Chapter 29: Where the snake's at?

Elric and Claude made their way to the sandy paths that led inside Koror Village. Elric winced as he walked, screaming ouch and rubbing his ankle at every chance.

"Did you have to catch me like that, bastard?" he asked.

"Why did you even jump in the first place?!" Claude countered it with a question. The bastard was good with his tongue.

The two of them passed by the rows of fields with their half-grown crops. Green stalks of wheat swayed in the grass as some farmers walked around, pulling out any wild weeds and smacking out any feral pests. It had been thirty years since the village saw a small revolt against the lord and got rid of him, Koror was one of the only places with a lord placed by the previous count, so the current one just let it be.

Since then, there had been quite the growth in the village, thanks to its location as well as its land features, Koror became the largest village in the eastern parts… so said the books.

A few people from the farms noticed them but did not do more than stare at them. Elric and Claude crossed the farms and the houses with light feet, reaching the wooden bridge over the meadow.

The water coursing under the bridge as it streamed past the stones and pebbles underneath looked rather calming to Elric as he slowed down a bit. A small, gray fish floated with the water, trying its best to avoid the rocks with masterful maneuvers.

"Why are we going to the abandoned manor?" Elric asked, looking at the fish.

"We have to report to the village head first. The manor is being used as an office of sorts."

There were barely any people around here. Maybe forty houses? Elric wondered if such a small place needed an entire building as an office. He slowly tore his eyes away from the fish and walked ahead again. The doors to the manor's house were rather out of shape. The white brick walls had cracks running through their length while rust had settled on the iron gates.

Claude slowly pushed open the gates and walked ahead while Elric followed. Elric's feet were slightly thankful for the stone path leading to the door of the manor from the yard. He was definitely going to buy boots after getting some money.

They trampled over the weeds and wild grass growing in between the cracks on the path and knocked on the door of the manor. After getting no response, Claude simply pushed them open and walked inside. Sunlight came gushing in from the sides of the residence, illuminating the black and white marble hallway of the place. From the other end, a young man was rushing toward the door.

"Yes? Who are you guys?" he asked, coming closer.

"Who are you?" Claude asked back.

"Huh? Oh, I am Remel, the village's accountant. Nice to meet you."

The guy was a total pushover, Elric thought. But well, Claude wasn't any less, even if he acted rude.

Claude returned the greeting with a nod and said, "We're adventurers from Leunderk."

"Adventurers?" The man stopped. "Oh! Are you the adventurers here to take down the Rammer Serpent?"

"What kind of name even is that?" Elric blurted out loud before walking ahead. The man hadn't said anything, but he didn't care. Elric guessed the village's head was probably in the room behind the wide gate on the other end, he completely ignored Remel and slammed the doors open.

Sitting there, as expected, was an old man with a scraggly beard. His wrinkles folded a bit as he smiled at Elric and Claude.

"Are you—"

"Where the snake's at?" Elric asked.

"Yes?"

"Snake. Where."

"Dumbass," Claude smacked the back of Elric's head and went up to the old man. "You the village head?"

The old man coughed twice and nodded at Claude's words. "Yes, yes… that's me,"

"Alright, we are adventurers." Claude reached into his pockets and pulled out the metal card from the adventurer's guild. He took Elric's card too and handed them to the old village chief.

The village chief took the card down and looked at them, his hunched head covering them from the top. "C-Ranked adventurers, amazing!" he said as he looked up at the two. His eyes narrowed and brows furrowed as he looked at them like a young child trying to tell a male cat from a female by looking only at the face.

The village chief's stare lasted a bit too long, so Claude tilted his head to the side. Elric, on the other hand, was getting bad vibes from the old coot. Hunched back and position of power? That guy was a witch. The kind that gives rotten apples to pretty girls witch! The contents of subjugation were to be changed, they weren't hunting a serpent but a snake!

Of course, he kept it to himself. He wasn't not used to people's stares either. There were times in his childhood when many old men used to stare at him. His parents had moved houses to a much richer neighborhood immediately after he told them about it.

Claude and Elric exchanged gazes without taking much attention. Elric gestured at the cards in the chief's hand.

'You can just ask for the cards back to not seem rude,' Elric tried to say.

'Kick this old coot in the nuts,' Claude interpreted.

"Ay, old man. You got something to say or should I kick you in the nuts?"

"Huh?"

"Ah, ah… sorry…"

Elric exclaimed while the old man got back to his senses and stepped back in fear.

"I was just wondering," the old man stared Claude and Elric up and down. "Will you be taking on a subjugation like this? Don't you need armor, or weapons?"

"We have weapons," Elric said with a grin. He lifted a wooden canteen of water out from his pockets and held it up. "This here's my sword."

Then, Elric patted Claude's shoulders and grinned wider. "And here's my shield."

"Right…" the old man said.

"Well then," Claude intervened in the conversation with a relaxed expression. "Where's the Serpent?"

"That… we don't know."

"Oh ok… Wait what!?