The five young men accompanying Cassian's group had been friends for a long time; they had all grown up together.
Perhaps for that very reason, upon hearing what Eshaan said, the tense situation and the task of watching over the aberrations took a back seat, and they reflexively checked to see if what he said was true.
"Hey, idiots! Why are you looking over here? Keep watching until we come up with a plan. Who knows if those things will find us suddenly. Besides, what's the problem with me not having my bracelet?"
"I-I'm sorry... I'll keep watching."
At Nahara's reprimand, a thin man—Rowen—realized his mistake, apologized to her immediately, and returned to watching the aberrations, but not before checking that it was true that Nahara did not have her bracelet.
"Well, one person is enough, and with our savior's artifact, even if we make noise, nothing will happen."
On the other hand, a very tall woman, almost 6'3", instead of apologizing, simply ignored her. She was Diona, the other woman in the group of residents.
"Yes, because with the commotion they made, they would obviously come to us. I don't understand why no veterans came and they sent wet-behind-the-ears brats to do something so dangerous."
"Hey, little Nahara, you forget that you are one too. You are actually the youngest among us. Who are you calling a brat? Not to mention that you're the shortest."
"Shut up, you're too tall."
Nahara began to argue with Diona, who put a hand on her head while teasing her. On the other hand, Marcus approached Eshaan, put a hand on his shoulder, and spoke to him.
"Huff, Eshaan... Didn't you say you'd die the day she gave it to someone?"
"Huaaa~ I... I don't know what... No! The important thing here is who she gave it to. Nahara, who did you give it to? Where is it? Who was it?"
"Yes, that's right, little Nahara, who was it?"
"I thought they would cremate you with it, because of your unrealistic high standards."
"You're all annoying busybodies. Okay, I gave it to Cassy. Look, he has it in his hair."
The conversation between them changed focus and everyone looked at Cassian, who was watching with the rest of the group from the side.
He already had a bad feeling when they started talking about the bracelet, and now that the attention was on him, he really didn't know what to expect.
In fact, he thought it would be better to give it back.
"I... well, if the bracelet is really that important, I can give it back, as long as there's something else that..."
"So it was you... you, huh!!..."
At that moment, Eshaan, who heard that Cassian had the bracelet, noticed it tied to his hair and approached him with great momentum, standing in front of him.
"..."
Yes, I thought it was strange that it didn't happen before.
He had lived so calmly with so many people between yesterday and today that for a moment, he had forgotten that men picked fights with him over things he didn't really understand.
What was the problem with a bracelet, he just wanted to tie up his hair, Nahara didn't want him to give it back, Anyway, it seems he will have to do the same as always.
It was a shame, especially considering that Cassian already considered him a good guy who patiently explained to him again what they were going to do.
He was almost the same height as Cassian, only slightly shorter, and he stared at him while his face seemed to be contorting into a mixture of several things.
Yes, from Cassian's point of view, the conflict seemed inevitable, so he thought he'd put a quick end to it.
"Hey, look at this hand—"
"I hope you take good care of her!."
"Huh?..."
"She can be a bit of a tomboy, and nothing like her beautiful and gentle mother... you know her, right? I heard that they appeared in her house."
"Yes, Nisha."
"Yes, in fact, although they both have orange hair and yellowish, almost golden eyes, Nisha gives off that maternal and elegant vibe, which Nahara obviously doesn't have."
"Well, that's true."
"Oh, I see you understand me exactly. Few women age well and are so beautiful, although she is happily married (/_ \)."
"Yes, (/_ \ )."
"Ah! Wait, I got off topic. This is about Nahara. She may be like that and very frank, but I appreciate you taking care of her. I believe you are capable—do it especially because you are our savior."
"hmm, is that what you wanted to tell me? But why are you asking me to take care of her?"
"she didn't tell you? the bracelet she gave you was for...".
"Hey, Eshaan, shut up! I gave her my bracelet because she's an excellent warrior who defeated me, and she's someone I can trust with my life. And Cassy, don't misunderstand anything."
"Um... I really don't know what you're talking about."
"Better that way. And Eshaan, stop talking nonsense."
"Huh? Really? And I was so happy... haah~. Well, that's better than nothing and it may not always be like that. Gotta start somewhere, haah~ ghm haah~."
Although he said that, for some reason, he began to distort his face again. It was strange behavior even for his friends who knew him well. Marcus approached and asked.
"Hey, what's wrong with you? Why are you scowling like that? It looks like your face is contorted and you want to kill someone."
"Haah~ now, even though he gave it to her in that sense, it's true that she gave him her bracelet. I'm happy, but I think I'm going to die today. I feel like I shouldn't have said all that... honestly, I didn't think that, of all the days it could happen, it would happen today."
"Haah~ I also swore that I would die happy the day this happened. It was nice meeting you, Eshaan."
"Same here, Marcus... ah, and Rowen, Diona too, haaah~. Well, this is no time for sadness. I may die today, but I will die fighting like a warrior."
"That's right. Nahara's actions may not have doomed us, but we will die fighting."
"I'll be the one to really kill you two idiots, if you keep talking nonsense!"
"D-Diona... this... if we manage to survive, will you marry me?"
"Huh? Rowen, what are you talking about? ... Are you serious?"
"Y-Yes."
"Hmm, I don't know... I've always felt that you lack guts and, umm, it's a little weird after so many years of being friends. Hmmm... but I like your appearance, you have a slim body and, hmm... you're one of the few healers in town, so we won't be short of money. Hmm... well, if we survive, we'll get married. Prepare a nice dowry!"
"Yes!"
..
"~He's the one most likely to die."
Cassian, who had been left out of the conversation, heard that little whisper from Celestine beside him. In fact, he was thinking something similar; it was an obvious 'death flag'.
It really didn't seem encouraging, considering they were actually going into battle. He approached Celestine and also began to whisper.
"~I think we should stop him."
"~Too late, that idiot made one of the most lethal flags."
"~Do you think we can help him? He seems like a good guy."
"~Well, he seems like a pitiful person... and it looks like he'll easily be the weak link in the relationship. It's kind of sad. Ahem!... But being a dragon, I could defy fate. If he's lucky enough to stay close to me, he'll probably be saved."
"~Yeah, I think so too. But you know, Celes, I'm surprised how similar our worlds are in these things. It seems like the culture has a lot of similarities."
"~Hmph, as long as you understand that we're not from the same world... and I'll tell you something I forgot: in my world, humans are fiction. That should make you give up any silly persistent ideas."
"~Oh!, the same as in mine but the other way around. Everyone who isn't human is fiction."
"Hey, Cassy, Celes, what are you two whispering about? What are you up to?"
"We're not up to anything, just talking about our worlds."
"Hmm... Well, more importantly, don't you think it's time to focus on those things? I understand that you really don't want to pay attention to them, but the sooner we eliminate them, the better."
"What you say is true! Mr. Eshaan, what do you say? Do you know how to deal with these creatures? What makes them different from the rest?"
"Ehem!... Excuse me, we've strayed from our goal for a moment. These creatures are extremely dangerous; don't be fooled by their appearance. Even those that appear obese and short-limbed can be fast, and the thin ones can be very powerful.
With Naelune shifting the focus and bringing attention back to what was important, Eshaan and the rest, who had begun to congratulate Rowen—now red with embarrassment—quickly refocused.
Following Veleriane's question, Eshaan began to explain what he knew about the aberrations of Varnorr.
"I see, appearance isn't an important factor."
"Exactly. Furthermore, they have abnormal regeneration that allows them to easily recreate limbs, heads, and so on. But they're not invincible: if you look closely, each one has a seedling; that's their weak point."
"Hey, but if that's the case, it's easy, isn't it? You just have to cast magic on them. I mean, shoot some water arrows straight at the Seedling and kill them."
Naelune interrupted as she created three water arrows in the air. She thought that if the plant was its vital point, that would be enough.
"It can't be that simple! Let Sir Eshaan explain properly!"
"That's right. I didn't explain myself fully. The weak point isn't the Sapling itself, but what's just below it, where the roots begin. It may look the same, but the problem is that even the Sapling itself, though it looks fragile, is very tough and resistant to magic or blows. You'd have to have overwhelmingly superior strength or magic. That core is very well protected."
"Hey, then how do we kill it? If you put it that way, there are few options left... Besides, how hard can it be? If my water arrows don't work, Cabellerita's spears should do the trick."
"I really don't know if you saviors are capable... but at least no one in our village could do it. And that's why they're so dangerous. Another thing to keep in mind is that his laughter is a kind of mental attack that, if you listen to it for a long time, confuses, dizzy, and in some cases drives the listener crazy. And more importantly, all of his parts are poisonous, so if they cause wounds, they could die; it's an incurable poison."
"It's getting more complicated... but there must be a way to deal with them, right?"
"That's right, Miss Veleriane. As I said, their weak point is the core beneath the Sapling, and the solution is to stab them from the opposite side. That is, if the plant grows on their chest, you stab them in the back, trying to reach the core. It may sound easy, but it's difficult to put into practice, as the core is the size of a walnut."
"I understand. That makes things clearer. They are certainly not conventional creatures, and because of that, none of them can be defeated in a similar way. What worked with one may not work with another. Well, the information was very valuable. Now we know what to expect. Let's try to do this right."
With everyone understanding what kind of creatures they were facing, Veleriane, the leader of the group, and Eshaan, who was guiding the young resident , devised a plan of attack against the dangerous creatures.
..
.