Chapter 4-17 : Rice And Freedom (part 1)

We’re back to Mylia and Chloe.

Currently, it was noon at the hidden village. Mylia and Chloe were having a banquet with the villagers at the village square.

While eating, Mylia asked the village chief something she had on her mind.

「By the way, Village Chief-san, what’s the name of this village?」(Mylia)

「This village doesn’t have a name. We gathered here just to hide from Baron Hansen, after all.」(Popo)

「Mylia, you will be governing this region, so why don’t you name it yourself?」(Chloe)

「Eh? Can I?」(Mylia)

Mylia looked at the village chief and asked.

「Yes, of course. Everyone will be happy if you name our village.」(Popo)

「Then… Hmm… How about ‘Griffon Village’?」(Mylia)

「I think it’s a good name! It’s simple and easy to remember.」(Chloe)

「Griffon Village… I see. What a perfect name for our village.」(Popo)

After muttering to himself, the village chief stood up and raised his cup.

「Everyone, from now on, this village will be called “Griffon Village”!」(Popo)

「「OOOUUUー!!!」」(villagers)

The villagers then replied to the village chief by raising their cups and shouting. They seemed to like the name.

「Thank you for a wonderful name, Mylia-sama. By the way, are you enjoying the food?」(Popo)

「Umm, honestly, the food is good, but it’s not salty enough for my liking.」(Mylia)

「As I thought… I’m terribly sorry for that, but we’re currently short on salt… It’s not easy to get, especially when you live in a hidden village like this.」(Popo)

「I see. Then you may have these!」(Mylia)

Saying that, Mylia took out some chunks of rock salt from her magic bag and handed them to the village chief.

「W, Whoaaa!! I’ve never seen this much rock salt before! Are you sure you want to give it to us?」(Popo)

「Yup. I still have a lot in my magic bag, so don’t worry about it.」(Mylia)

「Thank you, Mylia-sama! Thank you!」(Popo)

「Whoa! We got rock salt!」
「We don’t have to worry about the stock of salt for a while!」
「Our food will be tastier for sure!」

「「All hail, Mylia-sama!!!」」(villagers)

The villagers were also happy that Mylia donated rock salt. They were cheering while waving their hands joyfully.

「Ahaha… You’re welcome, you’re welcome~」(Mylia)

「Fufu.」(Chloe)

While Mylia was awkwardly bowing to the villagers, Chloe put her hand on her mouth and giggled. She was happy that Mylia was liked by the villagers.

（Rock salt is good but I wonder if I can produce salt from the sea… And speaking of the sea, I want to eat more variety of fish dishes…）

In the royal capital, most of the fish dishes were either steamed or sautéed. Mylia had never seen any raw fish dishes in this world.

（Ahh~ I want to eat sushi~ Maguro don (tuna rice bowl) is not bad either. Aa, in the first place, does tuna exist in this world?）

While imagining herself eating sushi and a tuna rice bowl, Mylia kept eating the food that was served by the villagers.

（I think I’ll ask about fish dishes to a professional chef when I visit the Darelias Family’s mansion to see Jasmine onee-sama later.）

After eating and enjoying the banquet for a while, Chloe whispered to Mylia.

「Mylia, are you done eating? We’ve been in this village for a few hours, so I think it’s time to go.」(Chloe)

「Ah, you’re right. I’m kinda worried about Leaf.」(Mylia)

After that, Mylia turned to the village chief who was drinking next to her.

「Village Chief-san, I’m sorry, but it’s time for us to go.」(Mylia)

「I see. That’s too bad. I wanted you to stay longer, but I can’t waste any more of your time.」(Popo)

The village chief looked somewhat sad, but he stood up and looked at the villagers.

Mylia and Chloe also stood up, ready to say goodbye to everyone.

「Everyone! Mylia-sama and Chloe-sama are going home. Let’s give them a proper sendoff!」(Popo)

The villagers then put their glasses and plates down and stood up.

「Village Chief-san, everyone, thank you for welcoming us, and thank you for the banquet. I’m leaving for now, but I will be back in the near future to move the entire village to a safer place.」(Mylia)

「Thank you, Mylia-sama, Chloe-sama.」(Popo)

After saying goodbye to everyone, Mylia popped her radish sprout out of her head and started to concentrate her magical power to use teleportation magic.

「Onee-chan, your hand, please~」(Mylia)

「Alright.」(Chloe)

However, before she could grab Chloe’s hand, Hypnus approached Chloe and poked her shoulder with his beak.

「Hm? What’s wrong? …Umm, don’t tell me… You want to go with me?」(Chloe)

「Kuu~!」(Hypnus)

Hypnus replied to Chloe with a nod and glanced up at her with puppy eyes.

It seemed that he didn’t want to be separated from her.

「Uhh… What should I do, Mylia?」(Chloe)

「Well, I think we can bring him along for now.」(Mylia)

「Alright then. I think I will ride him.」(Chloe)

「I will fly with magic and take the lead then.」(Mylia)

Mylia and Chloe nodded to each other.

Chloe then hopped onto Hypnus’ back, while Mylia pulled back her radish sprout and prepared to use Levitation Magic.

They then started floating in the air.

「Goodbye everyone~!」(Mylia)

「Until we meet again!」(Chloe)

「Mylia-sama, Chloe-sama, we will be waiting for your return. Please be careful on your way home.」(Popo)

The villagers were waving their hands to Mylia and Chloe as they flew higher in the air, leaving Griffon Village.

With Mylia on the lead, Mylia, Chloe, and Hypnus were heading to Titania’s house.

「Onee-chan, does your butt hurt?」(Mylia)

While flying with magic, Mylia glanced at Chloe who was riding Hypnus next to her.

「Not at all. His feathers are soft. It’s like sitting on a sofa. Moreover, he made an air cushion with magic for me. Look.」(Chloe)

Chloe moved her leg a little to show Mylia the magic air cushion Hypnus made.

She indeed looked like floating a few inches from Hypnus’ back.

Seeing Mylia looking at his magic air cushion, Hypnus smirked at her, as if saying, “Amazing, isn’t it?”

「I see. I don’t think Hypnus will let you fall off, but I will cast defensive spells on you just in case.」(Mylia)

Mylia stretched her hand toward Chloe and cast her Anti-Magic Burst and another defensive spell that can absorb shock.

（Alright, this will do.）

Mylia then nodded in satisfaction and moved her gaze to the trees below. She then remembered that she had to fix the pond before going back.

「Aa! Onee-chan, the pond! I have to clean up the mess.」(Mylia)

「Ah, you’re right. Alright, let’s go to the pond then. Hypnus.」(Chloe)

「Kuu~!」(Hypnus)

The three of them then headed for the pond where they met Hypnus for the first time.

「Ugh… How terrible…」(Mylia)

The pond and the surrounding area were in an awful state because Mylia’s Anti-Burst Magic was so destructive.

「Mylia, can you fix it?」(Chloe)

「Of course. Please wait a minute.」(Mylia)

Mylia started cleaning up the place. She used earth magic to fix the surrounding ground and water magic to clean the water and fill up the pond.

She also used Recovery Magic to fix the broken trees and flowers that were growing around the pond.

「Phew~ It looks better now. At least the animals in this area still can use this pond.」(Mylia)

「Well done, Mylia!」(Chloe)

Chloe praised Mylia and stroked her head.

「Hehe~ Well then, shall we move on?」(Mylia)

「Alright, let’s go.」(Chloe)

Chloe, Mylia, and Hypnus then continued heading for Titania’s house.