As she walked toward the village, Mika tried to recall the description of orcs from the monster encyclopedia she had seen before.

–

Orc

A massive creature covered in thick fat. Possesses great strength but is generally slow-moving.

Sometimes appears with a bare upper body. When charging in a low stance, its speed increases, making it dangerous.

Some theories suggest they are an evolved form of ogres, but due to significant differences in physique and movement, the prevailing belief is that they are a separate species.

A rare monster—the most recent recorded sighting was over 100 years ago.

–

“Does an orc… look like me?”

“Based on the report we saw this time… If I had to compare, I’d say the height is about the same. Unlike older records, this one was wearing clothes. Beyond that, we don’t know much. Everyone was too busy fleeing in terror.”

“You have the translation magic tool ready, right?”

“Yes, I always carry it. If the orc turns out to be the same species as Mika, we might be able to communicate.”

If it wasn’t a human but a monster or animal around Mika’s size… that could be dangerous.

I wonder if bug spray would work. Well, no choice but to try.

With those thoughts in mind, she kept walking.

After about two hours, they arrived at the now-empty village, its residents having evacuated.

It was a small village, home to around 50 people—mostly fairies and birdfolk, with one lizardman family.

There were no surrounding walls, and the houses blended naturally into the environment, built either atop trees or dug into the ground. Each one was simple yet charming.

Dada flew off Mika’s shoulder to check the higher branches for any remaining villagers.

Looking closely, Mika noticed that several of the lower houses had been brutally smashed open, their walls torn apart.

Glancing down, she saw what had once been farmland trampled under large boot prints.

“This must be the culprit’s footprints!… Not that I can really analyze them. They just look like normal sneaker prints—just really big.”

Compared to Mika’s 23 cm shoes, the prints were a full size larger in both length and width. At a glance, they looked like a giant’s footprints, but in reality, the difference was only about 10 cm—just an average man’s shoe size. At least it wasn’t an animal.

“Seeing them side by side, the size difference is pretty funny.”

For no particular reason, she placed her own foot next to the large print and snapped a photo with her phone. The visual contrast amused her—it definitely wasn’t for evidence preservation or anything.

As Mika leisurely inspected the scene, Gatt called out to her.

“Mika! Isn’t this a Door?”

Gatt stood before an ancient-looking tree, its trunk hollowed out at the base, with a door set into it at about chest height for Mika. Someone must have used it as a house or storage.

In front of the door were even more of those large footprints.

Curious, Mika inserted her green-ribboned key and turned it. With a click, the door opened, revealing the familiar sight of Himawari Mart’s Warehouse No. 4.

“It’s small, but yeah—this is a Door.”

After confirming, she closed it again. Since it wasn’t recorded in the Guild’s logs, this Door must have been unknown until now.

“So the orc must be coming from here.”

“Most likely.”

Not knowing who—or what—might appear, they decided to hide and keep watch. The four of them concealed themselves in the shadow of a nearby tree.

Just as they were growing tired of whispering, the door finally opened.

Out crawled a figure on its knees—easily twice Mika’s size. Definitely human.

Messy hair, round glasses, faded jeans, and a checkered shirt. He probably weighed over 100 kg, struggling just to squeeze through the Door.

“Heh… hehehe. Today’s the day I catch my angel-chan. Ahh, my angel-chan!”

Grinning to himself, he stood up, holding a round birdcage.

The moment Mika saw his face, she couldn’t help but leap out from hiding.

“Kanou-kun?! What are you doing here?!”

“Huh?… Who’re you, lady? …Wait, huh? No way—the supermarket lady?!”

The orc terrorizing the village turned out to be a customer Mika knew well—from Himawari Mart.