Volume 14 - CH 11

The journey from the royal capital to our destination was uneventful.

There were a dozen or so bandits screaming on the way, but Mare and Saki took care of them with flying tools while I took a nap.

「I see it! That's Mox Village.」

Just beyond the mountain pass, I saw a few houses standing side by side.

It was a small village.

It didn't look particularly unusual, but two parties of C-rank adventurers had gone missing here.

「We'll pull ourselves together from here.」

「「「 Roger that! 」」」

We came to a place that looked like a village square. Once here, we'll get off the carriage.

「Meena, how it is?」

「Sniff, sniff, y-yes, I can smell the blood, master.」

Meena said with a tense face.　

It seems to be a bloody situation after all.

「Okay, let's start searching the enemies. However, Lily, Mare, Luka, and Noel should stay here and escort the carriage. Luka will be the leader of the escort team.」

「I understand. This group will be fine. I'll leave it to you.」

The female warrior in bikini armor smiles fearlessly.

With her wealth of experience, she should be able to handle any unforeseen situation.

「Ehh? The escort team is too small.」

Lily complained, but we wouldn't know what we were doing here if we were all escorting a carriage.

We're here first and foremost to gather information, to find out what's going on.

「Don't worry, if there's a problem, you can take the carriage and get out of here first. I promised that someone would go to the adventurer's guild in Erland to report it.」

「Oh, so that means we have the best chance of survival, right?」

「That's right.」

「Okay, then. Good luck, everyone!」

With Lily's cheerful and affectionate cheering at our backs, we stepped deeper into the village.

「There's no one here, is there?」

Jouga said first, looking around.

The village was quiet and there was not a soul in sight.

「You're right......It's not like they were attacked by bandits or anything. There are no dead bodies.」

The bandits wouldn't bother to hide the body, Serina said.

Even if they were to hide and ambush us, this is a place that few people visit.

「So maybe they were attacked by a monster and wiped out?」

Hannah speculated, but there was still too little information.

「Meena should take care searching of the monsters. Hannah, you search the ground carefully for any clues.」

「「 Okay 」」

While keeping an eye on the area, I look for a figure.

But there's no one, no sign of anyone.

「Let's go inside the house.」

Stick to the door of the small, thatched house.

「There's no enemy inside.」

Serina use my [Enemy Counter] skill to check before she enters, and I open the door.

It's empty inside.

「It looks like it's been ransacked a bit. ......」

There are dishes scattered on the floor.

「But will the monster close the door?」

That's the tricky part, but it's best not to make a prediction.

I'm sure the C-rank party that came here to investigate before we got here was well aware of the possibility of bandits and monsters.

「Next is.」

We enter the next house. The situation here is the same as before.

「Alec, come here for a minute. There's writing in the backyard.」

Letty called from outside.

「What's this?」

I say as soon as I looking at the ground.

「I told you, it's writing. Someone must have written the words "S-Save me, ......" in an emergency.」

「In the backyard? If they have time for that, they should run away.」

「No, you don't need to tell me that. I thought their leg was busted?」

But there's no blood here.

「Meena, do you smell blood?」

「Uh, yeah, um, no, not here, sir. ......」

「Hmm? What's the matter, Meena, are you sick?」

She doesn't look well.

「N-no, I'm fine!」

「I see, ...... take it easy, okay?」

「Yes, Master.」

I checked her status just to be sure, but her condition is healthy and there seems to be no particular problem.

Come to think of it, I hadn't heard the story of how Meena became a slave.

If it was because the village where she was born and raised was attacked by bandits, she might have remembered her own village.

I'd like to say something to her, but my priority right now is to investigate.

「The fields here have been devoured.」

Hannah said, looking at the lettuce that are planted. Some of the vegetables have been pulled out or bitten and have teeth marks clearly visible.

「Let's go to the village chief's house.」

I spotted the biggest house in the village and headed there.

「"Mad King" and Juga will wait here. Stay on the outside.」

I told them in front of the front door.

「Grrr.」

「I've got it, brother. No matter what comes, I won't let someone in!」

「There are no enemies inside the house.」

Serina confirmed with the [Enemy Counter].

I opened the door gently and went inside.

As expected, there were dishes lying on the floor here too.

There was a teacup on the table, but it looked like it had just been filled with tea, and the steam was rising.

「There must be survivors. If you see something moving, don't attack it out of the blue. Especially you Letty.」

「Why do you have to keep reminding me? I mean, I make mistakes sometimes, but...」

「That's not the point. If you use powerful magic indoors, there could be collateral daMagician. You're a high-level magicians, after all.」

「Yeah, yeah. I'll be careful.」

「Alec!」

Hannah, who was examining the back room, called out sharply.

「Let's go.」

I'll take everyone and hurry over there.

「Here it is.」

The floor was covered with a gaudy streak of blood, as if they had dragged a bloody corpse towards the door.

As soon as she saw it, Meena quickly turned her face away as if she couldn't take it anymore.

There was no body here, but the door beyond was closed.

「Hmm, let's all go in then.」

「Wait, I think our level can handle this many people.」

Serina said.

「That's right. But if there's a super powerful boss or something, it would be better to have all of us together. Saki, go get the guys from outside. And Luka. All of them.」

「Yes, sir!」

But Saki went outside and came right back.

「Alec, we're in trouble! Jouga and the Mad King are gone.」

「What? Hou~, I see.」

I was a little impressed with how well they did.

「Hey! Don't be so carefree, we have to find them now!」

Serina ran out in a hurry, but there was no noise. It's possible that she used a muffling magic tool, but there shouldn't be any fighting going on.

「Don't be so hasty.」

I go outside too, but I'm a little worried because there's a little blood on the ground where Jouga was.

I hope there aren't any dead, even if the wounded can't be helped.

「I've brought him here.」

「Hey Alec, why do we have to come too! If we all gather here, we'll be in trouble if we're all wiped out! Are you nuts!? Are we going to die!?」

Lily said half in tears.

「Well, don't say that. Let's go see them.」

I grinned, took everyone back to the bloodstained room, and opened the back door.

「You idiot! You've been tricked! Adventurers!」

「Big catch~!」

「Did you think there would be gross dead bodies? Too bad! It's a very sexy lady.」

「Idiot! Stupid! You fell for it!」

From inside, villagers in fancy costumes came out with big smiles on their faces, dancing and singing in unison.

There was a naked man dancing on a drum with the words "Joy" and "Welcome" written on it.

「「「 Huh? 」」」

Serina and a few other people were staring at it blankly.

Saki and Hannah are laughing, but they seemed to have noticed it along the way.

「So, you see, there hadn't been any trouble in the village all along. So the nomination quest itself was a set-up for a big surprise.」

I told the members who didn't understand the situation.

「「「 Eehhh...... 」」」