< Heru >
I used one line to describe this place.
< It is the farthest village from the Capital, separated by the large, turbulent sea and surrounded by the steepest mountains. >
One of the main setting is located in an island described to look weak and uninteresting. I had made it so that the people of the Capital would not even think of going there, even if it's the perfect place to hide something.
To enter the isolated village, one must first prepare a boat full of expert sailors. That alone is expensive. Another thing to worry about is the necessary materials needed during the trip such as food, armory, and weapons to fight the sea monsters.
Harsh, right? But it doesn't stop there.
Even if they crossed the ocean, which would take three days and three nights, they would then need to worry about fighting the demons and monsters lurking in the forest before climbing the steep mountains.
Only after that travel will they arrive at Heru village.
"It looks normal."
River said from beside me. We were looking down on the small village of Heru. From the outside, it looks like any other country village with houses made of wood and plantations thriving splendidly.
"The village has a population of about five thousand. The families live by utilizing natural resources."
"They don't look like human traffickers."
"That's because we're looking at the tip of the iceberg."
"...?"
He gave a look and waited for me to explain but I didn't. It's not like I can say that it's because 'that's what I wrote it in my book' or something.
And it's fine since River wasn't the type to ask questions, not with that silent personality of his.
"Huuu."
I stretched my arms and legs. I was still wearing the itchy sack from yesterday which was starting to give me rashes.
"River, do you have any plans on disguising your identity? Everyone can tell you're a vampire with that lavender eyes and white hair."
"I don't."
"Very well. Let's get some decent clothes first."
"You have money?"
I stared at him and grinned. Even if I had money, using it to buy something like we're some kind of civilized apes would only give us trouble.
Again, this world abhors equality and goodness.
"I don't have any money."
"Then the clothes?"
"Why are you even asking? We're obviously going to steal some."
It feels somewhat conflicting to say that my body is refreshed with this kind of thoughts.
There was an obvious difference between not caring about doing something wrong and feeling great when doing it. I'm clearly in the latter.
'I know I'm a crazy bastard but I wasn't aware that I was this far from God.'
I hate to admit it but this world was waking up that side of me and making it more prominent.
"River, make a huge fire somewhere in the middle of the village."
"..."
WHOOSH!
Without a moment of delay, he vanished leaving only a breeze as a trace of his existence. I observed the village a little more before making my way down to the house I targeted.
FWOOOOOSH!
"Ahhhhhhh!"
"Fire! There's a huge fire at the village hall!"
"Water! Quickly!"
The whole village was in commotion. River was smart. He purposely set the most important establishment on fire so that all villagers will get involved.
'I just told him to burn something and he does this. I guess he's not the type to do things half assed.'
Once I confirmed that the owners of the house left, I made my way out of the hiding place and used that temporary distraction to jump over the stone fence. It was high but I managed to land swiftly above a bush that served as my cusion.
I got up and roamed my eyes. The first thing I saw were the dry clothes that hung from a string of rope in the backyard.
'Finders, keepers.'
I smiled and took all of it.
"These are now mine."
Now that I secured our clothes, I made my way inside the house like I own it. Some kind of aroma instantly spread around the air as I entered.
"Oh, that smells good..."
With a smile on my face, I took the whole basket of bread and waltzed my way to the other rooms in search of money.
"Hmm. I guess it's asking for too much."
My luck ended. There was no money in the drawers. Disappointed, I searched through the cabinet in search of anything helpful but I stopped when I saw an image attached to the cabinet's door.
There was a fourteen-year-old child reflected in the mirror, staring at me with a strange look.
Me. It was the first time that I saw myself in my new body.
'Sure, his memory gave me an idea that I had black hair but anything other than that was blurry.'
Slightly wavy, raven black hair and glowing marigold eyes. I had skin comparable to a porcelain doll and soft facial features like those of an angel.
I pursed my lips.
"Wow, I didn't know I was this dandy looking."
Of course, I also looked unhealthy but that can be dealt with food.
Other than that, every part of my body was screaming 'delicate' which bummed me a bit. I wanted to look rougish or musculine.
'Reality is different from expectation.'
Once again, I reminded myself of that fact.
Then I noticed that the noises outside were getting less loud. A good sign that the villagers must have attended to the fire already.
'Time's up. I need to get out.'
Grabbing the cloaks I saw by the side and whatever footwear I could find, I placed them inside a bag I had grabbed and jumped through the window.
My hearth nearly leaped out of my chest.
'Fuck!'
Someone was already waiting there for me.
'Oh.'
I calmed down as soon saw his messy white hair.
"River, let's go!"
I threw the bag at him and he caught it perfectly with one hand. Then he lowered his back for me to step on.
I used it as leverage to jump over the stone fence again. He followed after me and we both ran back to the forest.
We took a bath in the nearby pond we found earlier and burned the sack clothing afterward. That thing is cursed. I won't believe otherwise.
Our new clothes were nothing fancy. Just some white linen shirts that looked like they belonged to medieval renaissance pirates, black slacks, and cheap-looking leather boots.
After that, we had a meal with the bread I brought with me.
In the middle of our meal, River asked something.
"What do you mean when you said that we're looking at the tip of the iceberg?"
His face showed that he held back before asking me. He must have thought a lot about it.
'Guess he was really curious about it if he's speaking up like this.'
I swallowed the bread before answering.
As long as he's only asking me 'what' the information is about instead of 'how' I got the information, there was no reason not to tell him.
"I mean exactly what I said. Heru village is not where those bastards reside."
I closed my eyes and remembered the contents of my book.
"This place has good resources. People ventured this place before but most nobles thinks it's an isolated land that's a hassle to acquire after learning the expenses needed for transport."
As I said before, it was too costly to invest in.
"Those people just see the quiet village, sightsee, and leave like any sane capitalist would do."
Of course, the place I'm referring here is 'Heru' and the nobles that think it's 'useless' were simply ignorant.
It's different for people who are connected to the underground market.
"Hehehe."
I opened my eyes, grinning slyly at River who listened to me attentively, and spoke the rest.
"Beneath the Heru village is the heart of the underworld. It is a place called Black District. Poison? Weapons? Slaves? Just name it and they have it."
River's face remained emotionless but I saw the ripples in his lavender iris. After a few seconds of composing himself, the ripples died down.
"So that's where we're going to go?"
"Yes, that's our final destination."
"What's in there?"
I paused before answering, remembering the contents of my book.
"There is an organization made up of seven devil houses. They are responsible for all evil happening in this damn world."
I clearly remember the details. After all, there was not much I had written yet.
< In the Black District, seven houses in particular rose to the supremacy of evil. They ruled the darkness in a unified alliance and desired to spread it to the world. >
The last line I wrote before dying were the plague incarnates that the supposed hero would destroy if only he had been created before I got dragged here.
"Haaa."
River sighed as if he could tell what I was going to say next. It was a sigh that made it seem as if he was questioning his life.
"Are we...?"
"Yes, we're going to join them."
My joyful voice echoed with a hint of obvious playfulness.