After a while, when they finished eating, they cleansed their palates with a sweet-scented drink Corine had brought.
Patting her slightly bulging belly with a satisfied smile, Corine suddenly asked Xu Xin:
"Xu Xin, if you're free, would you like to walk with me? I'll show you around our cave and valley. Actually, I'd like to get to know you better while walking."
As she requested a walk after the meal, Xu Xin thought to himself:
'Is this lack of reserve toward someone she just met today her personal characteristic or a custom of the beast-people?'
Direct speech and honest actions reflecting her emotions. She was unrefined, showing herself as she was. But he didn't find it rude or burdensome.
"That sounds good. Let's walk and digest our meal."
Xu Xin knew why these wolf beast-people were treating him as a guest. They were doing so because they wanted to become friends with him.
Therefore, it was only proper as a guest to comply with such requests.
Xu Xin went outside the room with Corine. Outside was a long corridor.
According to Corine, this place was inside a cave, but it didn't feel like one at all. Instead of the dim and damp feeling characteristic of caves, there was only a pleasant and cozy atmosphere.
When he gently touched the corridor wall with his hand, he could feel it was smoothly finished.
'Though I'm a complete layman when it comes to masonry, I can tell this is extraordinary craftsmanship.'
Xu Xin followed Corine and looked around at the various structures and spaces inside the cave. As he did so, he became convinced that these wolf beast-people possessed quite excellent craftsmanship.
'Looking back, the bed, chairs, table, tray, knife, and even the hinges of the door. Nothing was crude.'
At the end of the corridor was a large, sturdy-looking stone door. It was undoubtedly a weighty stone door, but Corine opened it very lightly.
Outside the stone door, what met Xu Xin's eyes were valleys and caves. There were several caves with stone doors on both cliffs of a deep, long valley.
"This is the valley where our wolf tribe and several other beast-people tribes live together."
Xu Xin scanned the various animal-eared people moving around the valley. They were all busy doing their own work.
Among them, some particularly caught Xu Xin's eye: beast-people armed with weapons.
"What are those people doing over there, gathered in a group?"
Corine glanced at where he was pointing and answered:
"Those are warriors on patrol."
He looked at the beast warrior-people with interest. The beast warriors mostly carried spears made entirely of metal from tip to handle, and some also carried metal axes or clubs.
Xu Xin recognized that all of the beast warriors' weapons were extraordinary. They were weapons crafted by master artisans.
'If it wouldn't be too much trouble for them, I'd like to get one myself.'
Although practicing martial arts with bare hands wasn't a problem, having a familiar weapon wouldn't hurt.
So when he asked Corine, he received an unexpected answer.
"These were all made by Dwarves. We can't make things like this."
"Dwarves?"
According to Corine's explanation, nearby lived Dwarves who had escaped from Titans and Dragons. So the beast-people protected the Dwarves and in return received various items.
"This cave is also the Dwarves' handiwork. They are excellent miners as well."
"To receive so many items as compensation. The Dwarves must be quite generous."
"No, not particularly. It's just that they are such weaklings..."
As Corine and Xu Xin's conversation continued, the beast warriors patrolling the valley suddenly became busy.
"Ah, it seems the Dwarves are being attacked by magical beasts again."
Xu Xin knew quite a bit about magical beasts. It was thanks to Lethe.
"It looks like they're going to help the Dwarves. Xu Xin, I'm sorry, but the tour ends here. As a tribal warrior, I need to go with them."
As the chiefs of each beast-people tribe gathered warriors, Corine turned to Xu Xin and spoke. Then, as if suddenly struck by a good idea, she asked:
"If you're bored, would you like to come along? It would be a trivial fight for someone who fought against a Dragon..."
"..."
After pondering for a moment, Xu Xin eventually agreed.
※※※
Xu Xin moved together with the wolf tribe warriors.
At the forefront of the warriors was Chief Lexil. He had a heavy halberd slung over his shoulder and wore a metal club and dagger at his waist.
The following warriors also carried spears on their shoulders and were equipped with their respective secondary weapons.
Having left the valley in an orderly manner, they moved at a considerably fast pace.
'These spears must be quite heavy since they're made entirely of metal, including the handle. Yet no one shows any sign of fatigue while running quickly with these spears. They truly have strong bodies.'
Xu Xin deployed his Cloud Ladder Lightness Skill with admiration. As his body flowed smoothly like mist and clouds, the beast warriors' gazes focused on him at once.
Some warriors opened their eyes wide, some opened their mouths, and some even almost stumbled in surprise.
"Is this elf magic...?"
Corine murmured, looking at Xu Xin with a reverent expression.
Xu Xin followed the wolf beast warriors with his hands behind his back, at ease.
The beast warriors were all exceptionally strong and had extraordinary stamina, but they couldn't compare to Xu Xin, who had already stepped into the realm of martial arts mastery.
After traveling for some time, green-skinned bald heads were visible beyond the bushes.
Lexil shouted:
"Warriors! Tear them apart like wolves!"
As if responding to his shout, the warriors roared in unison. The howling of wolves spread far and wide.