Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Village Discrepancies
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“That side, how was it?”
“No gains. No one knew Naria.”
Inebil let out a sigh. Guchi looked at Lander.
“No one knew.”
“I see. Now only that house left?”
He gazed at the two-story building.
The villagers had said it used to be an orphanage but was now home to a young couple.
“Anyone home?”
Guchi called out from beyond the fence. He had come by yesterday too, but no one had been there.
The yard was tidy, and the window frames were well-oiled. It was clearly a place where people had lived until recently.
“The neighbors only know a young couple lives here—nothing else. It’s frustrating.”
Inebil said. He called out again to summon the owners. Is no one home?
“Still going around asking?”
The voice came from behind. The innkeeper was climbing the hill. She glanced at the two-story house as she approached them and spoke.
“You hardly ever see the couple who live here. They didn’t even show up for the village feast.”
“Were they extremely reclusive? Or maybe there was some issue?”
Inebil asked. The innkeeper clicked her tongue lightly.
“The young woman was a bit ill. She’d cry one moment, laugh the next, scream sometimes. Her husband must have had it rough. Poor thing.”
The moment they heard the innkeeper’s explanation, thoughts of Gilluud and Riselra sprang to mind. Could they have lived here? He asked on impulse.
“Do you happen to know Gilluud and Riselra? They said this was their hometown.”
“First I’ve heard of those names. Their hometown?”
“Yes. That’s what we heard.”
He looked at Lander. Lander would know more about the Gilluud couple. Lander took up the thread.
“They said they grew up here. Herding sheep for work.”
“Sheep herding? No way.”
The innkeeper tilted her head skeptically.
“We used to raise sheep in the village back then. But a plague hit, all the sheep died, and the shepherd went bust. No one’s raised sheep since.”
She gave Lander a puzzled look. Had Gilluud lied to him? And why?
“Must be some misunderstanding, right? Ma’am, really no one in the village raises sheep?”
Inebil asked again.
“I’m telling you, no.”
“When was it that the sheep all died off?”
“When I was in my prime—over forty years ago, at least?”
“Forty years?”
Inebil’s face twisted. He seemed to be puzzling it out in his head.
He turned around. Nowhere in the village, strung along the gentle hillside, was there a sign of sheep.
“Did Gilluud really say that? That he was a shepherd.”
“He told me so when we spoke alone. I heard the same story several times, so no mistake.”
“That’s odd. If the innkeeper’s right, no one in the village raises sheep, and even if they did, it was forty years ago. For Gilluud in his mid-twenties to have herded sheep here…”
Inebil cut in.
“Don’t overthink it. He said he’d opened up, but we don’t know everything about that couple. Maybe he told some white lies to protect himself.”
“Protect himself from what?”
“Who knows. And who in the world lives telling only the truth? Just let it go. Don’t take it personally.”
It wasn’t wrong. Who doesn’t lie a little? But did Lander have reason to be deceived, and about his childhood stories at that?
“I’m not great at reading people, but Gilluud never struck me as lying. His face as he reminisced about the past looked genuinely happy and truthful.”
“I could see him lying to me or Inebil, but to you? That’s truly strange. And it’s not like he hid some critical fact—just fudged his past?”
There had to be a reason for his actions. But nothing came to mind no matter how he turned it over.
Guchi looked at the innkeeper and said,
“Any reed beds to the west of here?”
“Reed beds? Yeah, there used to be some.”
“A friend told me the reed beds west of Blunoton are a sight to behold.”
The innkeeper furrowed her brows. She spoke with the same skeptical tone as with the sheep herding.
“That’s old news too. About thirty years ago? They cleared them all for farming. Set fire to the reeds and plowed everything under. That’s what made those fields. The fields that feed us.”
The innkeeper pointed. To the west of the village lay well-tended fields thick with ripening crops for the autumn harvest.
“As you see, the village sits right up against the mountains, so flat land’s scarce outside those fields. The reed beds were pretty, sure, but you can’t eat prettiness.”
“Thirty years ago.”
He chewed over the innkeeper’s words.
What on earth had Gilluud seen? Sheep herding, reed beds. Both dated before he was born.
How could someone raised here not know such things—and why lie?
“Really thirty years ago?”
Inebil peered at the distant fields and asked. The innkeeper replied with firm certainty. Yes.
“This is weird. Why lie to us about this? When we parted, Gilluud specifically said the reed beds would be beautiful right now—go see them. What reason to lie on the way out the door?”
Inebil sounded angry. The string of lies had worn down her patience too.
He was quite shaken himself. What had all that time with the Gilluud couple in the village been?
He’d thought they’d shared each other’s pain, helped one another. So why fabricate stories?
“I don’t get it anymore. Why the lies? A straight-up con to club us over the head I could understand—this defies reason.”
“How’d it feel to you? Did Gilluud seem like he was lying?”
He asked. Inebil curled her lower lip and shook her head.
“Not at all. He seemed so guileless.”
“Same here. Didn’t feel like lies. And what’s the gain in fibbing about stuff like this?”
“Maybe something happened to Gilluud too? Maybe he caught Riselra’s illness! Could be memory issues from…”
Lander interjected.
“It’s not contagious.”
“Still, you never know…”
Inebil trailed off, her face dawning with realization. She’d remembered the illness of the man before her.
“Sorry. I spoke carelessly.”
“It’s fine. More importantly, I want to know why. Why Gilluud said those things.”
“Yeah. He could’ve at least been straight with you, Lander.”
The innkeeper, who had been staring openly, said she’d be off. Meatballs for dinner, so look forward to it.
“Putting Gilluud aside, what now? Seems like no trace of your wife here at all.”
They’d scoured this small village for two days. Asked the same people the same questions over and over.
Hoping something might jog a memory. But only one answer: ‘Never heard that name.’
“I’ll bury my wife’s memento and stay a few days.”
Lander said.
“And after?”
“I’ll think on it then. What about you, Guchi?”
“I came this far following you, so if you’re fine with it, I’ll stick around a few days too. Lonely being alone, no?”
“Could drag on.”
“Still, we’ve got to head back eventually? See your old subordinate, stop by Louis’s shop. Right?”
Lander answered with the faintest hint of a smile.
“And you, Inebil?”
“I’ll stay as long as I like. Stick by Lander, keep whining for lessons. I know—the domain you showed can’t be taught. But footwork’s different. That’s definitely learnable. Right?”
“Footwork varies by person too, so no guarantees.”
“Better odds than ‘no.’ Of course, I can’t stay forever. Gotta get back to Shelder and the master. Selfish as I am, I don’t want to disappoint them. But before that…”
Inebil swept her hair back. Her expression was resolute, but it made him uneasy.
Before he could stop her, Inebil moved.
She vaulted the fence. Into the yard of the two-story house, straight to the shut door.
“What are you doing!”
“You two gentlemen would never. Trespassing on private property. So rude, so dangerous.”
“Then get out quick.”
“But we have to check, right?”
He could have stopped her firmly. Grab her shoulder, tell her to quit the nonsense.
But instead of blocking her, he stood beside her. Lander joined them too.
“No lock? Not even a keyhole.”
Inebil examined the door and said.
“Really no one home?”
She pounded on the door hard enough to make it thud. Still no response.
“The lady said it, right? Young woman screaming, laughing all day sometimes. Bet you both thought the same as me the second you heard.”
Inebil gripped the doorknob.
“Gilluud’s lies bug me, what the lady said bugs me, and this place being an old orphanage bugs me. Sorry to the owners, but peeking in isn’t the end of the world, right?”
Just as Inebil went to pull, Lander stopped her. Was his straitlaced friend not having it?
“If it’s my business, any trouble’s on me.”
Lander took the knob in Inebil’s place. The door creaked open slowly. No lock.
He stepped inside. Brightly lit house.
Fireplace held half-burned logs. Used recently, no doubt.
The carpet on the floor was spotless. Neatly arranged dishes and farm tools spoke to the owners’ character.
“So clean.”
“Likes things tidy, I guess.”
He ran a finger along the table. No dust. The young couple had lived here until days ago.
“Nothing in this room. Hard to believe anyone stayed here.”
“Clean here too.”
They checked the whole first floor. Just a few barely used pieces of furniture left behind—the house was otherwise empty. Eerily pristine.
“Let’s check upstairs.”
Inebil pointed to the stairs.