650. Fatigue (1)
The small town where Oliver stayed.
It was the city in the center of the continent where Cardinal Roderick first arrived, and it was also the place where the head of the Aizan Kingdom welcomed him.
According to Roderick, the city was barely built thanks to a large loan from the Paterist bank.
Although it may seem like a rural area to Oliver, who is from Randa, he said that it was a fairly important economic city in the Kingdom of Aizan.
Thanks to this, the knights who subdue the black magicians, the servants who assist them, and the royal army of the Kingdom of Aizan can be stationed here.
Then Pandora suddenly came in and said that a piper had appeared in the city.
And he led more than a hundred children along the main road openly.
It was an action that was impossible according to conventional wisdom, but honestly, Oliver wasn’t that surprised.
The Pied Piper had already done something terrible to be surprised by such a thing.
Appearing in the middle of Randa and destroying the hotel with one hand,
Summons a swarm of rats, causing severe damage to Landa.
They even attempted to kidnap the second in line to the throne of the United Kingdom.
That one action alone made it seem natural, rather than strange, that the Pied Piper would storm the city with the kidnapped children.
Even considering that there are paladins and royal troops stationed in the city to subdue the warlocks.
If we defeat him like we did in Randa, that will be the end of it.
Nevertheless, the reason Oliver left the surrendered warlocks behind and flew hurriedly to the small town on his human-faced bird-creature was because of the direction the Pied Piper had appeared in.
Towards Gallos······. It could be a matter of concern, but I was too concerned to ignore it.
That would be the case, as the location of the Arc Orphanage was on the outskirts of Gallos, near the center of the continent.
It means that it overlaps with the path of the man playing the flute. If-
“-father.”
Pandora, who was traveling with Oliver on her unicorn, called out to Oliver.
Pandora’s head was spinning as she flew through the sky.
Of course, Oliver’s head also fluttered.
Thanks to that, a grayish tint was visible on one side of the hair.
The part that was bleached due to the burn was the part that was dyed and pushed out as the hair grew.
I guess I’ll have to dye it again.
“······Why are you like that, Pandora?”
“From here, I think it would be better to get off and walk.”
Pandora spoke to Oliver, her emotions glowing with tension and discomfort.
“The city is in chaos right now, having just been attacked by the Pied Piper. I don’t know how they’ll react if you show up in a creature there. I understand you’re anxious, but I think it’s best to get off.”
Pandora didn’t stop giving advice, even though she was intimidated by Oliver’s discomfort.
As much as I thought about Oliver,
Oliver was in a state of confusion after his conversation with Roderick and the sudden news of the Pied Piper, but he knew it.
Oliver thought for a moment and nodded.
“That would certainly be better. Thanks for the advice.”
After Oliver expressed his gratitude to Pandora, he asked the aviator to help him descend vertically and attempt to land on the ground.
“Gyaaaaaaah!!”
The human-faced bird landed on the ground with a shrill scream.
Oliver climbed down from the anthropomorphic statue with Pandora, placed the anthropomorphic statue in the shadows like the other creatures, and walked towards the city on two feet.
My pace was faster than usual, but as I got closer to the city, my speed did not slow down, but rather began to accelerate.
As we got closer to the city, the emotions of fear, helplessness, sadness, and resentment became more apparent, and it seemed as if something was wrong.
“It’s quieter than I thought?”
Pandora said as she left the forest and entered the outskirts of the city.
As she said, the city was quiet.
There were traces of battle and dead soldiers here and there, but it was quieter than expected considering the presence of the piper.
Oliver and Pandora entered the city, feeling strange, and soon they could see why the city was quiet.
“For your safety, all traffic is temporarily closed. Everyone, stay inside your homes!”
“This is an emergency curfew. Everyone, please stay home!!”
The soldiers were in groups and controlling the streets. Not completely though.
“Get out of the way! Get out of the way!! My daughter······!!”
A street controlled by soldiers. A man tried to force open a door and get out.
He looked to be in his early thirties, and he was glowing with an intensity that even Oliver had rarely seen.
For some unknown reason, he desperately tried to get out, and the soldiers controlling the city forcibly stopped him and tried to force him inside the house.
Even resorting to violence.
“Please, my daughter-”
“-Shut up! Do you think you’re the only one who does this?! Follow the rules!!”
The man desperately pleaded, but the soldier responded with a club and shouts.
What’s interesting is that I can sympathize with the man’s actions to some extent.
The sudden commotion caused people nearby to look through the cracks in their windows to see what was happening.
Many people sympathized with the man’s actions, knowing what was going on, but on the other hand, they showed the opposite reaction.
If a man were to struggle and resist, most onlookers would give up. And they did so very deeply. It was as if it had been ingrained in them for generations.
Oliver stared blankly at the strange sight, momentarily forgetting why he had come, and in that brief moment, a group of soldiers patrolling the city spotted him.
The soldiers all looked like they had been in battle and their emotional state was not very good in proportion to their appearance.
They all glowed with helplessness, shame, guilt, sadness, confusion, and perhaps as a reaction to that, they glowed with anger and excitement when they saw the unidentified man.
“What are you?!”
“Hands up!”
The soldiers, who were mentally unstable and therefore sensitive, reacted aggressively and pointed their guns at Oliver.
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Oliver was in a hurry too, and honestly, he wasn’t very happy with the current situation.
Just when I was wondering what to do, someone intervened.
“wait a minute······!”
A soft and warm voice that soothes anxiety.
She was the nun who accompanied Roderick to the top of the tower.
A nun wearing black cassocks all over her body.
She came between Oliver and the soldier.
“Oh, Sister?”
The soldiers paused, their excitement subsiding as if they knew the nun.
It was surprising and yet I soon understood why there was such a reaction just by showing my face.
Even during the airship attack, the nuns quickly calmed the anxious people down and won their hearts.
In the center of the continent, where many nuns were active, this might have been a natural phenomenon.
“Sister. Do you know me?”
The soldiers asked the nun with respect and humility.
The nun also responded politely and explained.
“Yes, brother. You have come to help us.”
“That person, no, that person?”
“Yes, I just came back after helping the Cardinal with his work. So please be forgiving of the curfew violation.”
“Ah······. Of course. We are the ones who are sorry. However, given the current situation······.”
The soldiers’ harsh attitude was diminished by the nun’s answer, and even the endings of their words became slurred.
After exchanging a few words with the nun, he quickly passed by.
The nun who sent the soldier away. She approached Oliver and greeted him politely.
“welcome.”
“······Thank you for your help.”
Oliver first thanked him for his help, because that was the polite thing to do. Then he asked him what he was curious about.
“Did you know I was coming?”
“Yes······. Because someone left. I was waiting because I thought something like this would happen.”
The nun answered, and Oliver was left speechless.
Actually, I had heard the news from the messenger. However, something still bothered me. It was hard to put into words.
Perhaps it was because of the note the nun handed me on the airship.
Beware of Cardinal Roderick.
Oliver had been wondering why she had given him that note ever since the day she received it, but he had not been able to come up with a guess.
But I couldn’t ask either.
So Oliver felt an uneasy feeling towards the nun that was hard to explain.
Oliver was mulling over complicated thoughts. Then, the nun asked him a question.
“May I ask where Your Majesty is now?”
“Oh, he is coming separately. It seems to me that it is not right for the Cardinal Priest to ride a creature······. If it is alright, could you tell me what happened?”
“Of course. I’ll tell you as we go. Follow me.”
The nun began to give directions, speaking in a rude manner.
***
The nun explained as she walked along the street.
Cardinal Roderick noticed Oliver’s disappearance and immediately led most of the knights out of the city, and soon after, a man playing the pipe appeared in the darkness.
The nun said that behind the piper there were children wearing all kinds of clothes, from expensive to shabby.
“What happened when you found the Piper?”
“······The knights residing in the city moved first to stop him, and then the troops staying on the outskirts tried to join in.”
“You said you were trying to······join?”
Oliver pointed out the sentence. It wasn’t that he said he did, it was that he tried.
I thought I misheard, but I didn’t mishear.
“Yes, the knights tried to stop the piper, and the troops from the outskirts of the city tried to join in, but just before that, the sound of the piper began to resonate.”
The sound of a flute.
Oliver remembered that sound.
It was a very strange sound, sad yet cheerful, irregular yet harmonious.
It was as if a sad note had been added to a happy melody.
Oliver wasn’t very good at music so he couldn’t be sure.
“What happened when the whistle sounded?”
“The soldiers suddenly started shooting at each other.”
Only then did Oliver understand the disparate signs of combat he had seen both on the outskirts and within the city.
Traces of gunfire and explosions are visible here and there.
The traces were different from those caused by black magic, but they were indeed traces of soldiers fighting.
“It’s a type of black magic that manipulates sound.”
Oliver muttered.
A type of black magic that manipulates shadows, corpses, and creatures.
Of all the things, manipulating a living person was the most difficult, and the Pied Piper seemed to have mastered that.
Now I think I understand why the soldiers were so sharp earlier.
Even if it was by black magic, he killed his own comrade. If he were sane, that would be strange.
“Is that why you banned traffic?”
If soldiers were subjected to the dark magic of manipulation, civilians would be no exception.
Oliver pointed this out. The nun nodded slightly.
The answer I got was unexpected, though.
“Because the children of the city are disappearing.”
“······.”
“When the whistle sounded, the adults lost consciousness, and when they woke up, the children were gone.”
“······How many people?”
“It’s not even being counted······. Probably, it’s not a small number.”
The nun was beating around the bush, but Oliver immediately understood that many children had disappeared.
No matter how small a city is, a city is a city.
But, when I heard that so many children had disappeared in this city, I didn’t even know how to react.
“Then, controlling the city······.”
“It’s to prevent chaos. If everyone moves to find the children, this city will become paralyzed······. Many people have become accustomed to this, but there are still many who cannot accept it.”
It was said that it was common for nuns to lose children to the Pied Piper.
“You seem to know a lot.”
“I’m from here too.”
“Ah······. Is that so?”
“I decided to turn to God after seeing people suffering. Then······. I thought I could at least alleviate the suffering of others. It’s not easy, though.”
“······sorry.”
“No. It’s not just because of you, Zenon.”
“······?”
“Why are you doing that?”
“No, it isn’t.”
“If that’s the case, then that’s great······. Here it is.”
The nun who was giving directions stopped in front of an old building.
“Brother Kevin is here. The place he used to stay is currently occupied by other guests. I would appreciate your understanding.”
Another guest······. I was curious who it was, but it didn’t matter.
Because that wasn’t a big deal to Oliver right now.
“Thank you for your guidance, Sister.”
The nun smiled. It was a pure smile.
“I am honored to be of help. I will now take my leave. Please rest in peace.”
The nun apologized and left.
Oliver looked at the nun’s back in silence.
Pandora asked.
“Are you okay?”
“Ah······. Yes, it’s okay.”
Oliver had some questions, but he didn’t dare say them out loud.
Not only was it ambiguous to say, but there was something more urgent.
The task was to ask Kevin if any of the children he had taken away were Losburn.
Probably Kevin went out with the knights to stop the Pied Piper.
If I was lucky, I would have seen whether or not Rossburn was there.
As Oliver knocked on the door to check, he saw a familiar face on the other side of the door, and soon a boy opened the door and appeared.
“teacher······!”
It was Los Angeles.
“Haa······. Thank you, God.”
Oliver muttered without realizing it.
