90. Shatran’s Shame (4)
▶Episode I. Rusmayer’s Isolation Cleared!◀
▶Succeeded in influencing Rusmayer territory by arresting the culprit, Tuspel!◀
I was able to subdue the three knights, or rather, the three bandits, without a hitch.
Perhaps because I had the upper hand in terms of stats, their movements were sloppy and futile.
Tuspel charged at me with his sword raised until the end, but he didn’t feel particularly strong.
I hadn’t noticed when I was just looking at the pixelated screen while raising my character.
But when I actually moved my body, it felt somehow awkward.
‘Alright. This is a start.’
Why overcomplicate things?
I had just cleared an episode.
-Ting!
▶Successfully transported Daina to the hospital.◀
[ Remaining time limit: 20 hours and 33 minutes ]
▶Cleared with plenty of time to spare. Daina’s recovery has sped up, significantly reducing the time required to enter the village!◀
▶Succeeded in triggering a result beyond the choices!◀
▶Additional rewards incoming!◀
‘Additional rewards, huh? It’ll probably just be marked with three question marks again.’
I grumbled inwardly.
At first, when the ??? marks disappeared and something helpful to me appeared – like when I solved Camilla’s Dead Trigger – it was really helpful.
So I had high expectations when I saw the same message again, but perhaps the game’s system didn’t allow it, because it had been useless ever since.
The message would appear, but then it would suddenly disappear.
I would check to see if anything was different from before, but there were no major changes.
As a result, my expectations had completely disappeared.
‘…Huh?’
▶Rusmayer territory, Remten Village’s entry grace period has been completely depleted!◀
[ You can now enter Remten Village. ]
[ Danger level: Warning ]
When I saw the sentence that appeared directly instead of question marks, I knew it wasn’t something I could ignore.
Rusmayer territory could only be entered after the three knights who had disguised themselves as bandits and committed acts of plunder had been punished.
That period was about two days.
Once the character Daina recovered in the infirmary and returned with Keyan, the lock would be released, and Carsein would be able to enter.
If I reduced those two days…
If I entered Rusmayer two days earlier.
‘I’ll achieve a higher level of completion. I’ll even have time to visit Shatran territory!’
It was a major advantage either way.
While I was lost in thought.
The children, who looked two to three years younger than Karsein, seemed to have finished talking among themselves.
“Thank you so much, my lord. I don’t know how to express my gratitude…”
The girl named Diana regained her composure and thanked me in front of me.
The other three boys were the same. They kept bowing and saying thank you several times.
“I’m grateful for your help… but I don’t have anything to give you…”
-Ting!
▶This choice is an automatic choice!◀
[1. Then show me around your village.]
…Oh my.
How did things turn out like this?
Originally, the development was that they would be suspicious of the real reason I saved them.
Of course, the only one who had lost her distrust of the aristocracy was Kiyan, and now her intimacy had increased to the point of distrusting Tony and Melik, but Diana was a stranger, so she would have been even more suspicious.
But why are they so willing to show me around the village? Even today?
“Then show me around your village.”
There was no reason not to go.
Just this alone would have given me a few more hours and two days.
***
Since I have cleared the episode by achieving the two most important factors that affect Rusmeier at the same time, it will not be difficult to enter the village.
However, I know.
I can never be at ease just because it is now possible to enter the village.
The first episode of Chapter 2, which started as a sub-episode, must be completed once the main episode is set.
This is because any problem will result in the revocation of the right to participate in the Eastern Aristocratic Council, which is directly linked to Karsein’s bad ending.
‘That episode is also one that I brought forward. Although the development has been distorted, this part will lead to a bad ending without exception.’
-Ting!
▶Episode II. The Hand of Rejection is in progress!◀
▶Enter the village of Remten in the Rusmeier estate and dispel the suspicions of the villagers!◀
Is it finally starting?
As soon as I stepped on the land of the Rusmeier estate, Episode II was automatically generated.
From here on, I must not make a single mistake.
▶You have entered the warning zone!◀
[Caution! Additional choices may occur during conversations with the villagers!]
As the carriage door opened, the gaze of deep emotion was directed towards me.
To me, of all people.
‘Considering the in-game story, it won’t be just Kiyan. These villagers also have a bone to pick with me. The nobles, that is.’
What they had done to me.
What kind of nonsense they had subjected me to.
What kind of behavior they had shown me.
From the perspective of the villagers, everything would come to mind vividly.
And this is something that the system never misses.
Here is your translated excerpt, preserving the line breaks and atmosphere of the original text:
-Ding!
[ 1. (Whistling) Why does everyone look so fierce? ]
[ 2. (Frowning) This is too much. Hasn’t the lord come all this way here? Isn’t this attitude a bit too cold? ]
[ 3. (Silence) ]
The choices before me were dizzying.
Had I not filled a certain character’s affinity enough to change the third option from silence, I felt I would have been expelled right here.
But, I had already sufficiently filled that particular character’s affinity.
“Uncle Barak!”
“Kian? What are you doing there…”
“Wait. I see Tony and Melik too. And even Diana?”
“What’s going on? To see those children walking out of a noble’s carriage…”
Not one, but the affinities of four people had been raised, leaving the adults looking confused.
Of course, according to the third choice, I just had to keep my mouth shut.
“Lord Karsein has become the master of our village, no, the lord of the Rusmayer territory!”
“And that’s not all! He even lent a carriage to take Diana to the hospital!”
“Me. So now I’m all cleaned up. You can see I’m quite lively, right?”
“And those knights from the Modric Count’s family. They deliberately didn’t clear the way knowing Diana was in danger, but the lord took care of them all!”
“What did you say…?”
The boys and girls conveyed the events of the day with joyful voices, as if boasting.
Soon after, the status window popped up again.
▶The vigilance of the Rusmayer territory’s residents softens!◀
[ Danger Level: Caution ]
Previously, it would only go down from warning to restricted, and then choices would appear.
Choices related to nobility. Choices related to the pinnacle of nobility, the Bagramd Duke’s family. Choices filled with distrust and suspicion.
They were all set to pop up and torment me time and again.
I planned to counter them with the information Camilla had organized and my retry martial arts experience.
But the initial choices that come with entering the village just didn’t appear. I wondered how to react to the key question of whether I had deceived Kian, but it didn’t come at all. The danger level had also dropped two steps, from restricted to caution.
In that state, a man approached me.
This was an opportunity.
■Owned Items
◆Ivory-colored cords
[ Quantity: 4 ]
I had somehow ended up with four cords and showed them all.
The man’s eyes widened.
“I can’t say there was no part of me that aimed to deceive, but I had no intention of fooling those guys.”
After a brief silence, he spoke with a much softened expression.
“…I’m Barak, the village chief of Remten. Would it be alright to change our location?”
“By all means.”
As expected, all the usual questions had been omitted this time.
I was pleased. There was no reason to refuse moving on to the next stage.
***
In the heart of Rusmeier, the residence of Barrack, the village chief of Lemten Village.
This was the place we arrived at, pushing through the piercing gazes of the villagers and the territorial people.
Even though we entered the village chief’s house, I doubt that the suspicion of the villagers has been dispelled.
▶Episode II. Repelling Hands in Progress!◀
▶Enter Lemten Village in the Rusmeier territory and dispel the suspicion of the villagers!◀
As you can see from the status window, their suspicion has not yet been severed.
Although Diana informed them that her body was fine, and Kiyan relayed in detail what had happened today with his friends, the gazes of the villagers were still negative.
They had been ostracized, becoming the targets of all kinds of disgust and contempt between the lands of colluding nobles.
That’s why I can be sure.
That to this extent, their suspicion can never be dispelled.
It’s an emotion that I, who was ostracized even by my family, know best.
-Dal-gak.
“Considering the finances of the village, it is difficult to treat a noble like you to a luxury drink like tea. I have warmed some milk, so please accept this instead.”
Village Chief Barrack.
He spoke to me, handing me a mug of warm milk.
A cup of milk with steam rising from it.
There’s nothing better to drink right now in the winter, when there’s still a bit of a chill in the air.
▶If you drink the milk, your coldness and fatigue will be slightly reduced.◀
I checked the abnormal status figures next to that window.
Each of them was not a dangerous number, but at that level, the effects were not completely absent, so it could be a bit bothersome. It’s an opportunity to alleviate abnormal conditions that I should manage myself.
However, this is just a clever illusion.
▶From now on, the achievement of the episode will be filled depending on your choices!◀
▶Will you accept and drink the milk offered by Village Chief Barrack?
[1. Drink it.]
[2. Push it away without drinking it.]
Even this trivial act already signifies the occurrence of a choice.
In addition, the system’s clever extortion is included. At first glance, it seems that the direction of the episode arises through the choice, but it does not say that the achievement rate will drop.
It means that they no longer even tell you that you’ll get a bad ending here.
I immediately pushed the mug away.
[2. Push it away without drinking it.] ☑
“Milk is a nutritious luxury food. Feed it to the children. You’re not going to give it to me, are you?”
“Even so, shouldn’t we treat you, the lord?”
“I know that milk is a hard-to-get ingredient. I know that the environment is not suitable for raising dairy cows, so I heard that you mainly buy it for children to drink.”
Barrack’s lips twitched.
As he said, this milk was not something to be fed to me.
“…I understand. However, this milk has already been warmed up, so there must be someone to drink it right away. Who should I give it to?”
-Tiring!
▶Additional choices have occurred!
▶Who will you order to give the milk to?
[ 1. Barak ]
From Noble mtl dot com
[ 2. Daina ]
[ 3. Kiyan ]
[ 4. Melik ]
[ 5. Toni ]
…
…
Additional options follow.
Your intimacy level will change depending on who you give the warm milk to.
Option 1 is clearly a trap.
Barak’s intimacy level will actually decrease.
The same goes for the three boys listed in options 3, 4, and 5.
There’s no point in giving them the milk.
That’s why I originally chose option 2.
Daina was the most dangerous child, so it was logical to assume that giving her the milk would be the most effective.
When I did, not only did Daina’s intimacy level increase, but the villagers’ intimacy levels also increased, and my reputation in the village improved somewhat.
However, I don’t think that’s the right answer this time.
‘No matter how I look at it, it’s strange. Daina has completely recovered, so why is her name still here?’
That’s right. I need to give it to the person who needs it most.
This choice is quite important.
It’s not just about giving them milk.
It’s the only chance I have to start a conversation in this territory.
‘I can’t miss this. The moment I do, it’s over!’
I racked my brain, trying to recall all the information I had on Rusmayer.
I started to replay the documents Camilla had brought me in my head, one page at a time.
‘The statue? Money? The village layout? No. It’s something different from all of those… something that only exists here…’
Then it hit me.
“Most children in the Rusmayer territory show symptoms of malnutrition. Rusmayer’s disease is a unique ailment that only affects children and adolescents, causing them to develop a severe cough and become bedridden for a while.”
Barak’s dull eyes suddenly lit up.
“The cause is that they eat a diet consisting primarily of crops that only grow there. The fact that the adults who eat the same food are fine suggests that the diet itself isn’t the problem, but it was later discovered that children, for some strange reason, are unable to absorb the nutrients properly.”
“…”
“That’s why we usually give them milk when this happens. When they drink milk, they absorb the nutrients they’re lacking, and their cough and fever quickly subside. Strangely enough, they recover so quickly that you wouldn’t think they were sick.”
This was a very important hint.
Thank you, Camilla.
Thanks to you, I was able to recall every bit of this hint.
“Milk and malnutrition. And Rusmayer’s disease. There’s only one child who’s been coughing, but you’re not going to offer it to me, are you?”
Yes. That child should drink this milk.
“Delphina. You have to give it to her.”
I didn’t miss a beat, and I even said the child’s name out loud.
[ 7. Delphina ]☑