episode_0026

A small old man with a very bent back.

Probably around 60 to 70 years old.

Although he had long white hair and deep wrinkles on his face, it was difficult to get the impression that he was weak.

This is because the old man’s posture was too upright to give such an impression.

The old man’s eyes were soft but sharp as he looked at me with wrinkled eyes.

The old man’s hand holding the cane was firmly fixed on the handle without the slightest shaking, and his deep, calm voice was full of strength.

Although it was my first time seeing this person, I was able to easily guess the identity of the old man.

“Are you the chief of Glummachi Village?”

“Yes, it is. My name is Corbin, and he is the chief of this small village.”

“As expected, you were the village chief. Sorry for the late introduction. My name is Elin. This time I came to visit your village.”

Thinking back to the conversations between NPCs I saw in the game, I could barely come up with a plausible answer.

Wouldn’t this be considered a passing grade?

“I… … Chief? Elin, go on an adventure. So at Glummarch Castle… … .”

“Silvia? Am I not talking to a customer right now?”

The village chief’s voice was soft, but it contained a clear warning.

Sylvia’s shoulders shrank greatly after hearing the village chief’s warning.

I can’t help it.

I lightly touched Sylvia’s shrinking shoulder and took a step forward.

“Ma, wizard?”

“It is just as Sylvia said. I’m a little embarrassed to say it myself, but I’m an adventurer.”

For a moment, something strange appeared in the village chief’s eyes as he looked at me.

“Ho, you are an adventurer. This was really rude.”

Is it because I went out of my way to protect Sylvia? Or maybe I heard you were an adventurer?

Either way, the change was extremely brief.

“Adventurers who visit our village are always welcome. The various adventures you have experienced will serve as an example to the young people in the village.”

The village chief said, shaking his head weakly, as older people of that age usually do.

Sensing that the story would be long, I quickly opened my mouth to finish it.

“Thank you very much for welcoming a traveler who suddenly came without any notice. What I want to say is… … .”

“In that sense, I would like to invite the precious guests who visited our village to a meal. How about that?”

The village chief cut me off very simply and explained his business.

This is a speech technique that only elderly people who are hard of hearing can use without being criticized for being rude.

What should I say to gently reject this offer?

Any more than this, getting involved with people is extremely dangerous.

Anyway, now I am in the body of an undead.

Should I just tell you everything about my business right here and now and then run away?

It might look a little weird this way, but anyway, you don’t have to face any more threats than this… … .

Growling

As always, my body, which was honest about its desires, rejected my will.

As the conversation continued quietly, the sound of my stomach was so loud.

It was so bad that even people walking nearby started looking at me with surprised eyes.

“It looks like you were hungry a lot.”

The village chief was still looking at me with a gentle expression.

Would it be too much of a paranoia to think that he felt a hint of ridicule on that face?

My face turned red and I hugged my stomach with both hands.

I really don’t like this body!

It seems like quite a bit of time passed while heading from the castle to the village.

After a brief conversation, when we entered the village chief’s house, the setting sun had set over the horizon, coloring the small village in scarlet.

The meal began shortly after we sat down following the village chief’s instructions.

As expected from a rural farmhouse, dinner was very simple.

A simple farmhouse table with only a loaf of bread, soup, and a piece of cheese in the corner of the plate.

To be honest, it was an extremely poor table.

The dark-colored bread was so hard that my teeth couldn’t fit in it, so I had to soak it in the soup for a long time to barely be able to eat it, and the soup was so thin that the name soup was meaningless, but it was almost like hot water.

A piece of hard cheese placed on the edge of the plate seemed to be the ultimate luxury and a gesture of sincerity to the guests visiting the village.

However, all of those things were also ‘food’ that I had encountered for the first time in a long time.

I bowed my head to Sylvia, who put down a plate of food in front of me, and then started eating.

First, cut half of the hard bread and soak it in the soup while biting off the other half as hard as you can.

It was not easy to bite into the tough, hard bread, but I was able to put a fairly large chunk into my mouth thanks to the sound I bit into.

While savoring the taste of the bread filling my mouth, I use my spoon to swallow the soup in a hurry.

The moment you put it in your mouth, the unique savory taste of grains and the soft aroma of the soup spread throughout your mouth, making you smile without even realizing it.

Finally, I took out the bread that had been soaked in the soup and took a bite.

The bread, which was hard enough to chew properly, became soft enough to bite into when soaked in hot soup.

What else do you need? This is happiness.

“You must have been really hungry.”

“Yes? Oh, yes. It’s been a long time since I ate it… … Ah! Thank you.”

Her eyes were fixed on me throughout the meal.

They say there’s nothing more scandalous than watching other people eat, but I think I can make some excuse for her.

Even if it’s just me, I’ll be mesmerized when I see a pale-skinned pretty girl greedily eating bread in front of me like a bandit.

Of course, I was aware that my actions would seem strange.

But it can’t be helped.

This is the first meal in a full week.

No, what is a week?

If you include countless deaths, it’s probably more than that.

Even if it is a poor meal that is embarrassing to even be called a meal, the feeling of food coming into a body that has been starving for a long time… … It was truly ecstatic.

What on earth are you doing to feel satisfied while eating while you’re undead?

Having finished my meal in an instant with an attitude that could be called combative, I now felt extremely satisfied and sipped the fruit wine in my glass.

It is a very attractive drink with a faint apple scent.

Are there apples in this world too?

Or perhaps the fruit called Nero Apple that was in the basket?

While I was thinking this, Sylvia was clearing away the dishes and glaring at the crumbs on my plate with great suspicion.

Their eyes seem to be asking how they can eat something like this so deliciously.

She’s probably imagining things like ‘the magic that allows you to eat hard bread deliciously’ right now.

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t treat you properly due to my poor circumstances. The food was so poor that I don’t know if you would have eaten it in your mouth.”

“No. It was delicious enough. Thank you so much for your hospitality.”

After speaking, the village chief and I smiled at the same time.

The village chief also watched me eat all the time, so if he asked me if the food was good for my mouth, he must have said it out of politeness.

The village chief, who saw that Sylvia was also pouring fruit wine on his side, gave her a wink.

It was a subtle gesture, but its meaning seemed clear.

After a while, Sylvia finished organizing everything, bowed her head towards us and walked out the door.

“So, that’s the story from before.”

As Sylvia was anxious to go out, the village chief began to look at me with a very serious expression.

In response to the sudden change in atmosphere, I naturally adjusted my posture and sat down.

This means that the real start begins now.

“Before I ask, I need to confirm one thing first. What is Elin’s true identity? Why were you in that place, Glummarch Castle?”

This is more like an interrogation than a question.

But I could understand.

A pale-skinned beautiful girl who suddenly appears in a place considered ominous.

It was a situation that no one could help but be suspicious of, and in reality, it was such a situation.

If you look at the results, it is true that an undead named me appeared in a place that was considered ominous.

Of course, these facts cannot be stated as they are.

‘After repeatedly killing the dungeon boss 100,000 times, I was cursed and woke up in the body of an undead boss monster. However, I am a good undead who does not attack humans.’

That’s right, isn’t it a perfect story to die for?

Instead of bringing up the story, I kept repeating the story that had been in my mind throughout the meal.

If you stay calm and say what you think, you will be able to get through it.

“I think I should apologize first. You may remember that when we first met, I introduced myself as an adventurer. But I am not an adventurer.”

The village chief’s eyebrows twitched when he heard what I said.

A look of disbelief immediately began to spread across his face, but he didn’t even blink.

It’s okay, this is the reaction I had already expected.

In order to complete a perfect lie, sometimes you have to admit to small lies.

He lowered his voice to make it sound mysterious enough and spoke low, as if he was chanting.

“It is truly an honor to reveal my true identity to the village chief. My name is Elin, and I am an agent of the secret society Arcane Order.”