The road the carriage traveled was smooth.
The road connecting Infura Church Region and Kapatia Port was quite an important junction, as it was frequently used by farmers from the Medial Plain, ensuring it was well-maintained.
To head towards Cemetery Village Semek, one would need to veer right after following that road, but they hadn’t reached that fork yet.
“So, Yona, you’re way too sensitive to compliments.”
“No, I’m not!”
Yona was sprawled out with her legs stretched, propping herself up with her arms behind her, sitting in a half-reclined position. Alex, seated opposite her, tapped the carriage roof again, trying to persuade her, but it seemed Yona wasn’t even listening.
The group of four had all climbed up onto the carriage roof. After several days of travel, boredom had set in, and they were itching to feel the breeze.
When Alex asked if he could open a window, Ceres teased, “You must be bored, huh?” while pulling on a rope that hung by her seat.
With a clunk, the roof cover opened, and a rope ladder wobbled down from the gap.
“You can sit on the roof of the carriage if you want. There are safety barriers set up all around anyway. Just relax, take it easy.”
With a sly smile, Ceres turned her face away, while Alex, Yona, Kaiyak, and James climbed onto the roof to enjoy the wind as they traveled.
In the midst of all this, Alex suddenly spoke up.
“Hey, bald-head. Don’t start saying weird stuff. Who says I’m sensitive to compliments?!”
“No… Seriously. Everyone here knows you’re sensitive to compliments. You’re the only one who doesn’t get it.”
“I’m not! Hey? Just because I look like this doesn’t mean I’m not a priest, alright? You know what that means? I’m a priest who has refined both body and spirit. How can someone like me be sensitive to compliments? You better watch it, or something terrible will happen. The divine spirit is watching, you know? Oh, but you might not see it from down there because it’s too bright.”
“Is this girl for real?”
A thick vein popped up on Alex’s forehead.
There’s a saying that has been passed down from the Evian Adventurer’s Guild:
– If you want to include Yona in your party, you better compliment her somehow, just not too obviously. If you give her a proper compliment, she will definitely follow along.
In short, the fact that Yona was particularly sensitive to compliments had been a well-known story since the days of the Evian Adventurer’s Guild.
It was already a well-known story since the days of the Evian Adventurer’s Guild that Yona was particularly weak against compliments.
After all, as a precious healer with undeniable skills, everyone wanted to party with someone like Yona. If it weren’t for Alex, Yona would probably be trailing behind those who flattered her and getting into all sorts of trouble for sure.
“Hey, lizard. Say something too. He doesn’t believe me.”
“I don’t understand why I’m being dragged into this.”
Yet, Kaiyak boldly walked over and plopped himself right between Yona and Alex.
James, thinking it was an entertaining show, joined them and sat down too.
“So, what we’re talking about right now is whether Yona is weak against compliments, right?”
“Exactly. Everyone knows she can’t handle compliments. Isn’t that right?”
“No, that’s not true! Why are you slandering me like this?”
“Hmm.”
However, Kaiyak remained silent.
Instead, he was deep in thought, stroking his chin.
After a while of Kaiyak not answering, it was James who chimed in.
“Still, isn’t that a bit of a wild assumption? Though I haven’t known Yona for that long, she certainly has her serious side. She’s not the type to be swayed by fluffy compliments.”
“Well, that’s true. Yona might seem a bit… light-hearted, but she knows when to get serious. So…”
As he said that, Kaiyak peeked at Yona’s face.
Her cheekbones were almost ready to touch the sky. Her lips were stretching toward her ears, revealing a set of shining white teeth.
“…Yona?”
“Uh, um! Yes, that’s right! I may seem a bit light-hearted… but I’m definitely not someone who would fall for shallow flattery!”
Yona lifted her face, her nose pointing up in the air.
It looked like she might topple over any second.
“…Are you really going to say that you’re not weak against compliments after seeing this?”
“No. That’s not what I mean.”
Kaiyak wiggled his index finger, shaking it. For a Lizardman with only four fingers, that was quite a peculiar sight.
“Yona proved it herself. Look, just with a few compliments from me and James, she’s ready to follow us to the ends of hell!”
“Well, if Imse is giving praise, at this rate, it seems like they’re ready to follow him straight to hell, doesn’t it?”
“What the hell are you talking about, you crazy lizard?!”
That’s when Yona finally caught on to the trick.
“These insane bastards have really been toying with people like this!? Hey, come here! Aren’t you coming!? Alex, you bald-headed bastard! Hurry up and get over here!?”
Kaiyak was too scary to confront directly, so in the end, it was Alex who looked easiest to mess with.
While he had Alex’s head tucked under his arm and was ruffling that smooth bald head with his fist, James suddenly said, “…Shh, be quiet for a second.”
As soon as Yona heard that, she released Alex’s head and focused on the direction James was pointing.
Not just Yona, but Alex and Kaiyak as well.
In the direction James was pointing, a thick, grayish-white fog was billowing up. It was so dense that it was hard to see an inch ahead, and in this area where nothing seemed out of place, it was difficult to believe it had occurred naturally.
Heat began to rise from Yona’s right arm. Her face was turning red again from excitement, and she had a vague idea of why this heat was happening.
“…So it’s them. The tide of the dead that’s hit Semek.”
That dark and murky grayish-white fog, which had not a hint of sanctity, was hiding something foul within it, and Yona was getting hyped up again.
*
“That makes sense. They wouldn’t just be sitting there, and running into them isn’t that strange, right?”
Ceres spread out the map with a somewhat tense expression.
The carriage had already stopped.
While it’s not yet clear how large that tide of the dead is, one thing’s for sure—they can move since they have legs.
The map was drawn with considerable precision.
It detailed the road from Medial Plain to Kapatia Port and Infura Church Region quite well, clearly marking the village of Semek that lies in between.
True to its nickname as Cemetery Village, there were exactly two entrances: one leading from Infura Church Region and the other from Kapatia Port.
“If we’re lucky, there will be fewer of them coming this way, and if we’re unlucky, there will be more. Is that a good way to look at it?”
“Should we take a look?”
“Probably not.”
Ludvik continued speaking.
“I believe the majority of them are coming our way.”
“And what’s your basis for that?”
As Ceres, the regent and senior elder, looked at Ludvik, he shrugged as if it was obvious.
“What do you think the reason is for them waking up right now? When they see a hero and a saint, they get all twisted up and can’t stay still, acting like they have a rock under them. That’s it.”
“…So, because the hero and the saint are here, most of them will come this way, is that it?”
“Exactly. Besides, there’s really no reason for hesitation. We can just go and sweep them away.”
Ludvik had a confident look on his face.
Honestly, skeletons and zombies are just pathetic once you add some leather to patch up their skin and sweep them away. It might be different if ghouls come out, but for Ludvik, the level-up hero, even ghouls weren’t a tough opponent.
“For now, we have to face them. But there are thousands of corpses buried in Cemetery Village Semek. If we assume all those corpses rise, and they all come this way…”
“The carriage is safe, so you don’t have to worry.”
Priest Vigrind stepped up next to the hero. She had the same confident look as Ludvik, but Yona wrinkled her nose at that.
“The hero will take on the monsters head-on, and I’ll support him from behind. I will stand against them as well. Fortunately, those dead are beings opposed to the Deity of Heaven; I believe I will do my part well.”
Vigrind slightly tilted her head and looked at Yona. There seemed to be a hint of mockery in her eyes, but Yona held back her frustration.
“Don’t worry about the carriage. I can support you from the back, and you do your best to help those fighting in the front.”
“…Okay, got it.”
Well, since we’re adventurers anyway, I can just hang around the back, smashing the occasional stray undead and waiting for the action to come to me.
Yona thought to herself.
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