Episode 29
“A panacea potion that can cure anything. As long as you’re not dead, it can save anyone and rid them of any disease… you speak of a legendary potion.”
“…….”
“I heard it was somewhere in the North.”
“…….”
“That is why we were searching the Kelt Mountains.”
Loki kept his mouth shut because he had a guilty conscience.
If it was that potion, there was a high possibility it was one he had made.
After all, those who had used it all said it was like a miracle from God.
Indeed, even in Loki’s eyes, it could perfectly treat not only severed arms and legs but old wounds as well, so it was understandable that it was truly considered a “panacea.”
But why were these people looking for that potion?
‘Could it be?’
“Is it to treat the plague?”
“Huh? Ah! No. We’re just trying to cure one crazy old man….”
“Lafilta!”
At Albert’s scolding, Lafilta closed her mouth.
‘A crazy old man?’
Contrary to Lafilta’s denial just moments ago, Paul spoke with an awkward smile.
“Yes, it’s because of the plague. We’re scared because we don’t know when we might catch it either.”
Loki knew that was a lie, but he had no intention of prying further.
It seemed they had their own circumstances, just like him.
“…I see? Is there no cure?”
“The Holy Order says they can cure it with their holy water, but….”
Paul glanced around and whispered softly to Loki.
“Actually, holy water doesn’t have much effect except for the highest-grade holy water made by archbishops. Lower-grade holy water is just a scam the priests sell to make money—”
“Ahem…!”
Albert cleared his throat.
Insulting a priest of the Holy Order was quite a sensitive matter.
“Watch your tongue, Paul.”
“…Yes.”
Paul wasn’t entirely without such thoughts either.
The reason he had badmouthed the Holy Order priests to Loki was because Loki was of the Nod tribe.
Priests stood in a position opposing mages, and mages likewise felt repulsion toward such priests.
Just as the Nod tribe was persecuted by the Holy Order, Paul wanted to get closer to Loki by venting the grievances he had accumulated, sharing a sense of kinship.
“Huh, really?”
“I told you! An elf! An elf! And a Dark Elf at that!”
Suddenly, a commotion broke out among the mercenaries.
Loki glanced to the side.
The mercenaries were pointing at a wagon some distance away.
“There was a Dark Elf! Wow, to think I’d see a being from fairy tales with my own eyes!?”
“But isn’t it… you know? Not just an elf, but a Dark Elf? I heard Dark Elves are descendants of demons who worship darkness. Then they’re demonic beings. Couldn’t we get cursed if we stay close to one?”
“So what? It’s a slave now. A curse from a slave who’s nothing but livestock or a tool? Nonsense.”
They looked similar to humans, yet were considered descendants of demons simply for being different?
‘A twisted world.’
It was a cruel world with twisted values, unlike the world Loki and Yun Sillin had lived in.
Loki gripped his hand tightly, as if resolving to find her as quickly as possible.
***
The donkey, moving with difficulty, stopped.
The one who halted it was none other than Azar. He looked at the small territory before him with a joyous expression.
“We’re here! We’ve finally arrived!”
The territory was small and shabby, looking like a village.
There were large and small farmlands that looked like fields, and beside them stood houses that seemed to belong to the landowners.
At most, there were only about thirty of them in total, so the actual residents would number around a hundred.
The castle visible atop a distant hill also looked so small and quaint that it was hardly worthy of being called a castle.
For a village adjacent to the Monster Mountains, it was surprisingly peaceful, with defenses far too lax.
However, it was strangely devoid of people, and the atmosphere was gloomy.
Thick fog rose around them, and the sky was full of dark clouds, as if it would pour rain at any moment.
“Let’s go! I’m tired of camping out now! We need to quickly deliver the goods to this territory and be on our way!”
Azar shouted as such and cracked his whip at the donkey.
The donkey let out a strange cry and moved again, and the mercenaries followed behind.
Upon entering the village, Loki was seized by a strange sense of alienation.
‘…There’s no vitality.’
No, he could sense life, but… he couldn’t see any people at all.
Moreover, a strange stench assaulted his nose.
Looking around, the streets were littered with chaff dropped while sorting rice, vomit that looked like someone had thrown up, and even the corpse of a dead wild cat.
The mercenaries and Azar marched on silently, so it was evident that this sight was nothing unusual to them.
Loki asked Paul, who was walking beside him.
“Are… the villages on the continent usually this filthy?”
“Huh? Ah, no. Not at all.”
Paul shook his head.
“Perhaps a small territory like this, but… cities are strictly managed because they represent the face of the noble who rules them. Lords hire territory managers and cleaners directly to keep them tidy. However, small villages like this aren’t managed unless there’s a special event.”
“I see.”
But Lafilta, who was nearby, spoke up as if something was strange.
“But isn’t it strange? What’s with this village? There are no people? And it doesn’t look like candles are lit in the houses either. Isn’t it a bit early to be sleeping?”
“Indeed. Even if they’re sleeping early, not seeing a single person is odd.”
“Right. Huh? There’s someone over there.”
Paul pointed at the farmland.
Between the rice stalks grown to the size of an adult man, there was a male figure.
“Hello~! Hello there!”
Paul waved his hand widely in greeting, but the person buried in the rice stalks looked at Paul with drooping shoulders. Then he tilted his head and weakly raised his hand, flailing it about.
“Wow! He greeted us!”
“…Was that… a greeting?”
Loki frowned.
Hidden by the rice stalks, it was hard to see, but the man who appeared to be a farmer seemed somehow powerless as he staggered.
He walked toward where the merchant group was and fell over. He flailed about, getting up only to fall over again and again. He breathed roughly, making gurgling sounds that assaulted Loki’s ears.
‘Is he sick?’
No, before that….
‘Something feels off.’
He could feel the energy of life, yet there was a sensation of something twisted.
It was a truly unfamiliar feeling.
‘…What is this feeling?’
It was when Loki was about to ask Paul again.
“Hey! You! What are you doing? If you’re escorts, act like it and hurry up!”
At Azar’s shout, Lafilta’s group walked on, grumbling.
“Damn it, since when did we say we’d be escorts? They pay money and get an escort? What a world!”
“Well, we did actually receive help, so don’t complain, Lafilta.”
“But what should we do? We don’t have any more money, do we? Should we find another request?”
“…….”
Listening to Lafilta’s group talking, Loki missed his chance to ask.
A rotten stench brushed past his nose.
Around the time the merchant group left that place, the farmer who had been buried in the rice stalks just moments ago barely managed to rise to his feet.
A twisted face.
The clothes he was wearing were all torn, and the skin thus revealed was hollowed out as if eaten away by something.
Between the rotten skin, red worms like blood squirmed, filling the space instead.
‘It’ tilted its head as it watched the departing merchant group.
***
“What the! Why is no one here!”
Azar arrived in front of the castle gate where the lord would be.
He kicked the gate in a fit of temper from fatigue, but there was no response.
No matter how small, it was a lord’s castle; yet strangely, no soldiers standing guard could be seen in front of the gate.
When Loki shifted his gaze to Paul, Paul also looked around as if he couldn’t understand.
“Strange. No matter how small, if he’s a lord, there should be soldiers to protect the territory… but I don’t see a single one.”
Not just a small number, but none at all…!
Moreover, since they were near the Kelt Mountains, a paradise for monsters, and the frozen land where the Nod people, plunderers, lived, it was all the more puzzling.
Even if this area had low rates of monster or Nod raids, it was far too defenseless.
Loki strained his ears to detect sounds inside the castle, but nothing could be heard.
“It seems… there’s no one?”
He had sensed a presence from the village, but felt nothing at all here. It was a completely abandoned fortress.
“That can’t be! It’s strange that there’s no one.”
At Paul’s denial filled with bewilderment, Loki became curious.
He wondered how many people a lord of such small scale would have.
“How many people are usually in such a fortress?”
It was a light question, but Paul kindly explained even the details.
“For a territory this small, it would be ruled by a noble around the rank of baronet to baron. Probably about ten private soldiers? At most twenty… Servants and maids would all be commoners unless it’s the royal family, so probably a few villagers were hired. There would be only one or two knights as well.”
“You know a lot.”
Paul smiled.
“Well… I’m in a position to learn this and that.”
Drip… Drip, drop.
Before they knew it, water drops fell from the sky, soon turning into a downpour.
The mercenaries frowned and looked up at the sky.
In such a small village, there wouldn’t be an inn where mercenaries could stay.
Normally, they would get the lord’s permission and pitch tents in the lord’s castle, but now the lord was absent. No, there wasn’t even a single person in the castle.
Which meant a resting place was right before their eyes, yet they had to stay outside.
Azar was startled by the rain and pounded on the gate.
“Hey! Open the door! Is no one there?! Is the lord not present? It’s the slave merchant Azar! If we don’t get inside quickly, the goods will all spoil!”
Perhaps worried about the slaves in the wagon, Azar urgently pushed the gate with all his might. Then, surprisingly, the gate opened easily.
“Huh?”
Perhaps confused himself, Azar peeked inside the gate and his eyes went wide.
In the place where weeds had grown rampant, a stone path divided into three and stretched on.
On the right stood a church, in the center was a modest castle, and on the left was a ten-meter training ground, above which was a warehouse, and a small staircase leading underground was visible.
It was neither spacious nor ornate.
It was markedly different from the fantasy buildings in games or movies Loki had seen.
‘Perhaps this is more realistic.’
Lafilta clicked her tongue as she looked around the castle.
“What kind of castle is this small? It’s probably smaller than a decent noble’s mansion. Is this really where a lord lives?”
“For rural nobles, even this is considered extravagant. If you obtained a title and were granted a territory, you would have started from a place like this too.”
At Albert’s words, Lafilta stuck out her tongue.
“Aaaack! Where is the lord? If I can’t hand over the goods now, it means more feeding costs for them!”
As if even a stale scrap of bread were precious, Azar howled and pointed his finger at the mercenaries.
“Hey! Search quickly! If you took money, do your job!”
At Azar’s angry shout, the mercenaries expressed their displeasure in small voices.
“Damn, does he think we’re slaves?”
“Right, we’re clearly people too. Different from slaves.”
‘No, I consider slaves people too.’
If Yun Sillin had become a slave, she might have received such treatment.
If it became known that she wasn’t human, that treatment might become even more terrible.
‘But because she isn’t human, she might still be alive.’
Having traveled this terrible continent for three hundred years, she must have experienced all kinds of incidents and wounds.
Loki looked at the window.
If she was here in Ronia, perhaps she was looking at the rain, just as he was now.