NOVEL WEB Chapter 287 (Self Edited) – Continuing the Investigation of the Village
Chapter 287 (Self Edited) – Continuing the Investigation of the Village
At that moment, Ingrid jumped up to her feet.
However, it was often the case that she was able to understand the situation immediately. No… should it be said that was the usual? Ingrid was jumping up like this in the middle of the night every night.
However, it wasn’t just about getting used to it. Ingrid looked down on her arms, adjusting her rough breathing. She smiled at herself as she watched the trembling arms.
“Goodness… To jump up and tremble after having a bad dream… not even a child would be like this…” (Ingrid)
However, even when she muttered that, the trembling didn’t stop. She clenched her fists tightly to counteract that raw feel that remained on her arms. However, that feeling didn’t disappear.
It was nothing. After all, Ingrid had become like this because of the dream.
It was like a small child, but it was more than anyone else who thought so. But no matter how much she thought about it, for her to jump up in the middle of the night and tremble, she couldn’t help it.
“…As expected, I shouldn’t have come back, right? No, that is…” (Ingrid)
Perhaps, it was because she was in her hometown. Today’s dream was even more vivid than usual. Normally, for some reason, the feeling disappeared immediately and the trembling subsided, but it hadn’t happened yet.
“Well, that’s not surprising. I come to a place that reminds me of that more than anything else, and there’s no reason why that’s not the case.” (Ingrid)
The nightmare that Ingrid had every night was a dream of killing her parents. She never got tired of it as the same scene unfolded repeatedly in her dreams.
Burning scenery. Resounding ridicule. Her own arms that kept swinging down and stabbing over and over again.
It was a sight she saw countless times that she could remember it even if she closed her eyes.
That was the reason why Ingrid didn’t try to take a day off. Ingrid wasn’t hardworking. She was afraid to dream when sleeping at night. So, she thought that the fatigue wouldn’t let her dream.
She recently started to settle down because she finally accepted that the event didn’t make sense. But no matter how tired she was and how deep her sleep, she ended up having that dream and jumped up. If so, it was better to take a good rest.
It was said that she was still overworked because she was still inexperienced. If she could only work more efficiently than other people, she had no choice but to work harder. That was all to it.
“…Anyhow, it doesn’t make sense to say anything as long as I return here. Besides, I didn’t have the option of not returning from the beginning.” (Ingrid)
For some reason, this place was her hometown. Even if she didn’t want to return, she couldn’t leave it alone.
“…Well, tomorrow… No, is it already today? There are many things to do today? Should I go to bed quickly without thinking about this matter?” (Ingrid)
Killing her parents, dreaming about it and returning to her hometown, which she had avoided so much… there was nothing else she could do. She still couldn’t stop regretting, but… once she fell asleep, she couldn’t do that either. Ingrid laid down on the spot, clenching her trembling arm, and closed her eyelids.
Strangely enough, she didn’t have that dream when she went back to bad. Therefore, she was able to relax her body with peace of mind.
She suddenly remembered the eyes that everyone turned to when she came back to this village. She gave up naturally though she became slightly depressed when looking at their eyes.
She thought it was unavoidable because she was suffering the consequences. Still, while exhaling a sigh, Ingrid’s consciousness fell into her dream.
—
The next morning, Soma and the other had breakfast and decided to start taking actions immediately.
The first thing he decided to do was to hear from those who they couldn’t ask yesterday. Although he thought that everyone would probably answer that there was nothing, it was possible that wasn’t the case. For now, he should ask all the questions.
However, this time, Ingrid was with them, so he didn’t really want to ask about Ingrid. As expected, it was embarrassing to ask something about her when the person herself was with them.
In addition, he had a general understanding about Ingrid. There was no need to collect any more information about her for the time being.
Anyhow, that was how he went around asking, but…
“Well, no one knew what to say. That’s as expected.” (Soma)
“Hmm, but what’s wrong with that. The only thing left to do is to find a place that seems to be suspicious.” (Hildegard)
“As you can see, this place is a remote village. If there is such a place, I’m certainly looking for it first…” (Ingrid)
“Yes. Hmm… Then, isn’t there something that seems better to look for in this place since it should be fine now?” (Soma)
“As I said, that feeling of mine isn’t very credible…” (Ingrid)
Although Ingrid floated a bitter smile, she began to seriously think about something. After staring at the ground for a while, he looked around the place…
“…I’m sorry, I can’t think of anything.” (Ingrid)
“Is that so…? I don’t care if it’s something trivial…” (Soma)
“Trivial is it? Well, I’m most worried about the attitude of everyone in the village toward me. I feel that everyone is kinder than I remember… Well, it was two years ago, so maybe it’s just that my memory isn’t reliable.” (Ingrid)
“Hmm… I feel like your complexion seems to be somehow bad, but is it because of that?” (Soma)
“Yes? Aah, sorry, it’s because I had a dream. It’s just that I didn’t have enough sleep, so you don’t have to worry about it.” (Ingrid)
“I see…” (Soma)
“Even so… could this be the work of the Devil?” (Ingrid)
Well, from Ingrid’s point of view, it was natural to think so. And since the possibility couldn’t be denied, he couldn’t say anything.
However, if he acted on that premise, he might cause unnecessary conflicts. Well, Soma wondered if there was anything else. But then, he suddenly remembered something else.
“That reminds me, where did you go yesterday?” (Soma)
“Yes? Aah… well, I went to my parents’ house for a bit.” (Ingrid)
“Parents’ house? Speaking of that, since this is your hometown, it’s natural to have one.” (Hildegard)
“But to be precise, it should be said that the former parents’ house. All that is now is the wreckage.” (Ingrid)
“Wreckage, is it?” (Soma)
“Since the time is right, would you like to see? Well, it’s not interesting to see anyway.” (Ingrid)
As he was told that, he looked at Hildegard. Honestly, it couldn’t be helped but be interested.
“That’s right… can you bring us there?” (Soma)
“Yeah… I’m honestly concerned.” (Hildegard)
“Got it. But well, just so you know, it’s not that interesting, alright? Don’t blame me if you’re disappointed.” (Ingrid)
Following Ingrid, who started walking while saying such a thing like a joke, Soma and Hildegard also started walking.
It seemed that they were heading to the outskirts of the village. However, he wondered if there was a house like Ingrid’s parents’ house there, and… when he got there, he was convinced.
“Is this what you meant by wreckage?” (Soma)
“Aah… well, there were many things happening at that time.” (Ingrid)
“Hmm… it’s like after everything has been burned.” (Hildegard)
Yes, there was certainly a wreckage, after the house had been burned. There were few remnants of the house and unburned trees, but it just made him think that might have been the case.
Ingrid opened her mouth while looking at such a scene.
“Actually, that dagger was my father’s dagger. It was a custom made item that was made by a Dwarf, and it had a distinctive pattern on the grip. That’s when I realized… that I have to return to the village. I took away what my father had and killed them with it. However, such an item is definitely a keepsake of my father. But when I decided to go to the Holy City, I couldn’t find the dagger for some reason, and apparently, I found it in that vacant lot two years later. So I thought this place was the first thing to be suspicious, so I returned here… well, it is as you can see.” (Ingrid)
“Hmm…” (Soma)
Certainly, there was nothing left unburned as far as Soma could see. He could also tell that there was nothing left to look at. However…
“It may be unpleasant for me to say this, but would it be alright to check it just in case? It may get a bit messy though…” (Soma)
“Hmm? Aah, I don’t mind, go ahead. The reason for this place is left like this is because the villagers also don’t know what to do with it. But then, can I go somewhere else? I can’t think of anything, but I still want to try to find out something.” (Ingrid)
“Of course, I don’t mind. Well then, I leave it to you.” (Soma)
“Hmm… Then, I’m going to help Soma. When it comes to investigating here, it seems that it will take some time and effort.” (Hildegard)
“Is that so? That really helps.” (Soma)
After seeing Ingrid off, Soma and Hildegard decided to investigate the place.
However, the only thing to do was to properly remove the wreckage. There was no clear purpose here, but… it was time to investigate quietly for a while.
When Soma squinted at what was on the edge of his field of vision, he focused on the surrounding area. Then…
“Soma… did you notice this?” (Hildegard)
“No, I didn’t, you know? It’s just that… well… are you telling me that if I follow along with what Ingrid has said, do you think there is something here?” (Soma)
That wasn’t a joke or anything. It was just a fact. Soma really thought that there was something here.
Even so, if he had to talk about the basis of the feeling… it was because he saw a similar scene in the dream he once had, and he felt like he saw something similar to ‘this’.
“You… could it be…?” (Hildegard)
Soma looked at ‘that’ under his eyes while shrugging at Hildegard, who seemed to have noticed something. There was something like a door that was big enough for one person to enter.
It was the entrance to the basement.
TLN: