Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion - Volume 7 - Chapter 2

2. Please

It seemed highly likely that their unknown assailant had scaled the cliff to attack Yume. Haruhiro and the party kept a cautious distance from the cliff as they pressed onward.

They knew from the fact that light magic had worked that the power of the god of light Lumiaris extended to this world. However, from what Merry told them, when she had cast Sacrament, it had been many times more draining than usual. It had also taken an awful long time for Yume’s wounds to heal. Haruhiro found those both strange. Normally, Sacrament was a spell that instantly healed all wounds.

They tried having Ranta summon his demon to see what would happen, and it came out like it was supposed to. It looked like a person with a purple sheet over its head, with two hole-like eyes, and beneath them a gash-like mouth. It carried a knife-like blade in its right hand, and a club-like weapon in its left. It had legs, even though it was just sort of floating there. This was Ranta’s demon, Zodiac-kun... but it was a third of its usual size.

So the power of the dark god Skullhell reached this world, too. However, due to the issue of distance, perhaps, or some other cause, Lumiaris and Skullhell could only provide about a third of their usual protection.

Well, whether it was a third or a quarter, it was still a step up from nothing. Thanks to that, Yume had survived. Praise be to Lumiaris.

While they were somehow able to use light magic now, they still couldn’t afford to relax. Haruhiro was watching carefully for any presences. Naturally, this was exhausting. Whenever it became so hard on him that he thought he might break, his mind flashed back to Yume on the brink of death. He never wanted to experience that again. What was a little struggle now compared to that? He just had to tough it out. If he could tough it out, that meant he wasn’t at his limit yet.

No matter how much time passed, the sky grew no lighter. The sun in this world was incredibly shy, it seemed. In the end, the sun never rose, and the flame-like light he’d glimpsed coming from beyond the distant ridge burned out. When night came, it became pitch dark, making him realize it had still been relatively bright in the middle of the day.

Everyone was silent. Occasionally Ranta would say something stupid, as if he had just remembered that was a thing he did, but it never developed into anything fit to be called a conversation. Whenever someone stopped walking, they would take a break.

The morning that he couldn’t think of as morning came, and then the night that was deeper than night came. His hopes had been misplaced when he’d been waiting for morning to come. Still, whenever the flames on the ridge burned out, he felt his chest tighten with a feeling of helplessness.

They were all volunteer soldiers, even if not very good ones, so they had all been carrying emergency rations and water with them. Their supplies quickly ran out.

Ranta would occasionally summon Zodiac-kun and chat with the demon. He might have been trying to distract himself. Haruhiro began to doubt his own sanity. Even if he saw lights ahead of them, he thought they were a dream or illusion. He was seeing things that couldn’t be real. They had to be illusions.

There were lights like bonfires that flickered in and out of being here and there. It didn’t seem like a natural phenomenon. If it was no illusion, they were probably being lit by some intelligent life forms. Was there some connection between those intelligent life forms and the ambusher that had nearly killed Yume? He couldn’t possibly know.

The ground was on a gentle downward slope. How far was it to the light? A kilometer or so?

As they got closer, he gradually figured out the situation. The lights were no illusion. He could see a number of buildings clearly. He was able to confirm a watchtower-like building, too. The lights seemed to be from bonfires and lamps. There were fires lit hanging from the eaves of buildings and up in the watchtower. There were maybe twenty of them.

It wasn’t large enough to be called a town. A small village, maybe.

The issue was the residents. He called them residents, but obviously, they weren’t people.

“What... should we do?” Haruhiro asked hesitantly.

“Man, what do you mean, ‘what’?” Ranta sighed. “...What are we gonna do?”

“Keehe... Don’t ask, you runny piece of crap, Ranta... Worry and agonize over it... until you die... Ehehehe.”

“Don’t talk like that, even as a joke, Zodiac-kun,” Ranta said. “Not now. It’s kind of depressing. It’s just too much...”

“Don’t worry... Kehe... Kehehe...”

“Well, I’m not, you know?” Ranta said defensively. “I understand that it’s just your dark sense of humor, okay?”

“Ehehehe... Ehe... That a misunderstanding... Zodiac-kun always serious... Ehe...”

“No way, seriously?! For real?! And wait, why did you say that like you have a heavy accent?!”

“Ranta-kun sure is energetic, huh,” Kuzaku muttered.

Who was it that said, “If you have energy, you can do anything”? Haruhiro didn’t think you could do everything if you had energy. But without energy, there were probably a lot of things you couldn’t do. So it shouldn’t have been a bad thing that Ranta was getting his energy back, but he was noisy and annoying.

“We shouldn’t approach carelessly...” Shihoru said hesitantly.

“She’s right.” Merry agreed. “We don’t know what’s lying in wait, after all.”

“But it makes you wanna find out what’s goin’ on in there.” Yume’s stomach groaned loudly. “...Uh. Oof. Yume, she’s gettin’ hungry...”

Yeah... Of course she is, Haruhiro thought.

Honestly, their hunger and thirst were reaching dangerous levels. They needed to procure more water and provisions soon, or they were going to be finished.

“I’ll go scout it out,” Haruhiro said. “You all stay here.”

“We’re counting on you, thief.” Ranta slapped Haruhiro on the shoulder.

That irritated him, but Haruhiro held himself back, leaning in close to whisper in Ranta’s ear. “If anything happens, I’m counting on you to handle the rest.”

“S-Sure. ...Well, if it comes to that. C-Come back, okay, you moron? In one piece.”

“It’s creepy when you act like that,” Haruhiro muttered.

Haruhiro instantly shifted into a fresh frame of mind. First, he eliminated his presence—Hide. Second, he moved with his presence eliminated—Swing. Third, he utilized all of his senses to detect the presences of others—Sense.

In other words, he used Stealth.

He imagined himself slipping underground without a sound, becoming a mole and moving through the earth. At the same time, he would stick his eyes and ears up from the surface, looking and listening. Sensing.

He heard a sound.

Clang, clang! It was the sound of something hard being beaten.

The closest light was the bonfire on top of the watchtower. There was a moat around 25 meters from the watchtower. It looked to be about two meters across or somewhere thereabouts. Its depth was unknown. It probably wasn’t shallow, though.

There was a humanoid creature sitting up in the watchtower. Its torso was strangely large, while its head was small. That small head was wrapped in something like cloth. Was that a bow and quiver of arrows slung over its back? That creature was a lookout, no doubt about that. The residents of the small village were protecting themselves against intrusion with the moat, and they even had a lookout posted. It wasn’t going to be possible to go in there, after all.

No, it was too soon to make that call. Haruhiro turned left, advancing towards where the river seemed to be. He soon ran into a cliff.

He called it a cliff, but it was only two, three meters to the bottom. It wouldn’t be impossible to make his way down. There was a riverbed down there. The river was flowing just past there. It looked like they were drawing water from the river into their moat.

When he looked from near the river over to the moat, there was another watchtower. There was a bonfire lit atop it, and a lookout there, too. But this lookout was much smaller than the first one had been. It had a roly-poly body, only about as large as a human child. Still, its head was wrapped with cloth, just like the first. In terms of armaments, it also seemingly used a bow and arrow.

Haruhiro decided to designate this as Watchtower B, and the first as Watchtower A. He turned back to where Watchtower A was, proceeding along in the opposite direction.

The moat eventually began to curve. He could see a number of the buildings clearly. They were all one floor, and there were no more than ten or so of them. Eventually he came to another watchtower. Watchtower C. Watchtower C was big and sturdy. A gate. Watchtower C was built as part of a gate. There was a bridge extending out from that open gate. Made of wood, huh. It was solidly built. The bridge over the moat looked strong enough to bear the weight of a carriage.

There was a lookout on Watchtower C, too. This one wasn’t sitting. It was standing. Unlike the lookouts of Watchtower A or B, this one had a strangely long and lanky physique.

There was something weird about those arms. Too many joints? It looked like it had two, maybe three elbows? Like the other lookouts, this one’s head was wrapped with cloth, but it was protruding out from it at the very ends. Besides that, there was the tail. The lookout on Watchtower C had a tail.

At the very least, he could say the lookouts at Watchtower A and B and the one at Watchtower C belonged to different races. If Haruhiro used his common sense, it was the only possible conclusion.

Was the lookout at Watchtower C from the same race as the skeletal remains Ranta had found? It did have a tail. The corpse had had eight fingers, too. What about the lookout? That remained to be seen. Haruhiro couldn’t tell how many fingers it had.

The lookout of Watchtower C suddenly looked his way.

Have I been noticed? Haruhiro held his breath and remained still. If he panicked and tried to flee, that would make things worse.

The lookout took the bow that had been slung over its back, nocking an arrow. It drew back on the bowstring.

Oh, crap, he thought. I want to run away. I have to run away. No... Hold on. It’s not certain yet that I’ve been found. Besides, it’s fine. If it fires an arrow, it won’t be too late to run the moment it does. Probably.

The lookout loosed up on the bowstring. It spun the unnocked arrow around. Then, as if to say, Must have been my imagination, it tilted its head to the side.

Yeah, that’s right. It was just your imagination... okay? Haruhiro took a small breath, then he began moving.

That lookout was bad news. It was sharp. Had he made a noise? Haruhiro didn’t think so. Besides, there was a constant clanging with a regular beat, so he should have been fine making a little noise. Still, the lookout of Watchtower C had detected something. He decided it was best to be careful.

He continued scouting. Passing by the bridge, he followed the curve of the moat. After confirming a Watchtower D and Watchtower E, he came upon a cliff. The riverbed was below.

In other words, this village was in a warped circle, surrounded by the moat and river.

In order to enter the village, they either had to cross the bridge, get over the moat, or swim through the river to reach the riverbed on the village’s side.

It would be dangerous to swim through the river in the darkness. They could very well drown. They could probably manage to swim across the moat, but scaling the wall on the other side would prove troublesome.

That meant that, fundamentally, crossing the bridge was the only option. Of course, if he tried to walk across openly, he’d probably be sniped by the lookout. Could they remove the lookout with Yume’s bow or Shihoru’s magic? Then what? Force their way in? The six of them? There were at least four other lookouts armed with bows, and there was no guarantee that there wasn’t more.

Could they win? Or rather, was this a win-or-lose situation? It didn’t feel like it. Haruhiro and the party’s goal was to obtain water and food, that was all. If the party could demonstrate that they weren’t hostile somehow, might the residents let them inside? Then, could Haruhiro and his party trade their possessions or money, whatever it took, for food and potable water? Was that impossible? Was it no good...?

Haruhiro took the same path back the way he had come, observing the village across the moat as he went.

He spotted a number of the residents. He was surprised. They weren’t just people. No... there were some that weren’t humanoid. That was the better way to put it.

The most intensely different had six insect-like arms, with furball-like lower bodies. Those ones had had their heads wrapped in something, too. Weren’t the residents here a little too diverse...?

When he returned to his comrades and gave them the short version of what he’d seen, Ranta thumped his chest, snorting excitedly. “Leave it to me. I’ve got an idea.”

“Kehe... I have a good feeling about this... Kehehehe... It feels Ranta’s heading for the eternal slumber...”

“Hey, that doesn’t sound like a good feeling to me at all, you know?” Ranta shot back. “Also, I’ve said this before, but if I get sent off to my eternal rest, you’re gonna disappear too, got it, Zodiac-kun?”

“O dread knight... Ehe... Let us be embraced by Lord Skullhell together... Ehehe...”

“I-I’m thinking it’s a bit early for that, yeah? Listen, um, I’ve got lots I still want to do... like playing with some boobies, and—Wait, what are you making me say?!”

“Nobody’s making you say anything...” Haruhiro massaged his brow with his fingers.

“You just wanted to say ‘boobies,’” Yume said, and Haruhiro thought she was probably right.

“You’re the worst.” Merry practically spat the words at him.

Shihoru said something awfully harsh under her breath. “I hope Zodiac-kun’s right... about that prediction...”

“Hmph!” Ranta was undeterred. “Don’t think you mediocre people can hurt me with that level of petty slander. Well, just you watch. Soon enough, you’ll be getting down on your knees and begging me for forgiveness, I’m sure. I’ll play with your tits then. No complaints allowed. Oh, just the girls, I mean, of course.”

“...You’ve got one hell of a tough heart, Ranta-kun,” Kuzaku said.

“Damn straight I do, Kuzacky. My heart’s made out of diamond, okay? Now, all of you, follow me. I’ll teach you the one true way to handle this.”

It wasn’t like Haruhiro had an alternate idea. If it was a bust, they were just back to where they started. He decided to let Ranta handle it. So they all moved up close to the bridge.

Ranta put on his helmet, lowered his visor, and then told Haruhiro and the others, “You people wait here,” with a self-important tone.

“What’re you planning to do?” Naturally, Haruhiro was the one to ask that.

“It’s fine, so just shut up. If I’m right about this—”

“Kehe... This is you, Ranta... You must be wrong... Kehe... Kehehe...”

“We’ll find out soon, okay?” Ranta said, and then started walking.

No way, thought Haruhiro. Just to be on the safe side, he had the rest of their comrades get ready to flee. You’re going? You’re seriously going there? That’s crazy, you know that? Are you that desperate?

But Ranta was walking with an awful lot of confidence. He even started humming to himself as he went. Had he finally snapped?

Haruhiro and the others could only hold their breaths and watch over him in silence. Ranta had already gotten pretty close to the bridge. The lookout of Watchtower C noticed Ranta, drew its bow, and nocked an arrow. Even that moron Ranta would have to get the chills when he saw that.

He cringed—but he didn’t stop. He kept walking.

Seriously? thought Haruhiro. No, man, it’s coming for you. The arrow. It’s gonna come flying.

“Okay, okay.” It wasn’t clear what he was thinking, but Ranta said that as he waved his hand.

He would be crossing the bridge soon. He finally stepped on to it.

The lookout lowered its bow.

“...No way,” Haruhiro said, his mouth hanging open.

“Welcome, welcome.” Ranta crossed the bridge laughing.

What good is you saying “welcome” going to do, man? Haruhiro thought indignantly. Like, why are you okay? I don’t get it.

When Ranta had crossed over to the bridge without incident, he looked up to the lookout of Watchtower C.

“Ohh. Me. My. Friend. Friends? Comrades. Together. I bring them. Here. Now. You? Okay?”

The lookout tilted its head to the side. It didn’t seem like it understood. Well, of course it wouldn’t.

“Good.” Despite that, Ranta gave the thumbs up. “Okay. My. Comrades. Together. Now. Okay, okay.”

Then, leaving the clearly flummoxed lookout behind, Ranta came back to Haruhiro and the others in high spirits.

“There! How’d you like that?! I was right, huh! Bow down before me! Worship me! Also, you women, let me touch your boobs!”

“I’m never letting you touch them...” Shihoru said, covering herself with both arms.

“Ranta, you’d probably end up hurtin’ them if you did.” Maybe she just didn’t understand, but Yume occasionally said things that were slightly weird. Haruhiro wished she would be more aware of these things, but it was hard to caution her about it.

“But...” Merry tilted her head to the side. “Why? They seem to be pretty blatantly wary of outsiders.”

“It’s a mystery, for sure.” Kuzaku couldn’t seem to accept it, either.

“Could it be—” Just as Haruhiro was about to say it, Ranta cut him off.

“You moron! It’s my job to give the answer here! I had flash of inspiration! Don’t steal my thunder, Parupirorin!”

“Ehe... Your face... You hid your face... That’s why they let you in... Ehehe...”

“Zodiac-kun?! You’re gonna tell them that?! Hey?! I wanted to be the one to say it, you know?!” Ranta shouted.

In addition to the five lookouts, the residents Haruhiro had seen had all hidden their faces with cloth or something similar. Haruhiro had thought that strange, too, and it had caught his attention.

From there he came to the theory, “Covering your face is the condition for entering the village.” That was fine, but risking life and limb to test the idea... That was reckless.

Was it okay to let it slide because it had all turned out fine in the end? He worried over that a bit as leader. What should he do? He had an idea.

“Ranta.” Haruhiro rounded on him with a serious attitude. “It worked out, so it’s fine. But, still. What would you have done if it hadn’t? What would have happened? Did you think about that, even a little?”

“Huh? I don’t have time to think about that stuff, moron. Besides, I’ll have you know, Ranta-sama is never wrong.”

“You could have been in serious trouble. That’s what I’m trying to say here.”

“H-Hey, it’s my life, I can do what I want with it, okay? I’m a free man, you know...”

“Don’t say that in front of our comrades,” said Haruhiro. “If anything were to happen to you, everyone—even me—we wouldn’t be fine with that.”

“Shut uuuuuup! S-S-S-S-S-S-Stop that, you’re embarrassing me! I-I get it, okay?!”

“Then, from here on, promise you’ll be more careful.”

“F-Fine, I just have to do it, right? I-I’ll promise! There, that ought to be good enough!”

“You won’t do it again, right?” Haruhiro asked.

“I-I won’t!”

“Good.” Haruhiro quickly turned his back to Ranta.

Don’t laugh, he told himself now. I can’t crack up now. I just pulled off the “Passionate Leader” role. But, still, Ranta’s surprisingly weak to this stuff. It’s hilarious. No, no, that’s no good. If I think about how hilarious it is, I’m gonna end up laughing.

Haruhiro cleared his throat, then directed his comrades to cover their faces with something. Yume was staring off into space, while Merry and Kuzaku looked at him dubiously, and Shihoru looked down at the ground, probably suppressing a laugh. It looked like Shihoru could see through his act.

Kuzaku, like Ranta, covered his face with his helmet. Haruhiro covered his head with his cloak. It was worn and full of holes, so if he positioned it right, he could see. Yume, Shihoru, and Merry worked with towels and the like to fashion some masks. As for Zodiac-kun, depending on how you looked at it, the demon’s face might seem like it already was hidden. But it was questionable whether they’d see it that way. There was no way to be certain, so they had the demon vanish for the time being.

Now their odd-looking group was good to go. Was this really going to be okay? Haruhiro wasn’t confident, but the lookout on Watchtower C let him and the party through without even readying its bow. It seemed like they really would let them into the village if they covered their faces.

There were fourteen buildings inside the moat. They were of varying sizes, but they were all single-floor buildings. There was a plaza in the center of the village, with something that resembled a well there. The massive humanoid creature sitting next to the well had to be a guard. It held a stupidly big hammer, with a bow and arrows slung over its back. Its face wasn’t visible through its helmet.

They identified the source of the clanging noise. There were five buildings facing on to the central plaza. One of them had a large overhang on one side of its roof that was supported by pillars. Beneath that roof there were coals, or something burning red, and a large oven-like thing.

It was a furnace, apparently. There was an anvil, too. There was a humanoid creature there with a naked upper torso that was frighteningly swollen, a crooked back, a butt that stuck out, and short legs. It had fixed a bar of iron to the anvil, and it was banging on it. That was the source of the clanging.

“They have a blacksmith...” Haruhiro murmured.

The many weapons and armor that must have been forged or repaired by that bizarre smith either hung from the wall of the building or were leaning against it.

The smith had something like bandages wrapped around its face. But the crimson eyes that made it look like it was crying blood, and the mouth where hard-looking, mortar-like teeth were lined up without any gaps, were both exposed.

On closer inspection, it wasn’t just the smithy. The other four buildings facing on to the plaza had no small selection of goods on display, either under their eaves or inside the building.

The building next to the smithy carried what looked like clothing and bags. The completed ones were displayed on shelves or stacked on the table. Sitting on a chair next to the table, there was a thing shaped like a flattened egg. It had two arms (?) sticking out of it, and it wore a hat, so maybe it was a living creature. That might be the owner of the clothing and bag shop.

Across the plaza from the smithy was another building, or a shed rather. That shed had either had the wall facing the plaza removed, or there had never been one there in the first place. Either way, the inside was clearly visible.

The wall of the shed was completely covered with bags with holes in them, along with more elaborate masks and veils, as well what looked like helmets. In the center of the shed sat a humanoid creature that was thin and emaciated like a dried up, dead tree. The owner of the mask shop had six arms, and its more than thirty fingers were interwoven in complicated patterns in front of its chest. The face covering that he or she was wearing, as befitted the owner of such a shop, was a cool, shining golden helmet that was like an art piece.

Next to the mask shop, the building across from the clothing and bag shop was constructed similarly. However, it was about twice the size. It was clear at a glance what this one was. It was a grocery store. The meat of four-legged beasts and birds stripped of their skin hung from the ceiling, while bundles of some sort of plant were left on a shelf, along with what looked like berries. The already-cooked dumplings and fried skewers caught Haruhiro’s attention.

In front of the store there was a creature best described as a man-sized crab. It was stirring the contents of a pot that was being heated over a stove with a ladle. The giant crab that ran the grocery store was wearing a mask, too, but its two eye stalks were sticking out of it completely, so it was questionable whether its face was actually hidden.

The building next to the grocer’s had miscellaneous goods scattered around randomly, all on display in a variety of different ways. It might have been a general store. Haruhiro didn’t see a creature running the place anywhere. It must have been inside.

“What do you think?” Ranta snorted, puffing up his chest with pride. “Quite the village, huh?”

“...What are you acting proud for?” Shihoru showered Ranta with a look of seething hatred. Even with her face hidden, it was easy to imagine the expression she was wearing right now.

“It’s gotta be ’cause he’s an idiot,” Yume said, sighing with exasperation.

Merry was looking around restlessly. “We’re being ignored...?”

“Um...” Kuzaku waved to the well guard. “H-Hey there.”

The giant guard adjusted its grip on its giant hammer. Kuzaku gulped and took a half step backward, but that was the only real reaction the guard gave him. Not only did it give him no response, it didn’t even look in Kuzaku’s direction.

Ignored.

There were actually some residents taking a leisurely stroll nearby, but they didn’t even give Haruhiro and the others a second glance. They were being completely ignored.

Haruhiro crossed his arms, “Hmm...” he groaned. What to do?

“Don’t just groan in thought.” Ranta kicked the ground with his heel. “Do something, leader. Don’t forget, it’s for times like this that I let a loser like you be the leader.”

“You think you can get away with talking to me like that, Ranta?”

“If you don’t like it, then do something brilliant to shut me up.”

Hm, Backstab or Spider? If I were to going to snuff Ranta and shut him up for good, which skill would be better?

For a moment, Haruhiro seriously considered the question, but he had more important things to do than dispose of that smelly piece of trash. There was water and food right there. They had to get their hands on some, no matter what.

Haruhiro cleared his throat, then tried approaching the well. The well’s guard didn’t move. But, still, it was huge. Even seated, its head was higher than Kuzaku’s, and he was 190 centimeters tall. That was no joke. It was scary.

Even so, Haruhiro worked up his courage and walked forward. The well was five meters away. Four meters. Three meters. Any further and he’d be within the guard’s reach. If the guard felt like it, it could probably kill Haruhiro in a single blow as it rose.

It was hard to breathe. He felt like his stomach might jump up out of his mouth. Well, not that it did. He’d be shocked if that happened.

When he shook off his fear and hesitation and took a step forward, the guard suddenly half rose from its seat.

“Eek!”

“Meowha?!”

“...!”

There were screams, but not from Haruhiro, from the girls. Haruhiro was scared so stiff, he couldn’t even utter a sound.

Oh... Oh... O-O-O-O-Oh, crap! A-Am I... gonna... get killed...?

“I-I-I’ll give you a decent burial... Maybe?” Ranta whispered.

“Come on, let’s at least do that much for him...” Kuzaku retorted.

Wait, wait, wait? Before you bury me, isn’t there something you should do first...?

“P-Please.” Haruhiro suddenly put his hands up. His body, it moved. His voice, it came out.

Come on, “Please,” really? I’m not Ranta.

Even as he was on the verge of tears, Haruhiro kept his left hand in the air while using his right to point back and forth between the well and his own throat. “W-Water. I want drink. Water. Throat, dry. Um, we are travelers. Water, want... You... understand? Water, water! Could you... let us drink some? Water. Well water!”

The guard remained half-risen, not budging.

It was a bucket well. There were two posts on either side of the well, and there was a beam that went between them. There was a pulley on the beam, and a pail hanging from a rope that went over it.

The firelight from a torch attached to one of the posts illuminated the monster-like guard. “Like”? No, no matter how you looked at it, the guard was a monster. Those arms, they were definitely thicker than a person. It was way too big. It was crazy. Way too crazy.

“Let us... have... a drink...” Haruhiro gritted his teeth and shook his head. Don’t give in. You can’t. Lives are at stake here, seriously. “Water! Water please! Please, water! Give us water! Come on, we need water, okay?! Doesn’t everyone?! Water...!”

The guard moved its left hand. In that instant, Haruhiro braced himself for death. But it wasn’t its right hand which held the hammer that it had moved. It extended its left hand to Haruhiro. It was like it was asking for something.

“Mo—!” Ranta shouted. “Money, Haruhiro! Money! Pay up! Hurry!”

Oh, shut up, stupid Ranta, I can figure that out without you telling me. Haruhiro hurriedly pulled out a number of silver coins. He was so terrified that he thought his heart might give out, but he moved up closer to the guard, laying the silver coins in its hand. The guard brought its left hand up to its face, scrutinizing the silver coins in the palm of its hand. Then, immediately—it dropped them right there.

Haruhiro nearly fainted.

This time, I’m finished for sure, he thought. I goofed. I done goofed. I goofed bad.

“The black one...!” Shihoru shouted, and Haruhiro was a little proud of himself for immediately understanding what she meant. Though Shihoru was the greatest just for coming up with the idea.

“H-H-H-Here!” Haruhiro pulled out the black coin that the corpse with the tail had carried and showed it to the guard. “There, will that do?! Well?! Is this good?!”

The guard extended its left hand again. With quivering hands, Haruhiro placed the black coin there.

When the guard gripped the black coin, it gestured at him with his chin, saying something that sounded like, “Ua, goh.”

What does that mean? Ua, goh? Uagoh...?

Upper jaw?

Is that wrong? It’s wrong—I think...?

“Yahoo!” Ranta rushed over to the well and lowered the pail. “Water, water!”

“No, buddy...” Haruhiro felt the blood drain from his face as he looked to the guard.

He’s... not mad? It’s cool? We can use the well, then...? Apparently, yes. The moment Haruhiro thought that, relief and joy burst forth from inside him, and the next thing he knew, he was gulping down water directly from the bucket.

“Water is gooooooooooooooooooood...” he groaned.

No doubt about it. This was the best water he’d ever had. To think that water could taste this great. What bliss. It made him glad he was born. Glad to be alive.

They each took turns drinking from the pail, and they had each taken three or four turns by now, but no one had said they’d had enough. They could drink as much as they wanted.

Well, there might be an actual limit, so first Shihoru, then Merry, Haruhiro, Kuzaku, Yume, and Ranta stopped drinking in that order.

Ranta collapsed to the ground, rolling onto his back. “I-It hurts. I drank too much...”

“Ohh,” Yume crouched down, rubbing her belly. “Yume’s never been full of water before. Her belly’s all bloaty...”

“You got full. On water.” Kuzaku held a hand to his mouth.

Come to think of it, Ranta and Kuzaku had both raised their visors. Their faces were visible. Was that okay? The guard wasn’t saying anything, so it apparently wasn’t a problem, but it made Haruhiro uneasy.

“Maybe, if we have that money...” Shihoru glanced towards the grocery store.

“You mean that’s the currency in this place?” Merry was rubbing Yume’s back.

Haruhiro looked from the smithy to the clothing and bag store to the mask store to the grocery store to the general store. If that was true, and they could just figure out how to get more of those coins, they could survive for the time being, at least.