Chapter: 131
The sky was tinged with the hues of sunset as people began to head home, or to raise their glasses in the taverns.
“This time, I’ll be it!”
“Sounds good!”
“Don’t sing too fast! Got it?”
As expected of children, the village kids and those from the Nest organization quickly bonded and played until the sun went down.
The older kids were busy helping their parents, leaving the average age of the remaining children at about 8 years old.
The child who became “It” covered their eyes with their hands and crouched down, starting to sing.
“In the mountains ~ hills, a rabbit met a goblin.”
Not knowing numbers, they sang to kill time while counting. Since some eager kids tended to rush their songs, causing complaints from others, the child sang slowly.
They started to blush and dashed toward a hiding spot. The kids, oblivious to the designated location, spun around in confusion.
Thud.
“Oops!”
A 7-year-old running to hide behind a large orc barrel tripped over a rock and toppled forward. Just as their pretty, soft face was about to scrape the ground…
“Oof!”
A sturdy hand caught the falling child. Eyes wide, the kid looked up at the person who saved them. Upon seeing familiar clothes, a bright smile blossomed on their lips.
“Grandpa!”
“Ho ho ho! This little rascal has grown a lot!”
The substitute priest, responsible for the only temple in the village, chuckled kindly as he set the child down. He then pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket.
When he unfolded it, several small candies lay inside. The old man picked one and handed it to the child.
“Here, this is a gift from Grandpa, so enjoy it!”
“Wow! Thank you!”
The child pumped their fist in the air, grinning widely.
“Hey?! Pesil is eating candy!”
“Really?! Me too! Please give me one, Grandpa!”
As the kids, with their keen eyes for sweet treats, gave up hiding and dashed over, even the one playing “It” joined in.
“Ho ho, kids. There are plenty of candies, so line up to get some. Here you go, you too.”
With a gentle expression reminiscent of a kind old grandpa who arrives on December 25th, the old man distributed the candy to the children. Before long, he ran out of candies.
When the kids who didn’t get any looked up at the old man with teary eyes, he chuckled sheepishly and said,
“Oh dear, it seems we’re short on candy. I’ve got a bit left at my house… would you like to go there and get it?”
“…! Yes!”
“Alrighty!”
The village kids, seeing the old man as their own grandpa, quickly nodded in agreement.
“Those who received candy should head home now. The sun is already setting.”
“Yes!”
The majority of the kids who got candies cheerfully greeted him and left with smiles on their faces. The remaining five kids included two from the Nest organization and three from the village.
The old man inwardly chuckled darkly, thinking,
‘Five is enough.’
He glanced at the hesitating kids from the Nest organization.
‘Hehe, they are from outside, so those plump ones should be particularly tasty.’
Contrary to the horrific thoughts running through his mind, his face was so kind that the kids were completely unaware of the danger they were in.
“Alright, let’s hurry before it gets dark.”
“Yes!”
“Hehe, it’s candy! Candy!”
The kids from the Nest organization, half-smiling at the old man’s kind face, dismissed any warnings about not following strangers from their minds, driven entirely by their craving for candy.
As the old man and the children walked eagerly, the village folks headed home waved and greeted the old man with smiles.
Their efforts to keep the front clean, contrasting with the dirtiness of the back, shone through in this situation.
“Oh dear, if you spoil the kids like that, they’ll get bad habits!”
“Ho ho ho… I enforce strict teaching at home, so it’s fine if I spoil one of them a little.”
The old man’s warm words melted the faces of the villagers. Thus, without any interruptions, he was able to lead the children all the way to the quaint temple.
“Wow…”
“Whoa…”
For the children who had only lived in the Demon King’s Land, the temple, radiating a sacred ambiance, was as otherworldly as could be. The Nest organization kids, captivated by the holy atmosphere, dismissed any trace of doubt or unease and followed the old man closely.
Squeak, as they opened the door at the back of the temple, a long hallway welcomed the old man and the kids. He headed straight for his room, and as he opened the door, a musty old smell engulfed the space.
“Just wait a moment.”
The old man stepped inside and opened a drawer attached to the wall. Inside, he retrieved a round glass jar, heavy with a lid, filled with colorful candies.
Pop.
After opening the lid, he distributed two candies to each of the children’s hands. With a soft smile, he gently patted the head of a child whose eyes sparkled with delight.
“You must have had a tough time getting here, so I’ll give you two each as a special treat.”
Lifting his finger, the old man pointed to his mouth and said,
“But this is a secret from the other kids. Got it?”
“Yes!”
“Yes, yes!”
With their eyes bright, the kids popped the candies into their mouths.
“Now, hurry back before it gets completely dark.”
Buzz.
A sound of insects buzzing could be heard from somewhere, and a black shadow fell over the old man’s face as he stood backlit by the window. In that strange atmosphere, the cheerful voices of the children echoed out.
“Yes!”
Not a single child was left behind; they all exited the temple.
That night, several kids went missing.
*
Shack, shick, shack.
A sharp sound drilled into her ears, echoing in her head.
Shick, shack.
‘What’s that sound?’
Pia struggled to comprehend the unknown noise in her hazy mind.
Shick, shack, creak.
Her dazed consciousness began to float upwards, and the buzzing noise grew louder.
‘Ah, this sound… is the sound of sharpening a sword.’
Pia managed to lift her heavy eyelids.
Shick, shack.
In her blurry vision, she saw a narrow back and white hair, together with a fishy, nauseating smell.
Drip.
“Ah.”
As a cold droplet fell from somewhere onto her cheek, Pia finally came to her senses. With her eyes wide open, she started to take in her surroundings.
An old man hunched over on the ground, sharpening a broad knife on a whetstone. Next to him stood a candleholder, four half-melted candles emitting a chilly glow.
‘Where… is this? A cave?’
The damp air and uneven floor, the ceiling, and the night sky visible at the end of a long passage beside the old man. She found herself tied up, collapsed in an unfamiliar cave.
‘Why am I… here?’
She quickly began to sift through her memories.
‘I was definitely praying as usual and then fell asleep.’
Pia managed to calm her swirling mind and continued to think clearly.
‘Now that I think of it, there was something odd when I fell asleep.’
Recalling the moment she fainted, she furrowed her brow.
‘That sort of reaction… only happens if you’ve been drugged. But when?’
As she was deeply engrossed in her thoughts…
“Ugh…”
“…!”
From behind her, she heard a child’s moan. At once, she turned her body around to see a child restrained by cuffs and chains. Seeing the kid triggered a flashback of the hurried memory she had pushed aside.
‘Candy…’
The child who had received two sweet candies wanted to share their favorite with someone dear, so they came back to the inn with one in their mouth. Then, they gave Pia the candy.
Pia remembered that when the child said they got it from the temple, she accepted the candy without suspicion and patted the kid on the head.
As those memories returned, Pia realized a new fact.
The sound of sharpening the sword had abruptly stopped.
“Oh dear, you’ve woken up already.”
“…! You…!”
Pia swiftly turned her head towards the seditious voice, which belonged to the old man next to her, squinting down at her while holding a large cleaver in one hand.
“I intended to send you off painlessly— it seems you must have quite the load of sins.”
Pia didn’t retort to the strange words from the old man. Beings like him were a common sight in the Demon King’s Land.
‘Ah… even in this paradise-like land, there are impure individuals aplenty.’
Satisfaction from having lived in a place almost as heavenly as the Demon King’s Land faded, and it felt like this situation was a result of her complacency; she bit her lip until it bled.
Thud thud.
As the old man noticed her glaring silently, he walked past her towards where the children had fallen.
“Well, hmm… It seems some are starting to wake up. Although the preparations aren’t complete, waking up will surely be painful. It seems I’ll have to show some mercy.”
The old man uttered these words lazily, raising the cleaver high into the air.
Whoosh!
The sound of piercing flesh resonated chillingly throughout the cave.
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