Chapter 573 – The Stricken Village

Inside the village that had issued the request—

Some villagers stood frozen in place, captivated by illusions created through enchantment magic. Others, though shaken by false visions, retained their senses and gripped hoes and hatchets as they desperately tried to protect the entranced villagers.

Even when Tauro’s party appeared, some couldn’t tell whether they were real or merely another illusion. Tauro, Aeris, and Zion therefore immediately used [Status Ailment Recovery] to dispel the effect.

As the magic lifted, the villagers came to their senses and finally realized that Tauro and the others were real.

“A-are you adventurers…?”

An older man, apparently the village chief, stepped forward cautiously. Seeing such a young party, with Tauro and Zion both still only fifteen, understandably made him wary.

“Yes. The two monsters that attacked earlier have already been defeated by my puppets, so you can rest easy for now.”

Tauro gestured toward Seth, Adam, and Eve.

“Oh! A [Puppeteer]! In that case, please defeat the remaining monsters as well!”

“…Remaining monsters?”

“Yes. We believe there are more. We’ve been gathering information to report to the Adventurers’ Guild. From the illusions the villagers shared—and the fact that everyone saw at least five figures—we concluded that there must be at least five monsters in total.”

“Five…”

The village chief and the villagers hadn’t simply cowered in fear over the past few months. They had tried to deduce the enemy’s nature on their own.

With the adventurers who came to help repeatedly failing or retreating, the village’s very survival had been at stake.

“That information is very helpful. Then let’s reinforce the village perimeter and repair the fence while we prepare for the remaining monsters.”

“That would be a great help! Ever since the fence was broken, we haven’t had time to repair it because other monsters keep attacking…”

“Other monsters?”

“Kobolds and the like. They’re creatures we can normally drive off together, but repeated attacks at night have pushed us to our limit.”

“That must have been exhausting… Aeris, can you handle it?”

“Of course. I’ll put up a barrier around the village to keep ordinary monsters away.”

Without needing any further explanation, Aeris deployed a protective barrier around the settlement.

“Seth, take Adam and Eve and keep watch outside the barrier. We’ll repair the fence in the meantime.”

Seth nodded and dashed off with Adam and Eve.

“This is only the second time I’ve seen a [Puppeteer], but your puppet moves so naturally—almost as though he has a will of his own,” the village chief remarked while watching Seth.

“Oh? What was the other puppeteer like?”

Tauro’s curiosity was piqued.

“About half a year ago, a traveling man passed through the village. He had a talking puppet. The villagers loved it and paid generously to watch.”

…That sounds like ventriloquism.

Tauro suppressed the retort, but the story gave him an idea. Perhaps he could install a mechanism that used magic stones to convert Seth’s thoughts into speech.

Tauro transported logs with [Magic Storage]. Zion cut them to length with magically enhanced hand strikes. Ankh sharpened the ends with wind magic, while Ragune used earth magic to shape the ground and firmly set the posts.

By each making use of their specialties, the party repaired the broken fence with ease.

“…Are you really adventurers?”

“You’re more skilled than our lumberjacks!”

“My pride’s wounded!”

The villagers stared at them in disbelief.

“Haha. We just have good teamwork,” Tauro said proudly.

That night—

“…Seth? Hold on. I’ll share your vision.”

While sleeping in an empty house the village had lent them, Tauro awoke to Seth’s mental call.

“This is Adam’s vision… It’s dark, so I can’t see very well… but are those the same kind of monsters as the Bloodsucking Wolves from earlier? …Yes. One large one and three normal-sized ones. We’ll intercept them. Seth, circle around behind them so they can’t escape… Right. I’m counting on you.”

After coordinating with Seth, Tauro turned to the others.

“Everyone, wake up. Seth says the remaining monsters are approaching. They’re still some distance away, so let’s prepare and intercept them.”

Aeris and the others immediately became alert.

“…Got it. We’ll meet them outside the village. We don’t want the villagers getting caught in illusion magic again.”

Though still slightly groggy, Aeris immediately proposed a plan that put the villagers’ safety first.

“…Yeah. These people have lived with nightmares for months. Let’s at least give them one peaceful night,” Ankh agreed.

Ragune and Zion nodded.

“Alright. Let’s move.”

At Tauro’s command, the party left the house and headed into the night to confront the approaching monsters.