Buena Village was buried under thick snow.
Four figures—two adults and two children—moved vaguely through the wind and snow. Amid the crunch of footsteps came Rudy's question.
"Uncle Rolls, what kinds of demon beasts are mainly involved in this outbreak? So I can target them with the right magic."
Rolls led the way at the front. Rudy followed slightly behind and beside him, while Allen and Sylphy walked side by side behind the two of them.
Rolls glanced at the pair behind him and answered.
"Mostly D-rank demon beasts with strong breeding abilities: forest snakes, Giant Gnawing Rats, Saw-Spined Rabbits, Frost Tide Frogs, wolverines, Red-Eyed Demon Monkeys, Frost Weasels."
As Rolls listed them off like dishes on a menu, Rudy's face grew paler and paler.
"That many?"
"There are this many every year. There are just especially many this year. We should've done a better job clearing them out last year. We asked other villages for help too, but the messages they sent back said they were dealing with Demon Beast Tides as well."
Regret tinged Rolls's voice, only for the wind and snow to scatter his words through the air.
Unlike the lively chatter between the two in front, Allen and Sylphy were unusually silent.
Allen's attention was clearly not on their conversation. With a casual wave, he cleared the snow around Sylphy, then absentmindedly tilted his head to watch the falling snow, lost in thought.
Sylphy walked beside him, still petite, only reaching his chest. She had indeed grown quite a bit taller this year, but Allen had grown even faster. By comparison, she somehow seemed a little "shorter" than she had last year.
Yet time had undoubtedly left its "marks" on her.
She had shed many of the traits of early childhood. Though her clothes still hung