Chapter 51 The Curse of a Wandering Spirit （1）
The old man looked up at the clear blue sky.
"Isn't it a father's duty to get revenge on his daughter's killer?"
His voice was calm, but there was something different in it now.
Something heavy.
He slowly turned his head and looked at me.
"So... would you mind helping me, young man?"
I didn't answer immediately.
I stared at him for a moment, trying to read his expression.
There was no anger on his face.
No hatred.
Just a quiet sadness that seemed to have been buried deep inside him for years.
I looked back toward the road.
Twenty years...
He had been carrying this for twenty years.
But there was still something bothering me.
I only knew his side of the story.
For all I knew, there could be something he wasn't telling me.
"If what you're telling me is not a lie..."
I paused.
"...and that mayor really did take your daughter's life."
The old man said nothing.
His hands tightened around the reins.
The wagon continued moving, the sound of the wheels grinding against the dirt road filling the silence between us.
I looked at him again.
He didn't look at me.
Instead, he kept his eyes on the road ahead.
Then, quietly, he said,
"I know what I'm asking of you."
His voice trembled slightly.
"And I know I have no right to drag a stranger into this."
He took a slow breath.
"But I've waited long enough."
His grip tightened again.
"I've spent twenty years wondering what happened to my daughter."
He lowered his voice.
"I can't let another twenty years pass without knowing the truth."
I remained silent.
There was something in his voice that made it difficult to simply turn him down.
Finally, I sighed.
"If what you're saying is true, old man..."
I looked directly at him.
"...then I wouldn't mind helping you get revenge on that bastard."
For a moment, Edric said nothing.
Then a small smile appeared on his face.
It wasn't a happy smile.
It was the smile of a father who had finally found someone willing to listen.
He looked back at the road.
"Thank you, young man."
After a brief silence, he spoke again.
"By the way, my name's Edric. And yours?"
"It's Raito."
"Raito, huh?"
He gave a small nod.
"That's a good name."
"Thanks."
I was silent for a moment before speaking again.
"Hey, old man."
"Hmm?"
"If I'm going to help you with this, I need to know everything that happened."
Edric glanced at me.
"Alright then."
His expression became serious.
"Listen carefully, alright?"
"Understood."
Three hours later, we finally arrived at the entrance of the town.
The first thing I noticed was the town's walls.
They were dirty and covered in patches of moss, with cracks running across some sections. It looked like the walls hadn't been properly maintained in years.
I looked up.
There were only a few guards patrolling along the top of the walls. Some of them looked pale and exhausted, as if they hadn't slept properly in days.
I frowned.
Something's definitely wrong with this place.
As we approached the town gate, I noticed a wooden sign hanging above the entrance.
[Fernvale]
I stared at it for a moment.
Fernvale... Is that the name of this town?
The wagon passed through the gate.
The moment we entered Fernvale, a cold chill suddenly ran down my spine.
I instinctively looked around.
The streets were unusually quiet.
Edric's story immediately came back to my mind.
He wasn't exaggerating.
There were far fewer people living here than I had expected. Only a small number of people could be seen walking through the streets, and most of them kept their heads down as they went about their business.
The buildings looked old and poorly maintained.
Even the atmosphere felt different.
There was no lively chatter.
No merchants calling out to customers.
No children running through the streets.
It was almost as if the entire town had lost its life.
I looked around silently.
This place...
The farther we traveled down the road, the stronger the feeling became.
It's starting to feel like a ghost town.
I looked around the town again.
The streets were quiet.
Too quiet.
Even the few people walking around seemed nervous. Some kept glancing over their shoulders, while others quickly disappeared into nearby buildings.
I narrowed my eyes.
Something is definitely wrong with this place.
I looked at Edric.
"Old man..."
"Hmm?"
"I think I'm going to get off here."
Edric looked back at me, his expression becoming slightly concerned.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
I glanced around the town again.
"You were right. Something is wrong with this place."
I paused for a moment.
"And if I'm going to find out what happened to your daughter, I think it's better for me to start looking around on my own."
Edric was silent for a moment.
He looked toward the quiet streets before turning his attention back to me.
"Alright then."
The wagon slowly came to a stop.
I stood up and climbed down from the back of the wagon.
Before I walked away, Edric looked at me seriously.
"Be careful out there, alright, kid?"
I looked at him and nodded.
"Yeah. Got it."
Edric gave me a small nod before taking hold of the reins again.
The wagon started moving.
I watched as Edric slowly disappeared down the road.
Once he was gone, I looked around the town again.
The silence felt even heavier now.
I took a slow breath.
"Alright..."
I looked toward the road ahead.
"I think I'll go to the Adventurer's Guild here."
Minutes later, I arrived in front of the Adventurer's Guild.
The place was much quieter than I expected.
As I entered the building, I saw only a few adventurers inside. There were fewer than seven people in the entire guild.
As I walked toward the front desk, I could feel the adventurers' eyes following me.
When I reached the front desk, I saw the woman in charge sleeping on the desk.
"Excuse me."
She slowly raised her head and looked at me.
"An adventurer?"
She quickly straightened herself up.
"What can I help you with?"
She looked like she hadn't been taking care of herself properly. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes were wrinkled, as if she hadn't even made an effort to dress properly.
I leaned slightly closer to her.
"Can I ask you a question? Why are there so few people in this town?"
Her eyes widened.
"Wait... you don't know?"
She stared at me for a few seconds.
Then her expression changed.
"I see..."
She glanced around the guild before lowering her voice.
"You're new here, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I am."
She leaned slightly closer to me.
"Then listen carefully."
Her voice became quieter.
"You should leave this town while you still can."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
She hesitated.
"It's better for you to go to another town. You won't find much work around here."
"How so?"
The woman looked around again, making sure nobody was listening.
"Because people don't like getting involved with what's happening here."
Her expression became serious.
"Especially adventurers."
I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"Well..."
She took a slow breath and began telling me the same story Edric had told me, all the way to the end.
Then she continued.
"And you know..."
She lowered her voice even further.
"The father of that girl has been hiring adventurers to find out what happened to his daughter."
I remained silent.
"But whenever the mayor finds out about it..."
She glanced toward the guild's entrance.
"...he bribes the adventurers."
I narrowed my eyes.
"And he tells them that the old man is just suffering from grief."
She paused.
"Most of them take the money and leave."
Her voice became quieter.
"And the few who refuse..."
She stopped speaking.
I stared at her.
"What happens to them?"
The woman didn't answer immediately.
She simply looked at me with a serious expression.
"That's why I'm telling you this."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"If you're thinking about helping that old man..."
She shook her head.
"Don't."
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
I slowly looked around the nearly empty guild.
So that's why there are barely any adventurers here...
And it's the same thing Edric said to me...
"Alright then. Thanks for telling me."
She gave me a small nod.
"No problem."
I turned toward the guild's entrance.
"But I think I'll leave tomorrow. It's already the afternoon."
I took a few steps before hearing her voice behind me.
"Wait."
I stopped and looked back.
She was staring at me with a serious expression.
"If you're really planning to stay here until tomorrow..."
She hesitated.
"...you should leave early as you can."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Sure got it"
I raised a hand as I walked away.
"See ya."
I left the guild and stepped back onto the street.
As I walked through the town, I kept thinking about everything the guild receptionist had told me.
So the mayor is getting rid of everyone who tries to help Edric...
I gritted my teeth.
That proves it. The mayor definitely had something to do with the murder.
I continued walking for a few minutes before another thought crossed my mind.
But first, I need a little something to help me.
I opened my [Online Shop] skill.
A blue screen appeared in front of me, displaying multiple items for sale.
"Hello, Online Shop."
I began typing the item I was looking for into the search bar and started scrolling through the screen.
Minutes later, I found myself standing at the edge of the forest where people said Edric's daughters ghost had been seen.
I looked into the trees.
The forest was strangely quiet.
There was barely any sound coming from inside. No birds singing. No insects buzzing.
Only the faint rustling of leaves in the wind.
I narrowed my eyes.
So this is the place where people have been seeing her...
I took a slow breath and stepped into the forest.
The moment I passed beneath the trees, the temperature seemed to drop.
A cold chill ran down my spine.
I glanced over my shoulder.
The town was already hidden behind the trees.
I turned back and continued walking.
I was now wearing a dark cloak and a kitsune mask that I had bought from the [Online Shop].
I pulled the hood over my head and adjusted the mask.
"This disguise should hide my face for the time being."
I looked around the forest.
"It should also keep the mayor from discovering my identity."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Because I know how corrupt officials like him think."
I continued walking deeper into the forest.
"If I find evidence that he killed Edric's daughter, I'm sure he'll try to hire someone to kill me."
I touched the kitsune mask.
"So it's better to keep my identity hidden from the start."
__
"I don't need to worry about the mayor hiring someone to kill me right now."
I continued walking deeper into the forest.
"I'm sure that whoever he sends, I can handle them."
The deeper I went, the quieter the forest became.
Then-
A sudden, thick fog began to spread around me.
Within moments, the trees around me were almost completely covered by the white mist.
I stopped walking.
What the hell?
I slowly looked around.
I could barely see a few meters ahead of me.
Then I heard it.
A woman's voice.
It echoed through the forest, distant and faint at first.
I immediately turned toward the sound.
"Huh?"
I looked around, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from.
Then, from the corner of my eye, I saw something.
To my right, in the distance, a white figure moved behind the trees.
I quickly turned toward it.
But the figure was gone.
"What the..."
I looked around, searching through the fog.
Nothing.
The forest was silent again.
Then the woman's voice echoed through the trees once more.
This time, it sounded closer.
I narrowed my eyes.
"Shit..."
I slowly turned around.
"This is becoming more of a horror movie."
The voice continued echoing through the forest.
Louder.
Closer.
I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.
"It's getting closer."
Then-
The voice suddenly stopped.
Silence.
I stood completely still.
What happened?
For a moment, there was nothing.
Then-
A loud scream suddenly burst through the forest.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
I immediately turned around.
The white figure was there.
It was charging straight toward me through the fog.
"What the-?!"
I didn't even have time to react.
I simply crossed my arms in front of my body.
The figure was almost upon me.
Then-
The mark given to me by the Goddess suddenly began to glow.
A powerful force burst out from the mark.
BOOM!
The white figure was suddenly pushed backward by the force of the mark.