Noble?

"Yes, something like that," the Village Chief replied. "There are hardly any who come here, and only a few of us have gone outside – you could probably count them on two hands."

The Village Chief then posed a question, "May I ask how you ended up here?"

Xerxes was speechless. He didn't know how to answer that, but still decided to reveal a half-truth.

"Just yesterday, I was walking back home, and all of a sudden, I ended up here in this place, a little further from this village."

"Teleportation magic! Seems you stepped into some magic formation and ended up here," the village chief mused, his thought surprisingly close to the reality.

"Magic!" Xerxes exclaimed, though with a feigned expression of shock. He quickly masked his true surprise, remembering his own ability to absorb the beasts and take on their forms.

"May I ask you something?" the Village Chief inquired; his tone curious as if wanting to confirm something before continuing their conversation.

Xerxes nodded, intrigued by what the Village Chief was about to ask.

"Are you perhaps a Noble or a Royalty?"

The Village Chief inquired. He had considered this possibility initially, but after observing Xerxes's demeanour and the way he spoke, he wasn't quite convinced.

"No, I'm not, as far as I'm aware," Xerxes replied casually, confirming the Village Chief's suspicions.

"Oh," the village chief said, his tone quite upset.

"Is there a problem? Why does it matter if I'm nobility or not?" Xerxes inquired, now wary of the village chief, who had displayed a disappointed tone when Xerxes confirmed that he was not of noble birth.

"Not to take it that way," the woman's voice came from the other side of the room. She then entered, alongside Fia, the Granddaughter of the Village Chief.

The woman had light tan skin like Fia, unlike the villagers who had fairer skin. She held a plate filled with roasted meat, while Fia held a plate of fruits and a jug of water.

"She is my daughter-in-law, Lala" the Village Chief introduced, "and the young one you have met before is Fia, my Granddaughter."

Xerxes nodded and introduced himself. "I'm Xerxes."

"Father isn't disappointed because of your heritage, but because he lost another hope to get justice," Lala said, her tone tinged with sadness as she remembered something sorrowful.

"It's pointless, Lala," the Village Chief admitted, his confident demeanour crumbling.

He slumped, now a grieving old man. "I don't think there is any way we can get our revenge and get justice."

"What happened? Is there something that only nobles can solve and not the people of the village?" Xerxes asked, curious about the undercurrent of sadness in their conversation.

Lala sat beside them, and Fia followed suit. "This is roasted boar meat and some fruits," she said, "you eat first."

Xerxes nodded, his mouth watering at the aroma of the meat. He took a piece and began eating hungrily. The three of them watched him with amusement.

"Now it's confirmed that he wasn't nobility," Fia whispered, a silly smile playing on her lips. They watched with amusement as Xerxes devoured the food.

"Nom... Nom... BLUURRGGHhh!"

Xerxes, ravenous after a day of near-death experiences, fights, and countless transformations, had finished the entire meal in a mere fifteen minutes.

"Sorry, I haven't eaten since last night, so what's the issue?" he asked casually, gulping down the water.

"This village, and eight others like us, are situated between Mist Land and Mistwood Forest," Lala explained.

"We live far from the big societies, and our people have lived here since ancient times," she continued.

"We are also known as guardians, as there is an old folktale that one day, a monster will emerge from Mistwood Forest, and our people will have to fight it and keep it from entering the world."

Xerxes gulped. "I just came from that way," he thought, "hopefully I haven't met the so-called monster during my journey."

"It's just a folktale, right? Or do you believe that this will happen one day?" Xerxes asked.

"No one knows if it's true, but the people of the nine tribes and some people out there still believe in this, that this is not a folktale, but a prophecy," Lala explained.

"So how does this relate to your situation?" Xerxes asked.

The Village Chief spoke, "Well, this is all related because, six months ago, a monster came. Our people believed it was the monster of the prophecy, and many men of our tribe and others went to hunt it."

"But..." his tone was low and sad.

Lala continued, "My husband and those others who went to stop it, all lost their lives to that monster. And by the time the army of the Nobles came, no one was left alive."

"And later it was found out that it was not some monster, but a beast who had gone wild," Lala clenched her fist, anger clear in her tone, "that those bastard left it in the Mist Forest because they cannot control or kill it."

"Those people? So, it was not a monster but a pet of someone? But what type of monster was it that it couldn't be killed by so many people?" Xerxes asked, bewildered.

"It was a serpent with the tiny bloodline of the legendary beast Basilisk," the Village Chief explained, his voice trembling with anger.

"Those people wanted to create something like the legendary beast, but it backfired, and they failed to tame it. If not for those bastards from the Firefly Society, then... then my son would still be alive."

Hearing the sorrowful words of the Village Chief and unfamiliar names like Basilisk and Firefly Society, it was confirmed in Xerxes's mind that he had been transmigrated.

Lala continued, her anger clear in her tone, "We are trying to ask help from the Nobles, but they aren't doing anything because it's a matter related to the Firefly Society. If any of them could have helped, then we would have avenged the death of our people."

"I have never seen Basilisk or a big serpent but I can imagine how dangerous it can be by just imagining it." Xerxes thought, he had a thought about his power and there may be a chance where he can help but he was still doubtful about it because unlike wolves, bears and crocs, the serpent will be venomous and he didn't know if he can do the same with the serpent or not.

"So, when I came here, you thought by helping me, you could ask a favour to help your people against the fight with that serpent because I looked like I was from a Noble family," Xerxes spoke clearly, understanding the situation.

"Indeed, we saw this as an opportunity, but alas..." the Village Chief nodded, and Lana sighed.

"What about other powers? There must be others who can help, right? And what is this Firefly Society?" Xerxes asked. His words were met with stunned silence.

"You don't know about the Firefly Society? Where in the backwater were you living?" Fia spoke for the first time.

"Ahem,"

The Village Chief coughed, silencing his granddaughter. "Forgive her manner, but I don't think anyone in this world doesn't know about the Firefly Society."

Even the Village Chief couldn't believe his ears. Living between the dangerous forest, he, like everyone else in the village, knew of the Firefly Society. Yet, Xerxes, who had appeared seemingly to be the city boy, claimed to be completely unfamiliar with them.

Xerxes gave a silly, helpless smile. "Should I tell the truth or...?" he thought.

[Read author's note for more detail]