Originally, the seven little Dwarfs who lived in the woods north of the church—the magical, humanoid little creatures, the forest sprites—could be said to be the most formidable residents of Mineral Town, since the Kappa and the Goddess never liked to interact with ordinary people.
Usually, they were friendly and liked to get along peacefully with people. They especially enjoyed playing with anyone who brought them gifts, and they never went out of their way to hurt anyone. Still, most people in Mineral Town knew, to some extent, that the little Dwarfs were magical sprites and absolutely not to be trifled with. Otherwise, something terrible or unlucky was sure to happen!
But today, one troublesome little girl had not only gone and provoked them, she had also accidentally blown them up, house and all, and done something terrifying to them that no outsider knew about?
What exactly had happened in the dense woods behind the church was beyond the residents of Mineral Town. Anyway, after Father Carter had finished leading the morning prayer service for some villagers and gone out for a stroll around the cemetery and flower beds beside the church, his worried eyes finally landed on a certain little figure returning from the woods with her chin held high and chest puffed out. She looked perfectly fine, as if nothing had happened.
So, overjoyed, he naturally went over to greet her.
"Annie!"
"I meant to tell you earlier: when you visit the little Dwarfs, remember to bring seven gifts, one for each of them. Otherwise, they can be awfully difficult to deal with... How did it go? Those little sprites from the woods weren't too hard on you, were they?"
Father Carter swore, in God's name, that he really had meant to earnestly remind the little girl in