MTM 19

“This way.”

When Zed asked if there was a place to stay for one night, Madam Mare guided him to an inn near the square. The first floor had a dining hall, and there were several rooms for lodging on the second floor.

The innkeeper was an elderly woman. She had a hooked nose under small glasses, the tip of it red, and her droopy eyelids made her look like she were about to fall asleep.

“Charlotte, you have a guest.”

Madam Mare tapped the counter, and Charlotte immediately opened her eyes.

“Huh? The boys! The boys are back!”

Charlotte exclaimed in an excited voice when she saw Zed standing beside Madam Mare.

“Haha… no, Charlotte. This is Zed, an herb gatherer. He said he came over the mountain while collecting herbs. Do you still have a room available?”

“Ah… I see…”

Charlotte wrinkled her nose a few times and looked at Zed through her glasses with a disappointed face. She weakly took one of the keys hanging on the wall and handed it to Madam Mare.

“We haven’t had many guests lately…”

Madam Mare forced a smile and showed Zed to the room herself instead of Charlotte. While they went up to the second floor, she talked without stopping. Most of what she said was about the village, but strangely, the more she spoke, the more anxious she looked.

“But it’s fortunate that it’s raining.”

“Ah… yes.”

When Zed said that, Madam Mare smiled awkwardly.

Clack.

When she opened the door with the key and went in, a damp smell from the rain filled the air. Buy it was much more comfortable than the cabin. A tidy single bed, a small table, and a wardrobe gave the room a cozy feeling.

“Then rest well. If you need anything, pull that bell by the window twice and Charlotte will come.”

She added that it might be faster to just go downstairs and ask directly.

After Madam Mare left the room, Zed removed his cloak and took Harto off his back. The soot monster slumped down onto the bed. Zed thought it was from exhaustion, but Harto was grinning.

“What’s with that face?”

“The bed… it’s been so long… I love it…”

The blanket wasn’t freshly washed or soft, but just the fact that it was a bed made Harto happy.

Clack.

Meanwhile, Zed quietly drew the curtain beside the bed and opened the window a little. The rain had lessened compared to before. From there, he could see the well in the center of the square. Zed looked at it silently.

Tap, tap.

“Zed, you should lie down here too. It’s really nice.”

Harto patted the side of the bed with his hand. Zed only glanced over, then calmly unpacked his bag and hung his outerwear on the hanger while he asked,

“Harto, did you notice anything strange when we came into the village?”

“Something strange?”

Harto blinked for a moment, then spoke.

“Hmm… well… do you remember when I said I heard something earlier? The whispering sound?”

“Wasn’t that the kids?”

“No… it was… kind of different…”

Harto frowned in thought, then his eyelids slowly closed. Zed quietly watched him until both his large eyes were completely closed, and then he whispered into his ear.

“Are you sleepy now?”

“Uh?!”

Harto was startled, his body trembling as he opened his eyes. Zed chuckled and stepped back from the wobbly soot-black body.

“I’ll go downstairs and bring up some food. You stay here and rest.”

“Yes… then can I nap a bit? I’ll wake up when you bring food.”

“Sure.”

“When you bring food, you have to wake me up.”

“I said I got it.”

Zed found Harto’s obsession with food a bit ridiculous, but he still thought it was better for him to eat his fill than to go hungry.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

When Zed went downstairs, Charlotte and Madam Mare were in the kitchen preparing dinner. Both had their lips sealed and said nothing. They didn’t even notice Zed had come down. Their expressions showed that they were engrossed in something.

“Can I help with anything?”

“Oh!”

Madam Mare shouted in surprise when Zed appeared as she stirred the pot with a ladle. She forced a smile and declined his offer to help, but Zed didn’t back off.

“To tell the truth… I don’t have much money with me, so I’d like to pay for dinner with some work.”

“Ah, in that case…”

“Then I guess you can move the pile of rotten firewood in the backyard…”

Charlotte spoke and blew her nose into a flower-patterned handkerchief, then walked into the inner kitchen. Madam Mare looked toward the direction she disappeared, then whispered to Zed.

“I’m sorry. It’s something we usually handle ourselves, but the rotten logs are so heavy…”

“It’s fine. Where is the backyard?”

“This way.”

Following Madam Mare, Zed went out to the backyard. He pulled out several rotten logs soaked in rain and moved all the fresh firewood under the tent. When he noticed a leak in the kitchen roof and repaired it, color returned to Madam Mare’s face.

“It’s so reassuring to have a strong man around. Thank you, Zed. Charlotte will be grateful too.”

“Not at all. I’m just glad I could help somehow. Hmm, speaking of which… maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t see any men in the village.”

“Ah…”

“Where did all the young men go?”

When Zed brought up the subject, Madam Mare’s expression darkened. Zed noticed that quickly and spoke again.

“To be honest… I don’t know what you’ll think, but since I came to this village, I’ve found it strange. Even though there’s a festival, there are only children, old people, and women.”

“That’s… well…”

Madam Mare’s face lost its color and turned pale.

“Madam, if something troubling happened to this village… I don’t know if I can help, but I want to try.”

Zed was comforting her when it looked like she could collapse at any moment.

“Mare… I think it’s best we tell this man the truth…”

Charlotte, who had been listening to the conversation for some time, appeared and sniffled with her red nose.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

“Mm…”

Harto tossed and turned under the blanket and woke up to a noise. The rain was falling harder than before, and the slightly open window creaked.

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Harto sat up to close the window.

“Huh?”

As soon as he approached the window, his eyes widened. The villagers were gathered around the well in the center of the square, praying.

“What are they doing?”

He leaned his head out to look closer, but the wind and rain were too strong, so he quickly shut the window.

He thought it would be better to ask Zed.

“Is the food not ready yet?”

Harto scratched his belly and flopped back down on the bed. If he hadn’t been pretending to be a bag, he would have gone downstairs immediately. He clicked his tongue in regret.

“Then maybe I’ll wash up before Zed comes.”

They had climbed down the mountain, and he had stayed under the cloak the whole time, so his body felt sticky. Since he was awake, he decided to wash and headed toward the bathroom in human form.

Creak, creak.

When he turned the faucet on the sink, it only creaked, and no water flowed.

“Ah, right. They said the water doesn’t work because of the drought.”

Harto accepted it and brought his hands together.

Ploc, ploc. A clear stream of water flowed from his palms like a tiny fountain. The water quickly filled the sink and then filled the rolling bucket beside it. He wanted to heat the water with fire, but that would take too long.

He wanted to finish washing quickly and get back into bed, so he lifted the bucket. Splash. He poured the cold water over himself from head to toe. He felt a little cold, but it was bearable.

As Harto was washing, something happened.

…Whisper, whisper.

“W-who’s there…?”

He heard a whisper, just like the one from when they first entered the village.

Feeling a chill, Harto’s eyes widened and he looked around. There was no one in the bathroom. He peeked out to check if Zed had come back, but no one was there.

“I-it must’ve been my imagination… there aren’t ghosts here…”

Wait, or maybe…?

There were monsters, spirits, orcs, and goblins… it wouldn’t make sense if there weren’t ghosts too.

“Ah… no. Thinking like that only makes it worse…”

Harto vigorously shook his head, trying to deny it. Forcing himself to stay calm, he locked the bathroom door and created water again to resume washing.

Then something happened.

[Comrade!]

This time, a much clearer voice echoed through the bathroom.