Chapter 272: Small Village

Shin finished his conversation with Lisa, or at least they had discussed the most important things for now. Finally, he was ready for sleep. There was just one small problem: the sun had already risen over the horizon, and he could hear the sound of Livia getting up.

"I think you’re not getting any rest today," Lisa chuckled. "Serves you right for spending all your time fucking girls."

"The only girl I had sex with was Yasmin, so it was only one girl," Shin rolled his eyes. "Anyway, you already told me you’re okay with that, so don’t come complaining."

"I’m not complaining," Lisa floated around his head. "Just remember to save some time for me."

"Always," Shin responded immediately, leaving the tent. Looking around, his eyes quickly met Livia’s, and he noticed she was blushing.

Looking down, he realized the reason. Maybe he had gotten too used to nudity, so much so that he hadn’t even noticed he wasn’t wearing any clothes.

Shin got back into his tent and pulled fresh clothes out of his dimensional ring. He also tried touching the empty air, looking for Yasmin, but failed completely.

"How am I supposed to wake her up?" he wondered to himself, realizing this might be a problem.

"Don’t worry, I’m already up." He soon felt her arms wrap around his neck. "Even if I could use some extra sleep," she commented.

With everyone finally awake, they packed their belongings. But because Shin knew there was a village close by, he decided they could take their time.

He and Caorlina went hunting so they could have a delicious breakfast. With that, the group set out along the road the merchant had pointed them toward.

The walk was short, barely an hour, as promised, before a small village appeared ahead, nestled between gentle hills.

It was a modest place, a cluster of wooden houses. He could also see farms stretching toward the horizon, but it looked like a very small town.

Another important thing was that every villager he spotted had dog ears, so he was probably in dog clan territory. It was good, because as long as he got in contact with Lara, he should be fine there.

There were no guards at the entrance, and the villagers looked at them with surprise, but none of them tried to stop the group as they walked into the village unchallenged. A few curious eyes followed them, but it was fine.

Spotting a young boy carrying a basket of vegetables, Shin approached.

"Excuse me. Is there an inn in this village?"

The boy looked up, his ears perking with interest.

"No inn here, mister. The village is too small for that." He paused, then pointed down the main path. "But the chief’s house is that way, the big one. If you need a place, talk to her."

"Thanks, kid," Shin said, then led the way.

The village was indeed very small. They crossed it in a couple of minutes. At the end of the path stood a house slightly bigger than the rest, two stories tall and built from sturdy timber, with a small garden in front. Shin knocked on the door.

A moment later, it swung open.

The woman behind it was stunning. Tall and shapely, with warm brown skin and a cascade of chestnut hair that fell past her shoulders, crowned by a pair of soft, perked dog ears. Her eyes were a rich amber, bright and intelligent, and her tits were... Well, really big. Not at Lara’s level, but close.

Dog girls were usually busty, but she was definitely above average even for her race.

Anyway, when she saw the group of humans on her doorstep, her ears flattened. She tensed, taking a half-step back, her gaze darting between the strangers with obvious wariness.

"Who... who are you?" she asked, her voice guarded.

"We’re travelers," Shin said calmly. "We were told there’s no inn in this village and that we should speak with the chief’s daughter."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, studying him. Then something flickered in her expression as she remembered something.

"Wait... you’re the one who saved my brother, aren’t you?"

Shin blinked.

"Your brother? Was he the merchant with the wagon?"

"Yes! The one attacked by the Great Wolves!" Her ears shot back up, her whole face brightening. "You’re the one who killed them all!"

"I did kill the wolves, yes," Shin confirmed.

The woman’s wariness vanished in an instant. She stepped forward and bowed deeply, a gesture of profound gratitude, so deep, in fact, that her loose blouse slid forward, the fabric gaping open. Her massive breasts hung free, and Shin caught a clear glimpse of her dark nipples before she straightened.

"I am Mira, the village chief," she said, straightening with a radiant smile, seemingly unaware of the display. "My brother, Gerald, brought us to the castle. He has been traveling to sell what we produce, but I always worry that he might not come back. And if you hadn’t arrived when you did, he would have been torn apart."

"It was nothing," Shin said, though his eyes lingered on her boobs a moment longer than necessary.

"It was everything," Mira insisted, her tail wagging behind her. "Please, all of you, come in. You can stay here as long as you need. It’s the least I can do for the man who saved my brother’s life."

Thanks to that, they had a place to sleep. The house was small, but because Mira’s father was dead and her brother spent most of his time traveling, she had two spare rooms.

And speaking of her brother, he was just getting ready to leave. He was heading to the dog clan capital. Shin thought about going with him, but finally opted to stay in the village for a while.

He needed a moment to rest. Besides, being in a remote place made it easier for him to hide himself.

Still, Livia would go with Gerald because she could easily find transport to the 17th floor from the dog clan capital, and in the Ice Wolf Territory, she could find a teleport center to take her back to the first floor, where she could meet her peers.

Besides, Gerald would carry a letter intended for Lara. Hopefully, he could deliver it, and soon the woman would come to meet the group.

The capital was only one day away by wagon, so it wasn’t like the whole process would take too long. And relaxing for one or two days sounded good to Shin, considering that he would soon need to jump into a war.

So, after talking with Mira for a while and making sure everything was dealt with, he got to his room and, with the sun close to setting, fell asleep.