「So, is the barrier okay or not?」
Sanya-san asked about the barrier, which had been the reason she returned home in the first place.
「Monsters break through occasionally, but other than that, it seems to be working just fine.」
「Even so, that means the barrier has indeed gotten weaker.」
「Yes. It all started a couple of years ago if I recall correctly. Out of nowhere, monsters started to break through the barrier. At first it was just one of two of them, but lately more and more of them keep waltzing in. That’s why Father-in-law decided to have Ruimin find you, so that we could try to fix it.」
When I had first heard that the barrier had gotten weaker, I had thought it was something serious, but it turned out that it wasn’t really an urgent situation. In that case, I should be able to explore the village in peace.
「So I take it no real damage has been done yet?」
「Yes, everything’s fine. Arthur and a few others are taking turns guarding the area. We did forbid the children from going out too far, though.」
Talia-san said while also throwing a glance at Luca. It made sense for children not to be allowed to wander around with monsters about. I still recalled how Fina had gotten into danger while looking for medicinal herbs on her own in a forest full of monsters. Children weren’t able to protect themselves, so they had to be kept where it was safe.
「We should still hurry and fix the barrier as soon as possible. When exactly are we planning on doing it?」
「We’ll have to ask Father-in-law tomorrow. I haven’t heard all the details myself yet.」
Was the barrier really something that could be fixed so easily? In games and manga, protective barriers usually took a lot of effort to make and fix, but based on what I had heard so far, that didn’t seem to be the case here. Was it only the matter of having three blood-related people performing the ritual? I hoped they would allow me to observe the ritual, even though I didn’t know anything about the barrer or the magic used. Since I had come all this way, I really wanted to see it. Well, they had told me that it was a secret ritual passed down in their family, so maybe I couldn’t even be there to see it.
「Oh, this reminds me. Yuna-chan, right? Thank you for helping out my daughters」
「Oh no, it was nothing.」
「No no, without you, Yuna-chan, we wouldn’t have been able to make it home as quickly, and the ride wouldn’t have been as pleasant, either.」
「That’s right, Yuna-san’s Bear-sans are really fast.」
「You’re talking about those summoned bears, right?」
From the corner of my eye I noticed that Luca, clearly lost on what we were talking about, tugged on Ruimins clothes and asked her about it.
「We didn’t understand what Labriatt meant with bears in his report at all. He just suddenly told us that Sanya and Ruimin were riding with bears back to the village. Father-in-law and I were so confused.」
It made sense for any normal person to be puzzled by it. Well, at least it looked like the elf who had stalked us had given his report like promised.
「And, when I saw Yuna-chan riding behind you, I was even more surprised. It only then made sense why he had said with bears not on top of bears. I had expected you two to be riding them, but to learn they were Yuna-chan’s summoned beasts…」
When she paused I overheard a part of Luca and Ruimin’s conversation, 「I wanna try riding them, too.」「Let’s ask Yuna-san later.」 Well, I saw no reason to say no if they actually asked.
「I don’t really have anything I can thank you with, so please at least feel free to stay at our home.」
I appreciated the offer, but I would have preferred to find a spot where I could build a Bear House. It seemed like not many people went in and out of the village, so I should be able to find an unnoticeable spot if they let me set one up. Then, I could simply set up a Bear Gate inside. Hmm, if I were to have a gate inside, would it maybe be better to pick a spot deeper in the forest?
「Sanya-san, could I build a Bear House around here somewhere? Close to the village if at all possible.」
「Build a Bear House… Well, I think it should be fine, but you’ll have to at least ask Grandpa for permission.」
In other words, I needed to speak to Mumuroot-san about it. Well yeah, it made sense to speak with the Village Elder first.
「We can just all head to his house tomorrow.」
「Are you sure that would be ok? Don’t you have something important to talk about?」
「Don’t worry, we won’t talk about that as soon as we get there. Anyway, you can stay in my room tonight.」
「Sadly, she can’t.」
Talia-san rejected Sanya-san’s suggestion.
「Why?」
「Well, we are currently using it as a storage room.」
「Why would you do that?!」
「You didn’t come home for ten years. Oh, but wait, the bed is still there, so I guess it should work. I just need to put new bedding on top..」
Sanya-san stood up and went to what appeared to be her room. Soon after, a scream followed.
「Um, it’s a bit cramped, but please stay in my room tonight, Yuna-san.」
Ruimin most likely knew the state Sanya-san’s room was in and decided to offer her room to me as an alternative. Sanya-san rushed back, and immediately began complaining to Talia-san, who nonchalantly gave her excuses.
「If you want your room, you just have to come back once a year.」
「Don’t be so unreasonable.」
「Fine, then you just have to stay here for good.」
「Mother…」
Sanya-san dropped her shoulders, showing how tired she was from dealing with her mother. Well, if she had my Bears, she could come back whenever she liked, but with horses or other means of travel, the distance wasn’t as feasible to travel back and forth every year.
「Ruimin. Sanya.」
「Father?」
A man who looked to be around twenty years old appeared by the front door. I kind of guessed for him to be the father before Ruimin spoiled it. After all, if Luca was to be the future chief, then they shouldn’t have had an elder brother.
Now that the whole elven family had gathered, it created a very strange image as they looked more like a group of siblings than parents and their children.
「Sanya, it’s been awhile.」
「Yes, it has.」