## Chapter 569 – Nice to Meet You, Friend

After several days of travel, we arrived at the Misty Plains.

“God damn it.”

As expected, it was shrouded in fog. Just like when I came to find the meteorite, visibility was poor. The accumulated snow made the whole world look white.

Still, I was relieved that the snow hadn’t piled up too much.

We just sat still and let the carriage do its thing.

ㅡPhoo-hee-hee.
ㅡPhoo-lung, phoo-lung.

We went on for about five more minutes.

Suddenly, the carriage stopped.

“We’ll take a short break here!”

Barkerel shouted, and people got out of the carriage. Come to think of it, it was almost lunchtime. We gathered our things and disembarked as well.

“Paladin, we’ve arrived at the Misty Plains. Since none of you know the way, you’ll have to start searching from here. It will require perseverance.”
“You speak truly.”
“I plan to make a map as we slowly move, but let’s eat first. Thankfully, it’s not as cold as I thought.”

The carriage was equipped with simple cooking utensils, so we immediately took them out and started preparing a meal.

With Winia around, starting a fire was never a problem. As we had done until now, we made a simple stew and had a field picnic.

“So, this is the Misty Plains. It’s as foggy as I’ve heard. I can’t see an inch in front of me.”

Elise said while stirring the stew.

“Not being able to see ahead, just like the future of the heretics.”
“Hehe, that’s a funny joke. As expected, Saint is very amusing. Come to think of it, this stew… looking at it somehow reminds me of Saint during the Holy War.”

Heretic stew.

“Why is she talking nonsense while eating?”

Winia said, seemingly having the same association.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I spoke without thinking.”
“Well, the darkie does have a funny way of talking.”
“Hehehe, a person should always have a sense of humor. That’s the most important thing.”

Before eating the stew, I took out the grain and water containers from the carriage and fed the horses.

“So, is that why Katt always enjoys making murderous jokes?”
“Exactly.”

Cloudy poured my share into a small bowl.

Maybe it was because of the cold, but even the bland stew tasted quite delicious since it was hot. The warm heat spread inside my body, making me feel a little better. Even though my body was enhanced and I was wearing a Sasquatch fur coat, being outside for too long was still tough.

It’s hard.

“Katt, but if we find another village of criminals this time…”
“Massacre. Kill them all and rob their vaults, and it’ll be worth coming all this way.”
“Hehehe, you’re so reliable.”

Cloudy smiled happily and stroked my head. From the start, this mission was either search or subjugation. If there were any heretical collaborators, they would naturally have to be eliminated.

“That’s right. Such wicked people must be crushed.”
“…I’m worried about whether we can find them. Well, I hope we can find at least a village, whether it’s criminals or not.”

If it’s a normal village, we can just pay and stay, but if it’s a village of bandits, we can wipe them all out and rest comfortably.

I’ve done it once before, so it won’t be too difficult.

After finishing our meal and brushing our teeth, we talked with Barkerel. He planned to make a map and move aimlessly while looking for a village.

For now, that was the only way.

At the sound of departure, we cleaned up and boarded the carriage.

* * *

In that way, we traversed the Misty Plains in the middle of winter.

We were making a map, but it was uncertain how effective it would be. It was difficult to secure visibility, so the map itself wasn’t progressing much.

At night, we gathered the carriage and horses, lit a fire, and took turns standing guard while sleeping inside the carriage. Unlike when we went to find the meteorite, there were no monster attacks at night, which was great.

The monsters we occasionally encountered weren’t anything special.

From the start, this was an extreme scouting party capable of repelling even a Great Demon. Without exaggeration, ordinary monsters could be subdued with just one finger.

Naturally, the subdued monsters were immediately dismantled and used as ingredients for the bland stew. Overall, it was a journey without any particular problems.

“What, did we stop?”

In the midst of all that, the carriage stopped.

“It’s not mealtime… did we find something?”

Winia said, and the paladins and priests got out of the carriage in front of us. I immediately got out and looked around, and sure enough.

In the distance, we could see something like a flickering light.

A village.

“Gentlemen, it seems we have finally found a village.”

We found our first village a few days after entering the Misty Plains. Still, we moved around looking for paths and eventually found it.

I wonder if that’s a village of bandits too?

Well, even if there were a hundred bandits, they wouldn’t be a match for me and the paladins.

“Let’s go in for now. If we reveal our righteous purpose, they won’t drive us out.”

Barkerel instructed, and we got out of the carriage and headed towards the light. Before long, we saw a wooden fence and a three-story watchtower.

The light was coming from there.

“Stop! Who are you!”

Soon, someone appeared above and shouted, aiming a bow at us. Was it a village guard? Barkerel stepped forward as a representative and shouted loudly.

“We are the paladins of the Bronze Celestial Angel Society, on a mission! May we enter the village!”
“P, paladins…? Please wait a moment!”

For now, there was a chance that they were collaborators with the heretics, but we didn’t know yet. They could be good people.

That’s why Barkerel didn’t recklessly enter and politely requested to be let in. Well, if they said no, it would be suspicious, so we would force our way in.

There was no option to not enter.

Soon, people appeared and removed the small wooden fence that was set up at the entrance of the village.

“Come in!”

They surprisingly complied and told us to come in.
Did that mean they had nothing to hide?

We led the carriage into the village.

ㅡ…
ㅡ…
ㅡ…

As we entered, the villagers, who looked like they had crawled out of the depths of hell, stared at us with sunken eyes.

Judging by the number of people, did everyone in the village come out?

“S, so you’re the paladins…?”

A man dressed like a hunter approached and said.

“That’s right. We are currently on a mission. We would like to see the village chief.”
“Ah, I will guide you.”

Compared to the poor-looking villagers, Barkerel’s Celestial Angel armor looked extremely luxurious. People like this usually lower their heads just by looking at good-looking armor.

That’s the way the world is.

We immediately offered the residents some money and asked them to take care of the carriage. No matter what, things only work properly when you spend money. We’ll be staying here for about a day anyway, so there’s no point in saving money.

After entrusting the carriage, we headed to the village chief’s house as a group.

“So, you are the village chief. What is the name of the village?”
“It’s called Guirters Village… What brings the paladins here…?”

Barkerel spoke with the village chief as a representative.

The main point of the story was this: we are paladins from the church. Currently, cursed heretics are hiding in these Misty Plains. We need your cooperation in investigating them.

It was not a request that ordinary, petty villagers could refuse.

If guys who know how to wield a sword come and order you, you have to do it. That’s the law of this world. At least the paladins are politely asking.

“Of course, if you cooperate, we will reward you accordingly. We’re thinking of searching the village for a bit. It’s to eradicate the wicked heretics, so I hope you’ll grant us permission.”
“That’s… well, do so. If it’s for such a cause, we should cooperate.”

The village chief was a reasonable person.

Of course, if he didn’t cooperate, we would have started a forced investigation, suspecting him. Just like entering the village, there was no option to not investigate.

“You guys, form groups of three and investigate the village. The village chief has granted us permission, so we must act as politely as possible.”

Barkerel skillfully gave instructions, and the paladins and priests went outside.

“Saint, let’s start the investigation too.”
“Elise, wait a moment. Cloudy, Winia. Can you three start together first? I’ll join you in a bit.”
“Okay… I will. Come quickly, darkie.”

As everyone left, only me, Barkerel, and the village chief remained in the village chief’s house. I first asked Barkerel for permission to speak. After he nodded, I opened my mouth.

“Hehehe, village chief. Does this village have any lodging facilities?”
“We don’t have any specifically… but there are empty buildings where visitors can stay.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”

Fortunately, it seems we can stay.

Frankly, I don’t know if these people are good or collaborators with the heretics. Judging by the fact that they allowed the investigation, it seems they have nothing to hide, but you never know.

Even if they were involved in human trafficking, if there were no kidnapped people right now, there would be no evidence.

And it’s unlikely that heretics would suddenly come looking for them.

Of course, we can’t subject people to intense interrogation or torture based on suspicion alone. That’s absurd, and it’s something that heinous heretics and criminals would do.

We would never do such wicked things.

The people who do such things are the very enemies we must overthrow to establish justice in this world.

If there is no material evidence, we will simply move on.

That goes for me and the paladins as well.

Unless there is solid evidence, these people are just residents who need to be protected from the threat of heresy.

“Hmm, but you know, village chief.”

So, I decided to ask a few simple questions.

“As I explained, there are heretics nearby who are engaged in human trafficking. There was even a village that collaborated with them. Do you know anything about ‘that’? Suspicious people came looking… or rumors that the villagers were all massacred.”

I grabbed the table with both hands and leaned my face towards the village chief.

“Th, that…”

The old village chief seemed frightened by my question. Should I introduce myself first?

“Hehehe, I’m late with the introduction. I am Kim Katt, a Paladin directly under the Saintess of the Bronze Celestial Angel Society. As I said, I am currently investigating the heretics hiding in the Misty Plains.”
“P, Paladin…”

His eyes widened at the word Paladin.

That was the impression that the title of Paladin gave to the general public. Amazing, or frightening. Those who thought of the latter were definitely deeply sinful.

“As far as this Paladin knows, heretics have been nesting in these Misty Plains for quite some time. To the extent that professional human trafficking is rampant.”
“…”
“Don’t you know anything? Even if this is a small village, you still have contact with nearby villages. In that case, you should be able to hear ‘such rumors’.”

Even though the Misty Plains are such a mess, there should still be some contact between villages.

The people who live here must have maps.

In that case, they must know about nearby villages, and since this place is such a mess, there is a high probability that heretics have visited at least once.

The heretics who are using this area as a base for professional human trafficking would not leave the nearby villages alone.

So, the village chief is likely to know about such information.

“It’s true that we have contact with other villages, but… heretics, I don’t know anything about that. This is not a big village. We just live off herbs, local specialties, small-scale farming, and hunting… We have nothing to do with such things.”

The village chief, who seemed frightened, replied that he didn’t know.

“Hoo, is that so? Then, have you not heard any rumors that the residents of nearby villages were massacred, or that a village disappeared?”
“N, no, I haven’t heard any such scary rumors…”
“Hehehe, you don’t know.”

I smiled and looked into the village chief’s eyes.

ㅡThey’re trembling.

Even so, I thought he would know about the massacre of a village, but he says he doesn’t know. It’s suspicious, but maybe the communication network between villages isn’t as well-established as I thought.

In that case, he might not know.

It’s unlikely that the guys who live in this kind of place would have close ties with each other on a village level.

“Well, I understand. No, I’m not suspecting the village chief or this village. It’s just an investigation, so you don’t need to be so nervous. I’m simply telling you to be careful. There are heretics and criminals all over the place.”
“…”

I won’t bother mentioning that I caused a mass slaughter.

“Still, as residents of this place, I believe you have a map of the surrounding area. To put it bluntly, sell me the map.”
“…I understand.”

The village chief nodded.

After roughly finishing the conversation and receiving the map, I went outside. I immediately found Cloudy, Winia, and Elise, and we conducted the investigation together.

The residents were cooperative.

We didn’t find anything suspicious either.

In that case, there was nothing else we could do. As soon as we finished the investigation, we paid a fair price to purchase supplies and obtained an empty house to rest.

Well, we got the map, so that’s good enough.