"You are thinking about it too much."
Calmly sitting across from Loik, Sontra fiddled with a core in his hand. Looking around, he realized the cores he had sorted the previous day had been moved somewhere. He wondered how long Loik had been there as he looked at the new, fairly tall stacks on the ground.
"...You think so?"
"Beasts are the very definition of unpredictable. One of them attacking a person, even on the outskirts, should not be attributed to anything other than misfortune."
"..."
"As for the incident yesterday, they might have acted that way because your men created too much of a ruckus. I heard you brought every single hunter into the forest at once."
Tossing the core in his hand, Sontra continued.
"Beasts, though limited, do have intelligence. They must have seen you as a significant threat, big enough for them to use that intelligence to work together. As for the wild animals, it's not strange for them to be influenced by Beasts."
Loik wanted to say something. He had been there for both incidents and had a feeling it wasn't that simple. However, he could make sense of what Sontra was saying. He had spent most of his life around Beasts and knew their chaotic nature well.
"But what about the music?"
"...Did the Elder say anything?" Sontra asked after a short silence.
"He said... it was nothing to be concerned about," Loik said unconvincingly.
"If it were a big deal, the Elder would have said something. At least to you, don't you think?"
The concern in Loik's eyes slowly faded, replaced by his usual carefree look. A burden of guilt left him as a grin returned to his face.
"You are right. We didn't even enter the forbidden area, let alone do anything to anger the Spirit."
"That's true."
"Alright, let's finish this job today!" Loik exclaimed in high spirits as he stood up.
Sontra, still sitting, found it interesting how easily Loik's mood changed. As he was about to push himself off the ground, he saw Loik extending a hand toward him. A little taken aback, he stared at the scar-filled hand for a moment.
It wasn't until Loik called out to him awkwardly that he snapped back to reality and took the offered hand.
"I heard that someone from the Jurin Family came to town. You are very fortunate."
"...?"
"You must have met him already. I heard he is helping your son."
"Ah, you mean Haulz?" Sontra asked curiously.
He had only just learned that Jurin was Haulz's family name.
"Is that his name? I haven't met him yet. But yeah, if he's the fellow with green eyes."
"Yes, his eyes are green. But, the Jurin Family? It's my first time hearing of them."
"They're a small noble family from the north. Sometimes, they do internships with the doctor's family. The last time was... five years ago, if I'm not mistaken."
This matched what Sontra understood.
"Why the doctor's family?"
Loik looked at Sontra, who visibly had many questions. He was a little surprised that Sontra seemed to know nothing about the person helping his son. He didn't know if Sontra hadn't been told or simply hadn't asked. But he felt responsible for sharing what he knew.
"Our history goes far back; some even say that the founder of this town was of Jurin bloodline. As for the doctor, I heard his ancestor was a great friend of the founder."
"Both of them sought the path of medicine," Loik continued.
"...I was not aware. When you said they were from the north, where exactly do you mean?"
"Where?" Loik said, his gaze drifting to the side. "If I remember correctly, it was something like Baylikya? Or was it Balwilya..."
"Baylilya City?"
"Ah, that's the one."
"That is quite far from here."
"Why sweat it? What's important is that they are really smart, so they might be able to cure your son. I'm just glad that Haulz guy is here."
They then proceeded to focus on their work. Sontra, who had been left to do all the work the previous day, had visibly improved at sorting. Unlike before, he was only slightly slower than Loik.
By the afternoon, the tall mountains of cores had almost flattened, standing only knee-high. The two watched as townsfolk carried the sorted cores away on carts, transporting them elsewhere.
"Sontra, I'm hungry."
"Should we stop here?"
"Hm, I want to finish this today... Why don't we grab some food from my house first? You can take your portion of the Beast we hunted, too."
Sontra had just remembered the Beast meat. While he was still reluctant to accept it, he didn't have a valid reason to refuse. Agreeing to go to Loik's house, they left the Hunter Plaza, heading down a path to the south.
Sontra was puzzled, seeing Loik walk in the opposite direction from the Elder's house in the north. However, his question was answered when they arrived in front of a plain house only a minute's walk from the plaza.
"You live here?"
"Why? Did you think I was living with the Elder?"
"..."
"The east side is where the hunters stay. And I am a hunter, am I not?"
Opening the unlocked door, Loik casually strode in. His house was humble, with no decorations or furniture; only the echoes of their steps and voices filled the space. Loik brought Sontra to the back of the house, where skinned animals hung upside down.
In each corner of the room, a red stone, each as large as a human head, had been placed. They continuously emitted waves of heat, causing the air around them to shimmer. At the far end of the room hung the largest carcass. Its legs were tied to the ceiling, yet its severed neck nearly touched the ground.
"This one is good."
Pulling out a short knife embedded in one of the carcasses, Loik sliced off a finger-thick piece of meat and handed it to Sontra. Taking another for himself, he chewed on it, praising what a good catch it was.
"Make yourself at home. Eat anything you want."
Loik then approached the Beast's carcass. Lying beside it was a glaive with a blade as thick as an adult's torso. Its wooden handle looked as if it had been sliced short. Picking up the glaive, he measured where to make his cut. Drawing a faint line with the blade, Loik's hand slowly became wrapped in a yellow hue.
"Just one of the legs is fine," Sontra said calmly.
"Huh? Why? No need to be shy; we hunted this together, didn't we?"
"It's not that. I can't store anything larger."
"Ah, now that you mention it."
Loik remembered that Sontra was living in someone else's house and obviously couldn't do as he pleased. It would take up too much space at Marvin's and would be ill-mannered.
Understanding Sontra's meaning, Loik had no reason to argue. Following his friend's wish, he cleanly cut off one leg. The two chattered as Loik chomped down on the Beast meat. After half an hour, they finished their break. Leaving with the neatly parchment-wrapped meat, they headed back to the plaza, determined to finish the work.
"Hm?"
Arriving at the plaza, they found that all the sorted cores had been moved. All that remained was the small mound of unsorted cores. Even Loik was surprised by how quickly the townsfolk had worked. Naturally, it might have been because most had no other tasks at the moment, especially with the forest acting strangely.
The plaza had gotten busy, with dozens of people setting up decorations and some even beginning to set up stalls. Laughter and loud noises filled the usually quiet space. However, what caught their attention was the appearance of a particular someone.
"A kid?"
Leaning against the pile of cores, a young boy held a white flute, repeating the same short, sharp notes as if still learning to play. Noticing the two adults approaching, he didn't run away. Instead, he ran eagerly toward them.
"Misters, will you listen to me play?" the kid asked with round, excited eyes.
"Sorry, kid, we're busy right now. Maybe another time?" Loik said without hesitation.
"Just a moment! It's something I learned, but no one wants to listen..."
"No, kid. Next time, alright?" Loik said firmly.
The kid was disappointed. He looked as if he might cry, which made Loik waver. Sontra, standing to the side, watched the two in silence. Every now and then, he glanced at the beautiful flute in the kid's hand.
"Go on. We can spare a few minutes," Sontra said calmly.
Loik finally gave in. Perhaps not wanting to deal with the guilt of making a child cry, he just sighed.
"Just for a moment, alright?"
"I promise!" the kid said excitedly.
He then brought the flute to his mouth, and though it was extremely subtle, both men noticed a strange light flicker in the kid's eyes. Loik unconsciously moved, reaching out for the child, but he was a heartbeat too slow.
FWEEEEE.
A screeching, high-pitched noise struck their eardrums. The sounds of the plaza were muffled, overpowered by the flute's blast. Loik's outstretched hand finally reached the flute, but suddenly, everything went black.
The screaming sound from the flute vanished as he lost his vision. Loik instinctively pulled out his sword and jumped back. The darkness lasted less than a second. His vision returned, but he found himself somewhere different.
Still taken aback, he scanned his surroundings. He was still in the plaza. He saw the stalls being set up, the decorations, and all the surrounding houses. But everything was purple.
He hastily tried to calm his tense heart, knowing nothing good would come from panicking. Turning around, he saw Sontra, who was calmly sweeping his gaze around, standing unmoved.
The sky, the houses, the piles of cores, and even Sontra, everything was tinged purple. He tried to call out to Sontra to confirm what was happening, but no sound came from his mouth.
His mouth was open, and he felt his throat vibrating, but no sound was produced. It was then he realized the town's music had also stopped. He moved toward his friend, who was still carrying the piece of meat on his shoulder. But before he could get too close, Sontra raised a hand, gesturing for him to stay back.
Calmly, Sontra pulled a dagger from his robe, his eyes fixated on the empty air in front of him.
A black fog slowly circulated around the dagger and his arm. With a silent roar, he suddenly leaned his whole body forward, stabbing the empty space.
The dagger flew in a straight line.
Ting.
Loik heard a sound. The dagger, which should have hit nothing, was stopped abruptly. Loik saw nothing in front of Sontra, yet the blade had struck something.
Crack.
Crack.
Starting from the dagger's tip, cracks appeared in the thin air. They spread out, forming a pattern strangely similar to a cobweb.
Shatter.
The air shattered after a few seconds. The purple plaza, like broken glass, splintered into countless pieces. Through the gaps between the shattering fragments, they could see the 'real' plaza, brimming with color and people.
"Higher! Who is going to see that? A dwarf?"
"Where are the other parts? How can I work with no tools?"
"HAHAHA, he lost an arm?!"
Noise began to seep in slowly. The purple world vanished with each heartbeat, silently disappearing as if it had never existed.
Shortly, everything returned to normal. The town's music returned along with the noisy plaza. They found themselves back amongst the vibrant scene under the bright, blue sky.
In front of them, the kid was shaking, his face dumbfounded.
"No..."
He then shot off into the distance, running away frantically from the two men.
"Wait!"
Loik chased after the child without delay. Naturally, as an Arcanist, he caught up in no time, lifting the boy by the back of his collar like a cat carrying its young.
"H-help! Somebody help!"
Sontra, however, was paying attention to something else. Right below his feet, the beautifully crafted flute was silently crumbling into dust.