I Put all my Stats into Charm - Chapter 67

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I Put All My Stats Into Charm Episode 067

When we arrived at Bramshut Village, a middle-aged woman came running toward us.

“Honey!”

The woman embraced the man we had rescued and sobbed.

“What happened? I thought I had lost you too…!”

“Honey…!”

The man also sobbed as he embraced the woman.

While the couple’s reunion continued, an elderly man with white hair approached us.

The eyes of the old man, who appeared to be the village chief, widened.

“Lord Winston? What brings you to such a place?”

“I came to investigate the monster appearances and disappearances in the village.”

“I’m truly sorry that you had to come personally.”

The village chief bowed respectfully.

His gaze carefully moved toward Calliton.

“May I ask who this person is…?”

“This is His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Calliton Grailhart.”

The village chief took a sharp intake of breath in surprise. Then he immediately prostrated himself on the ground.

“I greet the Sun of the Empire!”

The villagers around also followed the village chief and prostrated themselves.

‘So Calliton really is the Crown Prince.’

When he’s with me, he seems like a rogue wearing a gentleman’s mask, so I haven’t really felt it lately.

Seeing him receive VIP treatment from people gives me a strange feeling.

Meanwhile, the village chief, red up to his neck, continued with a trembling voice.

“I had no idea you would grace us with your presence. Please forgive this humble one for not preparing proper courtesy in advance.”

“Rise. I detest tedious formalities.”

Calliton continued with a weighty voice.

“More importantly, I’d like to discuss the strange occurrences in the village.”

“Of course. I’ll tell you everything you wish to know. Please come inside.”

Our party followed the village chief to the community hall.

The hall was spacious enough to accommodate our entire group.

Simple food and drinks were served on a long table, and a map of the nearby villages was spread out.

Jerome, who had taken his seat, began the serious discussion.

“Could you tell us about the recent strange occurrences around the village?”

“Of course. I’ll explain in detail.”

The village chief explained what had been happening in the village recently.

“Originally, we would see monsters at most once a month, and only in places far from the village.”

The village chief’s face grew increasingly dark.

“But lately, monsters have been continuously spotted near the village. A few days ago, monsters even entered the village itself.”

Jerome, who had been listening intently, asked another question.

“Could you also tell us about the missing people?”

“Of course. I’ll bring the list of missing persons.”

The village chief brought a bundle of paper documents and handed them to Jerome.

We examined the list of missing persons.

The list contained portraits of the missing people’s faces, their personal information, and the circumstances of their disappearances.

Eldran. 80 years old. Male.

Retired mage

On ××day, family confirmed he had tea in the evening

and went to bed.

Missing the next morning.

Layla. 16 years old. Female.

Magic student.

On ×○day, went missing while heading to the Magic Academy entrance ceremony.

Shoes found in the nearby forest.

Rima. 32 years old. Female.

Arther. 10 years old. Male.

Healer mother and son.

On ×◇day, went missing after entering the forest to gather herbs.

Herb basket found in the nearby forest.

Doran. 26 years old. Male.

Gatekeeper.

On ◇×day, went missing after going to lock the gate following his shift change.

Seren. 50 years old. Female.

Spirit mage.

On ○×day, went missing after going to check the forest’s energy, saying it felt strange.

So many people really have gone missing.

I couldn’t believe that this many people had disappeared from such a small village.

Then, Jerome, who had been examining the list of missing persons, asked a question.

“Has anyone among them returned?”

“Unfortunately, not yet.”

This time Lowell asked a question.

“Could you tell us more details about the man named Doran?”

“He’s an ordinary young man who was born and raised in our village.”

“Hmm.”

At the village chief’s answer, Lowell stroked his chin.

The village chief observed Lowell’s expression and asked.

“…Why do you ask?”

“Because he’s too ordinary.”

Lowell tapped the table with his finger and continued.

“A retired mage, a magic student, a healer, a spirit mage. They’re all people who handle magic, but you say this person named Doran has nothing special about him.”

“But Doran really was a sincere young man with nothing special about him.”

The village chief added with an expression that seemed not to understand.

“When he was young, he did want to become a mage. But isn’t that a dream anyone has when they’re young?”

“Why couldn’t he become a mage?”

“His mana wasn’t sufficient. It’s not that he had no mana in his body. But it wasn’t enough to become a mage, they said.”

He has mana but can’t become a mage. That sounds like my story.

I felt an inexplicable sense of kinship with this young man named Doran.

“He said he’d become a spirit mage instead, but while trying to summon a fire spirit he couldn’t control, he almost burned down the village mill.”

The village chief gave a bitter smile.

“Anyway, after that incident, Doran gave up his dream of becoming a mage. After that, he applied to be a gatekeeper and lived diligently and faithfully.”

“If he could summon a fire spirit, he couldn’t have been completely without mana.”

Lowell’s eyes gleamed sharply.

“I’ve found the common point among the missing people.”

The attention of everyone gathered turned to Lowell.

Lowell continued speaking in a gentle and calm voice.

“There are individual differences, but the missing persons all commonly possess magical power. We don’t know their purpose, but those with magical power are the targets of kidnapping.”

Jerome’s expression became serious.

He opened his mouth with a grave expression.

“I’ll provide guards, so it would be best to send all those who possess even a little magical power to the Duke’s Palace.”

“We’ll do that.”

“We’ll do our utmost for the village’s safety, so please don’t worry.”

At Jerome’s words, a brief look of relief crossed the Village Chief’s face.

Before long, the meeting was drawing to a close.

“The outside air is cold. The cloister is spacious and has fireplaces to warm yourselves and bedrooms too, so please don’t sleep outdoors and rest comfortably.”

The Village Chief, having shared all the village’s information, stood up and bowed politely.

The Village Chief left, and the knights also returned to their respective shelters.

In the cloister, Calliton, Lowell, Jerome, the Knight Captain and I remained for a strategy meeting.

Calliton picked up a pen and drew circles in various places on the map.

“This is the area where the missing persons disappeared.”

Calliton moved his pen tip again and began connecting the circles.

“And if we draw lines like this.”

As the lines converged, an irregular area was formed on the map.

Calliton pointed inside the trajectory with his finger.

“There’s a high possibility that the kidnappers’ base is within this area. We should focus our investigation on this side.”

He spoke in a low and resolute tone.

“We depart as soon as dawn breaks tomorrow.”

Those gathered nodded at Calliton’s command.

I glanced at Jerome.

Ever since meeting the man searching for his missing daughter in the forest.

At first glance, it was the same calm face as usual, but Jerome’s expression was strangely subdued.

Jerome was already a man of few words. Seeing his already sparse words become even fewer made my mood sink as well.

‘He can’t help but feel down. With magical beasts continuously appearing in his duchy and people going missing, there’s no way he’d feel good.’

That wasn’t all.

Jerome had been kidnapped when he was young.

He was someone who even had trauma from that experience.

Hearing stories of missing people, I thought those unpleasant memories from back then might resurface.

‘Let’s postpone clearing up the misunderstanding for now.’

During serious times like this, clearing up misunderstandings wouldn’t be a good choice.

More than anything, his expression was so dark that I wanted to help him relax rather than clear up the misunderstanding.

How could I cheer Jerome up?

While I was pondering, the meeting also ended.

Thanks to the Village Chief’s consideration, we had rooms to stay in and each went to our assigned rooms.

I sat on the bed and fell into thought.

‘Nothing beats meat for boosting spirits. Should we have another pork belly party?’

But in a rural village like this, procuring meat was a task, and cooking utensils and ingredients were limited.

‘Meat would be difficult… How can I comfort Jerome?’

Then, an idea flashed through my mind.

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