The man’s appearance was truly gruesome. His hair was disheveled, one of his eyes was mangled, and both of his arms were twisted in a grotesque manner.
Looking like a walking corpse, the man staggered into the inn, causing people to gasp in terror and hastily retreat.
“He’s coming this way?”
Upon hearing Igor’s words, Stravo cocked his head.
“Do you know him?”
“No.”
The man’s face was unfamiliar to Ruon as well. However, judging from the Holy Sword’s continuous low hum, it was clear that he was no ordinary person.
Ruon subtly turned his body and positioned himself to draw his sword at any moment.
Meanwhile, the man approached the table where the group was sitting, and with one cloudy and murky eye blinking slowly, he spoke in a disjointed manner.
“…Heroes, foolish, lowly dogs of Tibella, here.”
The awkward cadence of the words and the eerie movement of the man’s vocal cords made Ruon instinctively realize that the true speaker was not here.
Igor, catching onto this as well, frowned and spoke.
“Servant of vile demons. If you have time to speak through the mouth of the deceased, then reveal yourself. I am Igor, and by my Mother’s will, I will burn you to ashes.”
Stravo let out a short whistle in response to Igor’s harsh tone, as if expressing admiration.
“Awesome.”
Ignoring Igor’s warning, the man gazed at Ruon with his restless pupils.
“Seeking the power of the king, wielder of the sword… Just as you chase after us, we, too, are keeping an eye on you…”
The first to notice the sporadic changes in the man’s body was Ruon. As his swollen fingers expanded like balloons, Ruon didn’t hesitate to swing the Holy Sword.
“It’s murder!”
“He killed someone!”
People screamed and pointed at the man’s head, which was rolling on the floor, but the party of three paid no attention to them.
There was no time for such distractions. The man’s body, having lost its head, continued to inflate.
A split second.
Ruon, Igor, and Stravo all moved simultaneously.
In a flash, Ruon grabbed the man’s head and threw it into a corner of the inn, while Stravo aggressively kicked the table.
As green veins popped on Stravo’s face, the table seemed to come to life, transforming into a monstrous shape that enveloped the man, pinning him against the corner.
“Merciful Mother-“
With Igor’s final prayer, a bright light burst forth.
The man’s body exploded.
As everyone in the inn reflexively clutched their ears and groaned at the deafening explosion, Igor shouted.
“Sir Ruon!”
Seeing Igor’s holy power entangle the formless crimson mist, he pierced the Holy Sword through the mist.
Chiiiiiing!
As the mist pierced by the Holy Sword dispersed with an ear-piercing noise, Igor released his clenched hand and let out a sigh of relief.
“To think they infused the corpse with the power of Belducius to make it explode… There’s all sorts of wicked curses out there. It could’ve easily killed people.”
“Who’s the author of the curse?”
Ruon asked, and Igor shook his head.
“I don’t sense his power nearby. It might be strange to say this, but… perhaps it’s a kind of warning.”
Pointing to Ruon’s Holy Sword, Igor added, “The reference to the Holy Sword suggests they’ve realized we’re after them.”
“We must be on the right track.”
As Ruon mumbled, a man who appeared to be the innkeeper slowly approached the group.
He was about to say something when he saw the floor, littered with shattered bones and internal organs, and quickly clamped his hand over his mouth to keep from gagging.
With great effort, the frightened innkeeper managed to speak.
“I-I won’t ask what happened, but please… could you all leave my establishment?”
His terrified voice seemed to represent the opinions of everyone inside the inn.
The sudden appearance of the blood-soaked man, the cryptic conversation, the decapitated head, and the explosion.
Ruon knew that this series of events was completely out of place for a peaceful inn in a quiet village.
He took out six silver coins from his pouch and handed them to the innkeeper.
“I apologize for the inconvenience.”
“Oh, n-no, I can’t accept it. Just please leave, please.”
Seeing the innkeeper shaking his hand to reject the coins, Ruon smiled bitterly and put the money back into his pocket.
“Hmm? Why should we leave? We haven’t even had a proper meal yet…”
“Stravo.”
Interrupting Stravo’ words, Igor shook his head as if to say, ‘That’s enough’.
The group left the inn amidst fearful and wary glances. By this time, the sun had begun to set.
“Don’t they realize they almost died? Why are they chasing us away?” Stravo grumbled, absentmindedly scratching his bushy beard.
Ruon replied calmly.
“You have it wrong.”
“If we hadn’t come to the inn in the first place, nothing would have happened. And Stravo… most of the people in there are just ordinary farmers. They were terrified, and rightly so.
Stravo snorted and nodded at Igor’s explanation.
“Hmm, is that how it works?”
Ruon spoke.
“We should find a place to stay for tonight.”
As he said that and turned to walk away, someone called out from behind.
“Wait, hold on!”
When he turned around, he saw a freckled-faced girl approaching with hesitant steps.
He vaguely remembered her as one of the inn’s staff.
“What is it?”
“There’s no other place to stay in our village.”
“So?”
“If it’s okay with you, I would like to invite the three of you to my home…”
The girl, with a pale face, nervously fidgeted with her fingertips, clearly afraid.
Amidst her anxious demeanor, Ruon asked, “Do you need money?”
The girl blushed and nodded, as if a thorn had pricked her heart.
Scratching his chin, Ruon asked, “What about your job?”
“The inn is in chaos… Everyone is trying to clear out. I got permission to leave early today, so I don’t have to clean up the body…”
A good man.
Ruon could tell the innkeeper’s consideration in sending the shocked girl away early, sparing her from witnessing the dreadful scene at the inn. He nodded approvingly and said, “Alright then. If we are not a bother, we will stay for just one day.”
The girl’s house was not far from the inn.
As Ruon entered the modest home, he was slightly taken aback by an unexpected sight.
‘A patient?’
His gaze fell upon a young boy lying on an old bed, groaning in pain. The girl noticed where Ruon’s gaze was directed and spoke.
“My little brother is very sick.”
Only then did Ruon realize the intention of the girl who had so fearlessly invited him into her home.
She was more concerned about getting money for her sick brother than she was about sleeping next to the warrior and his crew who cut off a man’s head without hesitation.
At that moment, Igor, who was fiddling with the pile of herbs on the table, spoke up.
“If you permit me, may I pray for your younger brother?”
The girl, who had been taking out a few eggs from the jar, widened her eyes in surprise but soon nodded slowly.
“Yes, please go ahead.”
Silently, Igor knelt down at the head of the bed and began to pray.
The girl, who had been calmly preparing a simple meal for the group, was so startled by the gentle light emanating from Igor’s body that she accidentally dropped an egg.
“Oh my, what a waste… He did the same thing at the inn earlier, so why are you surprised now?”
Stravo sighed, and the girl murmured, “Ah, I didn’t notice it earlier.”
After finishing his prayer, Igor softly caressed the sweaty forehead of the sick boy before standing up.
“I’m not sure how helpful it will be, but it should be more effective than giving him some random herbal tonic.”
Sometimes, holy power was more fascinating than magic.
Ruon smirked, noticing the boy’s visibly improved complexion.
Ruon had come to understand the concept of holy power quite accurately during their journey with Igor.
When sincere faith was acknowledged by the divine, the imbued holy power became a medium for bringing about both major and minor miracles through prayer, displaying impressive versatility.
He knew that Igor was not attempting anything extraordinary. He simply prayed earnestly to Tibella, asking for the well-being of the boy in front of him.
“Th-thank you.”
Igor warmly smiled, sitting down as the girl bowed repeatedly, as if at a loss for what to do.
“Why are you all looking at me like that?”
Ruon merely shrugged his shoulders, and Stravo, as if deeply moved, clapped his hands together with a loud smack.
“You are truly amazing, Igor!”
Afterward, the group sat down on the floor and began eating what the girl had prepared.
It was a meager meal of bland stew, potatoes, and hard-boiled eggs, but no one complained.
In front of the crackling fireplace, the group engaged in various conversations.
By chance, childhood stories came up. Igor recounted how he often got a lashing for saying a prayer wrong, and Stravo enthusiastically chatted about an adventure novel he had come across by chance.
Naturally, it was Ruon’s turn next, and he hesitated for a moment before simply offering that he had led a rather ordinary life.
Stravo couldn’t resist giving a playful jab, asking how someone who lived an ordinary life ended up snapping a monster’s neck with their bare hands. The girl flinched at his remark, but Igor calmed her.
And so the night wore on.
Unable to talk indefinitely in the small, single room home, the group settled down on the floor, using their backpacks as makeshift pillows.
“Are you going to sleep?” the girl asked, who had been watching over her soundly sleeping brother.
Ruon silently nodded in agreement.
Stravo stretched his short legs and chuckled.
“It might be a bit unsettling to sleep on the ground with strangers like us, but just bear with it for a day.”
As Igor gazed at the girl, who was still sitting quietly, he gently tapped the floor and sat up.
“Do you have something to tell us?”
“Well…”
The girl hesitated for a moment, swallowing nervously before continuing.
“In our village, there are quite a few children who are sick like my brother. Could you also pray for them?”
Intrigued by her words, Ruon sat up and asked, “Are all the children in the village sick?”
The girl shook her head.
“No, about a month ago, the kids who played hide-and-seek in the back mountain fell ill. They all suffered from high fever and seemed to be plagued by nightmares during the night. We tried using herbs to heal them, but they’re not getting better…”
As the girl’s voice trailed off, Stravo, who had been lying down, absentmindedly rubbing his nose, spoke up.
“Hmm? I wonder if there’s a monster in the village.”
“Succubi or Incubi?” Ruon asked, to which Stravo waved his hand.
“Eh, those are horny bastards that feed on vitality… But if it’s something that induces nightmares, could it be a Nightmare? Have you heard of them? They’re peculiar creatures.”
At Stravo’s words, Igor opened his eyes wide.
“W-What do you mean?”
He turned his head quickly towards Ruon, who had been looking down at his feet.
“Ruon, if it’s related to young children, it seems too harsh to just ignore it.”
‘Hmm?’
Ruon looked into Igor’s burning eyes, then turned to Stravo with a smirk.
“Stravo, are you sure about it being a Nightmare?”
“Um, with my sharp druid sense, I’m about 50% sure.”
“Could you tame a Nightmare?”
“Huh? I’ve never thought about it… but well, since I’m a druid, there’s maybe a 50% chance?”
“That’s certainly a confidence-inspiring number.”
Letting out a light sigh, Ruon addressed the girl who had been listening to their conversation.
“We’ll pray, of course, but there must be a reason why the children are like that. We’ll look into it.”
“R-Really? Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Looking at the girl, who bowed her head deeply, Ruon added briefly.
“Consider it an apology for trashing the inn.”
