Chapter 39
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: A Warning and a New Plea
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The man's appearance was nothing short of wretched. His hair was a mess, one eye was crushed, and both his arms were twisted at grotesque angles.
As the man, looking like a living corpse, staggered into the inn, the patrons gasped and hastily backed away.
“He's coming this way.”
At Igor's words, Strabo tilted his head.
“Do you know him?”
“No.”
The man's face was unfamiliar to Luon as well. But the holy sword in his hand continued to hum lowly, a clear sign that this was no ordinary person.
Luon casually shifted in his seat, positioning himself to draw his sword at a moment’s notice.
Meanwhile, the man approached the party's table. He blinked his one remaining, hazy eye and slowly moved his lips.
“...Heroes... steeped in gambling... the lowly dogs of Tivela... were here...”
From the unnaturally halting speech and the grotesque movements of the man's vocal cords, Luon instinctively realized that the one speaking was not present.
Igor seemed to have noticed as well, for he scowled and replied.
“Vile spawn of a demon. If you have time to chatter through the mouth of the dead, show yourself. I, Igor, will burn you to death by the will of the Mother.”
Hearing the harsh tone from Igor, who rarely spoke ill of anyone, Strabo let out a short whistle of surprise.
“Impressive.”
Ignoring Igor's warning, the man merely rolled his eye toward Luon.
“Master... of the sword... who covets... the king's power... Just as you... pursue us... we too... are watching... you...”
Luon was the first to notice a physical change in the man as he spoke haltingly. Seeing the tips of his twisted fingers swell like balloons, he swung his holy sword without hesitation.
“M-Murder!”
“He killed a man!”
As the man's head rolled limply across the floor, people screamed and pointed, but no one in the party paid them any mind.
This was no time to worry about such trivialities. The headless body had not stopped expanding.
In a flash.
Luon, Igor, and Strabo moved simultaneously.
Luon instantly grabbed the man by the collar and hurled him into a corner of the inn, just as Strabo kicked over a table.
Green veins bulged on his face, and the flying table seemed to come alive, changing shape to wrap tightly around the body slumped in the corner.
“Merciful Mother—”
The moment Igor's prayer concluded, a bright light erupted.
The man's body exploded.
As the people in the inn reflexively clutched their ears and groaned at the deafening blast, Igor shouted.
“Luon!”
Luon saw Igor's divine power binding a formless, dark-red mist and thrust his holy sword forward without delay.
*Sssssshhh!*
As the mist, pierced by the holy sword, dissipated into the air with an eerie sound, Igor finally unclasped his hands and sighed.
“To plant the power of Belducias in a corpse to make it explode... What a vile curse. The people here were nearly caught in it.”
“The source of the curse?”
Igor shook his head at Luon's question.
“I don't sense any particular power nearby. It's strange to say, but... I think it's best to see this as a sort of warning.”
He gestured to Luon's holy sword and added.
“Given that they mentioned the holy sword, it seems they've realized we're pursuing them.”
“Guess we're on the right track, then.”
As Luon nodded, a man who appeared to be the innkeeper slowly approached the group.
He seemed about to say something, but then he saw the floor, littered with planks embedded with bone fragments and viscera. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand, trying to stifle a gag.
After managing to swallow his nausea, the innkeeper finally spoke.
“I-I won't ask what happened... but would you please leave my establishment?”
His terrified voice seemed to speak for everyone inside the inn.
The sudden appearance of a bloodied man, the cryptic conversation, the severed head, and then the explosion.
Luon knew all too well that this chain of events was like a bolt from the blue, completely out of place in the inn of a quiet village.
He took out five or six silver coins from his pouch and offered them to the innkeeper.
“My apologies for the trouble.”
“N-No, I won't take it. Just leave. Please.”
The innkeeper waved his hands at the sight of the silver coins. He looked as if he were afraid of being tainted, and Luon gave a wry smile as he put the money back in his pocket.
“Hm? Why do we have to leave? We haven't even finished our meal...”
“Strabo.”
Igor cut Strabo off, shaking his head as if to tell him to stop.
The party left the inn under a mixture of fearful and wary gazes. The sun had already set.
“Don't they realize they were about to die? Why are they kicking us out?”
Luon spoke calmly to Strabo, who was irritably scratching his bushy beard.
“You've got the order wrong.”
“If we hadn't come to the inn in the first place, none of this would have happened. And Strabo... most of the people in there are ordinary farmers. They must have been terrified. It's a natural reaction.”
After Igor's explanation, Strabo sniffled and nodded.
“Hmph, I guess that makes sense.”
Luon said.
“We need to find a place to stay for the night.”
As he said this and started to walk, someone shouted from behind him.
“W-Wait!”
He turned to see a young girl with a face full of freckles scurrying toward them.
Luon, remembering she was a waitress at the inn, tilted his head.
“What is it?”
“There aren't any vacant houses in our village suitable for lodging.”
“And?”
“I-If it's alright... I'd like to invite the three of you to my home...”
The girl, with a pale face and picking at her fingertips, looked thoroughly frightened.
Seeing the contrast between her appearance and her offer, Luon stared at her for a moment before asking.
“Do you need money?”
As if he had hit the mark, the girl blushed and nodded.
Luon scratched his chin and asked.
“What about your work?”
“The inn's in chaos... everyone is leaving. I was given permission to go home early today. They said I didn't need to clean up the body...”
*He's a decent person.*
Realizing the innkeeper's consideration in sending the girl home early after she'd witnessed such a horrific scene, Luon nodded and said.
“Alright. If it's no trouble for you, we'll impose for just one night.”
The girl's house wasn't far from the inn.
Entering the cozy house, Luon's eyes widened slightly at an unexpected sight.
*A sick person?*
Noticing that his gaze had fallen on a young boy lying weakly on a worn-out bed, the girl explained.
“My younger brother is very sick.”
Only then did Luon understand why the girl had fearlessly invited them into her home.
It seemed her need for money for her ailing brother outweighed her fear of the unknown warrior who had cut off a man's head without hesitation.
Just then, Igor, who was fiddling with a pile of herbs stacked on the table, spoke up.
“If you'll allow me, I'd like to pray for your brother. Would that be alright?”
The girl, who was taking some eggs from a jar, widened her eyes and then slowly nodded.
“...Yes, please do.”
No sooner had she spoken than Igor knelt at the head of the bed and began to pray.
The girl, who had been preparing a simple meal for the party with a neutral expression, was so startled when a soft light emanated from Igor's body that she dropped an egg.
“Oh dear, what a waste... He did that at the inn, too. What's there to be so surprised about?”
As Strabo lamented, the girl muttered blankly.
“Ah, I was too flustered back then.”
Meanwhile, Igor finished his prayer, gently wiped the sweat from the boy's forehead, and stood up.
“I'm not sure how much it helped, but it should be more effective than drinking boiled herbs.”
*Sometimes, divine power is more mysterious than magic.*
Luon let out a dry laugh as he saw the boy's complexion had noticeably improved.
He had come to understand the concept of divine power quite well during his travels with Igor.
When devout faith is recognized by a god, the divine power that suffuses the body becomes the fundamental force that manifests miracles, large and small, through literal 'prayers or wishes,' and thus boasts astonishing versatility.
Even now, Igor hadn't performed some grand ritual; he had simply prayed with all his heart to Tivela, asking her to heal the child before him.
“Th-Thank you.”
Igor gave a gentle smile to the girl, who was bowing repeatedly, not knowing what else to do, and then sat down on the floor with a thump.
“Why are you all looking at me like that?”
To Igor's question, Luon just shrugged, while Strabo clapped his thick hands together as if deeply impressed.
“That was quite moving, Igor.”
A short while later, the party sat in a circle on the floor and began to eat the meal the girl had prepared.
The meal was nothing more than a thin, watery soup with no solids, potatoes, and boiled eggs, but no one complained.
In front of the quietly crackling fireplace, the group exchanged various stories.
The conversation happened to turn to their childhoods. Igor talked about being whipped for frequently messing up his prayers, while Strabo chattered excitedly about an adventure novel he had stumbled upon.
Naturally, it was Luon's turn next. After a moment's thought, he vaguely replied that he had lived an ordinary life.
At Strabo's retort—“What kind of ordinary person grows up to snap a monster's neck with their bare hands?”—the girl flinched, and Igor reassured her.
And so the night deepened.
In the small house with no separate rooms, the party couldn't talk forever. They eventually lay down on the floor, using their backpacks as pillows.
“Are you going to sleep?”
The girl, who was watching over her soundly sleeping brother, asked. Luon nodded silently in response.
Strabo stretched out his short legs and chuckled.
“Must be unsettling to have a bunch of strangers sleeping on your floor, but just put up with it for one night.”
Just then, Igor, who had been quietly observing the girl, pushed himself up.
“Is there something you wish to say to us?”
“Well...”
After a moment of hesitation, the girl swallowed and continued.
“There are quite a few children in the village who are sick like my brother. Could you... pray for them, too?”
Her words piqued Luon's interest, and he sat up.
“You're saying all the children in the village are sick?”
The girl shook her head.
“No. It's the children who were playing hide-and-seek on the mountain behind the village about a month ago. They're all suffering from high fevers and groan in their sleep as if they're having nightmares... We've tried all sorts of medicines, but nothing has improved...”
As the girl's voice trailed off, Strabo, who had been lying down and picking his nose, spoke up.
“Hmm? Sounds like there might be a dream demon in this village.”
“A succubus or incubus?”
Strabo waved his hand dismissively at Luon's words.
“Pfft, those are just horny bastards that suck your life force... A dream demon that causes nightmares sounds like a Nightmare to me. Haven't you heard of them? They're black horses.”
At that, Igor's eyes widened.
“A h-horse?”
He glanced down at his blistered feet, then whipped his head toward Luon.
“Luon. This concerns young children. It would be too cruel to simply pass by.”
*Oh, really?*
Luon looked at Igor's blazing eyes, chuckled, and then turned to Strabo.
“Strabo, are you sure it's a Nightmare?”
“Hmm, my sharp druid senses say... fifty percent chance?”
“And can you tame it?”
“Huh? Never thought about that... Well, since it's me, the great druid... fifty percent chance?”
“Such reassuring numbers.”
Luon sighed lightly and turned to the girl, who was listening to their conversation in a daze.
“Prayers are one thing, but there must be a reason why all the children fell ill at once. We'll look into it.”
“R-Really? Thank you. Thank you so much.”
As the girl bowed deeply, Luon added briefly.
“Consider it an apology for making a mess of the inn.”