The village scenery was peaceful.

“This land seems too beautiful to be taken by monsters.”

Charlotte gazed at the harbor spread out in the distance. White buildings clustered together to form the village.

A windmill turned in the village, and the sound of an old mill grinding grain could be heard. As they descended towards the village, the sound of ship horns grew louder. Charlotte craned her neck, looking far into the distance. The sea rippled gently.

“The sea is calm.”

“Don’t forget that monsters are hiding down there.”

Benjamin pulled on the reins.

Lights flickered in the distance. A ship was sailing along the coastline.

“Is that a warship?”

“It’s a warship patrolling the restricted area. It prevents civilian ships from approaching the battle lines and monitors changes in the coastline.”

Fishermen gathered at the dock, setting up for a drinking party.

“I thought it would be desolate because of the monsters, but it’s not.”

“Of course, the battle lines are where people kill or be killed. Monster attacks are frequent, and most of the battle lines exposed to monster miasma are contaminated.”

“……”

“Still, it must be a place someone has to protect.”

Benjamin replied, nodding towards the fishermen holding bottles of alcohol.

“Due to the nature of the battle lines, mercenaries come and go frequently, but this is still home to the domain’s people. The fishing boats catch fish, the mercenaries catch monsters, each has their role.”

Most of the domain’s people had lost their families to monsters.

“This is Port Poputa.”

The wind blowing from the sea grew colder as the sun set.

“The wind is getting colder as the sun sets. Pull your shawl tighter.”

The black horse flapped its mane. It was a military horse that had fought monsters on the battle lines, so its mane was sleek and its body large.

Soon the guards pulled on their reins to slow down.

“From here, it’s better to tie up the horses near the port and continue on foot.”

[This is the timeline separator]

She wasn’t particularly fond of snacking. There were times when she’d pour strong liquor into an empty stomach, and many days when she forgot to eat.

Meals were just one means of sustaining life, and she found them somewhat bothersome. Her listless body didn’t have much of an appetite.

Yet here was Charlotte, chewing on octopus tentacles.

“Isn’t it spicy?”

“It’s spicy and savory.”

“It might burn your stomach. There’s potato salad too, eat it together.”

Benjamin put some mashed potato salad into Charlotte’s mouth.

“There’s a lot of spicy and salty food here.”

“The seasoning here tends to be spicy and salty.”

The old street vendor chuckled.

“This is how the fishermen like it.”

This was the life of fishermen, enjoying drinks and snacks at such street stalls. When battered by waves or unable to sail due to monsters, they’d burn their insides with spicy and savory food.

“What’s that tingling sensation in my throat?”

“That’s pepper. A little stimulation like this is good for mundane boredom.”

The pepper stung. Her eyes reddened from the spicy seasoning. Again, the ship’s horn blared.

Charlotte, her ears slightly covered, stuck out her tingling tongue a bit. ‘It’s spicy.’ Reading Charlotte’s lips, Benjamin put some honey-mixed potato into her mouth.

“You look like a cat with your mouth full of food.”

The potato chunk must have been big, as Charlotte kept it in her mouth, tilting her head.

“Hmm?”

Dreamy eyes turned towards him. Charlotte’s eyes crinkled gently.

“Want anything else to eat?”

“I’m full.”

Charlotte patted her lower belly gently.

“Everyone keeps giving me food.”

“You’ll get a stomachache if you eat too much.”

Benjamin grabbed Charlotte’s arm and leaned in, lightly biting the potato. His lips brushed against hers.

“Ah!”

The guards quickly averted their eyes.

“It’s sweet.”

Benjamin frowned at the tingling sweetness on his tongue. The street vendor grilling octopus skewers on charcoal laughed heartily.

“I poured lots of honey because you said it was spicy.”

The honey and mayonnaise-mixed potato salad melted like cream on his tongue.

“Why are you spacing out?”

Benjamin wiped Charlotte’s lips with his hand.

“You had some on your mouth.”

“You were like a snake just now.”

She licked the honey off her lips with her tongue.

“A snake with refined taste, I suppose.”

“……”

“Remember before? The first day you came to find me alone, you saw me as a snake then too. You asked me to put you in my mouth.”

“That’s right. You were like a snake that day too.”

“Whether in my stomach or mouth.”

Even though she knew eating the wrong thing could upset her stomach.

“I feel like I swallowed you that day.”

Charlotte touched her nape. A warm heat pooled there.

If she lost herself, she felt she might crumble right there.

“Ahem.”

The street vendor cleared his throat awkwardly.

“How much is it?”

“The price is three silver coins.”

Benjamin quietly paid for the food.

“Shall we walk a bit more?”

Charlotte walked along the harbor path.

“……”

Toot-toot— The ships blew their horns. Even this noise gradually quieted down.

Charlotte’s steps also became quieter.

When the sound of ship horns faded into the distance, Charlotte stopped walking.

“You have something to tell me, don’t you?”

This time, Charlotte asked.

“The criminal is suspected to be an ancient race worshipper.”

“You mean the clan that deals with monsters?”

Again, the ship’s horn blared.

“You’ve always been strange too. You’ve experienced the monster’s grave, and you’re close to black magic. Black magic, sorcery, monsters, monster’s grave, death, you’re entangled with them in every way.”

“You mean my life hasn’t been easy.”

“…There’s a place we need to visit together.”

Charlotte asked in a low voice.

“Where is it?”

[This is the timeline separator]

Outer battle lines.

Benjamin stepped on a rotted, withered tree branch.

“This is where the basilisk’s nest was.”

“Ah……”

“A small mercenary group was wiped out here, with twenty casualties. The monsters have become more violent than in previous years. This battle line wasn’t meant to suffer so many casualties, and in the past, the mercenary group that subjugated the basilisk here was also annihilated.”

People who didn’t need to die had died.

“Something’s wrong.”

“The monsters are becoming more violent, and their miasma is getting stronger. It’s true that their miasma intensifies as they enter their active period, but this is different from before.”

The increasingly violent monsters increased the damage.

The land contaminated by miasma was slow to recover.

The outer battle lines ran along the cliff.

Everything had become withered. The trees were dried and twisted, all moisture drained. It looked as if the tree bark had been charred to black ashes.

All the leaves had fallen, and the tree trunks were rotted black. Despite the damp humidity, the soil was dry. Crackle— The dry leaves crumbled.

“It’s so barren.”

“It’s contaminated by monster miasma.”

“…Is this the place?”

“Here, I saw through the eyes of a low-level monster.”

“Was it a crow monster?”

She remembered the image of it tearing open the beak of a dying crow it had attached to.

“Crows are closely connected to death.”

Benjamin recalled words written in ancient documents.

“If you’re the one who subjugated the crow monster, you’d know. It has left the human realm.”

“…Black magic, it must be black magic. It dwells in monster bodies, involves itself with death, and also controls monsters.”

Charlotte narrowed her eyes.

“It must have moved further away from being human.”

The next time, and the time after that, if we meet again.

“I wonder how different it will be from the last time we saw it.”

“It might be far from the appearance you remember.”

Charlotte let out a small sigh.

“Oh dear.”

It’s become regrettable.

The dry leaves crumbled and scattered into powder.

“I wonder if it gave up on remaining human.”

“If it’s embraced black magic, it’s hard to remain human.”

Benjamin stomped the ground with his military boots. As the heavy boots hit the ground, they left deep imprints in the soil.

“As one gets closer to black magic, the body moves further away from being human. Even if ‘its’ form resembles a human, it can’t be human. If you think a soul that’s involved with death and life can be intact, that would be wishful thinking.”

Charlotte cast her gaze far across the battle lines.

“How many did you say died?”

“There were twenty casualties.”

The entire mercenary group had perished.

“Too many sacrifices followed.”

Too many people have died.

“It’s different. Abandon the notion that it will be the same as before.”

Benjamin spoke as if warning her.

“The battle lines will become even harsher.”

“If it becomes harsher, those who wield the sword must become stronger accordingly. Excessive fear paralyzes people, but if it’s appropriate, it will sharpen the blade even more.”

On the battle lines, hesitation leads directly to death. Those who can’t adapt will end up leaving the battle lines.

“So that’s what a blade is like.”

In the end, one fights and endures death.

Even if afraid, one must endure, putting strength into the blade and striking fiercely.

“It’s getting dark.”

“The moon is bright though.”

“Isn’t it shaded?”

“I’ve often walked paths like this.”

Speaking of her past life, she had never lived comfortably even once.

That’s why death was rather comfortable.

‘It was unfair, but comfortable.’

Having experienced death once, she became indifferent to most things.

“Is there anything else to see?”

“Let’s go down, that’s enough.”

Charlotte gently shook her head.

“We’ll escort you down.”

The guards flanked her sides. The path down the cliff was slippery. ‘It’s slippery,’ said the guards as they held her arms. Even though she wore low-heeled shoes, her feet were cramped from walking for so long.

—Crunch

—Crackle

Soil crumbled and poured down from behind the cliff.

“How annoying.”

Benjamin ruffled his short hair. He grabbed Charlotte’s arm and pulled her close to him.

“Come out if you don’t want to be mistaken for a monster and killed.”

Soon something tumbled down.

An old woman crawled out, hugging a bag of luggage.

“Oh my, oh my. Please, please put away your swords. I just, I just lost my way and was looking for a way out……”

“What should we do?”

As the guards drew their swords, the old woman waved her arms in panic.

“My, my child died here, I wanted to… light some incense, hold a memorial service… My son died here… I, I just wanted to… send him off peacefully.”

“Was your son a mercenary?”

“He left to hunt monsters.”

Fedlin pulled the old woman’s arm from beside her.

“She’s very frightened. It would be better to quietly escort her down without intimidating her.”

The old woman dropped her bag. Incense, matches, and dried fish spilled out of the luggage in a tangle. The old woman felt around on the ground.

“Where, where is it……”

“Are you alright?”

“I’m, I’m fine.”

It had gotten dark.

The priority now was to go down.

“We’ll go down first.”

The old woman felt around on the ground, putting the incense and matches back into her bag. What she had packed thinking it was dried fish turned out to be stones.

“……”

Charlotte picked up the fallen dried fish and put it in the old woman’s bag.

“Oh my, oh my.”

The old woman rolled down the slope.

“Sorry, I’m sorry.”

Charlotte followed behind the old woman.

The old woman kept rolling down the shaded slope.

Adjusting her worn-out sackcloth clothes, the old woman bit her lip and crawled.

“Hold her by her side.”

Charlotte realized.

“She’s blind.”