"I-I finally made it…! This is the village Gamba mentioned…!"
It was evening, several days after his departure, when Yugo finally reached his destination. He had set out following the information Gamba provided, tracking the black crystals and the Magic Armor Beasts they controlled.
The journey hadn't been particularly long in terms of raw distance, but the lack of infrastructure had made it an ordeal. While there were paths connecting the settlements, they were poorly maintained and overgrown. Naturally, there was no such thing as a stagecoach or any other convenient means of transport.
Leaving aside the fact that traveling the rugged terrain on foot had drained more of his time and energy than he’d anticipated, his immediate priority was finding a place to stay. Stepping into the village, Yugo scanned his surroundings, checking for any signs that the Black Crystal Possessor had already caused trouble.
(It’s a gloomy place. There’s no life to it… or rather, the whole atmosphere feels off.)
That was Yugo’s first impression. It might have been the creeping dusk, but he didn't see a single soul on the streets. More than that, the very air felt heavy and stagnant. There were no voices of children drifting from the houses; the entire settlement seemed utterly devoid of vitality.
While it was possible an incident had caused this state of affairs, Yugo sensed a lingering, unpleasant aura. Spotting a middle-aged woman standing in front of a house, he decided to approach her.
"Um, excuse me. I’m a traveler—would there happen to be an inn in this village?"
"………"
"Oh? Hello…? Excuse me? I’m looking for a place to stay tonight…?"
She had glanced at him briefly when he first spoke, so he knew she’d heard him. He was being pointedly ignored. After he persisted and called out a few more times, the woman finally reacted with a sharp, loud click of her tongue.
"Tch! You’re a noisy one…! There are no inns here. And there isn’t a soul in this village who’d take in an outsider. Get out, and be quick about it."
"What…?"
Yugo was bewildered. He’d finally gotten her to speak, only to be met with blatant hostility. He felt a wave of discouragement as she waved her hand to shoo him away like one of the local pests, but he refused to give up. He pushed on, trying to establish some kind of rapport.
"W-Well, even if there isn’t a proper inn, is there some kind of temporary lodging for people passing through? Maybe a vacant house that traveling merchants use?"
"There isn’t. Outsiders rarely come to this village to begin with. Even if they do, they leave immediately, so we have no need for lodgings."
(There’s no getting through to her…! This village is built on a total rejection of the outside world!!)
Judging by the woman’s attitude, the community was deeply isolationist. From what he could see of the atmosphere, the demographic skewed heavily toward the elderly. The lack of young people was likely because they’d grown tired of this suffocating air and fled for the world beyond.
(Is that ‘unpleasant feeling’ just the weight of this closed-off society? Man, I’ve really stumbled into a difficult spot…)
In the previous village, Gamba had hated him, but Jasmine and the Village Chief had been friendly. Here, however, it seemed the entire village would respond with the same vitriol Gamba had shown before his change of heart. In a place like this, investigating the black crystals would be hard enough—simply surviving would be a challenge.
"I have a specific reason for needing to stay in this village for a while," Yugo explained. "I’d really like to avoid sleeping in the dirt if I can help it. Isn't there anything you can suggest?"
"I don't know your business, and I don’t care. We’ve had enough trouble as it is; we don’t have time to coddle outsiders. Go look somewhere else or just leave!"
"You mentioned trouble… did something happen here?"
"Quiet! Why would I tell you anything?! I told you to get lost!"
The woman’s tone confirmed that something had indeed occurred. However, she had no intention of sharing details with an outsider, viewing Yugo as nothing more than a nuisance. Just as Yugo was beginning to wonder if he’d hit a dead end, the woman, seemingly exhausted by his stubbornness, spat out a final suggestion.
"Ugh! Fine, you’re persistent! If you’re that desperate for a bed, go past that forest over there!"
"Past the forest? Is there something there?"
"The Outsider's House! It’s the home of someone just like you. Maybe they’ll take you in!!"
The directions were given with a dismissive shrug, but for Yugo, it was the first piece of useful information he’d gotten. He thanked her and turned toward the forest, clinging to this new lead. As he began to walk away, the woman called out to stop him, her voice suddenly heavy with meaning.
"Hey, kid. I’m telling you this once… no matter what happens at that house, don't you go holding a grudge against me. Understand?"
"Wait… what do you mean by that…?"
Yugo turned to ask for clarification, but the woman had already retreated into her home. Based on her behavior, he doubted she would have answered anyway, but her ominous parting words had certainly set his teeth on edge.
(But I have to go. It’s not like I have any other options.)
If he was going to stay and finish his mission, he needed a base of operations. The Outsider's House was his only hope. With a flicker of optimism and a growing sense of dread, Yugo began the walk past the forest to find the house the woman had described.