Volume 5, Chapter 21 – The Village That Has Changed Beyond Recognition (1)

After five days of walking, despite being attacked by Undying Beasts along the way, we managed to maintain our usual pace and arrived at Fu Yie Village as scheduled.

However, the sight that greeted us was entirely different from the Fu Yie Village we had visited before.

The buildings were shattered ruins, and not a single soul walked the streets.

Debris was scattered here and there, and the flies buzzing around it only made the scene even more unsettling.

The devastation was so absolute that I wanted to cover my eyes.

“No… this can’t be…”

“Hmph. This happened because you took too long. Judging by the state of decay, the attack likely happened two days ago. If there are survivors, we might find out who the culprit was. Let’s search.”

With that, the General walked into the village with a calm expression, checking the ruined buildings for any signs of life.

I see. It was my fault. If I had just followed the General’s orders and gone hunting in the mountains, perhaps this village could have been saved.

A wave of helplessness washed over me.

Tears blurred my vision as I recalled the faces of the people who had been happy to be healed, and their families who had been so happy to be cured, the village chief, and Lu Diu-san, who had guided me to Jinsha.

“Fiene-sama… I believe your decision was the right one.”

“Indeed it was. No matter how strong the General is, he cannot annihilate everything alone while he sleeps. Furthermore, if we had done as he said, Chi Tien might have been attacked while we were away, potentially leading to even greater casualties.”

“Chris-san, Shizuku-san…”

The two of them tried to comfort me, but my mood didn’t lift.

“Onee-sama, the people here couldn’t be helped. This village brushed away the hand of salvation you reached out to them; they brought this upon themselves.”

“Lu-chan…”

Even so, we might have been able to do something.

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Seeing us like this, Riche emerged from her hood and gently patted my head, as if telling me I was a good girl.

“Even Riche… You’re right. There’s no point in moping. Let’s join in and search for survivors.”

“Yes.”

We pulled ourselves together and began searching the village. As expected, the state of everything was horrific; it didn’t seem likely that anyone had survived.

Even if they had, perhaps they had fled somewhere?

After searching desperately and finding no one, we arrived at the place that had been the village chief’s house.

Unlike the other wooden houses, the chief’s house was made of stone, so it had partially retained its original shape. Even so, it was heavily damaged, with gaping holes in the walls.

What on earth had happened to this village?

“There’s no sign of anyone,” Chris-san said, leading the way as we stepped into the half-destroyed building.

“Seems empty. Ah, wait? Was that a voice?”

“Eh? I didn’t hear anything.”

“Hmm? Perhaps it was my imagination?”

“Imagination… or perhaps a ghost is appearing. We should make sure to send them off properly later.”

“Eek!”

Ah, oops. Chris-san reacted to the mention of ghosts.

“Chris-san, I’m right here. Besides, you’re using the sword I enchanted with Purification Magic, so you’ll be fine.”

“! That’s right! How could I forget!”

I wondered if she’d ever get used to it, when suddenly, I heard a voice too.

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“This is… a child’s voice?”

“Eh?”

“Could you all be quiet for a moment, please?”

Once silence fell, I focused all my mental energy on my hearing, determined not to miss even the smallest sound.

“… sniff “

I knew it!

It was the sound of a child crying. There’s a survivor!

“The voice is coming from this way.”

I walked toward the sound, deeper into the building. There, I found a pile of collapsed rubble.

“It seems to be under this debris.”

“I can faintly hear a voice as well.”

It seemed Shizuku-san could hear it too.

“Let’s clear the rubble away.”

“I shall assist as well.”

“Ah, wait. I’ll do it.”

Chris-san and Shizuku-san were about to start working, but I stopped them to avoid wasting time.

“Eh? Fiene-dono?”

“Fiene-sama, if it’s heavy lifting, we can—”

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“No, it’s not heavy lifting. I mean, Chris-san, you saw me do this at the previous site, right? Right, Storage!”

I sucked the rubble into my Storage and promptly dumped it outside the building.

“Ha… haha. My master is truly an absurdity.”

I gave a firm protest to Shizuku-san, who was staring at me with a stunned expression.

“Hey. Please don’t lump me in with the General. This is a Skill.”

“Haha, quite right.”

Since there was far less rubble than when I was trapped underground in the Silver Village, I was able to clear all the obstructing debris in one go.

Beneath the rubble, a wooden floor appeared. However, there was a section made of iron.

“What’s that?”

“An entrance to a hidden room, perhaps?”

We approached the iron section and knocked lightly.

It made a heavy thump-thump sound, but there was a slight resonance, suggesting there was something on the other side.

But there was no handle to open it. How on earth does it open?

“Fiene-sama, please step back. I shall cut it.”

“Eh? Ah, yes. Please do.”

“Understood.”

Chris-san drew the Holy Sword and, with a precise four-strike sequence, cut a square hole right through the iron plate.

The cutout iron plate fell inward with a loud clatter-clatter .

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I peered inside to find a vertical shaft with a ladder, though it was almost pitch black. Because the surrounding area was bright, it was a bit difficult to see into the darkness, but with a steady gaze, it was manageable.

The hole seemed to be about two to three meters deep.

“Is anyone there?”

When I called out, I heard a small, strained “eek” from a child.

“There’s a child inside. Let’s go.”

“Please wait, Fiene-sama. I will go first.”

“Eh, but Chris-san, you can’t see anything when it’s this dark…”

“Ugh… but I cannot let Fiene-sama go first without confirming it is safe.”

“Hmm, I can hear a child’s voice, so I think it’s fine, but…”

“Then I shall go first. My night vision has improved considerably,” Shizuku-san declared.

With that, Shizuku-san slid down the ladder and gave an OK sign upon landing.

“Then Chris-san and Lu-chan, please keep watch here and inform the soldiers of the situation when they arrive.”

“”Yes.””

Leaving them to it, I climbed down the ladder and reached the bottom. There, I found Shizuku-san and a small wooden door.

“Fiene-dono, I am opening it.”

Shizuku-san pulled the door open. Inside was a small basement, roughly two meters square.

There, I saw a little girl, a little boy, and the blood-stained form of Lu Diu-san lying collapsed on the floor.