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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Chapter 3 Return to Abli Village (1)
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“There’s something I want to ask.”
“Yes, please do.”
“…Why in the world do I have to tag along for this, too?!”
Sei-an was currently on his way to Abli Village with Jeron. Kanto and Lark were also accompanying the two.
“What does the death of those villagers have to do with me?!”
Lark glared at Sei-an, who had dragged him along again, and spoke with a look of utter dissatisfaction.
“As I told you, it might be related to Glomi’s death.”
“…Damn it!”
He couldn’t help but follow after hearing that. After all, he felt a certain curiosity and a slight sense of responsibility regarding the death of the woman who had helped him.
It was true that she had uncovered the truth and cleared her unjust name, and having left the academy because of it, she had met her end outside. He couldn’t simply ignore it.
“Heart attacks, you say…”
The reason Sei-an linked the deaths in Abli Village to Glomi’s death was that the cause of death was the same for all of them.
According to Jeron, the villagers of Abli Village, who were dying by the dozens every day, were all dying of heart attacks.
Of course, it could be a coincidence, but it was worth investigating.
“But seriously,”
“Yes?”
Kanto, who had been quietly riding his horse beside them, suddenly seemed to recall something and approached Sei-an, speaking to him.
“Why was she crying?”
“Who…?”
“Professor Mayhen, I mean.”
“Ah.”
“Was she really that upset about us not being able to attend classes for a few days again?”
“I wonder.”
Just before they left the academy, when Professor Mayhen heard that they wouldn’t be able to attend classes for a few more days, she suddenly burst into tears.
Kanto couldn’t help but be extremely flustered.
And having left the academy, he still couldn’t even begin to guess why she had cried.
“Uh… excuse me.”
“That’s what I mean.”
“Ha… haha!”
“Class has started…”
Meanwhile, at that very moment, as Sei-an’s party diligently rode their horses towards Abli Village, Professor Mayhen, who had entered the classroom for class, had to hang her head low again because the students were ignoring her and chattering away among themselves.
‘Ugh! Please come back quickly.’
She wished Sei-an’s party would return soon and bring them back to order.
***
“Here it is.”
“…The atmosphere has changed a lot.”
A few days later, Sei-an’s party arrived at their destination, Abli Village.
“It’s quiet.”
“It used to be a tourist village…”
The village had a very somber atmosphere.
“Halt!”
“What brings you here?”
The guards at the village entrance also looked very different.
They used to greet all visitors warmly, but now they were eyeing strangers with fierce caution.
It was understandable; with people suddenly dying repeatedly, it was only natural for them to be wary of outsiders until the cause was identified.
“The recent deaths that… Ugh!”
“We’re traveling. We plan to stay here for a few days.”
Kanto, who had been about to casually mention they were there to investigate the villagers’ deaths in response to the guard’s question, had his words cut short by Lark’s hand covering his mouth.
He tilted his head in confusion, watching Sei-an give a brief answer in his stead.
“…You may enter.”
A moment later, with the guard’s permission, Sei-an’s party was able to enter the village.
“Why did you suddenly cover my mouth like that?!”
“Are you an idiot?”
“…Huh?”
As soon as Kanto freed himself from Lark’s hand, he let out a frustrated cry. But he quickly looked puzzled under Lark’s disdainful gaze.
“It’s a tourist village.”
“The villagers wouldn’t want the fact that people are dying without reason to become known to outsiders.”
“Ah!”
Then, at Lark and Sei-an’s words, Kanto finally realized his mistake and offered an awkward smile.
If it became known to outsiders that people were dying without reason in this tourist village, fewer visitors would come, which would severely disadvantage their livelihoods.
So, if they had said they were there to investigate, they might have been driven out before even setting foot in the village.
“For now, it seems best to find a place to rest for the day.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
A moment later, at Jeron’s suggestion, Sei-an’s party headed to the nearest inn.
“Welcome.”
“Do you have a room?”
“Yes, of course.”
“We’d like a room that can accommodate us.”
“Yes, please follow me.”
Since they had no idea what was going on in the village yet, Sei-an’s party decided to share one room.
“This room is for you.”
Sen, the inn employee, kindly led Sei-an’s party to the room on the second floor, offered a bright smile as a greeting, and was about to descend to the first floor.
Click!
“……!”
But at that moment, Sen quickly snatched a gold coin that flew towards him, looking surprised as he gazed at the one who had thrown it.
“These guys have some questions for you.”
It was Lark. After securing Sen for them, he immediately lay down on the bed, as if he no longer wanted to bother with anything, and tried to sleep.
“Ask me anything!”
One gold coin! It was a large sum, enough for him to work hard for a month at this inn.
Sen grinned widely, looking at Sei-an’s party as if ready to tell them anything.
‘…He acts faster than I thought.’
‘Unexpected.’
Meanwhile, Jeron and Kanto looked at Lark with surprise, impressed by his initiative in handling the situation so swiftly.
Despite acting as if everything was a bother, when something was needed, he was always the first to assess the situation and find a quick solution.
“We heard that some people in the village have died suddenly recently.”
“…Yes.”
In the meantime, Sei-an began to question Sen to obtain information about the deceased.
“Could you tell us more about that?”
“Why would you…?”
Although he had received money, Sen seemed a bit hesitant, as if talking about the deceased was uncomfortable.
“A few days ago, one of our friends died of a heart attack for no reason.”
“What?”
“And we heard that quite a few people here have met the same end, so we came to see if there might be some connection.”
“……”
At Sei-an’s words, Sen remained silent for a moment, then looked at the money in his hand, let out a small sigh, and began to speak.
“A total of twenty-two people have died so far.”
“Did they all die of heart attacks?”
“Some of them were, and some weren’t.”
“What?”
“…From sheer terror…”
“……?”
“Some even took their own lives.”
And at Sen’s subsequent words, Sei-an’s party realized this situation was far more complex than they had initially thought, and their expressions grew grim.
***
“Gasp… gasp…”
An old man, easily past sixty, was running frantically as if being chased by something. Even as he gasped for breath, he kept moving without stopping.
“Ah!”
Thud… thud-thud…
The old man, running wildly through the mountains, suddenly realized he was at the edge of a cliff with no path ahead and had to stop abruptly.
“Don’t… don’t come any closer!”
Then he turned his head and began to scream at something, trembling with fear.
Creak… rustle… stomp… creak… rustle… stomp…
As the old man trembled and watched, someone slowly approached him.
The one approaching the old man with small frictional sounds accompanying each step was a man who appeared to be in his late thirties.
“I… I was wrong, Royce!”
Creak… rustle… stomp…
The man called Royce seemed to move very unnaturally.
Strange sounds emanated from his body with every step, and his face was utterly devoid of expression.
“Don’t… don’t come any closer!”
The old man seemed completely oblivious to Royce’s unnaturalness, simply trembling with fear and backing away little by little with each step the man took towards him.
Stomp…
“Don’t come any closer!”
Thud… thud-thud!
“Ah… Ugh… Aaaargh!”
And finally, as he took a step back, trying to avoid the man who took one last step towards him, the edge of the cliff gave way under his weight, and he plummeted down.
Thud!
He died instantly. The moment he fell from the cliff, his head cracked open and his body shattered; he met his death without even a moment to feel pain.
“Hmm.”
But then, someone quietly approached the old man’s side. It was a young girl, about 17 years old.
“Can’t you just die a little faster?”
Even looking at the horrific sight of the old man’s dead body, she calmly spoke and merely clicked her tongue in disdain.
Whoosh!
And the next moment, as she extended her hand towards the old man, a faint orb of light emanated from the old man and hovered around her.
“The three hundred forty-second soul.”
She snatched the soul as if catching a fish and tossed it high into the sky. The orb of light was swiftly swallowed by a suddenly appearing dark void and vanished quickly.
“Alright, shall we go again?”
After confirming its disappearance, the girl smiled faintly and quickly vanished from the spot.
Only the old man’s corpse, staining the surroundings with blood, remained to guard the lonely spot where she had disappeared.
