Most of the villagers who lived here had evacuated to Acid’s town. Only the village chief and a few men remained in a village about 20 minutes away, occasionally coming by to check on this place.

“Dada, could you bring the villagers here?”

They could have gone themselves, but sending the large-bodied Kanou and Mika would likely only frighten them further. Dada could fly straight there, covering the 20-minute walking distance in less than 10 minutes.

He’d probably return in about half an hour, so they decided to eat their lunches while waiting.

“Kanou-kun, did you bring lunch?”

Kanou patted his pockets and pulled out a few cereal bars.

“Ah, this is my lunch.”

Mika gave him a dumbfounded look, though she figured this might just be how young people ate these days. Since he didn’t have anything to drink, she let him have some from Gatt’s magical water bottle.

“Water… amazing! It’s magic!”

Mika, already used to it, pulled out her bento box—packed with yesterday’s leftovers—and began eating without hesitation.

“Um… ma’am, do you come here every day?”

“No, I’m here for work at the supermarket. Ah, keep that a secret, okay?”

So, only twice a week.

When Mika said that, Kanou begged her to take him along.

“That’s impossible.”

Her reply left no room for negotiation.

“Kanou-kun, you have school on weekdays, and your first job in this world isn’t adventuring—it’s fixing what was broken in this village.”

He had no retort to that. As Kanou slumped dejectedly, the villagers cautiously approached.

“We heard you subdued the orcs…”

The village chief was a fairy woman with translucent, rainbow-colored wings. Her hair shimmered just as beautifully. Though her radiant hair and wings drew attention, a closer look revealed her round, sparkling eyes and warm, grandmotherly face.

Aside from the chief, there were two birdfolk men and one lizardman.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Mika, the ogre. This village’s chief, Lili. Thank you.”

With that, she stepped forward and bowed deeply. Mika nudged Kanou to bow alongside her.

“This boy isn’t an orc—he’s a companion from my world. We caused trouble for your village. We’re sorry.”

“…Sorry.”

“No, as long as you don’t cause any more destruction, it’s fine. We’re grateful to the Annihilating Poison Mist.”

“…Annihilating Poison Mist?”

Kanou muttered under his breath.

This time, Dada, Gatt, and Zurah flushed red and looked down in shame.

Why hadn’t they settled on a more reasonable party name sooner?

It was too late now…