Arc I – Beautiful World
Chapter 8 – The Village Must Burn
Day 6 Since the Summoning
“Alan!
Come to your senses!
Snap out of it already!”
Alan jerked up, taking a deep breath.
“T-there!
Corpses!
A lot of them!
Dozens!” he shouted in a trembling voice, then looked around.
Kamelia was squatting in front of him, still wearing the same mask.
The guards were nowhere to be seen in the dark; the sun had completely set, plunging the village into pitch-black darkness.
The countess grabbed him by the lapels and began to shake him.
“Calm down!
We saw.”
Alan just stared at that very door, which was now closed.
His pupils were dilated, and not just from the darkness.
Kamelia let go of him and stood up.
“We will continue in the morning.
It is completely dark now, we will not see anything.” She turned around.
“Set up camp in that thicket over there, start a fire.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Ten minutes later, all seven of them were sitting around a campfire; Kamelia and the guards were eating hardtack and discussing something.
Alan didn’t hear them; he sat under a tree, hugging his knees to his chest and just staring at the fire without barely blinking.
‘Mein Gott…
what a horrible world…
I..
I…
I don’t want to be here.
There was…
an entire…
an entire mountain of corpses!
Piled on top of each other!
All half-rotted, clumped together, all over the house!
What the fuck was that?!’
Alan didn’t even notice as he bit his lip until it bled.
‘I need to run away from here.
Screw everything.
Even if I die.
I.
CANNOT.
I won’t be able to take this!’
He looked at Kamelia, who was still discussing something with the guards.
‘Tonight.
When everyone falls asleep…
YEAH RIGHT!
THEY AREN’T STUPID!
THEY’LL POST A WATCH AND THERE’S NO WAY I’LL ESCAPE ANYWHERE!
Or maybe just ask to use the ‘toilet’ and quickly make a run for it?
They’ll catch me…
they’ll get on their horses and catch me…’
Alan carefully looked behind him.
‘The thicket is small, hiding here is impossible, it’s just plains all around!
What do I do?!’
He began rocking back and forth.
‘What do I do?!
What do I do?!
What do I do?!
Run!
Stay!
Hide!
Die!
Help!
Leave!
Escape!
Help!
Die!
Return!’
His vision began to blur, his body gradually relaxed, and Alan’s body softly fell onto the grass.
Alan opened his eyes; he slowly got up, holding his head with one hand.
The sun was beginning to rise through a light morning fog.
By the tree across from him, a guard stood peering at the village.
Kamelia sat with her legs drawn up near the dead campfire, which was barely smoldering.
Alan crawled closer and simply sat across from her, saying nothing.
‘It wasn’t a dream…
alright…
time to think.
I’ve whined enough, now it’s time to crawl out of this shithole.
The whole village died out…
that much is clear, and they even threw a bunch of bodies into one house.
That most likely means…
the peasants were so exhausted by dysentery that they didn’t even have the strength to bury them, they just tossed everyone into an empty hut so they wouldn’t lie in the street…
this village has no chance.’
He raised his gaze to the empty village, which was hidden behind the morning fog.
‘It’s literally completely littered with corpses…
and therefore with disease as well.
This place is no longer fit for living.
To make it livable, it needs to be disinfected, and the best method under these conditions…
is only fire.’
Alan swallowed hard, and Kamelia sat across from him, watching him.
‘This village has to be burned down to stop the spread of infection.’
“The village needs to be burned down…” he muttered.
Kamelia froze for a second.
“What did you just say?”
Alan didn’t even look up at her, just stared at the dead campfire.
“The village needs to be burned down.”
The countess half-rose; the guard behind her turned to them as well.
“It seems you have completely lost your mind after yesterday.
I understand that it is…
not the most pleasant sight…” she waved a hand.
“But that is no reason to burn down an entire village!”
Alan shrugged.
“Whatever you want,” he said absolutely evenly.
Kamelia opened her mouth and just stared at him.
‘I don’t even care anymore, to be honest.
Let them do what they want.’
“You do realize that your own head, which you yourself put on the line, is at stake?” Kamelia asked, leaning closer.
Alan continued staring into the void.
“I know.
But I’m tired of explaining all this to you, to be honest.
Just do as I say, or don’t.
I don’t care anymore.”
“You really have lost your mind…” the girl whispered.
She sat back down and just stared at the ground, fidgeting with her fingers.
Alan scratched his leg.
‘Hah, seems she’s shocked.
The death threat isn’t working anymore.
I don’t even care.
I’m fucking sick of this.
Fucking sick of explaining elementary things that, fine, might not be well-known in this world.
Fucking sick of getting hit for trying to help.
Fucking sick of seeing dozens of corpses.
Fucking sick of not being able to save anyone.
I’m sick of it all.
I wash my hands of this, let them fuck around however they want.
If they follow my advice – okay, if not – their problem.’
They sat in silence for a few minutes; the sun had half risen, illuminating the plains and the thicket, shining through the fog.
“Why?” Kamelia finally asked without lifting her head.
“Why burn the village?
What will it achieve?”
Alan opened his mouth.
“To…”
‘Wait.
Go to hell.
I’m already fucking tired of explaining everything about poisons and religion to you, and whether you understand me or not is your problem now.’
“To prevent the infection from spreading.
This village is literally soaked in dysentery, from the shit to the rags, and disinfecting it is plainly impossible under these conditions.
The only option left is to burn the whole village to prevent the disease from spreading further.”
Kamelia blinked.
“Could you explain it more simply?”
She heard silence in response, and then pressed her lips together.
Thinking.
And after five minutes, she finally stood up and turned to the guard.
“Wake the others, and have them start a fire near the village.”
Alan finally looked up at her.
‘You actually listened to me.’
He stood up, wincing slightly, and walked toward the village.
Fifteen minutes later, a large fire had been built near the village.
One of the guards took a large stick that was burning at the end and held it to the roof of a wooden house.
The man held the stick for a few seconds until the fire began to slowly catch onto the wooden roof and smoke; then a small flame appeared there and began to grow.
The guard pulled the stick away and moved on to the next house.
The other men took more flaming sticks and spread out through the village.
Alan stood and watched for a minute, then took another burning stick from the fire and headed toward that very house.
‘Let’s get this over with.’
When he reached the hut, he just stared at it, looked at it for a long time.
And then he walked up to it, and touched the fire to the wooden roof.
Half a minute later, the roof caught fire.
He threw the still-burning stick right onto the porch, and walked back toward the campfire.
An hour later, all seven of them stood on the outskirts of the village.
In front of them, everything was in bright flames, and thick black smoke rose into the sky, almost replacing the clouds themselves.
Nothing could be seen inside the settlement except the fire that had enveloped every hut in its embrace.
Kamelia crossed her arms over her chest and turned to Alan.
“Are we finished here now?”
He simply nodded.
‘Alright.
Good.
The village that was swarming with disease has been burned.
All that’s left is to go around to the other villages, wait for them to pull the beast’s corpse out of the river, and burn it.’
He didn’t take his eyes off the blazing houses.
‘There are only six villages where the dysentery outbreak is.
They’re already blocked off, which means the next step of the plan is…
simple.
I need to visit all the villages, tell them about sanitary standards, teach them how to make filters, and most importantly…
make sure they follow them, otherwise this will all be for nothing.
And then, finally, wait for this fire mage and get rid of the corpse.
But…
how long will this river still be dangerous?
I’m no biologist, but there are…
clearly a lot of factors here, even something as basic as the speed of the river’s current.
But to be safe, I think we should wait…
a month or two maybe, or a week after the corpse is removed, boil the water for 10-15 minutes to kill any infection.
I don’t know.
I’ll think about it later, right now I need…
I need to continue inspecting the villages.’
He followed Kamelia, who was already getting ready to head toward the horses.
“Listen, do you have enough guards to control these villages?”
“I have enough, but…
the garrison will be weakened then.
Why do you ask?”
Alan pulled the mask off his face.
“Who better than you to understand that people don’t really listen to decrees.”
She nodded.
“Of course.
Are you saying that…
no one will follow your instructions?”
Alan stepped over a puddle.
“Exactly.
And this isn’t like hiding grain.
If even one person drinks water from the river, absolutely all our efforts will go down the drain.
Sickness is a treacherous thing, an entire village can get infected from just one person, so that’s why we need to stand guard for at least two weeks to ensure these instructions with the filters, hand-washing, and separate belongings are carried out.”
Kamelia kept walking in silence.
“Listen…
how long is all this going to take?
I already believe you, to hell with it, but tell me, what happens next and how long will it last?” She stopped and turned to Alan.
“I also cannot simply do things without knowing anything, especially when it concerns my domain.”
Alan stopped, and then sighed.
“Then listen to the whole thing, point by point.
One, we go around to all the villages, write down who’s dead, who’s alive, who’s sick, and explain the sanitary standards…” he licked his lips.
“Well…
about washing hands and not touching faces.
Second, the guards must actively watch for two weeks to make sure no one approaches the river, let alone takes water from there, as well as periodically check to make sure no one does anything stupid.
And third – pull the corpse out and burn it with the fire of your magic.” He raised a finger.
“And now my question.
When will the horses and the fire mage arrive?”
Kamelia flinched slightly, snapping out of processing the plan, and then stood up straighter.
“Everything will be here in two days.
Just enough time to inspect the remaining villages.”
Day 8 Since the SummoningThe sun was already preparing to set.
Alan was sitting under a tree by the very river where the jerkos had died.
His suit jacket and shirt were completely covered in mud and even a little torn.
He was literally sleeping sitting up.
There were bags under his eyes, his skin was pale, and his face even looked a little thinner than before.
Kamelia was sitting nearby, making tallies on that same tree bark with a dagger.
There were only two guards nearby, standing watch.
The countess turned to the sleeping Alan, looked at him for a few seconds, then closed her eyes, sighed, and returned to her improvised records.
Soon the sound of hooves was heard; six horses with riders were approaching from the direction of the capital.
Kamelia set the bark aside and stood up.
The squad rode right up to the thicket, after which the rider on the first horse, a man with gray hair, dismounted and then dropped to one knee.
“Greetings, Your Grace.”
Kamelia nodded.
“Rise.”
The guard rose from his knee and stood straight.
“As you commanded.
The mage is with us.”
From the back horse, having ridden behind another guard, a middle-aged man with short black hair dismounted, wearing a simple dark robe, trousers, and boots.
He stepped closer and likewise dropped to one knee.
“Greetings, my lady.”
Kamelia smiled slightly, barely noticeably.
“Shergen, it has been a long time.”
“Perhaps six years, Your Grace.
You have grown much,” he said, also smiling slightly.
“Rise, Shergen.”
The man stood up.
“I assume you obviously did not summon me for a tea party and reminiscing about old times, so I am listening.”
Kamelia nodded.
“Straight to business, as always.” She sighed.
“Yes, I need you.
We must burn the jerkos that died in the river and released poison and miasmas into it.”
Shergen raised an eyebrow.
He opened his mouth to say something, but Kamelia held up a hand.
“I will explain everything to you later.”
The mage closed his mouth, and then sighed.
“Very well.” His gaze fell on Alan, who was sitting under the tree, snoring.
“And who is that, my lady?”
Kamelia looked in the same direction.
“That is Alan, the one who said to burn the jerkos corpse.
He is a hero.”
Shergen’s eyes widened slightly.
“A hero?
Then can he not burn it himself?
…
or does he possess a different kind of magic?
Bodily?
Elemental?
Support?
Or perhaps Otherworldly?”
The countess shook her head.
“We do not know yet.
But during the summoning, the stone showed that his mana and magic are…
quite ordinary, nothing like the other heroes.”
The mage scratched his stubble.
“Hmm…
strange…
that cannot be.
Every hero invariably receives some form of magic and an increased mana pool, without fail.
It has been so for 300 years.
Perhaps…
there was a glitch or something of the sort.” He closed his eyes.
“I do not believe a hero could be summoned without magic.”
Kamelia shrugged.
“I know little of such things.
Anyway, that is not the matter at hand.
We need to pull the beast’s corpse out of the river first, and then you can speak with Alan yourself.”
Alan felt a light tap on his shoulder, then slowly opened his eyes.
The sun was already high, brightly illuminating the landscape.
Kamelia stood before him.
“Get up, Alan.
Do you want to see some magic?”
Alan shook his head and slowly got up, yawning.
“Magic?
What are you talking about?”
“The fire mage has arrived.
From the looks of it, you have never seen magic.
Would you like to take a look?”
Alan froze.
‘The fire mage already…
no way!
Hell yes!
I want to see this!
I’ve only seen stuff like this in movies and anime!’
He stretched.
“Of course I want to.
Let’s go.”
Kamelia nodded, and then turned and walked deeper into the plains.
“We already pulled the jerkos corpse out with the horses and ropes while you were asleep, and now it is time for the final step as you said.
Shergen will burn it.”
Alan quickly followed after her.