“Lofus Ray Lightless!” the blonde woman shouted. “Because of nobles like you, Norn was... Norn was...”
Her face twisted with rage and wrath as she gripped her blade and hacked me to pieces over and over again. She relentlessly continued her attacks, and I was killed countless times in my dreams as this sailor woman exhibited the most animosity among the main character’s forces. She clearly held something very personal against me. She glared at me with murderous fury as the name of the childhood friend she failed to save repeatedly tumbled out of her lips.
She gave a final swing of her blade toward me...
✶✶✶
I opened my eyes as the gentle scent of the ocean tickled my nose. The rickety ceiling of the carriage appeared before me. What a nightmare, I thought. I’d dreamed of being killed by a crazy woman, and now I was headed to her hometown of Roguebert. While I wasn’t sure if this village was related in any way to my dream, it seemed that I internally rejected everything related to that woman. Carlos must’ve noticed that I awoke as he peered in through the coachman’s window.
“Are you up, my lord?” he asked.
“Yes, though I can’t say that sleeping in a carriage is a comfortable experience,” I replied. “I had a horrible nightmare.”
“Again? You’ve been having these nightmares quite frequently recently.”
“Indeed...”
I no longer wished to be killed for crimes that I didn’t remember committing.
“Do hang in there,” Carlos said. “We’ll arrive in Roguebert quite soon.”
He flashed a smile as I gazed out the window, only to spot the vast ocean and a dying fishing village.
✶✶✶
After a full four days within the carriage, I finally reached Roguebert. I could smell the ocean even from within the carriage, and when I looked out, I could see many dinky hovels cluttered around the streets. This was exactly the kind of rural, remote region that I’d envisioned. A man like me, born and raised in the cities, found the mere sight of this place offensive to the eyes, but I had to bear with it. My life’s on the line. Roguebert was a tiny fishing village with fewer than a hundred residents in total; since it bordered on the main street, I suspected that many travelers and merchants passed by here. It should be decently prosperous, by all accounts...
“Are we really in Roguebert?” I asked.
The village was more dismal than I expected, and there were hardly any signs of people. With all the abandoned houses, it more resembled a ghost town. Feels like Roguebert’s already done for.
“According to the map, we should be in the right place,” Carlos muttered.
His hands gripped the reins as he also tilted his head to one side with confusion. In my dream, Roguebert appeared in the first arc, right after I began my life at the academy. I entered the academy upon reaching adulthood—around three years from now. But even then, there weren’t any talks about the village being this abandoned... What in the world happened?
“Carlos, stop the carriage,” I ordered.
My butler heeded my order and I stepped off.
“What will you do?” he asked.
“Look for residents,” I replied.
The best way to learn about the current state of the village was to ask about it from its residents. Though the issue here is that there just aren’t any people around. With Carlos in tow, I walked around the village and noticed a little lodging located in the corner, with an “open” sign hanging from its door. I decided to peek inside, but when I entered the place, there were no signs of employees at the counter. Instead, a little bell stood there solemnly.
“My lord, if you ring that bell, I suspect someone might come to assist you,” Carlos said.
“Are you mocking me?” I snapped. “I can obviously see that.”
If I were to enter a store in the city directly under the control of House Lightless, no fewer than ten employees would immediately line up and welcome me warmly.
Hmph, this is why I hate the countryside—they’ve got no manners.
I let out a sigh and rang the bell. Soon enough, I heard footsteps, though they clearly were in no rush. Finally, the bald owner of this lodging with a scruffy stubble appeared.
“Are you a customer or what? No solicitors,” he grunted.
“Come again?” I snapped.
If a commoner dared to act so rudely toward a noble, the kingdom allowed us to punish them on the spot for their insolence. Among the nobles, I held a high rank as I came from the house of a marquess, and my household ruled over this land. In short, I could’ve beheaded this bald owner on the spot and no one would’ve complained. I know that this place is in the boondocks, but I didn’t expect the residents here to be so uneducated.
Carlos, perhaps sensing my anger, shot daggers at the owner. The bald man, overwhelmed by the pressure, took a step back and hastily sized us up; our attire made it clear that we weren’t just normal folk, and he immediately changed his tune.
“I-I’m terribly sorry!” he stammered. “How may I service you today?”
He rubbed his hands and flashed a creepy smile, making it clear that he wasn’t used to offering excellent service. It’s the bare minimum, but at least he wasted no time in changing his tune. I swallowed my anger and turned to him.
“What’s going on in this village?” I demanded. “I don’t sense a single person around.”
“Oh, er, well...” the owner stammered as he averted his gaze awkwardly.
“What? Out with it already.”
“Pardon my impudence, but are you a noble, good sir?”
I let out another sigh. Good grief, these people are so... My jacket proudly sported the crest of a crescent moon swallowing the sun—the insignia of House Lightless. Has this man never seen it before? You may be in the middle of nowhere, but you’re still a citizen of my fief. They say that ignorance is sin, and I feel inclined to agree. I could hardly believe that this man just openly admitted that he didn’t know the emblem of the lord of the land that he lived on; he was practically mocking nobles with his stupidity. A lowly man like him should’ve been killed on the spot.
I channeled my dark magic into my arm and used raw strength to grab the owner by his collar and lifted him into the air.
“E-Eeeek?!” the owner screamed.
I drew my face close to his. “Did your parents tell you to answer a question with one of your own? I can truly see how uneducated you lowly citizens are. You need only to answer my question. Do I make myself clear?”
“I-I-I’m s-s-so terribly sorr—”
“Enough with your empty words. What’s going on in Roguebert? Where are all the people?”
“Th-They’re all gone! Many of them fled from this village!”
“What?”
They fled? Why? What happened here? I released my grip on the owner, then formed a Dark Ball within my hand to intimidate him.
“Why did they flee?” I asked. “For what reason?”
“Aaahhh!” the owner shrieked.