104. Where the shadows fall
“So, something is strange?”
“No matter how much you think about it, this is not something that can be dismissed as a simple coincidence. “To be honest, I doubt whether this Kingdom of Hermod is the Kingdom of Hermod in my memories.”
“Won’t you tell me why? “I’m an elf, so I don’t understand the human sense of time.”
“This city is different from the city in my memories. If only 10% matches my memory, the remaining 90% is different. “The people are different and the shops on the street are very different from what I remember.”
Arcel explained to Stella the discomfort he felt.
A different landscape than I remembered.
People different from memories.
Reality different from memory.
They are the cause of the sense of discomfort I felt earlier.
“It’s strange when I think about it, because no matter how short the lifespan of humans is, they usually live to be 50 years old.”
“It can be as long as 100 years.”
“It’s a pity that I only live for 100 years.”
After listening to Arcel’s explanation, Stella seemed to understand.
No matter how quickly generations and countries change, it is impossible for so many things to change in just five years.
“Hey, I’m not sure what the seniors are talking about.”
Morian, who was listening to the story, seemed frustrated as he did not know what the two people were talking about.
“What about your memories? Was Hermod’s kingdom like this even 5 years ago? “The existing stores and people disappeared, and most of the places were taken by people from other areas.”
“I don’t even remember what happened five years ago… I was so young back then, so I don’t even remember anything.”
Come to think of it, she had heard that, contrary to her appearance, Morian was only seven years old.
Although she would say it now, Morrían also felt something strange.
Even if he was a person who grew up quickly, it made no sense for him to hold a holy sword and act like a warrior at just 7 years old.
Of course, Arcel had heard that she grew up quickly and was strong since she was young, but Morian was much more precocious than Arcel.
She was only 7 years old, which was the age when Arcel began training as a warrior in earnest.
‘Something is wrong.’
Arsel felt that there was something wrong with the kingdom of Hermod.
Everything was wrong with the kingdom itself.
But Stella seemed to have almost no idea about this, so in the end, she was the only one who could know the truth.
“Alfred, don’t you know anything?”
Alfred.
A former executive of the Demon King’s army and a being who monitored the Kingdom of Hermod even after the Demon King fell.
I wondered if Alfred would know the truth about this feeling of discomfort or be able to deduce the answer.
“…Alfred?”
“Huh? Oh sorry. These nuts are better than I thought. “I always gave it to the crows, but when I became a crow and ate it, it was quite delicious.”
Although Alfred was concentrating on eating the nuts the old man gave him, pecking them with his beak.
I think this is the only way to make it a real crow.
“Hasn’t even his brain turned into a crow?”
“That may be so, because my transformation is different from the tricks you devils use.”
Maybe even his brain turned into a real crow.
Arsel was a little worried about whether he could leave Alfred as a crow like that.
“Anyway, is it strange that Hermod’s kingdom has changed so much in 5 years? If that’s the case, I can roughly give you the answer. “It’s not particularly difficult.”
“What is the answer?”
I was a little surprised to hear Alfred say that he already knew the answer.
It would have been better if he had told me in advance, but Alfred’s personality is such that he doesn’t say anything unless asked directly.
Alfred is the one who gives the answer to any question, but he is the only one who gives the answer to the question asked.
We never give you the answer first.
“He is a thief!”
Then, on a street full of people, I heard a sound as if someone had been pickpocketed.
Looking at the situation, it seemed like the bread shop owner had his bread stolen.
A little distance away, I saw a girl running away with a large piece of bread.
“It’s a good thing, the answer is contained in most of the misdemeanors that occur in the Kingdom of Hermod.”
Alfred took three people and began secretly tracking the girl.
A thief who still looks young.
Before long, the girl turned around and entered her old alley, and of course it wasn’t that difficult to track her as she moved.
“Is this the road to the underground?”
And I found a fairly old underground passage.
Suddenly the girl disappeared, and when I looked around her, I saw that there was no place to go other than this underground passage.
He must have gone inside.
“Both demons and humans seem to like the underground. “Could it be that you have a mole among your ancestors?”
“Why on earth do you, demons, get so upset that you can’t eat us elves every time you talk?”
“It’s not that you can’t catch and eat them, it’s that you don’t. You say that orcs don’t have much to eat, so you don’t use them for food.”
“…”
Stella is at a loss for words after Alfred’s words.
“Phew… But can I come in here? I can feel a lot of presence in here. “Isn’t it possible that a group of thieves are hiding there?”
Afterwards, I took a deep breath and listened underground, and became alert to the fact that there were more signs down here than I thought.
This is an alley located on the outskirts of Hermod Kingdom.
Furthermore, there is a small cave connected to the outside around here, and monsters or thieves may have sneaked in through that.
Especially because violent beasts, although not particularly dangerous, often live underground.
“…There are people down here?”
At that time, Arcel asked back in a trembling voice.
“Huh? Yeah, you feel it too, right? “I don’t know exactly if they are humans, but I think there are at least a few thousand living, moving creatures down here.”
He seemed to be in quite a bad condition as he was even dripping with cold sweat on his forehead.
“Are you okay? Wait, where are you going?!”
As Stella asked with concern, Arcel suddenly started running towards her basement.
You don’t know what’s inside, but to go in blindly is to lose your cool.
She was Arcel, who always kept an eye out for traps and advanced when she went to defeat the Demon King, but she appeared like that out of nowhere, so I wondered if something serious had happened.
“Wait. “There’s no need to be in such a hurry.”
“Why are you holding me?! “I don’t know what might be in the basement, so I wonder if I can send it alone!”
So, Stella tried to chase after Arcel, but Alfred actually caught Stella instead of Arcel.
“If it’s dangerous for our hero anyway, your presence won’t be of much help, right? “Just because you don’t hold your ankle doesn’t mean it’s really helpful.”
“Ugh…”
Unable to refute Alfred’s words, Stella had no choice but to give up chasing Arcel right away.
“It’s your own choice anyway, so why not let people decide based on their own judgment without interference from others?”
Looking at it, I had a strong feeling that Alfred had intentionally sent Arcel alone.
“…You’ve already been to the underground of this city.”
Stella asked, frowning her eyes.
“Of course.”
This is because Alfred already knew what was hidden underground.
In the end, following Alfred’s words, they slowly went down to the basement, and by the time the three arrived, Arcel seemed to have gathered his thoughts.
Blue magic waved around Arcel.
Arsel looked so angry that even Stella was hesitant to approach him.
“I hoped that if possible, it would just pass over quietly. I feel good for no reason, but there is nothing good about seeing a chicken coop like this.”
“I hate to admit it, but I agree with you.”
Stella said, biting her lip.
After seeing what was in the basement, I thought I knew why Arcel reacted like that.
What was underneath the kingdom of Hermod was none other than a village.
However, the condition of the village was very poor.
Their dwelling is a hut framed with old boards and barely shaped with torn fabric.
The streets were filled with people almost collapsing and piles of all kinds of trash.
Furthermore, the only light coming into this underground area is the faint light coming from the sewer and sunlight flowing from the entrance of a small cave.
Lastly, rat droppings and insects can be seen everywhere.
No matter how you look at it, it was never an environment suitable for people to live in.
“Ha, it was like this…”
Arsel sighed deeply and laughed.
Until a little while ago, I thought that Hermod’s kingdom was peaceful and people’s lives were very stable.
But the truth was not like that.
I only saw bright light.
How could I have forgotten this?
The fact that where light follows, shadows inevitably appear.
“aaagh?!”
At that time, a girl suddenly screamed and fell behind her.
“Why is that crow-“
He was so surprised when he saw Alfred.
“What, did you do something to that person?”
Stella looked at Alfred who was sitting on her shoulder.
“I didn’t do anything special?”
“…It’s a lie, right?”
“If your arms and legs are still attached and breathing, you haven’t done anything, right?”
After hearing the answer, Stella sighed deeply.
†††
Hermod’s basement last night.
It is said that it was a place created in the past in the dynasty before Hermod to prepare for an emergency.
If the front lines were pushed back during the war against the demons and even the capital became dangerous, it was built to act as a kind of shelter to prevent the people from being exposed to the demons.
Although it was dark and damp, it was not bad for a war shelter, and since it had drinking water, many experts said it could last for at least 10 years.
However, that is a story from hundreds of years ago.
This basement had already been abandoned for a long time and had become a place infested with rats and bugs, and stones sometimes fell from the ceiling, making it by no means a safe place.
From Noble mtl dot com
“It looks just like a chicken coop.”
The night before, Alfred discovered this basement and left these impressions.
Quite a number of people were huddled together in huts that were no bigger than chicken coops, and they were barely surviving by drinking groundwater that was half mixed with dirt.
It would be fortunate if this was all, but there were many people everywhere who collapsed from starvation or were sick.
If Arcel sees it, he will definitely be greatly shocked.
Of course, that’s not what’s important.
The important thing was why they were living underground like this.
There were even some people in Arcel’s memories in this underground area, and these were people who had been living in Hermod’s capital on the surface just five years ago.
But how did we end up living in such a damp and smelly basement?
It is also located on the outskirts of the city, so even monsters can flock through a small cave.
“Hmm, do you know what happened? “Kid.”
Alfred asked the girl who was approaching him drooling.
It seemed as if it was very hungry and was trying to eat Alfred in the form of a crow.
“What the crow is talking about?”
Of course, I couldn’t help but be surprised to see a crow speaking human language.
“…I guess I’m even hearing auditory hallucinations now.”
“Yes, it’s an auditory hallucination. So why don’t you answer the question?”
“It’s noisy, even if you beg for help, you’re doing this to survive too!”
Still, he still had the will to catch, so he tried to throw the net in his hand towards Alfred.
Boom!
“Evil…?!”
Of course, that was an act worse than suicide.
The crow returned to Alfred’s form in an instant, simply burned the net and grabbed the girl by the neck.
“You can rest assured, I have an equal mind that does not discriminate between men and women or age.”
Golden eyes, which are not only beautiful but also scary, look down at the girl as if looking at a bug on the side of the road.
If you look closely, it looks like you’ll fall in love at first sight.
But more than that, Alfred was full of a creepy and sinister energy.
It is as if I am a prey in front of a predator.
The girl sat down on the spot, her body shaking.
Besides, Alfred seemed a little angry.
“And you better not mess with crows from now on. Sometimes I get very annoyed when my order doesn’t arrive. Even more so if the delivery man doesn’t come because he got eaten.”
This is probably why the girl tried to eat the crow.
“Anyway, if you don’t answer my question straight, I’ll break off your hair and feed it to the crows, so just know that.”
Still, Alfred said with a wide smile as always.
Of course, it was easy to smile and tighten your hands.