"Mother, wait for me at home. I have to go now," says the librarian as he grabs a torch and runs out of the inn towards the village in the middle of the night.
The innkeeper lets out a sigh. "My god, that boy is so stubborn!" she says sadly, watching the small light of the torch gradually disappear.
"That's a normal reaction," Aldo, still in his strange attire, says sincerely to the innkeeper.
"Normal!? You call a grown man pining for a failed relationship for 12 years normal?" the innkeeper retorts, looking somewhat annoyed.
"Absolutely normal. A relationship is like a bond; a deep relationship is like a chain. When it breaks, it's almost impossible to restore it as it was, which makes us and the other person responsible for nurturing and protecting it with commitment and willingness. The pain from the severance of such chains is profound and long-lasting, carrying regret. Just like the librarian's love for his partner, and... like your love for your husband despite the arranged marriage," Aldo calmly responds, gently watering a pot of soil and yellow tulips on the table beside the innkeeper. "You truly cherished your love for your husband, a former lumberjack, even after his passing, just like your son's actions," he continues gently.
"I..." The innkeeper tries to say something, but her throat chokes up, a tear falling from the corner of her left eye. It takes her a while to regain her composure. Aldo, still serene, delicately touches the base of the flower as if cherishing it. "I understand, but I beg you, Aldo, please follow the boy. He is my only child with my husband. If something happens to him, I fear I won't be able to bear it," her voice trembles with a plea, tears streaming down her face and onto the flower.
"I was planning to return to the village to monitor the situation. And, please, take a look at your granddaughter," Aldo says, pointing to the basket before a thin layer of smoke envelops him, and he gradually vanishes into thin air.
The innkeeper nods slightly in gratitude, then picks up the cold baby from the basket and steps into the warm room, lighting the fireplace and placing the baby near it. "You're so adorable. You know, when you grow up, I'll definitely tell you about the identities of those who saved you. You owe them a great debt," she murmurs, gently caressing the baby's cold cheeks.
Meanwhile, Fermos and I are fighting the villagers, who for some reason have turned into zombies with insatiable hunger, decaying bodies, hollow white eyes, thinning hair, jagged teeth, and pale skin. The two of us stand back to back. A zombie crawls towards Fermos; he grits his teeth, swings his sword, and fells the zombie. Two zombies approach me from the right. I swing my sword across their chests. They are only slightly pushed back and continue to approach me.
"The weakness of zombies is their heads, specifically the brain, Veritas. Aim for the head. Didn't Aldoru teach you this, and where are the 10 slaves? Why not have them join us?" Fermos urges.
"Aldoru, meaning Aldo, he only taught me and the slaves how to defend the house, not how to attack. Besides, he mainly taught skills unrelated to combat. Moreover, the law doesn't allow slaves to become Adventurers at the Guild," I reply, then adjust my swing and successfully take down two zombies.
Then, more than 20 other zombies approach one by one.
"Veritas, experienced, daring, and professional Adventurers will charge into the enemy and fight them. But with our experience, the continuous attack strategy is better, meaning I swing my sword, then you swing right after, and so on. Watch our flanks and rear, okay!" Fermos excitedly says, holding his sword identical to mine firmly.
"Got it!" I reply with as much enthusiasm as Fermos.
We execute the strategy smoothly: I swing my sword, then he swings immediately after. This process is so flawless that we successfully take down all the zombies after a few strikes. But the swords are soaked in blood, and large pools of blood on the ground from the fallen bodies seem to flow in a specific direction.
Suddenly, my intuition senses something strange. I swing my sword above my head, cutting a zombie in half. I look around; it is the two halves of a zombie, with blood flowing towards something, similar to the direction of the large pools of blood nearby.
"A jumping zombie?" Fermos mutters, stroking his chin, looking at the bisected zombie.
"Blood flowing in a fixed direction... could it be...?" I ponder.
"Blood magic!?" I exclaim. "Necromancy!?" Fermos echoes.
"Necromancy!" Fermos insists.
"Blood magic!" I argue back.
"Both! Stop arguing and keep moving; we don't have much time, only over 20 minutes left," Aldo, still in that outfit, pushes and separates us, coldly moving forward. He turns his head briefly, saying, "Let's go."
We nod and follow him.
"Wait, go into the bushes," Aldo raises his hand, signaling to the two of us, then moves into the thicket, crawling through the bushes. We don't fully understand his intention, but we follow. There are various other mutated Zombies like Rock-covered Zombies, Spiked Zombies, Frog-like High-jumping Zombies, and Long-tongued Zombies passing by the bushes but ignoring us.
We quietly crawl to the courtyard of the village hall, which is still a blend of European and a bit of medieval Asian architecture with thatched roofs and wooden, earthen houses.
"Flavus people look like Asians, and Albus people look like Europeans. However, historical events and ethnic mixing have made the facial features and height of these two races on the Valoria continent similar, except for skin color. And they coexist peacefully. But that's not the point I want to make. The important thing is what's in front of us," Aldo comments.
A large magic circle is placed in the middle of the courtyard, emitting a deadly green light. Armored Zombies stand around it, patrolling and guarding. In the center of the circle is a woman, sitting and chanting strange incantations. The silence makes her whispers clear to our ears. She is wearing a brown-black robe, and since we are observing from behind, we can't clearly see her face or actions.
"Stay calm, when the guard Zombies move to the furthest positions, we will attack her and take her back to the Guild, then find Auburn and Helzard and the librarian. Killing multiple birds with one stone," Aldo says.
And things don't go as planned. Suddenly, the librarian rushes out with fury, surprising Aldo and the two of us, holding a cross and a bucket of water. He pours the water down, erasing the magic circle, causing the green light to disappear. The woman becomes angry, pointing towards the librarian, and all the surrounding Zombies charge at him.
Fermos and I rush out, using our shields and swords to protect the librarian and attack the Zombies. These Zombies are unusually strong and fast, and we struggle to dodge their attacks and counterattack with the librarian.
The woman murmurs, and a large blood basin floats in the air, forming hundreds of blood spears that speed towards us. Fermos and I grab the librarian and dodge to the side. Although we successfully evade, a few of the blood spears pierce my shoulder and Fermos's right flank deeply, but these wounds would heal soon without leaving much trace for us.
She creates a second wave. Fermos, the librarian, and I dodge successfully again. But I get seriously injured on my left thigh. I can still move quickly, but it causes a lot of pain. Fermos approaches the woman a bit closer. The librarian hides behind the wooden shields we left for him, trembling and scared, holding his head with one hand.
She creates a third wave. Fermos, the librarian, and I dodge successfully again. I get severely injured on my right arm, hit by three blood spears. Bright red blood stains my left hand, and I grit my teeth to endure. Fermos approaches the woman, slashing her left palm but is then pushed away and dragged by three Rock-covered Zombies. The librarian still hides behind the wooden shields we left for him, trembling and scared.
She creates a fourth wave. Fermos, the librarian, and I dodge successfully again. I get severely injured on my left leg, hit by three more blood spears. These spears are numerous, sharp, and fast. I take a shield, using my uninjured hand, and throw it like a boomerang at her, but only two blood spears shatter the shield. Fermos retreats while heavily punching the slow, cumbersome Rock-covered Zombies, not very effective but attracting the Zombies away from the battle.
She creates a fifth wave. Fermos, the librarian, and I dodge successfully again. The battle then turns. Helzard, Auburn, and Aldo rush out from the cultural house. Aldo has successfully freed his teammates. I breathe a sigh of relief, then Auburn pulls me aside, tearing some fabric from his already torn clothes to bandage my wounds.
Helzard charges like a bullet, hitting the woman hard in the stomach, causing both to fall to the ground. The woman is stunned but still tries to resist. Aldo, still in his black outfit with red trim and mask, calmly uses three ropes to tie her hands and feet, and the third rope ties between her hands and feet, bending her like a shrimp. She struggles as much as she can, but not enough strength, so it isn't very effective.
"Librarian, you should go warm your girlfriend now. She's just 'frozen' temporarily," Aldo urges the librarian.
He nods and runs into the cultural house, holding the cold hands of his lover in the coffin.
"Thank goodness, you're here. When you come back to life, I will protect you forever," happy tears fall on the cheeks of the bespectacled scholar as he hugs his lover's body, a black-haired, pale woman due to the transformation by the necromancer woman we have tied up.
On the other side, the necromancer woman is also crying, but with sad tears.
"Just a little more, I would have avenged this," the blonde woman tearfully says.
A while later, the librarian and his lover emerge, signaling for us to return. They look very happy in the warm embrace of love, the librarian's lover obviously revived. Aldo, coldly (or indifferently), quietly carries the woman with her face buried in his chest back. Helzard and Auburn support each other as they leave. I also limp away. Fermos returns later, near dawn, after explaining everything to the villagers once they are back to normal. Aldo sees a missing member and tells us to wait and help the villagers restore damaged or unrepaired properties. Of course, Aldo and I contribute 60 silver coins at a 2:1 ratio for the village repairs. We also learn that this village has suffered a famine due to drought, and they have sought help from a wizard (because Heilop doesn't care), who is the woman we have captured. They intend to give us 50 silver coins, but Aldo refuses (for many reasons) and says he doesn't need the gift. The villagers accept and don't insist. The librarian and his lover have left earlier.
"We don't have night vision, so we can only rely on our enhanced senses and the experience of our parents and grandparents on Earth before there was electricity. Our senses are heightened several times but still not as good as a rabbit's hearing, a dog's smell, or other animals…," Fermos says.
"You just realized? The librarian carries a torch, while we guess the objects ahead by different shades of black!," I reply, with one hand on Aldo to walk more easily due to my unhealed wounds.
"So, Auburn, Helzard, how did you get caught by the necromancer girl in the cultural house?" Fermos squints at Helzard and Auburn.
"Don't know. Just... lack of experience dealing with wizards?" Helzard nonchalantly replies.
"This necromancer is too powerful. No novice necromancer can control up to 200 Zombies," Auburn adds.
"Too many mysteries left unanswered!" Helzard looks towards the village, continuing.
"Got it, got it. As long as we're back alive and intact, I'm relieved," I respond.
"So, how do we divide the 14 silver coins for both missions?" I continue.
"Evenly," Fermos says.
"No, splitting 2 silver coins and 800 copper coins each is too difficult. Besides, you have more money, let us take a bigger share!" Helzard objects.
"That can't happen!" Fermos argues, irritated.
"You're not the one who received the commission," Auburn adds to Helzard's argument.
"But you're not the one who completed the missions," Fermos retorts, sounding like he is holding back anger.
"Stop! Fermos, we only took down over 20 Zombies, while Helzard and Auburn took down the majority and contributed significantly to capturing the necromancer. Let them take the reward. Let's be considerate. We need to avoid losing unity, especially during this tense period where we're hiding our identities and surviving on Terre," I pat Fermos's shoulder, saying.
Fermos pouts, reluctantly nodding.
We don't talk until we return to the city. Once there, the group splits up. Fermos and I go back to visit the child. Before entering, we hear the sound of a child crying.
"So the child has come back to life," I smile with satisfaction.
"Yeah, helping others... makes us happy too, right?" Fermos responds, sharing the same feeling, and opens the door to step inside.
The bell rings. The innkeeper greets us with a bright smile and a polite nod. The librarian also comes running from the bedroom, shaking hands with me and then with Fermos, continuously saying "Thank you!" with deep gratitude. From inside the room, Fermos glimpses the librarian's partner, now his wife, smiling brightly and holding the child, who is now calm, quiet, and peacefully asleep. She looks out and waves warmly at Fermos, who waves back.
At the Guild, Auburn and Helzard receive a small bag of money from the receptionist, an Albus with black hair and blue eyes, a colleague of the previous receptionist.
"Aren't you free? Please do me this favor~," the female receptionist pulls the male receptionist into the staff room. He seems panicked while she seems very pleased.
Helzard and Auburn immediately understand what is going on and look at each other.
"Let's go home!" Helzard whispers to Auburn.
Auburn nods, and they both leave.
"Wait, don't leave me!" the male receptionist shouts after them as they exit the Guild.
Aldo, who has now stored away his black and red-trimmed outfit and mask and put on regular clothes, is in the library, continuing to read books, searching for information on magic that could help us return to Earth.