“Oh? Falling out of formation again, are you? Can you even call yourselves students of Annwood Academy?”
“…”
“Back in my day, this would’ve been unthinkable. You know, back in my day…”
Perhaps it was thanks to Lowell’s “encouragement(?)” that we managed to reach Trash Village without a single straggler.
The first thing we encountered was a wooden palisade standing about 2 meters tall.
“This feels less like a palisade and more like an overgrown fence.”
“Just look at all the rotted sections. You can see where some parts have been replaced.”
“They couldn’t afford a magical barrier, but at least they could’ve built stone walls. What are they planning to do if a medium— or large-sized beast shows up…?”
A sorry excuse for a palisade, really.
The haphazardly assembled wooden posts were so flimsy it wouldn’t have been surprising if we broke through them just by entering.
That is, if we hadn’t noticed the firmly shut wooden gate.
“Well, we’re humans, so I guess we should go through the door.”
“There aren’t even any guards standing watch. I suppose that’s to be expected of a rural village?”
“Are we going to have to wait until morning? I hate the chill of dawn dew. Hmm…?”
Creak—Creeeeeeak.
At that moment, the wooden gate began to open slowly, accompanied by an eerie, grating sound.
Beyond the gate stood a group of people: a middle-aged man dressed like a noble, a younger man beside him, and two men who appeared to be knights.
Caron stepped forward to greet them.
“My name is Caron. Though unworthy, I serve as an instructor at Annwood Academy.”
“Haha, unworthy, you say? You’re being far too modest. Sir Caron, your talents are beyond question.”
“You flatter me.”
“Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Kelven, lord of Trash Village. Thank you for coming such a long way.”
The middle-aged man warmly shook Caron’s hand.
The students, observing from a distance, whispered among themselves.
“So that’s Baron Kelven?”
“He’s more well-kept than I expected. I’d heard he fell into ruin after losing the territorial war.”
Imagine losing the chance to reign as a dominant lord in the region, only to end up managing a backwater village.
Spending your days reminiscing about a glorious past, drowning yourself in alcohol—becoming a shell of a person seemed inevitable.
“I heard he was arrogant, but he doesn’t seem that way at all.”
“He must have come to terms with reality. His personality and outlook probably changed as a result.”
“From ‘Anger Control Disorder’ to ‘Excellent Anger Management,’ huh? Well, that’s not bad. Better than waging pointless and ugly territorial wars.”
The atmosphere was warm and cordial—or at least it appeared to be on the surface.
“To be greeted with such hospitality… I’m at a loss for words. Especially at this early hour.”
The fact that the lord and his knights had come to greet us at dawn was… curious.
‘Are you trying to hide something?’ Caron’s words carried a slightly provocative undertone.
At this, Baron Kelven let out a hearty laugh.
“Hahaha! What else could I do? With nothing to occupy me, I wake up early, that’s all. And I prefer to handle matters personally.”
“You’re quite diligent.”
“Well, in small territories like this, diligence is a necessity. You know as well as I do that opportunities like this are rare for a lord of my position.”
With the iron mine—the territory’s main source of income—nearly depleted, Trash Village had few options left.
Tourism, trade, manufacturing.
But with poor roads and a small population, trade and manufacturing were out of the question for Trash Village.
That left tourism as the only viable path.
Though the roads were inconvenient for outsiders, such places often had potential as tourist destinations.
A so-called “healing village,” if you will.
“How about signing a contract with us? After every midterm exam, your students could come here to rest. We could even provide you with spaces to hold classes if necessary.”
“I can’t give you an immediate answer. For something like this, the students’ opinions are what truly matter.”
“I’m confident the students will be satisfied. The air here is exceptionally clean.”
“It certainly seems that way. By the way, who might the gentleman beside you be?”
“Ah, this is my son. Introduce yourself. This is Sir Caron.”
“Greetings, my name is Nade. Meeting you, Sir Caron, is the greatest honor of my life.”
The silver-haired young man bowed deeply to Caron.
He appeared to be in his early twenties. His most striking feature was…
“He’s handsome, isn’t he?”
“Oh my gosh! Look at that silver hair. It’s like a shimmering galaxy.”
“Something feels off, though. I’d heard he had a son, but no one mentioned he was that good-looking.”
“Are you jealous? Male jealousy is such a scary thing, you know!”
“Jealous? As if!”
The boys and girls began to bicker.
That’s how striking Nade’s appearance was—it could spark an argument just by existing.
“Keke, I’d say he’s not all that different from me, wouldn’t you?”
“Yeah, sure. Two eyes, one nose, one mouth. He doesn’t seem all that different from you.”
…Luna, if the number of those features differed, he’d be an entirely different species!
What kind of world is this, where even slit-eyed individuals like me are practically treated as another race?
It was at that moment, as I reflected on the mysterious power of slit-eyes, that—
“P-Please help me!”
A desperate cry came from a middle-aged woman.
The woman suddenly appeared and threw herself to the ground before Caron, clutching his legs.
The knights moved to pull her away, but Caron, annoyed, gave a slight tilt of his head, and they backed off.
“You… You must be someone important, right? M-My daughter went missing yesterday!”
“Missing, you say?”
“Y-Yes! Please, I beg you, find her!”
It wasn’t hard to figure out.
The missing girl from yesterday, Dolores—this woman was undoubtedly her mother.
Baron Kelven, as if unable to watch the scene any longer, interjected.
“Didn’t I tell you the search is already underway? The knights are combing the area outside the village as we speak!”
“B-But…”
“Take her away. What sort of rudeness is this toward our guests?”
The knights began dragging the middle-aged woman away. She resisted, but it was no use.
Her screams of desperation echoed beyond the fog, growing fainter and fainter.
“Is there someone missing?”
Caron asked as though he were completely unaware. Since we were pretending to be on vacation, it was a perfectly natural question.
“This is my fault. I raised the taxes recently, and well…”
“Taxes?”
“Yes, I increased taxes slightly for the sake of the territory’s development. That must be why. People probably left the village because of it. And, well, it’s not exactly the kind of place young people would want to live in, you know? Haha! That’s just how it is with small villages, isn’t it?”
Baron Kelven chuckled as he spoke, but his words were interrupted.
“And yet, you’re telling me they left without their families?”
A grave voice cut through the fog.
It was stern and commanding, and it wasn’t hard to identify who it belonged to.
Principal Dwener of Annwood Academy.
“…And who might you be?”
“The principal.”
“Oh! My deepest apologies! I didn’t realize I was being so rude…”
“Just answer me. Does it make sense to you that people would leave the village without so much as saying goodbye to their families?”
“Well, everyone’s situation is different, isn’t it? For all we know, they might’ve been living like slaves in their homes. You know as well as I do what life is like for young people in small villages.”
Young people in the countryside were often dragged into all sorts of menial labor by the adults around them.
This trend was especially prominent in rural areas, where extra hands were always in short supply.
“Is that so? How many people have gone missing recently?”
“…Five. But fluctuations in population like this have always been common.”
“Or perhaps there’s a group of human traffickers operating nearby. Relay this to the instructors and students: whenever they have spare time, they are to search the area around the village. And make sure an instructor accompanies them whenever they leave the village.”
“We will follow your orders, Principal Dwener.”
Caron gave a slight nod of acknowledgment.
This exchange highlighted exactly why Dwener had chosen to step into the conversation.
It provided us with a justification for freely moving about the area while also keeping the demon’s contractor under pressure.
It also gave a solid reason for an instructor to accompany each group at all times.
Written by Caron, performed by Caron and Dwener—a perfect script and performance.
“Well, I think that’s enough formalities for now. The children must be tired.”
“Ah, you’re right. Principal Dwener, I’ll escort you personally.”
“Ahem! As you should.”
Dwener began walking with a slightly pompous air, followed closely by Baron Kelven and his retinue.
“…”
Rezé’s gaze lingered on them as they left.
Her long bangs fell like a curtain over her face, but behind them, her eyes keenly tracked the group.
“Keke, is something bothering you?”
“It’s just… something feels off.”
“Off? How so?”
“N-No, never mind. It must’ve been my imagination.”
But I could see it.
The swirling “Idiot Hair Radar” spinning atop Rezé’s head.
‘She noticed something? What an incredible rabbit.’
Baron Kelven’s secret.
I had no intention of revealing it. This mission had a Hidden Piece—solving the mystery correctly would result in a stat boost.
‘Not to mention, giving them a hint would only make my acting awkward.’
The best course of action for now was to leave things be and help Luna and Rezé succeed in solving the mystery on their own.
That was the optimal play I could make.
“Alright, enjoy your break in groups. Oh, and don’t forget to keep an eye out for those human traffickers whenever you have the chance.”
At Caron’s words, the students quickly assembled into their designated groups, with an instructor assigned to each group.
Since the groups had been organized in advance two days ago, there weren’t any issues.
Well, aside from one particularly noisy group.
“You want to search through this thick fog right now? Are you serious, Rodelin?”
“Searching for missing persons is a time-sensitive matter, isn’t it?”
“That’s true, but we’re unfamiliar with the area. What if we fall off a cliff or something?”
It was Rodelin and Lowell. Unfortunately, Rodelin’s group had been assigned Lowell as their instructor.
However, anyone sharp enough would’ve realized this wasn’t a coincidence—it was the result of Lowell’s own request.
“And what about your group members? Don’t you think they deserve to rest and recover from the journey?”
“…They’ve already agreed to the search.”
“Well, of course, they’d agree. You’re the Vice President of the Student Council. How could they possibly refuse? You’re acting like a dictator, Rodelin. Don’t you see that?”
Lowell’s sharp words struck a nerve, and Rodelin flinched slightly.
Even the group members didn’t step up to defend Rodelin.
Partly because they were intimidated by Lowell, but mostly because the wagon ride had been so exhausting.
“And that, my dear, is why you’d make a terrible soldier. Now do you understand, oh Great Dictator?”
Standing on a rock, Lowell leaned forward and jabbed Rodelin’s forehead with her finger.
The public humiliation seemed to get to her—Rodelin’s face turned a faint shade of red.
“That damn woman’s really testing my patience…”
Luna clenched her fist tightly, looking like she was ready to charge in at any moment.
Knowing her personality, she would normally have already run over to say something by now.
But for some reason, she glanced at me first before letting out a sigh and loosening her fist.
“Phew, that’s settled. So, who’s our instructor?”
Each group had an instructor assigned to them.
The instructor’s role was strictly limited to “protection.”
In other words, they were there to watch over us but not to offer any advice or guidance.
“I hope it’s someone lenient. That way, we’ll get good scores.”
“Oh dear~ Then I suppose you’re out of luck. I’m very strict, you see.”
“Instructor Ron?”
Luna’s face lit up with delight.
It was Ron, the instructor who had supervised our group during the Ant Nest Dungeon.
“You’re the best, Instructor! You’re so chill and laid-back about everything!”
“…Was that supposed to be a compliment?”
Ron exchanged a quick glance with me before his gaze shifted to Rezé.
Back then, Rezé hadn’t been part of our group, so this was effectively her first meeting with him.
“P-Please, I beg you to save my life!”
“H-Huh? Uh, s-sure…”
Rezé bowed so deeply that her head practically touched the ground.
Ron, visibly flustered, took a step back, creating some distance between them.
What was unusual was the lack of any additional members in our group.
Considering that other groups had at least four or more members, this was certainly an oddity.
It could only mean one thing—Caron had intervened.
“Let’s do our best again this time.”
Did Ron realize that? He smiled at me knowingly.
I immediately had a gut feeling.
A ton of annoying trouble was about to come our way.
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won’t get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt
I wonder whether the story this time would be straight forward like usual
If the Baron secret is not that he summon demon but something else or he was actually unwilling it would make for interesting developments