Ultimately, everything Riel had said seemed to be true.
Of course, the old man never explicitly confirmed it.
However, their reactions immediately afterward were blatant enough to grasp the truth of the matter, even without a direct confirmation.
Not only that, but after stepping back to converse with the men for a while, they soon decided that they needed to have a serious, private discussion with us—going so far as to invite us to their hideout.
If everything Riel had said was nonsense, there was no way they would have reacted like that.
Given the circumstances, it was only logical to conclude that these people had truly experienced such events and that this was the secret mission she had been entrusted with.
I had thought I was prepared.
Whatever the nature of this secret mission, I was sure it would be something unimaginably immense.
But the reality I faced was enough to render all my expectations meaningless and throw my mind into complete disarray.
Starting with the name “Familie,” which I had never heard before, to the resurrection of a past hero, and even the disappearance of the humans who had lived here.
It was so much information all at once that I finally understood what it meant to be utterly overwhelmed.
***
“…Honestly, I hadn’t planned to reveal everything back there. You must be shocked. I feel bad, like I just made things unnecessarily complicated for you.”
As I followed them, burdened with thoughts of whether the truth was something I would have been better off not knowing, Riel quietly spoke to me.
She made sure to speak softly so that the people walking ahead wouldn’t hear.
Watching her, I let out a small sigh.
‘If only she’d just asked me for help… We could have solved this without uncovering the truth.’
I couldn’t help but resent her for forcing me to hear something I would have been better off ignorant of.
After all, I only wanted to make money.
But somehow, I had ended up deeply entangled in something far more troublesome than I ever intended.
On top of that, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was walking on thin ice and that at any moment, the ice would crack beneath me, leading to a truly dire situation.
“Is everything you just said really true…?”
“…You don’t have to worry too much. Once this is all over, everything will go back to normal. I promise nothing bad will happen to you.”
Riel didn’t answer my question directly.
Instead, she murmured in a remorseful tone, as if trying to reassure me.
She was probably worried that I might back out now that the shocking truth had been laid bare.
If I were to abandon her here, she, with almost no combat ability, would be left alone among all these people—her mission aside, her safety would be at serious risk.
That alone made it clear that what she had revealed wasn’t just about catching some criminal; this was something on an entirely different scale—something where money no longer mattered.
But at this point, turning back wasn’t an option.
I decided to keep observing the situation a little longer.
After walking for what felt like ages through another hidden passage that had suddenly appeared in that empty room, we finally arrived at an enormous space.
It was nothing like the narrow sewer tunnels we’d been traveling through—this was a massive underground village.
The sight of small, worn-down houses, clearly built by humans, was astonishing.
It was already shocking enough that such a vast space was hidden beneath the capital, but the fact that humans were secretly living here…
When they mentioned a hideout, I had imagined something like a small cave.
I never expected something on this scale.
Of course, the underground environment meant it was quite dark, but the scattered lights throughout the village gave off a soft glow.
I could even see people moving about, likely the residents of this hidden place.
As we stood there, unable to hide our astonishment at this completely different sight from the sewers, the white-haired old man who had been leading us stepped forward with a pleased smile and spoke.
***
“This is our refuge… the last star remaining in the darkness, ‘Stern.’ Normally, allowing non-humans in would be unthinkable, but given the circumstances, we have little choice. Regardless, welcome to our village. I hope you find it to your liking.”
His voice carried a certain pride as he introduced the hidden village.
There was still an air of wariness, but it was impossible to miss the deep affection he held for this place.
The expressions of the men who had been so tense earlier visibly softened upon entering the village.
Estimating by the number of people I could sense, the village seemed to hold just over a hundred humans.
If I included those who were currently outside, the total might reach around two hundred.
Compared to the entire population of Trassion, this was nothing more than a speck of dust—insignificant.
But considering how rare it was for humans to form a community of this size, it wasn’t hard to imagine how the Security Bureau would react if they discovered this place.
That explained why both the old man and the other villagers had been so wary of us, outsiders.
At the same time, it also meant that they were desperate enough to take such a risk by bringing us here.
The village appeared peaceful and quiet, but beneath that calm lay a deep shadow.
Reminded once again of that hidden darkness, I continued walking with a hardened expression.
As we ventured further into the village, more and more people came into view.
Most of the adults maintained their guard, avoiding eye contact with us altogether.
But the small children, on the other hand, were different.
They seemed eager to get a closer look at Riel and me, approaching curiously.
Their wide eyes held the same wonder as if they were seeing something incredible for the first time.
Feeling a bit awkward under their curious gazes, I hesitantly raised a hand and waved.
The children beamed and reacted with uncontainable excitement, and I couldn’t help but smile slightly at their enthusiasm.
The tense atmosphere from earlier eased, if only a little.
And before long, we arrived at the most grand and ornate building in the village.
In a place that strongly resembled a village hall, Riel and I were led straight to a room that felt like a meeting chamber.
Soon after, we began a serious discussion, joined by the old man and a few of the younger men.
Well, to be precise, the conversation was mostly between Riel and the white-haired old man, while the rest of us simply listened.
***
“Since you’ve come all this way, it’s only right that we tell you everything. What the young lady said earlier was correct. Not long ago, a group of outsiders came to this village. They introduced themselves as ‘Familie.'”
“And yes, it’s true that they asked us, their fellow humans, to cooperate in resurrecting the past hero… Kaiser. Of course, most of us, who only wish to live peacefully here, firmly refused their request. But a few of our more hot-blooded youths… they followed them, abandoning the village.”
“And from that moment on, ‘it’ began. A terrifying event so dreadful that even thinking about it makes my skin crawl… an event that threatens the very survival of Stern.”
After affirming everything Riel had said, the old man fell silent, his face turning pale.
For a moment, he struggled to speak, as if recalling something truly horrifying.
His trembling eyes betrayed emotions he was trying to suppress.
Then, after taking a deep breath, he seemed to steel himself and slowly continued.
His voice carried the weight of anger, fear, and the deep despair of someone who had faced something beyond their control.
“…After that, people from the village started disappearing, one by one. At first, it was those who had left to gather supplies from outside. But the numbers grew, until even the helpless children who had been safe within the village were taken. Naturally, we realized something was terribly wrong.”
“It became clear that someone—someone with ill intent—was kidnapping our people.”
After much debate, we concluded that the culprits had to be those outsiders who had visited not long before.
So we launched a large-scale search of the sewers near Stern… and that’s when we found it.
The grotesque scene.
A horrifying space, defiled by brutally mutilated human corpses.
A nightmarish place transformed into something monstrous, littered with gruesome remains.
The overwhelming stench of blood, the air thick with an eerie, unnatural presence…
The old man’s frail body trembled as he recalled the sight.
The people around him, likely those who had been there as well, couldn’t conceal the fear in their eyes.
And honestly, their reaction was understandable.
‘They hadn’t said it outright, but based on the circumstances, it was obvious—those mutilated bodies had once been the people who had vanished from this village.’
‘As expected, the situation was far from simple.’
I was lost in thought, processing the gravity of it all, when the old man finally seemed to collect himself.
His desperate gaze turned to Riel.
In stark contrast to the wariness he had shown earlier, he now looked at her as if she were their last hope.
And then, with the faintest glimmer of hope in his eyes, he finally got to the real reason we were here.
***
“Young lady… No, Spirit Mage, do you know anything about this horrific situation? If so, I beg you—please help us. We will pay you whatever you ask. If this continues… Stern, our only sanctuary, will be wiped out before long.”