140 – Luvern Alroy and the Strange Town (3)
What was Strarum famous for?
When he had just been appointed to the territory, he had investigated the size and specialties of the villages belonging to Count Rupel.
First of all, in order to save the territory, I had to know how many resources were available within the territory.
However, it is highly likely that it was not such a great resource, seeing as the memory does not immediately come to mind.
‘In the first place, there wasn’t a place that could be said to have great resources except for the mining city of Jarhead… ….’
Still, if you roughly grasp the surrounding terrain, it doesn’t seem to be connected to the mountain area.
Strarum must also be a community engaged in agriculture, just like the common villages in the Rupel Territory.
“Is it really a plague?”
“It could be a curse. There are some unnecessarily competent warlocks who curse entire cities as well as villages.”
Sianne, who was riding a horse standing side by side next to me, said. It’s been an hour since he got out of the Iron Road. The sun was still up, but I could feel the air getting colder.
I don’t know if it’s the winter chill or something else.
“Isn’t that why you brought the saintess too? He said he would be there first, so if it was really the black magicians who came in, it might have already been resolved.”
“I hope it is as Lubern said.”
Sianne muttered in an anxious voice.
After the big incident that happened in Tiffen Village, he was in the process of finding out the black magicians who had spread out in his own way.
In addition to the Knights, they also collaborated with the Corps, so if there was even the slightest suspicion, they would be arrested and checked.
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Did he do this out of fear, or was it just not enough to filter it out?
“No matter what, as long as we have already been informed, we will not be able to get out safely.”
“Still, we shouldn’t rule out the possibility of a simple plague, right?”
“Yes, so wear a mask as soon as you arrive in town. If the plague strikes, I will leave it behind.”
“…… Che, if you talk a little prettier, where will it be?”
After throwing a light joke to lighten the mood, I shouted at the rest of the party following behind me.
“We will be in town soon! Wear all the masks we gave you earlier!”
My words juseom juseom Knights wearing masks.
However, since the snow leopard knight’s uniform was made with a white base to match its name, it created a strange synergy with the black leather mask, the crow mask.
A black crow mask in a white outfit.
It’s like the white knight of the Apocalypse who drives the plague, isn’t it?
“Looking at it this way, the cultists don’t look like the warlocks hiding in that village, do they look like us?”
“…… Don’t say such ominous things!!”
“Isn’t that why divine magic is flying?”
Sianne let out a deep sigh at the continued joke. The pitiful gaze felt through the mask was a bonus.
“Really! Lubern, you need to be a little careful. They say words become seeds.”
“Ah, would you do that? Even if you’re an indecisive saint, would you hit the holy magic without any hesitation? It’s a joke I threw to relieve tension.”
“As you said, it’s not good to be too nervous, but right now it’s better to maintain a certain level of tension…” ….”
However, Xian Ne couldn’t finish her words.
“Light!!!”
Suddenly, the heavens and the earth vibrate and a voice resounds.
Quaaang!!!
A blinding light fell from the sky. For a moment, it was to the point where I had the illusion that the sun had fallen right in front of my eyes.
Hee hee hee!! Horses startled by the sudden flash of light.
Some squires who are not used to riding lose their balance and fall off their horses.
“Kuh…… !?
“Ah!! My eyes!! How dare you use a cowardly move to cover your eyes! You’re not even a man!”
Even the fairly skilled knights were scrambling to calm the staggering, rampaging horses.
A cold and heavy familiar voice soon followed.
“You are surrounded by the Emperor’s Office, heretics!! From now on, I, Katrin Sisela, the legal representative, will begin the Holy Trial in person… ….”
I was momentarily taken aback by the fact that I was attacked, but immediately grasping the situation, I hurriedly threw off my mask and shouted,
“Stop!!! Stop!!!! The Snow Leopard Knights! I am an ally!!!”
“What?”
Then, a stupid word that sounded like biting your tongue.
“Lou, Louvern Alroy? And next to it…… Captain Xianne?!”
I can understand why the old saying says that there is nothing wrong with a wife’s words.
I never dreamed that I would be struck by real divine magic.
It was an excellent double track that made me utter admiration and tumble, but I couldn’t joke anymore.
“Are you sure, magistrate?”
“No.”
If I threw one more word here, I felt like I would really get hit by Xianne.
***
“Sorry! I heard that a large number of people wearing suspicious masks were suddenly approaching the village……. Of course, I thought it was a group of pagans.”
Catherine Sisela lowered her head and apologized. It hadn’t been long since I arrived in the village, but it seemed that the detection barrier had already been spread throughout the area.
Thorough is good, but as soon as you see it, it’s a question and answer dance, and it’s divine magic. Once again, I overlooked the ignorance of the Emperor’s Office.
Still, it wasn’t bad if you think that you’ve done it once.
Divine magic is only lethal to those who originally possess evil energy, and to those who did not, it was all about giving eyesores like now.
Fortunately, none of the people who accompanied me seemed to have dared to go astray.
“By the way, how is the situation in the village? Apparently, the cause of this sadal has not been found yet…….”
“Yes, to my shame. That’s right.”
Catherine readily admitted it. In fact, she arrived a few hours before us at most, and it’s strange that her group finished the job in a snap.
She bit her lip a little in resentment, then she went on with her words.
“I can’t figure out the source of the plague. There is no problem with the source of drinking water, which was presumed to be the biggest cause.”
“Have you checked the crops harvested this year?”
“Yes, I also checked all the grains left in the food storage.”
It was fortunate. Had it been grain, Katrin and I might have had to make a “Decision to save the country.” It’s not like a massacre, of course, it would have taken control of all of Rupell’s food supply chain at one point and tracked down the tainted grain.
There was no reason I was going to wipe out the entire city without being a rogue somewhere. I don’t even have the right to do that in the first place.
“It is completely in the dark. And the number of residents who have already died has reached close to ten. If it was even a day later, there would have been more victims.”
“What are your symptoms?”
“It seems that he is dying of shock after writhing in pain.”
“Damn it.”
“I and the priests are doing our best, but this is the only way to maintain the status quo, let alone cure the disease… ….”
“Lubern, what now?”
Sianne also looked frustrated, but it was all the same.
I’d rather not know if it was an attack by a monster, but in the case of an invisible curse or pestilence, even the best knights couldn’t do anything about it.
Still, I can’t just leave it alone. I pointed at the wagon that was being pulled towards Katrin, who had a lethargic look.
“First of all, we will save the potions we brought as much as possible and distribute them to the residents. The effect was clearly seen. Even a stopgap would be enough to put out an urgent fire.”
Besides, Alchemist Compton was scheduled to arrive as soon as the pure opidium potion is made using the amount of poppies I released.
First of all, it was to buy time and identify the cause of this phenomenon.
“First, gather all the residents at the town hall! It doesn’t matter if we remove all the annoying furniture, so we can only serve as a first aid station!”
As soon as Xianne gave the order, the soldiers and squires moved in perfect order.
Of course, it’s practically impossible to drive all the villagers, more than 100, into the hall.
In the end, we managed to secure enough hospital beds for the residents near the hall only after using all the tents we brought.
Under the guidance of Saint Catherine, both paladins and priests began examining the patients’ conditions as best they could.
And in the meantime.
I decided to explore around town with Heinz and Liberio. In particular, he planned to look at the inn on the outskirts of the town where the outsider in question had been said to have lived.
The inn was quite large for being in a small town. Was it because Strarum was used as a kind of base before the Iron Road was built?
Only a heavy silence filled the inn-cum-tavern, which was once crowded with residents.
“You said there was an innkeeper among the victims, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. My daughter and wife are all right…….”
“I can never go back to being the way I was before.”
It was just bittersweet.
However, there were no clues about the existence of a suspicious outsider. The room I stayed in was also really neat, as if it was used only for sleeping.
In the end, Heinz and Liberio, who had much more professional skills than me, had no choice but to take on the physical search.
It would have been a disaster if I was procrastinating and destroying important evidence or traces.
I descended the creaky wooden stairs and checked the ledger list under the counter.
Sometimes, you can get clear hints from these materials rather than visual evidence.
‘Recording daily sales with operating expenses such as food materials…… Is it just a ledger?’
I thought I might have misunderstood, but I continued reading the ledger.
[40 Eggs, Hardian peddler, beard. Good quality and fresh.]
[5 Boxes of wheat bread, Perris Bakery. Unlike last month, it’s a little rough. It appears to be the aftermath of rising milk prices.]
The now late innkeeper must have had a very meticulous personality, what ingredients he bought from whom, and even what the condition was.
Even when Iron Road was under construction, the entire ledger was recorded in the black, so it seems that he had excellent business skills for a villager on the outskirts.
To think you’d be looking through those records all the time.
For some reason, I felt like I was being solemn.
To think that an innocent person who lived so far away lost his life while struggling in pain.
‘Is there anything wrong?’
As I was about to close the ledger without much income, I suddenly felt a sense of incongruity.
‘Wait, why aren’t things related to meat listed in the ledger?’
I read the ledger again from the beginning. Again, when I read it again, there was nothing about buying meat.
Isn’t it normal for taverns to sell meat better than vegetables or bread?
Something was strange.
And what about the slaughterhouse listed here in the expense section? Normally, innkeepers would not hire their own butchers to deliver their meat.
“Heinz!”
“Why do you do that, magistrate?”
“Is there a barn here that is directly connected to the inn?”
“Ah, there was a building that looked like a barn a little farther north… ….”
It was right there.
My intuition was telling me.
If I go there, I will get what I want.
“Liberio! Come down quickly!”
“Why is that?”
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“Congratulations! The plague must have spread in the barn attached to this inn!”