Chapter 2: Distant Neighbors
On the tranquil morning in the outskirts of Roshimu Forest, the villagers woke up from their homes. Windows opened, people stepped outside, and greetings were exchanged. A pleasant atmosphere enveloped everyone, in another serene day like many others that had passed.
Children ran around from early on, playing tag. Their crystal-clear laughter created a cheerful atmosphere for the adults around, who admired the tranquility of the scene.
In a cabin somewhat different from the others, a sturdy-looking elderly man was placing a large leather bag on a table. Though he was elderly, his strength was surprising for his age, although he couldn't avoid the problems that advancing years brought, like the back pain he felt after moving the bag.
"It's becoming more frequent..." he murmured to himself. His name was Ulbert, and he was currently 58 years old, though he appeared to be in his 40s. His body was not frail like that of an elderly person; on the contrary, he seemed to be in good shape for his age.
"Good morning, Ulbert," greeted another voice as the door opened, and a black man, appearing to be around 30 years old, appeared on the other side.
"Oh, Dale, good to see you. Actually, you've arrived at the right time," said Ulbert, stepping aside to show the table with the large leather bag to Dale.
"Is this Ard's stuff?" Dale asked.
"Yes, he always thinks of us, even after so long."
"That lad... Anyway, do you want me to help you distribute it to the others?"
"Sure. I alone would take ages to distribute, and my back isn't in the best condition."
Dale chuckled after hearing Ulbert; it seemed to catch him off guard.
"Says the former Commander of the kingdom's army, you've aged over time, Commander."
"Don't call me that, I want to forget that past self of mine."
The two fell silent, lost in thoughts about their pasts.
"Changing the subject. How's your wife and daughter?" Ulbert asked.
"Ah, they're fine. They're my treasure, you know? But lately, Fiora has been very excited..."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Ulbert inquired.
"At a certain point, yes. But, in the current case, her excitement is because of a man..."
"Oh?"
Ulbert was slightly surprised. It seemed that this individual was troublesome.
"And who is this man who has become the target of your daughter?" he asked curiously.
Dale scratched his head tiredly. It seemed that this individual was indeed troublesome.
"It's Ard..."
The atmosphere fell silent, both contemplating the revelation.
"But that's not a good thing, oh, you stubborn head!?" Ulbert joked.
"Well, that's what my wife said too... But I don't like seeing my daughter with a man... Not even if it's Ard, I would easily approve!"
Ulbert sighed tiredly. After his friend became a father, he became overly protective of his daughter, to the point of hiring women to watch over her when he wasn't around, which was going overboard.
While Dale continued his protective father speech, Ulbert grabbed a large straw basket and poured all the meat from the leather bag.
"Looks like I'll have to do everything myself in the end..."
♦♦♦
Ehrnat, one of the cities surrounding the Veliehr Kingdom. It's a small but populous city, full of squares and markets, considered by many as the perfect place for trade. Its population is quite diverse, composed of four distinct races: dwarves, elves, beastmen, and humans. Surprisingly, peace among these races was a reality there, and they lived in harmony.
The city was protected by a large concrete wall, stacked with large blocks, which stood 20 meters tall and 5 meters thick, making it almost impenetrable to any kind of projectile.
Through the imposing 15-meter gates, one could see the figure of Ard, trying to fix Sílvia's hair, which seemed to have been taken at great speed by him.
"Sílvia hates being carried like this by her brother...", she complained, visibly dizzy due to the high speed.
"Sorry... Your brother went overboard this time... Can you forgive him?" Ard asked, with a shocked expression at the refusal to forgive.
"Hmph! No!" replied Sílvia, firm in her decision, leaving Ard shaken.
At that moment, a third person approached, catching their attention.
"Hey! Good morning, it seems you guys arrived a little later... Did something happen?" inquired the young-adult man who approached, wearing a knight's armor without a helmet and carrying a sword in its sheath. His blue eyes and blond hair contrasted with his youthful face, conveying a welcoming feeling.
Ard, with a dead fish look, turned to face the newcomer.
"Don't tell me, did you upset Sílvia again?" asked the armored man, already foreseeing the answer.
Ard's only response was to slightly look away.
"Ah, let me handle this," said the armored man.
He crouched before Sílvia with a gentle smile on his face.
"Good morning, Lady Sílvia. May this humble knight know why you're upset?"
Sílvia, captivated by the melodic and poetic tone of his voice, instantly turned to him.
"Sílvia is mad at her brother Ard!"
"May I know why?"
"He made Sílvia dizzy!"
"I see..."
The man made a face of "Are you serious?" or "What am I doing here," but seemed to know what to do in that situation.
"But does Sílvia know why he did that?"
"Well, it was for Sílvia to arrive on time at school..."
"So he did it for good, right?" pondered the man.
Sílvia nodded in agreement, looking more guilty now.
"Sílvia didn't think of that..."
The man smiled and ruffled Sílvia's hair.
"You still have time to apologize, you know?"
"Okay..."
Sílvia turned to Ard and grabbed his jacket with her right hand.
"Sorry, brother. Sílvia was wrong..."
Ard's smile radiated gratitude for his sister's cuteness.
"It's okay, Sílvia. Your brother apologizes too. I didn't mean to take you like that, I promise to take you normally next time, okay?"
"Uh-huh! Sílvia also promises not to be mad at brother Ard anymore."
The man stood up, returning to his position, and gave a thumbs-up to Ard as if to say "You're welcome bro!" silently.
"Anyway, I need to check your entry cards so you can enter the capital," announced the man.
Upon hearing this, Ard took out two cards from his pants pocket and showed them to the man.
"Alright, you can enter. Have a great day!"
"See you later, Albert."
"Goodbye, Brother Albert!"
Thus, Ard and Sílvia finally entered the city of Ehrnat.
♦♦♦
In the city center, the streets were crowded with people of various races moving back and forth. Ard and Sylvia navigated through the crowd hand in hand, so as not to lose each other. Humans, dwarves, elves, and beastmen, all mixed together in one bustling trading hub, resulting in large crowds spilling onto the streets.
As they made their way through the throngs, various types of stalls could be seen set up, from those selling weapons and jewelry to those selling food, which were the most crowded.
"As always, it gets so crowded in the morning..." Ard commented as he tried to navigate through the crowd.
His view was obstructed by a towering wolf beastman, standing at 2.16 meters tall, who was devouring skewers he had presumably just purchased. He was dressed in leather attire with a metal plate on his chest and left shoulder, carried a small leather pouch, and had a belt with several vials of liquid, two curved blades, and a brown cloak.
"Ard! My man!" exclaimed the wolf beastman, smiling upon seeing Ard.
"Sebastian! Always eating a lot in the morning?" Ard joked, shaking his friend's hand.
"You know how it is, can't resist the smell of those delights!" replied Sebastian, his mouth full.
"I know, and you still ask for more. That's why you'll always be the beggar wolf of this little town," teased Ard, laughing.
Sebastian mumbled with his mouth full.
"And proud of it!"
"Anyway, I've got to take Sylvia to school," Ard announced, pointing to Sylvia by his side.
"Oh! Sylvia! Didn't see you there!" Sebastian said, finally noticing the girl's presence.
"Oh! It's the little puppy!" exclaimed Sylvia, using the nickname she had given to Sebastian.
Sebastian's ears drooped upon hearing the nickname, while Ard tried to contain his laughter.
"Hey! Not funny!" protested Sebastian.
"Alright..." Ard replied, trying to hold back his laughter.
"Are you just gonna stand around joking?" asked Sebastian, a vein popping on his forehead.
"No, I'm good, already switched to my serious mode," Ard joked, switching to a serious expression.
"Okay..." Sebastian said, forcing a smile.
"Anyway, gotta go. Have to take Sylvia to school," Ard bid farewell.
"Alright, have a good one. Bye, Sylvia!" said Sebastian, waving childishly.
"Bye, puppy! Sylvia promises to bring sweets for the puppy," Sylvia promised, smiling.
Ard couldn't contain his laughter and let out a loud chuckle loud enough for Sebastian to hear. With that, Ard scooped Sylvia into his arms and quickly ran off to escape Sebastian, who came after him angrily.
♦♦♦
"Goodbye, Brother Ard!"
"Goodbye, Silvia."
Silvia finally enters the school, leaving Ard more relieved with her current tasks. Now all that's left is to help Mrs. Enma...
With that in mind, Ard walks down the street for a while until he reaches a large establishment. Outside, he could see an elderly woman and a young girl unloading a load of boxes from a cart.
"Good morning, Mrs. Enma," Ard greets, slowly approaching the elderly woman self-proclaimed Enma, with a box full of tomatoes in her arms.
Enma was a 54-year-old woman, with dark brown hair and eyes. Despite her age, Enma had a youthful face almost free of wrinkles, and her brown and white dress made her true age unrecognizable. Currently, she was the owner of an establishment located in the center of the capital, which was very popular among foreigners of various races.
"Hi, Ard, you arrived just in time. The restaurant's food shipment has just arrived," Enma smiles kindly at Ard, showing herself to be a welcoming woman.
"Hey, Ard! Are you the one mom said will help us?" says young Renner, helping Mrs. Enma unload the food boxes. Renner was Enma's only daughter.
Renner was a tall, beautiful young woman, with a slender body and long brown hair that radiated a vibrant color, matching her beautiful orange eyes with a touch of yellow. She wore a brown and white dress, more elegant and stunning than Enma's, making her stand out even more.
"Yeah, any problem?" Ard asks.
"No! Not at all! I just should've prepared better..." Renner murmurs to herself, while helping to unload the boxes. Renner and Ard were childhood friends, and since childhood, Renner had always had a crush on Ard.
"Hmm... Renner?" Ard questions, noticing that his face was very close to hers. Renner startles and becomes embarrassed.
"W-Well, let's keep unloading stuff!" Renner hurriedly carries a box to the restaurant through the back door, blushing at the sudden closeness.
"Ah... These young people nowadays... Well, are you going to help, Ard?" Mrs. Enma asks, watching Ard unload the boxes quickly.
"...Haha. Young people nowadays always have so much energy," Enma comments.
Not long after, Ard, Enma, and Renner finish unloading and bringing all the food boxes into the restaurant. Inside the restaurant, Ard finishes organizing all the boxes.
"Thank you so much, Ard. Without you, it would've taken us all morning to unload everything," Enma thanks.
"The pleasure was mine in helping."
"Are you leaving already?"
"Yeah, why? Need more help?"
"That's not what I meant. I just wished you'd stay longer here... It's been a long time since we've been together..." Renner says, blushing and playing with her hair.
"It has been a while... How about we go out together tomorrow? Like a date, I guess," Ard suggests.
"Ara-Ara, not a bad idea, is it, Renner?" Enma teases.
"A Date?!"
"Yeah, didn't you like it?"
"T-That's not what I meant! I really liked it!"
"Okay, then we'll see each other tomorrow," Ard agrees.
Ard waves goodbye to Renner and Enma, heading towards the large door of the hall, which was almost 3 meters tall. It was a door made to universal racial measurements, after all, there might come a day when someone very tall would arrive at the establishment.
As Ard reaches the door, it is opened from the outside by someone. It was a silhouette that stood 2.56 meters tall and collided with Ard, but received a different kind of impact on her face, which seemed to have been hit by a soft and fluffy cushion.
At that moment, Renner's face turns pale after seeing the image of Ard, with his head buried in the massive bosom of a giant woman-beast of the Tiger type, 2.56 meters tall, who had entered through the restaurant door.
"A-Ard!? S-Sorry!"
The giant Tiger woman blushes all over and steps back from Ard to make space.
"It's okay, I wasn't paying attention either."
Mia was a Tiger-type beast woman, with feline blue eyes and orange and white fur, with short long hair of the same color as her fur. Despite her intimidating size, she was gentle and kind, always helpful to others. Mia wore a loose white blouse with wide sleeves, combined with a brown leather belt around her waist. She also wore a flowing long skirt composed of two layers of fabric: the first layer was short and green, while the second layer was long and white. Completing her look, Mia wore beautiful brown sandals that matched her leather belt that covered most of her waist. Her appearance was a charming mixture of elegance and a "cute" touch, but this "cuteness" was overshadowed by her voluminous body, which had exaggerated proportions, just like her enormous breasts. She was also the only Tiger-type beast (or Tiger woman) in town.
"But... Did I hurt you?"
She asks concernedly, leaning down a bit to awkwardly start examining Ard's small frame with her large hands. Renner looked away as she couldn't help but make a sour face at such an enviable interaction.
But before she could say anything, the ground trembles, a strong tremor had hit them. The tremor lasted for 15 seconds before stopping. Renner, who had stumbled and fallen, gets up along with Enma.
Ard, on the other hand, was standing, but with Mia embracing him, scared, the embrace burying his face in her large breasts.
"That was scary..."
She says, slowly opening her eyes and staring at Ard, who was once again with his face buried in her bosom.
She blushes almost instantly at this, she quickly steps away from Ard, her tail waving nervously from side to side again.
"Eh! Uh... Uh... I-I need to go!"
Mia hurries off to the kitchen of the establishment, she was the cook there.
Renner looked seriously at her as she walked away. Both were friends, but alongside Ard, they were rivals, even if Mia didn't agree with that.
"Alright... but what was that just now?"
"I don't know... But it was really scary, wasn't it?"
Renner notices Ard's absence among them and looks around searching for him.
"Ard?"
She walks out through the large door and finds him outside.
"What are you doing? Didn't you see what happened just now?"
"It's snowing..."
Snowflakes fall under the clear sky before the sight of the two, it was something bizarre and unnatural to see.
"What's going on?"
Weekly Power Status
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