The Black Plague (3)
Had Hans's anxiety been nothing more than baseless worry? The villagers settled inside the campsite lived in surprising quiet.
They glared fiercely whenever Daisy walked past, but glaring was all they did.
...Is it just my imagination?
Daisy wandered about, unbothered by the murderous stares fixed on her. She almost seemed already accustomed to gazes like those.
What sin could that little girl possibly have committed to warrant such malice? Hans could not understand it.
"Excuse me."
"Oh my, my lord. What business might you have with this humble one?"
Hans stopped one of the villagers passing by—the man whose eyes had gone bloodshot from staring at Daisy.
He began with casual, everyday conversation.
"How long have you lived here?"
"Me? Well, from my father's father on down, we've lived in this village."
"So you've spent nearly your whole life here?"
"That's right."
"Doesn't it feel inconvenient, leaving the village you've lived in all your life to stay at a campsite?"
"Oh, you're being far too kind. We don't even know how to respond to such concern."
Hans and the resident chatted about all sorts of things. As a former farmer, Hans had no shortage of topics to discuss with ordinary villagers.
As they exchanged small talk on trivial subjects, he could feel the other man's wariness gradually easing.
Once he sensed the man's guard had lowered enough, Hans casually brought up Daisy.
"So, uh... I looked around the village once before. The village was nice, and the people were all kind—it seemed like a good place."
"Oh, not at all. What's there to see in a backwater like this?"
"But there's a house on the outskirts of the village where a mother and daughter live, right?"
"Ah... that house?"
The passer's face hardened the moment Daisy came up.
"My lord, you didn't eat anything from that house, did you?"
"Why? Is something wrong?"
After glancing carefully around, the passer whispered cautiously to Hans, as if sharing some great secret.
"Witches who devour men live in that house."
"Witches...?"
"Yes, witches. A big witch and a little witch live there. The big witch ate my husband like a spider, and the little witch put a curse on my mother."
"Huh..."
Hans was so flabbergasted he could not speak. Had these people forgotten who was standing right in front of them?
Daisy and her mother were not witches. Even if they were, they would have fled far away to avoid the Apostles' notice.
Misinterpreting Hans's sigh, the excited passer grew even more passionate.
"After eating her husband, the big witch started making liquor with wicked methods. She feeds it to us so she can devour us like she did my husband—but fat chance! Our villagers aren't so naive as to fall for that!"
"..."
"And the little witch is so cruel—she cursed my mother so she wasted away and died, you know? Then she acts like she's working hard outside for her mother's sake... Seeing her expression never change gives me chills."
"Ha, haha..."
"So we never gave the little witch any proper food. We just threw her leftover scraps. We thought that would bring out her true nature, but she's so cunning—watching her act happy receiving that, she really doesn't seem like a child her age!"
A hollow laugh escaped Hans's lips. Was this a mistake born of ignorance, or the exclusionary nature of a closed society?
Either way, it did not matter. Hans noticed his fists were trembling violently.
His nails dug into his palms, and red droplets of blood dripped down. Hans hurriedly covered the wounds with his hands.
"And one time, we went to the witches' house... Huh? My lord, where are you going?"
"Something urgent came up. I'll be going now."
"Oh my, yes! Take care!"
Hans turned around hastily. Looking at that face proudly spouting such things, he felt he might swing his fist without thinking.
He walked wherever his feet took him. He did not know where he was going, but he knew where he needed to go.
Daisy...!
He had to go to Daisy.
"Hey, Hans... What the—why's your face like that? Something wrong?"
Rohan had been about to greet Hans, but froze at the sight of his expression.
What did his face look like right now? Hans had no idea.
"Daisy. Where's Daisy?"
"The kid? Probably went to the forest over that way. She's been going there a lot lately."
"Yeah? Got it. See you later."
Hans ran toward the forest Rohan had indicated. Rohan's shout followed from behind.
"Hey! If something's up, tell me! Even if you stew over it alone, you're a country bumpkin so you won't handle it right!"
Rohan's own brand of worried words.
Leaving those words behind, Hans raced madly through the forest.
He felt he needed to see Daisy's face right away.
"Hah..."
Daisy was in a place where nameless wildflowers bloomed in profusion. Wildflowers swayed gently with the wind, and a light floral scent rose.
It was the place where Hans had made Daisy a flower bracelet.
"Ah, Lord Hans."
"...It's 'Oppa,' I told you."
Daisy turned toward him, sensing his presence. The flower bracelets hanging from both her hands swayed in response.
One flower bracelet slightly withered and browning, and another glowing with fresh green light.
"Daisy, what are you doing here?"
"I wasn't doing anything. Being here just puts my heart at ease."
"Is that so?"
Contrary to Hans's worries, Daisy seemed perfectly calm. Feeling the tension drain away, Hans plopped down beside her.
Daisy sat right up against him without a word. They were so close it almost looked like she was nestled in his arms.
"Daisy, you..."
"Yes?"
"I overheard some things by chance. About what happened in the village."
"Ah..."
Daisy's expression darkened briefly. Fearing she might misunderstand, Hans quickly added,
"Of course I don't believe it. Witches? That's nonsense. Where would you find a witch this kind and cute?"
"Eep..."
Daisy's bowed face flushed bright red. Seeing that, Hans let out a breath of relief.
She did not seem offended.
Hans carefully asked Daisy,
"Daisy, are you okay?"
What kind of condemnation and scorn had this little child endured from the villagers all this time, and had those wounds left indelible scars on her?
Hans was worried about that.
Daisy spoke calmly.
"I wasn't okay."
"Really...?"
Just as Hans's expression darkened thinking as expected, Daisy continued.
"Back then it was really hard, and there were times I wanted to die... but I'm okay now. Everyone here is kind to me and treats me well. Mom's gotten a lot better too. And most of all..."
Daisy looked up at Hans. Her dew-laden eyes gazed straight at him.
"Because you're here, Lord Hans, I'm okay."
"..."
"You promised you'd help me anytime, that you'd come save me, right?"
Swaaah—
A breeze blew from somewhere, rustling the wildflowers.
"So. I'm okay."
Daisy looked at Hans and smiled softly.
Her hair swaying this way and that with the wind.
In Hans's eyes, Daisy was just like a wildflower. Small and fragile, yet strong and tenacious, rooted firmly in the earth.
Delicate and fleeting. And for that reason, beautiful and resilient.
A wildflower-like girl who had become more mature than her peers.
Hans was at a loss for words. What more could he say?
This little girl was far stronger and more steadfast than he had imagined.
"Let's go now. You need to eat."
Daisy took Hans's hand and led him. That small, slender palm guiding him. Hans naturally followed, matching her steps.
And so the two of them said nothing until they reached the campsite.
"...Daisy, but when did I ever say I'd come save you anytime—"
"You did."
"No, I don't think I ever said I'd help you anytime—"
"You did."
"...I did, huh."
"Yes, you did."
Daisy carefully stroked the fresh green flower bracelet on her wrist as she spoke.
"You definitely. Promised me that."
It was a secret little promise delivered only to the girl, one Hans himself did not know about.
Daily life at the campsite was like the surface of a still pond.
A surface thin as a mirror was bound to ripple and shatter at the slightest pebble's disturbance.
In the end, even a minor shock or incident was enough to shatter everyday peace.
And incidents always came crashing in at unexpected moments.
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
"Enemy attack!! It's an enemy attack!!"
In the dead of night, the bell that shattered the campsite's silence rang out.
Hans bolted upright in bed. That bell sound... it was the night watch ringing the alarm!
"Rohan! Get up!"
Hans kicked the still-sleeping Rohan awake and quickly donned his armor, arming himself.
Torches lit up the darkness all over the campsite, and shouts from those moving swiftly could be heard.
"First squad, this way!"
"This is the real thing! Stay sharp!"
"Get the villagers and the priests to the rear! Move faster!"
Though this was their first real battle, the unit members moved calmly based on their training.
Rohan, now awake, had fully armed himself.
"Hans, this way."
Rohan guiding the still undertrained Hans.
Following him, the now-familiar faces of the unit members were waiting for Hans and Rohan.
"What, why so late?"
"It's the furry one, of course. He overslept."
"What'd you say, baldy?"
They exchanged trivial jokes among themselves. Looking closely, their hands were trembling slightly.
A battle of a scale different from their days as bottom-rung adventurers awaited them. They were probably joking like this to ease their own tension.
Daisy?
Hans strained his eyes and looked around in every direction. In the distance, he could see villagers packing their things and fleeing.
The villagers huddled together. Daisy was nowhere among them.
Hans felt something sticky and slimy soaking down his spine.
"Rohan."
"What? Scared? If you're gonna piss yourself, go do it over there."
"It's not that. I don't see Daisy."
"What? The kid?"
At Hans's words, Rohan looked around in every direction. Soon Rohan's expression gradually hardened.
Daisy's tent was close to Hans and Rohan's to begin with. The fact that they had not seen her meant...
"I've got a bad feeling. I'll go take a quick look around."
Hans told Rohan and quickly kicked off the ground. The place where the villagers were gathered drew closer and closer as he closed the distance.
As the distance narrowed, the people's words gradually became audible.
"Ugh, so scary. What's all this fuss about?"
"It's all because of those witches! We should've driven them out of the village long ago!"
"But her father was such a help to the village..."
"The one who ate that good man is the big witch! She's an ominous person through and through! We never should've let her into the village in the first place!"
Absurd words. Hans clenched his teeth without realizing it.
"Everyone, don't worry. I knew this would happen, so I secretly took care of the little witch."
The moment Hans heard those words, he felt his blood run cold.
From head to toe. All the blood flowing through his body turned ice-cold, as if freezing over.
"Earlier this evening, I secretly threw the bracelet the witch cherished into the mountains. Hehe. With that, the witch should've become beast food—"
Hans did not stop walking as he clenched his fist tight.
And with all his strength—
"Later, just the big witch—Guh?!"
He swung it with all his might at that detestable face.
Teeth and spit and blood scattered through the air, painting the sky.