By the time the sun first broke over the horizon, we had already arrived at a Mason Village shortly after passing through the forest.
Well, since I'm an Ogre, there will normally be a large level of disgust and resentment because this village is mainly consists of humans. Though with the Tomboy Princess sitting on my shoulder, the caution subsided by quite a bit. They probably assumed I was a pet or something.
The Princess has a magic ring with an engraved seal that she once told me is the symbol of the Royal Family. It is also impossible to be equipped by anyone outside of the Royal Family. It cannot be removed once equipped, and projects a powerful curse upon the wearer's enemies in the area should a Royal Family member be slain.
Because of this ring, she is able to give orders to the villagers.
To my surprise, it was a magnificent village that had many citizens and tourists. All of whom bowed their heads as we walked by in honor of the Princess.
This tradition apparently goes back to a tradition similar to that of Samurai in respects to their masters.
It was then that I found myself invited to the Village Chief's house within the village where I decided to spend the night. The Chief and his wife still had fearful expressions from my appearance, so I took out some fruits and mushrooms from and offered them as gifts.
I tried to talk with them casually as I played with Kumajirou and Kurosaburou.
At any rate, it took some time, but I managed to ease the tension and began discussing minor matters of the village with him.
Conversations like this are important for developing a public image, after all.
After doing this for around two hours, they have finally relaxed to my presence. I was invited by the Chief to allow him to be my guide to the waterfall, which is the specialty of the village.
To be honest, that was my original plan, so I was pleased to have him guide me there.
Since I'm in no rush to bathe in the hot spring, I'll first visit the waterfall.
It was located down a small path not too far from the village. The waterfall itself is massive, as if the water was falling down from heaven. In front of this scene, we gazed at the sight unconsciously. The large waterfall that poured down from the top nearly two hundred meters above in the sky. The Chief informed us of the details. Though for the most part I took my time to enjoy this incredible view of natural beauty.
Even so, with [Presence Sensor] I detected several massive and mighty creatures lying dormant within the waterfall, but I was not sure of their nature.
I decided it was best to ask the village Chief of what I had seen.
It turns out that the creatures I had seen were some form of guardian, a boss species of the Big Coccos. It was generally friendly if you don't attack it. There also seems to be a dragon-class monster within there as well, but it is usually sleeping quietly.
Although I find myself heavily tempted to fight these monsters, I restrain these feelings in the back of my mind. Furthermore, even if I utilize all of my current skills, it still seems highly likely that it is impossible to overcome these creatures at present.
While still thinking of returning to fight these creatures one day, I decided to immerse myself in the famous hot spring.
The party was booked under the name of the Royal Family.
I requested that both Dhammi-chan and Kazeoni-san (Wind Lord-san) to escort the Princess to the hot spring. Therefore, even if assassins surrounded them, they would either eliminate the threat or hold out long enough for me to close the distance and come to their aid.
With the safety of the Princess taken care of, I was able to enjoy the hot spring without reserve. The Mason village's hot spring, just like the ones we have at our settlement, has pleasantly hot water.
Because I missed the hot springs of our settlement, I will absolutely return there once this mission is over.
There are also various changes and improvements to the settlement that I want to make once I return. There are still tons of things that need to be done.
I got out of the hot spring after an hour or so and returned to the Village Chief's house.
While I was out, Kurosaburo and Kumajiro had gathered a large number of Kelpie, Boruforu, Blade Rabbits and Horn Rabbits. They busily worked to draw the blood from them so the villagers could cook them.
I will certainly be complimenting them and playing with them for their efforts later. They will receive a large amount of meat as well.