episode_0036

A night where only the waning moon faintly illuminates the surroundings.

In the thick darkness, several people walk through the already blackened field.

Crackle, crackle.

The sound of ten million quickly passing by.

Among them, one particularly agile person quickly moves back and forth along the edge of the field.

“Gyah!”

One of the girls who was chasing him falls down on the ground.

If the man hadn’t accepted it, he would have been badly hurt.

“Thank you, Chief.”

“There are not only vines but also many farm tools in the field, so you always have to be careful. Especially at night.”

“Joe, I’ll be careful. Lloyd, that guy, does he have night vision or something? ”

“Shh.”

Lloyd raised his hand to calm the crowd.

Because from here on out, I want to focus.

I squatted on the floor.

“It’s definitely dark.”

Dim light.

The stems above the field visible beyond are black.

It appears that not only the potatoes are blackened, but the entire plant is also affected.

Let’s touch the tip carefully, the leaf is crushed and looks ugly.

Anyone could tell that he was sick.

“No. It’s unlikely to be a disease.”

Lloyd boldly ruled out that possibility.

There were several grounds for this.

First of all, this is Zenya’s scope of activity.

She said she went to every guild in East Tan with the potatoes, but still couldn’t find it.

Of course, it’s possible that the crop-related guilds in East Tan lack the ability.

“You probably couldn’t find it because it wasn’t really a disease.”

It’s a bit more likely and more reasonable to think that way. The people of this town are probably experts when it comes to potatoes.

“Furthermore, diseases take a long time to spread.”

While I was so lost in thought, the village chief came up to me and asked.

“It’s taking so long… It sounds like someone intentionally made the potato field like this.”

Lloyd glanced back at him.

Julia and Zhenya were sitting far away.

I guess it would be okay if we went a little deeper.

“Be honest. Have there been any recent attacks on this town?”

At Lloyd’s question, the village chief takes a deep breath.

It seems to be correct.

“… Why do you think so?”

“There are many reasons. The village chief’s extremely exclusive attitude. The traps installed all over the village. Above all.”

Lloyd looked around.

A flat land that extends far away to where the hill is.

“There seems to be a treasure buried here.”

“You.”

The village chief’s voice died down in an instant.

Lloyd raised both hands calmly.

“Of course I have no intention of stealing it. I just came here because I was asked to do so.”

“How much do you know?”

“I don’t really know anything. I just have a feeling that there’s something important or valuable here.”

The village chief’s eyes shine bright blue even in the darkness.

As expected, he is a person with extraordinary abilities.

Looking at the body, is it a strengthened type?

“Even if you know it, you can’t steal it, right?”

“… Huh.”

The village chief took his fist away with a sound like a popping sound.

He mutters softly.

“When Zhenya said it was some kind of fucking research lab, I thought I had been scammed again. This time, it seems like they’ve found some real people.”

“Good decision.”

“Yeah. What are you curious about?”

“Are there any outsiders who come and go here regularly?”

“No. Do you think I’ll leave it alone?”

“No. There will be. I tend to let my guard down without realizing it when someone brings me seeds, mail, or something essential.”

The village chief was lost in thought.

Then, soon, he claps his hands.

“There is a guild that I have been trading with for a long time. Recently, I have been going there two or three times a month to buy food. They were there yesterday.”

“Yesterday.”

Lloyd looked around, muttering quietly.

Pale light and dark scenery.

And the dirt floors that dimly glisten in the moonlight.

“I’ve heard that farmers who are really good at farming taste the soil.”

“Suddenly, what is that… Well, there were old people like that in our village too. These days, they don’t do it. Above all, they use things like fertilizer, so it’s not very clean.”

“I guess so?”

Lloyd chuckled and took a sip of the dirt.

Twinkle.

White powder sparkled at his fingertips.

“What are you trying to do…!”

Before the village chief could stop him, Lloyd ate the dirt.

“Wow. Okay.”

“Of course! Spit it out!”

no.

There is no reason for that.

Lloyd rather savored the dirt slowly.

The taste of ordinary grains of sand.

A bitter and sour taste that I don’t even want to know what it is.

and.

‘A taste that soothes the mind.’

It tastes familiar.

My mind was unstable just a moment ago as I was trying to spread my emotions widely.

It just settles down.

Of course, the degree is not great.

It’s not even 1/1000th the effectiveness of the sedatives I was taking before.

But it definitely works.

A strange expression.

The village chief, who was watching Lloyd, asks urgently.

“What… Do you feel something?”

“Hmm.”

Ugh.

“It doesn’t taste good.”

thud.

The village chief shouts, regaining the strength in his legs that was almost lost due to the absurd answer.

“That’s why I told you not to eat it…!”

“And.”

“Huh?”

“Village chief, are you good at fighting?”

“…?”

Shh.

Lloyd smiles and points forward, popping a tranquilizer into his mouth.

“Over there. There’s a suspicious person watching us.”

– Pavabababak!

The figures began to run away from the furrow in the field that Lloyd had pointed to.

◆

A vast potato field.

One of the figures hiding in the darkness and scattering something in the field muttered.

“This mission is too easy.”

“I was a little worried about the village chief, but I guess he lost some of his senses.”

“Tsk. They must be so ignorant to entrust this mission to Chilsaldae.”

Chilsaldae.

Those in the know in East Tan know that this organization is well known, and their missions range from stalking to assassination, so long as they are carried out covertly, they can do anything. It’s just expensive.

“Wouldn’t it be nice for us to lie down and eat rice cakes or a feast?”

“Kkulkul.”

While they were carrying out their mission peacefully.

“There’s a sound!”

“Let’s hide. One is the village chief… and the other three. Hmm?”

Yuksal, who had been observing the situation, frowned.

“What’s wrong, bro?”

“No. I think I saw it wrong.”

For a moment, my body gave me goosebumps that were unbelievable.

This was the first time I felt goosebumps since I caught a glimpse of the ruler of Eastan, the Purple Captain.

‘I must be mistaken.’

Why would someone of her caliber come to a remote place like this?

I guess you’re tired.

He thought so and hid himself in the ditch.

“How much is left for today?”

“From now on, all I have to do is sow that field.”

“They wouldn’t have come to work in the middle of the night. Just wait a moment and finish up before leaving.”

“Yes.”

Silent night.

In the distance, I can hear the village chief and the voices of boys and girls talking.

When I was about to yawn a simple yawn.

“What is he doing?”

Chilsal frowned.

The gaze of the flesh followed his gestures.

A boy eating dirt under the dim moonlight.

Yuksal unconsciously put strength into his legs.

An old instinct was warning him.

I think it would be better to run away.

‘…Why on earth?’

Yuksal was embarrassed by his own instincts.

No matter how I look at it, isn’t that kid just a boy with no abilities?

A six-year-old who has lived on this rough terrain for decades.

Instinct is the big data he has accumulated.

But this time it was hard to trust.

Just because the boy is scared of her.

Is that even possible?

Still.

“Get ready to run away.”

“…Huh?”

Chilsal is embarrassed.

But Yuksal has experience.

He knows that being faithful to the warnings of instinct leads to a long life.

His instincts warned him twice about that boy.

Whatever you see, it’s right to trust your instincts…

— There were people watching us over there.

An extreme stealth technique that even the commander of the imperial knights would have a hard time noticing. This was the reason why the Seven Killers became an assassination squad whose name spread beyond East Tan to the entire empire.

‘But that kid noticed us?’

“Jump!”

The third warning of instinct coincided with reason.

Yuksal ran without looking back.

Fortunately, the manifestation of mana was not felt.

I briefly wondered if the boy was a wizard, but fortunately my worries turned out to be unfounded.

‘I survived, even though I was a loser.’

living.

That was more important than mere pride.

Yuksal said to Chilsal, who was running beside him.

“Let’s run away for another minute and check the situation.”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t you feel anything different?”

“He said so.”

“…What?”

Yuksal looked around.

A polite boy was running beside him.

“Heeek!”

The embarrassed flesh rolled away.

It was an unusual occurrence.

He ate as much as he could and rolled around during a mission.

And that’s just for the mission of spraying chemicals on a field.

At the same time, he also acted.

He pretends to be as weak as possible and shoots water.

A dagger extended from the tip of his hand as he rolled on the floor pretending to be scared.

A dagger that flies in a straight line, targeting vital points.

‘There’s no way to avoid it.’

Hide sharpness behind weakness.

That was the reason why the six-year-old survived for so long.

He trusted in his own trick.

‘I didn’t want to see any unnecessary blood’

The commission fee will have to be a little more.

“Phew.”

Yuksal sighed and raised his head.

A forest where the waning moon is clearly visible.

The boy was standing against the backlight.

Shh.

The boy whispered, the dagger clenched in his teeth.

“Where are you running away to?”