By the time we reached the village, I had already accepted one thing.
Nothing about this situation was normal.
Not the world, not the people, and definitely not the fact that Mira was still holding onto my sleeve like I might vanish if she let go for even a second. I had tried, a few times, to gently pull away just to test it, but every time I did, her grip would tighten slightly, almost unconsciously.
At this point, I was starting to think I had accidentally become someone's emotional support object.
"…You know you don't have to keep holding on, right?" I said, glancing down at her hand.
"I know," she replied.
She didn't let go.
"…Right."
We walked in silence for a bit after that, the village slowly coming into view ahead of us. It wasn't large—just a cluster of wooden houses surrounded by a simple fence, with a few paths connecting everything together. It looked exactly like something out of a fantasy setting, right down to the small well near the center and the faint smoke rising from a couple of chimneys.
It was peaceful.
Too peaceful.
"…Okay," I muttered. "I feel like this is where things get worse."
Mira didn't respond.
She didn't need to.
Because the moment we stepped into the village, everything stopped.
It started with one person.
A woman carrying a basket paused mid-step, her eyes landing on me. The basket slipped slightly in her hands as she stared, her expression shifting from casual to complete shock in the span of a second.
Then another person noticed.
Then another.
Within moments, it was like a chain reaction.
People stopped what they were doing. Conversations died instantly. Tools were lowered, baskets forgotten, and every single pair of eyes turned toward me.
"…You've got to be kidding me," I muttered.
It was the same reaction as before.
But worse.
Because there were more of them.
A lot more.
And all of them were staring.
Not just looking—staring like I was something that didn't belong in their world.
"…Mira," I said quietly. "Is this normal?"
"No," she replied.
"Great."
A few of the villagers started whispering to each other, their voices low but urgent.
"…Is that really—"
"I've only heard stories…"
"It looks just like—"
"…Impossible."
I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly. "Okay, I feel like I'm missing some important context here."
Mira stepped slightly in front of me again, her grip tightening just a little.
"He's with me," she said.
Her voice was calm, but there was a firmness to it now that hadn't been there before.
The whispers didn't stop.
If anything, they got louder.
One of the older women stepped forward, her expression serious as she looked between me and Mira.
"…Explain," she said.
Mira didn't hesitate. "I found him outside the village."
"And?" the woman pressed.
"And he's mine."
I sighed. "We are definitely having a conversation about that later."
Again, no one reacted to me.
I was starting to take that personally.
The older woman's expression darkened slightly. "Mira, this is not something you can just claim."
"I already did," Mira replied.
That calm tone again.
But there was something under it now.
Something sharp.
Dangerous.
The woman frowned, clearly not satisfied with that answer. "Do you even understand what he is?"
"No," Mira said simply.
"…Then how can you say that so easily?"
Mira didn't look away. "Because I found him first."
There was a brief pause.
Then the murmuring started again.
And this time…
It felt different.
The shock was still there.
The confusion too.
But now there was something else mixed in.
Something that made me instinctively take a small step back.
Interest.
No.
That wasn't the right word.
It was deeper than that.
"…Okay," I said quietly. "I really don't like the direction this is going."
Before anyone could respond, I felt it again.
That strange warmth.
But stronger.
Much stronger.
[Ding.]
My body stiffened slightly as another message appeared in my mind.
**[Multiple Targets Detected]**
**Emotional States: Curiosity → Interest → Early Devotion**
**Energy Output Increasing**
"…That's not good," I whispered.
Because I could feel it now.
It wasn't just a sensation.
It was pressure.
Like something invisible was building in the air around me, getting heavier with each passing second.
And it was coming from them.
All of them.
"…Mira," I said quietly. "Something's happening again."
"I know," she replied.
"You're way too calm about this."
"I'm not," she said.
She sounded calm.
Very calm.
One of the younger women suddenly stepped forward, her eyes locked onto me with a kind of intensity that made my stomach tighten.
"…Can I talk to him?" she asked.
"No."
Mira's answer came instantly.
Firm.
Cold.
The woman hesitated, clearly not expecting that reaction. "I just want to—"
"No," Mira repeated.
Her grip tightened again.
I winced slightly. "Okay, we're definitely escalating."
The tension in the village rose quickly after that.
People were no longer just watching.
They were shifting.
Moving.
Closing in, little by little.
Not aggressively.
But definitely not casually either.
"…You can't keep him to yourself," someone said.
"He's not an object," I replied immediately.
Still ignored.
"…I'm starting to feel offended," I muttered.
Another woman stepped forward, this one older, her gaze sharp and calculating.
"If he really is what we think he is," she said slowly, "then this concerns the entire village."
Mira didn't respond.
She just stepped slightly closer to me, her body almost pressing against mine as if she was trying to block me from everyone else.
"He's mine," she said again.
This time, her voice wasn't soft.
It wasn't loud either.
But it carried something heavy with it.
Something that made the people closest to us hesitate.
And that was when I realized something.
This wasn't just about curiosity anymore.
This was turning into a conflict.
"…Yeah," I muttered under my breath. "This is definitely a bad situation."
Before anything else could happen, someone shouted from the back of the crowd.
"Call the elder!"
That did it.
The entire atmosphere shifted again.
People stopped moving forward, but they didn't relax either. If anything, they looked more focused now, like they were waiting for something.
Or someone.
"…Elder?" I repeated. "That sounds important."
Mira didn't answer.
She just held onto me, her grip steady and unyielding.
For a moment, everything went quiet.
Too quiet.
And in that silence…
I felt it again.
That presence.
Faint.
Distant.
But unmistakable.
Watching.
I glanced up at the sky instinctively, but there was nothing there.
Still…
I knew.
She was there.
Somewhere.
Watching everything.
"…Yeah," I muttered quietly. "I really don't like this."
And judging by the way things were going…
I had a feeling this was only the beginning.