The next morning, the girl walked toward the old woman's village. Every step was filled with anxiety. She tightly clutched the hood covering her head.
"Will this be okay? Should I turn back? But I'm already halfway there?"
With each step, the girl took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to calm herself. She had been walking for almost two hours.
"Yes, I remember it being quite far. But it didn't seem this far last time? Did she walk all this way just to see me? My legs are already sore."
After walking a little further, the girl finally saw the village entrance.
"I want to go home." The girl smiled bitterly.
She exhaled and walked into the village. Although the village wasn't very large, it was well-guarded, with many merchants and adventurers coming and going.
The girl entered the village alongside the merchants to avoid arousing suspicion. The village was quite busy, with many residents milling about. Merchants were offering their wares, and several adventurers were stopping at the inn within the village.
Walking cautiously, the girl looked left and right. She didn't know where the old woman's house was.
"Should I ask?" She thought.
But she rejected that option and tried to find the old woman's house herself. The noise of the crowd and the glances in her direction made her uncomfortable. But she tried to suppress her fear and continued walking.
Walking through the alleys and looking at the houses left her quite confused. Just as she decided to ask someone, she saw something that looked familiar.
A basket with firewood inside. This house wasn't the only one with a basket like that. But somehow, her heart told her that it was the house she was looking for.
As she approached, the door of the house opened. An old woman came out. She was picking up some firewood.
At first, the girl was relieved because the old woman seemed fine. But suddenly, the old woman coughed so hard that she had to kneel down to endure the pain. Clutching her chest, the old woman tried to get up, but her coughing gradually subsided.
As she tried to stand, a pair of hands grasped her shoulders. With a gentle pat, the hand patted her back, comforting her and causing her to cough.
Once she had calmed down, the old woman looked at the hand that had helped her. She was surprised to see a familiar face.
"Oh my. You came here?" The old woman said in a surprised tone.
"Y-yes." The girl replied.
"Alone?"
The girl nodded. The old woman smiled kindly.
"Oh my, you must be tired from your journey, and you have to help me like this. Thank you."
"N-nothing."
"Oh yes, come on in. I have some snacks for you." The old woman invited the girl into her home.
Inside the modest home, the old woman lived alone. Her husband had passed away, and her son worked in the royal capital.
"Here, please eat and drink." The old woman said kindly.
The girl nodded, took some pastries, and took a sip of her warm tea.
"Oh yes, why are you here? Is something wrong?" The old woman asked in a worried tone.
The girl shook her head. "N-nothing."
"Th-that... Are y-you okay...?"
"?"
"That... because you didn't come... so... that..." The girl mumbled.
Even so, the old woman could understand what she was trying to say.
"Ah, you were worried?" The old woman said with a small laugh.
The girl, embarrassed, nodded.
"Sorry for worrying you. It's probably because I'm getting older, but for some reason I get tired more quickly, and this cough is bothering me too."
"Thank you for worrying about me." The old woman smiled.
The girl reached into her bag and took out some medicine she had brought for the old woman.
"T-this is for you. I hope it helps."
"Oh my, you went to the trouble of bringing it for me." The old woman accepted the medicine.
After explaining what it was for and how to take it, the girl excused herself and went home.
"If you'd like, you can stay here for the night."
"N-nothing. I'll be home before sunset."
"Okay then. Be safe on your way." The old woman waved her hand.
The girl bowed to her and left.
Just as evening had turned, the girl arrived home. Entering the house, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's not so bad after all." She murmured.
"Should I visit her again?"
"Yes, I guess that's fine. I need to ask how she's doing in case she still needs the medicine."
A week later, the girl returned to the village. Seeing the old woman's door closed, she hesitated whether to knock. Just as she was about to, someone called out to her from behind.
"You've come." It was the old woman.
"S-Sorry if I'm bothering you."
"No, no. You came at just the right time. I just finished with the meat vendor over there. I'll cook you some food. Come on in." The woman replied enthusiastically.
The girl followed her. Soon, the old woman served some food.
"Sorry, if it's just simple food."
"No. This is enough."
The aroma was delicious. She hadn't eaten food like this in a long time. The girl put a bite of the spiced meat into her mouth. Her eyes lit up with delight. She ate it with gusto. The old woman smiled at her.
"Does it taste good?"
"Yes. It's delicious."
"I wanted to thank you. Thanks to the medicine you gave me, my body is healthy again. I'm sorry if this is all I can give you."
"N-no. You don't need to thank me like that. And this food is delicious."
"I was going to your house tomorrow, but you came instead." The old woman smiled amused.
"Ah, by the way, my son will be home today. Yesterday I sent him a letter asking him to bring something from the capital to give to you."
Hearing this, the girl was startled. She panicked and immediately stood up. The old woman was shocked to see her.
"S-sorry, I-I have to go." The girl hurriedly left.
As the old woman tried to hold her, her foot accidentally tripped over the table. And just as she was about to fall, the old woman accidentally pulled the hood covering her head.
"Oh my. Sorry! Are you okay?" The old woman said in a panic.
But her panic was quickly silenced by something. Under the hood and the girl's long hair, she saw them. Ears with pointed earlobes. A pair of ears that didn't look like normal human ears.
The girl froze. Her eyes trembled. She quickly covered her head again. The old woman was silent for a moment. Neither of them spoke.
Amidst the silence, a knock was heard on the door. When the door opened, the girl quickly ran out.
"Sorry." She said before leaving the old woman's house.
A man opened the door, startled by the girl's presence.
"Mom, what's wrong?" The man asked.
"No... nothing." his mother replied weakly.
The girl ran quickly toward her house. Even though she fell repeatedly and was gasping for breath, she didn't stop.
By the time she reached her house, the girl was curled up in a ball. She was crying.