Chapter 31
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Bad Omen
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I had no intention of making contact with humans.
Because I knew I'd be in deep trouble if we crossed paths.
But things were different now.
Leaving them be could lead to more than just trouble.
It would throw my plans completely off track if they ran into that scarecrow for no good reason.
I'd grown a lot stronger, but I was still a bit weaker than the ghost bride.
At the very least, I needed to surpass her to stand a chance in a real fight against that thing.
So I had to stop those humans from meeting the scarecrow, no matter what.
"Caw!"
I took to the skies with Swooshie.
Without any lace around, no one was there to stop my flight.
Sure, monsters still roamed the ground below, but they weren't worth my attention.
My top priority was finding those humans.
"Swoosh!"
In the end, I tracked them down.
Conveniently, all five were huddled together.
And it didn't look like they'd met their host yet.
Now I just had to chase them off, and the mission was complete.
Of course, it wouldn't be that easy.
How was one little crow supposed to drive off five humans?
But I could do it.
"Caaaaw!"
Time to show them just how much of a pain crows could be.
*
Ethan's party decided to investigate Skarnas further.
A mysterious ally of unknown identity.
They suspected it might be a hero who had exorcised the evil spirit in the mansion, but that was just exorcism—nothing more.
It had nothing to do with investigating what happened in the village or uncovering the truth.
And the heroes known to the world weren't the type to do that sort of thing.
More precisely, even if they did investigate and uncover the truth, they wouldn't share it with anyone else.
If they learned of something unjust in the process, they'd handle it themselves rather than tell others.
So Ethan's party believed it was their duty to reveal the truth of this village.
The group had taken a short rest and recovered enough to have no issues.
Facing the ghost bride hadn't involved direct combat; it was more like reinforcing a safe zone made of holy power and silver to keep it from breaking. No one had been injured, which was a stroke of luck.
Their condition was good, and the lace that had been hounding them were all gone.
Now was the perfect time to continue exploring.
They didn't split up; all five searched every house thoroughly.
It wasn't efficient, but better than scattering their forces.
No lace didn't mean no other monsters.
After searching Skarnas for quite a while like that, they reached a house in the village center.
Vineyards stretched out around it, with oak barrels scattered here and there.
"So much wine. I heard Skarnas wine has quite the reputation for being delicious."
Hans said, glancing around slyly.
He desperately wanted to crack open one of those bottles right then, but it wasn't the time—not with the villagers missing.
"Sir Hans, what did you just say?"
"Ahem. Nothing. Just that that wine looks like it'd go to waste."
This is some seriously bad wine.
I swallowed hard, thinking that.
Ethan looked at Hans and spoke in a dry voice.
"You can drink some if you want."
"Right, this is holy grap—huh? What?"
The uptight Ethan was giving permission?
Hans looked stunned.
"Whatever the case, it'll help restore your stamina. Especially the grapes from this region—they're known for their effects. The villagers would rather you drink it and uncover the truth than let it rot."
"Y-you think so?"
This wine isn't holy grapes.
The thought made my mouth water again.
"Ah, everyone, come here! There's something written here!"
Of course, Erica called them over, snapping me out of my holy grape delusions for the moment.
Erica had found a crucial clue.
A journal written by a noble named Callida.
It detailed the truth of Skarnas.
"Th-this... what is this...?"
Atrocities no human in their right mind could commit.
They'd sacrificed everyone in the village for a ritual called Eternal Night.
"Eternal Night...?"
Even Mary, the priestess, had never heard of it.
Only Ethan seemed to have some inkling about the term.
"This isn't good. If all the missing people were used as sacrifices... For a ritual that big, it wouldn't be strange if something demon-level popped out."
Everyone tensed at the word "demon."
If Ethan was saying it, the possibility wasn't zero.
They reflected on what they'd accomplished.
It was solid progress.
They hadn't defeated the mansion's grudge spirit themselves, but they'd witnessed it find peace.
And they'd uncovered the root cause.
A noble named Callida.
Learning of his wicked scheme was a major breakthrough.
It more than fulfilled their original goal.
"...So what now?"
Head back, or investigate a bit more.
Time to choose.
This was enough.
But they felt like digging deeper.
Callida might have left other traces.
They discussed their next steps.
"I'll go with whatever you all decide. Thinking too hard in a place like this just wears me out."
Hans replied casually.
The smart ones would figure it out anyway.
He was built for brawn, not brains—just follow orders.
His mind was on the wine he hadn't tasted, not the plans.
Bottled and ready to roll, yet he couldn't touch it.
And with the mood turning serious, no celebratory toast for their successful adventure either.
Holy grapes it was, once more.
"Caw."
As Hans mulled that over in secret, a bird's cry reached his ears.
"...A crow?"
Hans glanced up, figuring it was nothing special.
Crows weren't rare birds.
Though flying around in the dark like this was a bit odd, animals surviving here probably needed such skills.
Looking up, Hans doubted his eyes.
Perched on a branch, staring down at him, was a crow.
But not the kind he had in mind.
It looked like a crow, sure.
Black beak, black feathers, black eyes.
Black, black, black.
What else would you call it?
Though its size was more like a large owl than a regular crow, no one would argue it wasn't one.
Still, something felt off.
An alien, ominous aura.
Some indescribable horror emanated from that black bird.
A repulsive stench, an instinctive aversion that made his nose twitch.
The hairs on his body stood on end.
Why was he getting this vibe from a mere crow?
"Th-that... um..."
He hurriedly raised his hand to alert his comrades.
But he locked eyes with Ethan and froze.
Ethan had his index finger over his lips.
Meaning: stay quiet.
Only then did Hans check the others.
Mary's face was pale, and even Agwen was breaking a cold sweat.
While he'd been hung up on the wine, they'd already noticed the crow.
"...Whatever's pretending to be that crow probably thinks it's a crow, so best not to tip it off."
Ethan kept his movements natural while mouthing the info.
That ominous monster bird—delusional enough to mimic crow cries and perch like one—stared them down from the branch.
Hans knew instinctively.
Don't act like you know what it is, just as Ethan said.
Pretend it's a normal passing bird.
And pray it loses interest in you.
Tok.
But sadly, the black, ominous thing ignored Hans's hopes.
It landed on the ground with an unnatural motion and started prowling around.
"Caw."
Fluttering its wings, it rummaged through their bags.
No one could stop it.
They could only hope the creepy thing got bored and left.
"S-so, shall we keep exploring...?"
"I'll... photosynthe—er, recover my stamina first, then decide. Uh, meaning we should wait somewhere else for now...?"
Rambling nonsense.
Not even knowing what they were saying, just pretending to chat casually.
"Caw."
The crow, casually guzzling Hans's wine, lifted its head.
Red liquid glistened on its beak.
The eerie being stared piercingly at Hans and Agwen—the ones who'd just spoken—then slowly approached.
Hans held his breath.
Praying the crow would go elsewhere.
But the black crow grinned like it'd found a fun toy.
*
Look at these guys.
I'm going this far, and they won't even react?
Sure, scaring them off with this cute face wasn't easy.
Even with pheromone manipulation and my scariest act, the effect was meh.
They just watched me rummage their stuff and steal food. How low do they think I am?
At least pretend to chase me off!
Now I was getting pissed.
Round one: my loss.
But what about flexible bones plus glow?
Let's see if they run from a head spinning 270 degrees spewing tri-color light.