“Um, Satocho-sama? What do you mean by accompanying this child…?”
The village head’s eyes were on Tia, but I asked him why. The village head turned his head back to me and explained the reason.
“It is definitely abrupt. Let me explain it properly. The truth is that it is time for this child to leave the village, but with the spirit tree in the state it is in, I don’t want to reduce the number of warriors in my village, but I can’t send this precious child out alone. So I was wondering what to do, and then I heard that the two of you were leaving the village to conduct an investigation. So I was wondering if you could take him with you.”
“Excuse me, what do you mean by “out of the village”?”
“Hmm? Oh, it’s no wonder that Ed-dono, an ordinary person, doesn’t know about this. In this village, when a child turns 50, he or she is sent out of the village for a certain period of time. This is to avoid the child’s knowledge and common sense becoming narrowed and fixed by being shut up in the village.”
Hooo, I didn’t know there was such a custom. It was certainly a reasonable or even a necessary ritual. I nodded my head in agreement, understanding that they wanted to avoid having the village warriors leave the village for a long period of time under the current circumstances.
“So, what do you think? If it is a survey, there is not much danger, and from what I have heard, both Lunaritia-dono and Ed-dono are accustomed to traveling. Of course, we’ll pay for that separately from the investigation of the spirit tree, and you can stay with this child until he gets used to the outside world.”
“Hmm… how long will it take to get used to the outside world? Will it be possible to bring the child back to this village, depending on the results of the investigation?”
“There is no problem bringing him back to the village. In the past, there used to be a rule that once a person left his/her village, he/she should not return for 50 years, but this rule has been abolished now because there were many cases of people who did not return to their villages after the period and started their families outside the village. While it is unacceptable that a short stay in a nearby town is all it takes to separate themselves from their family and hometown… no one says anything if they come back occasionally and stay a few days, and it is even recommended that they tell the children and their parents about the outside world. As for how long he should be together with you… right. How about we give it a year at most, or until Ed-dono determines that he is capable of working alone?”
“A year!? Isn’t that too short a time!”
The boy looked at him and us alternately with a startled expression on his face. But the village head placed his hand on the boy’s head and continued his words with a laugh.
“Don’t be unreasonable, Eleas. If the elven warriors in the village accompanied you, you could certainly stay with them for ten years or so, but aside from Lunaritia-dono, Ed-dono is just a human. I can’t trouble them for that long, and I shouldn’t take advantage of them. However, this is certainly a special case. If you find it unreasonable, you are allowed to return to the village and try the separation ceremony again in a few years’ time. How about that?”
“…I, I understand, if that’s the case. Lunaritia-sama, Ed-sama, I’ll probably cause you some trouble, but what do you think? Would you be willing to accompany me?”
“Hmmm. What do we do Ed?”
Tia looked at me with a troubled look on her face as the boy stood up straight, looking nervous.
I told the village head that this was just a research trip, but what we were actually going to do was a trip to defeat the Demon King. The severity and danger of this trip was naturally different from the investigations in the neighborhood, and it was not a level of difficulty that could be taken by a child leaving the village for the first time. But ….
“Let me just clarify a few more things. First of all, the reason we are going on this trip is certainly to investigate the cause of what happened to the spirit tree, but investigating the cause means that we may get to the cause and possibly work to eliminate it. In other words, this is not a safe trip, even if it is called a survey. Of course, if you decide to accompany us, we will take your safety into consideration as much as possible, but we cannot assure you that we will …. absolutely protect you. Are you okay with that?”
“Muu, that’s…”
“……………………”
The village head pondered with a difficult look on his face as I asked him with a serious expression, and the boy Eleas’s expression instantly turned pale. I understand how he felt, because he thought we were just going to take it easy and go somewhere nearby, but now we might be involved in a battle with someone who would do that to the spirit tree.
“…If the cause is identified, would you consider coming back here once? As a special case, we can allow for an extended stay in the Eleas home at that time.”
“If the cause of the problem is nearby, it would be possible, but if the cause is weeks or months away, for example, it would be difficult. Of course, we can still give priority to returning, but …. that means leaving the tree in a state of pain, so we have to assume that it will be too late.”
“Muu, that’s true. Hmm…”
“Um, Satocho-sama? If that’s the case, you don’t have to force them to accompany me…. You see, after the problem with the spirit tree is solved, I can leave.”
“You never know when it’s going to happen, do you? It is true that a gap of five or ten years is not a big deal for us elves, but this is a milestone ceremony. Unless there is a war or some other serious circumstance, we want to send you off properly. Well, …., how about at least accompanying him to the nearest town and spending the first week or so with him? If there is no problem with that, the rest will depend on the circumstances of Ed-dono and others at that time and the will of Eleas. On the other hand, if he is clearly inexperienced, we would like him to be sent back to the village. Ah, regarding the escort to the village, if it’s not convenient for Ed-dono and Lunaritia-dono, I don’t mind you asking the elven adventurers who are active locally. We will pay for that. How about this?”
“Hmmm, If that’s the case…How about it, Tia?”
“…Alright, I’m fine with that.”
“I see, and what about you, Eleas”
“Umm, I….”
At the words of the village head, Eleas was troubled. It was certainly a bit heavy for a child to make a decision of his or her own volition. … Hmmm.
“Oi, Eleas…-Kun?”
“Eleas is fine. W-What is it Ed-san…-sama?”
“Haha, Ed-san is fine. Well then, Eleas. This is just a small piece of advice, but if you’re struggling, it might be better to just stop. Even a journey that involves moving from town to town can easily lead to death if you’re constantly worrying and getting lost. To be indecisive means that you’re lacking in knowledge, experience, determination, or perhaps all three, and that can be fatal.”
“…………”
Eleas frowned at those words. But do not misunderstand , my words are not over yet.
“But they can be learned and developed through actual travel. The journey will be full of pain and suffering, but if you trust us and follow us, we will do our best to teach and train you. What will you do? You can either stand tall and take your chances, or you can step back and get ready. But the only time to choose is now. You have to decide for yourself right here, right now.”
“I…”
Earth, who had been slumped down, let out a small voice.
Eleas, who had been slumped down, let out a small voice. After a few seconds of hesitation, he took a step toward us with his fists clenched.
“I’m going. Please let me go with you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes! Because I can always prepare myself, but I can only go with Ed-dono and the others now, right? If I have a warrior to protect me, it will be no different if I stay in the village. If I’m going to leave the village anyway, I want to be able to stand on my own two feet!”
His eyes, the same reddish-bronze as her hair, looked straight at me. I grinned at their eyes, which were shining with hope, pushing aside any anxiety.
“All right! Then we’ll train you! Nice to meet you, Elease!”
“Nice to meet you, Elease-kun!”
“Thank you very much! Ed-san, Tia-san!”
Eleas was not yet a Hero. Therefore, this was not a Hero’s party. Yes, this was the first moment since I started traveling around the other world that I formed a party with someone other than a Hero.