Chapter 6
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: The Silent Monastery
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A grim rumor had recently begun to circulate in this place, called the Deer Village for its abundance of deer. A rumor that something terrible was happening at the Monastery of Tivela, located on the mountain behind the village.
Something terrible at the monastery of Tivela, the goddess of peace and mercy! The one who raised the suspicion was Ebil, the swiftest hunter in the village.
He was in charge of delivering supplies to the monastery on the last day of each month. When he opened a crate to restock it, he was startled by what he found.
Inside, the food he had placed there last month was rotting, giving off a foul stench.
The people of the monastery, who rarely came down from the mountain unless for a special reason, would not have suddenly thrown out their food, so Ebil rushed to the monastery's entrance.
He immediately grabbed the handle and pounded on the thick iron gate. But there was no response from beyond the gate. The nuns, who would normally greet Ebil with kind faces, were nowhere to be seen.
Terrified by the unfamiliar silence, Ebil fled down the mountain and told the villagers what he had seen.
A sense of unease began to settle over the village. Several times a day, the people would glance up at the mountain where the monastery stood.
While rumors, born from the unsettling events and the people's worries, quietly spread beyond the village, Village Chief Ransel's concerns only deepened.
Today, too, he had gathered the people to discuss the matter of the monastery. Of course, the conversation always went nowhere.
“Isn't there any way to handle this?”
“Chief, what solution do you expect from us, who've done nothing but farm our whole lives, just by putting our heads together?”
“Ever since a few of the bolder ones saw something strange near the monastery, everyone's too scared to go anywhere near it. This isn't a situation we can handle ourselves, you know?”
Ransel repeatedly wiped his glistening forehead.
“And you want me to report this to the Baron? What do you think will happen if we get on the bad side of that money-crazed bastard? If the problem is solved, he'll raise our taxes several times over under the pretext of having mobilized his private soldiers. And if it turns out to be nothing, he'll still chew us out, and who's going to take responsibility for that?”
Just then, the hunter Ebil spoke in a timid voice.
“But Chief… the people of the monastery were good to us. They always prayed for us and gave blessings to the sick. No matter how hard our lives are, it doesn't feel right to just ignore this. It's not the decent thing to do, and it weighs heavily on my heart.”
Ransel pressed his throbbing temples with both hands.
It was late, but he had to make a decision now. The fact that last month's food had rotted meant that whatever happened, it happened a while ago. Leaving it any longer was practically impossible. And as Ebil said, it wasn't the decent thing to do.
“Still, not the Baron. It would be better to send a few men to the city to find some decent mercenaries.”
At Ransel's firm words, the people exchanged glances. Hiring was one thing, but no one here was bold enough to face and haggle with rough folk like mercenaries.
“This is driving me mad.”
With no one volunteering, Ransel was at his wit's end. Just as he was thinking he might have to bite the bullet and report the situation to the Baron,
“Chief!”
The door burst open and a young woman entered. It was Emma, the innkeeper.
Emma blushed, seemingly burdened by the eyes fixed on her.
“Emma, what is it? What about the inn?”
“W-well, a large man showed up, and he started talking about the monastery, saying he'd heard the rumors and asked for its location…”
Ransel cut off Emma's jumbled words.
“Emma, don't rush. Speak slowly. A man, you say?”
Catching her breath, Emma began to speak slowly.
“A guest came to the inn. With a bow on his back and a sword at his hip, he looked like a mercenary. I thought he was there for a meal or a room, but he suddenly approached me and said he'd heard the rumors and asked for the monastery's location. I thought I should ask you first, so I told him to wait a moment and came here.”
Before she could even finish, Ransel shot up from his seat.
“I'll go talk to him!”
***
Watching the chief, who kept wiping his shiny forehead, Luon tilted his head.
“Do I need an audience with the chief just to learn the location of the monastery?”
“It's not that. I just came to find out what rumors you've heard.”
What's this, are the rumors wrong?
Luon replied.
“I heard a demon has appeared at the Monastery of Tivela.”
“T-that's the rumor going around?”
“That's what the bards are chattering about. Am I mistaken?”
The chief, his face pale as a sheet, opened his mouth.
“Heavens, no! I don't know what braggart spread that, but it has nothing to do with a demon.”
“So something *did* happen.”
As Luon hit the nail on the head, Ransel gasped. He nervously picked at his hands and said.
“It's true that all signs of life have vanished from the monastery. But a demon... If that rumor reaches the Baron's ears, I don't even want to imagine what kind of havoc he'll wreak, claiming we've ruined the fief's reputation.”
“It's not your fault if a demon showed up, so why would the Baron care?”
“He's the kind of man who would. And stop saying demon, demon. I told you it's not that.”
Luon let out a short laugh.
“Have you checked for yourself?”
“W-well…”
Hit on the mark again, Ransel rubbed his face vigorously with his hands.
“Ugh, the only able-bodied men in this village are all farmers. We have one hunter, but he's not much to speak of either. Who here has the courage to enter a creepy monastery where everyone suddenly disappeared? And if we ask the lord for help, there's no telling what that madman will demand in return... My head is about to explode from all this!”
Luon shrugged.
“Why not hire a mercenary?”
“I just told you, this village is full of cowards who don't have the guts to hire a mercen…ary?”
Ransel, who had been about to launch into another complaint, stared blankly at Luon.
His eyes took in the man's broad shoulders, his thick forearms with their defined muscles, and the large and small scars that crisscrossed them.
Luon gave the dumbfounded Ransel a faint smile.
“I'm confident I'll earn my pay.”
Ransel swallowed hard.
“You're really going to enter the monastery? It's…”
“There might not be a demon. But the rumor has already taken flight and will soon reach the ears of the Baron you so fear. Wouldn't it be better to resolve this quickly? Stubbornly insisting it's not the work of a demon when you don't even have the courage to enter the monastery seems utterly pointless.”
Luon cut Ransel off and replied. He didn't want to continue this circular conversation any longer.
Ransel let out a deep sigh. He looked as if he had aged ten years in that short time.
“Fine… We were going to hire a mercenary anyway. But I'll pay you after the job is done. I can't just hand over an advance when it might turn out to be nothing.”
It seemed Ransel hadn't given up hope that it was all a misunderstanding, but Luon didn't care either way.
“Do as you please.”