Chapter 126 – Asking for Shelter
"Honored guests, I truly apologize."
The station's innkeeper stood before the ruins of the collapsed building, speaking to Flamme with a troubled expression.
"A sudden storm not long ago caused a landslide that destroyed the entire station."
"Fortunately, most of the travelers staying here at the time were quick-thinking mercenary mages. The moment the disaster struck, they reacted immediately and even helped our staff escape. Truly remarkable people."
"But the inn needs to be rebuilt, so we can't host guests for the time being. Please forgive the inconvenience."
Flamme nodded with a gentle smile.
"That's alright. The important thing is that no one was hurt. We can simply set up camp nearby for the night."
Frieren, however, looked utterly exhausted. Her eyelids drooped and her face had turned pale.
"But we've been traveling all day. My whole body aches. Right now all I want is to sleep in a soft, comfortable bed!"
As she spoke, she shot Robin a glance.
"And besides, there's a certain annoying guy whose snoring sounds like a cow bellowing. I absolutely refuse to sleep anywhere near him!"
"—What did you say, Frieren?!"
Robin had already been tired, but the white-haired elf's complaint instantly ignited his temper.
"What's wrong with snoring? We warriors aren't picky about little things like that!"
"If you don't want to sleep near me, then go set up camp somewhere far away!"
"'Far away'?"
Frieren refused to back down, her sharp tongue striking again.
"Where exactly am I supposed to go? Your snoring can be heard from miles away!"
Seeing the two on the verge of arguing, the innkeeper hesitated for a moment before quickly offering a suggestion.
"The nearest city from here is Amber City to the north. Perhaps you could—"
Before he could finish, Frieren immediately deflated and sighed.
"Grandpa, we just came from Amber City. There's no way we're going back there in the middle of the night."
Seeing her puff out her cheeks in frustration, the innkeeper racked his brain for another idea.
Then suddenly his eyes lit up.
"Ah! I've got it!"
Here is the refined translation of the passage:
---
He suddenly clapped his hands.
"About two hours to the south, there's a small village. You could probably stay there for the night."
"Two hours?"
Frieren forced herself to stay awake and calculated the time in her head before reluctantly accepting the suggestion.
"Fine. Two hours of travel in exchange for a room without Robin and a peaceful night's sleep…
That's worth it."
Robin, who had overheard her muttering, shot her a sharp glance.
"You could've kept those thoughts to yourself instead of saying them right in front of me.
Honestly, that's just rude."
"Alright, enough."
Afraid the two might start arguing again, Flamme cut in quickly.
"Get back on the carriage. It's only two hours, but by the time we arrive it'll already be midnight."
The carriage rattled along for another two hours.
Just before Frieren felt like she might faint from exhaustion, the carriage finally came to a stop.
Frieren and Robin immediately tried to jump down, but for some reason Flamme stopped them with one hand.
"Wait. Stay in the carriage."
After saying that, she turned to look at Elias across from her. Under the pale moonlight, his expression looked even more serious.
"Elias… you've sensed what happened in the village too, haven't you?"
"It feels like some kind of strange magic. I can sense it, but I can't quite explain it."
"Is that so."
Elias quietly stepped down from the carriage, with Flamme following right behind him.
"Flamme, if even you can't understand it, then there's only one possibility."
Frieren and Robin listened in confusion as the two walked toward the village.
They stopped at the village entrance.
Under the dim moonlight, they could only make out irregular dark shapes scattered across the ground.
But when Flamme cast a small glow spell, they finally saw clearly.
Villagers lay sprawled everywhere on the ground.
"Ahhh! Bodies?!"
A scream suddenly rang out behind them.
Flamme turned back helplessly.
"Frieren, Robin… didn't I tell you to stay in the carriage?"
Frieren looked terrified.
"But… people in the village are dead!"
"They're not dead."
Robin calmly interrupted.
"Even I can see that there's no blood anywhere. And if you look closely, their chests are still rising and falling."
Frieren calmed down slightly.
"Then… they're asleep?"
"But it's the middle of the night and freezing cold. Why would they be sleeping on the ground like that?"
"I get it… it must be some kind of magic!"
While Frieren arrived at the obvious conclusion, Elias walked straight toward the villagers.
Looking at their peaceful sleeping expressions, he explained:
"More precisely, it's the kind of magic used by monsters and demons—spells that put people into sleep or turn them to stone."
"The portions humans still haven't found a way to counter are collectively called 'curses.'"
"A curse?"
Frieren blinked.
"That sounds pretty powerful."
Elias nodded in agreement.
"You're right, Frieren. Curses created by demons can't even be undone by demons themselves."
"In fact, when demons first created curse magic, they never intended for it to be reversible in the first place."
"—What?!"
Frieren's eyes widened in shock.
"Then what do we do, Elias?! I was hoping you could wake the villagers so we'd have somewhere to sleep!"
Elias calmly glanced at the surrounding houses.
"Why wake them up? Since they're sleeping outside, we can just sleep inside their houses."
"…What did you just say?"
All three humans stared at the demon in disbelief.
Flamme even wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Even if not tonight, we'll have to find a way to wake them tomorrow. Elias, as a demon… is there really nothing you can do?"
"Flamme, you know the answer."
Elias spread his hands.
"To lift a monster's curse, you need Goddess magic."
"And to use Goddess magic, you need someone who carries the Sacred Scripture."
"Unless we go back to Amber City tonight and drag a priest all the way here…"
"Or we pray and hope a wandering sage just happens to pass by."
—CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Three loud impacts suddenly rang out.
Elias looked at the fading glow scattering across his defensive barrier and couldn't help laughing.
"Heh… honestly…"
"I only said that casually, and the Goddess heard me already?"
"I never expected that we wouldn't even need to pray—the wandering sage would show up on her own…"
Then Elias turned his gaze toward a small house nearby.
"Come out."
"Since you've already attacked, there's no reason to keep hiding."
As soon as he finished speaking, a thin figure slowly stepped out from behind the wall.
The Sacred Scripture flipping in her hands was enough to prove she had launched the attack.
But in the next moment, everyone except Elias froze in shock.
The one who had just cast Goddess Magic: Three Spears of Light…
was only a young girl.