Chapter 272

Episode 272: Tell Me (2)

In the last village I visited, did I hear something like, ‘Just a few more days and Munmund will be there?’



As we followed a path that didn’t even look like a road, we actually came across the castle wall on the third day. The wall was too authentic to be a village wall and a bit low to be a city wall.

“I didn’t hear that there was another village...”

However, there is no need to be confused about this. The opinion that it is too authentic to be said to belong to a village is actually an argument that is only used in regions where the appearance of devils is rare.

After all, just because a person can’t climb a stone wall or a log wall, does that mean even the devil can’t get through it? Stone walls are usually low and the outer walls made of logs are quite soft, right?

“traveler?”

So this place is a village. A village that had only fortified its outer walls a little more tightly in preparation for the evil that would come out of the Demon Station.

A place with walls but no formally trained soldiers.

“Ah yes! “But is this Munmund?”

“what? haha. That can’t be possible! This is Behen! “It’s a place where the village chief lives instead of the lord of the castle.”

“Ah... isn’t it a city?”

“okay. “Münchund has to go further from here.”

Please note that the evidence for the latter is not simply anecdotal evidence. For example, look at the soldier who is sticking his head out right now. Isn’t he dressed normally, not even wearing leather armor?

“May I ask how much further we have to go?”

“Huh Munmund? If you ask how long it takes to get to Münmund... it takes about a day if you take the shortcut. If you go along the road like now, it usually takes about three days.”

“There is a shortcut...is there a shortcut?”

“Okay. Not at all. “The downside is that you have to go through the mountains, so it’s hard to find the way if you’re not a native.”

The same goes for the questions and answers that follow.

He seems to be saying it with the feeling that it is no big deal to him, but he wouldn’t have done that if he had received formal training. I would have been more alert and asked first the reason for coming to me or my name.

Because that’s the job of a soldier standing guard.

“In that alley, demons from the Demon Station often appear... These days, with the demons running rampant, there are no people coming and going. So if you’re going to go, go to the highway. Of course, it will never be safe to go there.”

But he just chatted without thinking about that. In other words, he is ultimately closer to an ordinary person holding a weapon than a soldier.

“Are the devils’ movements that severe?”

“...Uh um. “I’m asking, have you heard anything else?”

“Any other news...?”

“News that one of the upper ships heading to Münmund simply evaporated.”

“...This is my first time hearing this.”

“It happened four days ago.”

“...I guess there was some confusion. “It looks like he left before I heard the news.”

“...I guess so.”

In some ways, it may be a misfortune for the village that the person standing guard is more of an ordinary person than a soldier. The probability that he will make a big mistake is quite high.

But, apart from the village, it was quite a pleasure for me.

“Hmm. If a devil appeared before him... well. “Is there a place in the village where I can rest?”

“Are you going to take a break? Well, being homeless is hard. “But there is no inn in our village.”

“I’ll just spend the night and leave right away. “Is that okay?”

“Uh... um. Wait a minute. “I need to check whether there is anything dangerous or not.”

“yes.”

Of course, it was very difficult for me to be interrogated by a properly trained soldier. Sometimes, when a sharp question is asked, I have a headache trying to choose the right words to respond.

“...oh.”

“Do you have any problem?”

“No, no, no. “You’re taller than I thought....”

“....”

“Please give me your luggage first. “I’ll check it in front of you, so don’t worry about it being stolen.”

“I’m not worried about that.”

Compared to that, I can only be thankful for this kind of sloppy investigation. The person who received my permission took the bag and opened it.

“Eh. Is this it? “How did you come here with such meager luggage?”

“Haha....”

“You don’t have any weapons... Why did you keep the bag inside the bag? Anyway, you did well to come this far. “What is a devil? Even if it’s a wild beast, it’s ready to kill you if you encounter it by mistake.”

Of course, all the important things were put in the inventory—not the bag, but the subspace bracelet—so there were only a few things the soldier could see. When he saw my poor luggage, his eyes were filled with pity and strangeness.

“Hey, by any chance... you’re a noble but you’re not saying that you ran away from home... are you?”

“Is it possible that I am a nobleman? Why such a misunderstanding...”

“No, when I looked at him up close, I saw that he had white skin and was wearing jewelry in his ears... I didn’t know how to pack properly...”

That’s... That’s right. It’s easy to misunderstand.

I suddenly remembered several cities I had passed through. There were times when the soldiers at the checkpoint looked at me as immature. Could it have been because of this misunderstanding?

“...I just inherited some money.”

“So you’re a boy from a rich family....”

“Not a boy from a rich family. “It’s just enough to keep me healthy.”

I let out a light breath, leaving the soldier giggling at my timid retort. I didn’t feel bad because I knew that the other person wasn’t doing that out of sincerity, but was just doing it because they found my reaction funny.

I just like these everyday conversations because I never get tired of them no matter how many times I repeat them.

“Anyway, let’s go inside. “There’s no inn, but... I’m sure they’ll give at least one person a room.”

“Haha....”

“If you don’t have a private room, you can sleep at my house. “I don’t think my family will say anything.”

“I would just be grateful if I could do that... Is that okay?”

“sure! Oh, by the way, my name is Teal. Ticha Tisha Tasha. “Call me whatever you want.”

“Oh well. Tisha?”

“is it so. “Like that.”

I followed Tisha into the village. Several houses came into view first, and the fields in between them came into view next. These aren’t all the fields here, but their farming probably includes the slash-and-burn fields seen outside the castle walls.

“Hmm. “It looks like there is no temple here.”

“Ah yes. “It’s a small town.”

If there is no temple, would I be able to use my camouflage skill today? If you apply the eyebrows with the camouflage skill turned on, the effect will continue even after the skill is turned off, so I think it’ll be fine as long as you don’t have a priest.

I asked after pulling the sleeves of my clothes, which originally reached down to the backs of my hands, a little more.

“Isn’t there anyone who uses divine power?”

“Oh, of course not.”

Crack. My condition, which had been dropping by the minute, returned with a sound that only my ears could hear. It was a feeling of physical comfort that was replaced by the anxiety of being caught by someone.

“But why is that?”

“I just thought I would say a prayer for safety before I went. If not, I just do it in my mind.”

“Hehe. is it so. “God will fully listen to you.”

Is that really the case? In fact, I might be the one that God wants to kill the most.

I thought about that for a moment and then ended my answer with a grin.

“Oh, that’s right. “I wanted to ask you earlier, how did you find our village?”

“I just followed the road...”

“Huh, the road?”

“Do you have any problem.”

“No, how did you find out about it? “Even our villagers often get confused about this road.”

“uh...?”

But what now?

I was taken aback by Tisha’s words. Then I explained how I came. If that’s not a road, then what is it? Of course, the road didn’t look like a road. Well, it was an explanation full of meaning.

“iced coffee. “You should have gone straight from the rock as a starting point, but you got confused there.”

“....”

“But I’m still glad. If you go all the way there, you will come to Munmund, but the situation is not very good right now.”

Well, that’s fine. I don’t think the safety situation on the Ghana Road will change much if you stay overnight in Ghana right then.

I rolled the thought I had just on my tongue and then swallowed it. Anyway, from my point of view, it was much better to stop by the village midway than to stay homeless for six days in a row. As for the safety status of the road... Well, apart from the fact that I wasn’t skilled enough to be attacked, it was better to know it than to be attacked without knowing.

“Well, this is our village chief’s house.”

“Can I ask the village chief a favor?”

“Since you have the largest house in our village, wouldn’t there be at least one room left? Even if it isn’t, I think I should report to the village chief that I brought in an outsider.”

“aha.”

I was convinced by Tisha’s explanation. Even in the smallest of villages, it’s best to report these things to the head – elected or whatever.

“But... I don’t think that’s the situation right now.”

“yes?”

“It looks like something happened.”

“yes??”

However, even when reporting, circumstances may require compliance. I raised my finger, realizing that the senses I had let go since entering the village became noisy again.

The place, probably the village chief’s house, is crowded with people.

“uh! uh?!”

Tisha panicked and ran away. I also followed him. If nothing else, it was to stay away from him and avoid being treated like a suspicious person.

“Chief! What happen!”

“Oh Ticha. Welcome back. There are a lot of injured people coming in right now...”

But what I ran into was three people suffering from various injuries.

The thick bloody smell furrowed my brows, and my eyes naturally scanned everyone’s faces. I thought there might still be some left over from the forest that I had brought back, so I thought I would calculate the quantity needed and take them out.

“...?”

But in the meantime, I made eye contact with someone holding my arm.

“Atya?”

Quad deuk.

Your arms, maybe your whole body. Under the skin.

It started to burn.