Episode 423 Contaminated Area (2)
Rei followed the man’s horse to the village.
Then the appearance of a very shabby slum village was revealed.
The houses were very disfigured, and the turbid air blew dizzy around them.
Ray glanced at it.
‘Is it a knife mark?’
Did bandits attack the village?
There were many large and small knife marks all over the house.
Ray grabbed one of the men who was about to collapse and asked.
“I will ask you something. Did something happen in town?”
The man looked at Ray for a moment.
“You look like a foreigner. What is there to see in this town? If you have something to buy, go find it elsewhere.”
I grabbed the man who was about to leave as if he wasn’t interested.
“I’ll pay you for the story.”
When he sneakily showed me the silver coin in his leather pouch, the man’s expression changed at once.
“Oh, this is how I didn’t know people. What story would you like to hear?”
The man was ready to confess everything, even the memories of his first love, if he wanted to.
Ray pointed to the village and said.
“Everything. What are the knife marks on the house and what is this dark red smoke? Why is the town like this again?”
“To explain in order, the knife marks are the work of bandits. In the old days, there were only a few bandits, but after the wild vegetables were newly formed, they became very polarized. The knife marks on each house were marked by bandits. How many women were stolen from that house…”
The man stopped talking and stopped talking.
It seems that they suffered greatly.
Ray, who had heard the words, wrinkled his brow.
“Have you seen these twins?”
“There are no twins like that. Thanks to that, our village was ruined. All the young women in the village have disappeared and the men have lost their wives, so will they have the will to live? I just live day by day as time goes by.”
“Then this performance is also the work of bandits?”
When Ray pointed to the smoke, the man shook his head.
“no. This is smoke from ‘Goblin Swamp.’”
“A goblin swamp?”
“There is a swamp on the other side of the mountain that emits noxious fumes. We call that swamp ‘Goblin Swamp’. Fortunately, it’s a bit far from the village, but the smoke is getting thicker little by little, so I’m not alone in worrying about fathers with children.”
It’s worth worrying about.
I don’t know what kind of smoke is coming out of the swamp, but at least it won’t have a good effect.
“A few months ago, the chief’s grandson fell ill with ‘goblin disease.’”
“What else is a goblin bottle?”
“That… it’s a bit hard to say…”
The man hesitated.
Looking at the way he opened his mouth and closed it again, it seemed that he did not show any signs of talking even after a long time.
‘I guess I need to meet the village chief.’
Ray took a silver coin from his leather pouch and gave it to him.
“Thank you for talking. I want to meet the village chief one last time.”
The man, who was in a good mood after receiving the silver coin, nodded happily.
“Let me guide you. Please follow me.”
* * *
How far did you walk in town?
Beyond the shabby one, a house that almost looked like it was about to collapse was revealed.
The smell of dust wafted from the wooden house.
The man knocked on the door.
Tong Tong—
“This is Chief Daryl.”
“Darryl? What are you up to? come in.”
With a rattling—
the door opened with a loud noise, and inside was an old man sitting in a chair.
“I am a stranger. I guided you to see the village chief.”
“Because I am a stranger… What happened to a shabby village like this during the war?”
A look of doubt was evident in the village chief’s eyes.
what would be natural
From what I heard, he is a stranger for the first time in ten years.
If you think about it from the village chief’s point of view, a stranger who came to a village like this during the war would not feel welcome.
The words that came out of the mouth of the village headman were quite unexpected.
“Ugh. You’re going to be hungry to come all the way here, so let’s talk while eating something. No matter how the situation is, you shouldn’t treat guests rudely.”
What he brought out was a few chunks of dry, twisted beef jerky, water, and a few crumbs of hard bread.
“…”
Looking at it, words didn’t come out.
‘The situation is much worse than I thought.’
His face darkened at the disastrous situation that far exceeded his expectations.
The man whispered to the village chief in a worried tone.
“Isn’t that the chief’s meal? I heard you haven’t eaten anything since yesterday, so don’t overdo it.”
“I am fine. Should the host eat the meal while leaving the guest alone? Come on, young man.”
Growling—
a sound came from the stomach that had been starving for a while.
I am definitely hungry.
However, to eat the village chief’s meal, somehow, a part of her heart ached.
Daryl silently nodded.
It means to ask not to refuse sincerity.
After looking at the two for a moment, Ray grabbed the jerky.
I forcibly chewed the jerky, which was hard to chew even when I dipped my saliva no matter how old it was.
He shoved the bread crumbs into his mouth and drank some water.
That’s way too little to be considered a full meal.
I didn’t even feel that food had arrived in my stomach, let alone a feeling of hunger.
“I really enjoyed the meal.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t treat you like this.”
When the village chief lowered his head and apologized, Ray waved his hand.
To be honest, this village was in a bad situation.
It was doubtful whether there was a market to buy goods from, and the village chief’s house, which should have been the most affluent in the village, was in ruins.
A situation where they are in a hurry to eat and live.
In such a situation, who would be able to give up the food they had in their hands?
It would have been quite difficult to give food while enduring one’s hungry stomach for a person whom he had never seen before.
I had never been treated like this a few times in my entire life.
“It was the best treat.”
“Thank you for thinking so.”
I saw the personality of the village chief.
I also saw the situation in the village.
Ray wanted to help the village.
That’s why he decided to make the conversation short and thick rather than lengthening it.
“I heard that you are worried because of the bandits.” It is unavoidable.”
Looking straight into the eyes of the village chief, who seemed already resigned, Ray calmly and clearly spoke.
“I’ll catch them all.”
“…what did you say?”
I raised my voice more than before to the village chief who asked again.
“I’ll get rid of the wild plants and put all the bandits under the control. I was served a meal, so I have to work.”
However, even at his words, the village chief did not look very happy.
I just let out a helpless sigh.
“Do whatever you want. But please don’t let it damage the village.”
It seemed that he had already given up hope in a corner of his heart.
When the village chief gave permission, Ray stood up.
I should have known how things were going.
Now all I had to do was move.
* * *
Ray cut down trees and spread the trimmed timbers in the center of the village.
After hitting the hammer a few times with skillful skill, a plausible brazier was created in no time.
“Excitement.”
While humming, he added medicinal herbs and edible herbs from the mountains, prepared the animals he had caught in the mountains far away, and boiled them.
Little by little, children who could not stand hunger appeared.
Ray snapped a finger at the drooling children who were standing awake.
“Come on.”
The children, who were wary at first, could not stand it when the scent that stimulated their appetite came up and came to Ray’s side.
Ray served them a bowl full of watery porridge in a bowl hewn out of wood.
After quenching my appetite, I tasted the porridge one by one.
The children’s eyes widened as the greasy porridge with meat slid down their throats.
Ray said while stroking the children’s heads once.
“Is it delicious? There are a lot of them, so eat more.”
The child hesitated for a moment and asked cautiously.
“…can I bring my other friends…?”
“Other friends are fine, bring your parents from home.”
At his words, the children took the porridge bowl they were eating and ran around the village.
After a while.
A considerable crowd gathered in the center of the town.
Among them, there were also quite a few parents whose children had brought them.
“It was really like serving food.”
“Did you come to the Salvation Company again?”
“Man, do you think such a caravan would care about a small town like this?”
“Then who is serving the meals?”
“Here is that young man. I came here after hearing what the children said, but it was true.”
The villagers were a little bit averse to his appearance, but they erased even a little bit of wariness at the way he was disinterestedly distributing porridge.
Rather, even for a moment, I felt sorry for the thought that I doubted the young man who did good things.
“Get all the porridge and go! There are still plenty, so if you want more, get in line!”
None of those who tasted his porridge ate just one bowl.
In modern times, he used to cook as a hobby.
In addition, the food I ate was only the food that famous chefs put their heart and soul into, so now I can see what and how it was cooked when I taste it.
Edible vinegar was used to catch the smell of the meat and the nutritional value was increased by mixing herbs.
The grass porridge, which could have a strong bitter taste, was minced so that children could pass it gently, resulting in a nutritious meal that was perfect for the taste of the villagers.
The simple reason that rice is delicious makes people happy.
The faces of the villagers, who had been dark only in the morning, began to open little by little.
“I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve eaten meat.”
“Let’s eat as much as we can while we can.”
Seeing them devouring them as if they were being chased by something, I could guess how hard they must have been through.
Soon after, the large brazier in which he cooked the porridge was all used up.
Only then did Ray wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Even though he couldn’t see through the robe, his face was hot from the heat of the furnace.
I feel good when I do the right thing.
A small smile crept across his lips.
