Chapter 50: Berserk(2-1)
Chapter 50: Berserk(2-1)
While Kerry was taking care of the White Witch, Lina and the others were busy investigating their next destination.
Kerry pretended to help with the investigation, but he couldn’t spend much time on it since he had to look after the White Witch.
Still, we’ve decided on the next destination.
It was all thanks to the intelligence support from the Magic Tower. The information they provided was as follows:
The Village Where the Dead Return.
There was a village known by that name.
If it were just a name, one might dismiss it as a town with some grim rumors.
But according to the intel, there was someone in that village who claimed to have seen a monster with the head of a lion.
Lina searched her memories.
She was certain she had heard of the Village Where the Dead Return in her past life.
Back then, I just thought it was some nasty rumor… Don’t tell me this was their doing, too?
They hadn’t been able to confirm the presence of Furuku, Nassen, or Barikmeteo at the abandoned mine.
But there was a good chance they were in the Village Where the Dead Return.
Besides, it was unlikely those bastards could avoid Lina’s party now.
The hideout in the abandoned mine must have been one piece of a much larger picture for them.
And Lina’s party had ruined it. It was enough to make them furious.
Lina, who had been planning the next steps with the party, suddenly paused.
“Natasha? Are you okay?”
Natasha’s face was deathly pale. Her fingertips trembled as she stared with a terrified expression.
“I-I’m fine…”
Her grandmother, who was beside her, hugged Natasha and explained.
“Tsk. The Village Where the Dead Return… Something similar happened to our tribe. People we thought were dead began to return, one by one.
Everyone rejoiced, saying it was a blessing from Valhalla… but it was all a lie. Natasha’s father also rushed out when he heard his mother had come back to life, and he went missing.”
And he was later found, beheaded, at their altar.
The horrific memory resurfaced, and Natasha was paralyzed with fear.
“Natasha. It’s alright. Grandma is here…”
Her grandmother held Natasha in a warm embrace. Natasha seemed to calm down a little, but she was still trembling.
Just then, Kerry gently patted Natasha on the back. Her eyes met Kerry’s, and her trembling stopped as if by magic.
The grandmother stared blankly at the scene and muttered to herself.
“All that effort raising a granddaughter… for nothing.”
Lina looked at Natasha with concern. She was having such a strong reaction just from hearing the story.
If they went there to chase after those fiends, there was no telling how Natasha might react.
But I can’t just tell Natasha to stay here, either.
Not that she would listen even if Lina told her to.
At that moment, Kerry and Lina’s eyes met.
Lina nodded, looking relieved.
He was so reliable. Yes. If Kerry was there, he could somehow take care of Natasha.
“We’ve had enough rest. Let’s depart for the Village Where the Dead Return immediately.”
“I agree. We can’t stand by and watch them harm more innocent people.”
“Revenge… I must avenge my tribe!”
The party began to prepare for their journey.
*
Their time in the dear Magic City had come to an end. The Sage, hearing that his brother Kerry was leaving, came all the way to the city gate to see him off.
“Farewell, my brother! I’ll be waiting for the day we meet again!”
“Heroes! Thank you for saving the Magic City!”
“Kerry! You’re so handsome! Please be sure to visit again!”
A legion of women had come to see Kerry, earning glares from Natasha and Victoria. They quickly hustled Kerry into the carriage as if to hide him.
This journey was quite comfortable, as the Magic Tower had prepared everything. The atmosphere inside the carriage, however, was not.
Natasha and Victoria were waging a cold war with Kerry caught in the middle.
“The seat next to my husband is my permanent spot!”
“Since when was that a rule? You’ve sat next to Kerry often enough, so today, I will sit beside him.”
“No! It’s my seat.”
Watching them, Lina and the grandmother shook their heads.
Lina stood up and said, “If you sit over here, the three of you can sit side-by-side. Why don’t you do that? The elder and I will sit over there.”
“I suppose we must. Such childish things. Tsk, tsk.”
And so, Kerry was now seated with Victoria and Natasha on either side of him.
For Kerry, it was like sitting on a bed of thorns, caught in the crossfire of the two women’s rivalry.
Usually, Victoria was the one who yielded to Natasha, but for some reason, she wasn’t backing down today.
Was Victoria also feeling too sexually frustrated lately?
Since they started living together as a party, there had been hardly any opportunities to relieve Victoria’s desires.
Even so… Victoria is still just a kid. To let a little frustration show so obviously.
Victoria acted high and mighty because of her noble dignity, but if she’d been born in Korea, she’d be just old enough for college.
Thanks to Victoria and Natasha, the inside of the carriage was never quiet.
The carriage rattled along a rough dirt road, and after several days of camping, Lina’s party finally arrived at the village.
The Village Where the Dead Return.
The carriage began to slowly enter the village. The party observed it from the windows. It looked ordinary enough.
“My lords, we’ve arrived. The rumors about this village aren’t good, so please be careful.”
The horses whinnied and stamped their hooves as if in agreement.
“These ones are usually so calm, why are they acting up today? Whoa, whoa—settle down.”
After dropping off Lina’s party, the coachman fled the village as if his tail were on fire.
They wondered what there was to be so afraid of, but the village’s atmosphere was certainly anything but ordinary.
Despite it being broad daylight, there wasn’t a single person walking around.
Every window and door was shut tight, and a thick fog clung to parts of the village, creating an eerie feeling.
Kerry felt a slight chill.
“This is definitely not a normal atmosphere.”
“No. I think we’ve come to the right place,” Lina said, holding out the Goddess’s Ring.
The Goddess’s Ring was glowing, signaling the presence of demonic energy.
“What is that ring?” Victoria asked, unfamiliar with it.
“It’s a ring Lady Lina received from the Goddess. It’s an item that glows to alert us when there’s demonic energy nearby.”
“Oho. A convenient item indeed.”
Just then, an anxious voice was heard. Kerry wasn’t the only one who had a bad feeling.
In fact, the person with the worst premonition was right beside him.
It was Natasha.
She began to tremble violently, then started muttering as if seeing a hallucination.
“Everyone… is dead… Mom… Dad… No… you can’t follow them… I’m sorry… I’m sorry… It’s my fault… I was wrong…”
A dangerous red haze began to rise from Natasha’s body. This felt dangerous.
Was she really going to go berserk just from arriving in the village?
“Natasha. Snap out of it.”
“My… husband…”
Kerry tried to grab hold of her, but it was too late. The focus in Natasha’s eyes began to fade.
And when the focus returned, her reason was gone.
“Grrr.”
But Natasha didn’t rampage. That was thanks to Kerry being right in front of her.
“Natasha. Are you okay?”
“?”
Lick—
Natasha licked Kerry’s face as if nothing had happened.
No major problem, then. By now, he wasn’t even that surprised when Natasha went berserk.
“I was worried, but it seems it happened after all.”
“My apologies, Lady Lina. Natasha’s trauma runs deep.”
“I understand. And besides, it’s fine since Kerry is here.”
Lina sent Kerry a look full of trust. Every time he saw it, he felt how truly burdensome that gaze was.
“Yes, Grandmother. As long as I take care of Natasha, there won’t be any problems.”
Victoria, who had been watching quietly, grumbled, a rare sight.
“I am not pleased. When Natasha becomes like that, I cannot even get close to Kerry.”
“Grrr—”
She was right.
He had tried training Natasha not to be wary of others, but it was impossible to make her let her guard down around beautiful women like Lina or Victoria.
Perhaps she instinctively remembered they were romantic rivals. It was just a guess.
“Victoria, it can’t be helped. You’re the ‘adult’ here, so please be patient.”
“…Fine. I suppose the more considerate one must endure. I am different from that brat.”
As expected, Victoria was also surprisingly easy to handle.
“Well then, it seems we’ll have to stay here for a while, so let’s find a place to sleep first.”
Lina’s party wandered around, searching for the village inn. But with not a single person on the streets, it was difficult to even ask for directions.
Is there even an inn here?
Why was the village atmosphere like this? If the grim rumor about the dead returning was true, then this wasn’t so surprising.
After wandering the village for a long time, Lina’s party finally found an inn with a crude sign.
“We found an inn, but… it’s not open.”
“…”
“It’s not a very big village, so I don’t know if there’s another one…”
“Let’s try knocking on the door.”
This was when Kerry had to step up.
If he left it to Lina, the owner might appear, say they weren’t open, and she’d probably give up, thinking there was nothing to be done.
Please. Let someone be inside.
“Is anyone there?”
Kerry knocked on the door. There was no answer. He started knocking again.
“Is anybody home?”
Finally, the sound of creaking floorboards came from inside. A presence could be felt.
A voice came from beyond the locked door.
“Who is it? Who’s knocking on someone else’s door?”
“…We’re passing adventurers… Are you perhaps not open for business?”
“Adventurers, you say? It’s been a long time since outsiders came to the village…”
Through a small window in the door, the owner peeked outside, seeming to size up Lina’s party.
Kerry confidently showed off the group. After all, when it came to looks, Lina’s party was a gorgeous bunch.
Even Kerry himself had a soft, handsome appearance for a man.
They were all different from the men of this world, who often looked like rugged bandits.
“You are open for business, right? Please, innkeeper. We have plenty of money.”
“…You don’t seem like bad people. Come in.”
With a click, the inn door finally opened.
The inn was covered in dust, as if it hadn’t been in business for quite some time.
“It’s a bit messy, isn’t it? Please understand. To be honest, I haven’t been open for a long time.
I mean, you can’t run a business if you don’t have any customers. If you wait a moment, I’ll clean up the rooms for you right away.”
“Thank you, we’d appreciate it.”
The party waited in the hall while the innkeeper finished cleaning the rooms. Soon, he returned.
“Mister, why is this village so quiet? There’s no one walking around. We had a hard time finding the inn because there was no one to ask for directions.”
“Don’t tell me you came here without hearing the rumors?”
“The rumors… you mean the one about the dead returning?”
“You know it well. That’s the reason the village atmosphere is so grim.”
Lina’s interest was suddenly piqued.
“Could you tell us more about that rumor?”
The man’s expression soured instantly. He waved his hands dismissively.
“I’m sorry… but if you want to ask about that, you’d best find another inn.”
“…”
Seeing the man’s grave expression, they couldn’t press him further. The party agreed to just stay the night and leave it at that.
Does he have some kind of trauma?
Later, in the women’s room, Kerry spoke up.
“What on earth happened in this village?”
“I don’t know. But it’s clear something unusual happened. The Goddess’s Ring is still reacting.”
Even in the midst of their serious conversation, the berserk Natasha was busy licking Kerry’s face and acting cute. Ah, if she keeps this up… I’m going to get hard.
After talking for a while, the party decided to rest for the day.
They were all physically exhausted from having rushed here while camping along the way.
“Well then, I’m going to wash up and get some sleep.”
Just as Kerry was about to return to his room, Natasha followed him. He pretended to try and stop her, but as expected, Natasha had no intention of leaving his side.
Instead, thinking she was being abandoned, she clung to him with tears in her eyes.
“I think it would be best if you looked after Natasha, Kerry.”
That’s what I was waiting to hear.
“Ahem. I suppose it can’t be helped this time either. I’ll have Natasha sleep in my room.”
Lina nodded, and just when it seemed everything was going smoothly, Victoria suddenly interjected.
“I shall sleep in Kerry’s room as well. Even if it is Kerry, Natasha is still a woman, and I cannot simply leave her in your care. I will supervise from here.”
Who’s supervising who, you lewd noble!
“…”
For a moment, he was a little dumbfounded. Lina nodded as if that was perfectly fine.
The grandmother suggested that it would be better if she slept in Kerry’s room instead, but when Victoria adamantly refused, she seemed to lose interest.
But Kerry knew.
He could see the lust welling up in Victoria’s expression. He’d seen it often when they were stranded.
More importantly, Victoria kept secretly sending him that lewd sign.
That sign that mimicked poking a hole!
It looked like Victoria was thinking of nothing but fucking him. Kerry shook his head, exasperated.