Chapter 249

249 – The Anti-Dragon-God Village

Following Yarg, we arrive at the village in a a few minutes . When we arrive, Yarg gives a hand signal, and the two bowmen run off somewhere . They might have gone to report us to a miko or someone .

Compared to the dragon-god village, this one is quite a bit smaller in scale . There’s not as many houses, nor do I see many people . On top of that, a lot of the houses have tall weeds growing around them or damaged walls, so it’s clear that many of them are abandoned .

Perhaps due to a lack of manpower, weeds can be seen sprouting up through some of the fields . There’s a pole stuck into one of the fields, but it looks weathered, as though the last time it was touched was ten years ago .

A few people are gossiping to each other in low voices while looking at us, but none of them come closer . A few of them look troubled, but a some of them look delighted, too . I still can’t quite predict what sort of treatment we’ll receive in this village . I can tell it won’t all be good though .

I’ve seen nothing but men for a while though . Perhaps the women don’t walk around as much . No, there was that miko earlier…

Coming to this village, there’s one unexpected thing .

“You’re not injured, are you? Ah, you must have healed herself with that magic you’re good at . ”

“Ga, ga…”

No gaas are allowed, partner .

“…”

O-oi . Say something . Only gaa is banned, nothing else .

“You must still be confused . Rest and recover your calm . ”

Yarg speaks, and my partner nods silently . Since entering the village, she’s been uncharacteristically quiet .

It looks like she doesn’t have a lot of leeway to pull off the plan . She’s a bit bewildered by being in an unfamiliar human town . I feel bad about it, but that’s a slight relief to me .

Though please be a bit patient, partner . If we get exposed in the anti-dragon-god village, there’d be a huge uproar for sure, and this village is a bit shady itself, too . We need to get out before they catch on .

Finally, we arrive at the end of the village, in front of the largest house .

“First, we need to let the chief take a look at you . That’s fine, right?”

She nods her head, still silent .

We find that chief in one of the inner rooms . He’s sitting on a carpet, being waited on by a young Lithovar woman . His face is wrinkled, putting him around 50 years old, or perhaps even older . He’s well-built, but his eyes are ogling lecherously .

“Nagrom-sama, you have a guest . ”

It seems the chief’s name is Nagrom .

“Hohou, hohou! Is that so? That is a good thing! A good thing!”

He pushes the woman off him with a motion inappropriate for his age and gets up, moving closer . He smiles broadly, his wrinkles shifting creepily .

For that matter, this old man’s breath stinks . My partner’s making a face like she’s about to cry . Th-this village is okay with a guy like this as their leader? No, they say you shouldn’t judge a person by their appearance…

Schedule-wise, this is a great opportunity to do some information gathering . We need to hear about the manticore, about this village, and about what this village thinks of the other one . Atleast, we should try and hold down this spot .

In order to return with time to spare, I’d like to get information from this old man . It’s possible we could get held up by some unforeseen event otherwise .

I can tell my partner is frowning, her face twisted in a grimace . Hey, I know how you feel, but it’s showing on your face . Hide it a bit better, please .

Nagrom sits back down, and Yarg opens his mouth .

“She was on a journey through the forest, but her companion was eaten by an abyss . We found her lost…”

“Hohou, hohou! That must have been dreadful!”

Nagrom yells out in a loud voice, cutting off Yarg’s explanation .

Oi, this old man, he doesn’t listen to what other people have to say . He’s completely talking over Yarg .

Interrupted, Yarg frowns, raising an eyebrow . He seems well disciplined .

…Getting information from this guy looks like it might be harder than I thought . Mainly in a sense of communication difficulties . It might be quicker to get out and hear from Yarg instead . It’s not that I don’t want to listen to this old man, really .

“U-umm, err…”

My partner tries speaking, but she can’t seem to find the words and stops talking . What happened to that fluent language you were speaking earlier?

“It sounds like your throat’s not doing so well . Ah, you must be thirsty! I must apologise for not offering sooner . Koren, fetch some water, would you?”

The woman embracing his right arm untangles herself and stands up . This woman’s amazing . To be expressionless after being shouted at so close to her ear .

『…I can’t do it anymore . 』

I receive a message from my partner . Th-the weakness of the heart…

It’s fine! After drinking the water, you can leave this mansion straight away! Then after hearing from Yarg, you’ll be done! After that, it’s fine to run away however you like!

『…okay . 』

From then on, Nagrom asks some questions, and Yarg answers . My partner stays silent, making herself small to the side… Hmm? Is there any point in her being here? That sort of farce continues for a while .

Nagrom is looking at the tears in her clothes, with eyes as like he’s licking her . Th-this old man…

“Nagrom-sama, umm…”

“Umu, umu! No, I was wondering whatever happened to those clothes . They look like old clothes of us Lithovars . ”

To Yarg’s chiding, Nagrom quickly counters . This old man, he’s strong .

“…”

“We found her close to the river . Probably, she was attacked by an abyss while bathing and fled, leaving her things behind . With her companion dead, she must have been unable to fend off the abyss .

Supplementing Yarg’s explanation, my partner stiffly nods her head . What’s he doing, stating a theory right in front of the person in question? No, this is lucky in a sense, since they can’t find faults in her story this way . Even if she says something that contradicts it later, we can smooth it over .

“Umu, umu! When Koren gets back, I’ll have her fetch a change of clothes!”

Saying that, Nagrom lets out a hearty laugh . We ought to gratefully accept here, I guess . I’d like to pick them up before we leave, as they could come in handy next time . A weakness of humanising is that we always start off stark naked after all .

Partner, this is where you say thanks .

“…tha, tha-”

“Oh, Koren, you’ve returned! But how slow! You’ve kept our guest waiting, you know?”

My partner’s determination is melts away as a result of the sudden interruption… This old man, couldn’t he wait just a second longer? Someone, please cure that habit of his .

“Gaa…”

Oi, gaa is banned .