"Welcome, everyone!"
"Please relax and take your time today!"
As soon as Ren knocked on the wooden cabin door nestled in a corner of the forest, two golden-haired girls welcomed them. Like their older sister Iris, they were lovely sisters who strongly inherited their mother's features. The thirteen-year-old third daughter jumped into Iris's arms for a hug, and the seventeen-year-old second daughter smiled gently at Ren and the others.
Iris, holding her sister, smiled back kindly.
"I'm home, Aina, Aisa. And Father and Mother, too."
The second daughter was Aina Morino, seventeen. The third daughter was Aisa Morino, thirteen, nicknamed Aisia.
Their mother, the elven beauty (though "beautiful girl" was a more fitting impression)—Anna—welcomed her daughters, Ren, and Furi gently.
"Welcome. What brings you all here today?"
"I came to draw a picture of the lake. I want to finalize the design soon."
"I'm here to accompany Iris-chan."
Iris, who had become the person responsible for the lake's design, seemed motivated despite saying, "It's a great responsibility," and had brought drawing supplies and a lunch box. She was prepared to stay all day if she couldn't get a good drawing done.
Furi, on the other hand, had used "accompanying" as an excuse and apparently planned to take a nap by the lake. Well, even just sleeping nearby would keep Iris from feeling lonely, and it would be easy to handle anything that might happen.
"I was hoping to play with Aina and Aisia."
"Really!?"
Aina and Aisia's eyes instantly sparkled.
From the first time they met, Ren and the others had been adored by the two sisters. Ren, in particular, perhaps because of her similar skin color, was asked for conversations and walks in the forest every time they visited.
She usually had some errand to run when she came here, so she would only spend a little time with them and then vaguely say, "Maybe next time." She thought now, with her newfound free time, was the chance to fulfill that promise.
Anna smiled and nodded at this.
"I'm sorry, Ren-san, for my daughters."
"No, not at all. If anything, I hope I'm not bothering you by showing up suddenly?"
"You're not bothering us at all!"
"You're going to play with us a lot today, right?"
"Yeah. I plan to stay here at least until Iris finishes her drawing."
"Then you should stay for dinner too!"
They felt younger than their actual age, just like Iris. Ren, who had her arms taken by the sisters on both sides, felt like she was dealing with children around the upper grades of elementary school.
Of course, their bodies were age-appropriate, but even receiving their soft touch, she had no reacting organs.
Seeing this, Iris puffed out her cheeks slightly.
"You two? Are you saying my drawing won't get finished?"
"Now, now, Iris-chan. It's a day off, so let's take it easy, okay?" Furi soothed her, and the crisis was averted. It seemed even the usually polite Iris showed a different expression when dealing with her younger sisters.
Ren looked at the girls again.
"So, what should we do?"
"Hunting!"
Both voices gave the same answer.
--------------------
Hunting is, in a sense, a more steady job than fishing. You can't just cast a line and bait and wait. You have to walk the forest, look for signs and traces, pinpoint the prey's location, and approach quietly. Then, when you get the chance, you must take it down without hesitation. It requires intuition and experience and is more physically demanding than one might think.
However, for girls who grew up in the forest, hunting felt like a casual walk. Aina and Aisia, armed with knives and bows and arrows in clothes that allowed easy movement, walked the forest floor with a seamless stride, guiding Ren. They seemed to step casually, yet their footsteps were minimal, and they avoided obstacles as if they could see the ground beneath their feet.
"It's pretty hard if it's a big animal, but rabbits are easy," Aisa explained.
"Yeah. They're surprisingly friendly and sometimes come right up to you," Aina added.
"Oh, is that right?"
Ren nodded, telling herself, I'll take that with a grain of salt. The "easy" a hunter speaks of is likely "pretty hard" when applied to an ordinary person.
In fact, just walking through the forest trying not to make a sound was a struggle. Although she had some experience with silent movement in the dungeon, the required technique was completely different from walking on a stone floor. After struggling for a while, she gave up, realizing it was impossible.
"Sorry, you two. Could you stop for just a moment?"
Taking a short break, Ren operated her Status Window. She decided to use the Skill Points she had saved. The skill she decided to acquire was one she had been contemplating: Floating Movement. This skill, which appeared once her wings reached a certain size, literally allowed her to move while floating.
When she acquired it and focused her mind, her body gently lifted, and she could glide through the air. Although she couldn't move very fast, she could adjust her height.
"Oh, this is fun!"
"Ah, Ren-oneechan, that's cheating!"
"I don't think even Mother can float like that."
"Really?"
"Apparently, it's hard to move slowly," Aina replied.
It seemed the Wind Spirits were impatient.
"Me too! I want to fly too!" Aisa cried.
"Alright. If you hold onto me, I think I can carry one person."
"...Um, Ren-san. If Aisia is satisfied, I'd like to try flying too."
Aina, shyly tugging at Ren's clothes, was genuinely incredibly cute.
--------------------
And then.
"Drain Bolt."
When a wild rabbit, hit by the magic arrow, fell with a soft peep, the girls cheered.
"To take down a rabbit from a distance without any external wounds...!"
"Ren-oneechan is amazing!"
The low-powered magic, which directly steals life force, proved useful in an unexpected situation. Aina and Aisia quickly approached the unharmed, lifeless prey and efficiently began the process of draining the blood. There was no trace of "Poor bunny!" in their expressions; they were the calm and collected faces of hunters.
"The fewer the wounds, the easier it is to use the meat and the fur, and the higher the price we can sell them for."
"Ren-oneechan, let's hunt wolves and deer too!"
"No, I'm afraid I don't think I can take down a large animal with one shot."
When Ren replied, the two girls looked disappointed.
"But if Ren-san is here, we might be able to hunt with fewer moves."
"Maybe even I can take down a wolf without poison!"
The half-elf girls were incredibly resilient, to say the least.
After taking down several more small animals and storing them in Ren's storage, they stopped at a good place to eat their lunch. Ren's was homemade by Furi and Iris; the sisters' was made by Anna.
They exchanged a little food, and it was immediately clear that Anna's cooking skills were on a level that the younger generation couldn't yet match. That said, Furi and the others were also skilled enough, and the familiar taste of their food was comforting.
As Ren smiled unconsciously, Aina quietly murmured.
"Maybe I should practice cooking more..."
In the end, all three were treated to dinner that evening. The cooking, including the rabbit meat freshly preserved in storage, was exquisite. Ren found herself eating more than usual and was watched with amused smiles by the women (though Furi seemed to harbor a slight competitive spirit).
Anna, still smiling, looked at Ren with clear eyes.
"It looks like you would have no problem settling down in this house, Ren-san."
Iris and her father erupted into a loud fit of coughing.
============
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