Chapter 215: Night Comes, Night Departs 1
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“What’s with that face?”
As I stepped out of the carriage, I was met with a number of questioning gazes, and the words just slipped out.
“Seriously? Are you serious, Masked Man?”
“Shin-san, please listen, Shin-san! Even I get angry sometimes, you know?”
“Masked Man, if your stomach hurts, warm soup is good. It’s calming.”
Are you guys my mothers?
According to Jen, I apparently had a pathetic look on my face, so I’ll humbly accept their words of concern.
No, wait, is Beardy the only one actually worried?
Just as I thought, there are no bad guys among men with beards. Thinking this, I sat down on a small folding chair that had been prepared by the bonfire.
“Um…”
From next to me—that is, from Erika—a wooden mug was offered along with a hesitant voice.
“It’s tea… I brewed it myself.”
I put some guts into my face, which was about to break into a full-blown grin, and somehow managed to force a smile.
As I thanked Erika and took it, she looked at my face and then cast her eyes down. I worried if it was just my paranoia that she seemed to be suppressing a sigh.
“Well then, shall we hear the report?”
Jen, positioned in front of me, urged me to speak.
I took a deep breath.
“First off, I failed.”
Those around me gasped.
“Sorry, I couldn’t buy the sweets. The shop was closed.”
Yuunou-san slammed her fist on her own knee, “Control yourself, me!” she grumbled, frustrated about the lack of sweets. Shara muttered, “You really went all the way to town in such a short time, didn’t you,” and Beardy consoled me, “That’s a shame, Masked Man.”
“Is that so, my friend? I’m disappointed too. I was about to look for a stone to throw at you, but well, I’ll endure it for now.”
Jen’s sarcasm pierced my chest.
I felt like crying at my own incompetence for not being able to buy the sweets Erika had asked for.
I want to grant all her wishes, but I don’t have the power to do so. That alone is frustrating.
Timidly, I checked on Erika sitting next to me, and she was muttering in a small voice, “Come to think of it, I did ask you, didn’t I.”
Could it be that she hadn’t expected me to succeed from the start? If so, that’s infuriating.
I really must become stronger.
If she wished for it, I must become strong enough to split the world in two, or even bring back the Margrave’s head.
Somehow, I tucked away my rampaging determination into my chest and continued the story for now.
“So, about the return trip, I found a village that had been attacked by bandits.”
“Hmm.”
The one who responded was Jen. Shara made a sad face, and Yuunou-san frowned, exhaling sharply through her nose.
Erika and Beardy were the only ones who seemed to simply understand that something sad had happened, and that was it.
Even for Erika, who was the daughter of a great noble, and for Beardy, who apparently grew up in the town of Noel Jeun, they could understand and feel pain that a tragedy had occurred, but they couldn’t truly imagine it.
Jen is a noble’s daughter, but she’s so accustomed to scenes of carnage it’s hard to believe she’s one. Shara is a woman of the church. If such a tragedy occurred, she’d be the first to go to the scene.
As for Yuunou-san, she’s a Rank 6 adventurer. Moreover, her build is slender, almost noble-like, which means she’s an experienced adventurer and has likely seen and knows “more or less” about such things.
After all, even I, who became an adventurer at thirteen, am quite familiar with it.
Outside the towns, it’s a mass of iniquity.
It’s a greater mass of iniquity than one can imagine.
A village can be wiped out just because someone “accidentally” forgot to put Magic Stone Fragments into a Monster Repellent Magic Tool.
If a bad harvest continues even once, people will starve. If they get injured and treatment isn’t in time, they die. It’s different from towns that have a church nearby.
It’s one thing for villages within a day’s walk from a town, but the farther away they are, the more pronounced it becomes.
“The village was completely wiped out.”
But, even so, that was different.
That wasn’t iniquity; it was pure, unadulterated malice. The kind that willfully forces iniquity upon others.
At the word “annihilation,” Yuunou-san (Maricia) was the first to react.
“A village completely wiped out by a bandit attack?”
Her face contorted fiercely, yet Yuunou-san still voiced her doubt. About its irrationality.
“Not a Monster attack?”
As I nodded in return, Yuunou-san pressed further.
The other members, perhaps not understanding Yuunou-san’s question, frowned at the word “annihilation” but looked perplexed. No, Beardy looked like he was about to cry.
“And yet, ‘completely wiped out’?”
It’s unpleasant. She didn’t even try to hide it, yet Yuunou-san, still seeking a basis, is truly competent.
She has the same air as my old man—the courage to look at unpleasant things in order to choose the best course of action, by gritting her teeth and suppressing her emotions.
“For a Monster attack, the village was too clean.”
I inadvertently recalled the scene, and my brow furrowed.
“Would Monsters kick down doors, drag out the residents, and gather them in the square?”
Oh no, my expression is probably looking pretty bad.
I became aware of my own expression from a sound like a sigh, an “Aah,” that came from Erika beside me.
I hope she’s not exasperated by my un-noble-like behavior of letting my emotions show so plainly on my face.
“I see, I understand. And it’s unpleasant, Masked Man. I am intensely unpleasant right now.”
Yuunou-san spat out, grabbing the collar of Beardy, who looked like he was about to stand up and dash off.
“And so, complete annihilation? Quite the irrational bandits, aren’t they.”
Jen said, with a truly noble-like expression.
Stop it, Jen. That’s not like you.
“Whether they didn’t want to leave witnesses, or for some other reason, I can’t imagine, but they’re quite diligent bandits.”
Killing people is simply a lot of trouble. People run, and if cornered, they resist.
Even if they don’t intend to plunder continuously, the effort to annihilate an entire village isn’t worth it. They should just quickly rob and flee.
“You’re spouting sarcasm that doesn’t suit you, Shin. It would be helpful if you’d refrain, as your wife looks like she’s about to burn the world to ashes.”
I glanced next to me, but Erika had her head down, so I couldn’t see her face. I thought it was good that I couldn’t see it.
If I had seen it, I would have gone looking for those bandits right away.
“If that’s the case, then these people made a very wise choice. Abandoning their village and evacuating to the fort must have been an incredibly difficult decision.”
For a few moments, Jen looked around at the surrounding refugees with an affectionate gaze.
“Absolutely. It’s a good thing.”
I honestly thought so.
“Because the numbers had increased quite a bit.”
Jen uttered incomprehensible words.
“I thought you might have gone through a scene of carnage, but seeing that unchanged part of you has put me at ease.”
I almost tilted my head at Jen’s somewhat relieved expression.
“Don’t mind me, my friend. It’s just my selfishness. Occasionally, I get jealous that I can only see your back.”
Jen dismissed my unspoken question with those words and shrugged.
Stop it, Jen. It’s probably some kind of noble turn of phrase, but it goes completely over my head.
“Well then, I can roughly guess the reason for your serious face, but shall we confirm just in case?”
Prompted, I answered.
“I went to the town of Loakum, and on the way back, I came across the annihilated village. And not much time had passed since it was attacked.”
I mentioned the name of the town this group is currently heading towards.
“Meaning, there’s a high probability they’re ahead of us, on our path.”
＊＊＊＊Author’s Afterword＊＊＊＊
Thank you always for your comments, likes, follows, ratings, etc.
I haven’t been able to reply to comments, but I read all of them.
I wish there was something like a “Good” button, like on YouTube, that could serve as an “I’ve read it.”
Celebration! A life with a desk!
I’ve finally returned to a human-like existence.
Humanity needs desks!
I never thought the day would come when I would be so struck by the greatness of a desk, to the point of ‘disowning’ my previous state to this extent.
Well, currently, I don’t have a chair, though lol.
For now, with this, it looks like I can return to my usual writing speed.