The group moved through the forest in a line, with Zilu at the front guiding the way and Yuki walking beside her in silence.

Behind them came Mark, Rose, Ely, and Aria in that order more or less, though the positions changed constantly because Ely and Aria had a habit of moving closer to Mark whenever the other got distracted.

Alice brought up the rear a few steps back, keeping watch over the rearguard as had become her custom.

Mark walked at a relaxed pace, looking around as they moved.

But the further they went into the forest, something caught his attention.

The trees were enormous.

Not enormous in the sense of "quite large."

Enormous in the sense that the trunks of most of them were as wide as a spacious house.

The treetops were so high up that Mark had to tilt his head all the way back to try to see where they ended, and even then he didn’t always manage it.

’No wonder this works as a natural barrier between humans and demi-humans...’ Mark thought, looking at one of the giant trunks as he passed. ’Getting an army through here would be a nightmare.’

"You really are bold, Master," Rose’s voice said beside him, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Mark looked toward the vampire and saw her walking with her hands behind her back.

"Who would have thought you’d get us such a cute guide, right?" Rose said, looking ahead to where Zilu walked beside Yuki, her black ears moving slightly with each step.

Mark looked at Zilu and then back at Rose.

"You’re right, Zilu is pretty cute," he admitted with a shrug.

"Well, at least you admit it, Master" Rose said, laughing under her breath.

Mark was about to say something in response but then Ely appeared on his left.

"Master, are you really just planning to ask for directions in the village?" Ely asked curiously.

"Yes, that’s the idea."

"That’s it?"

"That’s it."

Hearing her Master’s answer, Ely went quiet for a moment and then nodded slowly, apparently satisfied with the response, but Mark could tell there was still something turning over in her head.

Then Aria came up on the other side.

"What if they refuse, Master?" Aria asked in a direct tone.

Mark turned to look at her.

"What if we get to the village and Zilu’s friend doesn’t want to help us? Or worse, what if the whole village turns against us for being human?"

Mark was quiet for a second.

"I hope that’s not the case..."

"But what if it is?"

"Well... if they don’t cooperate, there’ll be no choice but to make them obey by force," Mark said with a sigh.

Aria was quiet for a few seconds and then spoke again.

"You know, Master," she said in a tone that had gone soft, "you’re a very kind person."

"Kind?"

"You always prefer to try things the peaceful way first even when you could just take what you want by force," Aria said with her eyes fixed on him. "Anyone else in your situation might just show up anywhere and demand what they want... but you don’t do that."

"That’s common sense, Aria, not kindness."

"It’s kindness, Master," she insisted, shaking her head. "And that kindness is one of the many reasons why I love you."

Mark opened his mouth to say something but Ely was faster.

"I love him more," Ely said from the other side in a challenging tone.

"Excuse me, what did you say?" Aria replied, turning her head toward Ely.

"You heard me."

Mark watched the two of them start arguing as usual, so he quickly decided to intervene.

"Zilu!" Mark said, raising his voice just enough for the demi-human to hear him from the front.

Zilu turned her head back, her ears lifting in surprise.

"Y-yes?"

"Are we almost there?" Mark asked. "We’ve been walking for a couple of hours now."

Zilu looked ahead and then back at Mark.

"We’re practically there," she said, pointing forward with one hand. "The village should be visible from here."

Mark looked past Zilu, narrowing his eyes, and then he saw it.

In the distance, between the enormous tree trunks, lights could be made out along with what appeared to be houses.

Noticing they were close, Mark quickened his pace until he was alongside Yuki and Zilu, and behind him the others followed.

The closer they got to the village, the more Mark could see that the houses were built with dark wood and thatched roofs.

Others sat directly on the ground or were nestled between the roots of the giant trees. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

And above all there were people... lots of people.

’So this is it...’ Mark thought, stopping for a moment at the entrance to the village.

But the moment the group set foot inside the village, Mark noticed how everyone nearby stopped what they were doing to observe the group of humans that had just arrived.

He walked behind Zilu trying to keep a neutral expression while looking at everything around him.

’There’s all kinds here,’ Mark thought, discreetly observing the village’s inhabitants.

To his left, leaning against a doorframe, was a woman with the lower half of her body partially covered in green scales.

Her torso was human, with normal arms and a face with soft features that looked at him with a mix of curiosity and distrust.

’A lizard woman?...’

A little further ahead, sitting on a cut log in front of what appeared to be a blacksmith’s shop, was an enormous woman.

She stood at least two heads taller than any normal person, with thick arms, skin of a slightly grayish tone, and small horns jutting from her forehead between dark hair.

’An ogre girl... or something like that?’

On the other side of the street was a group of three young women with rabbit ears similar to Zilu’s, though theirs were different colors, one had white ears, another brown, and the third a light grey.

All three had stopped mid-conversation to stare at Mark’s group with wide eyes.

’More women with bunny ears’ Mark thought, glancing over at Zilu.

There were other demi-humans too, a woman with pointed ears and silver hair who could be an elf, and a small girl with what appeared to be deer antlers growing from between her brown hair.

Mark couldn’t ignore the fact that absolutely everyone around them was watching every step they took.

Meanwhile Zilu, walking at the front of the group, lowered her head slightly, as if she was a little uncomfortable being the center of attention.

Until a shout broke the silence surrounding them.

"ZILU?!"