Talent-Swallowing Magician - Chapter 343

Part 2 Episode 83

Summer’s Grave

“Don’t we sound like words? “Get out of there right now!”

The man in the lead shouted, raising his scythe as if he was going to swing it.

However, to Elric, rather than being a threat, his appearance looked rather pitiful.

Because all of the men were very skinny.

It seemed like it was difficult to even lift farm equipment because he had been deprived of food for so long.

Some people even had their arms shaking.

Elric did not want to clash unnecessarily with those people.

Anyway, his goal was to pass through the village and find the Jewel Forest.

He tried not to provoke them as much as possible.

“I think there’s a misunderstanding, but I didn’t come to the village to do anything. Just past the village…”

“Shut up!”

“Do you think we’ll believe that?”

However, the men approached one step at a time, holding out their weapons as if they were not listening at all.

Even if Elric showed both palms as if he had no intention of fighting, nothing changed.

“Even if that were true, it wouldn’t work. scram!”

“….”

An almost reckless look.

Elric scratched his head in frustration.

Because from the way they spoke, it didn’t seem like they would ever get out of the way.

However, after coming this far, there is no way to return.

This was the only path visible through the mind’s eye.

『Why are you worrying so much when you can just push through with force?』

[Are you crazy? It’s not like these people are agents of some kind of inspection bureau. They are just ordinary citizens.]

『What are ordinary citizens? These are people who throw tantrums without even knowing the topic. Kill!』

[…Could you please stay still?]

I had absolutely no desire to subdue innocent people with force.

Elric thought there must be something going on for them to do this.

“If you tell us the reason why you are doing this, we will help you if we can…!”

“Even if you don’t need it!”

“I can’t hear you telling me to fuck off!”

But instead, it ended up stimulating them.

No matter how much I said, Elric showed no signs of backing down, so it seemed like he was determined to attack.

The men approached the carriage with truly murderous expressions.

“Elric, how about we retreat first and then come back?”

“that’s right. “There is no need to provoke these people.”

Tasha and Sean also carefully pulled Elric’s arm, as if they were feeling a bit burdensome from continuing to bump into each other.

It was at that time that Elric thought he had no choice and was about to tell him to go back.

“Hey guys .. hey guys! “You can’t stop right now!”

An old man’s loud voice came from behind me.

Everyone’s eyes turned towards that.

What I could see among the skinny men was an old man with his back to me.

“Chief Cho?”

“What are you doing to innocent outsiders now?”

“but…!”

“Everyone can’t go back!”

Hearing the village chief’s shout, the men frowned at Elric and his group, but then quickly turned around.

As if to wait and see.

Only after everyone had disappeared from sight did the village chief come up to Elric and his group and apologize.

“I am sorry. “Recently, a series of bad things have happened in the village, so the villagers have become extremely sensitive.”

There was bitterness on the village chief’s face.

Elric and the others exchanged glances with each other for a moment.

Could it be that the trouble that occurred in the village has something to do with the Jewel Forest?

I don’t know the exact thing.

However, there was an unspoken agreement that it would not be easy to overcome.

Elric shook his head and answered on behalf of his companions.

“it’s okay. “But can you tell me the reason?”

The village chief thought for a moment and then nodded.

“It’s shabby, but… if you need a place to stay, just follow me…”

The carriage moved along behind him.

[It’ll be okay…?]

Tasha secretly cast a message spell.

[It will be okay. As you can see from Tasha, it didn’t look like those people had received separate soldier training just a little while ago. If you have to, you can just escape.]

[That’s true, but… I’m worried.]

[Have you ever heard of an incident occurring near this area?] [

Not at all. This is far from the area where rebels mainly operate. It’s not like I have a great family.]

[It’s difficult. I couldn’t find anything even with a mana scan.]

They were all ordinary farmers. These people have no strength because they cannot even eat properly.

Maybe it has something to do with it?

The hope that it was not a big deal remained in the minds of the companions.

* * *

The chief, who introduced himself as Lucas, guided Elric’s group to his house.

A house just big enough for a small family to live in.

Lucas said as he served tea to the group sitting at the table.

“I’ve been living alone for a long time, so my house isn’t that clean. Please understand.”

In response to Elric’s request to speak more comfortably, the village chief had already let go of his words.

In the village chief’s eyes, all three people looked like nobles, but he didn’t seem to care much.

No, it seemed more like he was ‘tired’ and didn’t really care.

“you’re welcome. Does it look clean enough?”

Tasha said as she received the tea.

“Thank you for saying that.”

Lucas smiled and sat down across from me.

Horok.

He took a light sip of tea and looked at Elric and asked.

“so. “What brings you to this unremarkable village?”

“I’m looking for a forest of jewels.”

“…Jewel Forest?”

Hearing Elric’s words, Lucas raised one eyebrow and gave a puzzled look.

Then he shook his head and said:

“I’m sorry to say this, but it’s just a legend.”

He spoke firmly, but Elric did not believe him.

『This old man is spreading unfounded rumors. How dare you say that something that the King himself saw did not exist!』

Elric did not mention such a fact.

I just silently listen to Lucas.

“Well, it’s not like I don’t understand finding the forest. In the past, I used to see adventurers visiting there occasionally.”

Lucas continued speaking while drinking tea again.

“But that all disappeared when the man-eating monster appeared.”

As Lucas said that, his expression became darker than usual.

The hand holding the teacup was already trembling, as if he had been through a lot of mental distress.

‘monster?’

Elric and Tasha Sean’s eyes met for a moment.

Now I know why the village men are so wary of outsiders.

“Can you tell me more about that man-eating monster?”

“It’s not difficult. Was it about 4 years ago? “A giant wolf covered in shadows has started wandering around the village.”

Elric’s eyes shone coldly.

shadow.

A wolf.

These two keywords somehow felt familiar to me.

“This guy used to ask not only the village people but also the people who passed by here. Because of this, the villagers were unable to farm properly, and the few outsiders were cut off, leaving them with no way to obtain daily necessities.”

Certainly, no matter how small a village is, it would be difficult to survive without interaction with the outside world.

Even more so, if you can’t even farm properly, the danger can’t be mentioned.

Sean and Tasha’s eyes also shone coldly.

“So at some point, they started offering sacrifices bought in the village. “After the boat was full, we didn’t ask for any more villagers.”

The old man’s eyes were filled with sorrow.

“The problem is that after that, he kept asking for live sacrifices. “We don’t have the strength to defeat it…!”

The old man stopped talking.

But it seemed like Elric and the others could understand without having to hear it.

‘That’s why they sacrificed foreigners.’

Due to the geographical characteristics of the village, it is difficult to leave or enter.

In the end, the sacrifices that can be offered are limited, so there is no choice but to offer ‘people’.

But isn’t it impossible to sacrifice the villagers?

That is why they chose an outsider as their sacrifice.

If you drive them out of town, the monsters will be able to target stray strangers.

“that…!”

“…ha!”

Tasha and Sean clenched their fists.

It was obvious that he was worried about how to react to this.

To put it bluntly, they were trying to sacrifice themselves, but the villagers were also just struggling to survive.

So it was difficult to just get angry.

“….”

Only Elric nodded quietly.

“So be careful. The next sacrifice could be you. So don’t stay here for long and leave as soon as dawn comes. “That’s the kind of consideration I can give.”

Lucas leaned forward and warned in a low voice.

It’s too late at night today, so stay only one night and leave early in the morning. Lucas added that.

As he said, I looked at the sky and saw that it had turned dark. There were so many clouds that not even the moonlight shone through.

Elric decided that there was no need to move in this pitch-black darkness.

“thank you.”

“Okay, good idea. “I will show you the room.”

* * *

“I’m sorry. “It’s not a very spacious house.”

Lucas said with an apologetic expression. This was because there were not enough rooms for each person in the group to use.

Elric and Sean, who were able to share a room, decided to share the same room, while Tasha decided to stay alone in the room across the street.

“it’s okay.”

“Then get some rest.”

With those last words, Lucas returned to his room.

Elric looked around the room he and Sean entered.

The guest room that Lucas showed us was clearly empty of people, and it looked like it had not been touched for a long time.

It looked like it had been cleaned to some extent, but there was a light layer of dust on the floor.

But he didn’t care and took off his women’s clothes with Sean.

But Sean’s expression didn’t look very good.

I was so lost in thought that my eyebrows barely straightened.

Elric burst out laughing.

‘It’s the same now as it was then.’

I felt this since I was at the Academy, but unlike myself, who was always chased by reality, he had a very righteous personality.

Maybe it was because of that nature that he opened his heart to me.

So there’s no way we can just stand by and watch innocent people suffer.

“why? “Do you want to help?”

“Yes?”

Sean finally came to his senses and asked back as if he was surprised.

“You’re worried about the village people, right?”

“Well… right. “But how did you know that?”

“Do I see you once or twice? “It’s written all over your face.”

Elric asked, looking at him teasingly.

“Do you want me to help you?”

“But you…!”

Sean hesitated before answering.

I wondered if I could get caught by my ankles here for no reason.

It’s a situation where you don’t know when the Lion House and the Inspection Bureau will move after Elric. One o’clock was urgent and there was no need to delay.

It was at that time that Elric read his friend’s thoughts and was about to say that he could easily kill a monster like that.

『Sweetheart.』

Mephisto spoke with a serious expression.

[What’s wrong with your expression all of a sudden?]

『…Can you see that beast the old man was talking about a little while ago?』

[I’m going to go meet him… but do you have any clues?]

『I’m not sure, but I’ll have to see it first. I think so.』

Looking at Mephisto’s serious eyes, Elric nodded.

He also felt the same way when he heard it from the village chief.

shadow.

A wolf.

Isn’t this a somewhat familiar keyword?

The wolf was also the emblem of Mephisto’s seal, ‘Original Sin’.

Wizard who swallowed talent