Chapter 156

It was not certain whether it was the same incarnation as the black goat he had seen in Gallo.

In this world, there was only one deity that used a black goat as a symbol.

At least, that was what he knew.

"Shub-Niggurath, Shub-Niggurath...!"

"Was the goddess here?"

"I don't know. Whether she followed us here, or if she was here all along."

While being carried by Leandros, he desperately flipped through the grimoire Pnakotic.

He had completely entrusted movement to him, and now needed to do what he could.

But the content about Shub-Niggurath was too vast,

And the grimoire's author, as if obsessed with Shub-Niggurath, had spent a full 10 pages explaining every detail of the goddess.

At this rate, wasn't the author just a malicious personal fan of Shub-Niggurath!

While he was frantically skimming through the explanations of her characteristics and incarnations,

The snowman inside his cloak hood shouted.

"The great me, didn't feel goddess's presence. She came here? Not felt before. This place strange!"

"What's strange about it?"

"Deities, recognize each other. Feel each other. She is here. But not here? Blurry. Half gone."

The snowman could feel the presence of deities.

But the presence of the deity in this village, presumably Shub-Niggurath, seemed faint.

A presence so faded that even the avatar itself couldn't properly detect it.

"Is there no possibility of an avatar or incarnation?"

Leandros asked.

If it were an avatar or incarnation, the presence might be sensed as blurred, overlaid by something else.

The snowman's face became slightly distorted.

"Don't know. The great me, knows everything? No."

"Useless then."

"More useful than human knight."

"Is this the time for you two to argue? We've arrived at the road where Amelia was said to have disappeared."

The place Verde had described seemed ordinary at first glance.

An ordinary city alley that could be seen anywhere.

The ground, half paved with stones, was dry due to the absence of domestic sewage,

And under the shade, moss and weeds had grown a little between the stones and walls.

Only the occasional sound of rats gnawing on something could be heard.

Leandros slowly walked along the curved path where Amelia had reportedly disappeared.

"...She seems to have disappeared around here."

"There's no place to hide beyond this point."

There was no trace on the ground, not even an object Amelia might have accidentally dropped.

It would be difficult for an ordinary person to follow the trail of someone who had vanished so cleanly.

But what if it wasn't a human?

"Put me down."

As soon as his feet touched the ground with Leandros's help,

A small tapping sound was heard from behind them.

A gray rat, as large as a big guinea pig, with a human face, was running toward them.

Though there was a sound of "Ugh" from the snowman in the hood, expressing disgust, he ignored it and bent down to lift the rat onto his arm.

The rat showed affection by rubbing its old face against his arm.

A few strands of hair must have been an effective price.

But was it his imagination that the rat seemed fatter than when he had seen it in Gallo?

-Find the woman. Follow the scent. If she's not here, we need to go outside.

-Hungry.

-I'll give you something to fill your stomach when you return.

As he whispered while tickling its chin, the human-faced rat responded with a rough squeaking sound.

The human-faced rat, placed on the ground, disappeared from sight in an instant.

The snowman climbed onto his shoulder and asked.

"Worshipper. Talks with rat. Mouth opened? Did this in Gallo too?"

"What?"

Ugh, so heavy. Had this one gained weight too? Had it replenished too much ice?

When he extended his hand to Leandros, he reflexively picked him up again.

Leandros was looking down at him with a somewhat strange expression.

"Something to say?"

"No. Shall we wait until the rat returns?"

"Since there's nothing we can do right now. Even if we're anxious, we must wait."

Since the human-faced rat could find the place where he was without being told, they returned to Verde.

But when they returned to the meeting place, it was completely empty.

Only their luggage was placed in a corner of the road.

When had he disappeared?

It wasn't as if he and Leandros had gone far.

It was a distance that could be covered in less than 10 minutes by running.

To have disappeared in just 15 to 20 minutes at most?

As he looked around in bewilderment, Leandros approached the neatly placed luggage.

After examining the shabby cloth bag, he said.

"It doesn't seem like he was dragged away. There's no sign of resistance, and the bag is well arranged."

"He could have been kidnapped while resting after putting down the luggage."

"Though Verde may appear that way on the surface, he's the type whose mind works better than expected. If he had been forcibly taken by someone, he would have left a clue. Having witnessed Lady Arnold's disappearance before his eyes, his own wariness would have been considerable."

"But what if he disappeared without a chance to act, just like Amelia?"

"If some strange power interfered, that's a possibility. But that's my judgment for now."

Was he saying it would be difficult to kidnap two people using the same method?

He looked around, but of course, there was no sign of Verde, not even a passing stray dog.

"Fine, let's say that's the case. Let's say Verde, after logical consideration, voluntarily placed the luggage and left this place. But who in this city, and how did they make Verde...?"

This was a city where people had disappeared.

Unlike Gallo, the city hadn't been divided.

Literally, not a single person was in sight.

In such a place, it was hard to imagine that Verde, who had become increasingly wary, would be careless enough to follow someone blindly.

Leandros slightly furrowed his brow.

"I think it wasn't a powerful being. Rather, if the appearance had been intimidating, he would have been frightened."

"You mean a weak being?"

"It also means he believed the other was harmless."

"How kind and powerless must one appear to make Verde lower his guard in this situation?"

He felt a bit dumbfounded.

Though he could understand Leandros's words, even so, Verde was a person with some sense...

He wouldn't just follow anyone in a daze.

"Unless it's a truly dangerous child or, well, a world-class beauty, someone like Verde wouldn't be so foolish as to follow."

"...A world-class beauty?"

"...Huh?"

This was Valentine.

An ordinary city with no political, geographical, or strategic advantages.

Only it had a high reputation for its uniquely popular alcohol,

And for being a city with many innately beautiful people.

What had appeared here was the master of the black goat, Shub-Niggurath.

As he opened the grimoire Pnakotic, there were illustrations explaining Shub-Niggurath interspersed within the text.

Among them, one illustration caught his eye.

* * *

"Excuse me, but where are we going?"

"You'll see if you follow me."

Verde was busy examining the woman with pale blonde hair who was just a few steps ahead of him.

While Arenheit and Leandros were away, Verde, trembling and standing by the roadside, had encountered this woman.

The moment Verde saw her, he understood what it meant to say "nothing else in the world is visible."

The surrounding scenery gradually receded, and only she, approaching him, was clearly visible.

The woman's skin was slightly tanned.

There were small freckles across the bridge of her nose and cheekbones, each dot incomparably charming.

Her prominent nose was neither too low nor too high, just right, and her plump lips were painted a vibrant red.

Her hair, loosely braided, had stray strands sticking out, but it didn't look strange. Rather, it added to her natural beauty.

The only sentence she said to Verde was:

-What's a person doing in a place like this? Would you like to come with me?

Verde immediately put down the luggage on his shoulder, nodded, and followed her closely.

It was as if he was certain she wouldn't harm him, or rather, felt that following her would be safe.

He himself knew that such a decision was irrational.

But the woman was so beautiful that with just a glance, she could easily crush even the slightest reason that Verde possessed.

So this was what it meant to be a beauty that captivated the soul.

Verde followed the woman as if entranced, even forgetting his fatigue.

After walking like that for some time, he thought he might have almost crossed the city.

Suddenly, the view before him opened up.

He and the woman had somehow entered a luxurious garden.

The broad leaves covering their heads were tinged with green and yellow.

In the distance, a well-tended flower bed could be glimpsed, and paths ran through densely planted trees like a forest.

Such a large, well-maintained garden was not common. Ordinary city residents wouldn't have the resources to maintain such a garden.

To have such a garden within the city, one would need to possess both wealth and power.

Could it be the residence of the city lord?

As this thought suddenly occurred to him, Verde's steps gradually slowed.

Though he didn't know where in Valentine this was, to be in the city lord's garden, he must have come incredibly far.

He had come without telling Leandros and Arenheit. Wouldn't they be looking for him?

Having reached this thought, Verde hesitated but was about to tell the woman that he needed to go back.

But at that moment, the woman turned around and threw herself into his arms.

"Oof!"

A sweet fragrance suddenly enveloped him.

Moreover, her soft body was delicate and seemed as if it would break with just a little force.

Due to Verde's staggering, the two fell into the bushes.

The woman, who ended up on top of Verde, propped one hand beside his head and looked down at him.

Beneath eyelashes that were close to white, her moist eyes were wet, exuding a dreamy atmosphere.

The woman's free hand rested on Verde's chest.

Her voice, like a lark's, sweet and lovely, asked:

"You're not planning to just go back, after coming all this way, are you?"

"What? Uh? But my companions over there-"

"Forget about such things for a moment. From now on, it's a time of pleasure."

What pleasurable time?

Before Verde could question this, the woman, letting out a suggestive laugh, nestled against him.

Hot body temperature and flesh rolled together in the bushes where no one could see.

Verde couldn't even resist.

No, it was because the sensations offered by the woman whose name he didn't even know were too unfamiliar to resist.

The scent of flowers and honey emanated intensely from the bushes.

As the feast continued in the beautiful garden, someone's screams were echoing from the bright mansion of the city lord.