Chapter 5 ：Gone？

"May I ask you a few questions?" Perry asked awkwardly after just declining Rufus's invitation. He feared that the elf in front of him might be offended by his refusal.

Fortunately, Rufus didn't seem to mind. He responded cheerfully, "Of course you can."

Perry and Rufus walked leisurely through the village, sunlight filtering through the dense canopy, casting dappled shadows on the ground. The occasional birdsong broke the surrounding silence. 

The boy standing before him seemed to be around the same age as Henry,.

His attire was very different from the mother and son Perry just meet not long ago. His clothing was simple yet elegant, emitting a faint glow. He wore a form-fitting white leather armor, as thin as a cicada's wings but seen incredibly strong. The armor's plates were arranged like scales, moving lightly and smoothly with every movement he made. Draped over his shoulders was a black cloak, the edges adorned with intricate silver embroidery of the sun and trees.

On his back was a whitewood longbow, its body carved with delicate vine patterns that shimmered faintly, as though imbued with ancient magic. The arrows in his quiver were fletched with pure white feathers, with faint silver markings at the ends. The arrowheads glinted sharply in the sunlight, radiating a cold, deadly brilliance.

Perry furrowed his brow, a sense of worry passing through his mind, so he asked, "Rufus, do you know anything about the Ulusu Forest?"

Rufus's long ears twitched slightly, clearly not surprised by the question. He smiled confidently and answered, "Of course, I know the forest well. After all, I grew up here. I've seen every tree and rock countless times." As he spoke, he gestured towards the lush forest before them, as if presenting it. "What do you want to know?"

Perry hesitated, thinking of how to phrase his question clearly. "Do you know which area the Mushcats usually appear in? And besides Flame Wolves, are there any other dangerous creatures in Ulusu Forest?"

"If you're talking about during the day, there aren't many dangerous animals in the forest. It's at night when the animals come out. We only hunt at night. In fact, animals rarely come near the village, but for some reason, that Flame Wolf appeared here when half the village was out hunting..." Rufus's expression grew serious, his face no longer bright and sunny but rather deeply troubled.

So, that Flame Wolf attack wasn't just a coincidence?

Perry's thoughts turned to the system in his mind. The system required him to interact with others to gather information, and once he received it, the system would promptly provide him with data, just like it did earlier. But this time, it was the first time he tried calling the system in his mind. To his surprise, there was no response. Perry couldn't help but wonder—did the system only respond when spoken aloud and not when thought internally?

Rufus's voice interrupted his thoughts. "By the way, you're looking for a Mushcat, right?" Rufus had reverted to his sunny disposition, frowning slightly as if trying to recall something. "Let me think… They should appear… Ah, no, I didn't see any in that area when I went there three weeks ago. Maybe closer to the waterfall? Not sure," he muttered to himself.

Taking advantage of Rufus's moment of contemplation, Perry quietly called out to the system in a low voice: "System? Can you hear me? System?" He whispered, but still, there was no response.

At that moment, Perry's heart began to race. His system—the one that consumed energy to protect him—wasn't responding. Could it be… that the system had vanished?

He anxiously called out again in a hurried whisper, "System, hey, System! Can you hear me? Answer me!" Yet the empty air gave no reply.

Perry was growing increasingly nervous.

Just then, Rufus turned around, a bit confused. "Huh? Sorry, did you just say something?"

Perry quickly masked his tension, laughing it off. "Oh, no, nothing important." He casually changed the subject. "So, about the Mushcat… Have you got any leads?"

Rufus scratched his head awkwardly. "Well… I know a lot about the animals here, but not so much about the plants. The humans in the village usually take care of gathering plants, while we elves focus on protection and hunting." He looked a little embarrassed.

But then, his eyes lit up as if he had just remembered something. "Oh, right! My grandfather has a detailed map of the forest, which shows the locations of many plants. I can ask him!" Before Perry could react, Rufus had already dashed towards a large tree in the village, nimbly scaling its branches and disappearing into a small house at the top.

After watching Rufus leave, Perry refocused and tried calling the system again, this time in a normal voice: "System? What's going on with you? Hurry up and respond!" His voice trembled slightly, but still, there was no feedback.

As Perry fell into deep thought, a familiar voice suddenly sounded beside him. "Hey, Henry, why are you talking to yourself? Are you worried about the Mushcat?"

Startled, Perry turned to find the boy he had seen earlier. The boy, who appeared to be about twelve years old, had somehow sneaked up behind him. "Geez! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Perry scolded lightly.

The boy smiled sheepishly and apologized, "Sorry, sorry! But Henry, have you regained your memory yet? You still seem a bit off. Do you remember where you hit your head? Have you fully recovered yet?"

Such nosy questions.

Perry didn't answer the boy's questions. He tried to calm himself down, focusing instead on observing the boy. His skin was a healthy tan, and his black eyes sparkled under the sunlight. His hair, which had a subtle purplish sheen, also caught Perry's attention. At first glance, it seemed black, but upon closer inspection, it had that purple hue. Perry was secretly surprised. He thought, "Isn't it a bit much for such a young kid to dye his hair?" But then he remembered this was a different world, so perhaps that was his natural hair color.

Feeling slightly helpless, Perry didn't want others to notice his anxiety, so he decided to go along with the boy's words. "Sigh, you caught me… Yeah, I haven't fully regained my memory yet."

"I knew it!" The boy clapped his hands triumphantly. "I knew something was up. Ever since you got here, you've been eating the apples from our village nonstop. But today, I brought a whole bunch of apples right in front of you, and you didn't even notice them! You didn't grab a single one. You must've forgotten what they taste like!"

Perry sighed inwardly. "So Henry's known as a glutton around here?"

The boy then introduced himself. "Since you've lost your memory, I'll reintroduce myself. My mom's name is Emily, and she makes amazing apple pies. My name is Toto. I'm the one who gathers wood and fruit in the forest for the villageand people living up there."

"People living up there? In the sky?" Perry's mind was starting to spin.

"No, silly! In the trees. They're elves! They protect the humans in the village, and we trade wood and fruit for their hunting skills. We work during the day, and they work at night. When we go out to gather, some of the elves accompany us to ensure our safety. Our relationship has been this way for thirty years now." Toto explained proudly.

"Oh, and by the way, it was Rufus, the elf you just met, who found you in forest today. Early this morning, you rushed out in such a hurry. I was worried about you going into the forest alone, so I follow you behind, but while you passing a wood you suddenly disappeared, and I couldn't find you. Luckily, Rufus was patrolling nearby and helped me locate you. That's how we were able to bring you back to the village."

"Suddenly disappeared? Do you know what happened?" Perry ask.

"I have no idea, I only know that we found you at a place with a lot of mushrooms, and many of poisonous mushrooms was surrounding , we all thought you were dead because we seen a Gelatinous Mushroom eaten by someone, but luckily you were still breathing and sleep in peace, doesn't look like poisoning so we just take you to my home and rest in bed. "

"Is that so? Thank you all... But wait, how did you know I was talking to Rufus just now? Were you secretly following me?"

"No, no, I wasn't! I just saw Rufus leaving and guessed!" Toto stammered nervously. Perry could tell he was lying, but he wasn't in the mood to interrogate him. While it was important to keep his odd behavior hidden, Perry was currently in a bad mood.

Pretending to have a sudden realization, Perry said, "Ah, I see." He nodded lightly, though he was still very curious about the customs of the elves. But first, he needed to focus on the important thing—gathering information about the forest. "So, you must know a lot about the forest, right?"

Toto beamed. "Of course! Ask me anything. I'm happy to help, especially since you've helped us before!"

Toto's enthusiasm reminded Perry of his sister's child, another kind-hearted little fellow. Perry couldn't help but smile, though for some reason, a tear slipped down his cheek.

Seeing this, Toto quickly pulled out a basket he had been hiding behind his back and offered it to Perry. "Here! These are apples from my mom. Don't cry! I'll help you find the Mushcat!"

Perry chuckled and gently ruffled Toto's hair. "It's alright, thank you." Yet deep down, his anxiety remained—without the system's response, he felt more alone and scared than ever.