Paul and Zenith had gone out on a trip. They said they would try to come back within a day, and would not leave Shirou and Rudeus alone at home for too long. But in this world, without convenient transportation like trains and planes, long trips are full of uncertain events.
No matter how much you plan and prepare, unexpected things can still happen along the way, causing the trip to take longer.
So from the beginning, Shirou had decided to take care of his family as much as possible during these days, especially his younger brother Rudeus, who still keeps a little distance from him.
Of course, because Rudeus was resisting him, he had locked himself in his room in the attic.
Shirou could only ask Lilia to take more care of Rudeus, making sure to send food and water on time.
He himself had to take on Paul's job, patrolling Buiena Village every day to make sure there were no new monsters in or around the forest.
After packing his things, Shirou put on his long sword and prepared to go out.
Before leaving, he took a special look towards the attic, and found that there was no sound coming from there. Rudeus was not staring at him from the attic window as he usually did.
So he quietly shook his head, didn't pay too much attention, and went out.
When he arrived at Buiena Village, the villagers were as friendly as ever. When they saw Shirou come, they smiled and greeted him.
"Shirou, are you free to rest today?"
When he passed Mrs. Somar's house, the beautiful single woman winked at him. Her passionate attitude made Shirou feel a little overwhelmed.
"Uh, I still have to patrol, let's talk about it next time."
"Oh, when is next time?"
"Next time is when I'm free next time. Goodbye!"
Shirou was afraid of being bothered by Mrs. Somar, and ran away in a hurry.
He passed the open space in Buiena Village, walked through the landmark tree around the village, and came to the tower around the forest.
Before he went in, he suddenly saw a young child squatting outside the tower. The child seemed to be waiting for someone, and was squatting on the ground counting bugs.
The moment Shirou arrived, a look of panic appeared on the girl's face. She seemed to be very afraid of strangers, and shrank back as Shirou approached.
"..."
Faced with the girl's panic, Shirou couldn't help but show a slightly strange look. After all, he thought he didn't look like a bad person.
Just then, he looked at the girl closely, and found that she had very delicate features, a very neutral look, and short green hair.
"Green hair... are you Laws's daughter?"
"You know... Dad?"
When she heard Shirou mention Laws's name, the girl finally stopped feeling scared. A look of surprise appeared on her face when she faced Shirou.
Before Shirou could answer, the narrow door above the tower was opened, and the blonde half-elf Laws greeted him with a smile, "Yo, Shirou, you're here!"
"Yeah." Shirou nodded to Laws's words. Then he asked curiously, "Is this child your daughter?"
"Yes, she is my daughter Sylphiette, isn't she cute? Shirou, she can be your wife in the future!"
"Don't tease me."
Shirou shook his head, knowing that Laws was just joking.
Besides, Sylphy is only three years old now, the same age as his younger brother Rudeus, so it's impossible to talk about that kind of thing so early.
Before walking up the tower, he noticed that Sylphy was staring at him, so he hesitated and searched in his pocket.
Because the usual training was too hard, Shirou often carried some dried sweet potatoes or dried fruit that he made himself, to replenish some energy when his body reached its limit.
So he took out the dried fruit and handed it to the little girl: "Sylphy, I've received a lot of help from your Dad, so here's something for you."
"C-can I?"
"Of course."
Seeing the smile on Shirou's face, Sylphy took the dried fruit hesitantly and took a small bite.
"So... so good!"
"Hehe, that's good, but don't eat it all at once. If you eat it all today, you won't have any tomorrow. It's better to keep things that make you happy for as long as possible."
"..."
Sylphy obviously didn't understand Shirou's words. The girl just nodded as if she understood, and happily nibbled on the dried fruit.
Shirou smiled when he saw this, and shook his head and said, "Never mind, if you want to eat it all today, it's okay. If we have a chance to meet in the future, I'll still share it with you."
"Okay, thank you, big brother."
Sylphy thanked him.
But that was not why Shirou came.
So he quietly shook his head, and then stepped into the tower.
"You don't really have feelings for my daughter, do you!"
As soon as he entered the room at the top of the tower, Laws spoke in a strange tone.
"What are you thinking? I'm just trying to repay you for taking care of me all this time."
Shirou waved his hand, telling Laws not to have strange misunderstandings.
In fact, when he saw Sylphy just now, he inexplicably thought of his former sister Miyu. Maybe it was because he liked the father he liked the child, or maybe it was just that he missed his sister, that he chose to take care of her so much.
Of course, Laws knew that Shirou was not that kind of person, so he smiled calmly and started talking to Shirou about the forest and monsters as usual.
"Recently, the number of monsters in the forest hasn't changed, but the movement of the monsters has been unpredictable, as if they are planning some kind of migration."
"Migration? Has anything like this happened before?"
"This has never happened in known history, but similar situations have occurred in some of the past records of Buiena Village. Without exception, those cases were caused by the arrival of some powerful monster, which led to the collapse of the monster society."
"Collapse of monster society?"
"That's right, monsters, like us humans, have their own social systems. Powerful monsters rule over weak monsters, and weak monsters control even weaker monsters, just like the Asura Kingdom's system of dividing land."
Laws spoke calmly, "Generally speaking, this social structure is very stable, and basically there won't be too many changes. If the social structure of monsters changes, it means that some external force must have disrupted the original balance. The most likely possibility is that the arrival of some powerful monster has caused the strongest of the original monsters to lose its position, and even the monster's small society has completely collapsed!"