Veronica's Heavy Load
Veronica led the group all the way out of Carpe, and they began crossing the wide plain.
The grass stretched across the vast flatland like an open wound in the sky—wide enough that the heart would feel suddenly hollow just looking at it. Everyone walking across it must have felt the same pull.
Veronica stood on the edge of that openness, voice low and unhurried.
“The trace of a black magician was spotted near Carpe,” she said. “And across the entire continent, monsters are reacting in the strangest ways. You understand what that means, don’t you?”
Her tone carried the calm of someone who had seen this dance before.
Ahin, who had been carrying the load for the last hour, answered with a tired groan.
“Black… magic… heh… four of them… heh…”
“Exactly. You’re right. Your head still feels soft, doesn’t it?”
Veronica lifted her hand and tapped her own belly with two fingers.
“It’s soft. So that’s why I’m swaying like a drunk. Don’t worry.”
“You crazy woman—!!”
A dull thud echoed.
Ahin let out a scream that would have made anyone clutch their head and roll across the ground in agony—yet he could not.
Why?
“Because you said a single person can carry this much, didn’t you? It’s not even that heavy.”
“Are you blind?! And I’m making it heavier on purpose! Heavier, I said!”
“You told me to show respect when carrying women, children, and the elderly.”
Another slap landed on Ahin’s face.
Veronica then perched herself on Jina’s shoulder and continued.
“You’ve grown weaker while I was away, haven’t you? I’ll train you a little while I’m here.”
“Weaker?! You got heavier!!”
“I don’t want to watch my disciple get beaten by a lizardman every day.”
“…How do you even know?”
Ahin asked with a shaky voice.
“I have my sources.”
“…Stalker? One girl like Jina is enough.”
This kid was really pushing it.
A thunderous impact.
Veronica grabbed Jina’s head and turned to look back.
“Almost there. Everyone prepare.”
“What?! Me too?!”
“Did you think it would be different?”
Arms crossed, her master’s voice rang out, and Jina—already tense—ran forward and stood beside Ahin.
“He’s so pathetic he needs to be carried.”
“Ugh…!”
Veronica slid from Ahin’s shoulder onto Jina’s, pressing down with her full weight.
Jina winced from the heavy pressure, but then—
“It’s not that heavy…?”
“Look. It’s because this kid got weaker that I’m carrying you.”
“No way! You only got heavier while I was on your shoulder!!”
“You still don’t get it.”
“Ah, my head’s spinning.”
Ahin looked utterly helpless as he held his own head.
Veronica and the girl she was carrying laughed, and the others following them walked a short distance behind.
Someone watching that harmonious priestly scene with a slightly irritated expression.
“…Er, are you mad?”
“It’s not that at all!”
“M-mad, huh. Why?”
“I’m not mad, but…!”
Er’s usually sharp eyes looked dazed, as if even Haru’s sleepy gaze could catch it.
“Those people… it’s natural distance, right?”
“…You hate another woman touching Ahin?”
“No, it’s nothing like that. It’s like a mother-in-law complex.”
“…You have a lot to say, but you’re holding it in.”
Er noticed the struggle and still pushed her lips into a pout.
“Ahin doesn’t hit me that hard. There’s… still some distance left.”
“…Does he have a specific type?”
Er shouted at Haru, who was subtly stepping away.
“N-no, it’s not that! It’s just… a little upset.”
“…Er, what are you talking about?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Er didn’t understand and asked back.
“Er, what’s the relationship between Ahin and you?”
“It’s obviously—”
Er started to answer with her usual lilt, but her mouth clamped shut.
Ahin and Er’s relationship.
They were party members and trusted comrades. They had saved each other’s lives more than once.
The one who fell for him at first sight, and perhaps the one who might have been that person.
“Answer?”
“…Yeah. I still haven’t figured it out.”
The Rosario hanging from her neck might be the answer, but it felt far too incomplete.
“Master talks like she’s so confident, but when it comes to the actual person, she gets shy?”
“Haru, your words are surprisingly fluent today.”
“…No way.”
Er shot Haru a glare as she avoided her eyes.
“…We should focus on the quest for now. It’s one the Church is involved in, so a mistake would be bad.”
“Why the Church?”
“Mostly reputation. If we fail, their quests will vanish.”
“Temple quests are annoying. Why not just not take them?”
Haru’s point was fair.
The Church’s quests were famous for being underpaid and overworked, so most adventurers avoided them. Because they were seen as death-defying missions worthy only of those risking their lives for promotion, even the adventurer guild hesitated to send help.
“…I can’t watch my reputation drop.”
“Using that excuse? Then I’ll help you.”
Er’s words made Haru nod slowly.
But the moment her hazy eyes cleared, she spoke in a low voice.
“…It feels off.”
“What does?”
“…Magic.”
As if waiting for it, the group ahead stopped.
Veronica, who had jumped down from Jina’s shoulder, narrowed her eyes and scanned the surroundings.
“It smells. This place is definitely it.”
“There’s nothing here. Not even a rabbit. What’s up?”
As Ahin turned his shoulder to stretch, he said.
“Exactly. There’s nothing. That’s the clue.”
“What are you saying?”
“You think one stray animal in this wide plain makes sense?”
Mountains were different.
In mountains, animals could hide behind trees or slopes. But on a plain, there was nowhere to hide.
So it should have been natural for even small wildlife to appear. Yet the moment they stopped, no signs of life remained.
“From my shoulder, the further we go, the weaker the traces get. Especially around here.”
“…You weren’t trying to mess with me?”
“It’s training.”
Veronica cut off Ahin’s words with a suspicious look and surveyed the area.
“When it’s like this, we should just smash it.”
“Wait! A little time—!”
“Master! Just a second…!”
No one had time to scream as Veronica’s small feet dug into the ground.
Even her tiny feet were light.
The scene before their eyes was simple: the earth cracking, dirt and rocks exploding upward.
Boom—boom—boom!
Mud and stones sprayed everywhere.
Er, shield raised in alarm, stepped in front of Ahin.
The explosion’s aftershock settled only after several seconds.
“Ahin, are you okay?”
“That crazy woman…!”
“Miss, your reaction is quick. And strength is decent too.”
“What are you doing?! It was dangerous!”
Er’s aggressive tone came out because she was startled, but Veronica only smiled faintly.
“To shake off the dust, you lift the blanket.”
“What kind of…!”
“Look, dust is already rising.”
The moment Veronica spoke.
From the cracked earth, eerie black smoke began to seep.
“What is this…!”
“Right. If you flip it, you should let the worms come out too.”
Veronica bent forward.
“Wait, arm yourself…!”
Er tried to stop her, but the sight of someone unarmed made her panic.
“What now? This seems good.”
From empty air, a flanged mace appeared.
A pure white one with the Church’s emblem.
Even without close inspection, the iron monster club in Veronica’s hand looked solid.
She tapped Ahin’s shoulder lightly.
“When dealing with skull-obsessed bastards, a club is perfect.”
Clink, clink.
With an unpleasant sound of bones clashing, slender skeletons emerged from the cracks in the ground.
They were human remains.
Long-forgotten bones, flesh and organs completely decayed.
For that much decay, their bones should have rotted too—but these were unnaturally thick and snow-white.
“Skeletons…!”
“So many?!”
The party tensed at the sight of skeletons pouring from every crack in the earth.
“Stay calm! It’s a plain, so there’s plenty of space. Let Haru cast first, then we—”
Before Er could finish drawing her sword, she stopped.
“Ahin?”
Ahin answered with a flat expression and arms crossed like he was missing someone.
“Since that human is here, a few skeletons won’t do anything.”
“Huh? But…!”
In the next instant, Er saw.
White bone fragments shattering into the air.
A single scream, no weapon swung, skull and ribs pulverized as bones flew through the air.
And in the center of it all.
“I can handle this alone. You rest.”
A figure struck down with the flanged mace, expression utterly calm.
“Two minutes, and it’s over.”
A confident smile curved Veronica’s lips.