Walls collapsed from monster attacks. Houses made of wood rotting away without repair even after being exposed to rain. Air that felt completely devoid of any traces of life, as if no living creature had stayed there for ages, and filthy roads too.
The state of the village was miserable. As if it had been abandoned for decades.
‘West would have treated this place like a garbage dump.’
It was natural that Duke West didn’t suspect Jake would head here. Even if Jake knew of this village’s existence, he didn’t expect Jake would flee here.
If one couldn’t even obtain food in the village they hid in after going through the trouble of escaping, no one would bother taking refuge here.
At this point, what became curious wasn’t Duke West’s intentions but Jake’s.
Had the hero, who acted like he knew nothing of the world, truly been unaware of this place’s condition? Or did he know what kind of treatment the people living here received but pretended not to know, choosing to use them to avoid the Duke’s pursuit?
Klad examined Jake, who was blankly staring at the village. Jake, who noticed that gaze, turned to look at Klad and asked.
“Is this place a ruin?”
“This is the village you suggested we come to.”
“This is a village?”
Jake’s eyes widened as he jumped.
“How is this a village? I’ve passed through countless cities since being appointed as the hero, but I’ve never seen a village like this.”
Judging by his reaction, it was clear he hadn’t known.
Klad’s tone softened a bit.
“You suggested coming without even knowing the village’s condition?”
“I merely remembered a village I saw on a map. The map didn’t show the village’s situation.”
“Are you sure you saw this village on a map?”
“Of course. There’s actually a village right before my eyes now, isn’t there? Though I’m not sure if it’s okay to call it a village…”
“I’ve never seen this village marked on a map.”
“You must not have examined the map carefully.”
“Are you picking a fight?”
Of course, Jake wasn’t picking a fight but was being sincere. That fact made Klad even more irritated.
“If you thought my claim that there was a village here was wrong, why didn’t you say anything until now?”
“Because the last time I looked at a map was a very long time ago. I just thought a new village might have been established in the meantime.”
Jake examined Klad’s face.
Did that mean he’d lived long enough that it wouldn’t be strange for a new village to have been built in between?
“I have heard that mages have particularly long lifespans and maintain their youth for a long time. You must be older than you look, Klad.”
Klad grabbed Jake’s head, which had been examining his face, and turned it back forward.
“Klad, touching a noble is—”
“A grave offense, right. Yeah, just look ahead.”
Jake fixed his gaze on the village before his eyes as Klad said.
Although Klad had committed a grave offense, since he prepared very appetizing fruit every morning, Jake decided to forgive him just this once.
“Where did you say you saw the map with this village marked on it?”
“In Father’s office.”
“What were the other maps like?”
“Other maps?”
“The map you took when you headed to Audrit. Was the map you took then the same map?”
“No, that map was one I purchased from the largest general store in the capital. It was a valuable map with safe zones and shortcuts marked on it, so I bought it for 1 gold coin.”
He’d clearly been massively overcharged, but that wasn’t what was important right now.
“How was this village marked on that map?”
“I only checked the closest route to Audrit, so I don’t remember.”
“Think carefully.”
“Mm.”
Jake furrowed his brow seriously as he racked his memory.
“On that map… this village wasn’t there.”
“As I thought.”
The map Jake said he saw in Duke West’s office must have been an unofficial document the Duke kept separately.
A map that marked and managed villages unknown to the world.
That must also be why there was no road leading to this village. Since there was no village, there would be no one who’d bother to pave a road to come here.
‘Duke West must have also founded this village.’
Then why?
Klad frowned and carefully examined the village once more. Not a single small light leaked from the village. When time passed and the sun set, it would be so dark you couldn’t see an inch ahead. No warmth could be felt at all, making it unbelievable that living creatures resided there.
Just then, from inside the village where only dust was flying about, human shadows could be faintly seen.
“There’s someone there, Klad.”
“Wait.”
Klad grabbed Jake, who was about to run ahead. Perhaps Jake also realized his mistake, as he didn’t grumble about how a commoner dared touch a noble so carelessly.
“It could be an enemy or a trap. Don’t act on your own.”
“I’ll be careful.”
Klad took the lead in place of Jake and stepped into the village. The shadows that had been watching this way while holding their breath hid their bodies in the darkness as if frightened.
Jake, who had been watching that, suddenly realized something.
The shapes of the shadows were extremely small.
“Klad, they’re children.”
“I said wait.”
Jake, who judged that the identity of the small shadows must be the village’s children, tried to run toward them on his own again. It was Klad’s role to grab and stop the unguarded Jake.
‘Does he not know that one shouldn’t move carelessly in situations like this?’
Being weak was an innate problem so he could accept that, but his insides burned at the fact that he had to teach even such common sense one by one while traveling together.
“Don’t rashly judge everything by what you see. Among other races and monsters, there are many who are as small as children. Do you want to run over and get surrounded by a goblin horde?”
“Are you saying they’re goblins?”
“No. Those are human children. But just because they’re children doesn’t mean it’s not a trap.”
Though he said that, Klad had already confirmed that there were no dangerous elements in the village. There were no enemies or traps here.
However, Klad hoped Jake, who was in a fugitive’s position, would develop the habit of being alert and cautious, so he approached the shadows carefully.
Rustle.
The children, who had been wary at the visit of outsiders they were seeing for the first time, hesitated for a long while before gathering courage and approaching this way. Rather than judging Klad and Jake to be safe, they must have been more driven by the desire to check if there was anything to gain even if it meant taking the risk of approaching strangers.
They looked at Jake and Klad with gazes hoping for even a scrap of bread to fall. Seeing their scrawny limbs, tattered clothes, and grimy appearance from not washing properly made him want to create and share food even if he had none.
Klad placed his hand on the pouch at his waist to check how much of the fruit he’d gathered remained. While it would be difficult for ordinary villagers to scour the dense forest looking for fruit or edible plants, it wasn’t very difficult for Klad.
‘I can just get more food while traveling.’
Even if he gave away everything except what they’d eat today, it wouldn’t cause any harm. It was regrettable that they couldn’t eat their fill and rest comfortably here as originally planned, but it would be better to find a large city in that time instead. That would be better for gathering information too.
Perhaps noticing that Klad was thinking of showing kindness, the children gradually drew closer.
Jake, who had been standing still observing the situation, grabbed Klad’s arm.
“Klad.”
“What?”
“Are you thinking of sharing the food?”
“Yeah.”
“I haven’t permitted you to do so.”
Was he opposing it? Honestly, it was unexpected. He’d thought Jake would be the first to step forward, insisting they needed to create and distribute food even if they had none.
‘Is he trying to clarify the hierarchy?’
It was absurd that he’d try to bring up nobles and whatnot even in a situation like this, but thinking about how Jake was also from West, it wasn’t strange.
On top of that, he was the hero, so he might not have liked that the party member who took on the role of ‘servant’ was trying to touch the food on his own, whatever his intentions.
Klad answered roughly, thinking to just play along.
“I’m going to share some food with the children.”
“No.”
“Did you forget that I’m the one who got this fruit?”
“If my person obtained it for me, then it’s mine.”
“…?”
Only then did Klad realize that Jake truly had no intention of sharing the fruit with the children.
It wasn’t about showing off or clarifying the hierarchy within the party.
Jake was sincerely opposing Klad’s actions.
‘Why?’
Klad had thought Jake would give away everything he had to everyone in the village even if it meant becoming penniless and suffering, saying things like ‘generosity is a noble’s virtue.’
Since he’d been watching Klad, he should know better than anyone that it wouldn’t even take a few hours for him to obtain the same amount of fruit.
There was no way he’d made this decision out of anxiety that they wouldn’t be able to obtain food anymore.
“Um…”
One child who had only been watching approached hesitantly, thinking to appeal to their sympathy. In the dark atmosphere, the child reached out a hand toward Jake.
Smack—
“Ah…!”
Jake stiffened his face as if something dirty had touched his body and swatted the child’s hand away. Then the children who had been lingering around scattered and disappeared in a flash, startled.
Silence fell in an instant.
