I spread open my wings and fly up over the cliff, leaving the collapsed Abyss nest behind, and I meet up with Petite Nightmare, the seven Arachne, and Lesser Treant who were waiting for us.

“Kiki!” “Kiki!”
“Gra~a!”

Petite Nightmare tries to ride on top of Partner but Partner was hesitant to.
Ignoring their little reunion, where did those little guys go……

I look at the direction of the village where the forest dwellers pointed.
In one of the tree branches up ahead, one forest dweller sits on top of it.
When we met eyes, it jumps off and disappears again.

I knew it…… they really want me to follow them.
Should I?
I wonder how the Lithuvar Tribe sees these guys.
God’s Voice did explain that they suck on the life force of trees and are often called guardians of the forest, so as long as I don’t harm the forest intentionally, they won’t see me as their enemy, at least I think so.

Guess I’ll go ask Hibi myself.
After that…… there’s also something else I’d like to ask her.
The truth about their Dragon God.
I don’t really like to pry since it would lead to awkward situations, but…… I won’t ask her any more if it makes her uneasy……
Who knows what our conversation will be about.

“…………”

Alo stares at the direction of the village where the forest dweller disappeared.
Oh yeah, for the truth about the Dragon God, I’ll ask Hibi, but as for how the Lithuvar Tribe sees the forest dwellers, maybe I can ask Alo about it.
We can talk without any problems now, so I guess I’ll ask her.

“Gru~uo”

When I growled, Alo turned to me.

“The Feared God rarely appears with any intention and yet……”

Ohh, though it was a short line, but Alo was able to talk fluently.
I’m reminded of those times when you were a little bone and…… wait. Feared God?

I begin to frown and Alo tilts her head.
It looks like the people in these parts call the forest dwellers as “Feared God”.

Those little guys…… feared?
God? Are you sure they’re the feared gods and it’s not them who fears god?
What are they even capable of?

“They said that a long time ago, one of our ancestors angered them, and a huge landslide befell our village, and the lady shrine maiden had to……”

Seeing me confused, Alo tries her best to explain.

Hmm…… so, it all dates back to them……
Is Hibi just passing out these stories to everyone in the village?
Her story about the Dragon God is also missing a few details, to think the villagers just mildly accept that……

But, if those little guys are capable of messing up a whole village, I’m gonna have to be careful not to get on their bad side.
They’ve been carefully watching me after all.
U-Using Fake Life…… isn’t crossing the line, is it?

Well anyway, if they want me to follow them, I guess I’ll follow them.
Surely following them won’t offend them, will it?

I’m also curious why they want me to go to the village.
…… I-Is it because the surviving Abyss are getting desperate to breed now that their leader is dead and they’re attacking the village?
I can’t ignore something like that.

I decided to leave Alo and the rest behind in the shrine along the way while I go straight to the village.
I asked Alo if she wanted to go to the village with me, but after thinking about it for a while, she lightly shook her head and refused.
She must have a lot to think about.
Until Alo says she’s ready to show herself, I’ll go in her stead.

I noticed something strange as I headed to the Lithuvar Tribe’s village.
It was strangely quiet…… or rather, I couldn’t feel any presence at all.
There’s no sign that any Abyss rampaged the area…… I think.
There are also no bloodstains or signs of struggling around.

“Gra~a~a……?”

Partner seems to have found something again and is stretching her neck.

Using〖Presence Sense〗on the direction Partner pointed, I felt one person in hiding.
That person was staying still.

“Gru~oooo!”

I raise my voice with a roar.
This is usually when Hibi comes to me.
I’ll have her explain the current situation.
I don’t really like having to call them out so strongly like this, but there’s clearly something wrong with the village so I don’t have time to worry about that.

Hearing my roar, two Lithuvar men with spears come out of hiding and run to my direction.
There could be others guarding a different part of the forest.

“W-What do we do now…… Ryujin-sama is here!”
“I-I don’t know……”

…… Huh? Are they not overjoyed to see me like they usually are?
They’re mostly shocked…… just what exactly is happening?

More Lithuvar Tribe villagers appear out of hiding and approach me, so I’m positive that there really is something going on here.
I notice that there was one person who was carrying someone else on his shoulders, but it wasn’t just him, there were others who were in bad shape as well and are resting.
On top of that, they look gloomy and exhausted.
Even though they usually get energetic when they see me……

There was one among them who wasn’t looking good and faced towards me.
He managed to stand while leaning on the wall despite sweating and out of breath.
The others were looking at him with worry and decided to give him space.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
〖Rodgie Rogum〗
Species: Lithuvar
Status: Poisoned, Paralyzed
Lv: 27/65
HP: 26/155
MP: 132/132
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

…… P-Poisoned and paralyzed?
Is it the anti-Ryujin village who did this?
I’m pretty sure they also have a similar drug that poisons and paralyzes.
I thought I’d already settled them down by killing the Manticore for them, but…… was it not enough?
No, I don’t have any proof yet that it’s really them who did this.

I-In any case, we can’t just leave the injured like this.
We need to use〖High Rest〗, wait…… we can only heal one or two in range……
Our MP is…… I’ll just let it recover if we overuse too much. We should gather all the injured in one place first so we can heal them all at once.
And, since I can’t exactly say that to them, we need Hibi to……

“Anyone! Is there anyone here who can hear the voice of our Dragon God?! If you share us his boundless wisdom, we will follow whatever you say! At this rate, we might get abandoned!”

An old woman hysterically yells to everyone.
Huh? Wait, where’s Hibi then?

“W-Why don’t we look for the storage house where the ceremonial equipments are kept”
“Don’t you dare! That place is only reserved for shrine maidens! You’ll just anger the Feared God!”
“B-But, Hibi-sama already passed away……”

H-, Hibi is…… dead?