Deep inside the Deki forest, approximately 20 kilometres away from the kingdom borders, there was a small village with roughly 35 villagers. The wooden walls that were built in place to separate the village from the forest looked extremely old and rusty. A single kick could probably smash it into small pieces.
There was also a tense atmosphere oozing from the many villagers; the reason for the tension was due to the group of visitors who were visiting the village.
"Old man, how many times do I have to remind you, stop feeding us this cheap liquor!!"
The man said as he threw the glass of fresh beer to the ground. The sound of glass breaking resounded in the room.
"I-I'm sorry, but that's all the liquor we have."
The chief said, lowering his head to the ground.
"Please forgive us!!"
Many of the villagers also promptly lowered their heads following the chief; seeing them lowering their heads, the group of men all smirked.
"Now, now, come on, chief, you must have at least liquor from Alberta's kingdom, no. We did promise we would protect your filthy village. Yet you can't even compensate us with a glass of wine."
The bulky man who had been sitting on the sofa said. His two followers all wore arrogant expressions on their faces.
The village was located between the Kingdom of Alberta and the Kingdom of Watanabe. Unfortunately, the village was located far out of the range of either kingdom. Thus, they can't request protection from either kingdom. Their village once had over 100 inhabitants, but due to the constant monster attacks, many of the villagers met an unfortunate end.
However, by chance, while these adventurers were travelling, they happened to stumble upon their village. And vow to protect them, but that was only on the surface.
The village had many beautiful women who would easily suit their needs.
"There hasn't been any monster attack since we came here, right? I already told you if you don't stop messing around, we're gone."
He said in a strong tone. If his clothes were to be compared with those of a noble, one could say it was nothing; however, if a commoner were to look at his clothes, they would immediately say it was of high quality. The man had short, messy blonde hair and carried a large broad sword on his back.
His two companions were both skinny, and their height was about average. One was a bald man with a scar on the right side of his eyebrows. The other man had long brown hair and wore a simple adventure suit which was made for travelling.
He stared at the female present inside the room with a strong glint in his eyes.
"Ye-yes, but unfortunately, we haven't been able to stock up on any supplies these past few days."
An old man with a slightly long grey beard said, while keeping his forehead stuck to the ground. His old and torn-up clothing wrinkled with his movements.
"Is that so? Well then, tell me how far it is to travel from here to the kingdom of Watanabe?"
The bulky man suddenly asked. The village chief pondered for a while before speaking.
"It should take roughly five weeks."
The chief said. The bulky man hummed with deep interest when his eyes landed on three men who were still lowering their heads to the ground. A smile formed on his face.
"Hey, you three"
He said, gazing at the three young men.
"Eh, y-you mean us?"
The man on the left said in surprise at being called out.
"Yeah, I'm talking to you."
"I want you three to go over to the Watanabe Kingdom and get us some good beer."
He said with a pleasant smile.
Hearing his sudden order, the men trembled as they lowered their heads.
"Wait, Sir, we-we can't. That forest is crawling with powerful monsters."
The man in the middle said fearfully. However, hearing his protest, the man standing at the bulky man's side frowned unpleasantly.
"Oi, we were the ones protecting you, worthless cowards who can't even protect yourself, are you saying you just want to live your life while only being protected?"
The man asked, gazing downward at the man, lowering his head. Sweat fell from the man's forehead as he struggled to find the right words.
"Sir Gael, please, the villagers are all powerless; if we could go out on our own, we would have left long ago."
The village chief said in a desperate tone. However, Gael only sent him a glance filled with annoyance.
"Hmm… I changed my mind."
He muttered in a low voice. The village chief looked at him in confusion.
"We will protect the women of this village, but as for the men their all a waste of time. What do you say, ladies, will you all come with me? I can promise you it will be worth it, after all, it's either coming with us or becoming food for the monsters."
He said, standing up from the sofa.
"Wha… wait!! Ugh"
Before the chief could finish his words, Gael raised his foot and stomped down on the bald chief's head.
"Stop wasting my time, old man. Even with our protection from the monsters, your village will waste away on its own, after all, your people are already suffering from starvation. So, we're no longer going to waste our time here."
"Uargh."
The village chief's face became bitter; he had already understood that his village would eventually suffer starvation. After all the brave fighters from the village had already met their end, all that was left were powerless people who were afraid of dying, fathers and mothers who only wanted to take care of their children. Not a single one of them dared to stand up against the dangerous beast that lives within the forest. But not only that, with the powerful "Fox beast" constantly coming down from the mountain in search of food, many humans ended up as nothing but mere nutrients for the beast.
Eventually, all lost their will to fight, knowing that such powerful monsters lived near this location. And so, the villagers were too afraid to leave the village, taking the risk of that beast appearing before them.
"We'll be leaving in a few days. Until then, which of you women will keep me company tonight?"
He asked as his gaze ran through the women who were still lowering their heads.
"Oh..."
When his eyes landed on a particular woman who was lowering her head, a glint of lust shone in his eyes.
"You, little miss."
The man said, pointing towards her. The woman's body trembled slightly when being looked at with such a heated gaze.
"M-me?"
She asked timidly.
"Yes, raise your head."
Hearing his order, she slowly raised her head. Strands of her long, coloured pink hair fell down her face, and her bright pink eyes went well with the colour of her hair. Even though she hadn't eaten properly in the past few days, her body was still very proportionate. She seems to be 18 years old. The woman quietly bit her lips while trying her best to maintain her beautiful smile.
"Tell me what your name is?"
"It's Alice."
She said, answering his question. Hearing her words, his eyes lit up.
"Well then, Alice, would you accompany me to my room tonight?"
He asks with a satisfying smile. Alice remained quiet for some time before speaking.
"Wait! You can't see, my daughter."
A handsome man with refined features suddenly called to Gael, with a panicked expression.
SWOOSH~
A sword flickered, and the head of the man fell to the ground. Everyone within the room fell into a panic as they saw one of their fellow villagers had just lost his life. Alice looked at the head of her father's fallen body in complete horror. Eventually, tears began to fill her eyes.
"Who said you could talk?"
Gael said coldly, then directed his sharp gaze back towards Alice.
"Now then, will you join me tonight?"
He said in a tone that couldn't completely hide his annoyance. Even though he was asking her, the pressure coming from him implicitly states, "I definitely won't be taking no as an answer"
She fell silent before wiping away her tears and looking at him with a wavering gaze.
"I refuse..."
She said before taking out a small bottle from her dress and throwing it towards Gael's face, before he could process what she had just said, the bottle landed directly on his face.
BANG!!
The bottle exploded, and his vision was obstructed by dust.
"Damn it!!"
He exclaimed. Once the dust was cleared, he immediately noticed Alice's figure was completely gone from the room.
"You two catch her, bring her back here alive!!"
"Ye-yes sir."
"Understood."
The two men standing by his side both promptly left the room in search of Alice.
…
Meanwhile, at the same time, Alice was already outside the village and was making her way towards the forest. The forest was the most dangerous place right now, but she would rather entrust her fate to the beasts instead of allowing her body to be violated. And so, she frantically ran straight into the Deki forest with no way of knowing what was straight ahead.