Silver Pine Village, ushered in the first batch of tourists in the New Year. Although there were only a dozen people, the villagers received them with great enthusiasm.
A long table covered with a dark striped cushioned cloth was laden with a sumptuous spread of roasted meats, fruits, fresh vegetables and ale.
When the tourists were seated, a few young women came out from the stage and danced in a folkloric style to the playing of music on both sides of the stage.
This kind of lord-like treatment finally made everyone feel a little flattered.
As we don't have to pay for food, drink, or lodging here, we are a bit confused about the intentions of the villagers, and we have become a little bit more restrained.
Don't sell yourself short with one meal.
"It's not yet the season for fee-based tourism, so you must help us publicize our village more when you return."
It wasn't until someone stood up and explained that everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
You just want them to help publicize it right?
Soon, everyone got into the spirit of the hustle and bustle.
Fina looked at the chunks of meat distributed in front of her and twisted her head to look at her side.
Eleazar rattles the meat in front of him with his fork as well, then sniffs the cutlery again.
"Slightly acidic, the fat is yellowed, despite cooking with a lot of spices, that flavor of too much creatine from a lot of exercises can't be weeded out, the ulna is in a similar position to a chicken wing, it's the lower arm portion of the arm, not far from the elbow, and well... The bones are thick, it's male, the cuts are cracked, the bones were chipped halfway through by a machete."
After analyzing it, he looked at Fina's copy.
"You have this one where the calf meets the knee, and by eliminating the kneecap, this area is harder to flavor and should be harder to eat."
The two silently pushed away the meat and picked out some vegetables.
"Hey, why don't you guys eat meat?"
A tourist beside me sent in a query.
"Oh, we're vegetarians."
Eleazar returned lightly after swallowing the flavorless vegetable salad in his mouth.
"That's a shame, I can't live without meat."
The man skillfully cut the cutlets with his knife and fork, then at Eleazar's odd look, forked up a fat, juicy piece of meat and put it in his mouth, tasting it carefully.
"Well, this meat is cooked a little bit firewood, and a little bit astringent, wild boar meat is not good."
The feast was soon over, and although the villagers had been very warm in their hospitality, everyone inexplicably just couldn't enjoy themselves.
No one finished those meats, most of them tasted a few bites and then quickly said they were full.
After agreeing with the villagers to continue visiting and touring the village tomorrow, the hospitality banquet ended.
There was a lot of talk on the way back to the room.
"Wild boar meat isn't good at all!"
"It can't be, the nobles on my old home side often buy wild boar meat in large quantities, it doesn't look like it's not delicious at all ah, I guess it should be that the conditions here are simple and can't be cooked deliciously."
Eleazar did not participate in their discussion and silently pulled Fina back into the room.
A few people looked at their backs and suddenly said:
"These two, they're strange, are there people in this world who grew up vegetarians?"
"It can't be, can it?"
"I don't think so either..."
...
Eleazar closed the door to his room tersely.
Fina stepped out onto the balcony and took a moment to look down at the incredibly quiet village.
"These people, how many days are they going to keep us?"
Eleazar scrutinizes the room in case someone else puts a curse on them.
"Shouldn't be that patient, they don't even have the patience to cook it to taste."
"Sneaking up on us at night while we're asleep?" Fina turned around.
Eleazar pondered for a moment, "I can't say for sure, but we weren't given a sleeping drug, so I'm afraid the commotion would be pretty loud if someone woke up in the middle of it."
Fina bristled, "Sneaky, why don't you just arrest one of them and torture them, I don't want any more vegetables."
"Well, let's move tomorrow then, and leave on any excuse during the visit."
After examining the room, Eleazar held his chin, "Strange that something unsettling wasn't put in to infest us, is it necessary to keep the ingredients fresh?"
If it wasn't for the carrion flowers, and the distinctive 'wild boar meat', he'd almost have to think that this was a village infested by darkness and assume that these villagers were victims.
All signs had pointed to a cannibalistic village, it was just not known how many of these types of cursed people there were.
There's a high probability that it's the whole village, because of this insane hobby, and those who don't identify with it simply can't survive here.
Eleazar mused silently.
Fina has laid out a mattress on the wooden floor.
"You meditate, I'll sleep."
"Oh, well..."
Replying casually, Eleazar suddenly froze and inexplicably wandered off for a moment.
No, it's not supposed to look like this...
It should...
It's very noisy to be right!
It was as if I remembered something, but that sense of impression blurred again quickly, like a black hole was swallowing it up, and my heart ached inexplicably.
The confrontation with Fate Oblivion fails again.
Returning to his senses, his gaze was filled with struggle, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, "Nana, do you feel that... I seem to have become a bit strange?"
"No it's not, don't think too much about it."
Fina fell asleep silently against him.
Hurry up and finish digesting this magic potion, get that deadbeat back, fight with her all you want, and don't want to see him like this every day anymore.
It made her feel like a failure every moment.
Watching the lights go out in her room and the moonlight cast in from outside, she mused silently.
The village, probably a few hundred people in size, could digest at least half of the magic potion if the entire population was cursed, according to the most ideal budget!
While it was likely just the lowest level of fae that didn't even have the value of harvesting fodder, it should be able to initiate the transformation ritual as well; Witcher could be transformed whenever he was 'evil', as she remembered all too well.
With the anticipation of tomorrow, Fina stops thinking and prepares to fall asleep.
Quietly, he opened his eyes and glanced around him.
She puckered her mouth and sat up, "You don't meditate do you?"
Eleazar, who was staring out into the night, looked back and smiled awkwardly.
"Right away, right away!"
Fina suddenly stood up, "I'm going to take a shower, keep an eye on me for any prying eyes."
"Oh, well ...."
Eleazar froze back, then watched her walk into the room's bathroom.
Not long after, the sound of clattering water came, inside that Qian shadow in the room where the lights are extinguished extraordinarily clear, curved and curved silhouette are vaguely visible.
"Ning, is there anyone snooping around?"
Eleazar sensed his surroundings and honestly returned, "No."
"Really?"
"Really..."
The bathroom door was suddenly pulled open and a head in a bun poked out, giving him a blank look after looking around.
"So what are you looking at?"