Behind one of the wide trees, Oliver pressed his back against the trunk as he hid behind it.
His eyes kept shifting between the masked man and the small spirit standing in front of another figure.
A figure whose features were completely unknown.
That stranger wore a long black cloak that moved with the wind in a way that made it look almost alive.
His large hood hid his face completely, showing nothing but his mouth.
The spirit, whose surrounding glow had faded entirely until its form became clear, looked like a tiny man with wings shaped like leaves.
It was the spirit who spoke,
"I convinced a large portion of the spirits to follow the plan. There's still some resistance from those old fools who believe their own nonsense along with the bigger idiots, but their resistance is weak. They won't ruin anything."
The mysterious figure lifted his hand and tossed a small glass vial near its feet. Inside was a thick black liquid moving slowly within the glass.
"We move on the last day of the festival. When the Autumn Spirit appears, throw this at her. And before that, you and the rest of the spirits must drink a little of this liquid."
"Are you sure it's safe?"
"If you want to become the new leader of the spirits, you need to take a little risk. Isn't that right?"
It reached out and grabbed the vial, and the moment its fingers wrapped around it, the mysterious man vanished instantly.
The spirit spread its wings and flew quickly toward the village while holding the vial in its hand.
Once it disappeared completely toward the village, the masked man walked to the spot where the stranger had vanished.
He knelt and stared at the ground where a very tiny drop of the black liquid remained. Then he picked up a twig from the ground and touched the spot with it.
The moment the twig touched the droplet, it began to decay rapidly. When the decay reached the middle of the twig, the masked man dropped it on the ground.
Even then, the twig kept decaying until nothing was left.
The man pulled out a small flask from his bag and collected that single drop before sealing it tightly.
Behind the tree, Oliver tried to retreat quietly… but his foot stepped on a dry leaf that cracked loudly.
The masked man turned quickly, and before Oliver could move, he felt a strong hand grab the collar of his coat and lift him slightly off the ground.
"What are you doing here, kid?"
Oliver panicked but answered honestly.
"I was just walking here by chance. I saw you enter the forest and follow a spirit, so I followed you."
The man was stunned by how blunt this kid was. He put him down with slight annoyance, then said while glancing toward the way back to the village,
"When you see me heading somewhere, you go the opposite direction immediately, understood?"
Without waiting for Oliver's answer, he headed toward the village. Oliver followed him again, trying to match his pace.
"Who was that person? And what did he give the spirit? And are these things dangerous? And why…"
The masked man didn't look at him, didn't say a single word. He just kept walking while clenching his fist tightly, until they entered the village borders.
At the first turn, the masked man vanished.
Oliver ran along the dirt path leading to his home. He wanted to catch up to the masked man, he wanted to understand what he had seen in the forest. But he knew he was already late, and that Eleanor would double his punishment if he arrived any later.
He definitely didn't want that. One entire day of the festival was already gone, and he only had two days left to enjoy.
When he reached his home near the village square, he pushed the door and walked in. As usual, the door was never locked, like most houses in the village.
The moment he stepped inside, he heard Eleanor's voice echo from somewhere in the house.
"Take off your shoes before you dirty the floor!"
He muttered as he bent down to untie his shoes.
"How do you hear everything?"
After taking off his shoes, he went upstairs and opened his room door, only to find Tell sitting comfortably on his bed, legs crossed, reading a book lying open while eating pieces of apple candy like she owned the place.
"You're still here?"
She didn't look up from the book, just took another bite of the candy.
"Is the festival over?"
"No…"
"Then why would I leave?"
"Aren't you supposed to be outside with the other spirits?"
She shrugged.
"I decided to grant you all the honor of my presence in the house until the festival ends."
"What an honor."
"I know. I'm extremely humble, right?"
"Do you know anything about black liquid that kills plants?"
She stopped chewing, then shook her head.
"No. Never heard of it."
"But I saw one of the spirits take something like that from a mysterious man in the forest."
She quickly lifted her head toward him.
"Wait, what exactly did you see?"
He walked around the room explaining everything in painful detail.
When he finished, she asked,
"And what did the spirit say to that man?"
"I don't know, they were too far for me to hear anything. Do you know anything about this?"
She closed the book, which was way too big for her.
"No, this is the first time I've heard of anything like that. What did the spirit look like?"
"I couldn't see it clearly. It was far."
"Then what good are you? Anyway, don't think too much about it."
"Why not?"
She leaned back against the pillow.
"Because spirits are noble beings. It's impossible for any of us to do something stupid or harmful. We're not as foolish as humans."
"That's rude. Very. Especially coming from someone sitting in a human house eating human food."
"You're a halfbreed, not a human."
"And a halfbreed is still half human, right? And by the way, this is Eleanor's house, not mine."
"That human woman? Reminds me, why do you even live among humans? Is she your mother?"
"No, she's not my mother. She's the one who raised me."
"And where exactly did she find a halfbreed like you? How did she even dare raise you among humans?"
"Why are you talking like I'm a wild beast or something terrifying? Anyway, according to Eleanor, the former village sage found me in the forest and brought me with him."