Volume 13 Chapter 10 The Northernmost Village
Al tried to use the 'Telepathy' spell hand sign with Naresh, but they were too far apart to connect. The spell works within a kilometer, and Naresh was likely farther away.
Al heard Naresh went out with Lord Radyard for business, but he wondered where. Sigmund mentioned reviewing events from the past month, so Al guessed they were likely heading to the guard station.
In Parker, unlike in Lester, Al didn't know anyone, making communication difficult.
Thinking this, Al decided to return to the Levy merchant guild's mansion. He hurried back, eager to share his news, and was relieved to find Craig, Naresh's servant, still there.
"I'm back. I have something to report right away. Can I contact Sir Naresh or Lord Radyard?"
Al asked Craig, who was giving some instructions to the mansion's staff in the hallway. Craig looked a bit cautious, glancing around before shaking his head lightly.
"Sir Naresh and Lord Radyard went to the refugee village with Sir Desmond and the guards. They initially went to check on a commotion, but there was panic after something toxic was thrown into the well.
Sir Kane (Al middle schooler friend) and an herb expert went to help at the village. It seems chaotic, so I'm not sure if Sir Naresh will be free..."
Poison in the well... Is it that serious? Al's also worried about spies from the Tempest Kingdom. He can't ignore it. He'll tell Craig everything he has learned and his concerns, asking him to pass it to Sigmund.
Craig was surprised by what he said. He said he couldn't make any decisions and wanted him to tell Sir Naresh right away.
"Got it. For now, I'll head to that settlement. I'll fly there, so please tell me the location of the settlement. Also, is there anything else you need me to carry?"
The settlement is one of several refugee camps west of the border, across from Parker city. It's the northernmost camp, and the road is somewhat maintained, so he shouldn't get lost.
There's nothing special to carry, but he was warned not to fly out of the city directly. The guard team would cause trouble if they found him, so he should leave the city first. Al scratched his head.
"Understood. Well then, I'm off."
* * *
When he arrived at the northernmost settlement, he saw a group of armed people making a fuss at the entrance. Naresh was there, trying hard to calm them down. Lord Radyard and Desmond stood on either side of Naresh, protecting him from the rowdy crowd.
"We need to make that neighboring village head pay for this."
"Many people saw him last night."
"He was disguised in black clothes, but I won't mistake his face."
The gathered people seemed to be from this village, all saying similar things. Naresh explained that the neighboring village leader wouldn't poison a well, but no one seemed convinced.
Al tried to find a moment to talk to Naresh but had no chance. While thinking about what to do, he noticed Kane near the village well, talking to several people and peering inside.
"Hey, Kane, what's going on with that?"
"Oh, Al, you came too. Weren't you investigating a murder case?"
Kane stood up when he saw Al, brushing the mud off his hands as he asked.
"Yeah, I have a report about that. But..."
Al glanced at Naresh. Kane seemed to notice and nodded.
"Ah, I'm in on this too. I was called about the poison and just arrived. This village and the neighboring one have been at odds over their water source for a long time.
It's tough since it's a makeshift arrangement and the land isn't great. I heard this morning they planned to invade the neighboring village, so Sir Naresh and Lord Radyard came to mediate."
Naresh seems involved in all of this. According to Kane, he was ordered by the Margrave to arrange land for the refugees, setting up simple houses and fields. The refugees formed villages based on their original homes.
Naresh, being the Duke of Senet's nephew, was the right person for this job.
"Earlier, a mercenary from the Levy merchant guild said trouble started this morning when a dead beast was found in the village well.
The neighboring village's leader was seen at night with some men. Since the two villages have a bad relationship, things heated up."
Poison, not carcasses... The argument between Naresh and the villagers shows no signs of ending. Al wants to talk to them, but it might be impossible until they calm down a bit.
"What kind of dead body are we talking about?"
"Oh, it's a whole sheep. It's a waste, right? It's pretty heavy, and we were just discussing what to do with it."
Al was guided by Kane to look into the well. It was dark, so he couldn't see well.
"Sensory Boost'──'Night Sight'
The dead sheep's eyes seemed to glare at Al. It was an adult sheep. It probably weighed over a hundred kilograms (220 lbs).
"What are you going to do?"
"After we remove the body, we need to drain all the water. Depending on the situation, we might replace the sand, dirt, or stones in the well.
This work is deep underground, making it a big job. Removing the body seems the hardest part. If it were a small animal, we could just put it in a bucket, but with something this big, that's impossible. We'll have to tie it with ropes and pull it up together."
If they do that, it might make the water even dirtier, and that would be a big problem.
"Should I do it?"
If he uses the 'Carrier' spell, he could probably carry it.
"Hey?! I was saying that if it's Lester, we could ask Mr. Eric or Sir Wald, but can you do it too, Al? Please, I really need your help!"
Seeing Kane looking like he might cling to him, Al smiled brightly and scratched his head a bit shyly. The others who were with Kane also looked surprised and nodded in agreement.
'Fly.'
Al floated up gently and went into the well, getting closer to the dead body.
'Carrier.'
This time, instead of being invisible, he made a white-framed disc shape and sent it down under the dead body.
'Magic Power Control'──shape change
He changed the disc from the 'Carrier' spell into a bucket shape that followed the edge of the well.
'Magic Power Control'──shape change
Since it would be quite heavy with the water included, he adjusted the height of the bucket's edge to match the weight he could carry. Using 'Fly,' he slowly floated up from the bottom of the well while raising the 'Carrier' disc.
"That's amazing, Al!"
As Al's face appeared from the well, Kane started clapping. The others watching joined in with applause. When the dead sheep came into view, the villagers arguing with Naresh stopped, shocked as they compared Al and the disc with the sheep.
With everyone watching him, Al fidgeted with the pendant around his neck, feeling a bit uneasy, while floating away from the well with the disc holding the dead sheep.
"Kane, what should we do about this dirty water and the dead body?"
Kane looked over at the village head, who had been confronting Naresh. His expression seemed to say to ask him.
"Water, put the sheep's carcass over here in this drainage."
The village head, staring in shock, snapped back to reality and pointed to the entrance where there had been commotion. Since the drainage was nearby, Al replied with a relaxed "Okay," processed the water, and lowered the corpse to the ground.
"Al! Thank you!"
Naresh said this with a smile, letting out a big sigh of relief. Al nodded lightly and bowed deeply. Naresh returned the nod and turned back to face the village chief.
"I think we can manage the well recovery like this. For now, could you please stay calm and wait a bit? I will go talk to the neighboring village. If the village head really did poison it, I will definitely make them pay. So please trust me."
The villagers, who had been watching Al's actions, exchanged glances at Naresh's persuasion and reluctantly agreed.
"Al. You saved us."
Naresh approached Al with a smile and shook his hand. Lord Radyard and the others also seemed to relax a bit.
"No, this much is manageable. Now, I want to share what I found out since this morning. It might be related to the situation here."
Al explained what he had discovered during his investigation. Donald, who disappeared during the John Sanford incident, seemed completely different about a month before. A suspicious carriage was parked near Baron Zora's mansion.
Also, one of the spies from Lester was inside a building on Alder Tree Street.
"I see, so the head of the neighboring village has changed, and you think someone might be using a spell to disguise themselves? And that this could involve spies from the Tempest Kingdom...?"
Lord Radyard's words made Al nod slightly.
"I'm not sure if everything is connected, and I might have completely misunderstood the situation with the carriage. But..."
"There's definitely a possibility. The number of refugees is increasing, and the guards at the border city of Parker are overwhelmed. The spies from the Tempest Kingdom must be having a field day.
Here, the head of the neighboring village or someone similar has thrown sheep carcass into the well..."
Naresh whispered this, following Al's words. He placed one hand on his sword and nodded firmly.
"Old man, you stay here and keep convincing the villagers not to go to the neighboring village. Kane, please work on cleaning the contaminated well. And send a message to Sigmund.
Tell him to handle the situation on Alder Tree Street and the carriage near Baron Zora's mansion while consulting with Craig."
Lord Radyard quickly saluted. It felt a bit wasteful to give credit for their hard work to Parker's guards, but they lacked manpower. Besides, Al had already received his reward, so it didn't matter.
"I'll first meet with the head of the neighboring village to see if their personality has really changed. Desmond, Al, come with me."
When Al nodded, Naresh called over a man who looked like a servant. It seemed there were several servants besides Craig. Naresh looked around again and shouted.
"We're heading to the neighboring village. Bring the horses. Desmond's horse too. Lord Radyard, I'm counting on you for the well restoration!"
At Naresh's shout, the servants responded energetically with a loud "Yes!" The villagers, who had looked serious just moments before, suddenly brightened up and cheered.
'Wow, Naresh is amazing. Just like that, the villagers feel like they can trust him to handle things.'
At Glee's words, Al couldn't help but mumble in agreement. Two of Naresh's servant-like companions brought over 2 horses each. They were probably Naresh's and Desmond's horses, along with their own.
"Al, my horse is not great. Mr. Desmond's horse is..."
"I'll fly. For now, let's hurry to the neighboring village!"
Al floated up into the air again, causing the people around to gasp in amazement. Naresh and Desmond quickly jumped onto the horses they had been given. Behind them, Naresh's two servants hurried to mount their horses as well.
"Alright, Lord Radyard, Kane, I'm leaving the rest to you."
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