Elven Village③

The place we were led to was a wooden house resembling a large dining hall.

"This is exactly what it looks like—a dining hall. We eat three meals a day here, together."

Huh, I glance around the dining hall.

It reminds me of a forest school trip I went on during middle school.

In the back, in the kitchen area, four young people—likely former students—were preparing food.

Their hands stopped when they saw us.

"Kudou-san, who are these people?"

A boy voiced confusion.

Well, both Katia and I are armed. If strangers suddenly appeared, we’d be on guard too.

"Yamada Shunsuke."

"Oshima Kadona."

We quickly state our names.

That should be enough.

"Wait! Shun, Kadona!?"

The boy's voice draws the attention of the other three.

Especially Katia's direction.

"Hey… am I the only one whose gender changed?"

"Indeed. None of us here have changed gender."

Katia stares, stunned by Kudo's words.

Well, you know...

Good luck.

"Hey, hey. Haven't seen you in forever!"

The boy who spoke first removes his hat and approaches.

His appearance has changed, but the smile is unmistakably familiar.

"Ogi?"

"Yep. Good memory."

"Nobody else gives that overly cheerful grin."

They exchange a light laugh.

Ogawa Ken'ichi.

A former soccer team member and friend.

Incidentally, he's called "Ogi" not because of his given name, but because the name overlaps with the previous life of Yugo—Natsume Ken-go.

"Still, Ogi handling cooking? That seems off. You'd fit better with something more physically demanding."

"Yeah, that's true."

Ogi, having belonged to the soccer club in the previous life, possessed strong athletic coordination.

Still, it seemed more fitting for him to handle outdoor farming duties.

"Initially, we rotated shifts, but as individual strengths became apparent, we assigned fixed roles. Ogi was skilled at everything, but we assigned him to the cooking shift—there were fewer people available for that task."

"Actually, I’ve never cooked in this world before. I’m surprised by my own talent."

Ogi puffs out his chest with a smug expression.

A sharp correction cuts in from Kudo.

"Truthfully, preparing meals for this many people is quite labor-intensive. Ogi’s physical strength makes a significant difference."

"The taste isn’t exceptional, though."

Ogi modestly lowers his head, blushing slightly.

With work awaiting him, Ogi returned to the kitchen.

We resumed our seats and exchanged information.

From our side: Yugo's impending assault.

The circumstances behind it.

And the state of the world.

From Mr. Kudo, we learned about life here.

Fourteen reincarnated individuals reside here.

According to a past conversation with the teacher, there were twelve, so two have been added.

We were given the names of all present.

Life here, as Mr. Kudo had stated earlier, is self-sustaining.

We consume vegetables and livestock we have raised ourselves. Items we cannot procure are obtained from the elves.

Daily necessities must be managed independently. The only things the elves provide are those we cannot handle ourselves.

"Even these desks and chairs were made by our own hands."

I glanced down at the chair I was sitting on, startled by Mr. Kudo's words.

A simple chair, carved from wood.

Reston also explained how they came to live in the elven village.

He said he had been brought here as a child, barely able to speak.

At that time, his parents had wept while handing him over.

Reston claimed he had been bought with money.

"My family was extremely poor. I couldn’t speak, but I understood what was being said. I was sold for far more than a common slave would fetch."

A self-deprecating smile crossed Reston’s face.

The others were similar, though some had attempted to live as adventurers before being brought here—almost forcibly, it seemed.

Most had been young at the time.

The elves reportedly took care of her during her infancy, as young as a newborn.

Once able to work independently, she was assigned to field and livestock duties with elven supervision. As she grew, the supervision was removed.

At first, it was all difficulty.

The tasks—farming, herding—were physically taxing even for her small frame.

She could barely manage each day.

Only recently did she gain any surplus capacity.

Her body now matched that of an adult. She had acquired sufficient expertise. Work became efficient.

Thanks to this efficiency, a small margin of surplus time emerged.

“Now the question is what to do with that free time.”

“What do you mean?”

“The elves don’t want us to develop skills. This life, this supervision—these are all for that purpose.”

The transmigrants here have not developed many skills, due to preoccupation with mere survival.

Two exceptions.

The two who were brought here later had lived as adventurers.

It is speculated that their travels across various regions delayed their capture by the elves.

As adventurers, they had already cultivated high skill levels.

"We have choices. The path of evading the elves to train our skills. The path of continuing as we have, within this birdcage."

Either way, time to consider remains necessary.

Yet Yugō may attack soon.

This information caused Mr. Kudō to clutch his head.

Later, we shared a meal with all the transmigrants.

Conversation flowed freely at the long-awaited reunion.

For nearly an entire day, we took turns celebrating our reunion in the dining hall.

Yet Kyōya was not among them.