Chapter 140

Had he done something wrong?

"Why? So suddenly?"

"I think it would be better if I stayed here."

"No, there's no need for that."

"But it would be better if—"

"I said there's no need!"

Countless memories flashed through his mind.

Had Verde found out what he'd done? Or was it because of the rat monster? If not that, was there something else? What had he done?

For Leandros to say he would separate from him like this. Based on the previous iteration, it was definitely not a good sign.

When his tone unintentionally sharpened, Amelia grabbed his arm in panic.

"Y-Your Grace, p-please calm down. I-I also think it w-would be better if Sir L-Leandros stayed h-here..."

Why?

When he looked at Leandros again, his eyebrows were slightly raised as if surprised.

But soon, he explained with his usual stoic face.

"As you saw earlier, the woman we spoke to didn't seem very surprised by the act of hatching."

"I suppose not. She said everyone does it."

"We don't know how many of those tentacled monsters are around here. Even if they're not wandering the streets, they could be hiding somewhere."

"Well, I suppose that's true."

"It seems they intend to somehow get these buds into the village, and in case of emergency, we need someone to block them."

Leandros was right.

Since they didn't know how these people might attack the village center, it was correct to have forces to defend against them.

Even if his rat could deliver news quickly, it would take a long time for a rat's body to pass through more than ten doors.

Amelia slowly withdrew her arm.

"...I'm sorry for overreacting. I was surprised. I thought it was dangerous."

"I'll try not to get into danger."

"That's not something you can control."

"Because I need to return and scold Your Grace. Like family."

What?

He didn't like that.

How old was he to be scolded by someone barely old enough to shave?

When he looked puzzled, the corners of Leandros's mouth rose slightly before falling again.

"Don't worry."

"Just in case, about that rat. I'll attach one nearby for you."

"I'd rather not. It's creepy."

"...Even if it's a rat I've contracted with?"

Behind him, Verde murmured quietly.

"Given it's a rat with a head, it's natural to find it creepy. I would have left already if I were you."

This guy.

He cleared his throat and turned around with Amelia and Verde.

"If you say so. I'll inform the villagers and come back. See you later."

"I'll see you later, Your Grace."

Leandros said politely.

Since it was none other than the protagonist, he would probably be all right.

He tried to think positively as he retraced the path that the human-faced rat had shown him.

Fortunately, no mishaps occurred, such as the already traversed path becoming twisted.

After passing through fourteen doors, they were back where they had first entered the back alley.

Verde rubbed his bare eye, slipping his finger under his broken glasses.

"I still feel like I'm in a dream. A rat with a face and a strange village."

"R-right now, rather than th-that, what do you p-plan to do, Your Grace? D-do you really intend to t-tell the villagers?"

"Strictly speaking, it's a village matter. How could the people not know about it?"

Besides, they didn't know how the buds would be introduced to this side.

Looking around the surroundings, which were mostly empty due to the early morning, he asked.

"Is there a way to gather people right now? Nothing illegal."

"Why not speak to the head of this village?"

"The head? Oh, do you mean someone like a village elder when you say 'head'?"

"Please excuse my uneducated mind, my language has been tossed around to become what it is now. Anyway, wouldn't it be best to go to the head and inform them of the seriousness of this matter first? Even if we look for the identity of the monster later."

"Where is the elder?"

"Probably near the square. I heard he handles administrative duties in place of the absent representative of the direct territory."

"You have a good memory. Where did you hear all this?"

Verde immediately stuck his nose in the air.

Since they only had to follow the path straight to the square, it didn't take long.

The modest square was similarly quiet.

Where was the place where the elder was working?

While trying to read the signs attached to various buildings, Amelia exclaimed "Ah!" and pointed to one side.

"Th-there! Isn't th-that person?"

Indeed.

She was pointing at an elderly man crossing the square with slow steps.

We didn't even wait and ran straight to the elder in one breath.

Whether he felt sorry for them as they gasped for breath, or whether he was startled by three people suddenly rushing at him.

The elder stopped walking and waited for them to come closer.

"Excuse me for a moment. Are you by chance the elder of this village?"

"You're not people who lived here. Right? What business do outsiders have?"

"Well, actually."

Where should he start?

If he suddenly blurted out, "I saw the isolated people in the outskirts of the village," he would obviously be suspected.

The people out there were likely to send buds here soon, and those buds were actually suspicious eggs that produced monsters. And as for how he knew about this existence...

Seeing that he was speechless and stuttering for a long time, the elder kindly asked.

"Isn't it hot to run around with bandages like that? Let's go inside and talk for a bit. Have some cool water too."

Ah, he was still wearing bandages.

The three of them accepted the elder's invitation and entered the old village hall.

While the exterior looked no different from a private home, the inside had an atmosphere closer to a personal office or document storage.

Plus, there was a large table with several guest chairs.

Did they hold meetings here occasionally?

They sat in front of the table and each received a cup of cold water that the elder brought personally.

"Thank you."

The water was sweet and cool.

The elder sat across from him and asked with eyes full of the unique wisdom and benevolence of an elder.

"So... what brings these young outsiders here in such a hurry at this early hour?"

"I-I apologize for the intrusion. You see, actually."

Think, Yu Yesung. How can you not appear suspicious? Use your brain!

Taking a sip of water and calming his racing heart, he continued.

"We were taking a walk, trying to look around this village. We got lost after taking a wrong turn. Then when we came to our senses, weren't we in a strange place?"

"A strange place?"

"The streets weren't strange, but the people walking around were. They seemed like people we'd never encountered around here. Plus, they all wore gray lumps."

"Oh, lumps, you say. How curious."

"Originally, we were going to ask for directions back, but somehow, they seemed like strange people, so I hesitated to ask and just hid in a corner. But then, I heard strange conversations from the people nearby."

The elder asked seriously.

"Strange conversations?"

"Yes. They were talking about sending those lumps over here. Somehow, I didn't quite understand, but they said that the people here would change to be just like them."

That was a pretty good story, wasn't it?

The elder stroked his bushy beard and asked again.

"They'll be the same... So, how did you get back?"

"We somehow retraced our steps on the way we came. We ran back in a panic and found ourselves standing on the path leading to the center here."

"Have you seen the lumps in detail?"

"No, I didn't look closely. Is it important?"

When he asked innocently, the elder slowly rose from his seat and walked around the room.

"Since things have come to this, there's no point in hiding it. Actually, we all used to live together. But because of those lumps, we became divided."

"What exactly are those lumps?"

"They believe it's a method to achieve immortality. More precisely, they think it's a new body."

"A new body?"

"Yes. The original form of the lump is an egg. About the size of a small egg. It entered our village just a few years ago."

The elder's footsteps dragged slowly.

"It wasn't long after our village became a royal direct territory. A representative from the royal family was appointed to manage the territory, and as a ceremonial gesture, he visited all the villages once to check the situation. Naturally, he also stopped at Gallo."

"Did something happen with the representative?"

"Nothing happened with him. No, strictly speaking, nothing happened with the representative."

"Then."

"Everything started with the gift he bestowed upon the village."

The representative received various gifts as he passed through each village or city.

All were a kind of light bribe to manage their village well.

And this representative seemed quite a good person, as he freely shared what he had received with the people of Gallo.

"We thought he was a good person. He readily offered what he had received, a cartload of items."

"Are you saying he wasn't good?"

"If I had known what was in there, I would never have let the villagers touch it."

Among the items that spilled from the cart full of goods were not only edible things like potatoes and fruits, but also strange objects mixed in.

One of these was a grayish-white egg.

At first, they thought it was a rotten egg and were all about to throw it away, but the representative explained that it was a "magical item that grants longevity."

"But it didn't have the blessing of a clergyman or priest; it looked like just a stone. A child took it, treasuring it. To young eyes, it must have seemed like a real treasure."

"But that was..."

"Yes. On the day the representative came, everyone ate and drank in the square. The next day, he left immediately. And, not many days later, an incident occurred."

The incident was that one of the children who used to play together in a group disappeared.

Adults, being busy with their own affairs, casually dismissed the missing child, thinking they were probably at home, but it seemed different from the children's perspective.

Eventually, the children went to the missing child's home, but the child didn't come out.

When the children pounded on the door, calling out,

The unlocked door opened with a creaking sound.

The children peeked inside out of curiosity, and soon they ran out screaming at what they saw inside the room.

"They said there was a monster. All white and wiggling."

Because the children ran out of the house almost convulsing, adults passing by entered the house.

And they too ran out screaming like the children.

Behind them, a pale, whitish tentacled monster was crawling out of the house, writhing.

In an instant, the block became a scene of chaos with people fleeing in terror, people searching for potential weapons, and people rushing into their homes.

But in the midst of it all, the child's mother ran out with disheveled hair and blocked the people's path.

-It's my child, it's my child!

-Are you mad, madam? That's a monster! If you don't move right now, you'll be eaten!

-No, absolutely not! Look, it recognizes me! I would never fail to recognize my own child whom I raised with my own hands! It's my child!

People threatened the mother with rakes and sharp objects.

But the mother didn't move and began to shout like a deranged person.

Look, it's my child.

I raised it, I saw my child transform like this.

Then a miracle happened.

Before everyone's eyes, the writhing tentacles grabbed the child's mother.

People thought the monster would finally harm someone cruelly,

But the monster merely stroked the mother's shoulders with its long tentacles and then lowered its head to press its nauseating, drooling mouth against the mother.

A brief kiss from a child to a parent.

When the monster lifted its head, a gray egg, covered in sticky mucus, was attached to the mother's forehead, reminiscent of something they had seen before.

And the monster disappeared serenely, without anyone's interference.

"That's when it started. The first monster disappeared, and the mother also became a monster. And in the body the mother left behind, that egg was discovered."

"Didn't you destroy it?"

"Opinions were divided. From what that entity was, to what role those eggs played."

"I guess there was talk about whether those eggs give people a new body."

"Since the egg was originally a charm that promised immortality, shedding the human body and transferring to a new body to live a long life... such opinions were overwhelming."

The elder quietly continued.

His stomach began to churn.

"You don't have to do anything. Just by holding the egg against your body, the egg attaches itself. That marks the completion of preparations to obtain a body. Because of this, many people wanted to receive an egg. But conversely, there were those who thought it was against divine providence."

"Immortality?"

"The fact that humans live finite and fragile lives is God's will. And after internal conflicts in the village, those with eggs all retreated to the outskirts."

After the old tale ended, the elder sighed.

"I never thought I'd be telling this story to outsiders."

"Ah, thank you for sharing. Then, when you say those people with eggs are coming here... are they really coming?"

"There's a high probability. I don't know why. But they all want to spread those eggs. Persuasion doesn't work, and there's nothing we can do."

So it was like an insurance salesman mindlessly recommending products.

There was also the possibility that the egg, the 'bud,' manipulated the mind as it attached to a person's body.

After all, it was a parasite that grew using humans as hosts.

It seemed to be a habit for them to disappear after hatching.

Due to such habits, it might be one of the lesser-known demonic beast species.

Having conveyed all he had to say to the elder, it was time to return.

It seemed best to look for information about that monster in the grimoire Pnakotic and first deliver information about the monster to Leandros.

But before he could even begin to apologize and leave, the queasiness he had been feeling intensified.

The elder, as if not sensing anything amiss, spoke nonchalantly.

"Because they were such creatures, we had no choice but to make considerable sacrifices to drive them to the outskirts of the village. We are not heretics, but we knew how to ask a few things of nameless gods."

"El...der."

"Most of the people who remained in the center agreed. Of course, there were those who didn't agree."

His vision blurred.

Looking to the side, Amelia had collapsed from her chair and was struggling to support herself on the floor.

Verde had long since fallen face-first onto the table, seemingly dead.

An empty water cup rolled on the table.

The elder circled the table and stopped across from him again.

"If such facts were to spread, we would certainly be punished. It's natural for heresy inquisitors to come, and the entire village would be in trouble for using an unauthorized artifact."

"El..."

"Please understand this much."

The sacrifice of the few for the many is essential, isn't it?

With that whisper, his body collapsed miserably.

Only the slight twitching of his own fingertips remained in his vision.

When the elder rang a bell, several people entered from outside, and they dragged him, Amelia, and Verde out of the hall.

His head, being dragged, turned weakly toward the elder.

The elder was wearing his usual benevolent smile.

He should have remembered that there wasn't a single person in the world to trust.