DMHS 37

The men sitting beside him also avoided their eyes, which made it clear they were all part of the bandit gang.

‘What a coincidence.’

Daisy, having confirmed they were bandits, placed her hand on the hilt at her waist.

Kian reached out to stop Daisy, then stepped forward.

“Since fate made us meet again, let us forget past grudges for now. As long as you do not attack us first, we will not draw our swords. What do you say?”

The King of the Crouching Wolf answered while crouching.

“Really?”

“I swear in the name of the Goddess.”

The King of the Crouching Wolf pressed flat to the ground.

“I can only be grateful to meet such noble people at death’s door. Boys, hurry and greet the masters!”

“Please help us!”

“We beg you!”

Kian, suddenly promoted to “master,” checked their condition.

All of the bandits had black bruises rising on their fingers, toes, and extremities.

But the other symptoms varied. One had a fever that went up and down. One coughed blood. Four showed no other symptoms.

“Since when did this begin?”

“Just yesterday.”

Kian looked at the bandit chief with startled eyes.

“Yesterday?”

Kian then asked Aslan.

“When did you find these people, shaman?”

“I also found them yesterday. I saw them entering the city and followed them because I felt something ominous. Then I discovered black soil, and the sickness began.”

“That is right. Among us, he was the only one without symptoms, so we asked him to request help from another village. During the night, one of our comrades died…”

The bandit chief added with a gloomy face. Putting both accounts together, the black soil had been discovered and the sickness had appeared yesterday.

“Where is the black soil?”

“In the drill ground of the Chronos knights.”

Kian looked outside the window. Aslan, looking at the darkness and the falling rain, spoke as if to confirm.

“Now it is dark and raining, so it will be difficult to confirm even if you go. It is late anyway, so spend the night here and see it in the morning.”

“Understood. For now, I will try treating them with the relics.”

Wearing gloves, Kian reached his hand toward Daisy.

“Give me the relic, and the rest of you move to another building. There are many houses nearby. Pick a suitable place and enter. The relic is strong enough to protect three of you together.”

Daisy strongly opposed.

“I cannot leave Sir Kian in a dangerous place where sickness spreads.”

“The sickness only began yesterday. It is too early to be sure it spreads from person to person.”

“Then I will stay here as well.”

Daisy clenched her jaw.

‘This is why knights are troublesome.’

Kian scratched his brow with his finger and changed the target.

“Sir Frederick, take Sir Daisy and Lord Lucien to another building.”

Frederick, who had been standing far back at the entrance of the temple, pointed at himself.

“M-me?”

“There is no one I can trust but you, Sir Frederick. Preventing infection comes first.”

“What about you, Sir Kian?”

“I am fine. Since childhood I have suffered many diseases, so I have immunity to most viruses.”

It was only half true.

Frederick glanced between Daisy and Lucien, then spoke.

“Then, Sir Daisy and Lord Lucien, will you come with me to another building?”

It was Lucien who ended the awkward situation.

“Both of you leave. Only me and my mate will stay here.”

“No. I cannot let you remain in danger, Lord Lucien…”

“Redhead, do you think I would ever be in danger in a place like this?”

His lowered gaze was deadly.

Lucien snatched Daisy’s relic, shoved food into their arms, and drove them out.

“Weaklings like you should keep away. Do not get in the way and become baggage.”

Bang.

Lucien shut the temple door and handed the relic to Kian.

“This is what you needed, right?”

‘Fast.’

“…Thank you.”

Kian gathered the people in a circle.

“The relic works slowly. There will be no change right away, but after a night passes, the symptoms will clearly improve.”

He placed one relic in the circle made by the people.

“This one will protect us from curses.”

Then Kian pressed the other relic into the bandit chief’s hand.

“And this one will cure your sickness. Hold it for one hour each, then pass it to the next. With seven of you, after seven hours all will have felt its effect.”

“Ohhh…”

“Thank you, master. Please just do not let us die.”

“Goddess, save us.”

When night came, the weather turned cold. The bandits lit the firewood they had gathered the night before.

Kian and Lucien sat on the pews at the entrance of the temple and ate supper. The meal was dried jerky and bread.

Normally, Frederick would have cooked with the supplies from the subspace pouch, but in today’s situation, that was impossible.

The bandits also finished their meal with the food they had brought. It was when the mood of the meal was starting to end.

Bang!

Suddenly, the temple door swung wide open. There stood a man wearing a robe as white as snow.

All eyes turned to him, and he shouted in a louf voice. His strong voice blew away the gloom that had filled the temple.

“With rain falling and thunder striking! Today is so scary I might just drop dead!”

He stormed in with the wind and rain, and he looked around at the people gathered in the temple without hesitation.

“But since I cannot just die of fright, may I trouble you for one night’s stay?”

At the appearance of the stranger, Aslan stood up.

“Who are you? This place is being used to isolate and treat those infected with the plague.”

“P-p-plague?”

The man stumbled back and tripped over his own feet. Kian caught his arm and helped him up.

“Let me check your hands.”

The man’s fingers, exposed from his robe, were long and thin. Kian examined them closely before letting go.

“There are no black marks. If you are a traveler who lost his way, there is another building where our companions are. I will guide you there.”

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

Before Kian knew it, Lucien had wedged himself between them and looked at the man with displeasure.

“I will take him.”

Without giving time for another word, Lucien dragged the man by the back of his neck outside.

Aslan facepalmed and sighed.

“A guest suddenly appearing in a city where the plague just started… it is strange in many ways. He has no relic, yet he is not cursed. Who could he be?”

One of the bandits rolled his eyes.

“Could he be a demon disguised as a human?”

Exclamation marks flashed in everyone’s minds.

‘A demon!’

Another bandit clung to Aslan’s arm.

“Then we are all doomed? Can’t your shamanism drive out a demon, Sir Aslan?”

“I have never seen a demon myself, so I cannot say. But I will do my best to keep you from harm. You must help me as well.”

“Of course!”

The noisy stir continued for quite a while.

Only when it was time to sleep did the bandits regain their senses. They arranged a watch rotation in case of intruders. They decided to stay awake one by one, passing the relic every hour.

As they busied themselves preparing places to sleep, Kian went to the bandit chief.

“King of the Crouching Wolves.”

The chief flinched and waved him off.

“No. Please do not call me that.”

“I have something to ask. The comrade who died last night, what happened to him?”

“We were all sick, but that one burned with fever the worst. He suffered from high fever and did not live through the night.”

“Where did you bury the body?”

“With things as they are, we buried him in the empty lot behind the temple.”

“What did you do when you entered the city yesterday?”

Asked one question after another, the chief looked troubled.

“D-do you think we stole something here?”

“Did I say that?”

“Ugh… I must speak honestly, then?”

“Of course. That way I can find a way to cure your sickness.”

The chief hesitated, then finally let out a deep breath.

“It was the one who died yesterday who said we should come. He said since all the people are dead and only the buildings remain, there might be valuables hidden inside.”

“Yes.”

“But surely we were not the only ones who thought of it in these past years. The city had already been looted, and all that was left were empty buildings. We were cursing our luck and about to leave when we found ‘that building.’”

The chief swallowed.

“A building made of pure gold.”

According to his explanation, the golden building had been covered in clay. By chance, one of them touched a corner, and the hardened clay crumbled away to reveal the gold beneath.

“A three-story building made entirely of gold. Can you imagine? We were so excited we began scraping away the clay. Then one by one, they started collapsing with screams. That was when we found our hands blackened.”

“……”

“After that came the fever, the coughing blood, the chaos. Someone shouted, ‘It is a curse!’ and we fled to the temple in a panic. While we were trembling there, we met shaman Aslan on his pilgrimage and begged for help.”