âWe will stay here today.â
Jin looked at the village welcome board in the distance and said to Jamie.
âSure.â
They could move at night but since they werenât going to meet Isis any sooner, they were staying in close by villages at sunset.
The two entered the village watching the setting sun across the mountains.
This was a decent sized village.
There seemed to be a lot of tourists so there were a few inns. There were stores selling souvenirs and pubs too.
The strange thing was that most of them werenât doing business.
â⦠why is the town like this?â
âI hardly see people.â
As Jin said there were hardly any people in the village. If this was a town frequently visited by tourists the streets would be crowded in the evening.
The two felt strange as they walked down the street to find an inn. And at that moment they heard a child cry from afar.
âAhhh! I was wrong⦠I wonât do that again!â
âDo you want to be cursed too? I did tell you that youâd get cursed if you went there! Didnât mother tell you?â
âUghhh⦠Sorry⦠I will not do that againâ¦â
âJust go there again and see what Iâll do to you. I will kick you out of the house next time you act like this! Get it? I will send you to the bloody ghost myselfâ¦â
âAhhhhhh! Sorry! Sorry! I wonât, mother! Forgive me!â
âThis is the last time. Do you get it?â
âYesâ¦â
âNow have the food.â
Jamie and Jin looked at the mother scolding the child from afar. It seemed like the child sneaked somewhere and got caught by the mother.
As this was a common occurrence, the two coughed at the sight and went into the inn which looked alright.
âIs someone here?â
Jin entered the inn and called for the person and a middle-aged man with a tired look walked out to the counter. He was a man with great size and had a blue hood on his head.
âWelcome. I am the owner.â
âWe would like to stay overnight.â
âWill you share the room?â
âOne for each.â
â1 silver per room.â
Hearing it was one silver, Jin tossed two silvers and with the money in hand, the owner looked at the stairs and shouted.
âNilva! Two guests! Get the bathing water ready!â
âYes!â
The girl above answered with a cute voice. After hearing that, the owner said to the two,
âGo to the room marked on the key. I will prepare the meal and bath water.â
âThanks.â
âThank you.â
Jin and Jamie each greeted him and went up to the second floor. As they went out, they heard the sound of water being poured into the bathtub.
The two glanced at each other and went into their rooms. Jamie unpacked and cleaned his dirty clothes with magic.
The advantage of being a magician was that he didnât have to worry about being clean.
In fact, he didnât even have to bath, but Jamie liked to dip in hot water.
âIt will take some time to fill the water.â
When he heard the sound of water, he guessed it.
He thought of going and helping, but why bother helping?
Then he sat on the bed.
âThe bed isnât comfortable.â
The condition of the bed was so bad that it was horrible compared to the bed in his home or the residence he was given in the Magic World.
At that thought, Jamie grinned.
In his days as Diablo Volfir, he slept on a stone floor, but after just 13 years he was missing the comfort.
And he didnât get enough sleep in the Harmonia palace either.
âIt isnât that I cannot sleep, butâ¦â
Although his body was used to comfort, his mind was the same, so there would be no problem sleeping.
Was it a matter of the mind?
âIt is ready.â
At that moment, the voice of a child staff was heard from the bathroom. When he went out, Jin was also there.
He was still wearing his mask, but after a few days of looking at him with the mask, Jamie knew that he would never take it off.
The two of them opened the bathroom door and a cute girl with brown hair stood there smiling.
She had two towels in her hand, one for each.
âCall me if you need anything.â
The girl left with those words. And looking at her Jin said,
âShe looks quite happy.â
âRight.â
Jamie answered as he took off his clothes and drenched himself in hot water with a towel over his shoulder.
âUgh~ this is nice.â
Seeing that, Jin said,
âYou are a 13 year old old man.â
After washing, they changed their clothes and went down. The smell of a delicious meal was hitting their noses.
âSeems good, right?â
âI guess this inn is good.â
The inn they stayed at in the last village was not good at preparing meals. It was so bad that even Jin, who was used to camping outside, couldnât take a second bite.
In his mind, he wanted to smash the inn, but that was something villains did so he warned them about their bad food.
Next time, if the same thing happened, Jamie was sure he would blow the inn.
It wasnât known how he would treat the inn in the next village, but it was true that he was angry when food came out bad.
âThere is a saying that you should be cautious until we taste it.â
âRight.â
The two went down and sat at a proper table. On the table were two meals served.
It was stir fried meat and vegetables, but it was a simple meal which didnât taste bad.
Jamie opened his mouth as soon as he took a bite.
âIt is amazing.â
âAbout what?â
âWhat kind of person wants to eat while wearing a mask?â
Jin had a mask where there was opening in his mouth.
It was because the mask he always wore only had eye holes and covered the entire face he couldnât eat, so this was one for eating meals.
âWhat does it matter what mask I have?â
â⦠right. You use it a lot.â
Jamie nodded and looked around.
âIt seems full of people?â
âRight. There was no one before.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âI think itâs a restaurant.â
âRight.â
Jin mumbled as he brought down his spoon.
Jamie looked at him and then with a fork he poked the meat and vegetables and put it in his mouth.
It wasnât great, but it was enough to satisfy their hunger. The two didnât talk much in the first place, but they didnât even look at each other at dinner.
They just focused on eating.
âOne beer here!â
âYes~ one minute!â
The girl with brown hair with her hair split in the middle came with a bright face.
Was her name Nilva?
She seemed to be around 10 years, and was able to work this quickly at such late hours without showing any pain on her face. Even adults wouldnât be able to hide their tiredness.
Looking around them, the tables which were filled had peopleâs faces dyed with exhaustion.
It was because they were all people who worked from morning till sunset.
On the other hand, Nilva didnât look tired at all, how could she not?
âThe orderâ¦â
âWait!â
Even now, she was walking around with a smile and a beer in her hand and a menu in the other.
âAre you interested in her?â
âItâs just nice to see her work.â
âWell, 13 is the right age for first love.â
â⦠bullshit.â
Jin ate with a grin and Jamie too. At that moment, an interesting conversation began at the next table.
âVilter too saw it yesterday.â
âThis fucking neighbourhood. Why did this village turn into this?â
âDid we really get cursed?â
âI donât know. The important thing is that there is something happening at night. It is also something so terrifying that it makes you faint.â
âIt is because of them. Ever since they came to this town, weird things began to happen. That woman and her two kids need to be kicked out.â
âThat is just an assumption. They are just ordinary people, people are so blinded by these words.â
When the oldest looking man said it was an assumption, the man complaining raised his voice.
âWhy are you defending those people? Canât you understand what we are going through!â
âRight! As Rio said, the problems came after they arrived in the village!â
âDo they look like people who bring trouble?â
âDude, didnât you say that dark magicians shouldnât be judged based on their appearance?â
âCough.â
Jamie coughed loudly at the manâs voice. Everyone looked at Jamie.
Jin looked at Jamie with a fork halfway in his mouth. And the food from Jamieâs coughing was all over his face.
Fortunately, he was wearing the mask so nothing got on his real face. Jamie took a deep breath and apologized.
âSorry. What I heard made me do that.â
He said sorry to Jin who was still staring at him. and the conversation which stopped started again.
âAnyway, it is true that the village has been cursed since they came here. No one can deny that.â
âUgh. Just letâ¦â
âDo you have feelings for that woman? I have heard that old bachelors in the village keep looking at her, do you also have those feelings?â
âBrat! What are you even saying?â
âRight!â
âCustomers, please lower your voices since others are here.â
As the noise grew, the owner went there and stopped them. Since the owner was huge and had a shaggy beard the people went silent.
In a small village like this, strong looking people were the best.
Fortunately, the place fell silent again and small voices could be heard. In the meantime, Jin wiped the mask with a napkin and raised his hand to call the staff.
âHere.â
âYes!â
Nilva ran to them and asked.
âWhat is it?â
âOne glass of beer. You?â
âI am good.â
Jamie didnât feel like drinking anything. Instead he asked her one thing.
âThere is something else I want to ask.â
â1 cooper for 1 question.â
â⦠you take fees for information?â
âJoke~â
The little one already had a knack for making fun of adults. Of course, Jamie wasnât much older than Nilva.
âWhat are you curious about?â
âThe noise from there. What is it about?â
âAhh. It is interesting to hear from the others.â
âIs the village really cursed?â
âWell. I donât know either, but I think quite a few people have seen ghosts since a couple months back. So the situation in the village hasnât been good. And it is rumored that this village is cursed and the other villages are speaking about it, making travellers not come here.â
âGhost?â
âYes. A couple months ago, three people, a mother, with her son and daughter moved to this village and from then on the ghosts began to appear. So people have driven them out of the village, but the ghosts arenât going away.â
âAll sorts of strange things seem to be around here.â
Jin crossed his arms and mumbled.
âAnyway, in case you donât know, leave this village as soon as possible. We never know what will happen.â
âBut you donât seem scared?â
Jamie asked Nilva who smiled. She pressed her finger on her lips and then answered bodly.
âI need to live positively. I will bring that beer!â
Saying that, she went into the kitchen.
Jamie looked at the direction she went and said to Jin.
âI will leave first.â
âOkay.â
Just because they were together didnât mean they had to talk, so it was beneficial to head up and take a break.
That night, Jamie didnât sleep until late at night.
The reason was simple.
âGhosts.â
Ghosts were Undead.
And the curse is black magic.
And the two meant necromancy.
âDid a necromancer come into this village?â
Perhaps, the three people who appeared here a couple months back could be the ones. Whatever happened, this piqued Jamieâs interest.
Jamie started to think.
If ghosts really appeared, they couldnât avoid his senses.
Because he was at the top of black magic. So even if he didnât concentrate he could feel it.
How long was it?
Jamie slowly opened his eyes.
âIt is true.â
The flow of energy from outside.
The collection of dead.
A spirit.
And since the spirit was an Undead, Jamie got up from the seat with a smile. It wasnât known what was happening in the village, but he didnât know if this could work against a mighty dark magician like him.
Jamieâs form disappeared like an illusion.