After ensuring his family that everything's alright, Ethan goes around with his normal activity. Start with tending their family's vegetable garden.
While the villagers are going back to their activities, The Village chief, 2 village elders, Sir Orion, Sir Sylvester, and Jena can be seen talking in the village chief's house.
"Ah, so nice seeing another Valeria descend so far from home." Orion said to Jena.
"She's not just a regular folk from your kingdom, she said you helped her once before. Isn't it right, Jena?" one of the elders, Robert, said.
"What? Have we met before?" Orion asked while Sylvester observed Jena curiously.
"AH, I will never forget about that time. Around 60 years ago, you saved me from the dragon that was attacking our village." Jena said.
"What! You are the little girl who survived the black dragon attack 60 years ago? We always wonder what happened with you after we put you at the orphanage." Orion said to Jena.
"I'm not expecting to meet the sole survivor of that incident. My parent always told me the story when I was little. That curse, Black Dragon of destruction, we will send it to hell if he ever shows up again."
"Wait, those stories are real? Dragon, magic, and fairies do exist?" The village chief asked with surprise.
"Of course it's real. All those things exist around us." Orion said to the group while showing his palm, a small fireball the size of a wallnut dancing on his hand.
"Whoa! It's magic! It's real!" The people from Carne village exclaim in surprise.
"It's actually normal if you've never seen any magical creatures in this area. That 'THING' is still hiding in here." Sylvester suddenly said.
"Commander Sylvester! That's enough! Don't concern our friend with such a problem!" Orion suddenly reprimanded the Commander.
All the villagers were shocked and surprised at the same time. There seems to be something that the Mage and Commander are hiding from them. But all the people from Carna village only want one thing: peace. So they didn't want to delve deeper into the secret. If Orion tells them, they will listen; if not, it's better to stay quiet.
"Sorry about it. I think we're too tired from the long journey. I think it's better for us to go back to our troops and set up our camp." Orion said with a smile.
"Of course, Sir Orion, we understand. You can always come to our village if you need anything. Have a good rest, Sir." The village chief replied tactfully.
Orion and Sylvester choose to retreat to their camp. While the village elders choose to go back to their respective houses.
As the sun began to dip behind the mountain ridge, the village slowly returned to its usual rhythm. Children chased one another through the dusty paths, and the scent of stew and burning wood drifted through the cool evening air. Ethan, after finishing his chores, found himself standing at the edge of the vegetable garden, staring toward the treeline where the forest began. A faint breeze carried whispers between the leaves—soft, melodic, almost like a voice calling his name. He blinked, shook his head, and told himself it was just the wind.
In the distance, deep within Greeshia Forest, something stirred. The sound was neither beast nor bird, but a low, resonant sigh that rippled through the trees like a waking breath. Orion, seated by his campfire, suddenly looked toward the forest. Sylvester glanced at him silently, their expressions dark and knowing. "It's starting again, isn't it?" Sylvester muttered. Orion only nodded, eyes reflecting the faint flicker of blue light beneath the trees.
"Are you sure we don't want to ask them about the forest?" Sylvester asked.
"What kind of information can we expect to get from them? They didn't even know any magical stuff, so I don't expect them to know anything about that ancient 'Thing'." Orion answered him.
"Who knows, they lived around here for years. There must be one or two things they know." Sylvester told him the possibilities.
"Hah... No harm in asking them about the forest itself. Just make sure no one says anything about our mission." Orion told his friend. Sylvester nods to that.
That night, nothing unusual really happened. Everyone is having a rest in peace and tranquility. Even Ethan could sleep peacefully in his room, no forest strolling for tonight.
"Morning, Mom." Ethan woke up and came out of his room. His mom is already preparing breakfast for the family, and her smile is already booming.
"Morning, Ethan, enjoying your sleep?" Nora replied.
"Even though morning in the forest is always beautiful, I'm still appreciating sleeping in my own bed." Ethan said jokingly.
"That's good, I don't want to see you coming back home with a face full of dirt every day. Wake your sister up, have breakfast, and take her to Mrs. Bertha's place. I heard she offered to teach the kids how to read today." Nora told Ethan.
"Sure will, Mom. Hey, little princess, it's time to wake up and greet the world!" While Ethan has his own room, Eli still sleeps with Nora. So he goes into the room and wakes Eli up.
"MMM... I'm still sleepy... Just a little bit more..." Eli refuses lazily.
"C'mon, Mom's waiting. And you have to go to Mrs. Bertha's place. Maybe on our way, we can meet the visiting MAGE." Ethan said softly with almost a whisper at the end.
"HAP. LET'S GO BROTHER! IT'S TIME TO SHOW OUR HOSPITALITY TO OUR GUEST!" At the mention of the word Mage, Eli suddenly opened her eyes and leaped out of the bed. She walks out of the room, leaving her brother speechless.
'Hah... This girl is beyond help...' Ethan could only smile and think inwardly.
The three of them enjoyed the breakfast that Nora prepared with hearty laughter. Their mom always knows how to make her children happy, through their bellies. After they finish, Ethan takes Eli to Mrs. Bertha's place while Nora starts working on their chicken coop.
Walking together on the village road, Ethan and Eli greet all the villagers left and right. Both of them are known as good-natured and helpful kids in the village, so the villagers are always nice to them.
Arriving at Mrs. Bertha's place, they found it quite odd; the place that was usually being avoided by the children was suddenly full of kids and teenagers alike.
"What happened? Is everyone so eager to study now?" Ethan said.
"No way! Many of those kids cannot even speak properly, and now they want to learn how to read?" Eli replies to her brother.
"Excuse us, let us pass through! Mrs. Bertha's top student is passing through!" Eli said playfully to the crowd. Even though the other kids were looking weirdly at them, what she said is actually true, Eli is Mrs. Bertha's top and favourite student, so they let her pass without much concern.
"Ah, Eli! So you finally come. Come here, I want to introduce you to our today's guest..." Mrs. Bertha said to Eli.
"Eh? Guest?" Just as she got to the center, she saw a bearded elderly man in a bluish robe sitting next to Mrs. Bertha.
"AH! ARE YOU THE MAGE THAT COMES TO VISIT US?!? CAN YOU SHOW US MAGIC? CAN YOU FLY? CAN I USE MAGIC? IS FAIRY REAL? AM I A FAIRY?" Eli suddenly screamed with excitement and asked numerous questions.
"Hello, young one, what an excited little fellow you are." Orion could only laugh, listening to all of Eli's questions.
"Hold it right there, little missy! Hold your question and introduce yourself properly first!" Ethan suddenly reprimanded Eli from behind.
"Ah, so sorry. I'm just too excited. My name is Elizabeth Barnes, but people call me Eli. That's my big brother Ethan."
"Nice to meet you, Miss Eli. My name is Orion. And yes, I'm the mage that you heard before. For the other question, let us talk about it later. I'm just about to show the crowd some magic right before you come." Orion replied to Eli with a smile.
"YES!" Eli shouted excitedly.
'This girl, eh... Always easy to trick...' Ethan thought to himself. Even until now, he still does not believe that this old man is a mage. He already expected the old man to show a magic trick to the kids.
All the kids were looking expectantly at the old man. While sitting, Orion raised his hand to the sky. Suddenly, white snow started falling from the sky. "Look, it's snowing! How come it's snowing in summer!?!" One of the teenagers said. The snow starts congregating around Orion's feet.
"Frostwick's Marionette." Orion softly said.
The snow stacking near Orion starts moving and merging together. Suddenly, a small white figure made of snow started forming and walking around Orion's feet.
"Whooaaaa! It's moving! It's magic! Magic is real!" The kids all exclaimed and screamed with happiness. Even Eli was grinning from ear to ear.
At the side, only Ethan felt weird. His eyes opened wide, and he became so shocked that he could not close his mouth. "Ma- magic... is... real?!?"