Ch.116Aftermath

The trembling eyes looked at Frider like frightened beasts.

“Uuugh? Woooo?”

“Aahh…”

Animal cries rather than human language.

“Breeding pen” was truly an accurate description.

This was why not a single woman could be seen in this village.

Such vile acts inevitably resulted in children being born.

Against the mothers’ wishes, of course.

Their solution was simple.

Male children were raised in the village and made part of the community.

After all, they needed a constant supply of young labor to maintain the village.

But what if a female child was born?

The breeding pen was a space created for that purpose.

A home for livestock who would be born here, raised without any education, and discarded when they grew old.

Twelve women of various sizes huddled together in the corner of the room, clutching infants who couldn’t even walk yet.

They trembled violently, shrinking away as if wary of the strange intruder.

Their limbs were intact. There was no need to cut their tendons.

They wouldn’t even understand the concept of resistance.

For them, even the word “rescue” had no meaning. This narrow basement was their entire world.

If someone tried to take them outside, they would likely resist.

It was a system so disgustingly well-organized.

Hard to believe it was established by mere village folk.

‘Devil worshippers.’

Frider recalled a story he had heard long ago.

Evil cultists who worshipped wicked devils, committing terrible atrocities and practicing strange arts.

Especially the followers of Lilith were known to engage in such depravity.

Perhaps such people had been involved in founding this village.

Though now it was filled with nothing but pathetic villagers.

“Gyaaaaah…!”

A cry interrupted Frider’s thoughts.

Women growling like animals while clutching their nursing infants.

Frider gazed at them with mixed emotions before closing the door and stepping outside.

It was a miserable sight, but these women had to be left alone for now.

This wasn’t a situation that just four people could resolve quickly.

Frider’s eyes narrowed slightly in frustration.

—-

The “playroom” was quite elaborate.

The interior was still hot with lingering warmth, and the smell of sweat and blood was thick enough to be visible.

Wooden frames. Old beds. Tables covered with wet cloths.

Bottles of alcohol and crumpled pieces of fabric scattered everywhere. Liquids pooled on the floor and sticky stains on the walls.

It was a space Frider didn’t even want to step into.

There were supposed to be twenty women in the basement, right?

Pol’s words were true—not a single woman remained here.

The village men had taken them back to the breeding pen before heading to the chapel.

Until then, they couldn’t have imagined the terrible fate that awaited them.

Frider looked around the room, searching for anything that could cover bodies.

A couple of vests that the men had taken off. A tablecloth that looked less dirty than the rest.

A piece of women’s armor that seemed to have been left behind because no one would wear it. That was all.

The rest of the fabrics were dripping with something, making Frider reluctant to touch them.

Even if taken, wrapping their bodies in such cloth would be more disrespectful to the women.

—-

When Frider returned to the education room, it was still filled with crying.

The female adventurer leaned against the wall, gritting her teeth and crying, while the woman holding her daughter pressed her cheek against her daughter’s head, shoulders trembling.

Frider approached the mother and daughter silently and patted the woman’s shoulder.

She looked up at Frider. Her tear-filled face was soaked in grief.

“Ah! Sir Knight… Jane… my daughter, she can’t speak… what should I do now…!”

“…I’ll take her to the priestesses later. They’ll take care of her.”

Frider couldn’t offer more comfort than that.

Consoling others wasn’t something familiar.

Frider took off the fur coat and shook it vigorously.

Blood that had soaked into it splattered against the prison wall.

‘…At least the lining is still intact.’

The black fur wrapped warmly around the mother and daughter’s backs.

“Thank you…”

“I’ll bring someone to help, so keep wearing that for now.”

Frider adjusted the coat around them.

Though the coat reeked of blood, it was better than the villagers’ clothes or the tablecloths they had used as mats.

Frider handed the armor to the female adventurer.

“This armor…”

The woman mumbled blankly at the sight of the armor before her.

“Isn’t it yours?”

“Yes… it is mine…”

The adventurer stared at the armor with a look of love and hatred, then raised her head again.

Her wet eyes wavered with regret as she looked at Frider.

“…Thank you for saving me.”

“Hold out your arm.”

Ignoring what she had said earlier, Frider calmly picked up the armor.

With her tendons cut, it would be difficult for her to put it on herself.

Especially armor, not just ordinary clothes.

The female adventurer extended her trembling arm to Frider.

Frider knelt on one knee and helped her put on the armor.

“How am I supposed to live like this…?”

“Who knows? Live however you want. We’ll find a way to fix your tendons.”

The female adventurer chuckled, perhaps thinking it was just empty comfort.

But Frider was serious.

‘I’ll have to ask the white-haired one.’

The candidate for Elpinel’s saint could probably do it.

Though her values were somewhat problematic, her holy power was already at the level of a saint.

Frider gave the vests and tablecloth to the remaining women.

With the shortage of fabric, three of them ended up wrapped like bundles in the tablecloth.

“Now, wait here for a moment. I’ll be back soon.”

Frider headed to the surface.

It would be better to have Haschal’s help to carry this many people.

======[Haschal]======

…I should probably get going now.

I tossed away the finished cigarette and stood up.

The blazing flames were starting to spread this way.

The maggots I’d left on the street must have been roasted by now, as the screams that had been echoing had completely stopped.

After roughly shaking off the human residue on my body, I dashed westward.

The headwind pleasantly brushed against my cheeks.

The blood soaking my entire body was blown away by the wind, like mud being cleaned off shoes with an air gun.

By now, Millia must have finished her “kobold hunting” too?

Teaching them to see the enemy as animals rather than people, and making them repeat it in extreme situations until it’s imprinted in their minds.

The fastest way to turn raw recruits into soldiers.

I learned that way as a recruit too, and I’ve used it many times since, so I could be certain.

Recruits who trembled even while holding guns would transform into elite soldiers who fired machine guns at the sight of enemies after just one session.

Sometimes there’s the side effect of not being able to distinguish between enemies and civilians… but Demian or I can take care of that.

—-

Before long, I began to hear noises like children crying.

I looked up toward the sound.

On the eastern hill, I saw the figure of a girl on horseback looking down at me.

It was Millia.

In front of her, the bodies of village men were scattered everywhere.

Meat chunks with holes in their heads, leaking blood and brain matter.

A satisfying sight.

This should be enough to confirm that Millia had also steeled her resolve.

As a knight, that is.

I rushed over to her in one bound.

The children who had been crying hysterically at the sight of me fainted with foam at their mouths.

I wasn’t particularly surprised as this was expected.

It was actually more convenient that they weren’t struggling, since we had to take them to the chapel anyway.

“Ah, Haschal! You’re here.”

“You’ve worked hard, Millia. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine. They were just kobolds after all.”

Millia smiled sweetly.

She was completely perceiving the enemy as kobolds. So perfectly that she was deceiving herself.

At that level, the opponents probably actually appeared as kobolds in Millia’s eyes.

She seemed to have taken my advice too well.

Hmm… is that okay?

Usually, when adaptation happens too quickly, it often causes side effects later…

But well, that’s still just an early symptom.

It shouldn’t be a big problem. She’ll return to normal soon enough with some gentle coaxing.

“That’s good. Let’s head to the chapel now. Frider and Demian should be finishing up too.”

“What should we do with these children?”

Millia pointed at the unconscious children.

“…You’re not suggesting we leave them here?”

Is she suggesting we abandon them here knowing full well they’ll burn to death?

That would be a rather serious symptom…

Young boys with smooth chins without a trace of beard. They might be innocent.

If being born itself is a sin, I have nothing to argue against, but… by my standards at least, they weren’t criminals who deserved immediate death.

“No, of course not…! Come on, Haschal. I was just wondering how to transport unconscious children.”

“Oh, that’s what you meant? I misunderstood.”

It was just my concern.

I was worried that Millia might have developed some disturbing belief like “all people are kobolds.”

“Well, we could just tie them to the horse’s back.”

“Ah, that would work.”

Millia nodded and dismounted, then carefully loaded the children onto the horse’s back.

I tore clothes from the corpses to make suitable cords and handed them to Millia.

“Here, tie them with these.”

“Thanks, Haschal.”

Millia tied the children securely. To prevent them from falling off.

—-

I walked toward the chapel with Millia, who was holding the horse’s reins.

Leaving the blazing village behind us.

“By the way, Haschal, how are we going to put out that fire?”

“The fire? Won’t it just go out on its own after it burns enough?”

It was a fire I had impulsively started due to old memories and rising irritation.

How could I have thought about how to extinguish it?

But there was no need to worry.

It would die down after burning the village and its surroundings a bit.

“If the whole village burns down, where will the remaining people stay…?”

Huh…?

Now that she mentions it…

I hadn’t thought about that…!

Millia had pointed out something I hadn’t considered.

She wasn’t wrong. The condition of the rescued women was likely abnormal.

Even if we brought people to take care of them, it would take at least a few days.

So, during that time, both we and the women would need to stay here.

…In the ashes that I had completely burned down.

“……”

Millia narrowed her eyes and stared at me, who couldn’t give any answer.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t think about it at all…?”

Yes. I honestly didn’t think about it at all.

Sweating nervously, I pointed at the sky with my finger.

“Um… should we pray to the heavens? We’ve worked so hard, maybe the gods will help us?”

“Haschal……”

Millia’s gaze turned subtly cold, as if telling me not to talk nonsense.

I know it’s ridiculous too, but…

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I fidgeted with my long side hair, avoiding her gaze.

Just as I was about to say something to appease her—

– RUMBLE!

Thunder roared.

Both Millia and I looked up at the sky.

Dark clouds had gathered in the sky that had been full of ash and smoke.

My eyes trembled involuntarily at the unbelievable sight.

No way. Really?

It was just a joke…?

Bewilderment filled my mind.

Rain began to fall.

One drop. Then another.

Cold raindrops beat against my face. Getting heavier and heavier.

Soon, a downpour was unleashed.

The torrential rain gradually extinguished the flames consuming the village.

“My goodness…”

Millia stared blankly at the sky with her mouth open in astonishment.