The very next day.

Grisella and Ellis began their search for a guide.

Of course, even though it was supposed to be a collaborative effort, in reality, the distribution of labor was a fair bit lop-sided. Rather than two equal partners, it was mainly just one hard-worker and a random tag along.

Unsurprisingly, Grisella did most of the heavy lifting.

The solitary witch was simply better suited for this task. Over the course of one hundred or so years of sporadic visits, she had built up a decently sized network of acquaintances. In comparison, Ellis was just… well, he was Ellis.

The most he could do was smile and hope his very presence doesn’t cause any trouble from occurring.

None of it really mattered though. Whether it was Ellis or Grisella, the results were still the same. Even after three hours of searching, they still had no guide.

Simply put, nobody wanted to help.

Grisella was stumped. They had visited almost all the people she was even remotely acquainted with. All of them gave the same answer. All of them said no. This was highly suspect.

Even if the Tribal Chief expressly forbade anyone from going with them, Ilpin village wasn’t a place where authority was followed unconditionally. Due to their warrior background, the squirrels acted with their hearts, and not with their brains. If anything, they were more likely to break the rules rather than abide by them.

Nothing was more evident of this than with Grisella’s various ‘business ventures.’ Outside of her deal with the Tribal Chief, she also often made back-door exchanges with individual villagers. Such actions were met with fairly good reception. Even Mary-Lynn herself did not seem to mind.

So, why? Why were they so cold this time around? What was keeping them inside this village?

They practically scoured the entire village, and the answer was still the same. Eventually, they found themselves inside an Apothecary. This was a place owned by another one of Grisella’s acquaintances. In the past, she would often trade some of her diluted Troll potions in exchange for a few rare herbs and seedlings.

The lady that ran the apothecary was on the thicker side of things. She wore the same revealing clothes as the rest of the village, except quite a few places stuck out, even more so than usual.

“I’m sorry, Miss Lorelei, but I can’t help you.” Once again, they were met with rejection.

“Although I expected that answer, it still hurts to hear.” Grisella let out a long sigh. “We’ve already gone to so many people, yet they all respond with the same answer. Just what the hell is going on?”

For a moment, the Apothecary lady hesitated. To her, the solitary witch was a near-immortal existence. Whether it was during her Grandmother’s wedding, her mother’s birth or back when she first opened her store, Grisella was always there.

The never-aging, potion dispensing witch of Ilpin forest. This was the first time she had ever seen her so distressed.

In the end, she explained the situation. Finally, after so many rejections, the two of them now knew the real reason for their failure.

Some time ago, a group of non-combatants descended to the forest floor in order to collect resources.

Before the whole mess with the Majins started, this sort of thing was considered regular routine for the squirrels. They were not afraid of venturing into the forest. After all, even those regarded as non-combatants still possessed great strength. At the very least, they were comparable to the knights of a medium-sized kingdom.

In this case, they managed to find an abandoned Silk-weaver nest. To the village, a spider’s nest was considered a treasure. In fact, a nest’s value was just below that of a fresh silk sac.

Silk-Weaver nests were created out of spider web. The threads may have hardened due to the passings of time, but that was hardly an issue for the villagers. They knew of a way to reverse the silk hardening process. With such a method at their disposal, they eventually developed a habit of collecting ‘second-hand silk’ and repurposing them for their own uses.

It was a simple task that even children could accomplish.

Unfortunately, just as the villagers were heading towards the site, disaster struck. They were ambushed by Majins.

“The squirrel warriors of the group were killed, while almost everyone else got captured. Only a handful of girls managed to escape. The message of death and destruction that they relayed back to us sparked a lot of fear in the village.” The apothecary lady let out a tired sigh. “The timing couldn’t have been any worse either. Most of our warriors are away from the village. They are out fighting the invaders.

“Right now, those that remain in the village feel nothing but immense dread and fear. The last thing anyone wants to do is venture out to a place filled with so much potential danger.”

The apothecary lady shook her head one last time. She stared deep into Grisella’s eyes. “Aunty Lorelei, I have known you for a long time. While I can’t help you, let me offer you a word of advice: stay inside the village. Do not, under any circumstances, enter the forest.”

****

After such an explanation, they were then promptly kicked out.

Right now, Ellis and Grisella stood in front of the apothecary.

For a long time, silence filled the air.

Eventually, Ellis spoke. “The apothecary lady… she called you aunty, didn’t she?”

Grisella punched his shoulder in frustration. “Can you please get serious? If we can’t find anyone to guide us, then we really won’t be able to continue our journey.”

“In the first place, do we even need a guide?” He questioned. “If it’s us, then surely we’ll be able to do it ourselves.”

She shook her head. “There is no chance, even if it’s you. First and foremost, we need a guide.”

He paused for a moment. After a while, Ellis let out a thin sigh. “Then, in that case, we can’t give up now.”

Grisella nodded in agreement. Her eyes burned with an intense desire. “We can’t give up.”

Ellis looked up at the upper canopy. Golden flecks of light colored the leaves. “The sun’s already beginning to set. Let’s split up and cover more ground. “

She hesitated for a moment, before nodding. “Well, alright. There are still a few people who I haven’t asked yet. Regardless of the outcome, we’ll meet back up here afterward.”

“In that case, I can try something too.”

Grisella narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Just don’t do anything… bad, okay?”

“Bad?” He raised his brow in interest.

“I know that’s a very vague term to make, but just don’t. Got it?” she reiterated.

“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything ‘bad’.”

She did not look all that convinced, but still, she chose to give Ellis the benefit of the doubt. Grisella left with a somewhat worried heart.

After seeing her off, Ellis shook his head in dismay. “Just what does that woman think of me. I won’t do anything to the village. Still, what now?”

Ellis was once again alone. For a moment, he did not know what to do.

After some quiet brainstorming, he decided to visit the Commerce Square again. “It’s the busiest place in the entire village. Surely there’s bound to be someone there willing enough to help us.”

With such naïve and wishful thoughts spinning in his head, he marched straight towards the suspended platform.

Unfortunately, he was quickly met with bitter reality. After nearly an hour, all of his efforts garnered nothing but failure. At some point, the people around him started looking at him with suspicious eyes. It was the same sort of gaze that one would use on a dishonest peddler!

Soliciting someone is a lot harder than I originally expected.

After such a disheartening experience, he decided to rest for a few minutes. He walked over to the least crowded area of the platform. Coincidentally, that was also the area where the stone statue stood.

“Oh?” Ellis widened his eyes in surprise.

Why is Ena here?

He stared at the familiar looking silhouette in the distance. She had been gone for an entire day. Ellis did not really think much of it, but still, to meet back up with her here was a bit surprising.

The little fox was currently skulking around the edge of the area. For some reason, she was glaring quite intently at the statue.

When he approached, Ena’s ears immediately twitched. She had noticed him.

“Kyu!” She let out an excited bark and trotted towards him.

“What were you doing?” Ellis asked as he turned his gaze over to the statue. Much to his shock, he soon saw another familiar face.

“Him?” It was the boy from earlier. Long tufts of unkempt hair covered most of his face. His skinny frame made it almost impossible to identify his gender. It was only because the child wore nothing but a loincloth that Ellis was able to tell he was a boy.

Like before, he was once again staring blankly at the stone statue.

“Why were you looking at him like that?” Ellis questioned the little fox.

“Kyu!” Ena let out a series of barks.

“Hmm… I see…” He nodded with an all too serious expression.

From what he could understand, the kid smelled faintly of Ellis (probably a result of their brief interaction from yesterday). Ena had been wondering why such a familiar scent exuded out from such an unfamiliar person.

“So that’s the reason why…”

His gaze naturally drifted back over to the boy in front of the statue. Ellis thought silently for a moment.

I can probably use him. In the end, Ellis decided to approach the boy. After last time’s failure, he was quite literally at his wit's end. Although it was a bit of a stretch, the boy really was the only one who Ellis had even remotely interacted with. Since he was already like this, he might as well try his luck.

Who knows, maybe the kid actually knows someone who can help. If this doesn’t work, then I’ll go with the kidnapping plan.

With such an attitude, Ellis first procured a meat skewer from a nearby vendor. He used one of the potions that Grisella had given him in exchange for the food. In hindsight, it was a very lopsided deal.

Well, not that it really mattered to him.

Ellis stared long and hard at the meat in his hand. This should work, right? Kids are supposed to love food.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he approached the boy.

“Hey!” He called out. The kid’s shoulders jerked up. A beat later, he turned around.

His eyes slightly widened. “You… you’re the guy from earlier.”

Ellis nodded his head. He stood beside the kid and raised a skewer close to his face. “Want some?”

Naturally, as all good children should do, the boy hesitated. Seeing his response, Ellis took a bite out from the skewer. Unsurprisingly, he found the meat to be plain and flavorless, but now wasn’t the time to go into an in-depth critique of the village’s food culture.

He turned back to the boy. “Are you sure?”

Eventually, the kid conceded. He nodded his head and meekly received the skewer. As he took a bite, the boy asked him, “Mister, why did you come to the village?”

“I’m trying to get to the other side of the river,” Ellis responded.

“That place? Are you strong enough?”

Such a question slightly caught him off guard. After a moment’s pause, he eventually said, “Well, I’m fairly strong so I should do just fine.”

The boy lowered his head. For a long time, he remained silent. Eventually, he nodded. “That’s what I was expecting.” He turned back to Ellis. “Why did you think I talked to you?”

“Ah,” Ellis widened his eyes. Again, he was surprised. He stared silently at him for a few seconds before he broke off into a chuckle. “I guess that makes sense. Why else would anyone talk to a stranger?”

Then, was this kid like that? The type who admired mighty warriors and gallant knights? That sort of hero worship was pretty common. Maybe, in the eyes of this boy, Ellis was like that. A warrior. A hero. After such a scattered thought came to mind, Ellis unconsciously puffed up his chest.

“We’ve been searching for a guide for a while now, but no luck.” Through the corner of his eye, he discreetly glanced down at the boy. Ellis threw away his shame as an adult (?) and asked, “Do you have anyone to recommend?”

The boy opened his mouth to speak, but stopped just before he could say anything. His eyes narrowed. He stared out into the distance. Ellis followed his gaze.

It was the lady from before, the same woman who he presumed to be the boy’s mother. She waded through the crowd, clearly in search of someone.

“Thanks for the skewer mister, but I have to go.” The boy immediately turned around and sprinted away from the lady. As he left, he shouted these last words, “Let’s talk later!”

The boy disappeared into the crowd.

Ellis simply stood there, half in shock.

The whole exchange had ended so quickly that it took him a moment to come back to his senses. After a while, he breathed out a sigh. “I guess no luck here either, huh?”

With a skulk in his step, he returned to the designated meeting place.

*****

The sun had long set. A pink haze illuminated the entire village.

“Nothing?” Ellis asked as he stared down at a gloomy Grisella.

Right now, the Witch sat on the floor, her head resting on her knees.

She shook her head. “You?”

“Nope.”

“…”

“…”

Almost in unison, they both breathed out a sigh.

Well, I wasn’t really expecting much from myself, but if even Grisella can’t find anyone, then we really have no one to guide us there. I guess the only thing left to do is kidnap a villager. Now would probably be a good time to do it… After all, it’s already getting late. It’s always best to commit a crime underneath the shadow of the night.

As such thoughts filled that head of his, Grisella suddenly asked, “What do we do now?”

Without hesitation, Ellis answered, “kidnap someone.”

“Kyu!”

In a show of support, Ena let out a cry. Right now, the little fox was resting on top of his head.

“Stop joking around.” Unfortunately, Grisella did not believe him. Instead, she went on to answer her own question, “we… we can probably try our luck and search for the river ourselves but….” She hesitated. “… if we fail, then the chances of death are high.”

“Death, huh?”

Ellis silently pondered her words.

To be honest, Ellis was quite confident in himself. More specifically, he was confident in his own strength. It was a strength that, at times, made him feel invincible. As long as Ellis was here, what was there to fear?

He wanted to reassure her, to tell her that everything would work out just fine as long as they stick together. Such words remained stuck in the back of his throat. Ellis wasn’t the only one who knew of his strength. Grisella was also keenly cognizant of it, but… even though she knew, she was still so worried.

Why?

Did she not trust him or was their next obstacle something that strength could not solve alone?

He shook his head. “In the end, there really is only one choice. Come on Grisella, let’s go kidna—”

Just before he could finish his sentence, somebody suddenly interrupted him.

“I can take you there.”

A soft, somewhat high-pitched voice echoed through the air.