Chapter 42: Traveling to Selene - Anomalies in Verene Village
The night of the feast passes with the serving of Markant, who has turned into an uncle.
The village children return home, their bellies full and tired of the noise, and the square is now occupied only by adults. The people serving the guests took a breather and began to enjoy drinking and chatting while eating skewers of Gowthus and other food they can't eat. Those people who had been drinking since the beginning had fallen unconscious, but many continued to drink.
Soon after, Miranda comes to greet Ronnie with the pastry. She accepts it and thanks them for the food and their hard work. The two responded with a look of satisfaction and entered the circle of villagers. Tess remained at the guest of honor's table, happily listening to Markant's conversation. Perhaps this is how she usually listens to the drunks.
I threw a snack into my mouth, drank a glass of fruit water, and watched everyone.
Well, it's time for me to leave. I would have liked to stay a little longer in this pleasant village, but it is not a free trip. Tomorrow, we would have to leave.
As I was about to get up, I overheard a conversation among the villagers.
I sat up at the mention of it.
"–They're the guys from Weld, aren't they? I heard they got away."
"I think we've run out of food, haven't we?"
"Well, that's because you ate them while you're sleeping."
"I think our lambs are down in numbers too. Maybe they were stolen by bandits. ……"
"We don't steal lambs. That's why it's our food."
Bandits. We heard rumors about them several times on the road. As my brother had warned me, this was proof that the world was in a rough state, but I hadn't seen any.
They have appeared in this area – or perhaps there are signs of them.
I glanced around and saw that Oze and Pidosios were also listening attentively.
I don't care if they're drunk or not, as long as they are. The rest of us need to train.
"Tess, did the bandits get out?"
Tess, suddenly asked, was puzzled for a moment and then tilted her head.
"I don't know. It seems there are rumors."
"The grazing land would be far from the village. Aren't you afraid?"
"I'm fine. If bandits come, I'll beat them with my stick!"
She said and pretended to beat them.
It was a little heartwarming. I could almost hear onomatopoeic sounds like "Pokon!
While we were talking like this, one of the villagers turned to us and said, "Hey, you adventurers, right?"
"What are you talking about, Neil? They're C-ranked!"
Ronnie admonished him, but the man called Neil smiled.
"Oh, then you're strong. Ain't that easy?"
"It's not a question of strength; how much do you think it costs to hire a C-rank? You can't just ask him to do it."
Ronnie shook his head in disgust.
I'm sure he knows a lot of things since he used to be an adventurer. I don't know.
I asked everyone with my eyes, and Danil responded.
"It varies a lot depending on the nature of the request. But – at the lowest price, it's enough for a villager to live for more than a year if you know what I mean."
After hearing this, Neil's shoulders slumped.
What? I thought I had heard that name before, but it was Neil the shepherd, wasn't it? I looked at Tess and saw her worsened expression. She was making a strong statement, but perhaps her anxiety was heightened by the noise the adults were making.
"What do you think? Village chief."
"If you ask me that, …… no actual harm has been done to us. And there are no witnesses."
Neil the shepherd and the food man seemed to object to the mayor's statement but kept their mouths shut.
After considering the commission fee, he knows the village can't afford it. The daily income of an average person in town is less than one silver coin a day. In this village, it would be about half that amount. Even if it is the same amount, it would be at least thirty-six gold coins for more than a year. That is not an amount this village can afford.
Markant and Valerie looked at each other. They are from the same village, so they must have been in the same boat. However, they were in the middle of a request for an escort. They're not in a position to move on their own.
We can handle a bandit or two, but…
When I looked next to him, Roland opened his mouth as if he knew what I was going to say.
"May I? It will take us two days to be sure, bandits or no bandits. If bad weather strikes after we leave, it will be easy to blow off the leeway in our itinerary. If that happens, I'll ask Alter-sama to run alone."
"That would be a bad idea."
"That's not good, not good at all. So, please wipe away the mud on your family name while you are still in school."
"That's not what you say to the son of a lord. But that's all right. I will wipe off as much mud as I can."
Markant's expression brightened when he heard this, but in contrast, the "Sword of the Deep Silence" did not react as well. Especially Pidosios, he was not listening from the beginning and was drinking while looking at the day after tomorrow.
But he must have heard everything that was said.
"Pidosios, can you do me a favor?"
He turns to me at my words.
His eyebrows furrowed and then his mouth twisted.
"Are you serious? We are adventurers, we are paid to risk our lives. If I'm just asked to do whatever you want me to do, there's no way I'll have enough lives. Besides, even if they were here, they must have escaped, right? There's no way they'd have the strength to attack a village."
"Don't get your story twisted. You promised to scout along the way. No, right?"
He's hard to deal with, this guy. I can't argue with him because he's right.
And he's doing a perfect job of scouting along the way and being the boss. He didn't even complain when he carried Gowthus to the dismantling shed. In a sense, Pidosios is an adventurer in the purest sense of the word.
Even Ose and I could probably find a bandit or two. But it is best to have them specialize. Without them, it would take more than two days. We would have to go on a solo run.
For better or worse, "Sword of the Deep Silence" is a team led by Pidosios. If only we could somehow convince this twisted man.
Pidosios pours himself a glass of wine, dodging the glares of Markant and Valerie.
But – and that's where he stops.
He has a different feeling that only a good scout would notice.
He probably has a bad feeling about the direction.
But he can't help but check. It's the nature of scouts.
You glance to the side and groan.
He looks up at me with eyes that seem to be begging for my attention.
Unable to remove his gaze, Pidosios stiffened.
After a moment, he sighs deeply, as if giving up.
"Okay, okay! You just go, just go!"
Tess, her expression changing drastically, thanked him with a smile.
Wow, scary…
"This is natural, right? If you know what you're doing, it's even scarier…"
"Hmmm …… that's the kind of hobby you have."
"I'm going to get up and investigate tomorrow."
I got up, announced that I would start investigating tomorrow, and quickly ran away to the inn.
◇◇◇◇
In this world, where there are many foreign enemies, towns and villages build their dwellings and facilities in a clustered manner.
The village of Verene was no exception, with houses clustered around a stream that crossed the center of the meadow. Surrounding it was a large meadow, which was also pastureland, and beyond that was a forest. And the back of the forest led to welds and low mountains.
Then next morning, we checked the village while interviewing the villagers.
Finding nothing out of the ordinary, we moved on to investigate the meadow.
Neil was not the only shepherd in Verene. There are other livestock families, each with its direction and range. They let their sheep graze while resting on the grassland. We spoke to them too, but none of them had seen the bandits.
Pidosios, perhaps thinking he would not get anywhere at this point, suggested he enters the forest with only the "Sword of the Deep Silence". He wanted some quick proof of the bandit's presence or absence.
I agreed, and the remaining members returned to investigate the meadow.
Around noon, as we were stretching out from fatigue, we saw Tess and a herd of sheep in the same spot as the day before.
They were in front of the herd, moving their hands and holding their heads.
Although curious as to what they were doing, we continued their investigation.
However, we returned to our lodgings without any luck.
On the way back, I casually glanced at Tess, who was still struggling with the sheep.
She was counting them.
If I could get the total number, I would know if they were stolen. Perhaps it was a sense of responsibility to keep an eye on the sheep.
However, it is impossible to count the number of sheep, since there are more than a hundred of them moving around as they please. The animals should be tagged and managed; otherwise, the only way is to isolate them by counting them manually. It is said that at night they are returned to the fence adjacent to the village, so it would be reasonable to use that. It would take a lot of time and effort, and we would need the cooperation of Neil and the adults. I'll talk to Neil when it's all settled.
"I'm back!"
Not long after we return to the inn, the "Sword of the Deep Silence" also returns.
I order ale and Pidosios takes a seat at my table.
He gulps down the ale, and then he cuts in, "There was a bandit.
He's already dead, though."
"What do you mean?"
"First, I said bandits, but it could have been travelers or adventurers. All we found were footprints. But travelers would not be stupid enough to venture through the forest, and there are too many of them to be adventurers. There were more than ten of them. And the reason they are dead – wolves."
The first thing that comes to mind is the tree-climbing wolf Nudlok.
But Pidosios denied it.
"No, they're just wolves. But don't be naive. Wolves will eat and kill even orcs."
"There were that many?"
"There were. The pack we found alone numbered no less than twenty. The wolves were tracking their tracks. That was a few days ago. If they were bandits. They would have escaped with nothing but their clothes on. So they're already dead."
"So another one followed the bandit."
"Even animals are more dangerous than a bad monster if they are carnivores. The classic example is the wolf."
"Ronnie, are there many wolves around here?"
"There are, but the packs are around ten at the most. I've never heard of more than twenty."
"Bloated wolf packs. Then, aside from the food, the sheep could have been attacked. No trace of them has been left for days, and with such a large meadow, it's even possible to miss them."
"Do you think they'll attack the village?"
"It's only a matter of time. If anything, the bandits may have delayed the attack."
"Wolves are no better than goblins. We just have to crush them."
When Markant remarked wryly, Danil agreed.
"This is a livestock village, so I think they are more troublesome than goblins. Above all, wolves that attack people will attack again. There are many of them, and we should deal with them before they devour their prey. If we reduce their numbers to some extent and are vigilant enough, they won't bother to attack livestock or people."
"Deal. Then let's hit the wolf pack."
There were no objections or arguments, and tomorrow morning, we set out to strike down the wolves.
Just then. The door opens, and Neil appears.
"Is Tess back?"
"She hasn't come back yet…"
Ronnie responds, and we look at each other.
That's just – that's too good a timing, don't you think?
"Well, that's odd. Normally I'd say a word before leaving."
"Aren't you stopping somewhere?"
"Maybe so, I'll go check it out!"
Ronnie runs off.
Battle Axe of Destruction also saw me and nodded and followed.
Leaving them to search the village, we headed for the pasture where Tess was.
The scouts, including myself and the "Sword of the Deep Silence," began looking for traces of Tess.
It seems they were not in the village, and after a while, Ose joined us.
After a quick search, I, Ose, and the scouts gather together.
"What do you think?"
"No wolves have infiltrated."
The others nodded at Pidosios' words.
Then Ose opens his mouth, looking at a point.
"I see Tess's footprints. But–"
We turned our gaze to the dark forest.
Why did we go into the forest?
There was just talk that there might be bandits.
No matter – I have a feeling we're in trouble.
I look down at the other mark, etched beneath my feet.
Pidosios and Ose were staring at the same thing.
Is there a meaning to this? If so, which one?
The three of us nodded in silence and returned to the others.
"Tess went into the woods."
I told Ronnie, Miranda, and Neil the results of our investigation.
They were speechless at the worst possible turn of events, but Markant blow it out of the water.
"Leave it to us, we'll bring her back."
"Wait. Wait. "Battle Axe of Destruction" is on standby."
When he was stopped and told to stand by, Markant glared at me in frustration.
He met it head-on.
"Wolves may attack the village. Someone has to stay behind. You are the best fighters for the job. Besides, the sun will be setting soon. You must be good searchers, or you won't be able to do anything."
"That's true, though…"
He looked convinced but unwilling to accept.
"From what you just said, I'm also in detention? I'm an escort."
"Don't say that. It's a little late for that. And Roland–"
I lower my voice.
"Assume all eventualities. We don't know what's going on yet. You're the experienced one, you're in charge. Ose, you'll assist Roland."
Roland and Ose looked at each other and nodded.
I looked at Ronnie and Miranda, the villagers who had gathered, and the village at large.
Then I told everyone I was going and ran out into the forest with the "Sword of the Deep Silence".
Now, what do you think I'm going to find?
Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at (f)re𝒆we(b)novel.com Only