After hearing Gerald’s explanation, both of them finally got the whole story. As it turned out, the perfume bag really did symbolize something. “…Still… couldn’t the ‘major issue’ be a good affair?” asked Ray. Shaking his head, Gerald then replied, “Unfortunately, I’ve heard tales of Grimhelm before as well. It’s an extremely vicious place, so the fact that he’s gone there must mean that he’s bumped into some trouble.” Gerald also knew that Old Flint was wise enough not to send such a perfume bag over under normal circumstances. He would’ve only posted it when he was in urgent need of help… “…I see! Then… When are we leaving?” “We leave at nine tomorrow morning!” declared Gerald, knowing how urgent the situation was. Following that, he turned to face Ray and Juno before instructing, “Ray, Juno, go wake Nori up and detail her on all this. Once that’s done, start packing up. I’ll be needing you three to follow me there!” With how serious the matter was, Gerald needed all th

Looking at the large-bellied man—who was staring at Gerald and his group—, Gerald already knew that he was trouble. More accurately, he felt that the fat man was a bandit and a plain bully in the village. While Gerald wasn’t too keen on getting into contact with him or his subordinates, he still put on a smile as he replied, “It’s just some food, but all of it has already been exchanged and taken by the villagers!” Hearing that, the big-bellied man then raised his head before declaring, “Listen here! I’m called Fane and I’m the boss of this village! Since you’ve come to my village, you should hand us something as a welcome gift! Otherwise, it’ll be hard for me to allow you to stay here!” Upon hearing that, Gerald instantly knew that Fane was merely a gangster trying to blackmail them for money. While the threats would surely fool the more gullible people, Gerald was experienced with people like Fane. With that in mind, he wasn’t about to allow Fane to take advantage of them. Re

“Look, I didn’t even leave the house! How could I have killed him?” explained Gerald. While that was the truth, he knew the villagers weren’t going to buy it so easily. With that in mind, the best way to clear things out would be by investigating how Fane truly died. Still, Fane’s death certainly explained why he and his gang hadn’t caused Gerald and his party any trouble the previous night. Though Fane was definitely a villainous character that deserved retribution sooner or later, Gerald had to admit that his death was a bit too untimely. Whatever the case was, Gerald then added, “…Look, before we start pointing fingers, let’s just get the corpse up first to see how he really died!” Hearing that, the villagers couldn’t argue with Gerald’s logic, so they began tugging his corpse up. The second the fat corpse was out in the open, everyone saw that his face had been completely ruined. With how badly his face had been clawed up, Fane barely had any notable facial features lef

“…Who are these people, Mr. Crawford?” whispered Ray as Gerald shook his head, a deep frown on his face. Quite frankly, he had no idea who they were either. Following that, a man with a buzz cut stepped forward, staring at Gerald and his group before asking, “Who are you people?” “Kind sir, we’re merely merchants who are here to have some fun!” replied Gerald. “…Merchants you say? Out here in the middle of nowhere? Who are you trying to fool?” retorted the man as he glared at Gerald. “You’re free to choose not to believe us. Regardless, what are you and your men doing all the way out here?” replied Gerald. “We’re here to look for the vampires’ territory!” declared the man with the buzz cut, not seeing a reason to lie. “…Oh? You’re here to look for their territory as well?” replied Gerald in surprise. To think that these men had the same goal as he had! “Hmm? So, you’re saying we share a goal?” said the man as he signaled for the rest of his men to lower their weapons. “

Upon hearing that, Gerald and the others were pleasantly surprised. After going through so much effort, they had finally managed to enter the vampires’ territory! “…However, the fact that those corpses were found dead like that… It can only mean that some vampires are still alive! They’re incredibly dangerous opponents, so please be careful, everyone!” added Old Flint. Vampires in general were an independent race that almost never had contact with people from the outside world. It definitely explained why they resented those from the outside world so much. It was also the reason why they usually attacked any non-vampires on sight. It certainly didn’t help that vampires were naturally fast and could easily kill any number of people they wanted. “Not to worry, sir! All of us are experts at fighting, so we aren’t to be trifled with either! With that in mind, I believe that the vampires won’t dare to act all unrestrained on us!” replied Lech in a confident tone. Upon hearing that