A week has passed since Lady Lily arrived.
Given her overly meticulous personality, I thought she might quietly torment the villagers, but it was the exact opposite.
“So that’s how it is… I understand now.”
“Oh, what about the others?”
“This incident occurred. Have you experienced any headaches or anything?”
She spoke with everyone in the village, maintaining fairness and politeness while avoiding oppression in her conversations.
Additionally, she considered their time when calling for people, showing some thoughtfulness.
Of course, there’s still a thick prejudice against monsters, but since she didn’t harass the villagers, I guess she can be described as a somewhat decent person.
“I see. So that’s how it happened.”
“Is it… over?”
“Of course. You may leave now.”
“That person is really a good person! Truly!”
“I understand, so you can go now.”
The few remaining male humans in the village bowed repeatedly as they expressed their opinions before leaving.
Lady Lily, who remained in the reception area arranged by the village chief, glanced at the papers recording the discussions that had taken place.
Did I get caught?
“You can come out now. We’ve completed all cross-referencing for today.”
“……”
“Well, you don’t have to come out. The knights will be here soon. Even if you don’t want to…”
Thud!
Ertarn sat down in a chair, facing Lady Lily.
Originally just under 2 meters tall, it seemed he had grown a bit more during the week due to some changes in his mindset.
“The knights. Are they coming?”
“Today is the scheduled date, after all. The Silver Lion Knight Order will arrive shortly to hunt monsters. I’m part of the reconnaissance team.”
“…hunting. Are they going to?”
“……”
Tap tap.
The papers were swiftly gathered by a white hand all at once.
Such a pretty hand, unlike the villagers’.
“Well…”
“If they attack. Right away. You…”
“Over the past week, I’ve conducted extensive research about you and this village. As you well know.”
“……”
“There are many interesting stories. From you driving away the earthworm monster to participating in various tricks to gain the villagers’ favor. Then you handled all the lurking monsters to make them feel safe.”
And…
“You even hid the truth.”
“……”
“I didn’t realize it at first… but as I gathered more samples, it became clear.”
Swish.
Lady Lily’s hand took out two papers from the pile and laid them side by side.
She picked one up and showed it to Ertarn.
It was information about the earthworm monster that had eaten villagers.
‘It crawls underground.’
‘It is larger than five adult men combined, with dozens or hundreds of sharp teeth in its mouth.’
‘It has been entrenched in this area for a long time.’
‘Sometimes, it eats earth and spits it out.’
“And this is about the god whom the people believe in, Buabua.”
‘He is the god of the earth.’
Done.
It’s abundant, kind, and very big.
It has been passed down here for a long time.
“‘Makes the Earth even.’”
Combining these two pieces of information leads to one conclusion.
“…You were hiding it. No.”
“I was a bit surprised. Who would have thought that the god people in Gorrok prayed to was just a ‘worm monster’?”
The god, Buabua, who had been passed down for a long time, was a worm monster.
People were eaten by the monster and prayed to it.
It may seem ridiculous, but they probably never even dreamed of it.
In the people’s imagination, Buabua must have looked like a kind mother.
“They probably thought it looked good. After all, that worm monster made the land even.”
No one knows why it suddenly started eating people, but Buabua was originally a monster that ate rough soil and expelled it as fine soil.
Because of that, the land where Buabua lived was always good for farming, and plants grew well.
If the plants grew well, it was natural for the animals that ate those plants to thrive too.
In some ways, it was a beneficial monster compared to Ertarn, who was just sitting there.
But that’s not the case anymore.
“Suddenly. Changed. That’s it. Didn’t even ask.”
“Why did it change?”
“Don’t know. Just looked angry.”
Even Ertarn, who had spent far longer on this earth, didn’t know the reason.
What Ertarn knew was that one day, Buabua suddenly started eating people instead of soil, with a lot of horns.
People called it a monster, not a god.
“Isn’t that a funny story?”
They had been receiving help steadily from their ancestors, and suddenly they were treated as a monster because of a change in appearance.
Of course, it’s natural to think that way if it started eating them.
Ertarn frowned as if a little angry.
“It’s not funny.”
“I think so too. This isn’t a problem for the residents. What I want to talk about is different.”
“…?”
Lady Lily handed over another piece of paper.
It had the timeline of events recorded.
“Buabua first started eating people about four years ago. When one or two people went missing, they asked for help about three years and two months ago. Then, they sent another petition a year and eleven months ago, but it took a long time to be accepted.”
Four years.
Four years ago, the village’s population was about 80, and now the total is just under 50.
Thirty people.
If a lot died, that would be one thing, but considering Buabua’s size, the fact that only 30 people have died in over four years doesn’t make sense.
It eats and expels the equivalent of one or two very large rocks worth of soil every day, so thirty people wouldn’t even be a snack.
Even worse, it hasn’t eaten everything in one day; it’s been over four years.
“It wouldn’t be strange if they were all eaten long ago. The village didn’t really have any means to stop Buabua.”
“It’s not like there was anything here.”
“…What do you want to say?”
“It’s simple.”
Heehee~!
“Someone has changed Buabua. With malicious intent.”
And that being with malice…
Whoa whoa~
The village is getting noisy.
“It seems they have arrived.”
There’s a high probability they’re connected to this.
■
Ten members of the Silver Lion Knight Order, donned in flashy armor, entered the village on horseback.
You might think ten isn’t a lot, but in a fantasy world, a knight is pretty much like a tank.
When thrown into war, they can be worth a thousand men easily.
Especially since one of the requirements to become part of the Silver Lion Knight Order is ‘aura usage’, their value skyrockets even further.
“That’s too excessive.”
They’ve ignored requests for help for three years.
But suddenly, not just any knights, but a whole ‘Royal Knight Order’, sending eleven people, including me? That’s absurd.
[So, who’s the mastermind then?]
[It’s shocking that Buabua is a worm;;]
[Was he actually a good guy? Hahaha]
[Doesn’t seem very intimidating though.]
[Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.]
[Isn’t it fine to just kill the knights?]
[Wait, isn’t Jeokhye there?]
At the back of the knights, a short knight with red hair was nervously glancing around.
Not a very Jeokhye-like expression.
Seems like he’s not fully immersed yet.
“You’re doing well.”
If they get too immersed too early, it’ll complicate future responses.
A week after being prompted by Jeokhye, I gathered the residents to cross-reference information.
The text read, “Lady Lily has investigated the village for a week.” But in reality, no information had come in.
As I chatted with the residents, I discovered something intriguing: Buabua is the same being as the monster that eats people.
This was information not listed on the stele or in places where the Prayer of Rest is performed.
This is a dream of Ertarn, so it only unfolds from Ertarn’s perspective.
Therefore, if Ertarn didn’t pay attention to something or wasn’t aware of it, it wouldn’t be recorded.
However, since I’ve stepped fully into the dream, I can observe the events from various perspectives, even those unknown to the Celestial Being.
“There’s definitely a reason for changing Buabua. That knight order is the actual knight order that came here, and thinking back now, it’s strange behavior.”
There’s something quite suspicious going on.
Since the Celestial Being didn’t catch on, I’ll have to go find the reason myself now.
Heehee~!
Ta-gak.
A middle-aged man with impressive mustaches at the front dismounts from his horse.
He doesn’t look happy; seems like he’s uncomfortable in this situation.
“Who is the chief of this village?”
“I-it’s me!”
“You’re the one, huh? Yes, Village Chief. Our Silver Lion Knight Order was here a week ago, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Where are they? Our knights?”
“Long time no see, Captain Kyle.”
I pushed through the crowd of residents watching the knights.
A middle-aged man, upon seeing me, quickly erased his uncomfortable expression and bowed his head with a faint smile.
“You sure look uncomfortable.”
All he could manage was a forced smile.
“I see the bloodline of the great royal family.”
“When I’m in the Order, we are just fellow knights. Please lift your head.”
“…Well then.”
Swoop.
Kyle raised his head again.
I told him to lift it, but wow, he did that fast.
[LOL?]
[So cocky!]
[Lily, what’s with the vibe?]
[Let’s kill him!]
[Bloodline?]
[If he’s from the royal bloodline, does that make him a princess?]
I replied softly so only the viewers could hear.
“Pretty much.”
The Lily Lyons I’m currently imitating actually visited this place.
I’m just borrowing the name of Jeruna Lyons, one of the king’s illegitimate children.
Kings tend to have a lot of kids, and the ones who fall out of favor always try something to get back into good graces.
“Knight Lily. Assess the situation.”
“I’ve taken some notes. They’re over there; you can go discuss it.”
“Not notes, do it directly.”
“……”
A moment of mutual tension ensued.
Though I’m the royal bloodline, now as Lily Lyons, I’m just one of over thirty kids.
In contrast, Kyle is the leader of the Silver Lion Knight Order, the highest authority here.
Even if my status is much higher, a commander in the royal order is bound to have connections with high-ranking successors like the First or Second Prince.
I guess he feels cocky believing in their power.
“The monsters have fled.”
“…What did you say?”
“Furthermore, there’s evidence that the monsters have shown strange changes over the past four years. It’s concerning that a monster not known for slaughter suddenly commits murder… Unless someone of ‘high mage’ caliber is deliberately changing them, this shouldn’t have happened—”
Whoosh!!
The energy of mana blocks out the sounds around us.
Cold sweat drips from Kyle while the knights wear expressions of surprise at the sudden mana disturbance.
“Y-you. Don’t say another word.”
“……”
“I’ll explain later. If you understand, nod your head.”
Nod.
As I nodded, Kyle’s expression brightened a little.
I’m all for sharing secrets, but…
“…Explain?”
Ertarn can hear everything.
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