--Tina''s side--


    Today is the day after Eric''s birthday.


    Yesterday we celebrated it as a family, but today everyone in the village is gathered in the square to celebrate Eric''s birthday with everyone else in the village.


    The day after Eric and I''s birthday is always celebrated by everyone in the village in a festive atmosphere.


    Since we are the only children in the village, they look after us like sons and daughters and grandsons.


    It''s a little embarrassing to always be looked at warmly, but I''m still glad that everyone is celebrating.


    Eric also always has a troubled look on his face, but not a full-blown attitude...............what?


    Eric''s not here?


    I look around and look for Eric, but I can''t see him anywhere but everyone in the village eating drinks and treats.


    ''Auntie, where''s Eric?''


    ''Oh my...?　Come to think of it, he''s not there. I wonder if he''s gone to the bathroom?


    I asked Aunt Serena and she said she didn''t know.


    Where did they go...?


    ........I have a slight bad feeling about this.


    Eric never once left in the middle of a birthday celebration. Even if he was going to be gone, he had to say a few words to me or my aunt.


    That''s why today he went away without telling anyone.


    Come to think of it, Eric has been acting strangely since yesterday.


    He seemed to be absent-minded, and seemed to be thinking about something else while we were celebrating.


    Something was wrong with him this morning as well, even when he was refilling his food and swinging his sword during morning training.


    His gaze was sharper than usual... there was something uncanny about him.


    I don''t know why he was coming here but he had a seriousness about him.


    As I was thinking about whether I should go and look for Eric - I noticed something strange about everyone in the village.


    When I tried to look around to see what was going on... I heard something that sounded like an earth shaking.


    At first I thought it was an earthquake, like the ones that happen from time to time... but it''s not like the ground is shaking that much. I just hear a sound from far away.


    Then - someone points diagonally upwards and shouts out.


    ''Hey ... what''s that?''


    He pointed in the direction of the person and saw a cloud of dust.


    A hundred meters away from this village, that dust cloud was dancing, and it was clear that it was related to the earth tremors that could be heard now.


    ''''Huh?　That dust cloud is not supposed to be...!


    Uncle Dian, who had been drinking and being merry earlier, opened his eyes and shouted loudly.


    ''''It''s the Demon Runaway (Stampito)!　Pack up and run!


    Everyone in the village froze at the loud voice, unable to act immediately. I''m also frozen in place, uncomprehendingly.


    ''''What is Stampito, Dian-san?!''''


    Someone said this to the uncle and asked him to explain, and he replied impatiently, shouting at them.


    ''A swarm of demons is coming to attack this village!　Get out of here!　We''re running out of time!


    Everyone finally started to move in response to Uncle''s answer. In a hurry, everyone in the village went back to their homes to get their stuff.


    I was about to go back to my house as soon as I could, but then I realized something and ran towards Uncle Dian.


    ''Uncle Dian!　Eric''s not here!


    What?　Where have you gone!


    ''I don''t know!　I don''t know where they went earlier!


    Uncle froze in astonishment, but quickly regained his composure.


    ''Tina, you need to go home and run away with your family!　I''m going to go find Eric!


    I''m going to find Eric too!


    I said this to my uncle because I was worried about my brother Eric, but he shook his head and told me to do it.


    ''No!　It''s too dangerous!　It''s okay, that''s my son!　I''m not going to die that easily!


    But...


    ''Tina, you need to run away with your family and Serena!　Tell Serena I''m taking Eric with me!


    Uncle said that to me and then went away.


    What am I going to do I''m worried about Eric, but I''m also worried about my dad and mom.


    Anyway, I have to go back home and tell Aunt Serena what my uncle said!　Then we''ll go find Eric!


    I run through the village square anyway to get back to my house.


    A little after the square, I see me and Eric''s house. In front of it, I see my dad and mom, who are almost ready to run away, and my Aunt Serena.


    ''Tina!　Let''s get out of here!


    Tina, where are little Eric and that man?


    Aunt Serena asked me if she thought Eric and Uncle Dian were with me, and she asked me that.


    ''Eric wasn''t here, so Uncle Diane went looking for him!　Uncle says Auntie should run away with us!


    ''Oh yeah okay. Then we''ll run away with everyone else!


    I''m going to find Eric!


    No, of course not!　Leave it to Uncle Diane!


    My father, who was always so calm and never angry, said this to me in an angry tone, which made me feel a little timid.


    ''''But...!


    It''s okay, Tina. She''ll take care of you. Besides, Eric will be back soon.


    My aunt says to me, speaking softly to me.


    ''....Okay.


    ''Okay, then let''s get our stuff and go in the opposite direction of the demon attack!　If we go that way, we should be able to meet up with everyone in the village!


    I had to run away with my fathers, even though I was pulling back, but I had to run away with them.


    But when we got to the point where we were leaving the village to escape, there everyone in the village was staying there with their bags and not running away.


    I didn''t understand at first what was going on, but as I got closer, I realized why they weren''t running... or rather, why they couldn''t run.


    ''What''s going on with these walls!　You can''t get away with this!


    There was a large wall there, about three meters high. It was installed on the outside of a fence that had been put in place to prevent demons from entering.


    You could tell the moment you saw it that it was stronger than the tattered fence... but this one seemed to enclose the village in all directions, and there was no way to escape from it as it was.


    ''''Who would do this!''''


    As he says this, a man is trying to do something about the wall with the hoe he is using to plow the field, but he is not moving.


    No I don''t think I can break it down.


    You don''t think that... we''re not going to be able to run away from a demon attack like this...


    Someone muttered anxiously, and everyone in the village began to be dismayed, as if the anxiety and confusion were contagious.


    I''m getting scared and my legs are shaking too.


    ''''Yes~ Everyone don''t panic!


    From behind me, Aunt Serena claps her hands loudly to draw attention to herself before she begins to speak.


    ''If there were demons that close to me just now and none of them are still in the village, then I think something is holding me back. That means that this wall isn''t just here, it could be completely surrounding the village and preventing the demons from entering.


    ''Sure....''


    ''It''s strange that you''re so close and yet you haven''t been here...''


    Aunt Serena continues with a smile to further reassure everyone.


    ''My husband is out looking for little Eric right now, so when he comes back, he''ll break down these walls. That man can afford it.


    Well if she''s coming, it''s okay!


    Everyone in the village smiles when they hear that, although they are still anxious. I think everyone can wait here with more hope than before.


    My legs have stopped shaking a bit too.


    It''s all thanks to Aunt Serena. That''s my Uncle Eric and Diane''s mother, I thought.


    If I could grow up like this, I wonder if Eric will rely on me....


    Thinking about this, I tried to sit down with my back to the wall that suddenly appeared.


    But - I felt something from that wall.


    I let go of my back and stood in front of the wall to feel it more closely, and then I put my hand on the wall as it was.


    And then I was able to capture what I''ve always felt.


    This is........Eric''s magic!


    I can feel Eric''s magic from these walls!


    I know because he always practiced magic with me........This wall was definitely built by Eric.


    She said it was to prevent the invasion of demons.


    Then how was it possible to make this wall?


    Did you do it after you knew the demon attack was coming?　Nope, that''s definitely not possible.


    I know that this wall was built using ground soil with ground magic, but it''s three meters high and quite a bit wider than that.


    It''s impossible even for me, who can do magic better than Eric, to build such a huge wall to surround the village.


    You can make a wall, but to make it so big both vertically and horizontally in a short period of time to surround the village, it would take about a week to do so.


    I don''t know ... how Eric was able to build this wall at the same time as the demon attack.


    Eric what do you know?