Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1414: Village Life
Iluna paused for a moment, then stuffed the roll of parchment back into her small bag:
"But judging from the current situation, the church speculates that it’s highly likely a Vampire Kind has appeared locally. It drinks the blood of pure virgins, but because it’s afraid of the church’s retaliation, it doesn’t dare to harm their lives. The only puzzle is, why are all the victims flower sellers... Could it be that the Vampire Kind has some strange compulsion?"
"I’ve never heard of any Vampire Kind population in Randall Valley. They typically do legitimate business around Huntington City in the north of the United Kingdom."
Shard said, though he considered that it might be a Vampire Kind brought by the Blood Spirit School, he instinctively felt that the matter couldn’t be so simple:
"Randall Valley is currently unstable, which would attract relics related to the earth. Similar to the Milestone event and the Pantanal event, both draw uncommon relics due to the local environmental twists. Let’s investigate, are there any leads now?"
"I have the addresses of the girls who have already returned home."
Iluna stood up and gently patted her skirt:
"Let’s go see those girls who have lost their memory, hopefully, we can gain something."
Every city has its traditional slums, and due to the unique valley terrain, Randall Valley’s practical slums are mostly concentrated in the southwest of the city and in small villages on the city’s outskirts.
Randall Valley City itself is not very square; it is long in the northeast to southwest direction along the river and short in the other direction, so visiting the flower sellers living in the village outside the city is rather convenient.
Shard and Iluna boarded a carriage at the entrance of the Abundant Land Inn and got off at the city edge. As they passed through the city walls and gates left over from ancient city-states, they saw police questioning the identity of outsiders, perhaps also searching for clues about the missing flower sellers.
Exiting the city, they crossed a wooden bridge over the moat, and on the other side of the moat was a village with dilapidated buildings. On this Friday morning, it was quite lively, with country folk resting there before entering the city; cart and donkey cart owners loudly discussed business, while travelers hurried by, pinching their noses to avoid the smell of urine and poultry.
There were no house numbers in the small village, but Iluna’s information indicated that the little girl she was looking for lived by the river, and there was a dead willow tree at the entrance.
This was a very obvious feature, and they soon found the two-story small house fenced off. Though called two-story, the first floor was made of adobe, commonly seen in the vicinity, and the rooftop was a simply built space for shelter made of bamboo and planks, due to frequent recent earthquakes, Shard even felt that some of the planks were slanted.
A woman with a baby on her back and wearing a headscarf was washing clothes on a washboard at the door as they approached, chatting with a neighboring woman who was airing quilts. Iluna, having acquired credentials from the local police department, briefly explained her identity, after which the woman washing clothes stood up and called a boy running around the door.
Following the "order," the boy, in patched cloth shoes, ran towards the north of the village. Shortly after, the twelve-year-old girl Iluna was looking for came running with him, carrying a bucket with a not-so-large carp inside.
The boy took the bucket into the house, while the woman with the baby seemed not very trusting of the young-looking Iluna, so the conversation took place in another corner of the yard, ensuring the girl stayed within her sight.
The little girl named Mary Kara nervously lowered her head, playing with her fingers as she talked to Iluna, seemingly not very willing to share with strangers.
"Mary Kara, right? I am a police officer from the Randall Valley Police Department, and this is my assistant. We’re here because it still relates to your week-long disappearance. Since last being questioned, have you recalled any new details?"
Iluna asked, notebook in hand. The girl lowered her head, played with her fingers, and couldn’t speak, so Shard searched his pockets and found a piece of white sugar cube to give to her.
The girl glanced at her mother at the entrance of the yard and quickly pinched the sugar cube from Shard’s palm:
"I haven’t recalled anything; it’s like I slept for a whole week."
"Since then, have you been out selling flowers again?"
Iluna asked again, and the girl shook her head:
"Father and mother said it’s too dangerous, they told me to stay home recently, the next time, if human traffickers take me, I might never come back."
She spoke with a heavy accent, and even though Iluna, new to this place, had a good command of the Casenli language, she still needed Shard’s soft translation to fully understand:
"I see, that’s good."
Iluna glanced worriedly at Shard, realizing they really had no clues at all:
"So, do you mind if we touch your forehead? It is said some of the returned girls have shown symptoms of a light fever."
After the girl agreed, Iluna and Shard both touched her forehead. Iluna didn’t feel anything, but Shard frowned slightly; he felt a whisper element, though very faint.
"Do you have anything else to tell us?"
Iluna asked again, and the little girl looked at Shard. Shard, caught on, gave her another piece of sugar.
"If you want to inquire about news, you can go to the junction of Stonemason Street in the city and find Little Liana. She is the best at selling flowers among us, and she is the most well-informed; if anyone knows anything, it’s surely her."
Although Shard was skeptical of this suggestion, Iluna still wanted to investigate, so they planned to return to the city. When they bid farewell to the woman with the baby, she was at the yard entrance talking to a man who looked like a carpenter, with a face full of sorrow:
"I know this house can’t withstand the next earthquake, but we really have no money."
She turned her head to look at the second floor of the house:
"All we can do now is pray to the deity that there won’t be another earthquake."
The bearded carpenter was also quite troubled:
"I know everyone hasn’t had a good time this winter. Didn’t the widow at the village head’s thirteen-year-old son go up the mountain just a week ago, only to be killed by an unknown beast with great force? You must also consider the village’s concerns. If your house collapses, Larry’s family next door will also suffer."
"Didn’t Larry’s family run away from the village due to debts because all the fish they were raising in the winter pond died due to water quality issues?"
The woman immediately asked, and the carpenter shook his head:
"But as long as that house still belongs to them, the village has to consider these things...Borrow some money to repair your house. Although I can charge a very low wage, the material costs still have to be paid, right? My apprentice caught the Petrified Plague, and now I’m the only carpenter in the village able to work. If you don’t find me in the next two days, once the weather warms up a bit, I’ll have no time at all."
The things they were discussing seemed to be related to the disasters that had affected Randall Valley since the winter.
Iluna looked at Shard, and with just a few short sentences, she understood the impact of the disaster on the ordinary people living on this land. She wanted to speak, but Shard stopped her.
Shard knew she wanted to give money to the woman, and the cost of materials for repairing this broken house was actually very little. But Shard thought, giving money outright like this is something to be avoided if possible:
"How much would it cost to repair this house?"
He then stepped forward and inquired, and the carpenter looked him over and held out his fingers:
"2 Ore and 6 Finny should be enough."
Krone equals 7 Ore, 1 Krone also equals 95 Finny, and 1 Krone currently can be exchanged for about 13 to 14 pounds. So, this really doesn’t require much money.
"In that case, I’ll lend it to this lady. Although in our time we don’t talk about these things anymore, I still have some Knight Spirit."
Shard said, turning to glance at the house:
"I know you villagers, during spring plowing, you’ll need to use your savings to buy seeds and find a blacksmith to repair your tools, so I’ll come to collect this money in the summer. I’ll charge you the lowest interest, in summer repay me 2 Ore and 19 Finny."
Iluna also walked over at this time, listening to Shard speak.
"I’m also not worried you won’t pay back the money."
Shard pointed to the house:
"Your house is here, and it’s newly repaired, so you definitely won’t run away. If you run away, it means your family is facing a situation where you can’t even keep the house, and even if I want you to repay me, you won’t be able to. So, lending you this money is relatively safe."
The woman then stuttered trying to express her gratitude, as that house was indeed too dangerous. She wasn’t stalling with the carpenter because she didn’t want to repair it, she really had no money.
Shard shook his head, took out some small change from his pocket, then wrote an IOU, and let the woman press her thumbprint on it, before leaving together with Iluna.
"Will you come to collect the money in the summer?"
The seventeen-year-old girl asked curiously, she thought Shard was right to do what he did.
"If I remember this matter, I’ll come."
Shard replied, casually stuffing the IOU into his pocket, and softly said in his heart:
"Don’t remind me of this matter."
"She" smiled gently, even though the air in the countryside was a bit hard to bear, the rural breeze was so warm and pleasant. Today is the last day of the Sparse Star Month, spring is really on its way.
Stonemason Street is where the Randall Valley Stonemason Association is located, and although it’s in the old city district, it was quite bustling with people coming and going. On the road, Shard explained to Iluna the grievances between the Stonemason Association and the Carsonrick Royalty over these past two months, and the preparations Princess Margaret was making because of it.
And when the carriage reached Stonemason Street, the driver, contrary to Shard’s instructions, stopped the carriage beforehand instead of turning the corner: 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
"Sir, I’m afraid we can’t go any further."
