"Oh, right, let's all put these on", Su'er suddenly remembered a very crucial thing. He took out two dark brown robes from his backpack and said.
"Eh? Can I not wear it?", Jibril said with a look of disgust, pinching the robe with two fingers.
"Obviously not", Su'er rolled his eyes. He handed the other, much larger robe to Think next to him. He was still worried and kept telling Jibril, "By the way, when you're inside, please walk on the ground - if you really can't, can you please float and move with just a little bit of distance from the ground?"
He looked at the tall Elf who put on the robe without saying anything. Think was okay. Although she was a bit too tall compared to other humans, it could still be explained. But Jibril's pair of wings...
To be honest, after putting on the robe, she looked like a triangular kite that was being held up...
"...Could the great Lord Jibril please shrink your wings a little, uh, and put them behind you or something?", Su'er gestured back and forth with his hands in the air, pointing at the two corners that were sticking out after Jibril put on the robe.
It was impossible to let them wait outside for him. Su'er had mentioned this when they first arrived at the new settlement, but he was immediately denied by the Elf and Flügel. They even refused his later suggestion of using invisibility magic to follow him from the side. There was no room for discussion.
Instead, Su'er always felt that the more he tried to persuade them, the more these two guys wanted to appear in the settlement openly... They were naturally not afraid of anything.
The only one whose blood pressure would rise would be the human.
"Has Mr. Monkey thought about what kind of interesting scene will appear in a moment?", while watching the Flügel next to her mumbling something but still restraining her temper and landing on the ground, even the width of her robe was reduced, Think said with great interest.
As a theater enthusiast, Think quite liked dramatic scenes.
Thanks to Jibril's current form of not having recovered her full power, the size of her wings was much smaller than her full form. Otherwise, Su'er really didn't know how to help her cover it up.
"Of course I have... I can only hope that we won't be discovered", Su'er sighed for a long time. He looked down at the not-so-ordinary equipment he was wearing and thought for a moment. He also put on a robe for himself, "At least don't let anyone other than Riku discover us. Oh, right, can I ask the great Lord Nirvalen for a favor?"
"Mmmhmm? Say it?"
"Can you call me Su'er when we're inside?"
Just the thought of a certain woman calling him Mr. Monkey loudly in a crowd... just fantasizing about it made Su'er's scalp tingle. If that really happened, he would want to turn around and leave right now.
"Oh my~, so that's what it is?", Think deliberately dragged out her voice. Looking at Su'er's expression that was constantly changing between embarrassment and nervousness, Think finally nodded crisply, "Okay then - Su'er?"
"...Thank you", Su'er breathed a sigh of relief.
The Flügel next to them seemed to be snickering, but Su'er chose to pretend he didn't hear it.
Although he was a bit nervous because he was so close, Su'er unconsciously quickened his pace. The other two also had no intention of reminding him. In what felt like a blink of an eye, the three of them reached the end of the passage, where it was blocked by a wooden trap and a door.
The presence of living people. Through the not-so-tight cracks in the wood, Su'er could even see a faint orange firelight from inside. It was bright and dazzling, and it came with the warm air that passed through the cracks.
They didn't choose to intentionally soften their footsteps. Therefore, the arrival of the three of them immediately alerted the people who were on guard inside the door. With the sound from the device on his ear, Su'er heard the rustling sound from inside, and then it disappeared - they probably quietly crouched down on the door? And then they would slowly open the hinges on the door panel to check.
Su'er was very familiar with everything in the settlement. He was not angry at the silence inside. Instead, he was even more relieved.
Even though the frequency of going out to collect food and other supplies had been greatly reduced, everyone's vigilance was still there, which was great.
Riku had not let them relax... Hmm, he would have to observe the other defense matters after they went in.
After Think and Jibril had taken their positions, Su'er took a few more steps forward. He stopped right at the edge of the trap. He didn't play any tricks that could easily cause friendly fire. He directly took off his hood and said in a low voice.
"It's me."
The entrance seemed to have exploded. There was a commotion and loud shouts. Su'er couldn't even hear who it was because it was too chaotic.
It didn't take long for the wooden wall to be opened from the inside. The dazzling light made Su'er squint his eyes slightly. There were already a lot of people gathered there, crowding together. The people standing in the back who couldn't see kept jumping up and down, wanting to see what was outside the door.
"Brother Su'er!"
"Su'er!"
"It's really Su'er!!"
"Quick, quick, go notify Riku!"
"And Couronne!"
"Oh, right! And Couronne!"
"Don't just stand there, hurry up and move this stuff out of the way!!"
"Hurry, hurry!!!"
"..."
The noisy shouts mixed together and echoed in this narrow passage. The trap that was blocking the door was temporarily closed, and the barricade was also moved from the inside. Then Su'er was submerged by the crowd.
At first, there were only a few people who were on guard at the door and the people who were resting in the open area far from the door. However, it didn't take long for more and more people to come after hearing the news. In the end, the settlement was as lively as a festival. Su'er wasn't even walking into the settlement with his own feet, but he was being carried in by these enthusiastic people.
'You guys are something else!', even Su'er himself felt a bit speechless. Even though the equipment he was wearing at the moment was specially treated by Think to reduce a lot of weight, it was still considered heavy. However, the enthusiastic people in the settlement carried him in with their own hands.
Although he was in a state of disarray, he was very happy.
This feeling of not being forgotten even after disappearing for more than two years and even getting such a warm welcome made Su'er feel as if his heart was filled with a warm current. The pain and torment he had endured were all worth it for these smiles and affection.
He felt relieved. Even the shadow in his heart seemed to have been swept away.