Chapter 313: Living Together
"What things?" Vritra asked. This land was becoming stranger by the second.
"I don’t know, those creatures. It’s hard to describe, but if you really want to know so badly, then try looking out of your window.
But do not open the windows or the doors at any cost." Chopper warned.
"Chief, it isn’t safe. Don’t you remember what happened with the last few people who saw them?
Either they went crazy or ended up opening the door. All of them are dead now." Lisa interrupted.
"It’s his choice whether he wants to see or not. I am just explaining things here. Do you have any more questions?" Chopper replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Has anyone been able to find anything that could help us find a way out? And how long have people been trapped here?" Yennefer questioned. She could still perfectly maintain her calm.
"Hahaha." Chopper laughed hard for a few seconds, though only misery could be heard in his laugh.
"A way out? Forget about that, there is no way out. We are only here in a competition against death, proving how well we could survive in this hellhole.
Anyone who has ever gone out to search for an exit has never returned alive. Pieces of their bodies could be found across the town the next day.
And there are even people who had been here for a decade. We are trapped here forever." The town chief spoke in an almost maniacal voice.
"And those creatures, can’t they hurt us inside the house?" Vritra asked.
If these things were as strong as he made them sound, then how could those fragile windows and doors stop them?
"Yeah, they have worked so far. Each of the houses has a strange drawing made on them, and we believe it is that strange drawing that stops them.
Though no one is willing to test its authenticity by paying the cost with their lives." He replied.
"..." Vritra and Yennefer fell silent as they glanced at one another. It seemed this place was a lot more dangerous than they had imagined.
"Oh, it is getting late, so unless you want to spend the night in this town hall along with these Bone Blood Cult bastards, you should go find a house for yourselves.
There are a few empty ones." Chopper said, as he glanced at the darkening sky and then walked out of the room before leaving a message:
"Let’s talk tomorrow, and I hope you don’t end up dying on your first day here."
"I will show them to a house, and don’t mind his words. He just doesn’t want the people here to die." Lisa said, smiling sweetly as the group walked outside, leaving only the captives in the town hall.
After walking out of there, Chopper pressed a button that made a loud siren ring out across the town.
"So, what kind of house do you want? I suppose you would be living together?" Lisa questioned, bringing them deeper into the town.
"Yes. Anything is fine, as long as it’s not broken." Vritra said before Yennefer could speak.
"Oof, that’s a request hard to fulfil, but how about you use this house? This was previously used by the former town chief.
This house should be the closest to your high demands, haha. And as for your clothes and food, you will have to wait until tomorrow.
Oops, I need to leave immediately. Remember, lock the doors and windows and also cover the windows."
After speaking, she blew him a flying kiss before hurrying in the direction of her own house.
The sun had nearly disappeared. It was past evening, and darkness had started to spread.
"Let’s go inside." Vritra spoke and took the lead. He was sure the chief wasn’t lying about the danger here, or his Sin Points messages would have warned him.
Yennefer followed behind silently.
She was the type of person who spoke less. After entering, they closed the door behind them. The house looked a bit dirty but it was usable.
After looking around, Vritra found a switch that was in the form of a lever. Upon pulling it down, several lights turned on.
"This will be our home for the time being. You can look around and I will check the windows and doors." Vritra said.
"Do you really believe them?" she questioned.
There was a lot on her mind right now: her growing feelings for him, the feeling of powerlessness, and the unknown danger lurking in the town.
"Yes, so I hope you don’t think you are still the same powerful empress and decide to challenge whatever is outside." Vritra warned.
"I am not stupid. I will help you check them."
The two quickly got to work as they checked all the windows on both floors and then the doors.
After locking everything up and covering the windows, they cleaned up one of the rooms a bit and sat on the only usable bed.
"So—" just as Yennefer started to speak, her belly let out a weak sound of hunger.
"Ah, it’s been so long that I felt hungry like this." She mumbled while rubbing her belly.
"Mmm, wait here. I will go check in the kitchen and see if there is anything edible."
He said and walked out of the room. He didn’t trust the empress completely yet.
After entering the kitchen, Vritra checked all the drawers and shelves.
There were rotten vegetables there and some spoiled food, and after looking through that mess, he found a packet of dried fruits and a few packets of honey.
After taking them out and putting them on the counter, Vritra thought hard about the map he had gotten from his recent quest, and it actually appeared in his mind.
Though this time it wasn’t empty.
’I was right, so this is the realm of the Divine.’ Vritra thought, then he quickly focused his attention on the map.
There he saw the houses, the town hall, the well, and a big villa that seemed to be slightly broken. The whole place was surrounded by forest, and in the forest there were several things that were hard to recognize.
"Haa, looks like I will have to go to these locations and check them out myself. I am getting such an eerie vibe here." He shook his head and remembered the several locations in the forest that he planned to check later.
After grabbing the packets, he washed a bottle and filled it with fresh water, then headed back to his room.
Yennefer was sitting on the bed in silence and seemed deep in thought. She had taken off her veil and now looked extremely beautiful.
"I only found these things. You can eat these for now, we will get more food tomorrow." Vritra said as he passed the packets to her along with the water bottle.
Then he lay back on the bed, relieved that at least he left most of his Soul Wraiths with the three women, so they should be safe.
"Thank you..." Yennefer opened a packet and started eating them hungrily. Only when she had eaten nearly half did she remember Vritra.
"Here, you can have the remaining." She offered.
"It’s fine, you can eat them. I am not that hungry." Vritra replied.
Just then, a faint rough sound of something being dragged against the road filled the creepy silence of the night.
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Thanks for reading...