Cassian was barely recovering from the shock of what he had collided with. He was falling backward and quickly realized he was going to hit the ground. He probably wouldn't be hurt, but it would hurt.
...huh?...., what happened? Why did everything go dark?
Just as he braced himself for the pain, he felt nothing, as if all the momentum he had been carrying was absorbed by something super soft and enveloping, but more importantly, everything had gone dark, and he couldn't see anything.
"Where am I? Did I pass out? Did I fall badly? ...Did I die?"
"..." (No!)
"ah! Yeling? Is that you? Where are you? Or wait... what is this I'm feeling? Is that you? Hmm... what am I touching? Oh!.... I'm sorry... Hmm, do you know where we are?"
"..." (＞﹏＜... w-we're in my shadow)
"Ah, you were sent with me too?"
"…(N-no, I stayed on the ground. I came all the way here.)"
"You're really fast."
"…(No, with my shadow I can move quickly wherever there are shadows.)"
"Oh, what a versatile skill. You got all that because you received the affinity for darkness? You hit the jackpot without doing anything."
Cassian was genuinely impressed. He remembered what she had done earlier with the bison and the aberrations, he thought it was an extremely useful skill.
All thanks to the skill she had acquired earlier. But...
"…(…I didn't learn the skill.)"
"what do you mean by that?!"
"…"(Here's the book, I kept it in my shadow.)
"…Eh, you can even store things? Oh, yes, I feel the book. But why didn't you learn it?"
Apparently, what Yeling was doing wasn't because of a skill obtained as a reward. Although Cassian couldn't see anything, he felt her pass what seemed to be a book.
He didn't know if it was the skill or not, but he decided to trust her.
"…"(I can't speak.)
"ah!, right, you need to say 'disese' to learn it. huh?… hmmm, Yeling, you can see, right?"
"…(Y-yes.)"
"Could you tell me what happened to the skill book that was in my hands?"
"…(It disappeared.)"
"I see… It wasn't the best idea to say that word while holding it. Now… what do we do? Ah! I'm starting to see you… Is it because I now have an affinity with darkness? No, wait… I stole your reward."
Cassian had inadvertently learned Yeling's skill by saying the key word. He wondered how he could have been so foolish. Maybe that was why he was beginning to distinguish shapes in what had been absolute darkness.
Little by little, he saw outlines, until he could finally see Yeling as if she were under a light, even though there was no real light source.
More importantly, he remembered Plouthys saying that rewards should not be shared or something bad would happen. He felt that he had ruined it, and on top of that, he had taken Yeling's reward…
"…(It doesn't matter… I think my unique skill is the same.)"
"That's true… You seem capable of doing a lot with darkness and shadows. Maybe you have an affinity, but the important thing is that it came as a reward. What do you think Plouthys will say?"
"…(If you don't use it, I don't think he'll notice.)"
"...hmmm...You're right.... Besides, the evaluation item got damaged and doesn't seem able to detect skills without it. If it could, it would have told us yours after it broke. Alright, this stays a secret between us. I'll make sure not to use it."
"Heh~… (Hehe~ yes, it's a secret.)"
"Why do you seem happy that I have your skill?...well, But now that I do, could you teach me how to use it later? I don't know much about affinities… Although, thinking about it, Luna also had affinities. Maybe…"
"…(Secret!… h-her affinity is water.)"
"True, I wasn't going to tell you that I have affinity with darkness, but it would be suspicious to ask you... Well, you're very good at teaching. I'll be in your care. Okay, now... wait!! Now that I think about it, this is no time to waste! Can you do what you did to get here and take me back?"
"..." (...I think so)
"Oh, great. I hope I can do it too. Let's go!"
Cassian remembered that they were in the middle of something. He couldn't waste any more time, so he asked Yeling to take him back, trusting that her speed within the shadow would be better than his.
And so it was: Yeling took him back to the original place in less than a few seconds.
When he emerged from the shadows, he discovered that they had already finished off the manticore. Valeriane and Naelune had taken down the beast.
Cassian thought he would only use the tactic of throwing Celestine when there were no ranged attackers nearby.
He had overlooked it before; he couldn't be blamed, he only had one real day of combat experience, but he was slowly learning.
With the creature's corpse secured, the group returned to the village, although Cassian felt he had forgotten something... but if he had forgotten it, it must not be important.
..
.
"What are we?"
"""warriors"""
"And what will we do?"
"""Fight to the end"""
"For victory!"
"""For victory!"""
With the village leader at a podium, giving a simple but energetic speech, the pre-battle banquet began.
"~These people don't have a bit of tension, do they?"
"Shh~, be quiet, don't say anything reckless."
"~Hey, little knight, you scold me for everything. I said it quietly, no one but you next to me heard me."
"I did."
"Oh, oops! It seems you have good hearing, like your father. But you won't say anything, will you, little Nari? You know, I'm still a little sad because they left me out earlier."
"You know what? Starting with Cassy, I feel that you guys, contrary to what was expected, are more... normal?. You know, I had heard that prophecy as a child and expected beings... I don't know, more noble, divine, and haughty."
The group had returned from hunting the manticore. Contrary to what most thought, they were not sent on another mission, but rather told to rest.
It was reasonable, as there would be a tough battle that night. There were still many hours to go, and with the afternoon free, Nahara discreetly asked Cassian if he wanted to take a walk around town, and Cassian agreed.
She acted as a guide for Cassian and Ellys, she was nearby and heard Nahara and before they slipped away she stuck to them, and there was also Yeling, who remained in the shadows.
Nahara didn't mind their presence; she had only invited Cassian, as he was the only one she got along with. If the others wanted to come, so much the better: she would gladly show them the best of the town.
After a while, they were called because there would be a banquet before the battle, where all the warriors would eat and celebrate. There was even sacred wine: a concoction made with a little properly processed manticore venom.
As Cassian understood it, it was like a potion that increased endurance and strength.
In addition, they could eat their fill, as there was plenty of bison meat and other beasts.
The group was in a place near the leader, along with the young people who were helping them and with whom they got along very well.
"Hey, I'm very noble! My family is of the highest lineage in my world. I'm like a princess!"
"Hmm, hey Cassy, is that true?"
"Well..., according to her it is.Ah!, but Ria and Lys do have high status."
"Hey, Cazzy, why do you seem to doubt me and not little angel and little kinght?"
"Well, you don't look like a princess, and what you're wearing..."
"Huh? What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"
"Hmm... nothing, it just seems that the culture is very different between our worlds."
"I don't really understand, but whatever..., as you heard Nari, I am someone of status."
"I see, so you are of high status in your worlds. You too, Cassy?"
"No, I'm just a common citizen."
"Ah, I see, you're like me."
"But Nahara, your father!"
"Hey, stop being nosy, Eshaan."
"Well, I was just saying.... And savior, don't worry, he didn't say anything reckless. We know we're not a normal people; here, battle is the root of every life. Children grow up with swords in their hands, and the elderly die with their heads held high. Even if my father or someone else heard it, it wouldn't be a problem. In fact, it's a compliment that we're so calm; it means that none of us are afraid of battle. We are true warriors, even the children!"
"Yes, I won't say anything more. At this point, I think everyone heard."
"Yes, we did."
"Me too."
"What are you talking about? I didn't hear! Don't leave me out!"
In fact, battle brought people closer together. In addition to Nahara and Eshaan, Diona, Marcus and Rowen also put aside their reservations and spoke freely with them, although they continued to call them saviors, as Eshaab did.
"Well, what does it matter? Let's celebrate anyway! This battle will be a piece of cake with us here, especially Cazzy and the little knight! Come on, for good rewa—I mean, for victory!"
Naelune, seeing that they had listened to her and that Valeriane's scolding made sense, changed the subject. It was better to focus on what was to come.
They began to talk among themselves. Sometimes resident came to thank them, and other times children who seemed to admire the figures who were their predestined saviors. The atmosphere was very good.
After a moment, some acquaintances approached them: it was Yefaziel and Nisha with their other children.
"You've probably heard this more than once, but I also want to thank you for what you did for our people. Thanks to you, many things were easier for us."
"You're welcome, Sir Yefaziel, we just did what we had to do."
Yefaziel stepped forward and thanked them, just like many before him. Valeriane, always the one to receive the thanks, accepted it courtesy.
"That's good, I also heard that my daughter gets along well with you. It's an honor, but if she says or does anything reckless, don't hesitate to let me know. I'll make sure to... uek! NaNaNah!"
"Huh? Sir Yefaziel?"
"What's wrong, honey?"
At that moment, while Yefaziel was speaking, his words suddenly stopped; it seemed as if he had bitten his tongue and frozen, confusing Valeriane and Nisha.
" I-I no-... Nahara, come here for a moment."
"Huh? What do you want? I'm talking to Cassy."
"'Cassy!?' Nahara, you can'- Ah! There it is- Oh, no! Nahara!, come here, we need to talk."
At that moment, Yefaziel seemed to want to ask Nahara something, but when he heard how she addressed Cassian, he wanted to scold her.
However, when he looked at her, he noticed something that alerted him, and he called Nahara even more urgently.
"What's the problem all of a sudden?"
"Honey, why all of a sudden...? Oh!!, well, well, what do we have here... now I understand, fufufu~."
Nisha seemed puzzled by her husband's behavior, until she followed his gaze and also noticed what the problem was. But instead of being alarmed, she began to laugh.
"Just come here. Do you have any idea what you did?"
In the end, rather than asking her, he took her and basically dragged her to a slightly more secluded place, though still in plain sight.
"Did something bad happen?"
"Fufufu~, it's nothing. Rather, savior, that thing you're wearing in your hair is my daughter's bracelet, isn't it?"
"Yes... hmm, is it bad that I have it?"
The subject of the bracelet came up again. At this point, Cassian realized that it was not just anything. He really thought it had not been a good idea, but Nahara had rejected any attempt to return it or exchange it for something else, even though he had seen some things that could replace it during his tour of the village Town.
"No, in fact, it's very good. I hope you take good care of it and, above all, my daughter. You will, won't you?"
"Yes, I will!"