The sunset was slanting, and the light was dimmer than ever.

“…… I haven't been here for a while, and it's changed a lot. ”

Roland and his party walked slowly in Ram Town, looking at the somewhat familiar and unfamiliar environment around them, and couldn't help but sigh.

He saw the familiar inn, the charred marks of what had once been burned by Roland still on the façade of the building. Only a small piece of wood, which had been burned too much, was removed and replaced with a new one. There is only one line between the smooth and charred planks.

"Has Brother Roland ever been here?"

Lilia asked, tilting her head.

Roland smiled and nodded: "Ah, yes...... The last time I was here, I hadn't become a pastor yet. ”

"That's a long time ago." Lilia's eyes widened thoughtfully.

Roland gently stroked her short light purple hair, turned to Gahalad and said, "Gahalad, go and ask where you can live." ”

"Yes, my lord."

Gahalad nodded earnestly.

There were two ladies in the procession, and the rest was still his master—who was to do such a thing, Gahalad had no doubt in his mind.

What's more, there is a suspicion that this place is infected with some kind of serious plague, and it is even better to let the spirit itself observe it. Although Roland is immune to the plague, the remaining two ladies are not half-undead crows......

Although the black lady looked powerful—even far more powerful than Gahalad at the moment, Gahalad's creed did not allow him to hide behind his comrades, nor to allow himself to be timid or lazy in front of women and children.

Despite the centuries-old knightly creed passed down by the people of Caral. Not many people remember it now, but whoever forgets. Gahalad will never forget.

Because he is Gahalad.

Surveying the inn, which had slight burnt marks on its façade, Gahalad stepped forward. He took off his right hand with an iron glove and gently slammed the door. The sound is kept just enough to be heard without being annoying.

"Anyone?"

However, Gahalad did not receive a response.

He waited for about half a minute, and there was still dead silence in the room.

Then he knocked on the door again: "...... Hello? ”

Still no response.

The smell of decay wafted from the cracks in the doors, as if rotting wood or pickled cucumbers were wafting from the buildings. Gahalad sniffled, then shook his head.

There was no one inside. And it seems that the people here left a long time ago...... Lucky, perhaps?

He rubbed his nose and walked over to another hotel. Patiently knocked on the door again.

This time he had a response—he heard the sound of clattering footsteps, and then the exclamation of a woman trying to suppress it. The footsteps vanished suddenly, followed by the footsteps of someone hurrying away.

"Hello?" Gahalad's voice raised slightly. But still humble and polite, "We are outsiders...... What's going on here, please? ”

As soon as these words came out, it suddenly had some effect.

There was a murmur of discussion inside the closed hotel, and then a deep male voice speaking in the Fararow dialect rang out: "Out-of-towners! For the sake of the Grand Duke, get out of here! Hold on! Right away...... Maybe it's still too late! ”

"What the hell is going on here?"

Gahalad asked in a loud voice, "Is it the plague?" Or is it a curse? We have a doctor here! ”

As soon as he finished speaking, he was surrounded by chuckles.

Not only the inn in front of you, but also the surrounding buildings sounded this laughter near the windows and in front of the doors. There was no viciousness in the laughter, but it was full of self-deprecation, almost insane despair and a kind of open-mindedness peculiar to a terminally ill patient.

"Give it up! Foreigner! ”

A shrill voice came from the inn behind him: "We are long gone!" Completely hopeless! It's all your fault! It was the plague you brought with you! ”

So to speak. A young man of about sixteen or seventeen years of age, with freckles on his face and deep dark circles on his eyes, pushed the second-floor window open, and a twisted and maniacal smile appeared on his face.

He clutched the window, took a deep breath and almost growled and cursed, "Don't think about it! No one can escape! There are no miracles! There are no miracles here! Everybody has to die! ”

The moment the window was opened. Behind him came the screams and cries of a woman, followed by the scolding of a man. Then he was jerked back, and the window was slammed shut again by a pair of rough hands. Then the lock was hung and the curtains were dropped.

"It's too much. At such a time, how can you say ......"

Lilia said with some dissatisfaction.

She's also a druid after all. No matter how old she is, she is still the teacher of all the Karars. If it was in the past, she would have met this kind of child, and she would have learned a good lesson. But after she casually glanced at Roland, Lilia preached her desire to preach. Hope forcibly suppressed.

However, it was too late.

As soon as the young man's voice fell, the men who were leaning in pain against the corner of the wall, their faces covered with blood, looked there in distraction.

Their eyes were lifeless and cloudy. Because of the burning of their internal organs, a large number of dark purple lines appeared on their skin, and their bodies were emaciated, and their hands were as dry as skeletons.

They stared at the window in distraction, their eyes cloudy with some kind of inorganic matter. It was no longer a look that a living human could have, as if the corpse had come to life again and turned its head around with that level of creepy.

After the boy was recaptured by his parents and the window shut, they didn't turn their gaze back to that dead body.

Suddenly, someone broke down and wept bitterly. The sound was like that of a weeping beast, and as ugly as a crow that had crushed its throat. For a while, the cries and curses continued to come. The whole Ram seemed to turn into hell in an instant.

Gahalad walked back in silence and bowed down deeply to Roland: "...... Sorry, my lord. ”

"It's not your fault, Gahalad."

Roland shook his head.

He knew what Gahalad was trying to say.

As the father of the first Grand Duke of the Duchy of Carral, he thought about the question of "what kind of country will Caral become in the future?" countless times as he died.

He now got the answer, but it wasn't what he wanted.

Roland was trying to comfort him, but at that moment, the crying stopped abruptly. The three Rolands—for Elukado was in Roland's shadow—paused slightly, and looked away.

I saw a man with a bloody face crashed to death in the corner, his eyes slightly closed, and a satisfied smile on his face.

Just by looking at it with their eyes, Roland and they could clearly know that at that moment, the atmosphere of the entire Ram had changed. In the dilapidated town, a madness and despair rise.

But just as the silence was about to erupt, a door suddenly opened behind Roland.

"Come in...... The children. ”

It was the call of an old woman. (To be continued.) )