Chapter : 43

“No matter how I look at it, this road seems to have been neglected for at least a few months, Captain Konrad.”

“Th-that can’t be?”

“Meeeeeh! What in the world is going on, mer!”

Whether they were flustered or not, the road before us was desolate.

“Ahem, isn't it just because spring has just arrived? Human lord.”

“I wonder…. The grass is too overgrown for that, don’t you think?”

Due to the difficulty of camping outdoors in winter, there was less movement during the cold season. But still, there are limits.

Even if the traffic decreased during the winter, it wasn't completely nonexistent.

Someone would have formed a merchant caravan and moved to make money. But for the grass to be this overgrown?

This meant that this road had been neglected for a long time.

And that wasn't all.

“Meeeh~ What is this strange barricade, mer. Anyone can see the road has been blocked, meeh!”

“Bishop Marco is right. Isn’t this obviously blocked by someone? Did something happen in your canton?”

Controlling the road like this, even putting up barricades, was not something you see every day. No matter how extreme the situation, people still had to eat to live, didn't they?

For a canton, a large city that struggled with self-sufficiency, maintaining the road network was even more crucial. It was through these roads that merchants with food came in.

But to block the road?

‘There’s a problem here.’

A problem that would be very troublesome to get involved in. I surreptitiously considered retreating with my soldiers.

Although it was a waste of time to have come this far, wouldn't it be an even bigger problem to get tied down here?

But seeing Captain Konrad’s confused expression, I couldn't help but sigh.

“Calm down, Captain Konrad.”

“Th-th…. Has something really happened to the canton? Human lord?”

“How would I know? I just arrived with you.”

“Meeeh~ This stupid Konrad!”

“Ahem, right. The human lord just arrived too….”

“Stop fidgeting and isn't there a way to find out about the internal affairs of the canton? Didn't you say you were from an influential family in the canton?”

“Ah-!”

Only then did Captain Konrad let out a cry of realization.

“Meeeh~! That's right. There's a village of Captain Konrad's family nearby, mer.”

“That's right, human lord. There's a village of our family nearby.”

“Really? Then let's go there first. We need to assess the situation, don't we?”

“Ah, I understand! Human lord.”

At my words, Captain Konrad hurriedly commanded his mercenaries and prepared to move.

He seemed to be quite worried about his family.

Under Captain Konrad’s guidance, I slowly headed towards the village.

The village Captain Konrad led us to was quite a nice place. For a mountainous region, it had a rather wide plain, and it seemed to be a basin terrain.

The pastoral atmosphere felt like seeing Switzerland from my past life.

If I weren't visiting on such business, it was a place where I would have wanted to take a long rest.

In any case, upon spotting our party, a group of dwarves came rushing out from the village.

“Wh-who are you! This place is currently off-limits to visitors! Please turn back!”

A dwarf with a magnificent beard stepped forward and shouted in a booming voice. He seemed to be some kind of administrator of this village.

“Oh?”

To be honest, I expected to be treated well, even if I didn't receive a grand welcome.

That was the custom of this era. Wasn't that why I was carrying the banner of my family, to announce who I was?

But this reaction.

It was utterly refreshing. Of course, our goat beastman bishop didn't seem to think so.

“Meeeh~ You insolent things. Can't you see this banner, mer!”

“What banner! We are not in a position to receive outsiders right now! Get off our land immediately!”

“Hoh…?”

At the rather hostile reaction of the dwarves, I turned my head and looked at Captain Konrad intently. At that, Captain Konrad, embarrassed, let out a cough.

“A-ahem. I'll take care of it, human lord.”

Captain Konrad, on horseback, clicked his way forward and shouted with a reddened face.

“You foolish fools. Do you not know who has come!”

“Who is it! A human lord! And what are you, a dwarf who speaks like that…. huh?”

“Uungh???”

“Young… Master Konrad?”

“Yes! You fools. The rightful heir of this village, Konrad, has come!”

“No, Young Master Konrad. Why on earth are you with those humans?”

* * *

There was a big commotion, but in the end, the situation was resolved well.

My soldiers decided to camp outside the village, and I, along with some of my retinue, Captain Konrad, and Bishop Marco, headed to the village hall.

Normally, I would have wanted to quarter my soldiers inside the village to relieve the fatigue of the long journey, but once I saw the state of the village, that desire completely vanished.

“Aigo, aigo.”

“I’m dying.”

“Agugugu.”

Just as the road conditions were dreary, the situation in the village was not much better.

There were sick people moaning everywhere, and the smell of burning corpses rose with blackish smoke, as if they were being cremated.

If I stationed my soldiers in a place like this, it was clear that they would all be lying sick before long.

“What in the world is going on, administrator!”

Captain Konrad, having grasped the state of the village, shouted in anger.

He had boasted so much to the Margrave and led him here, so his pride was quite hurt by this situation.

The dwarf administrator, sweating profusely, opened his mouth with a pitiful expression.

“Y-Young Master. A curse has been cast upon the entire canton.”

“????”

“What?”

“Meeeeeh! A curse?”

“Yes! That's right. A curse has been cast. A truly terrible curse.

Not only here, but in other villages and even in the central city of the canton, there are people full of a strange disease.”

The dwarf administrator hastily made the sign of the cross as if frightened.

I let out a scoff at the absurd talk of a curse, but the others didn't seem to feel the same way.

Unbelievably, Captain Konrad, followed by the devout (?) Bishop Marco, was making the sign of the cross with a solemn expression.

‘What curse. If people are sick, shouldn't you suspect an epidemic first?’

My head throbbed, but what could I do? This was the mindset in the world of [Pangea Universalise].

Indeed, in this era, a disease that couldn't be cured would be no different from a curse.

The only thing to do would be to rely on God and pray. I sighed inwardly and told the dwarf administrator to explain calmly.

“W-what happened was, Your Excellency the Margrave….”

According to his story, it had started out like any other winter.

Except for a slight increase in the number of people with minor colds or the flu.

But at some point, people started collapsing one after another.

There were no symptoms of fever or chills.

People would just collapse without any signs of illness, and then they would start dying after continuous vomiting and diarrhea.

Of course, I couldn't help but frown as I listened to this.

“This…. isn’t this an epidemic?”

No matter how I listened, it sounded like the famous plague.

An epidemic that you couldn't forget if you studied history. The plague also known as Hoyeolal, or cholera.

And in fact, if there was a disease spreading like this, it was rational to suspect an epidemic first.

No matter how full of mysteries and monsters this world was, superstition should be kept at a distance, shouldn't it?

“Your Excellency! It’s not. If it were an epidemic, how could it have these symptoms?”

“Hmm hmm. It is indeed a curse.”

“Meeeh~ That's right, mer. A disease where people just collapse without fever or cough. This is a curse, meeh!!!”

Captain Konrad and Bishop Marco also agreed with the dwarf administrator.

From their perspective, it was too suspicious to be called an epidemic.

‘Oh, my head.’

Of course, for me, who was just watching, my head was throbbing.

“So that’s why you’ve sealed off all traffic?”

“Yes. That's right. Both the slums and the wealthy areas of the city have been exposed to the curse. The canton council has blocked all roads leading to the canton and issued a lockdown until the situation subsides.”

“Then there’s no way to enter the canton until this situation subsides?”

“Unfortunately, that's the case so far, Your Excellency.”

To have come all this way only to waste my time. I clicked my tongue and stood up from my seat.

If what that administrator said was true, then cholera had probably already spread in this village.

If I stayed here and caught cholera, it would be a big problem. I would have to retreat with my soldiers and turn back to the Holy See.

“Well, it’s a shame, but we’ll have to do that, human lord.”

“That’s right, mer! It would be better for us to go to the Holy See quickly and request a curse exorcism, mer.”

“Good. Since we are in agreement, let's turn back. I am truly sorry about what happened to your canton, Captain Konrad.”

“No! Human lord. It can't be helped. In fact, I think it would be a bigger problem if I dragged the human lord into that den of curses.”

After talking to each other and informing the dwarf administrator, we sent a messenger outside the village.

To prepare to turn back.

However.

“N-no way. Your Excellency the Margrave?”

A group of people with gaunt faces spotted my face and rushed over in surprise.

“Ahem, what is this insolence! Get back!”

“You fools, get back!”

The surprised dwarf administrator shouted, but they didn't budge.

Instead, they rushed towards me and desperately tried to grab the back of my hand.

It was a widely spread superstition in the medieval period that simply touching the hand of someone of noble blood could bring healing.

And if that person was a saint who performed miracles, the belief was even stronger.

Especially in [Pangea Universalise], this superstition was one of the miracles actively promoted by the Holy See.

So it was only natural for the sick people who were wasting away to rush towards me.

Thanks to a certain bishop, I was already famous as a performer of miracles.

“It is the Margrave! I saw him when I was working at a merchant guild!”

“Ooh-! Save us from the curse! O performer of miracles.”

“Your Excellency, who is blessed by God! Please, hold my hand.”

-Tiriring!

[The religious reputation you have built up has filled the unfortunate poor with longing. Save them. Then you will gain even greater fame.]

[Notification: Defeating the curse will increase the favorability of the church.]

[Notification: If you ignore the poor, your infamy will rise. Be careful.]

‘Oh, come on, you rotten…?’

I was just going to pretend I didn't see and leave, but what is this?

This is no different from being forced to do it. Why does something always happen to hold me back whenever I try to move?

With a sigh, I glared at Bishop Marco, the cause of this whole situation.

“Mehehehe.”

Bishop Marco, the goat beastman, let out a sycophantic goat cry with an awkward expression.

That good-for-nothing bishop. How many times did I tell him not to spread such rumors, calling me a performer of miracles and what not, selling me out like this?

“Wh-what should we do, Your Excellency the Margrave?”

“Ugh….”

Better to die than to suffer. Really.

“Captain Konrad. Would it be alright if I…. tried to heal your village?”

“What? Is it really possible? To solve the curse? Human lord? Ooooh….”

“Mehehe. I was right, mer. The lord will show us a miracle! Mehehe.”

“……”