◈Better than Episode 39 (4)
Everyone lived there, but the village chief’s house was still a little bigger. As I entered the house, the dragon statues placed everywhere caught my eye.
“This statue is…”
“It’s the Sea Dragon. “He is the ruler of the Western Sea.”
“I heard that the Porsen region reveres the sea dragon. It’s true.”
“The sea weather changes depending on his mood. Well… my faith is a bit shaky right now, but…
I worship the sea dragon. Is that why people wore pendants carved with dragons around their necks or prayed to the sea dragon?
But if this is the case, won’t Inquisitors from the church hate it?
“Why are you doing that?”
The Inquisitor’s expression when he turned around was still disapproving, but there was no feeling of rejection towards the sea dragon itself. I guess I don’t really care about this.
Well, if you were going to be angry about idolatry, you should have been angry about the mural first. That’s because I usually draw objects of worship.
“I’m sorry I have nothing to offer but water.”
“It’s okay. “I didn’t come here to be treated well.”
Because the table was narrow and there were few chairs, I leaned against the wall instead of sitting on a chair. I didn’t feel too bad because I wasn’t in the same group and had been going for a long time. Haha.
“The sea started to feel weird about a month ago. “It looked calm on the outside, but the waves were crashing and the fish were disappearing one by one.”
The village chief calmly explained that if he tried to force it, only black, inedible things would come out, and even if he tried, it would only be full of dead clams.
Even just listening briefly, it wasn’t a very good situation.
“At first, I thought the Sea Dragon was angry, but when he was angry, it was rain, wind and a tsunami, not like this.”
“Right. Is there any possibility that it is red tide? “The situation is somewhat similar to when red tide occurred.”
“I have never heard of a red tide lasting more than a month. Above all, if it were a red tide, the sea would have to turn red, but such a phenomenon has never been witnessed.”
“Huh.”
“What is that black thing that comes out when you do it?”
“We don’t know either. I have lived in the sea my whole life, but this is my first time seeing it….”
The village chief stood up for a moment, saying he would show it to me. What was soon in her hand was a wooden bowl containing something.
“…!”
The first to react was the Inquisitor. She immediately changed her uncomfortable attitude after entering the village and accepted the bowl.
“Inquisitor?”
“It’s subtle, but I can feel the negative energy.”
As expected, the gamer’s intuition did not go astray. Whatever the cause, unless it is natural, it will inevitably lead to a quest.
Also… I see that the existence of the sea dragon continues to be highlighted in this region, so it seems like it will be connected to that area. The ruins couldn’t have been created for nothing.
It’s just a guess, but we can be half sure. In meta terms, ‘primordial beasts’ such as sea dragons were added to be raid targets with settings of runaway or corruption.
nice. I still vividly remember spending money to make the final item. Corrupted fairies dropped expensive recipes and were used as bait. It was quite nice to exchange that for cash.
“You mean negative energy?”
“yes.”
However, if you look at it, this is just an opinion. Until physical evidence is provided, it should only be considered as a hypothesis.
“Is it the devil?”
Therefore, I pretended not to know and mentioned the devil.
Then the Inquisitor’s eyes widened. It’s true that it’s been a while, but he looked so surprised that I was completely shaken.
“I… I don’t know. Although he denies it, he is different from Magi.”
“Tsk.”
Since my experience as an Inquisitor is limited, there may be things I don’t know, but even if I try to understand and accept that, I’ll be treated like a devil.
I let go of the hilt of the sword I had been fiddling with, with contempt for incompetence in my eyes. Kimchi Dumpling became sullen and lowered his head.
“hmm.”
On the other hand, the wizard carefully examined the contents of the bowl. Because she picked it up with her hand, I was able to see it too, and it had a really strange shape that I can’t explain.
Should I say it looks a bit like dregs? If you burn meat until it’s black like coal, it’ll look a bit like that.
“Have you seen it?”
“I don’t know this either.”
“I see… Maybe there’s a problem with the sea dragon.”
“What…!”
“I’m not sure. But isn’t he the one who oversees the Western Sea? “If something happens in the sea and it doesn’t get resolved, it’s quicker to find out the cause from the owner.”
The village chief looked broken at the Archmage’s cold remark. After all, if there was a problem with the object of faith, someone would make that kind of facial expression.
“However, if there really was a problem with the sea dragon, the entire Forzen region would have been in chaos… There’s no way the temple wouldn’t have known about this. “Hmm, is there any news from the city or other villages?”
Even though he was on the verge of being devastated, the village chief responded to the question itself. She shook her head quietly with a broken face.
“As far as I know, none. “It is said that the catch has decreased a bit, but it cannot be a good harvest every year.”
“Is that recent news?”
“It was fifteen days ago that we gathered everything we could sell to provide food and took it to the city of Grutelz. “It takes about six days to get there, so it’s probably not old news.”
It takes about six days to get there, and if we left fifteen days ago, we actually arrived at Grutelz seven days ago.
And it is unlikely that the city has changed much in the past few days. I don’t know if something like a satanic ritual took place.
“Right. “Thank you for telling me.”
“What can’t I say to my benefactors?”
She lowered her back as if her face was touching her knees and spoke softly.
“Anyway… if we stay like this, only death awaits us…”
“…”
No one could offer comfort to those words.
“…don’t think too negatively. “If it doesn’t have much effect on the city, the sea dragon may have no cause.”
“…Whatever the cause is, it doesn’t matter at this point. Isn’t starvation or starvation, death in the end just a different name? “I just hope it gets resolved.”
I don’t really like this heavy atmosphere.
I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. The evasive desire and shallow sympathy that one usually feels when faced with the despair of others tickled the inside of my palm.
Anyway, this world was too much.
“First of all, it seems necessary to conduct a separate investigation to determine the cause. Maybe it’s not a sea dragon problem, but a problem that only occurs in these coastal waters. Isn’t that right, Inquisitor?”
“Yes, Archmage, what you said is correct.”
The Inquisitor looked at the pitch-black residue and then added his words.
“Once negativity is detected, as a servant of God, I can never step down.”
「❖ Corruption washed up from the sea
∎ Investigating what is happening in the sea」
A new quest came to mind other than going to Grutteltz. It was a side quest.
“Surely… you want to solve this problem…?”
“I can’t give you a definite answer.”
“That’s enough… Thank you, thank you…”
But something is a little strange. Why are you accepting the side quest?
I was going to accept it anyway, but there was nothing absurd about it. I clenched my arms tighter. The Archmage asked the last question around the same time.
“I might have to stay for a few days for the investigation, is that okay?”
“Of course. Not only can I not treat my benefactors poorly, but I will cooperate in everything as long as we can resolve this matter.”
Suddenly, people wearing dark clothes and looking at us with red eyes flashed through my mind.
They didn’t seem to be very pleased with us.
“It would be better to divide up roles for an efficient search.”
Did you tap your fingers against the grittiness you felt on your tongue? The wizard decided on a role in an instant.
Inquisitors and Archmages, who are excellent at detecting energy, go out to sea and search for the source of the anomaly.
Dev, who had a keen eye for attention, was the one listening to residents for more detailed information about the situation and checking to see if there were any signs of consciousness nearby.
Although no one has spoken, my role would also fall into the latter category.
They say they don’t feel any demonic energy, but they don’t know either. If there is a demon contractor, Dev’s power is a bit unstable to deal with alone.
“Oh my gosh, you are leaving. “Then I will go first.”
But even if I do the same thing, I will do it myself and I won’t feel like I’m listening to you! Ha ha!
“Please come back.”
I ignored them and kicked open the front door and went out. Should we investigate the village or the beach? Of course, I chose the latter.
My concept is not good at conversation.
Shoot!
As I walked along the sandy beach, the sound of the ocean waves welcomed me.
However, the foam that washes up on the beach seems to be somewhat gray. The water was pale and clean, which was a contrast.
“Hey. “All the clams are dead.”
Dev, who was following behind, picked up something like a conch and clicked his tongue. Dead clams and conchs with their mouths open were thrown back onto the beach.
“What do you think is the reason, Nari?”
More than that, both the Inquisitor and Dev are very tenacious. I remember he didn’t respond for a few days, but he didn’t get frustrated and kept talking to me.
Oh, of course I like people like that. Being able to wait for an answer that doesn’t come back means you’re strong.
“If you remove anything, it will be resolved.”
However, he did not respond cooperatively. Where did you even get an answer?
“Couldn’t it be a problem that can be solved without having to use force? Well, most things in the world tend to be resolved that way.” While
Basak
Dev was chattering away, something stepped on my step. If you gently lower your head and move your feet away, you may find a slightly unusual-looking clam.
When I stepped on it, the inside was slightly exposed as if it had broken.
“What is that?”
wait for a sec. There’s something else inside besides clam meat.
While thinking about it, I pushed the cracked shell away with the tip of my shoe. Dev came to the side and stuck his head out, then straightened his ears and screamed.
“pearl!!”
this? here? like this? It’s floating??
“It’s a real pearl!”
I blinked, then realized. Gems in the game were not as valuable an item as you might think.
No, it’s precious, but what can I say? Since it was mostly used as a material for item crafting or strengthening, it could only be found occasionally. Depending on the game, there are many cases where it rolls around like a stone on the side of the road.
“Even if it’s this size and shiny…”
Meanwhile, Dev was fussing and picking up the pearl. As expected from the thief class, he knew how to use jewels well and didn’t forget to grab the cloth.
“Even if we can’t, it will sell for 1.5 million gal.”
Dev carefully wrapped the pearl in a cloth and held it out to me. I thought I would take it for myself, but I guess I didn’t have the courage to take it in front of him.
“Your knight, you have made a fortune.”
I just don’t like being given something in return, but I didn’t set out that I had a desire for money, so I wouldn’t have said anything if Dev had it… but I wouldn’t necessarily refuse to give it to him.
I took it like I was snatching a piece of cloth.
“Aside from that, the residents of that village were disappointed? If I had found this pearl, I wouldn’t have had to worry about enough food for 15 days even if I couldn’t do it. “I didn’t notice the treasure right in front of me.”
…But is 1.5 million gal worth that much? There seemed to be about fifty people in the village over there.
I looked at the pearl peeking through the fabric and put it into my inventory. Since time does not pass inside the inventory, the gems will be less damaged this way.
There was even less space in the inventory, but whatever.
It was unexpected unearned income.
…Maybe the game gave it to me in advance because it was obvious that I wouldn’t get a reward even if I beat this quest.
* * *
It seems that Jinju was the best we were able to find.
We searched the surrounding forests and beaches until the sun set, but found nothing in particular. At most there were two deer.
“Ah, are you here?”
“You finally came… Oh? “Is it a deer?”
Oh, I can’t say I’m completely empty-handed. Because I caught all the two deer I found.
“If you know, please help me…”
By the way, it was Dev who brought the deer. It’s not that he didn’t want to help, but he took care of both deer because he didn’t think I would take them.
From earlier, it was Dev who was responsible for taking care of the damage, but he didn’t bother to correct it. Haha.
“Please hand it over here.”
“There are two deer in the world…”
The village chief and his son quickly took the deer and Dev just stretched out. They are both babies, but they are a bit small, but they still weigh a lot. It was worth it to be exhausted.
“I’m sure I’ll have muscle pain tomorrow. “I’m sure it will happen…”
Dev was lying on the chair like wet laundry.
Because the deer was being dragged using the hood as a bag, his face was clearly visible in the light in the room. The face that has been hidden by the hood so far is younger than I thought. Or young.
“What are you looking at? “Is this your first time seeing a person’s face?”
“No… I was just surprised that you were younger than I thought.”
“joy. Are you just making a living with two deer? “I’m weak.”
“Hey. “Do you think I’m a superhuman like you?”
I thought he must be in his late twenties because of his beard, but looking at his soft face, I don’t think it would be surprising if he was the same age as the Inquisitor.
Of course, it’s not impossible that Dev is a baby face… but if you look at him fighting with the Inquisitor, he’s at least the same mental age.
“result.”
But my concept is that I don’t care how old Dev is! I brought the topic I was trying to divert back to its original track.
Only then did the Archmage and Inquisitor react.
“The waves were so rough that we couldn’t investigate properly. “What about there?”
“Have you discovered anything?”
If I found anything, I took it with me right away.
I just frowned. I stopped criticizing him as incompetent because I didn’t find anything right away.
“I guess it’s similar there.”
The Archmage interpreted our silence in that way. It was accurate.
“Then what should I do? Are you just passing your time like this?”
“That’s why I use it. They say the waves are still calm at dawn. So I decided to go out again at dawn.”
“Hey.”
“Still, if we don’t find anything, then we’ll have to go to the city.”
About that time, she started talking to me.
“You should save up your stamina.”
Her gaze lands on a mother and son grooming a deer outside the building.
“The Inquisitor said he saw a sea dragon through the waves.”
“yes?”
Since the sea dragon is an object of faith to them, they were careful not to listen to it. He seems like a sweet guy.
But why did you do that to me? Is it still a bit like what triggered the chain PTSD?
“Maybe I saw the wrong wave or a storm… but it definitely looked like a dragon to me. “Only dragons have long, thin bodies and fins that are clearly visible even through the dark sky.”
Meanwhile, the Inquisitor, who received Akmay’s glance, calmly explained.
“But… I don’t know if I should say that it’s fighting something or running wild. “It didn’t seem like a normal situation.”
At her words, Dev jumped upright. I think I was so shocked that I even forgot about my fatigue.
“It is very rare for a sea dragon to come down to the coastal waters like this. Moreover, as the Inquisitor saw, if something really happened to the sea dragon….” “
…No way.”
“We might have to exorcise something that is troubling the sea dragon, or in the worst case scenario, deal with the sea dragon itself.”
Dev finally held his head.
“There’s no way that’s possible!”
The remarks from an extremely human perspective were a bonus.
“Is it dragon hunting?”
But surprise doesn’t suit me.
“Why is Knight Nari so calm?!”
I couldn’t help but notice Dev’s astonishment.
Rather, I had some expectations.
If it’s for a dragon, you’ll be able to get some expensive materials, equipment, or something like that!