Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Seven: You Hear an Eerie Sound Echoing In the Night Sky. You Must Roll a 1/1D3 SAN Check
The Camping Car cruises smoothly down the road, its engine humming in the moonlit night. While the car’s navigation system is incredibly advanced, it tends to prioritize safer, roundabout routes. Usually, that’s fine, but when we’re in a hurry like now, Mr. Ville gives directions for the shortest path, and I follow his instructions at the wheel.
We veered off the well-paved Highway onto bare ground, but it was firmly packed down and not too bumpy. The occasional cart ruts and livestock hoof prints suggested this road saw some local traffic. That said, it might get muddy after rain, but thankfully, we’ve had dry weather. All’s well that ends well, I suppose.
“It’s gotten pretty late. Will we be alright?”
“According to the report, the mysterious shadow becomes most active around this time until midnight.”
“Ah… so I guess you could say our timing is just right…”
Stroking Gomamiso, who had fallen asleep on his lap at some point, Mr. Ville waved the document in his other hand, indicating that we’d arrived at a good time for investigation.
Thanks to the moonlight and headlights, the road ahead is fairly well-lit for a night drive. As we head into the mountains, I keep an eye out for animals that might dart out from the sides or overhanging branches, while steering around occasional deep ruts in the road. Soon, flickering lights appear in the distance. It seems we are approaching our destination.
I park the Camping Car in a bushy area and get out with everyone. An unfamiliar screeching sound reached our ears—high-pitched, rough, and unpleasantly grating on the eardrums. Resisting the urge to cover my ears, I hold the sleepy and fussy Gomamiso as we head towards the village. Mr. Ed conjures a magical orb that floats around us, lighting our way like a lantern.
Despite the strange noise, I don’t feel particularly scared walking down the night road. The moonlight helps, and having such reliable party members with me is reassuring.
“There’s quite a large bonfire lit… Do they have night watchmen?”
“Yes, I can see figures near the village entrance. They seem to be on high alert, just as we were informed.”
“They… seem to be holding something like sticks.”
As we approach, the flickering lights turn out to be a sizeable bonfire. Mr. Ville and Ms. Aria, with their superior night vision, can apparently see the guards, but I cannot make them out yet. I can understand why the villagers wanted to keep things as bright as possible, whether or not the shadow feared the light. Better visibility is always comforting.
Finally, as we get close enough for even my eyes to see, I can make out two men holding pole-like objects standing at a gap in a simple fence.
“W-Who goes there?!”
“We’re not allowing entry to the village at night…”
A slightly frightened, tense voice refused us entry, and the “stick” turned out to be a simple spear, its blade pointed our way. Understandably, they are on edge with all the scary things happening, and now a group of strangers emerges from the darkness.
Mr. Ville seems to have anticipated this reaction. With practiced ease, he calls the floating light orb closer and takes out his guild card, holding it up for them to see.
“Sorry for startling you. We are the adventurer party ‘Gourmands,’ sent from the royal capital in response to your request to deal with the unidentified shadow.”
“Ah… a guild card… it’s genuine! I’ll go get the village chief!”
“We’re so sorry for the rude welcome! Everyone’s on edge because of that shadow…”
Realizing we were telling the truth, the guards visibly relaxed and lowered their spears. The younger-looking guard on the left ran deeper into the village, while the other bowed and moved the fence aside to let us in.
The village had some street lamps like those in the royal capital, but far fewer and dimmer. Perhaps the villagers found bonfires more practical than magical devices, with plenty of firewood readily available in the surroundings.
As we walk towards what seems to be the village center, I see the young man from earlier returning with another person.
“I apologize for the delayed welcome. We didn’t expect you to arrive so quickly…”
“No, we should apologize for coming so suddenly in the night without notice. We set out as soon as we received the report.”
The man who bowed to us seemed to be middle-aged, verging on elderly. His body still looked robust from years of labor, but his closely cropped hair was predominantly gray. As he shook hands with Mr. Ville during their greetings, I could see his hands were those of a hardworking man—slightly lean but still sturdy. His face, which seemed relieved to see us, broke into a smile that made his drooping eye corners fall even further, giving him a gentle impression. He looked every bit the quintessential village elder.
“So, your presence here means you’ve accepted our request?”
“Yes, we, the Gourmands, have taken on the task. We’d like to begin our investigation right away.”
Mr. Ville placed his other hand on the village chief’s, which was clasping his hand almost desperately, and nodded firmly.
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