead flick. I guess I need to try and see were I stand compared to others. Although I didn't even put that much force behind it.

The moment that guy was blown away, the remaining 3 fell on their knees.

"Please forgive us!!"

"Don't hurt us!!"

"We surrender!!"

"Will you answer my question then?"

"Yes ma'am!! Keep going on this road. In half an hour or so you'll reach some highlands. There will be. There's a village there."

"Okay. I'll leave you guys alone. But remember, if you lie to me, I'll be back and spank you."

"Hii!! No. We aren't lying. We swear."

And so I turned around. The moment I took some distance, those guys started talking again. I did hear them…

"From now on, let's never attack kids again. Let's stick to stealing from caravans. Or even the military. It's safer."

… I decided to ignore it.

------

Eventually I reached the village. The village wasn’t big, but it was neat. It resembled a bavarian or german alpine village. For the time being I gave up on trying to understand the words in my head. Worrying about stuff like this when there's nothing you can do about it only causes stress, and I just want to have a leisure life. I found an old lady who seemed kind and called out to her.

“Excuse me, I'm not from around here. Could you tell me a little about this village?”

“This is Poena Village. Are you here all alone little one? If it’s information about the village, you can get it from Emilia-chan who is the receptionist at the guild. She also usually talks about the village to adventurers who come from other lands. So she is familiar with giving explanations.”

I see. It seems like a likely story.

“Thank you very much.”

“It is your first time coming here right? I don't know what someone as small as you is doing here. You're a Warbeast, right? We have no grudge against your race since a few of your kind helped build this village. I will guide you to the guild. Either way, since this is a small village, I’m sure you would find it right away.”

“Thank you!”

I went to the guild with the really kind old lady. It was a small building for certain. It seemed peaceful, and there didn’t seem to be any degenerate adventurers.

“Oh, hello Aunt Lily.”

“Emilia-chan, this child has just arrived here. Can you please tell her about the village?”

I headed to the receptionist desk of the empty guild. My eyes barely reached across it. This is where Aunt Lily and I parted ways.

"I'm Ayaka. I'm curious about what kind of village this is."

“I’m Emilia. Now, let’s talk about Poena village, shall we?”

She certainly seemed to be accustomed to this. Anyways, from the start, this was peaceful, peaceful, unusually peaceful. As I walked around the village, there was a clear idyllic air. A huge percentage of the village kept cattle and goats, since dairy products were their speciality. She went on for a few minutes.

"As you can see this place is quite calm. The only monsters you can find here on these plains are slimes so it's generally safe for everyone."

"Would it possible for me to live here or near here? This sounds like a pleasant place where I can just relax."

"Umm… it's going to be hard for a child to live here alone. You need daily necessaties and have a way to procure them."

"I'm actually pretty strong!"

"Fufu. You're terribly cute you know? Ok. I'll play along. Would you mind letting me see your stats then?"