While Reika was in a daze as she continued to appreciate the beautiful scenery, Soru quietly walked towards the village he had seen from afar.

     On his way, Soru was looking around the area, curious about the strange, new world in which he was now situated. He saw the golden wheat fields lying around and touched some of the ripe stalks of wheat as he walked towards the village. Reika, still savoring the gentle breeze as it passed over her face, noticed that Soru wasn't by her side anymore.

     "Shin-kun...?"

     She looked around, searching for Soru's whereabouts. When she turned her head toward the golden wheat field, she saw Soru walking on the narrow path.

     That bastard already left me..?

     "Hey, wait for meeee!"

     Reika ran towards him. Soru heard her, but he didn't turn around and just walked quietly while he followed the path to the village entrance.

     As she passed between the wheat fields, she looked back to the forest. She was astonished at how big the entire forest was. The forest, from left to right, stretched as far as her eyes could see, to the edge of the horizon. 

     How huge that forest was! Luckily, we managed to get out of it easily. If we didn't, we would have spent our night in the forest, with no food or shelter to settle on...

     Looking back to the village's entrance, she saw Soru talking to someone.

     Somehow, we managed to stumble upon this village. Maybe we could rest here for some time...

     ...

     From afar, Soru noticed there was a person standing near the village's entrance. Without hesitation, he calmly walked towards the person whom he believed was the one who guarded the entrance.

     The guard noticed someone walking towards the entrance. Due to his unusual clothes and a face unfamiliar to him, the guard concluded that Soru was a foreign man and did not belong to the village people. He moved forward and tried to confront him by blocking the pathway.

     Soru thought that the man was trying to convey something by blocking his path, so he stopped and stared at the man for a brief moment. He gave his name to him afterwards, thinking that the man was trying to identify his identity.

     "Wa ta shi wa, So ru - kun de su - "

     After he heard Soru, the guard gave him a confused look and raised one of his eyebrows.

     "ų̴͇͝?̶̩̂a̸͙̤̓̓o̸̡͓͠è̶͚̺t̴͙͚̐̒g̵͕͝ỉ̷̼̰ ̴̻͐͘n̴̖̓͘a̸̮̥̒a̶̢̙͋̊w̶̦̱͋o̵̓͝ͅb̷̨̤̉̈́ṱ̴̼̇̚ ̷̭͘t̴̮̭̚u̴͔̎y̶̨̦͘h̷̤̰͗̄ļ̷̯͗r̵͈̉̌k̷̰̀̎? "

     Soru didn't understand the words spoken by the guard and tried to speak for the second time. Reika watched them with a disappointed look.

     What a fool. Of course, this is another world. What are you expecting—that they had the same tongue as us? They didn't even know Japanese at all!

     The guard suddenly raised his hatchet, pointing in his direction. The tip of the blade shone brightly under the afternoon sun.

     "h̶̰͖̄̏ý̷͎?̴̫̿ŕ̷ͅȍ̵͙̚u̸̪̝̍ ̶̘͐ǎ̸̫̜e̴̜̅͜ŵ̶͚̫̚o̷̮̫̓"

     Soru felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Reika standing beside him.

     "Let me do the talking."

     Reika moved forward and confronted the guard with confidence. Even though the tip of the blade was still pointing at them, Reika didn't back out. Soru distanced himself as Reika tried to interrogate the guard.

     Reika raised both of her arms and randomly waved her hands in the air.

     "What are you doing?" Soru told her as he watched Reika doing some random movements.

     "I'm trying to communicate with the guard using gestures."

     Reika continued her weird gestures. She raised both of her hands in the air, followed by some fiddling with her fingers and constantly pointing in the direction of the forest. The guard was even more confused than before.

     "We.Are.Lost.We.Came.From.Deep.Forest". 

     A confused guard tightened his grip on the hatchet and pointed at her once more. Reika raised her hands and distanced herself from the blade.

     "It's no use." Soru told Reika.

     Reika sighed and lowered her hands. She was about to turn away when she heard a hoarse voice uttering words that she could understand clearly.

     "Oho, so you can speak Japanese as well, huh..." 

     Reika was shocked as she heard someone talking in Japanese.

     "H-how did yo- "

     Reika noticed an old man behind the guard. The old man was short and shaking, with both of his hands on his back. He was bald, and his eyebrows were colored white. He had a long, white mustache between his nose and mouth. 

     The guard turned around and noticed him. He was surprised at first, but he bowed his head to the old man afterwards.

     "ḏ̸̐ȃ̷̩c̸̭̏g̵̮̀ ̴͕̐ḻ̶̃!̸̨̌ ̴̱̎ḛ̵͒o̴͍̽o̶̹̊ ̷̤̈́ḍ̶̎i̸̝̒f̵̹̍a̵̩͌v̸̛͎é̵̱ǵ̶̦l̸̳̊h̷͈̀y̶̮̓ī̸͎ " 

     The old man smiled at the guarda and nodded his head.

     "ḏ̸̐ȃ̷̩c̸̭̏g̵̮̀ ̴͕̐ḻ̶̃!̸̨̌ ̴̱̎ḛ̵͒ "

     The old man glanced at Reika and looked back to the guard.

     "l̶͖̑a̷̫̔t̴̘̽i̶̜̚f̵̼͐a̸̳̓ ̸͍͒'̷̩̿ḷ̸͝ĕ̸̺k̸̼͌h̷̯̓.̸̲̓e̵͘͜ ̷̖̄ŝ̶̩o̵͓͒r̷͔̽ ̴͙͒t̵̩̒i̵̙̋c̴̙̽ "

     The guard nodded to the old man and slowly left his post. The old man stood in front of Reika.

     "Welcome, guests from afar. I'm the chief of this humble village. "

     Reika was dumbfounded as to why an old man from another world could speak Japanese so well. The old man noticed her and laughed.

     "Are you surprised that I could speak Japanese well?" The old man asked.

     Reika snapped back to her senses after hearing the old man's words.

     "How... can you speak Japanese? Does it exist on this world?" Reika asked.

     The old man scratched his beard.

     "Well, that dialect doesn't exist in this world. Only a few people knew that language and mastered it."

     "May I ask where did you learn it from?" Reika asked him.

     "It came from my son."

     Reika was confused by his answer and asked him again.

     "What do you mean 'from your son'?"

     The old man walked past her and stared at the wheat fields in front of him.

     "You see, my son was born in a pretty normal way, but her mother and I felt that he was special. He is an active baby, though surprisingly, he wasn't crying at all. Unlike a normal baby does, he was quiet and always staring at us while we fed him."

     "Upon reaching the age of three, he uttered his first word with a word we couldn't understand. Even though we taught him how to read and write, we sometimes caught him talking to himself, repeating those unfamiliar words over and over again."

     "One night, we tried to reach him out, trying to understand his unusual behavior. Finally, he told us that he can speak 'Japanese' , a dialect or language we had never heard of. He could also see visions that he didn't know and even learned from us or from the books he was reading."

     The old man paused for a second, and continued talking.

     "One time, I asked him to teach me the language out of curiosity. After he heard my strange request, he gently smiled and told me that he was willing to teach me how to speak and even write Japanese."

     "How many days or months did you learn it?" Reika asked him.

     Upon hearing her question, the old man laughed at her.

     "Days? Months? Ohohoho!"

     "It took me two... to three years to master it. It was hard at first, but it gets easier if you master the basics. Although I'm not as proficient as him, it is pretty understandable."

     Reika glanced at Soru. She saw Soru staring straight at the man without a change of expression. She looked back and asked the old man.

     "Where is your son now? Is he here?"

     The old man lowered his head and turned around. He walked away and stared at the rice field.

     "Fumeirō... He's in the kingdom's capital now; he has some business to attend to."

     Reika fell silent upon hearing the old man's answer. The old man lowered his head and turned around. He walked away and stared at the rice field.

     After some time, someone uttered a word, thus breaking the silence between them.

     "Can we stay here tonight?" 

     Reika was surprised and noticed that the voice was familiar to her. It was Soru who asked the old man.

     This idiot can't read the mood at all!

     The old man heard Soru and turned around. He smiled a little and walked slowly towards the village.

     "Follow me. "

     ...

     As they passed the village's houses, Reika noticed some similarities that can be found only in Japan. The place quite resembles the past era of Japan. She saw some women wearing ragged clothes similar to kimonos, and others using accessories and stuff like hairpins, pottery, etc. She also saw others eating their food using chopsticks.

     "This is..."

     "All of these strange architectures and materials came from my son's vision. Thanks to him, life in the village became easier."

     After minutes of walking, Reika and Soru noticed that an old man suddenly stopped and stood in front of a huge house. Both of them noticed that the house in front of them was different from the other houses in the village. It was similar to "Minka", a traditional house in Japan. It was not beautiful or well-made, but the architecture was somewhat identical to the Minka.

     The old man opened the gate slowly.

     "Come inside."

     Soru and Reika followed the old man in silence. Upon opening the door, Reika noticed that the inside was filled with objects that could only be found in old-day Japan.

     "Just sit there. I'll prepare you some drinks."

     The old man walked towards the hallway that leads to the kitchen, while Soru and Reika sat near the wooden table. Reika looked around, still fascinated at how accurate the architecture and interior designs were to the old-day houses of Japan that she saw on TV shows and in books.

     I can't believe how he vividly remembers his visions... I mean, I felt like I was back in Japan!

     Reika paused for a second. Her memories in Japan struck a chord in her mind, and suddenly felt sadness and longing for her acquaintances.

     Eating ramen after school, hanging out with my friends, doing my night-shift work in order to earn money, even the kindhearted landlady that owns the apartment that I was staying at... I missed them.

     Reika stared outside the door and saw the village people, who were busy doing their daily chores and duties.

     I wonder what they are doing right now... 

     Reika turned around and noticed there was a bookshelf behind Soru. Upon seeing it, Reika stood up and walked towards the bookshelf. She crouched as she looked for the contents, and she found some interesting ones.

     Hm?

     It was a handmade book with a title in the center. Reika read the title written in kanji slowly.

      "Great Forest of Drys' Records of Monster Beasts"

      Great Forest of Drys... So that's what the forest was called, huh...

      Reika noticed the old man exiting the kitchen, carrying a large wooden plate with a few cups on it. The old man laid the plate on the table and sat in front of them.

     The old man noticed Reika holding the book and smiled.

     "Oho, you seemed interested in that book."

     "Uh... Yes."

     "Drink that tea first before it gets cold."

     Reika placed the book beside her and picked up the cup with both of her hands. She drank it slowly, while Soru also followed her and drank it up.

     After drinking the tea, Reika placed the cup on the table and picked up the book beside her.

     "You want to read it?" The old man asked her.

     "Yes," Reika replied, flipping the cover of the book. 

     Upon opening the first page, she saw a note at the center of the page. It was still written in kanji. 

     These records are intended to help understand the species in the Great Forest of Drys. Handle with care. -  Fumeirō 

     Reika flips the page again and is mesmerized by the content of the book.

     Every time she flips the pages, it reveals the simple yet amazing art of what she assumed to be the illustrations of monster beasts that reside in the great forest. From the description, the appearance of the monster, its known strengths and weaknesses, and its hunting seasons are all described. 

     "Amazing, huh?" The old man spoke up.

     Reika glanced at the old man, still holding the book in her hands.

     "Fumeirō... Is this your son's work?"

     The old man smiled softly.

     "Yes. My son, Fumeirō, asked the villagers around about the appearance and some information about the monsters that reside within the Great Forest Drys. There are even monsters that even our parents or us didn't know resides on that forest, yet he discovered them and even drew them in order for us to be aware that there's that kind of monster that lurks deep on that luscious forest. To some extent, he even sneaks into the forest to observe the monsters with his own eyes and draw them!"

     "At first, I scolded him multiple times, telling him that entering the forest alone was dangerous and would bring him harm. But he kept disobeying my orders, saying that he was careful and kept his distance in order to observe them undetected. I kept scolding him, until one day I grew tired and let him do whatever he wanted to do..."

     The old man glanced at the book and continued.

     "In the end, what he did was extremely beneficial for the villagers. With that book, it helps the villagers when to enter the forest, avoid some of the dangerous monsters, or what monster beasts are edible or poisonous to humans."

     While the old man was talking, Reika was flipping the pages at the same time. Upon flipping to the next page, she saw a familiar-looking monster.

     This...

     She read the text below the illustration and was surprised upon reading it. It was named "Rabid Wolf".

     The wolf we saw earlier is called Rabid Wolf...?

     She flipped the other page again and saw another illustration that looked identical to the other monster she had seen before. It has two hind legs and a large pair of wings. She read the text below, and it was called "Wyvern".

     There's no mistaking it. What we encountered before—a flying lizard that spits flames on its mouth—is a Wyvern.

     The other page also had a familiar-looking illustration that resembles a lizard-like creature named "Basilisk".

       She flipped the pages again, looking for something she might be familiar with. The pages flipped over and over again until they stopped when Reika stumbled upon an interesting illustration of a monster that caught her eye. She stopped and observed the illustration carefully.

     The monster had big claws and large, leathery bat-like wings. They look like giant lizards too, which is similar to the wyvern, but this creature had four legs, whereas the wyvern only had two. It was covered with seemingly rough scales. 

     "Oho... The Wildfire Dragon 'Veylir'. How amazing that he drew exactly what I told the dragon probably looks like many years ago!"

     Reika read the text below the illustration, and what the old man said is exactly the same as the text.

     "Did he... Also see the dragon with his own eyes?" Reika asked.

     Suddenly, the old man laughed.

     "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! If that's true, then it would be a miracle!"

     Reika stared at the old man with a serious face. The old man noticed it and stopped laughing. He cleared his throat and continued.

     "Ahem! He didn't see the dragon, but he only drew it from what I told him years ago."

     "When I was young, I sneaked into the forest due to my utmost curiosity. Somehow I got lost there, without knowing that I had already entered deeper into the woods. And as the usual kid would normally act, I panicked and cried at the top of my lungs."

     "Miraculously, none of the monsters noticed my presence. With that opportunity, I walked around endlessly, without knowing where the path that leads back home is. Without my knowledge, I actually ventured deeper into the forest."

     "While searching for a path that leads back home, I noticed a large creature hovering above the sky. I hid under the bushes, fearing that the bizarre creature would find me. Upon a closer look, it turns out that it is a dragon, and not an ordinary one. It is a Calamity Dragon named Wildfire Dragon 'Veylir'.

     "It was huge—much bigger than the wyvern's size. It was a gigantic winged creature, with a physique that quite resembles a serpent. It had a crested head and enormous claws. Its large, bulky scales are maroon in color, like the color of a crimson flame and wood mixed into one."

     "This dragon that you speak of—how did you know it was one you saw years ago?" Reika asked.

     "Because my great-grandmother also saw it with her own eyes, too."

     The old man sighed as he sipped his cup and continued talking.

     "I remember that my late mother once told me that a dragon resides in the Great Forest of Drys and acts as the guardian of the forest. And it wasn't an ordinary dragon, but a named one called Calamity Dragon Veylir."

     "According to what my great grandmother told my grandmother, which she also told my mother, the calamity dragon once wreaked havoc and burned a portion of the forest. Part of the forest turned into a sea of flames, burning everything in sight. Every creature and plant was set ablaze as the fiery flames consumed their bodies and lives."

     "My mother pointed out that the dragon's senses are sharper than those of an average monster. She told me that I was lucky that the dragon didn't see me, though I believed that the dragon obviously noticed my presence. Probably, I was spared because it didn't even consider me as a threat at all, or it wasn't hungry at that time."

     "After the dragon vanished from my eyesight, I ran away quickly. I ran and ran, until I stumbled upon my father, which was looking after me for hours. He was extremely angry at that time and got a good beating afterwards."

     The old man drank from his cup again and emptied it. He placed the cup on the table.

     "My mother also told me that there are other calamity dragons besides the Wildfire Dragon. I don't know what the other calamity dragons look like because my great grandmother had no idea about their appearances, only the Wildfire Dragon. Although I wanted to see the other dragons in my lifetime, I might not see them due to my age..."

     Reika quietly listened as the old man lowered his head.

     "Well, being one of the oldest races on the continent, they possess a lifespan greater than a human's. A century is like a decade to them, and they rarely go outside their den. Seeing one is a once-in-a-lifetime experience..."

     "I see..." Reika murmured.

     The old man noticed that the cups were completely empty. He was about to gather the cups when a realization came to his mind.

     "Oh! I forgot to ask both of your names..."

     The old man bowed slowly in front of them.

     "I am 'Silas', the chief of this village."

     Reika and Soru also bowed their heads to the old man.

     "I am... Mi-Reika Mitsuha. And he's..."

     "Shin Soru."

     Reika gritted her teeth upon hearing Soru's greeting.

     Not only is he not greeting properly, but he also said his last name first!

     "So you're Miss Reika, and he's... Mister Shin."

     "Ah, no, no. His actual name is Soru. Shin is just his family name..."

     "Oh..." The old man, Silas, uttered.

     Silas quietly observed them. He noticed their unfamiliar clothes, which he had never seen before.

     Judging from their unusual garments and possessing a second name, they probably came from nobility. Though I don't understand why they could understand Japanese and even talk about it casually...

     Silas continued to observe them in silence. On the other side, Reika and Soru started a little quarrel due to Soru's behavior before.

     I'm sure they're not from this kingdom. Though I couldn't help but wonder which kingdom or country they came from, perhaps the citizens of their place have Japanese as their main dialect...

     While Silas remained quiet, Reika was busy lecturing Soru on the rude behavior he had shown before.

     "Listen to me, will you? While having a formal greeting, you should-"

     Reika stopped when a loud scream echoed inside the room from outside.

     "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

     Silas snapped back upon hearing a loud scream outside his house. Without a second thought, he immediately ran out the door, fearing what was happening outside. Reika and Soru followed him afterwards, and what they saw was shocking. The old man trembled and couldn't believe what he saw in the sky.

     I-Isn't that... the Guardian... T-The Wildfire Dragon 'Veylir'...?