Chapter 111: Murders

As they followed behind Old Warod, the three observed their surroundings.

Due to the lack of streetlights like the ones in the fortress, the village seemed very gloomy at this hour.

Not only did the streets not have lights, but also the houses.

No ray of light could be seen from the opened windows of the surrounding houses, making it seem as if it was the setting for a horror movie.

They also had a hard time seeing clearly as a thin layer of mist enshrouded the area.

’I have a bad feeling about this...’

Regis thought with a frown, feeling an unsettling discomfort in his heart.

As an avid fan of reading fiction, he had learned of countless signs that may lead to something bad.

"Old Warod, can you tell us about the mission?" Killian spoke as he scanned the surroundings with alert eyes.

He, too, felt that something was off about this village. Though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Therefore, decided to strike up a conversation with Old Warod.

"Oh, are you in a hurry? We can just talk about it tomorrow since I know that you’re quite tired from your journey."

Old Warod glanced at the three with a kind smile on his face.

However, Killian didn’t back down, "It’s okay, we aren’t that tired. Besides, we want to learn more about our mission so that we can prepare more throughout the night."

Meanwhile, Regis and Pandora stayed silent as they followed behind the two.

Regis decided to observe how Killian handled the task of gathering more information about their mission.

He knew that at this point in time, he still lacked the experience to lead their party.

Therefore, he decided to leave things to Killian for a while until he learned enough things from him.

Regis decided to scan the perimeters using mana as forming a star enabled him to manifest a magic field of about one meter.

However, as he was about to utilize his mana, he heard a voice in his mind.

(Don’t, Brother.)

His eyes constricted as he heard Pandora’s voice, but his expression remained the same.

However, he instantly understood that she was using the mist in the surroundings to talk to him.

(Why?) He asked.

(I can feel something observing us, but I can’t tell exactly where it is.)

(Understood. Let’s just keep alert for now.)

The two then stopped talking and just silently listened in on the conversation between Killian and Old Warod.

"Well, if you insist. I believe that you three have noticed that none of the villagers had their lights on despite leaving their windows open at night, right?"

Old Warod spoke, still with a kind smile on his face.

However, his words brought a solemn expression on Regis, Pandora, and Killian’s places.

"Haha. You don’t need to be nervous. There’s a reason for this. We’re just being careful."

"Careful?"

Old Warod nodded, "Yes. It’s because there have been murders in this village."

"Murders?"

Killian immediately followed up with a question.

"Yes. Recently, we found the corpses of villagers inside their houses. At first, we thought that there was a murder within us so we decided to observe."

"However, despite being on high alert all night, murders still happened. What’s more, the murders seemed to increase every night which really confused us."

"There was no sign of someone breaking into the victim’s house. It only seemed as if they died suddenly as there had also been no commotion of any kind."

"After a few more nights of fruitless efforts, we decided to investigate what was common between the victims."

"We didn’t figure anything except for the fact that the victims all had their lights open and their windows closed at night."

Seeing their expressions, Old Warod chuckled, "I know what you’re thinking, it’s pure nonsense. But that was all we could find."

"So, in the next few nights, we did an experiment. The whole village decided to do something outrageous: we decided to leave our windows open at night but with our lights on. Of course, the murders still happened."

"It was only when we tried to leave all the windows open with our lights off did the murders stop."

At this moment, Regis, Pandora, and Killian all had the same thought in their minds.

"We’re here!"

Old Warod spoke, prompting the three to look ahead of them.

In front of them was a large wooden house with two stories that had its windows open and its lights off.

"Follow me." Old Warod said as he led the three inside the inn.

Creak—

The worn door creaked, making Regis’s heart thump wildly.

’It’s not like I’m scared, but what the hell...’

He couldn’t fathom as to why he, someone who used to be a demonic human, felt scared at the atmosphere of the place.

Regis glanced at his companions and saw that both Killian and Pandora were frowning.

’They must be feeling something too...’

The lobby of the inn was empty, eerily so.

What’s stranger was the fact that the inside of the inn seemed to be slightly covered in mist too.

’It must be because of the opened windows...’ Regis thought.

Closing the door behind them, Old Warod led them and proceeded to the counter, "Hey, Son. Come greet our guests."

Regis, Pandora, and Killian glanced at each other with strange faces.

After all, they couldn’t see anyone behind the counter. This only made their nervousness shoot up.

However, Old Warod shouted in the next second. "Son! Pay respects to the young adventurers who took on our request!"

"W-What’s my name first..."

To the three’s surprise, a voice was suddenly heard from behind the counter.

Old Warod glanced at them with an apologetic expression, "I’m sorry, my son is quite the coward. The murders have been getting to him."

He then slammed the counter, "Harold! If you don’t show yourself now, I’ll really get angry!"

"D-Dad!"

Clunk— Clink— Thud!!!

A series of sounds could be heard before the tall figure of a young man with bags under his eyes stood behind the counter.

"Dad! It’s really you!"

The young man, Harold, had a sickly pale skin and looked to be quite malnourished.

A nerve could be seen popping on Old Warod’s face, "Shut up! Lead our visitors to a clean room first."

"O-Okay!"

Harold hurriedly went to them and bowed, "H-Hello, I’m Harold. The mayor’s son. Come with me, I’ll lead you to your room now..."

"Once again, let me offer my apologies. My son is quite awkward when it comes to dealing with outsiders. Please just bear with him, okay?"

Old Warod had a wry smile on his face as he continued, "Oh, before I forget. If you need something, just look for me or my son, okay? We’ll just be staying here in the lobby."

Regis, Pandora, and Killian all thanked Old Warod before following behind Harold upstairs.

"S-So, how was your journey...?" Harold fiddled with his fingers as he tried to initiate a conversation.

Regis was the one to respond, "It’s fine."

"Y-You three are amazing..."

"Hmmm?"

"Y-You’re so young and yet you are already adventurers..."

It only took them a minute or two to arrive in front of a door, "T-This is your room. T-The other rooms are occupied so you will have to share... I-Is that okay?"

"It’s fine. You don’t need to worry about that."

Creak—

The three entered the room and saw that it was simply furnished with one bed and a table.

"O-Oh, I forgot to ask but do you want dinner? I-I can go get some food for you if you want..."

Harold stayed outside the room as he asked them while fiddling with his fingers.

To his relief, Regis only shook his head with a smile, "We’re good, thank you."

"T-Then please make yourself comfortable. I-I will be going first. G-Goodnight!"

Thud—

Harold closed the door immediately before his footsteps gradually faded away.

"He’s quite fun. I like his awkwardness." Killian commented after Harold left.

However, a serious expression appeared on Regis’s face as he asked both of them, "What do you think of the mayor’s story?"

Killian and Pandora immediately answered.

""It’s nonsense.""

"I think so too..." Regis nodded in agreement as he tapped his chin with his index finger.

’Besides, the description of the quest on the flyer didn’t entail anything about a murder...’

He glanced at the opened window to their room as thoughts filled his mind.

However, Killian spoke at this moment, "There’s only one bed. So what should we do?"

Pandora’s eyes lit up, "Me and my brother can share the bed..."

"Then how about me?" Killian asked.

"I don’t know. Sleep outside the room, I guess?"

"Mean!"

Regis interjected from the side, "Me and Killian will just get some blanket and sleep on the ground. You can have the bed, Pandora."

"Okay..." Visible disappointment could be seen on her face.

It was so obvious that Killian immediately looked over to Regis, only to see him not having any idea at all.

"Ugh, you two are hopeless."

Seeing him acting like an adult again, Regis and Pandora ignored him and fixed their belongings.