Chapter 40: I Got Caught…!

After a chaotic day, we were now aboard the carriage heading back to Maru Village.

“Hm… Isn’t this too cramped?”

Alex’s grumbling voice filled the inside of the carriage.

He was twisting his body left and right, unable to hide his discomfort with the cramped space.

“It wasn’t this narrow before… It’s because someone extra is here now.”

Harp muttered quietly, casting a glance at Sua.

“Hmm, you want to say it’s my fault, don’t you?”

“I didn’t even have to say it.”

“Hm, do you think the cramped space is because of me too, Ibu?”

This time, Sua asked me.

I sighed and nodded.

“Yeah, the space is definitely more cramped.”

“Hm, yeah. I’m a bit uncomfortable too. But what can we do? It’s a journey with my fated partner, so I’ll have to bear the small space.”

“Fated partner, what…?”

“Don’t talk about fate. I’m already dying from how cramped it is, and now I have to listen to your nonsense?”

Alex waved his hand toward Sua, showing a disgusted expression.

“Come on, don’t be like that. Just move closer to Ibu. There’s more space on that side.”

Sua grinned playfully, trying to move her body closer to Alex’s spot.

“Hey! Why am I sitting here? I’m here because of you. I’m protecting Ibu! You stay over there!”

“Hey, it’s fine, really.”

At my words, Alex shook his head.

“You always say you’re fine. That’s why I’m even more worried.”

“Anyway, this old man has no intention of moving from here.”

“Such a fortress.”

“Yeah, he’s so defensive, I think his hair’s falling out.”

“Hah, seriously…”

Alex shook his head and turned his gaze out the window.

His expression looked like he was holding something back.

“Alex, don’t take it so seriously. If you keep this up, you’re going to get more wrinkles.”

Sua said in a playful voice.

“Wrinkles? I don’t have any wrinkles. My skin is still tight.”

“Hm, then what’s with these wrinkles?”

“…They’re from you.”

“From me?”

“Don’t you know? Do you have any idea how stressful it was to put up with you laughing and going ‘Hahahaha!’ all the time?”

“Hahahaha!”

“Ugh.”

Alex covered his ears with a face full of irritation.

Then, as if he absolutely didn’t want to hear it, he even covered his face with the cushion from the carriage.

It was almost as if the years Alex had lived were passing through his mind.

…Seems like he’s had a tough time, poor guy.

“But Harp, why have you been so quiet since earlier? I thought you were asleep because you haven’t said a word.”

Sua turned to look at Harp.

Alex was still buried in the cushion.

“Me? There’s no need for me to intervene.”

“Oh… that’s kind of cool. I can’t stay quiet like Harp”

“Which is probably why Alex is so stressed.”

“What, are you calling me an ADHD patient?”

“I don’t know what that is, but I guess so.”

Harp shrugged lightly and continued.

“I just need to be by the teacher’s side and do what needs to be done. There’s nothing more to it.”

At Harp’s words, Sua pouted and made a displeased face

“What’s this, acting all cool like that, now I want to do the same!”

“Sua… um, good luck.”

“Did you just ignore me?!”

“No. I was just sending you a message of encouragement.”

As Sua and Harp continued their playful bickering, the speed of the carriage gradually slowed down.

I looked up and realized that the carriage had already arrived at the village entrance.

“Huh?”

But something felt off.

The village entrance was eerily empty.

Normally, the villagers would be welcoming the carriage, but today there was no sign of anyone at all.

“This is strange. Usually, at this time, people are busy moving around.”

I muttered to myself, and Harp tilted his head in confusion.

“Yeah, it’s much quieter than usual.”

“Could it be that everyone hid when they heard this warrior was coming?”

Sua joked and laughed, but surprisingly, no one reacted to her comment.

That’s when it happened.

A loud rushing sound came from somewhere.

“Hey, what’s coming over here?”

Harp asked, and when I looked up, I saw a group of people running toward the carriage from deep within the village.

At first, I thought they were just random villagers passing by, but their expressions were anything but casual.

“What’s going on?!”

Sua jumped to her feet and shouted.

“Why are those people running toward us?!”

Alex peered out the window, furrowing his brow.

“This is bad…”

It seemed like the people were targeting us, charging toward the carriage with a determined attitude.

“…We need to run.”

Ellie quickly tried to open the carriage door, but by then, the villagers had already surrounded us.

A perfect encirclement, 360 degrees.

“Hey, what is going on?! This is scary!”

Sua looked around in a panic, glancing left and right.

The shouts and footsteps of the villagers pouring in from outside the carriage filled the air.

They didn’t have any weapons in their hands, but the intensity of their presence was enough to overwhelm us.

“Finally caught them!”

“Here they are! This is the carriage!”

“Everyone, gather here!”

The villagers were calling out to one another and cheering.

“W-wait… are they here to capture us?”

Sua’s face went pale with fear.

“Great!”

“Let’s open the door right now!”

The villagers’ eyes were filled with a fervor, as if they were longing for something.

It was all too strange that their energy was directed solely at our carriage.

Then, one person stepped forward from among the crowd.

He raised his arms high and shouted.

“Now that everyone’s here, let’s begin!”

The cheers from the villagers grew louder.

‘Begin? What are they talking about?’

I tried to steady my confused mind and focused on watching them.

“Waaaah!”

“Woooah!”

As the villagers’ cheers reached a crescendo and the tension peaked, a huge cloth suddenly unfurled in the sky above.

Everyone looked up at the sky, and on the cloth were large words written clearly.

[Congratulations on the Heroic Return of Ibe!]

“What?”

In an instant, the inside of the carriage fell into stunned silence.

“Heroic return?”

Alex’s voice was filled with disbelief as he half-opened his mouth.

Harp slowly blinked, struggling to understand what was happening.

And then Sua…

Sua looked as though she had been struck by a hammer, mouth hanging open in shock.

“Th… this… What is this? A celebration?”

At that moment, cheers erupted from the villagers.

“Finally, they’ve come! Our village pride, Ibe has returned!”

“Come down! Let’s start the festival!”

“Everything’s ready! Today is a party all day long!”

The villagers, all grinning with enthusiasm, had excited expressions on their faces.

“A… a celebration?”

I repeated their words without understanding the situation at all.

Then, a villager suddenly flung open the carriage door with a bright smile.

She looked quite familiar… Oh, it’s Mrs. Gordon!

“Come down, Ibe! The whole village is waiting!”

“Wait, wait! I don’t understand…”

“What do you mean? Just come out and enjoy it. Be happy!”

I was pulled out of the carriage in utter confusion, and as soon as I stepped out, cheers and applause erupted from the villagers.

“Teacher, it looks like the villagers must have really missed you,”

Harp whispered softly.

“Yeah…”

“No, wait! This is too weird!”

Sua, still in shock, shouted from behind us, but her voice was ignored once again.

“Ibe, come see the welcoming stage we prepared!”

The villagers led us toward the village square, which was in full swing with festival preparations.

There were bright decorations and loads of food.

I was speechless, realizing everything was for me.

“Wha… What is all this?”

I barely managed to speak, looking around.

“A celebration! Ever since you left the village, we’ve been preparing for your safe return!”

“All this time?!”

“Yes! Ibe is the pride of our village!”

I became even more confused by the villagers’ words.

And even in the midst of all this, Sua was still looking at us with a face full of disbelief.

“What in the world have you been doing?!”

Ibe…

“I don’t even know! I really don’t know!”

In the middle of all the confusion, the excitement of the festival continued to grow.

The villagers smiled brightly as they handed us food, singing and dancing.

“This… this isn’t the village visit I imagined?”

Sua scratched her cheek as she took the glass of wine the villager handed her.

Oh, now that I look at it, it wasn’t wine, it was just grape juice.

Since Sua still looked like a child, that was the reason.

Anyway, amidst the celebration and cheers of the villagers, we unexpectedly ended up participating in the festival.