Chapter 102 – [Hero] Black Dog
The nearest village to Aseila was a rural village of a slightly better standard than our hometown.
We had to walk for several days to get to a place with better facilities, so we decided to stop by this village to inform the situation as soon as possible.
“A wild dog?”
“Yes, it is not an ordinary wild dog. It sounds like someone is as big as a person. It is said that half of the villagers are already dead. Well, this is an exaggeration, but that means a lot of people were hurt or killed.”
There was just one problem.
All in all, bad rumors were circulating in this town.
When I asked the merchants passing by, they said that a stray dog had been infesting the village recently and was in trouble.
Isn’t it just a wild dog? The words of the merchants were not trivial to think.
Combining their words, the wild dog in question was as gigantic as a human, with black and red eyes like a demon, and a monster with sharp claws that could cut down trees at once.
He also asked Lord Aseila to subdue them, but was kicked out after being ridiculed for being a wild dog.
“Don’t take them too literally.”
Seria looked at the merchant walking away, she said.
“Yes? Why?”
“That merchant didn’t even say it after seeing it himself. There is a high possibility that the story is circulating with some exaggeration. In the first place, according to the merchants, it’s more of a monster than a wild dog, but if that were the case, I wouldn’t have called it a wild dog from the start.”
Thanks to Uni asking questions on behalf of me that I was curious about, I was able to clear my doubts without showing any signs.
Seria’s words also had some truth.
Even in my opinion, according to the description of the merchants, when faced with it, it seemed that there were not many people who would think of it as a monster and not a wild dog.
Where in the world are wild dogs like that?
“And there are very few eyewitness accounts. Most of them are indirect circumstances, such as loss of life or damage to property. It is most likely that the fear of the unknown is more exaggerated.”
“Then you’re saying there’s no problem if we keep going like this?”
The important thing was this.
So, whether or not to visit this town with suspicious rumors.
Seria said she didn’t have to worry, she reassured us.
“Maybe it’s not a wild dog, but a monster. If so, wouldn’t it be better to catch the monsters with both sides?”
Arin said that if he was worried about the villagers.
She held her hands together and pressed them against her chest, which pressed down on her clothes, revealing two small marks sticking out between her breasts.
“… Yes. I think it’s fine. What do you think of Uni?”
Why are you doing that these days?
At first, I thought it might be an illusion, but that’s only happened once or twice, and at this point, I can’t help but not know.
Apparently Arin doesn’t wear her underwear these days.
Of course, the timing was also the timing, so I was wrapped up in anxiety every time I saw her like that.
Perhaps, performing there opened my eyes to a new castle wall…
No, Arin is more faithful than anyone else.
She couldn’t have such a strange taste in her.
It must be for some religious reason.
Yes, it must be so.
In fact, it was a problem that could be solved by asking Arin directly, but she didn’t have the courage to do so.
It would be nice if someone else could ask instead.
No one questioned her attire, as if everyone but me hadn’t noticed.
“Have we ever been in trouble before when a group of wild dogs appeared in the middle of the village?”
“Huh? Yes.”
Uni answered what she was thinking of the old days and instead made an offbeat noise.
“At that time, adults barely kicked them out. Isn’t that town in a similar situation?”
“Ah, it was true.”
How old were you? A similar thing happened in our village.
From her memory, Yuni seemed to feel compassion for her rumored village.
“Then you decided to go?”
“Huh.”
Everyone agreed, so let’s go.
At the end of the temporary meeting, we moved on.
“Oh, the hero went to such a shabby place… ! Uh, come on over here!”
“Hey… Lived at last! You are a warrior! The hero will solve it!”
“Hero! Please save our village!”
The situation in the village seemed more serious than we expected.
As soon as we entered the village, dozens of pairs of eyes turned to us, and after revealing our identity, it is like this.
“Now! You’re getting in the way of the warriors, so just step back! Hey, come here. I will come inside.”
“Go, thank you. But even if you let go…”
In the middle of the day, a man of his age, who was going from an uncle to a grandfather, greeted us politely and took us to his house.
Even so, I keep thinking of the village chief from my hometown, but it’s even more burdensome that he treats me so kindly.
“Oh, how dare I speak to the hero and his companions! You are the one who will save our village! Now. It’s a shabby place, but come in.”
We never said we were going to catch the wild dog, but he seemed to believe that we were here to save the village.
“You’re saying that on purpose. My dad is like that sometimes too.”
Yuni whispered in my ear.
After all, village heads are similar in every village.
We sat down with a warm welcome from him and his wife.
It’s probably the best hospitality they can do, but frankly, for those of us who have stayed at the best lodgings in the royal palace and Aseila, it was a far cry from the lack of hospitality.
Of course, I didn’t say it.
He was, of course, the chief of the village, and begged us to catch the stray dog.
We had already decided to do so to some extent, but he was so obstinate that we even felt resentment.
Seria openly frowns on her face, so Uni and Arin try hard to soothe her.
“Um… Yes. We will try our best.”
“Hehe, thank you! How much damage we’ve done because of this bastard… It’s painful to say this, but I want you to catch him as soon as possible. Now it really is a question of the survival of the village!”
“Yes yes. I know very well. So just calm down…”
“Those red eyes! Huge body! Oh my god, that’s definitely an evil monster! There must be an evil monster attached to the neighborhood dog! Why in such a poor village…”
“Yes, yes…”
In the end, Mr. Jeren feigned a mistake and kicked the table, barely managing the situation.
Thanks to that, the village head couple seemed frightened, but this time they were grateful for his actions.
If not, I don’t know how much longer I would have been doing this.
Only then were we able to explain our situation to the village chief.
With the help of the village chief, we were finally able to rest after sending a detailed report of what had happened in Aseila to the palace and church.
“Ha…”
I sighed deeply in the room left alone.
Since it was such a small town, there was not a single decent inn, so we were staying in different houses.
First of all, they said they had solved all urgent matters, but the excessive expectations of the villagers were very burdensome.
It was obvious that if he missed the stray dog, the attitude of the villagers would change in an instant.
First of all, they usually appear at night, so at that time, I had to stand guard with the villagers and take some measures…
Bang!
“Yo, warrior! Please come quickly! That, that guy again… !”
The village chief shouted in an urgent voice.
Intuitively realizing that something had happened, I hurriedly rushed out to hear the circumstances.
Sure enough, it is said that a new victim has emerged.
It was a problem that I was relieved that it appeared at night time.
Damn, if I had been a little more thorough, this wouldn’t have happened!
I felt uncomfortable because I felt like a victim came out because of me.
“Eric! Here!”
When I ran to the scene of the incident, all the other party members had already gathered except me.
The incident occurred in a family house, but it seemed difficult to call it a house any more, seeing as it was in a half-collapsed and tattered state.
“Ugh… Zone… !”
“Damn it, do I really have to move?”
The villagers were crying and expressing their sorrow.
Sorry.
I couldn’t do it right…
“Eric.”
Unknowingly, her expression distorted, and Yuni held my hand.
“UNI…”
“Let’s go inside and check it out.”
“Huh…”
Yuni took my hand and went into the house.
The inside of the house was no different from what it looked like from the outside.
There were cut marks all over the house, as if it had been scratched with something sharp.
“Looks like it’s bigger than I thought…”
Seria, who had been inside the miri, muttered as she looked at the parallel marks on her wall.
Even though it was a tree, the marks that were clearly visible were frightening.
“Ah, warrior.”
Arin saw us and welcomed us.
She explained the situation further to us.
The village chief had explained it earlier, but he didn’t know the details of the situation, perhaps because he rushed to see what had happened.
A young man named John and two elderly mothers lived in this house.
When they rushed out, the house was already in this shape, and in the distance, a black dog was leisurely escaping out of the village.
And the son was nowhere to be seen.
“There is no blood.”
“What?”
Seria said with a firm face to us who were rummaging around the house in case we could learn something more.
“Look at the house. Even though it’s all ruined, there’s not a single bloodstain.”
When I heard it, it was just what I said.
Even though the inside of the house was a mess, there were no traces of a fierce fight or bloodstains.
“… Is it a self-made play?”
Arin asked, recalling one possibility she was uneasy about.
“Maybe. It’s kind of strange that there are no witnesses besides the old mother. If it’s from out of town, it wouldn’t be strange if someone saw it.”
A self-made play?
For some reason, I felt like I was caught up in a troublesome incident, so my head hurt.
“Not necessarily. However, given the circumstances, there is a slight chance of that happening.”
Saying that, Seria looked at me.
“I think we have to chase the black dog first, what do you want to do?”
“Uh? That… Is that right?”
Looks like they’ve already run out of town, can you catch them?
What if it comes back while we’re chasing it?
“I think someone has to protect the village. It might come back while all of us are away.”
Arin told me exactly what I was worried about.
You have to chase the dog, and you have to protect the village.
It seems inevitable that the party will be divided again, and the problem is who to send where.
“Eric. I’ll be in town.”
Uni was the first to speak.
“If you share sight with the spirits, you will be able to keep an eye on the wild dog entering the village.”
Yes. This is not Aseila, so now Uni can use spirit magic again.
But wouldn’t it be too much to leave it to Uni alone?
“Eric. You can use spirit magic too. How about staying with Yuni?”
It was Seria’s suggestion.
If I borrow her power, I can use her spirit magic, so it will be less burdensome than defending the village by herself.
“Then are Arin and Seria chasing that dog?”
“Huh. And Mr. Jeren too.”
“…”
Unbeknownst to me, my eyes were furrowed.
Sending Seria and Arin with him in this situation?
That… That’s a bit distasteful
“Then let’s do this. Eric follow us as a spirit.”
“With a spirit?”
“Since it’s difficult to read the traces by ourselves anyway, wouldn’t it be possible to quickly find at least the traces left by the dog by using the earth spirit? We’ll follow the trail with it.”
The moment I heard that, a good idea came to me.
Isn’t it possible to share sight with the spirit?
In the days when I was inexperienced with the spirits, the connection was cut off even if I moved a little further away, but now I have learned a lot from Uni, so it doesn’t cut off so quickly.
As long as you don’t get distracted, you won’t be easily disconnected.
Maybe this is an opportunity
If he’s cheating on me and doing mean things to Seria or Arin, wouldn’t it be the right time when I’m not there?
I glanced at Mr. Jeren.
He wouldn’t know he had this ability.
If the evidence comes out this time…
I slightly clenched my fist so that others couldn’t see it.
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
I nodded, hiding my thoughts.
