Felix guides us into the village that brims with life in an instant as they spot us. The village begins to buzz, and long before we actually make it to the gate a huge bonfire has been lit on the middle of the village.

I glance once more to the young men around me and then stop on Asher as he give me a half smile. I take a momentary breath. I can guess what happened, but it would be better to get a proper report.

"What happened between them?"

Asher glances to the other guys and then gives an uncomfortable look.

"Peony and another overly rash guy charged at the snake. He insisted he could kill it on his own, and he... probably could have..."

Asher hesitated.

I of course just stare at him patiently. No surprises thus far. Peony was an excellent hunter that had taken down magical beasts on his own. Usually you'd be a group of three to five people to kill one magical beast, so he was definitely skilled.

This in itself was not a problem... but Peony insisted he didn't need help with anything, and he doesn't want to help either. He doesn't care for friends, so of course he doesn't run properly with his pride. If left be, he would die on the battlefield.

"But the snake tossed him off and targeted other people than him and kept him at a distance since he hits like a child."

Asher choked on air.

"L-Lily-sama..."

Peony is average in the strength area. Average is the strength of warrior kids in my former life after they've been in school for a couple years.

With beasts over a certain size I find that it hurts more to hit harder than to hit precisely. Though, it may also be because the enemy usually trembles before our warriors the more they are hurt. Kenta especially was like that... he was usually quiet and stoic...

I put a hand to my head. I can't go in that direction... Focus on the matter at hand.

"So, what happened next?"

Asher seemed uncomfortable.

"Darius tried using a knife. Vitis had to move a good deal of men to make sure Peony wouldn't be isolated and killed off. They got swiped with the tail pretty harshly... so when the battle was over Vitis was... quite angry."

That was putting it mildly. He was fuming.

"Did Peony give in?" That was the important part.

"Peony said the only reason they got hurt was because they did something unnecessary, since Peony hadn't gotten hurt at all... that he was fine on his own, and that it would have been better if they attacked from the other side. So... Vitis walked off in defeat and hasn't spoken to Peony since."

...I want to groan. Peony wasn't wrong, but it was... an annoying move... especially for Vitis that wanted Peony as a part of the group.

"Vitis didn't ask for a duel or beat him up?"

Asher gave a momentary shake of his head. I brush a hand through my hair. What a pity. It had been such a good chance to get some progress for Peony. Let's just hope Vitis bounces back. I, for one, was not expecting Peony to act. A guy that doesn't care for making friends probably won't care for losing them either. He might even be thinking 'they weren't worth it if they looked down on him'.

I can't tell if I am being too negative. As for Vitis... I think he wants to see Peony fret or feel guilty... Of course, Peony doesn't seem to do either. If Peony has enough wits to win arguments, then he should be able to see Vitis' goal made sense... but would Vitis being angry with him make him give in a bit? Maybe I'll send a prayer to his ancestors for them to guide him... I should...

—-*—-

The moment we step into the village we are surrounded by curious eyes and smiles. The inhabitants peer curiously at the enormous snake and when I look around I note the large number of... knives and other skinning tools... part of me winces at the thought of what is about to happen, and I take an extra step away from the dead snake when an old creaking scream rips at my ears.

"A manbeast! You cannot hide among us, I will expose you!"

...

I look to the source of the voice, only to find a... a very old and pruny woman waving a staff threateningly while speaking what appears to be mumble jumbled words... her pupils are enormous and the whites are reddish. Her hands are trembling enough to make her staff shake too as she now moves it in circles...

She's high... I've seen enough high people in enemy lands to know what it looks like, and truly, I hate it... She's clearly hallucinating too, because the one she's calling a manbeast is me!

I grit my teeth patiently, as the old woman is suddenly surrounded by people. Felix included.

"Elder. Which one?"

Felix looks to Asher and I cautiously.

The 'Elder' of the village ends her mumble jumble with a 'woo!' And raises both her hand and her staff in the air...

An awkward moment of silence begins as the old woman stares at me, and tries to raise her hands again dramatically... and again...

I glance to Felix with a slight look of impatience. Get. This. Shamefully intoxicated. 'Elder'. Away.

Then she presses the corner of her mouth down annoyed and limps closer to me. Leaning her upper body in though her back is all humped over...

Felix... ten seconds more and my patience is OUT...

"Oh. It's just the soul." She brashly puts a hand on my thigh and squeezes...

"Ohohoho~ she's a vigorous one! Will make a good wife!"

While Asher grabs my shoulder nervously, she looks behind me with a smile... staring into the swamp...

...Someone please put this maniac away! NOW!

She looks back up to me with a happy look.

"Yes yes, you're a cute kitty. No need to throw such a hissy fit."

My mind goes blank, and the next words burst out on their own:

"KITTY?! How DARE you! I am a LION!" I puff up in rage as the small old woman just smiles at me serenely. Completely and utterly unaffected! Asher's grip on my shoulder tightens, and in return I grab it and squeeze it hard enough to make him flinch in pain.

"Ah~ a lion you call it? I suppose the young man behind you is dressed like one of you?"

I turn my eyes behind me again and then back to the old woman- but then my rage turns to a chill... I look back again an extra time... but nothing is really there... but I can think of someone dressed like that by my side... a bright golden armor, straw on his helmet to make the shape of the mane... the mask of a Lion's growl...

Kenta...

"Why can you see him..."

I ask more calmly now, and I realize that the people around us calm down as well and breathe out with relief.

"Ah~ The smoke of the Moonlight Blossom lets you look beyond the veil. It works only for an hour, but it is very effective. I wanted to talk with the snake but got a kitty instead."

...I take back my peacefulness. Drag her away!... no, before that...

"Where can I find said flower?"

I want to see Kenta, and if that flower can do it in a safe place, then it is worth it. The old woman just smiles.

"But you can see them on your own. You have no need of a flower."

...

"I cannot."

She tilts her head and just smiles at me, and then turns to Felix with a smile.

"Oooh~ Felix-kun, you have grown up so well! You look quite strapping! Have you gotten more muscle since last I saw you!"

She grabs at his thigh too... off to the next victim...

She's high after all...

She talks to the dead body of the snake as well and does a ritual dance to appease the spirit and send it off properly.

...if she can really see the dead with the flower... then I will hesitantly accept her post as priestess... or shaman... or what in the world they called her...

Asher peers at me curiously, and glances behind me as well... the first one to open their mouth right now won't have a tongue for long.

I head off to set up my tent for the night and catch one last look at Felix approaching a guy that looks quite like him, Mike and Rudder flirting with a couple of girls, and Darious having Arven talk at him with a pointed finger while Spence ties a little string around Darius' wrist like a leash...

As the village prepares for a feast and a festival I crawl into my tent and once my head hits the pillow I'm out cold.