Ch.106Lying on the bed, throwing off the draped cloth

“B-but still…”

“Or would you rather have me sleep in the same room as your friend? Would that really be okay?”

Frider added with a smirk.

Millia’s face turned tomato red, then immediately went pale.

Perhaps she remembered the story about the son-in-law I had told her before.

“That’s…! Not acceptable.”

It was an unusually firm tone for Millia.

And so, the room assignments were ultimately decided according to my and Frider’s wishes.

Demian turned to the innkeeper.

“We’d like two double rooms. How much will that be?”

“40 silver. It’s a bit pricey, but dinner’s on the house. I’ll bring it to your rooms.”

“That won’t be necessary. We’ve already eaten dinner outside,” Frider abruptly cut in.

“Hmm… why not try it as a late-night snack? Our inn’s stew is famous for its taste.”

Frider stroked his chin, contemplating for a moment before finally nodding in agreement.

“Tsk… if I try it and it’s not good, I’ll have some strong words for you tomorrow.”

“Well, I’ll be expecting plenty of thanks tomorrow then!”

The innkeeper burst into hearty laughter.

—-

Four rooms were lined up on the second floor of the inn.

The old wooden floor creaked constantly, and signs of rot were visible in the corners.

The air was musty with the smell of mold, putrid rot, old straw, and sweat.

Rather than spending time in a place like this for 40 silver, camping might have been better.

My room and Frider’s were located at opposite corners, quite far from each other.

Just before opening the door, Frider approached me and whispered in my ear.

“I assume you already know, but don’t touch the stew. And don’t fall into a deep sleep.”

His voice was permeated with an icy chill.

Even without him saying so, I had no intention of eating it anyway.

I nodded and entered the room.

“…What a smell.”

My face immediately wrinkled in disgust.

“I don’t really notice anything. Haschal, maybe you just have a sensitive nose.”

Demian replied nonchalantly.

No, you’re just dull. The stench is overwhelming.

For what it’s worth as an inn, the room had been tidied up.

A wide bed against one wall had white sheets that seemed recently washed laid over straw, and while the wooden floor had stains here and there, there was no visible trash or dust.

On the opposite wall were a small stove, a table, and a wooden chair, and the outer wall had a wooden window with a latch.

But the smell was unbearable.

The smell of something fishy that had been festering for a long time. Especially from the bed.

Thinking about what might have happened there… it didn’t make me want to lie down at all.

“How do you want to handle bathing?”

“I’ll pass. Frider and Millia probably won’t bathe either.”

There was likely a bathing area somewhere in the inn.

There was a well outside, and I could hear water sounds from one of the rooms.

But judging by the state of the inn, there were probably peepholes drilled somewhere.

I set my bag down on the floor, brought a chair to the window, sat down, opened the window, and lit a cigarette while waiting.

Until the innkeeper brought his supposedly famous stew.

Demian glanced at me, then sat in another chair and passed the time leisurely.

“…Want to try one? The aroma is actually quite nice.”

“No, I’m good.”

He looked so bored sitting there that I casually offered him my cigarette case, but Demian immediately declined my offer without much thought.

Why does everyone dislike this good stuff so much?

I exhaled the deeply inhaled smoke out the window.

From here, I could see the entire village at a glance.

A small rural village. Perhaps about ten households. The villagers numbered less than fifty from what I could see.

They didn’t seem to be farmers as there were no visible farmlands.

Small shops were gathered in the center of the village, and most of the merchants were middle-aged men.

The innkeeper was also a middle-aged man.

Or rather, I hadn’t seen any women since entering this village.

Come to think of it, no elderly, middle-aged, or young women. Even the children running around were all boys.

Hmm.

I think I understand why.

I looked down at the village with a cold smile.

—-

Knock knock.

“May I come in?”

Along with the heavy knocking sound, the innkeeper’s voice echoed through the corridor.

Demian looked at me.

After covering myself with the veil again, I nodded.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and the innkeeper appeared holding a wooden tray.

Steam rose from the stew bowl on the tray.

“Here’s our inn’s famous stew. When you’re done, just leave it outside the door, and I’ll clean it up.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

As Demian took the tray, the innkeeper smiled once more before closing the door and leaving.

After confirming the innkeeper was gone, I spoke to Demian, who was contemplating whether to eat the stew.

“That stew. Are you going to eat it?”

“I’m a bit full, but… since he brought it for us, wouldn’t it be polite to eat it?”

This guy, is he serious?

“Haaa… don’t ever think about wandering around alone. Not even with Millia.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Listen carefully. That stew—”

I explained the reason to Demian. And how to deal with it.

At first, Demian was skeptical… but soon he seemed to understand and nodded.

—-

And then night fell.

Demian was lying in a sleeping bag on the floor with his eyes closed, looking pitiful, while I lay on the bed with a blanket spread underneath me, waiting.

I couldn’t bring myself to lie directly on that bed.

We had left the empty stew bowl outside the door.

It must have been around two in the morning.

Very quietly, a creaking sound was heard. Just as I had expected.

I heightened my senses to observe the movements outside. Nine men.

Right. Three men per woman. How efficient.

Six men headed toward Frider’s room, and the remaining three came to ours.

I could hear their hushed whispers.

‘They ate it all?’

‘Playing hard to get when they were going to eat it anyway. When the white-haired woman refused, I thought we might need to burn some more drugs.’

‘I haven’t even seen the face of this one. Are the guys who went to the other room the only ones getting lucky? Those two are just…’

‘Idiot, women who cover their faces are usually much prettier when you unveil them.’

‘Both of you shut up. I’m opening the door.’

Haaa… really, what a bother in the middle of the night.

I was trying to get some comfortable sleep, and now this.

The door slid open quietly.

Despite the latch being in place, it was as if it had been fake from the beginning.

And three men entered the room.

The middle-aged man who sold dried meat, the innkeeper who recommended the stew, and the young man who had been patrolling like a guard.

All men I had seen in the village during the day.

“What’s this? Why is this bastard sleeping on the floor?”

“Must be a servant. Is that important right now?”

“No, but this woman is strange too… She’s put a blanket on the bed, and she’s wearing that piece of cloth even while sleeping. And something feels…”

“I said, is that important, you idiot? Just take care of that guy and let’s see this woman’s face already.”

The young guard drew his knife and approached Demian, while the other two came toward me.

I guess even for this kind of thing, they have their own order?

“Must be uncomfortable sleeping like that… let me help you.”

The innkeeper reached for my face and yanked off my veil.

And our eyes met.

“Hueeeeegh!”

The innkeeper who saw my face screamed as if his soul had left his body.

“Thanks for the help. It was getting a bit stuffy.”

I reached out, grabbed his head, and applied pressure with my fingers.

It felt like squeezing a slightly frozen water balloon.

With a squelching sound, the innkeeper’s head turned into stew.

Bright red stew with chunks of meat dripped through my fingers.

“W-what is this?! A monster…!”

The middle-aged merchant who had been reaching for my body screamed at the sight of his companion instantly transforming into a stew-man.

The shock and terror of witnessing something beyond imagination, something incomprehensible.

His expression was contorted as if his heart might jump out.

So I helped it do just that.

My outstretched right hand pierced through the merchant’s chest and emerged from his back.

Clutching a fist-sized chunk of meat.

“Guhhhk….!”

Excited by its first taste of outside air since birth, the heart pulsated vigorously.

The bed, soaked with the blood of countless travelers and the bodily fluids of village men, greedily absorbed the new drink.

The two middle-aged men collapsed side by side, trembling.

Literally, middle-aged men with bowed heads.

The smell of ammonia began to mix with the fishy odor.

Oh right, my blanket…!

Remembering something I’d forgotten, I looked down at the blanket covering the bed.

A blanket soaked with blood, brain matter, and even urine. It was already worse than a rag.

…Never mind. I’ll probably find something better if I search the village thoroughly.

I wiped the blood from my body with a still-clean part of the blanket and got up from the bed.

“Haschal, you were right. My goodness. That was a close call.”

Demian approached after taking the guard’s knife and cutting his throat.

“See? Didn’t I tell you? Never trust people who offer you food at a rural inn.”

Because most of them drug the food to knock you out, then kill the men and rape the women before using them as slaves.

And they sell all your equipment too.

Seeing that there were no women in the village… it seems the entire village had been collaborating in this scheme.

“I wonder if Millia is okay?”

“Frider knew about it too, so she should be fine.”

It made sense why Frider, who had initially refused the stew, reluctantly accepted when it was offered again.

It’s much easier to pretend to be fooled and then counterattack at night.

If he had continued to refuse the stew, these guys would probably have burned some sleeping incense in the middle of the night.

Just as they had mentioned in their chatter.

Sure enough, horrific screams began to echo from the other end of the corridor.

He’s so violent, really.

So barbaric. How much better it would be if he finished things quietly and cleanly like us.

I dusted off my fingertips and headed toward Frider’s room.

Not that he needed help, but just to watch the show.