"Kai-to?" Gilda tilted her head. "That's quite the odd name. But then again, Lilia's family name is odd as well... A-ah, I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to insult you or anything!" she quickly added.

"Oh, they wouldn't mind! Especially when that boy is a Hero!" Gilda replied with a smile. "Okay then, follow me, Sir Kaito. Or would you just want me to call you by your name? It would feel weird since you're a Hero and all, but Lilia never really minded. Or at least I think she didn't..."

Gilda then guided Kaito to descend down from the hills they were on, heading towards the village in the distance. The road they traveled on was just a dirt one, so it was quite uneven at places. But Gilda didn't seem to be bothered by it whatsoever. The fact that she wore boots certainly helped matters.

"Hehe, alright then! I'll take you on your offer!" she replied cheerfully to his warning. "Pops aren't coming back tonight though so we'll be there on our own."

"Gems? Hmmm..." She put her hand under her chin. "Oh, I remember! After Lilia slew the dragon, we found some treasure that it had been guarding. She told me to take it all, which I certainly didn't, mind you, I shared it all with the entire village--we could expand our farm and buy some more livestock thanks to it--except for this one gem. Maybe that's the gem the Sage wants you to gather?"

After around thirty minutes of walking, they finally arrived at the village. The place looked pretty much like your average medieval village, with all the wooden houses; some having thatch roofing and some with actual wooden roofs. The roads were actually paved this time, but they weren't as tidy as the roads you would find in cities. with some clearly need fixing.

When they arrived, they immediately attracted the attention of the villagers that saw them. It was one of the village housewives and a group of children. Most of the other housewives were busy doing their work--mostly cooking, cleaning, and sewing--inside their homes.

"Oh, Gilda, you're back! Wait, who is there with you?"

"Yaay, Big Sis Gilda is back!"

The children ran towards Gilda and hugged her; a display of affection that the farm girl replied with a bright smile and a generous dose of head pats. She was clearly quite popular with them.

"Big Sis, who's this man?"

"Your boyfriend? Well, I don't like him!"

"Yeah, yeah, leave him be and play with us instead!"

The kids looked towards Kaito with suspicion, as well as the middle-aged housewife for that matter.

"Oh, don't worry about him. He's just... a traveler, that's all. He'll be resting in my house for the night," Gilda lied.

"Oh my, taking in a stranger? Isn't that dangerous? Especially since he's a young man and you're a young woman?" the housewife said, eyeing Kaito some more. "And he's dressed so strangely too..."

"Oh, Mary, who do you think I am? If he tries anything, I'll beat him up with my trusty stick!" Gilda replied with a smile as she showed off her crook.

The housewife called Mary sighed. "Well, you know best. Just remember. If you need anything, I'll be there to help."

"Thank you, Mary!" Gilda then turned towards the kids. "Alright you guys, Big Sis Gilda has to go now."

"Aaawww..." the kids replied near-simultaneously with disappointment.[hr]After that little distraction, the two finally arrived at her house. It was one of the wooden houses with thatched roof.

The place was definitely less well-off than your usual modern-day era house. The entrance didn't even have a floor and the wooden flooring that existed creaked every time they walked on it. And there was only one bedroom without actual beds. They would have to sleep on the floor with only hay-stuffed mattresses and blankets covering them.

Gilda took Kaito to the living room and told him to wait there while she prepared dinner. He would be able to smell the delicious scent of cooked beef coming from the kitchen.