2 Village

After being dragged through the woods along the riverbed, we eventually encountered a bridge that led to the other side.

"This is how we go across." He pointed out the obvious as we took our first steps across the bridge, which creaked with every step we took.

"I see." I nodded, noting how poorly the bridge was constructed.

The walk across the bridge was rather boring, but the view of the flowing river was beautiful, the starlight reflecting off the gushing water.

However, I had to stay mindful of my steps as some planks were missing here and there.

"Look! We're almost there!" He sighed with relief as he ran closer to the end of the bridge.

Suddenly, I pulled him by the back of his collar as he nearly fell into the river.

"Wha-" I pulled him back before another plank beneath him dropped into the flowing river, which began to flow faster suddenly.

Splash!

It was still difficult to see during this time, so I didn't blame the boy, however, the moon and the stars that guided us so far had vanished as some clouds formed in the sky, making it harder to see.

"This isn't good…" He narrowed his eyes as he carefully stepped forward, holding the side rails for support.

With my vision rapidly retreating, I guided my mana to concentrate on my eyes.

Though it didn't brighten up my vision, I was able to outline everything easier in the dark so I could make out the rough shapes of the bridge and the surroundings.

The bridge began to sway as our balance was suddenly off, with us trying to adjust to the sudden change.

"Hurry!" The boy hurriedly jumped over the spot he had just missed out of blind panic and was trying to escape.

I immediately followed behind him as we neared the other side of the bridge.

However, I stopped as the sudden appearance of fire reared out of the forest where the exit lay.

'A person?' I looked to see their face, being able to easily identify them with my enhanced vision.

It was a young human, likely in their 60's.

He waved towards me with the torch, signaling me to hurry over, with the young boy beside him also trying to get my attention.

I sighed as my legs gained a sudden burst of power as I sprinted towards them.

There might be a rainstorm soon, so I didn't want to take any chances.

Getting close to the torch bearer, he walked towards me, eyes wide open upon seeing my appearance.

"Who are you?" He scrunched up his face in suspicion.

"Father! I just told you!" His son protested by stomping his foot.

"My name is Frieren, I was accompanying your son back to the village as it was getting dark," I said, my name raising his eyebrow.

"Frieren, an odd name, where are you from?" He asked, taking glances at my hair and ears.

"I'm a wandering mage," I spoke calmly, to which he looked at me more skeptically.

"Father! She is one!" His son jumped to get his attention, which worked somehow as the father only sighed and turned his back.

"You should leave.." He suggested, walking towards the darkness of the forest.

"Eh? Father!" The young boy followed suit as he walked alongside his father.

Their silhouettes eventually disappeared as I stood there, curious as to why this man was so wary of me.

'Strange...' 

The rather stoic man wore an expression of dread as soon as I mentioned the word mage.

Despite the warning, I followed the dirt path that they walked upon as it was much darker beneath the intricate puzzle of branches.

Though I'd arrived to see the so-called village the boy was talking about.

'I forgot to ask for their names.' I internally facepalmed at my error, too focused on improving my mana control.

Upon further inspection, the village appeared to be a bit run down, as there were punches of holes within the thin fabric windows.

'I must be in a more rural area of the Northern lands.' I mulled over, as most people here were normally isolated from the world and its politics.

"It'd probably be bad if I were to look like I was sneaking around.." I mumbled as mana coursed through my hand into the staff that I held.

Though I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing, I had a speculation of what was happening whenever mana entered my staff.

To put it simply, bad mana goes into staff, outcomes normal mana!

I wasn't able to test out the effects due to being interrupted, but now was a good chance to test this hypothesis.

Mana gathered to the tip of my staff as a small ball of fire appeared. 

{ Fireball }

A simple folk spell that was regularly used as a source of light or to start fires, not the best offensive magic when it comes to fights but it comes in handy from time to time.

The scorching ball of fire hovered over my staff with precise control, appearing as if I were holding a torch.

Walking forward, I was met with silence as no one came to greet my entrance into the village.

'Everyone is probably sleeping.' I presumed as I continued to walk around the village.

However to my misfortune, it didn't appear as if there were an inn in this village, so I'd have to ask around for shelter.

Why didn't I just go back to my cabin or just make a new one from scratch? 

Eh, I don't wanna do something tedious, I just wanna sleep right now.

Knock knock knock!

I knocked on the door of a random house in the middle of the night as the sounds of hurried footsteps came.

"Y-yes!" The door was suddenly opened to reveal a somewhat bald man.

"Huh?" He looked up in surprise as he sighed in relief.

"What do you want?" He then asked, eyeing my overall body.

"I'm looking for a place to rest, is there by chance an extra room you could provide for me?" I asked politely as he smirked.

"Ah, are you a prostitute?" His eyes shined with a look of lust.

"Never mind." I turned around and walked away, with him looking towards me with annoyance.

I went around asking for shelter, but my attempts were shot down multiple times or I had to decline due to their rather obvious goals with me.

'These people are no good.' I internally sighed as I went up to the last house before my patience would run dry and I'd just sleep in a tree or something.

Knock knock knock!

…

'Looks like they're sleeping too.' I exhaled with disappointment as I began to leave.

Suddenly I heard footsteps faint approaching from within the house.

Turning my head around I saw an old lady at the door.

"Yes?" She weakly called out.

"Ah, do you think you would be able to give me a place to stay for the night?" I asked with relief, as she seemed nice.

"Oh yes yes, come in, I don't get visitors often." She gestured towards the entrance as I entered, extinguishing the fire on my staff.

The inside of the house was just as empty as the village was, with no furniture of the sort anywhere and the same walls.

"You can use the second room on the left." She pointed towards the door down the hallway.

I nodded my head as I made my way towards the room.

Sliding the door revealed an empty room with a table in the middle and a futon on the side.

"I'm sorry if you're hungry, but I don't have any food right now." The old lady said gloomily.

"It's alright, I'm not hungry right now." 

It was true I was not hungry, I hadn't exerted my energy that much for the entire day, I was just sleepy.

"Ahh alright, if you need anything, I'll be in the room next to you." The old lady bowed as she closed the door and left me in the room alone.

Sighing, I laid down my staff and stripped myself of the armor I was wearing, leaving me only with a simple dress and underwear.

'Too bad I don't have my suitcase.' I mulled over the fact I'd lost all of my spell books.

Ignoring the thought, I stared into space before closing my eyes as I drifted off to sleep.

…

..

.

"Ms. Frieren? Why didn't you save me?" 

What..?

"Ms. Frieren! Why did you abandon me!" The voice of Fern grew louder as it rang in my head.

Suddenly, I found myself back at the same place where I'd once faced death, staring down at the battered body that lay before me.

The bloodied body of Fern cried out in agony, flooding my mind, but I could not see the expression on her face as her body lay there lifeless.

Hahaha!

The statues that'd ruined my life towered over me, laughing at my anguish as I could only stare in despair.

Suddenly, a horrifying sight greeted me as Fern's head violently rotated to face me, accompanied by the sickening sound of bones cracking in her neck.

"You didn't love me." Her eyes stared at me blankly as streams of blood cascaded down her face.

"AHH!" I sat up immediately in a cold sweat, my body trembling as tears threatened to escape my eyes.

"It was just a nightmare…" My breathing unsteadily tried to stabilize itself, as the tears in my eyes started to drop onto the futon.

The vivid memory and haunting sounds of the nightmare still lingered in the forefront of my mind.

The sound of the door sliding open reverberated behind me, "Are you okay?" The sound of the kind-hearted lady asked, concerned.

"I'm alright," I assured her softly, avoiding eye contact as I attempted to steady my breathing and regain my composure.

"Please give me some privacy."

She silently nodded and closed the door behind her. I could still feel my heart pounding in my chest, but I knew I needed time to process what had just happened.

"Breathe," I ordered myself as I took deep breaths as the floodgates opened and my tears flowed even faster.

Waking up to these lands, I neglected the fact that I had died so very easily.

"I couldn't save you…" I mumbled to myself as I held my chest close, regretting my inability to protect her.

To protect them.

"I-I…" My sentence ran short as I could not find the words that wanted to escape my mouth.

I could only silently sob as I could not bring myself to face the truth.

The truth that I hadn't done enough to protect those I love, that I was not strong enough to prevent their deaths. 

It was an unbearable truth that I struggled to grasp. hit me really, really hard…

'Never, never again…' I silently sobbed as I turned around and wailed into my futon.

…

…

…

The village has been on its toes recently.

The horrific sounds of someone crying their heart out did improve the already bad mood of the villagers.

Many times villagers would attempt to enter the house where the crying originated from, but were stopped by the old granny of the village.

"My daughter's fiance died." She'd tell people which helped stow the onslaught of curious people, though that lie would only last so long.

She wept, more than she'd ever, a full four weeks straight of crying.

Sometimes she'd cry loudly, sometimes she'd silently weep, but the villagers could feel the intense aura that radiated off the room.

"She's housing an evil spirit in her house!" The lord of the village slammed his fist onto a table.

"She said it was her daughter though!" One of the villagers retorted.

"Bah! You seriously believe in that lie?! It's been weeks and we still have not seen this so-called daughter she claims to be the culprit! We must exorcise it before it devours us!" The lord barked back, causing those listening to silently agree.

"I, Lord Suji Atama, order you idiots to rid this village of that spirit!" He barked orders at his underlings.

Though his underlings in reality were nothing but mere farmers trying to get by.

"Understood!" They shouted in unison, as they left to complete their duty.

Soon, they'd surround the old lady's house with pitchforks and torches in hand.

"Oi granny! How about you let big brother see what you have in there!" A suspiciously Chinese farmer called out to the woman who sat on her porch.

He'd get no response as the old lady would only stare at them, very menacingly.

A foreboding feeling ran through the crowd as the old lady they were supposed to ignore sat there in silence.

"Do we… Go in there?" One of the farmers whispered as sweat appeared on his forehead from the tense standoff.

"Are you dense? Let the other guys go in first so we don't die." Another responded, gripping his hoe harder as he stared at the old lady.

The old lady suddenly looked up and spoke,

"Leave! My daughter is currently bedding with her new fiance!" The old lady bellowed out to the utter shock of the farmers.

'Seriously?' The farmers were not as gullible as the granny would've hoped, as the farmers surged with courage to move forth.

"Move! we have business in there." The farmers aggressively walked forward and shoved the woman to the side.

Before he could open the door, someone beat him to it.

"Thank you! I'm heading out now!" 

The door opened to reveal a petite white-haired woman with long ears, wearing a very much foreign attire all the while wielding a staff in her hand.

"Who are you!" Momentarily surprised by her appearance, one of them asked.

"What's going on here?" Frieren narrowed her eyes, as all the farmers stared at her.

"Where the hell was that crying coming from!" Another yelled out, as many other farmers started to get rowdy.

"I'm not sure what you're looking for, but I can assure you there is nothing here." Frieren tried to control the situation, but with the already doubtful farmers, they'd ignore her and barge their way into the house, shoving her out of the way as well.

"Troublesome…" Frieren sighed, not catching a break even after her short break of mourning.

With a wave of her staff, the crowd that was about to stampede and ravage the poor woman's house began to levitate.

"W-What the!" 

"Help me!

"I'm flying!"

They were launched out the entrance of the building as most of them would hit the ground rather hard, likely causing a few bruises here and there.

This caused a smokescreen of dust to kick up causing shouting and confusion amongst the rioters.

"Here, let's get you out of here." Frieren bent down to help the woman who'd been taking care of her during this whole ordeal.

"They'll come back…" The old woman struggled to stand up even with the support of Frieren.

"Don't worry, I'll deal with it." Frieren said, with a very determined expression.

They'd soon escape, leaving the band of ragtag thugs dazed.

"See… I told you it was a good idea if we let them go first!" A hoe-wielding farmer said, prior to the chaos that erupted ended as soon as it started.

"I don't get paid enough to deal with this…" The so-called dense farmer sighed as he watched the scuffle of people panicking in the dust.

"You're getting paid?"

"..."

"It's an expression!"