The Mountain Elf brought along by Urza was named Teteto.
Lineage-wise, she appeared to be a relative of Hiterto, one of Ya’s subordinates. Teteto’s clan had been forced to leave their ancestral home due to the same food shortages Ya’s group had faced, and they had been wandering ever since. It was only recently that they encountered Urza’s group and finally secured a place of peace.
Having heard stories about Ya and the others, Teteto decided to visit the Village of the Great Tree.
"I pushed my luck and asked Urza-sama to let me accompany her here," she said. "Please forgive my sudden intrusion. It is late, but I have brought a gift of greeting."
Teteto had collapsed from exhaustion earlier, but once she recovered, I formally accepted her introduction. She presented a small wooden box as a souvenir for her visit. Inside was a pendant.
"It is a secret treasure that my clan has protected and passed down for generations," she explained. "Please, I beg of you to accept it."
Heavy. It was exceptionally heavy. And I wasn't talking about physical weight; I meant the weight of her sentiment. This wasn't the kind of thing one simply handed over as a casual souvenir. Behind me, the village Mountain Elves were buzzing with excitement; it was clearly something of immense value.
"I’ve accepted the sentiment behind it, so please keep this," I told her.
Ah, she wouldn't take it back? I see. Well then...
"I’ll be counting on you to look after Urza. Consider this an advance payment for that task," I said, handing it back to her.
She accepted it. Thank goodness. Although, if she was going to get so teary-eyed with relief to have it back, she really shouldn't have offered it in the first place. Wait, was that not it? She was crying because she was happy I showed her such consideration?
...Let’s just move on.
Anyway, I officially left Teteto in the care of Ya and her team.
"Hm? What is it, Ya? Is there something in the village we shouldn't show Teteto?"
Was there anything like that? Ah, maybe the Herb Field. Lu mentioned there were some dangerous medicinal herbs growing there. It wasn't just a matter of not showing her; it was a matter of not letting her anywhere near them.
What else? What about the Teleportation Gate? We generally kept the existence of the gates in the village a secret from outsiders. While Teteto seemed trustworthy, she wasn't planning on settling here permanently, so it was probably better to keep it a secret. I agreed. As long as we didn't take her to the Dungeon where the gate was installed, we should be fine.
"The Multi-purpose Humanoid Mobile Heavy Equipment—the Artie Horse? No, you can show her those. We’ve already talked about lending some to Urza’s base. Besides, they’re so conspicuous I don't think we could hide them even if we tried."
With Urza staying in the village for a while, she was being hauled around everywhere by Hakuren and Zabuton. She had been here until spring, but since she would likely be heading out again soon, I suppose they wanted to make the most of her time.
Hakuren asked Urza to help with her classes, acting as a sort of teacher’s assistant. Her reputation among the children was excellent, and Hakuren was all smiles. Even Hiichiro was working hard to help Hakuren out. It was a heartwarming sight.
Zabuton, meanwhile, was busy having Urza model new outfits for adjustments. I caught a glimpse of her, and Urza looked quite gallant in her new knight's uniform. The GothLoli look hadn't been bad, but clothes that were easy to move in suited Urza's personality better.
Oops, Zabuton spotted me. She wanted me to model for her too? I didn't mind, but I drew the line at changing in the same room as Urza. She was at that age now. Even as a father, I had to be mindful of those boundaries. After all, I was striving to be the kind of father who wouldn't be hated by his daughter.
That night, the Mountain Elves and Teteto were nowhere to be found at dinner, so I went to check on them.
"Oh! Village Head! Look at this! When this part falls, it triggers this mechanism, and then this ball rolls over here..."
Teteto was completely absorbed in building dominoes with the Mountain Elves.
"Dinner? ...Ah!"
"Don't worry, we saved some for you. For all the Mountain Elves, too."
"As expected of the Village Head!"
"It wasn't me; the High Ogre Maids were the ones who set it aside. Make sure to thank them. Also, no staying up too late. That goes for mechanisms that make loud noises, too."
"Okaaay!"
They were certainly energetic with their responses.
The following evening, the Mountain Elves consulted me about Teteto’s return trip. Originally, Teteto had assumed she could just go back whenever Urza did. However, Urza was planning on an extended stay, and Teteto hadn't prepared for that. She could stay for maybe twenty days, but any longer and she’d worry about the clan she left behind. It wasn't that she doubted their ability to survive, but since they had just joined Urza’s faction, she was afraid they might cause trouble with the locals without her there to manage them.
Teteto needed to return to the city where Urza was based. While there were no direct airship flights from Village Five, one could get relatively close. From there, it would be a journey on foot... no, just as we did with Urza, I could just have her take a special airship flight from Village Five. She’d probably be bringing back plenty of supplies and gifts, anyway.
The problem was getting her from this village to Village Five. Since we were keeping the Teleportation Gate a secret from her, we couldn't use it.
"Carry her through the gate while she’s unconscious? No, let’s not be so rough. Putting her to sleep with magic is also out of the question."
Hmm. We could send her to Dryme's Nest via the Universal Ship or the village airship, but walking to Village Five from there would take too much time. It was also dangerous, given the monsters and magic beasts in the area.
Asking Hakuren or Lastismun to take her was also difficult. Hakuren wouldn't want to leave while Urza was here, and Lastismun was busy with the children. Asking Dose, Giral, or Raimeiren was likewise a tall order due to their status.
Then I realized Dryme was here. What if she rode on Dryme to Village Five?
"Eh? No? But she came here by riding with Lana-san, so surely she’s used to dragons?"
Apparently, it hadn't been a matter of being "used" to it. She had agreed to go with Urza and then found herself in a position where she couldn't refuse, forced to ride along. She had fainted twice during the trip.
And after seeing the fight between Lana-san, Dose, and Giral, followed by the mock battle between Hakuren and Graffalun, she had been traumatized even further. Even though they had been holding back quite a bit because they were near the village, it was still too much for her. So, having her ride Dryme to Village Five was definitely off the table.
...What now? Wait for Lana-san to come back? Lana-san could transport her using teleportation magic without her having to ride, but we had no idea when she would return. Urza didn't know either. Urza had planned on using an airship from Village Five for her own return trip.
We were in quite a bind, but the problem was solved when Beezel, who can use teleportation magic, happened to arrive.