The next morning, the day started like an ordinary day: the villagers' bustling activities, the conversations at every corner, the sounds of the tools hitting the soil, and the mixed sounds of the livestock. It was just another day in Shigure. Saki and Abigail went to see each other at the center of the village. Their expectations are another eventful day just like yesterday. Their minds are filled with the unusual encounter deep in the forest.
When she met Abigail, Saki already had her iron sword sheathed on her hips. "Fine morning" Abigail greeted. "Morning" Saki greeted back. "You had a good night's sleep?" Abigail asked with a smile and Saki nodded and replied. "Yeah, well... I was quite excited to ask about what we encountered yesterday". Abigail nods. "I can't deny that it got me all worked up as well. Shall we start asking the chief then?" She asked.
As Saki nods, Abigail looks around for a few seconds before returning to her. "I think we should keep quiet about this from the village, so we should just head straight to the chief. She should be awake right now" She suggested and Saki nodded once again. "Sure, let's go"
Shigure's chief is a Karagi native woman married to a late Casserian husband, she's in her forties and lives with her only daughter. A woman with a strong sense of duty, she was entrusted by Cassery as the chief of the village after the death of the former chief. Saki rarely meets the village chief, but she remembers every time she meets her that she often thinks that she looks young and beautiful for her age. She is also one of the few people who respected her wishes to become an adventurer, despite their traditions in marriage.
The two arrived at the chief's house. They stood before the chief's fairly large house that stands out from the rest of the houses. Abigail raised a hand and lightly knocked on the double door. A few seconds after she knocks, the door opens slightly, revealing a young woman with silver braided hair over her shoulder. "Yes?" She asked with a soft voice.
It was the chief's daughter. Saki could see the same demeanor of the chief in her daughter. The gaze of strictness, her voice carrying an implicit authority. Saki could say she is the reflection of the chief. "A fine morning, Clarice" Abigail greeted with a big smile. Clarice's eyes open slightly at the sight of Abigail. She opened the doors wide and pressed a hand on her chest before bowing lightly with her eyes closed. "A wonderful morning to you, my lady"
Whatever sort of authority in her voice that Saki used to hear was brushed off, her use of honorifics on Abigail clearly changed her thoughts about her. It seemed like Abigail was truly in the highest status in the village. She watched in awe as Abigail raised her hand slightly as a sign of salutation as Clarice bowed her head.
"What does my lady need?" Clarice asked with an eased voice. Saki could only stay silent before the two women of high status. "I wish to see the chief. My friend and I would like to ask some questions" Abigail replied. Clarice turned her gaze to Saki at the mention of a friend, causing her to perk up and greet quickly. "G-good morning...". Clarice nods and greets back. "A wonderful morning to you, Saki Nisshin". Saki was slightly surprised to see a smile on her face as she greeted her back.
"I will call the village chief. Please come in and wait by the seats" Clarice walked and disappeared inside the house, leaving the two. They sat down on the single sofas to wait. Without Clarice around, Saki could speak freely again. "Hey, you know... I'd rather see and hear you act all mighty and respectful like that than be annoying most of the time" She whispered to Abigail. "So you mean to say I shouldn't act like a normal young person?" Abigail replies with a small smile. Saki looked surprised. "Huh? What? That's not what I..."
She paused as she sensed something different in her smile. Abigail kept her small smile as they silently stared at each other. Later, the silence was broken by the arrival of the chief, they turned to the sound of her footsteps and saw her. "Oh, how do I owe the pleasure of the young ladies on this beautiful morning?" The village chief greets them with a big smile. Just like Clarice's exact image, the village chief has silver hair braided over her shoulder, her voice carries maturity and elegance.
"A fine morning indeed, Chief Shizuku" Abigail lightly bows and the chief bows her head as well. "Lady Abigail..." Once again, Saki takes note of the chief referring to her as 'lady'. This proves her thoughts about Abigail more. Shizuku turns to Saki with a bigger smile. "Miss Saki Nisshin..." She nods. "Ch-chief..." Saki nods as well. Shizuku went to sit on one of the single sofas facing the two. "My dear Clarice has mentioned about questions. I shall hear it" At the mention of her name, Clarice appeared and stood behind her mother.
"That's correct. I'm here to ask some questions" Abigail confirms her intention. She clears her throat and spoke. "Are you aware of a... big cave opening somewhere west deep in the forest?" As soon as she laid her first question, Saki listened intently and watched Shizuku and Clarice's reaction. "A big cave opening?" Shizuku curled her brow at the information, it was clear that she hadn't heard of it.
"I have not yet been informed about the cave opening west of the forest... How did you know of this?" She asked. Abigail glanced at Saki for a second before looking back at her. "Saki and I went deep into the forest to train her swordsmanship". Shizuku gasps lightly at hearing her words. She turned to Saki to read her stats and giggled. "I see... You have grown a bit, have you?". Saki mutters the word 'yes' as she looks down to the ground, feeling shy. Shizuku felt excited and wanted to talk about her training once she gave Abigail her answers.
She turned to Abigail once more, listening to her again. With the chief's attention back to her, Abigail spoke again. "The surroundings of that cave were... unusual. A powerful strength covers the area of the cave and the slime forms from the ground. Also, they were somehow more coordinated as if someone was leading them". Shizuku frowns into thinking, while Clarice stands guard behind her mother with a neutral expression, both of her arms behind her back.
"Coordination... Forming up from the ground? This isn't the kind of behavior I hear from slimes" Shizuku let out a bit of a sigh. "Moreover, the powerful strength you mentioned... Was it something you felt or faced?" She asked. "I felt it. And when we got closer into the cave, the voice of a woman reached out to our ears, from deep inside the cave" Abigail's words caused Shizuku and Clarice to gasp.
"A woman's voice? Whispering to your ears, but coming from deep within the caves?" Shizuku repeated Abigail's words as she absorbed the information. Abigail nods. "That's how it felt, I'm sure Saki here felt the same. We could hear the voice as if they were whispering, but there was some sort of sensation that gave us the feeling that it came from the cave"
Shizuku's gaze fell to the ground as she thought for a few seconds. Her gaze then returns to Abigail. "What did the voice tell you?" She asked. "She questioned our purpose and asked us to leave, that we, humans, shouldn't be there in the first place" Abigail replied. Shizuku continued to be curious about the situation. "I'm afraid this is all new to me, lady Abigail... You were not harmed, were you?" She asked and Abigail shook her head.
"We're talking about caves, so that means mountains. The forest in the west stretches quite a bit before reaching the mountains... You had quite an adventure, you two" Shizuku chuckles and continues. "It sounds like if we intrude any further, something will happen. But leaving this matter alone could pose a threat to Shigure and most likely to other villages in the future" She paused before calling her daughter. "Clarice" Her voice changed into a commanding one.
"Yes..." Clarice answers to her. Shizuku glanced over her shoulder just enough to see her figure and said. "I want you to check out the area that lady Abigail mentioned. Investigate and find out what's going on, then report back to me. The closest area she could be mentioning is the Nabi region, where the mountains and the forest meet". Clarice nods in her command and disappears inside the house.
After giving her orders, Shizuku eased up and lightly clapped her hands together. "Now that is done with!" Her tone changed as well to an enthusiastic one. "I would like to hear about your travel to the west of the forest, Miss Nisshin! I saw that you've grown into a village militia!" She couldn't handle her eagerness to learn about Saki's improvement but was able to hold herself from asking everything in one go.
Saki knew they were past the formalities and the chief is now speaking in a more friendlier and casual tone. She only realized how close she was actually with the chief, given how she was giving her a warm smile and a different side of her at this moment.