Versatile: Alternate World



Using my shikigami familiar, I traversed the village carefully. They might not be that sensitive to magic but they might have shamans here that can detect faint hints of magic. If I don't tread carefully, the shikigami I was using might get destroyed before I can even get my task of snooping around.

  After ensuring no one is around, I slowly check the huts or houses you call them one by one, starting with the biggest one as it might be the house of the chief. Checking the first house, I don't see that it is a sign of the chief's house. There are some signs that this is a house of a shaman though due to the tools and some accessories hanging around that only shamans usually use or believe in, so I was right that there might be a shaman in the village. Seeing it void of people, I left before that shaman noticed my presence.

The next place I checked is the house that is a little less big than the previous house. Entering it, I immediately hit the jackpot of spotting the house of the chieftain. I was certain because of the big signs of someone like him living there and a few signs of where he put those two axes he used last battle.

But he was not placed there as the place was empty which means he was carried somewhere else. Perhaps a little clinic? A healer's house is always present in places like this as there are many times a hunter gets wounded from hunting therefore, that must be the place where they have gone into and where they sent the unconscious chieftain.

So I have to look for the place once more. The healer's house might be the third biggest house here so I looked for the third biggest house in the area and it took me a while to find it as it was not too apparent. I only found it when someone sick was being sent there allowing me to silently follow and infiltrate the clinic itself. No wonder I couldn't find it, it was hidden in between two houses and it wasn't a big place either.

And I was right in my assumption that the chieftain was there because he was indeed lying in one of the beds there and was being taken care of by someone who seemed to be his wife as the doctor of the place was an old woman who is currently busy mixing herbs in one of the cauldrons.

Aside from them, there are also a few soldiers who were there earlier as well. I thought he would step up to fight as one of the elite men the chieftain had but he didn't and seems to be more of a right-hand man of the chief. I inched the shikigami a bit and then listened to the conversation as he was talking to the wife of the chieftain.

"Yes, Madam. Your daughter is still left behind and is still tied up. We tried to rescue her in attempts but the one who held her was capable of using strange magic that even our shaman could not hope to accomplish. As for the guy who challenged the chief, he wasn't even injured during the battles and he easily knocked out our strongest men before defeating the chief before he could even unleash his strongest ability."

I thought at first that the woman would side with her husband but she wasn't and shook her head.

"Aish, you guys have provoked someone who is not on your level and someone who knows how to fight. I already told you all before that some people outside of the tribe are more of a monster than what monsters we fight every day. And besides, I think I can understand why they would retaliate as well. You said my daughter and everyone else attacked the guy who beat up my husband without warning before he took my daughter right? Then that must mean he won't even do this kind of thing if you guys haven't provoked them."

"But..."

"No buts, later once my husband is awake, we will return to that place and ask for forgiveness for doing something like that. This is why we always get dragged into trouble."

The soldier couldn't say anything and just bowed his head as he silently exited the clinic. As for the chieftain's wife, she sighed and grumbled.

"This is why the impulsiveness of my husband was something I feared my daughter inherited. They didn't think about their actions and instead went ahead and did their thing."

The doctor who just finished with her concoction chuckled.

"That's fine. Now they learned their lesson in the harshest way possible. Based on how he describes the one who kidnapped your daughter, he doesn't seem like a bad man for them to attack immediately. Do you know why they would suddenly do so?"

"Perhaps my daughter has mistaken this guy who took her as the "invader" that was supposed to destroy our tribe. And since my daughter has been concerned on that matter for quite a while now, it makes sense that every single new face she sees who is in the forest would be the invader they described," the woman sighed and had a look of worry on her face.

"Well, your daughter might be suspicious about them as they said that they are riding some kind of big steed that has a big house on top of it and are walking on many legs. That alone is terrifying to see and I can see why she would easily think that he was one of the invaders."

"It doesn't matter now. Since this matter has come to my ears, I will personally go and plead for them to release my daughter. If they demand anything, I will do everything in my power to fulfill it as long my daughter is safe."

After listening for a bit, I can say I am satisfied with what I hear. But now I am curious about the "invaders" they keep on talking about. Just what was that exactly? Is it perhaps an enemy? I still don't know. However, since she plans to come and negotiate, then I will have to try and ask her about it.

Now that I am done with the surveillance, I snap my fingers and let the shikigami burn to ashes. Now, all we have to do is wait.