(28) Entering the Village to Inquire About the Situation

Chapter 28: Entering the Village to Inquire About the Situation

At the Edge of the Town

Standing on the outskirts of the town, Silver and Mira frowned as they stared at the overgrown, winding path in front of them.

"This path looks completely abandoned. How could it possibly lead to a village?" Silver found it hard to believe that, after all their inquiries, this was the very road the client had mentioned as the route to the small village.

Mira, standing beside him, sighed. "The real question isn't whether this path leads to a village but whether we should stay in town for the night. If there's no village at the other end, we'll have no choice but to camp out."

"Wait here. Let me ask someone else." Silver turned back toward the town and spotted someone in the distance. Without hesitation, he ran toward the figure.

As he approached, he realized it was an elderly man. Silver quickly bowed in greeting before speaking, "Hello, sir. May I ask you something?"

"Oh? What is it?" The old man raised his head, his cloudy eyes meeting Silver's.

"I was wondering if that small path over there really leads to a village?" Silver gestured toward the entrance of the path where Mira was waiting.

"Oh, that path." The old man nodded in recognition. "It does lead to a small village, but it's rarely used. The villagers don't come to town often, so it looks like an abandoned trail."

"I see. Thank you very much." Relieved to have a definite answer, Silver thanked the man and quickly returned to Mira.

"Well? What did he say?" Mira asked.

"The path does lead to the village. It just looks abandoned because no one uses it much," Silver explained, relaying the old man's words. He gestured for Mira to follow as they set off down the trail.

After over an hour of walking, the two finally reached the end of the path and caught sight of the small village. Silver sighed in relief. "Now I get why no one uses this path often. It's such a long walk. Who would bother coming to town unless it was necessary?"

"It's not the distance that keeps people away; it's the danger. Unlike us, ordinary people can't protect themselves from wild animals or magical beasts. That's why they only travel in groups," Mira replied, glancing at the village in the distance. She grabbed Silver's arm and urged, "Come on, let's get moving."

"You seem to know a lot about this," Silver said, surprised, as he followed her.

"Of course." Mira kept walking without looking back. "I used to live in a remote village like this with Elfman and Lisanna. I know how things work in places like this."

As they chatted, the two entered the village.

The houses were simple, made of mud and straw, and the villagers' reactions made it clear that visitors were a rarity.

Everyone stopped what they were doing to gawk at the newcomers, their faces full of surprise.

"I feel like some kind of exotic animal on display," Silver muttered, glancing around at the crowd gathering to watch them.

"That's normal. They're used to seeing the same people every day. It's only natural they'd be curious about strangers," Mira said, ignoring the stares as she approached a man who looked to be in his thirties. Without hesitation, she asked, "Where is the village chief's house?"

"You're looking for the chief? His house is over there." The man pointed to a slightly better-kept mud house.

Just as the villager finished pointing out the house, a child came running, tugging the chief along.

The elderly man approached, surrounded by a growing crowd of villagers.

Once the chief was within earshot, Mira addressed him directly. "We are wizards from Fairy Tail. We've come to investigate the strange sightings reported near the ruins by the other village."

"Oh! So you're here to handle that matter." The chief's weathered face lit up with a smile as warm as sunshine. "Come, come! You've traveled a long way. Please, let me welcome you to my home for a rest first."

As Mira explained their purpose, the surrounding villagers began whispering among themselves.

"These two look like they've just come of age. Can they handle it? Those shadows in the other village are terrifying—they eat people, you know."

"I think they'll be fine. When I went to town, I heard that wizards are incredibly powerful. They say they can even punch a hole in the sky."

"Yeah, right. How could anyone punch a hole in the sky?"

"It's true! I'm not lying. That's what people in town said…"

While the villagers continued their buzzing conversations, Silver and Mira followed the chief to his home.

"It's a simple home, but if you don't mind, please take a seat," the chief said cheerfully, sitting cross-legged on a mud bed.

He gestured for them to sit as well.

"That abandoned village is strange, though. It was always smaller than ours, with only twenty or thirty households. Back in the day, our two villages were pretty close, regularly trading goods."

"But one day, when some of our villagers went there to trade, they found that many people had died, and the rest had vanished without a trace. When the news reached us, we were terrified. The whole village fled to town and stayed there for days before daring to return. After that…"

The chief eagerly launched into a detailed account of the abandoned village, starting from its history and leading up to recent events, even before Silver and Mira could properly settle into their seats.

"So, to summarize," Silver said after carefully processing the chief's story, "a few days ago, some children from your village went exploring in the ruins and saw firelight and shadows moving around. They told you about it, and you reported the matter to the town. But you don't actually know what those shadows are, correct?"

"Ah, yes, that's exactly it." The chief nodded with a slightly embarrassed expression.

"If there's firelight, I'd guess there are people," Mira said thoughtfully. Then, looking up, she asked, "Are the fires still visible now?"

"Yes, they are," the chief confirmed without hesitation. "Over the past few days, our young men have been taking turns keeping watch. They report back if anything unusual happens."

"I see. That means it's not just someone passing through," Silver said, thinking aloud. He then turned to Mira. "Mira, let's head over now while there's still daylight to check out the situation. Also…"

He turned to the chief. "Could you arrange a place for us to rest in the village?"

"You're going now?" The chief chuckled warmly. "Don't worry about a place to stay; I'll have someone prepare a room for you right away."

With that, the chief jumped off the bed with surprising agility and ran outside to call for help, his voice echoing across the village.