The residents of this small village warmly welcomed Lann and Bopai... at least on the surface it seemed warm.
Away from Lann's presence, people instinctively resisted contact with the Demon Hunter.
The village elder, a man named Mut, looked to be about forty or fifty years old, with a face marked by a long life of hardships.
The linen shirt on his body was frayed at the edges, and he wore a pair of boots so shiny from wear that they gleamed.
He invited Lann to stay at his home tonight.
"We truly appreciate you, Demon Hunter Master. Those glowing beasts outside have tormented our village for quite some time now. Every night, we honest villagers can only hide in our little nests, praying with buried heads, not even daring to glance outside."
At the dinner table, Lann leisurely ate the dinner provided by the village elder.
Nothing innovative about the thick mushroom soup and hard, dry bread... likely mixed with acorn flour. Follow current novels on novęlfire.net
The elder vividly painted a picture of an honest village, besieged by monsters from nowhere, living in hardship.
Lann looked up at him.
"Those are Netherworld Dogs, Mr. Mut. You don't know about these creatures? They are quite famous among the folk."
"Netherworld Dogs? Master, we are honest farmers, unlike those murderous, vile wood spirits in the nearby forest. We don't know what those monsters are, nor do we wish to know. We just want to farm honestly."
Lann had already made his judgment even before looking up from his soup bowl to observe his expression.
If he truly didn't know the folk rumor about Netherworld Dogs 'coming with evil,' why would he compare them to 'evildoing dryads'?
He just didn't know whether the sins that attracted these Netherworld Dogs were the works of the village elder or collaborated upon by many villagers.
In rural areas, it's not uncommon for villagers to cover for each other or even cooperate in immoral, illegal activities.
The involvement of three Netherworld Dogs shouldn't be that sinister... should it?
Lann, having little experience himself, planned to first deal with the issue of the cormorant curse and then seek advice from the experienced Geralt.
He directly asked the village elder about any special sceneries nearby suitable for rendezvous.
This concerned the matter of lifting Baron Ham's curse, so he asked for good cooperation.
However, contrary to Lann's expectations, this tactic, which worked in other villages without fail, didn't sway Mut.
Instead, this man seemed to want to turn the tables and threaten him.
"Aha! This concerns the baron's return to humanity!"
As Mut spoke in an uncontrollably joyful tone, Lann's eyes narrowed slightly.
As expected, the next moment...
"Master! Demon Hunter Master! This is a big matter! You, surely you can't let this task be messed up, right?"
Mut nervously swallowed, but didn't avert his gaze from Lann's feline eyes.
"Please, do us a favor. As long as you solve the monster wandering outside the village, we will cooperate with anything!"
The young man looked at the village elder in front of him, afraid but stubbornly holding on to the information, and pursed his lips.
Damn, could I really run into such a character!?
Lann, invoking Baron Ham's authority, urged the villagers in various villages to cooperate actively because Baron Ham's deterrent power was substantial in the villagers' hearts.
A baron who could shake his grain-collecting shovel during tax collection was the greatest authority to the villagers.
But what if the baron's influence wasn't the highest in a village?
For example... a monster wandering outside the village.
At this point, the other party instead had the courage to threaten the baron's envoy.
The baron might want me to work, but I'm about to be torn apart by a monster! If you don't help me deal with the monster, whoever wants to do the work can do it!
Mut now looked at Lann with a humble, pleading expression, almost kneeling before him.
But in reality, he was now threatening Lann.
He thought the Demon Hunter was like him, living under the baron's whims and thus must not dare to mess up the task.
In this era of information closure, even village elders often didn't have broad knowledge.
Lann shook his head, preparing to refuse him outright.
If Lann encountered a monster abusing a village on his way, he'd probably draw his sword on the spot. But to force him to work with a menacing stance...
Even if I were to slay that monster, I would wait until you learn your lesson first.
A good person must be pointed at with a gun? That's unreasonable!
But just as Lann was about to refuse, Mut began describing that monster to him.
"It's a shadowy, ethereal Demon Spirit. She always appears at noon, and the villagers who see her are like dried husks! For two whole years now, we haven't dared to leave our houses between noon and two in the afternoon!"
"Please, show some compassion. Quickly drive this thing away!"
Originally ready to refuse, Lann stopped the words that were about to come out.
With a strange expression in his cat eyes, he looked at the pleading Mut, and his words changed to.
"...Alright, no problem."
Mut, elated, leapt up and headed outside to announce the good news to the villagers, causing a cheer.
Inside the house, Lann calmly watched the back of the village elder.
The reason for his change of mind was that monster...
It is rumored that at high noon, sometimes a Demon Spirit, appearing in a white robe looking like a sun-scorched woman, would manifest. These are Day Spirits, usually transformed from young women who died violently before weddings.
Filled with pain and resentment, they dance the Dance of the Demon Spirit in circles under the sun with their phantom selves, and ordinary people would be bewitched by their supernatural power, joining them.
But in the end, all that's left is a desiccated corpse.
Isn't it a bit too coincidental?
Two years ago, Fist Knight had a falling out with his lover and was cursed into a cormorant. And in this village, where they once had rendezvous, Day Spirits have been causing trouble since two years ago.
This female Demon Spirit, born out of anger from love turning into hate.
Lann felt he was about to grasp the clue.
"Sir, we can't yet confirm that it is a Day Spirit. Farmers' words always lack accuracy because they lack knowledge and tend to exaggerate."
Mentos prudently reminded Lann not to rashly identify the monster type and form a combat plan based on the village elder's words.
Many Demon Hunter Masters had met their demise because of this.
"I understand. Tomorrow we'll personally go to the scene and investigate."
Lann, as a Demon Hunter, always upheld a cautious demeanor.