kscans

Chapter 57 - The Mysterious Boy

When the stone gate creaked open, a single thought flashed through the minds of the grandfather and granddaughter.

We were too slow to escape!

But as the gate opened, heedless of their regret and fear…

""...A child…?""

Before the bewildered pair stood a child who looked to be no more than ten years old, and he was alone.

The child silently stepped out from behind the wall and turned to face them, as if to ask who they were and what they wanted.

"Uh, umm…"

Dona tried to speak, but she didn't know what to say in a situation like this. Though she was mature for her age, she was still just a fourteen year old girl. She lacked life experience. She glanced at her grandfather beside her, but he remained silent, offering no response. It seemed he was conveniently letting his granddaughter handle the negotiations. Which probably meant that he couldn't think of a good idea either.

Resigned, she turned her gaze back to the boy. He looked to be about ten years old, maybe a little older. He was dressed in simple but clean clothes, and at his hip hung something like a heavy knife.

Still, Dona wondered, why weren't the other adults showing themselves? Judging by the lack of sounds or presence, were they out? But surely not all of them would be gone. Were they planning to push everything onto this one child? If so, why would they…

Just as her thoughts drifted to such matters, a form of escapism, the boy before them spoke.

"...Are you from End Village?"

In hindsight, it wasn't strange at all, but at that moment, they were so shocked that the boy had spoken that they could do nothing but nod. Like bobbleheads, they nodded jerkily. Silently, doing nothing more.

Their reaction must have been quite amusing, because the boy's gaze softened slightly.

"In any case, please come inside."


They had been amazed by the sturdy stone walls, the likes of which they had never seen before, and this was true for the grandfather Audel as well. But upon entering, they were once again surprised, or perhaps, perplexed.

First, the inside of the village, if you could call it that, was remarkably tidy. In most villages, like their own, you would find things piled up or left in the corners of paths or under the eaves of houses. If there was livestock, it wasn't uncommon to find fresh "droppings" left behind. Yet here, there was none of that. It lacked the signs of daily life, one might say.

Stranger still were the houses lining the paths. A quick count showed there were more than thirty of them, but all of them looked strangely old. According to her grandfather, Audel, the stone wall hadn't been there when he passed through eight years ago. There had only been a decaying wooden fence, or the remains of one. Furthermore, a villager who was supposed to have passed through this area six years ago had reported no abnormalities. If that was true, and there was no reason to doubt it, the houses in this village should be at most about five years old. Yet they didn't look it at all. One might consider that they were reusing and repairing old houses, but the problem was that all the visible houses remained old and showed no signs of repair… except for a few near the well.

On the other hand, the fields were meticulously cared for. They were farmers, after all, and knew a thing or two about fields. From their perspective, the crops in the fields were as well tended as those in their own village… no, to be frank, they were even better cared for than their own. This meant there must be at least as many workers here as in End Village. …And yet, they hadn't seen a single person.

"H-hey, you, where is everyone else?" Dona asked, unable to contain her curiosity. But the boy's answer, when he turned around, was once again astonishing.

"There is no one else."

""—What?""

"I’m the only one living here."