Free Web NovelThe rain fell longer than expected.
After sending off the old man at the village entrance, they continued deeper into the small town. With the rain pouring down, the muddy road that was already difficult to walk became even more slippery, even harder to tread.
“Still no contact with Rakaide and the others?”
Luna led everyone into a half-intact house, planning to stay there for a while to escape the rain and sort through the accidents along the way.
“Nothing.”
Yuancherin shook her head, once again wrapping her backpack in a rain cloth, clearly pained by the way it had gotten soaked.
Whether intentional or not, she glanced toward Vieya.
“Along the way, we met a few old villagers, but in the end they only begged for death. Not a single one told us anything useful.”
“Why are you staring at me? It’s not like I told them to do that,” Vieya said.
“I just think you’re pretty, so I look at you a bit more.” Yuancherin teased with a smile.
Vieya shook her head. “You’re a good person, but I’m not interested in you.”
“How do you know you’re not interested if you don’t try?” Yuancherin laughed. “Interests and hobbies can be cultivated slowly. Don’t you agree, Miss Cleric?”
Annoying. Women who play word games are the worst.
Vieya didn’t want to bother with her anymore.
“This house keeps out the rain. Let’s rest here for now.”
Luna stood at the doorway, looking at the downpour outside, sighing at how the heavens themselves offered no favor.
She turned back to the room, looked at Vieya, and asked:
“Miss Cleric, did you gain anything along the way?”
“Huh? You’re calling me?”
Vieya, who had been sitting on a stone block absentmindedly thinking about her child, snapped out of it. Meeting Liufir’s worried gaze, she shook her head lightly and said:
“I’ve been to this town before.”
“Hm?”
Everyone was startled. They clearly had not expected a cleric of the Church to have come to such a dangerous place.
“You’ve been here? When?” Luna asked in surprise.
“It’s been a long time... almost three years, I think.”
Vieya thought as she answered, “Back then, I came here by chance. But this place was nothing but ruins. I didn’t stay long — not even half a day before I left. I’ve never returned since...”
Three years ago, after awakening here and leaving, Vieya had indeed never come back.
Heh. Who would like to keep running to their own grave?
I’m not some plant-eating zombie!
Besides, this is a place that only makes me sad. Back then, I had so much glory... too bad that glory all... cough!
“Got any food? I’m hungry.” Vieya stretched her hand toward Liufir.
When in a bad mood, she ate something to distract herself. For Vieya, this was the secret method to recover her spirits.
“Just some biscuits. Do you want them?” Liufir carefully pulled out a small bag from her chest and handed it over.
For convenience, most of their food had been left in the cave; they carried only a little dry rations.
“Well, food is food. I’m not picky.”
As a slime girl, she could really eat anything.
Of course, the tastier the food, the faster her mood recovered.
Vieya tore open the bag, dumped out a few pieces, and chewed noisily with cheeks puffed like a hamster.
Meanwhile, the others from Fairy’s Wings also found spots to sit and rest.
Kare somehow pulled out a black pot, stacked a few bricks into a makeshift stove, and set the pot on top to boil water.
“Maybe... I’ll go find some wild greens to cook. Just looking at this makes me hungry...” Kare stared at the biscuits in Vieya’s hand, gulping.
“You ate the most this morning, and you’re still not full?” Pus said coolly. “Seeing a little girl eat and then howling like this — who are you trying to impress?”
“Mind your own damn business. Next time I won’t save you.” Kare rolled his eyes. “It’s not like I ate much. This town is dangerous and I’ve been on edge all day. I burn through energy fast.”
“Ugh, I’m starving. Liufir-sis, you got anything left? Please, be merciful and spare me some!” Kare rolled on the floor, but his eyes were fixed firmly on Vieya.
Liufir pinched her empty pocket and said innocently, “No more.”
“Traitor! Favoring outsiders!”
Kare jumped up. “No, I’m going out to find food!”
“Hold it in.”
Still trying to contact the missing teammates with Yuancherin, Luna said, “We’ve got no clues about Rakaide yet. If you go off and something happens, we’ll only waste more time searching for you too.”
“...Fine.”
Kare was easily persuaded. He slumped against the wall, pretending to nap.
“Hey, the one with the hat. Want half of my biscuits?” Vieya said. “What are you staring at? Out of all these people, only you wear a hat.”
“Really?” Kare shot up like a carp.
Vieya split the biscuits in half, wrapped them in the bag, and tossed them over. “Catch. And make sure you share with the others.”
“Whoa, this much! Ye-sis, you’re basically my second mother!” Kare fake-cried, wiping at nonexistent tears.
“Get lost...” Vieya’s emerald eyes glittered with disdain.
Kare didn’t mind. He happily carried the biscuits around, sharing with everyone.
“Hehe, all thanks to Miss Cleric. Otherwise stingy Liufir-sis would never have given me any.”
Yuancherin put on a teary-eyed act. “Don’t be fooled by Liufir-sis’s generosity now. She’s famous in our group for being stingy with every single needle — not just every pound, but every needle!”
“Don’t slander me!”
Already annoyed with her, Liufir’s face flushed red with anger. “Even eating can’t shut your mouth?”
“What? If you don’t give me biscuits, do you expect them to walk into my mouth by themselves? Clearly, you care about me after all~” Yuancherin smirked.
Liufir’s temper snapped. She glared and said each word sharply: “I. Hate. You!”
The mood in the house brightened, though it came at the cost of Liufir’s red-level warning.
Vieya chuckled, poking a biscuit against her lips. “Eat and you won’t be angry.”
“Vieya-sis, don’t listen to her nonsense! I’m not stingy...” Liufir puffed her cheeks like a pufferfish.
So that’s what she was worried about?
Vieya was a little surprised.
“No worries. Of course I believe you.”
“!”
Liufir froze, holding the biscuit Vieya fed her. She stared into those clear, water-like green eyes — so beautiful, as if no lie in the world could hide from them.
Her heart pounding, she lowered her head and nibbled at the biscuit.
Ever since she met Vieya, her emotions had shifted more than ever before. Vieya always looked so calm, so confident... and yet she couldn’t be much older than herself.
Curious.
Could Vieya-sis really be the same kind of cleric raised under the rigid rules of the Church?
Doo-doo-doo...
Luna was still trying to contact the missing teammates, but nothing worked. It seemed that within the bounds of Mount Aisa’s town, their methods of contact were useless.
“Wait — there’s a sound outside!” ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Arc, who had been sitting at the door, suddenly grew alert and stood.
He warned the others, eyes fixed on the curtain of rain.
“There’s no sound, you’re just too jumpy... right?”
Halfway through speaking, even Kare — leaning against the wall — heard it too.
A faint sound.
Like the tortured wails of sinners, like the bloody resentment of the wrongly slain, like the final elegy of a dying actor in the rain — painful, sharp, broken, making the hairs on their necks stand.
“Holy shit, what now?” Kare’s throat went dry.
But from the doorway, all they saw was endless rain.
Everyone inside grew tense, their gazes heavy.
Sometimes, the unknown was the most terrifying of all.
“Vieya-sis...”
“Hm? What is it?”
“...Aren’t you scared?” Liufir whispered.
“I’m a cleric, killer of ghosts and fiends. What’s there to fear?” Vieya joked for once, shoving the half-bag of biscuits into Liufir’s pocket. “Here, keep the rest.”
“Eh? Wait, Vieya-sis, where are you going? It’s dangerous out—”
“Can’t just wait forever. We strike first!”
Plop.
Vieya stepped to the doorway and bent down, tossing a stone into the rain.
Thud~
[You have disturbed the witch!]
Her ploy to lure the enemy worked perfectly.
At the same time—
Liufir, who had tried to follow, froze in the room. Her eyes locked onto the stone.
In the eyes of everyone—
A dried, withered hand reached through the rain and slowly picked it up. Behind it, a figure [N O V E L I G H T] revealed itself through the downpour.
“Another half-dead villager?”
At some point Luna had come to stand by Vieya’s side, a massive silver sword resting on her shoulder. Unmoving, she watched the enemy with vigilance.
“No...”
Suddenly, Luna’s face changed. “That’s a Forest Witch. A high-grade monster with humanlike intelligence. She’s skilled at deceit, temptation, and psychological attacks against humans.
Because her soul was sold to a Witch God, her body regenerates infinitely. Even if she’s burned to ash, she’ll recover — unless you break her from the psychological level she excels in...”
At her words, everyone’s faces grew grim.
Everyone knew — brainless monsters were one thing.
But once a monster had intelligence, things became much more troublesome.
“Do not fear me, guests.”
The hunched witch stepped out from the rain and came face-to-face with Luna. Her branch-like hand brushed across Luna’s armor, leaving behind a blackened mark as if corroded by acid.
“I am the Witch of Wisdom. Allow me to divine your future, and the hardships you face now.”
Her voice was soft, like a mother’s gentle murmur to a child — yet it sent shivers crawling down the spines of all of Fairy’s Wings.
