I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 112

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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[112] Plague Investigation #2
Lords throughout the Kingdom grappled with urgent dispatches flooding in from their respective territories.
Eastern Kingdom, Rostal Territory.
The Lord of Rostal set down the report with trembling hands and issued orders to his Adjutant.
“Seal off all roads leading to the Western Bridge.”
“You mean to blockade the bridge, my lord…? But that will disrupt our supply lines for food and provisions. Moreover, the livelihoods of the residents nearby….”
“I will hear no objections. Do it now!!”
As the Adjutant hurried away in panic, the Lord of Rostal slammed the desk with a resounding crack and buried his face in his palms.
“How could this happen….”
Yesterday’s report had listed twenty-four infected.
This morning’s report bore a number exceeding three digits.
‘The rate of spread is far from ordinary…!’
When the initial reports first arrived, I dismissed them as exaggerated rumors.
Yet the Knight I sent to investigate the situation directly never returned.
This morning, that Knight was discovered at the Village Entrance.
Walking.
Eyes open, mouth agape.
But the armor within was hollow.
And worse still….
‘Violent behavior is manifesting in the infected.’
Seemingly normal people transform in an instant, attacking those around them.
Parents harming their children, cannibalism reported throughout every corner of the territory—such horrors had become commonplace.
There were no clear warning symptoms, making it impossible to distinguish the infected from the uninfected.
The entire Kingdom was being consumed with terrifying speed by the plague’s grip.
Yet no one knew where to even begin.
“Please, anyone at all… save us from this nightmare….”
* * *
Northern Kingdom, a small remote territory.
“This… is this truly the case?”
The Lord of this territory cast down the Physician’s report as though hurling it away.
At the end of the report lay vivid anatomical diagrams accompanied by trembling handwriting.
Despite the complete loss of internal organs, consciousness persisted until the moment of death.
In the early stages of infection, they moved about as normal.
But from a certain point onward, they began wandering aimlessly like the undead.
In the end, they became an empty husk, dying without ever realizing they were infected.
Numerous Priests and Physicians had devoted themselves to uncovering this bizarre phenomenon, yet failed to determine its cause, and instead contracted the disease themselves, meeting their end.
“…Send word to the Royal Capital informing them of the situation. And until this matter is resolved, sever all trade routes with the southern settlements.”
“If we sever the trade routes, our tax revenues will suffer….”
“When all the people we’d collect taxes from are about to die anyway, how dare you speak such nonsense!!”
After the frantic footsteps faded into distance, the Lord remained alone in his office.
He slowly approached the window and gazed down at the Territory below.
There, beyond the distant City Wall, I could see citizens killing and being killed by one another.
‘God in Heaven… is this truly real…?’
Why would humanity be subjected to such tribulation?
The murmur faded silently against the windowpane.
It had been merely a week since Doran vanished from the Royal Capital.
This week
It was merely a point in time that had passed outside.
* * *
After gathering several rare elixirs and equipment from the Elders’ Warehouse, we departed the Hermitage amid the villagers’ grand farewells.
Following Nia’s guidance through the forest, the dense trees gradually thinned, revealing vast grasslands stretching before us.
“We’re almost there! That’s the Human Village right over there!”
Ding—!
｢You are exiting the Green Hell, Great Forest!｣
｢You have entered the Northern Frontier Territory!｣
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen civilization…”
Having been abducted by the Flower Queen from the Royal Capital and now emerging from the forest for the first time, I had returned to society after approximately five weeks.
5 weeks
It’s as if he/she has returned to society after all these years.
It felt like stepping out of a military Training Ground.
‘I hope Malton and Karen aren’t too worried…’
Radi stretched comfortably and spoke.
“There’s no way a Portal would exist in such a remote village… returning to the Royal Capital now is impossible, so we should send a letter. Once we reach the village, what would you like to do first, Doran?”
“Me? I’d love a long, hot bath. What about you, Nia?”
“Meat! When I sneaked through this village disguised as an Adventurer before, the food was incredibly delicious!”
“Meat, huh? Then let’s fill our bellies first while asking the locals about the plague.”
Our objective was to investigate the severity of the plague and report our findings to the Elders of the Primitive Forest Tribe.
If we could also discover the infection’s cause and find preventative measures, all the better.
So before conducting a thorough investigation, there was something we needed to do.
｢You have consumed the Primitive Forest Tribe’s special elixir pill!｣
｢This elixir dramatically enhances your body’s immunity for a set duration! It significantly reduces the probability of contracting disease, but it is made from rare medicinal herbs of the Primitive Forest and cannot be mass-produced.｣
‘With this, I can at least ease my worries about infection…’
Since the supply was limited, we had to use it sparingly, but without understanding the plague’s mechanism, we needed to be fully prepared.
“Ugh, this is incredibly bitter…”
“Just swallow it. Radi, you take yours too. Bitterness and disease are different things.”
“Yes…”
After taking the elixir pills as a precaution against infection, we continued forward.
But as we drew closer to the village, the atmosphere felt wrong.
‘Why is no one here?’
In a place like this, there were usually Guards patrolling around the wooden palisade, but not a single soul was visible.
Despite the midday hour, the City Gate remained firmly sealed, and the Carriages that should have been bustling about were nowhere to be seen.
Without any obstruction, I approached the gate and struck the iron support beam, calling out.
“Hello! Is anyone there?!”
Just as I was considering whether to transform into an Imp and vault over the wall, I sensed movement from the watchtower above.
“W-what are you?!”
“Ah, thank goodness someone’s here. We’re Adventurers passing through this Region, and we’re looking for a place to stay for a while….”
“Get out of here! You monster!!”
“Just give us a moment….”
—Twang!
In that instant, an arrow was loosed without any warning.
As the arrow embedded itself at my feet, I reflexively stumbled backward.
“The next one will find its mark! I won’t repeat myself.”
We had no choice but to distance ourselves from the City Gate.
“…Was this place always so hostile, Nia?”
“Ah, no… I haven’t been here many times, but it wasn’t like this when I came before…!”
“Rather than hostility toward us, they seemed frightened. Could there be a reason they’re wary of outsiders? Perhaps a plague has spread to this Region as well….”
“That could be… The situation might be more dire than we thought.”
While we were in the Great Water Desert, the plague was only beginning to break out among the people, but it may have already been spreading rapidly outside.
‘It was fortunate I took the antidote before leaving the Forest….’
I turned my gaze from the Town and spoke.
“…With such a closed-off atmosphere, even if we snuck in, we wouldn’t obtain any useful information. Let’s head to a larger City instead. …Nia, where is the nearest City from here?”
“Um… We should go that way!”
｢You have transformed into a Primitive Tarantula!｣
I transformed into a Giant Spider and carried Radi and Nia on my back as we traveled.
Bolstered by the absorbed power of the spirits, I traversed in a single bound a distance that would have required two or three rest stops before, and a Small City surrounded by Castle walls came into view.
But this time as well, before we could even approach the City Wall, let alone enter the City, Guards unleashed arrows at us.
“Get away!!”
Ting—!
｢This City is currently implementing a complete ban on outside entry!｣
｢Entering the City interior through the City Gate without conflict will be difficult!｣
‘What is this…?’
From what I remembered, this City was never this exclusionary.
And that wasn’t all.
A crimson flag—hoisted only during emergencies—fluttered atop the City Wall, and beacon fires blazed on every Hill within sight.
Save for the vegetation and flags swaying desolately in the wind, everything appeared frozen in an eerie, unsettling stillness.
‘…What in the world happened out here while we were in the Primordial Forest.’
I could only hope Malton and Karen remained safe.
Radi quietly tugged at my robe and pointed in one direction.
“Doran, look over there….”
In the distance atop a Hill, a windmill was turning.
“Looks like a mill… There might be people still here. Let’s check it out.”
We made our way to Windmill Hill, climbed over a low fence, and stepped inside the mill.
But the interior of the building was completely empty.
Only the millstone connected to the windmill spun idly on its shaft, producing an irritating grinding noise.
Bewildered, we exited and surveyed the workshops, but came up empty again.
‘Every facility is abandoned.’
Charred dough lay abandoned in the oven, while moldy bread fragments scattered across the workbench.
A bizarre sight—as if people had simply vanished.
“I definitely smell people though… It’s creepy.”
“You smell human scent? …Is someone in there?!”
Clatter—!
Then, I sensed movement from deeper within the building.
I rushed over and found a man silently kneading bread dough in a corner of the workshop.
“Finally found someone! Hello there! What are you doing here…!”
Nia approached with a cheerful smile, but I immediately grabbed her and drew my sword.
Nia turned to me in confusion.
“Why? Anyone can see he’s human!”
“No. That’s….”
His expression was calm, his movements natural.
His breathing was steady, and his complexion appeared normal.
But.
The dough bowl the man was kneading was completely empty.
“…Step back. That’s not human.”
Something wearing a human shell.
As I maintained my sword’s point while creating distance, a strange whistling sound echoed, and countless figures emerged from all directions.
“H-hiii…!”
Startled by the sudden appearance of these people, Radi raised her crossbow, and Nia clenched her fists, both assuming defensive stances.
But the people showed no reaction upon seeing us.
As if we didn’t exist in this world at all, they simply continued their tasks in silence.
One person repeatedly threw a bucket into an empty well and wound up the rope; another mimicked chopping wood with a blunt, handle-less axe at empty air.
Creak, creak. Squeak, squeak.
Eerie sounds meshed irregularly, composing a grotesque symphony.
It felt like stepping into a play performed by lifeless puppets.
“What on earth is happening?”
“I… I’m not sure. This is unsettling.”
Now that I thought about it, even the beetle we’d captured had behaved normally until we cut it open.
“Let’s avoid provoking them and get out of here.”
I exchanged glances with my companions and quietly began backing away.
We’d nearly escaped the workshop when it happened.
Clang—!
The moment my foot struck the iron tray left on the ground, all their movements ceased in unison.
The creaking of the millstones fell silent, as did the futile sound of axes striking.
Dozens of hollow eyes turned toward us simultaneously.
“….”
And then.
They began to laugh.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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