Episode 1075
During the carriage trip to Mahihala, I became friends with many different people. She got out of the carriage for intermittent meals and had the opportunity to talk face-to-face with her companions.
There were four reporters, including Simone and Meilin, and five others were
tourists. The other one was a mercenary.
Two of the tourists were newlyweds, and the other three were men, and they seemed to have already become close friends. It was noisy and noisy, and some
people were drunk, probably from drinking alcohol they had brought with them during the carriage trip.
“I am a humanist.”
Among the three men, one with a skinny build and glasses said while rubbing
his palms.
“The traditions and customs of Mahihala must be preserved. “I can’t help but
feel deplored because the advanced civilizations created in pentamonia and ivory towers seem to be damaging the diversity of old civilizations.”
When the word ‘ivory tower’ suddenly came out, Meilin was startled and threw
the spoon she was eating soup with, and it landed exactly on the head of the reporter. Meilin kept saying ‘I’m sorry’ and ran away with her handkerchief. It seemed like she would have a hard time getting closer to Meilin and her manager.
Whether there was a fuss or not, the humanist continued to speak.
“Tomato sauce made using the village’s traditional method is consumed by renowned nobles on the continent! With that money, the villagers were able to make a living and focus more on growing tomatoes, keeping the tradition alive!
“I can definitely say that it is an ideal balance between civilization and tradition!”
Simon nodded and took out a notebook and wrote down the information as if
reporting.
The humanities scholar diligently shared his knowledge without even asking whether the reporter’s attention made him feel better. The senior here gently stuck out his thumb towards Simon. He seems satisfied with Simon’s reporting attitude.
“It’s basic! “Junior!”
“thank you.”
If you pretend to notice this much, you are pretending.
As Simon took the lead in reporting, Meilin playfully pouted her lips.
“Mahihala’s Tomato Sauce! “It’s famous!”
A bald man said as he stirred the soup.
This person has been cooking all the food for the group so far. By all appearances, he had considerable cooking skills, and Simon was certain that he was a
chef, or at least someone who was involved in preparing food.
He raised the corners of his mouth and smiled meaningfully.
“I came to find the secret sauce! “I will definitely find out!”
Simon, who heard those words, looked worried.
‘Spying on the village’s secrets? ‘Are you okay?’
“I know the secret.”
Unlike other people with decent jobs, a man with a black beard wearing a tattered coat raised a bottle of alcohol with a sigh. The smell of alcohol rose from
his mouth.
“It’s delicious because it contains human blood.”
“!!”
Meilin and the newlyweds opened their eyes in surprise, and the chef smiled and turned his head.
“gibberish!”
“Don’t believe it.”
The man gurgled again, pouring his drink into his mouth.
“Now, stop organizing. “Now we’re leaving again!”
A sturdy man appeared holding a crossbow. He had thick, dark eyebrows and
was the only mercenary among this group.
Teeing!
He pulled something like a trigger, and the bolt loaded in the crossbow shot out and lodged in a tree far away. Meilin was startled and jumped up.
“No, you were surprised! “Can I just shoot like that?”
“Chasing monsters. “Reporter.”
The mercenary looked around, looked at the forest with sharp eyes, and fired
another shot from the crossbow into the distance.
“I warned those who smelled it not to approach. I am a veteran who has protected humanity in bloody battlefields, showered with the blood of monsters. “If
you just listen to me, you won’t get hurt.”
He confidently gave advice in front of the Kizen third graders and gestured to
his companions. The group also packed their luggage and got back on the carriage.
I ran like that for a while longer.
Kuung-!
Simon, who had been dozing slightly, opened his eyes. Suddenly, all the carriages stopped.
“Everyone, wake up! From here, you have to walk!”
At the mercenary’s horse, the men in the carriage came out one by one.
All of the people who had gathered had quite a unique look on their half-awakened expressions. It was an interesting combination to see again. Four reporters, two newlyweds, one humanist, one chef, one drunkard, and one mercenary.
At that time, among the newlyweds, the husband pointed forward.
“Here, the road wasn’t blocked by an accident, but it looks like it was blocked
on purpose.”
The road was clogged with dirt, sand, and trees.
The mercenary said indifferently.
“Probably so. “There will be many people aiming for the rumored tomatoes.”
When everyone in the group got off, the drivers led the carriage and returned
to where they had come from. We promised to meet again at this location in the morning five days later.
The remaining group climbed over fallen trees and mud. Now it was time to walk to the forest path.
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“Please be careful!”
The mercenary, whose shoulders were heavy, moved the crossbow frantically,
sometimes firing bolts into the air.
“You will encounter about 10 monsters! “This forest is very dangerous!”
However, there was no encounter with any monsters.
His crossbow didn’t even pierce the monster.
The surroundings were quiet enough to be clean. It was to the point where the mercenary’s efforts to scare and warn his companions and put all their weight on them became meaningless.
“Hey, this can’t be happening?”
The mercenary was sweating. The drunkard holding the bottle chuckled and said.
“I paid for nothing! “I can’t see a single rat, let alone a monster!”
“Hey, the forest around here is vicious! “Those who smelled my blood must have escaped!”
At that time, Meilin looked at Simon with a smiling face and asked in a low voice.
“Is it you?”
Simon shrugged. In fact, Simon’s undead were wandering around from afar, defeating monsters.
So I walked again for half a day.
‘It’s here!’
Simon opened his eyes wide and looked at the village he had arrived at.
The village residents were already there to meet us at the village entrance, and as soon as they saw the group, they approached us with big smiles.
“Welcome, everyone!”
“Welcome to Mahihala!”
They were ordinary and simple village residents. Everyone welcomed us with bright smiles. We were each given a glass of tomato juice as a welcome drink, and I’m not sure if it was because we were thirsty, but it was incredibly delicious.
It’s a taste that will keep you thinking about it even after you leave town.
“You worked so hard to come.”
“Come this way.”
It was a small, warm village with impressive bright red roofs. Exciting music played on traditional instruments was flowing from everywhere, and some people were already dancing and having fun.
The group looked around the village with sparkling eyes.
“Honey, it’s such a wonderful place. “It reminds me of where I grew up!”
“You did well to come here, right?”
Again, the newlyweds hugged each other and showed affection, but Simone and Maylin, now accustomed to it, looked around and looked around.
‘Traces of the 1st Corps… … Same thing.’
Simon’s keen eyes scanned the village for a while and then returned.
‘I can’t see it right now.’
‘Isn’t it normal?’
Meilin also spoke with her mouth gaping.
It was just an ordinary continental mountain village. Other than growing a lot
of tomatoes, a specialty product, there was nothing special about it.
‘How close is the 1st Corps’ territory from here? ‘I’ll have to take a look when
I have time.’
The manager reporter who walked ahead was capturing the scenery of the village with a magic camera, and the senior reporter was talking to the village residents who welcomed them.
The other party members were already moving as they please.
The humanities scholar was excited to see the villagers’ musical instruments,
saying they were traditional, and the cook was seen secretly putting a tomato he had picked nearby into his pocket. The drunkard took out a new drink, and the mercenary was flirting in front of the village women, shouting, ‘If the monster comes, I will kill it!’ and shooting the crossbow into the ground.
“Everyone, it must have been a long and difficult journey. Shall we unpack first? “Come here.”
Following the villager’s guidance, the group entered a fairly large building. Ofcourse, the roof of this building was also red.
“You can use this community hall.”
“Wow! So good!”
It was a large community hall where 10 people could fit comfortably. There was also a fireplace in the middle, and the sound of burning firewood echoed loudly as if it had just begun. Simon and his group unpacked their luggage here and decided on a place to sleep.
“If you’ve unpacked, dinner is ready, so let’s go right away.”
Even so, the group, including the manager, got up from their seats because they were hungry.
After walking for about a few tens of minutes from the community center, I came across a large open space, where all kinds of sumptuous food was prepared.
“What is all this?”
“looks delicious!”
As a town where tomatoes are a specialty, more than half of the food was made with tomatoes. Stewed tomatoes, tomato soup, and even meat with tomato sauce. Some alcohol was also provided.
Soon, an old man who identified himself as the village chief walked up.
“Thank you for taking the long journey! I hope you have a great time at Mahihala!”
“thank you!”
Everyone started the first night’s dinner noisily. Tourists and villagers spent time together.
Simone and Maylin sat side by side and talked privately, pretending to share news coverage.
“Looking back, there was nothing suspicious, right?”
“Yes, not yet.”
As another villager was sitting next to him, Simon used the excuse of reporting to talk about various things. About the village’s culture, environment, and tomato quality.
Especially when the topic of tomatoes came up, the villagers spoke with faces
full of pride. Simon continued to ask questions as he wrote down their stories in his notebook.
“There are mountains and forests around the village, but won’t monsters come
and ruin the tomato farming?”
“haha! Although it comes down occasionally, it rarely causes major damage! And if the monsters came down hungry, wouldn’t we need to eat something to survive!”
“You seem positive.”
Simon, who was talking about ordinary things, said with his eyes shining.
“This area borders the territory of the 1st Corps. Monsters are monsters, but I
wonder if undead are coming… … .”
Simon immediately noticed that the villager’s expression was slightly clouded.
“Undead? There are very few around here. “Even though it is a forest, it is not
dense and the days are long.”
“okay. “Thank you for your words.”
As the dinner atmosphere was getting warmer, Simon sneaked out alone, using the excuse of going to the bathroom. Then he slowly lowered his posture and
prepared to open the space.
‘Let’s take out a few spiders and continue investigating.’
The moment when subspace was opened like that.
Gigigigigigigigiggig!
Suddenly, a terrible voice rang out from the thoughts in my head. Simon was so startled that he closed the subspace without being able to take out a single undead.
Then the voice that was ringing in my head disappeared like a lie.
‘W-what is it?’
When Simon opened the subspace again, the screaming sound rang out again.
My heart sank as I heard the voice conveyed with resignation. Simon finally realized which undead was making this voice.
‘Manus!’
Simon’s former Ancient Undead and former Empire’s Swordmaster Manus.
Currently, I am not using it often. Chaos Dullahan was damaged during the battle, and Manus often suffered from runaway symptoms.
However, this was the first time that Manus suddenly cried out in despair at Simon in subspace.
‘The runaway has gotten worse. I think it would be very dangerous to take it out of here.’
Simon took out a few spiders and closed the subspace. The voice quickly disappeared.
‘Manus has no memories of his past. But when you see the reaction… … .’
It seems like something instinctive has kicked in.
And as a reminder, Manus was the sword master of the entire empire.
‘It seems certain that there is something here.’
