Volume 5, Chapter 22 – The Village That Has Changed Beyond Recognition (2)

“Lu Diu-san!?”

I rushed over to Lu Diu-san in a panic.

“Hiee!”

The children huddled in the corner of the room let out small screams.

Ah, right. It’s dark in here, so they probably can’t see who just arrived.

“It’s okay. We’ve come to rescue you.”

“U-um… the… big sister… from back then…?”

“Fufu, you remembered me. Yes, everything is okay now.”

I spoke in the gentlest voice I could to reassure the two of them. Then, I reached out and gently stroked their heads.

“A-ah… waaaaaah!”

“Uwaaaaaah!”

The moment my hand touched them, the children clung to me and burst into loud sobs.

“You must have been so scared in the dark. You did so well to hold on with such small bodies. We’re here now, so it’s okay.”

Saying that, I gently patted the backs of the children clinging to me, trying to calm them down.

“Shizuku-san, could you take these children up to the surface?”

“Leave it to me. Come along, let us leave this place.”

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“Ah…”

“It’s alright. There are plenty of soldiers outside, and the strongest person in the Empire, General Lu Fei, is here too. So it’s safe to go out. I have to treat Lu Diu-san, so could you wait outside with that big sister over there?”

“…Okay.”

Though they seemed anxious, the children obediently followed Shizuku-san’s guidance toward the exit.

“Now then, let’s get Lu Diu-san healed. Dispel Curse, Detoxify, Purification, Healing!”

I performed a “greedy set” of treatments—the kind I use when I don’t know exactly what’s happening.

The Detoxify spell barely reacted, so it’s almost certain that the attackers here were those Undying Beasts.

“Ugh… where am I…?”

“Ah, you’re awake, Lu Diu-san.”

“…Huh? This voice…? The… cleric from back then? Ah, I see. I… I died…”

Lu Diu-san had an expression of resignation.

“Haa, you aren’t dead yet, and the two children with you are safe too.”

“Eh!?”

“Like I said, I treated you, so you’re alive. Your wounds and curses should be gone, but do you feel anything strange anywhere?”

“Eh? Eh? Eh? No, uh, well, um, strange?”

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Lu Diu-san looked around frantically, but I wondered if he could actually see anything.

“Is there anywhere that hurts or feels weird?”

“…I… can’t see.”

“…That’s because it’s dark. Haa, it seems you’re fine then. Let’s get out of this basement.”

“Y-yes…”

I took Lu Diu-san’s hand to help him stand, and then led him toward the exit. We climbed the ladder and escaped the basement.

◇ ◇ ◇

Afterward, we ceased our search for survivors. Unfortunately, it seemed Lu Diu-san and the two children were the only survivors of Fu Yie Village.

We buried the villagers who had passed away, and I used Funeral Magic to guide them so they wouldn’t lose their way.

Once we had set up camp, we questioned Lu Diu-san about the situation.

First, the girl was Lu Diu-san’s younger sister, Lu Chunlin-chan, and the boy was her friend, Liu Duyinxi-kun.

As suspected, the cause of the tragedy in Fu Yie Village was those Undying Beasts; they had attacked the village in a great horde.

On the day of the attack, Duyinxi-kun had been visiting Chunlin-chan’s house—the village chief’s house.

They happened to be playing in the garden right when the attack began.

Lu Diu-san, who happened to be home, fought back to protect the two of them using the hoe I had previously enchanted with Purification Magic.

However, the opponent Lu Diu-san faced was a bear. While he managed to repel it, he sustained severe injuries.

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Knowing from previous experience that curses could cause memory loss, Lu Diu-san apparently led the two to the secret warehouse—that basement—to evacuate them before he lost his memories and became unable to protect them.

However, while the evacuation was successful, Lu Diu-san lost consciousness, and Chunlin-chan and Duyinxi-kun were unable to open the iron lid to get out, leaving them trapped.

In reality, a massive amount of rubble had piled up on top of the iron lid, so they wouldn’t have been able to get out even if Lu Diu-san had been healthy.

But perhaps the entrance being buried was lucky, since it meant they weren’t attacked by the Undying Beasts.

“I see. It really was the Undying Beasts. If I had insisted more strongly back then that they investigate properly, maybe this wouldn’t have happened… I’m sorry.”

“No. It was my father who refused the investigation. It was the result of a wrong decision made as the village chief. It is not Fiene-sama’s responsibility.”

“…But still…”

“Hey, Saint. He’s right. Some weakling who didn’t know his own limits just died. Don’t let it bother you.”

“…General, regardless of the circumstances, isn’t that a bit much to say about the deceased?”

“What was that?”

The General looked at me with anger in his eyes, but as soon as he saw Yihua-san standing behind me, he immediately backed down.

“Hmph. Fine. Saint, there is no need for you to worry. That is all.”

“…Understood. Let’s move the conversation forward.”

When I turned back to Lu Diu-san, for some reason, he had collapsed in shock, his legs giving out.

“Huh? What’s wrong, Lu Diu-san?”

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Lu Diu-san’s mouth was hanging open, gaping like a fish. It’s been a while since I’ve seen that look; I think the last person was Chris-san.

“U-um, Fiene-sama, you’re, uh, s-s-sa-sa…”

“Sa-sa?”

“You were the Saint-sama all along!?”

“Huh? Didn’t I mention it? Ah, now that I think about it, I might not have. Well, ‘Saint’ isn’t exactly the kind of title one likes to go around claiming for themselves.”

Lu Diu-san muttered to himself, “Not something you go around claiming, huh…”

It’s not like I actually want to be a Saint, nor am I some pure-hearted maiden overflowing with compassion and a spirit of service or anything.

For starters, I’m a Vampire, and there’s Char, who is actually working hard because she wants to be a Saint, so she’s the one who should do it.

“Hmph, you’re the ones who brushed aside the hand of the Saint. Now, where is the beasts’ lair?”

The General showered him with verbal abuse, like rubbing salt into a wound and then whipping it.

I really wonder if there’s any way to fix his habit of being so abrasive.

“I-I’m sorry, General. All I know is that they came from the northwest direction.”

“I see. Then we’ll hunt the mountains, focusing on the northwest. Right, we set out immed—no, let’s make it tomorrow morning.”

The General started to say we should leave immediately while looking at me, but after seeing Yihua-san’s face behind me, he declared that we would leave tomorrow morning.

Fufufu, Yihua-san’s effect is instantaneous. I’d say the operation has been a success so far.