Were they blades? No, it wasn't that. They were fangs.
Cassian had trouble understanding what they were, but finally realized they were rows of sharp teeth that seemed capable of tearing anything apart.
And not only that: they were part of what was a large jaw that, behind Nahara, opened and seemed about to devour her in a single bite.
Cassian, who understood this, wanted to move... but he really couldn't. The only thing that was clearly moving was his mind. His body was completely frozen.
He watched, awestruck, as the jaw closed over the frozen Nahara until it swallowed her completely and closed.
For a moment, Nahara seemed to distort and disappear.
Badum, badum.
"—there's something— Huh?"
Suddenly, time started moving again and Cassian's unfinished sentence was completed, and he pushed her out of the way as he had planned.
But it was all over now. Now Nahara... she?… she was there, intact, not understanding why Cassian had suddenly pushed her aside.
"What's going on all of a sudden? Let me tell you, there's no turning back now. Even if you give it back to me, I won't want it anymore. It's yours now, and you can do whatever you want with it."
"Huh? No, I mean... didn't you see what just happened? That jaw and... huh?... did I imagine it? Hey, what was that thing you told me to say for?"
"It's no big deal, it can have many interpretations, but basically it's something like, 'now it's yours,' and you say something like, 'and I accept it.' That's all."
"Huh? So it wasn't a weird ritual or anything?"
"Well, it's a custom of our people, and you could say it is a ritual, but it's like I said: I just gave it to you, and you accepted it."
"That's it? Doesn't something like a giant mouth come and devour you?"
"Huh, what kind of nonsense is that? Obviously not. Well, I still have to fulfill my part of the agreement. Once we get to town, I'll take you to a tailor. They should have some in stock in your size."
Cassian began to doubt himself, and perhaps he thought that what he saw was the fault of what they said. But it didn't seem to be because of that.
He really felt that everything happened slowly and lasted too long to be just his imagination. But it also felt like just a moment... to the point that now he was doubting whether it really happened.
And, more importantly: what it was... and what it meant.
"Hey, do you want to keep hunting with me?"
"Huh? Is that okay? Before, it seemed like you wanted to go on your own."
"Well, if you don't want to, it doesn't matter."
"No, it's fine. Hey, but can you tell me more about the arts and stuff? Is there a way to fix the poisoning and stuff?"
"Okay, but in return, let's hunt a lot. I know we can, since you're very strong. The more, the better for the town."
"Okay. Oh! By the way, we never introduced ourselves. You can call me..."
Well, there would be no answers, even if he thought about it. And nothing really seemed to happen, so he put that thought aside and took Nahara's offer.
And they began to search for large groups of bison, while she—like Yeling—gave him some advice and shared personal experiences, which helped Cassian.
Not to mention that he could keep trying that technique that had finally worked. Now that he had succeeded, he could easily do it a second and third time.
..
.
"excuse me, Savior, but could you come back with me? The boss requests your presence."
"Huh? Mine? Why me?"
"Oh, it's not just yours. All the Saviors. My colleagues are looking for you, so if you don't mind, could you follow me?"
Just when they had been hunting for a while and it was becoming more difficult to find bison, someone approached him to tell him that the village chief was looking for him.
"Eh, well... okay. Hey, Nari, what are you going to do?"
"Uh, well... I have to keep my promise. I'll go with you, get you the robe, and come back. Although it's getting hard to find bison."
"Oh, so you've been working with the Savior, little Nahara, and you don't need to come back. In fact, there aren't many bison left. Two other Saviors have been killing them to the point where there aren't many left."
"But... there are still some, right?"
"Yes, but the boss thinks that so many people are no longer necessary. Hmm, I also think they were calling for young talent, including you. I think someone else is looking for you."
"Oh! That's convenient, but let's stop by the tailor on the way."
"Eh, well... if you don't take too long, I don't think there'll be any problem."
As he listened to the conversation, Cassian was really touched that someone was thinking about his pants... and that, finally, the time was coming to get rid of those annoying pajamas and his upper nakedness.
..
.
"Does it feel good? Or does it feel uncomfortable?"
"Huhaa~ I've never felt more civilized."
Being shirtless made him extremely uncomfortable, and wearing those heart-and-arrow pajamas caused him mental damage to the point that he tried to ignore it.
Of course, it wasn't clothing he was used to, being a tunic that left his sides semi-exposed and short leather pants, but it was still fine. He even appreciated the leather sandals.
Now he could get rid of the others, although he thought it would be wrong to throw his pants away, so he put them in his storage. Now he was in a very good mood.
Staying here was a good decision after all.
"Civilized? Well, your clothes were peculiar, though not as much as that blue-haired woman's."
"Little Nahara, don't be disrespectful to the saviors."
"Oh, come on, Cassy doesn't mind, he even asked me to call him that, since it's normal where he comes from, isn't it Cassy."
"Yes, besides, I really wanted to stop wearing them myself, and about Luna's clothes I also find them peculiar."
"...Well, if the rescuers don't mind, ahem, well, if you're satisfied with your clothes, let's move on, or do you want to go somewhere else? Like the armory?"
"No, this is fine."
..
.
"Oh, Cazzy, your face..."
"What's wrong with it? Is it scary?"
He was taken by the man to the large house of the village chief and separated from him and Nahara once he was left in one of the rooms, where Naelune and Cestine were already sitting on a leather sofa.
When she saw him, that was the first thing Naelune said, as she approached him with great momentum.
"Huh? What are you talking about! You're very handsome! You know, before, you could only see about half of your face... now I can see it all. As I thought, your eyes remind me of a dead fish, so dark and lifeless. Along with everything else, it's perfect!"
"...I really don't know how to take what you just said."
"As a compliment, obviously! Look, littl—I mean Celes, what do you say?"
"Hmph!."
"Hee~ Celes! What was that answer!"
"Ugh! Damn bet... just because I lost, I have to lower myself to being your servant. Someone of my lineage shouldn't—!"
"Are you going to break the deal? Besides, it's not so much a servant, more like you have to listen to my requests, isn't that what we agreed on?"
"It's the same thing! Ugh! And no, I won't break it. I swore by my lineage."
"Fine. Tell me, what do you think of Cazzy now that she's pulled her hair back? Look at her face. The more I look at it, the more perfect it is."
"Hmph, nonsense. He's not even that handsome, objectively speaking, Yefeng would be more handsome... well, you're not ugly, but you're definitely not handsome."
"I know, Luna is the weird one. I only pulled it back because it's annoying, and I'd appreciate it if you'd stop talking about my face."
"What?! I'm not the weird one! Do better! You barely even looked at him!"
"Ygh! That's unreasonable! What is there to see? It's obvious he's not handsome... hmm, but... there's really nothing to criticize besides his eyes. Hmm... he's symmetrical, and his skin... hmm, it doesn't look anything out of the ordinary, but... it's strange... hmm, I think he can be considered handsome, can't he?"
"Oh, Celes, I see you have good judgment. Of course he's handsome! Although it's a shame he's covering up his muscles... at least you can see his chest and sides. Wait! When he doesn't show everything, it gives the impression that it's better than being totally exposed... or yes, I think he's not bad at all now. Hey, Cazzy, can I—?"
"No."
"Tsk."
Cassian really wasn't comfortable with them talking about his appearance. Uncovering his face wasn't something he did often, as he felt more comfortable when his hair covered it.
But now, the situation was more important than comfort.
But leaving aside Naelune, who had a different standard of beauty than his world, he was grateful that Celentine, and even Nahara, although he remembered it late, were not affected, just like the people on the way here—mainly women—no, they did not panic or get scared of him.
Although more than that... something Cassian didn't notice, because he was more focused on his uncomfortable feeling of having his face exposed, was that, rather than fear, many women—and even some mature women—were looking at him with great interest.
Well, in our group, only Lys and, perhaps, Ling-Ling were shocked by my appearance. Now that I think about it, where...? Ah!
Click!
"I see you all got here first. It looks like you did a good job, especially you two."
"Hee~ this time I'll be the best. The best rewards will be mine.
"Hmph, those creatures were weak."
At that moment, when Cassian was wondering where the other three members of his group were, the door opened, answering his question, Veleriane entered, congratulating the duo.
"It seems that obtaining materials from those beasts is enough, and if I'm not misunderstanding the situation, we'll probably be assigned another task. Have you heard anything? Have you met with the boss?"
"No! And now that you mention it, Little knight, you have to complain on our behalf. They call here and then make us wait without any explanation. We arrived more than 15 minutes ago!"
"It hasn't been that long. Besides, in this situation, everyone must be busy to some extent, especially the leader. We just have to wait."
Click!
"I appreciate your understanding, saviors. The Leade is certainly very busy, but he has already assigned you your next task."
Not long after the door opened again, an unfamiliar voice reached them. It came from a young man about their age, with red hair and eyes, a large build, and an air of vitality.
"Ah! I'm sorry if my partner was rude. She didn't mean anything by it. Bad."
Veleriane, who thought he had heard what Naelune said, immediately apologized.
"No, it's okay. My name is Eshaan, and I will guide you on your next task. And if you don't mind, we could wait a moment until a few more people arrive. In the meantime, I'll explain what we'll be doing."
He was very polite and began to explain to Veleriane and the rest.