Chapter 19 – The Stagnant Water Was Starving.

The next day, Tiaran and the party were able to arrive at Arunel in less than half a day by riding a carriage with Rayna, who showed up at the appointed time.

“Ugh, ugh! Ugh!”

“Ugh, ugh!”

In fact, Lucia and Asta were already half exhausted and nauseous before even carrying out the request.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe that the rumored carriage was true!”

Lucia could not contain her astonishment even as she continued to gag.

“Ugh, if I ate something for breakfast, I’d be in big trouble.”

She could not have imagined that even Asta, who was disappointed that he could not eat in the morning after meeting Tiaran, would feel fortunate that he did not eat.

“Today was fun too, Hans!”

“Kiya! As expected of you, brother! You know how to have fun!”

In fact, Tia Ran, who had come in the carriage with them, was gently greeting the driver who was leading her carriage, holding his hand.

“You’ve already arranged the carriage?”

Originally, Lucia had planned to arrange a carriage first, but word came back that Tiaran had already secured a carriage to take them to Arunel.

“I don’t have to worry about buying it because it’s my favorite carriage every time?”

“In the first place, I think it would be rare for a coachman to be able to scam a gold-level adventurer…”

The fact that she didn’t know much about her world was a weakness that she herself was aware of. Even so, she couldn’t believe that there was someone who would scam an adventurer who could kill a high-ranking demon like Incubus.

“No breakfast today?”

“Even if I have it, I’ll give it to Rover next door.”

“Then at least that…”

“Asta! You’re just saying they won’t give it to you!”

Perhaps because Asta is a very greedy person, she hasn’t been able to eat breakfast recently, so it has become a daily routine for her to droop and talk nonsense in the morning.

“Everyone is here!”

“Of course an adventurer must keep his promises!”

“I don’t know what adventurers and promises have to do with it, but I agree.”

Asta seemed to have decided to understand whatever Tiaran said. Lucia also had a lot to say, but she swallowed hard and looked around her.

“But where is the carriage you wanted?”

Even though they had already arrived at the meeting place, no matter how hard they looked, there was no carriage to be seen around them. Could it be that I have really been scammed? When I wanted to.

“We will arrive now.”

“I can’t believe we’re arriving now. Usually the carriage has to arrive first… Ugh! Wind?”

But Lucia could not continue her words. A strong wind suddenly blew and stopped her from speaking.

Hee!”

“Oh my! Thank you for using it again this time! Brother!”

Apparently, the carriage that had not been visible until she closed her eyes due to the wind suddenly appeared next to her. Until then, they thought it was an ordinary carriage, although it was a bit suspicious.

“Oh, by the way, be careful not to bite your tongue?”

“Tongue?”

“Why the tongue?”

When Tiaran gave that advice, he should have gotten off the carriage right away.

“Go! Gold Pucker!”

It was only when the carriage started speeding up that they realized something was wrong with her.

“Geueuuuuut?!

Asta remembered her horse’s name only after hearing it. About the story of a carriage pulled by a horse with the strange name of Gold Pucker. This is what her teacher once taught her.

‘If you are going to carry out your mission in earnest, really, really! Unless it’s urgent. Never ride in a carriage pulled by a horse named Gold Pucker.’

At the time, Asta did not know why her teacher, who usually did not talk about herself, gave her serious advice. She never thought that she would experience it like this.

‘I should have suspected it from the moment Tiaran said she was patronizing, eh!’

It was so fast that all the women on the carriage ended up stuck against the back wall of the carriage. What’s absurd is that the wall behind the carriage was made of a soft cushion-like material, as if they knew this was going to happen.

“Kiyatho! This thing kills me anytime I use it!”

“Isn’t it just as delicious?!”

Only Tiaran sat on the coach seat and enjoyed her speed with her coachman. The good news is that the time they spent there seemed short, perhaps because the carriage was moving so fast.

“Lord, I thought I was going to die.”

“Please use us again next time!!”

While they were coming to their senses, the carriage disappeared.

“You! Next time, never call for that carriage!”

“Huh? Why? Once you get used to it, there’s no other means of transportation that’s as efficient and fun as that?”

“I feel like I’m going to die before I get used to it?!”

Asta completely agreed with Lucia’s words. Above all, Raina, who came with them, also seemed dead…

‘Like dead?’

“Hey, come to your senses!”

When he saw Reina fall, he thought she had simply fainted, but then it dawned on him that she was a normal person who couldn’t use her Maka properly, and Asta quickly woke her up by tapping her cheek.

“Huh?! W, where am I?”

“Where are you? It’s your hometown.”

“I guess I was exhausted from work these days. I fell asleep as soon as I got on the carriage.”

Fortunately, she came to her senses and did not remember anything and seemed to think she had fallen asleep in the carriage because she was tired.

“Anyway, I arrived. It looked a bit messy.”

While Tia Ran waited for the girls to recover, she clicked her tongue at the sight of the village in front of her.

“It seems like the wooden fence hasn’t been maintained for a long time.”

Asta, who had the best physical strength, stood up first, and she checked the state of the village with him and frowned. The wooden fence is not as good as the castle wall, but it is still an important structure for the village.

Even though it has the advantage of being relatively easy to maintain and repair, the fact that it is not managed properly means that there are no men in the village or the manpower is paralyzed.

“Wow, the situation doesn’t look that good on the outside, but let’s go in and hear the details.”

“How did it end up like this?”

After gathering her body, Lucia and Reina approach the wooden door together.

“Ibosho! I’m an adventurer who came upon a request!”

Tiaran went ahead and shouted loudly through the wooden fence, but for some reason, not even the slightest sign of popularity was felt from the other side.

“What? Isn’t there a gatekeeper?”

“That’s strange. Normally, there would be at least one guard on top of that watchtower.”

Instead of someone answering, Lucia felt puzzled when she saw that even the top of the watchtower was empty.

“Hey. I’m missing the dog. No matter how small the village is, the security guard will receive operating funds from the territory, right?”

“Are you angry about that?!”

“Because embezzlement of public funds is a serious crime!”

If you get paid, you have to work hard! They were looking at him strangely as he got angry.

“Could it be Raina? It’s Raina?”

Suddenly, a man’s voice was heard from beyond the wooden fence.

“Is this voice, Raman?”

“Oh, oh! You’re finally here!”

It was a voice that Raina knew when her name was called. As she raised her head and called out to the person on the other side of the fence, a voice that seemed to be welcoming and cheering was heard from inside her, and soon the front door opened.

“Reina! It’s been so long!”

The way he slipped out from under her and hugged Raina before the door even opened made them look like special lovers.

‘That guy is the same guy back then.’

Tia Rando remembers seeing a glimpse of him before, so she watched quietly, and Reina took the initiative to push him away.

“Huh, Raman? I heard the story in the letter, but what happened to the village?”

“A letter? Oh, that’s right. Then what about these people?”

He glanced at them and asked if he finally saw Tiaran and her group standing next to Raina.

“Is that man the adventurer you often talked about in letters?”

“Uh, yes! That’s right. He’s a talented person, so I’m sure…!”

“Welcome! I’ve been waiting so desperately for you to come!”

As Lucia immediately cut off Rayna’s words and frowned at Raman’s exaggerated welcome, Tiaran whispered in her ear.

“Rookie, isn’t that a bit suspicious?”

“Huh!? Don’t blow in your ears! I agree that it’s more suspicious than that.”

“Really? That guy seems a bit grumpy. Is he doing drugs or something?”

“Is that what you meant by being suspicious?!”

While Lucia couldn’t help but feel bewildered by his words, Raman gestured towards them and led them into the village.

“We were just preparing a banquet for you all!”

“A banquet? But the village’s situation is obviously not good…”

“Reina! What does it matter? If these people don’t solve the problem, it will continue to be like this. I have to do something like this!”

As Raman and Raina bickered, they were reluctant to intervene, so they followed quietly.

‘Sweet, I don’t feel very good.’

Tiaran looked around the inside of the village while watching them with a very uneasy feeling. Arunel was a fairly large town that could be called a countryside.

The atmosphere was strangely depressed. It is normal for villages close to the territory to be active as they also serve as intermediaries. That wasn’t the only thing that caught his eye.

“Newbie. Your expression doesn’t look good. Are you feeling unwell?”

“It’s not like that.”

While Asta was answering that question, she was looking at Raman and Raina with a frown from time to time, as if she was remembering something bad.