How a Reincarnated Warlock Lives – Chapter 174

Chapter 174: Unexpected Guests (1)

The first to speak was the last uninvited guest, no, guest, to enter.

“This is not a very pleasant meeting.”

Inquisitor Lephra spoke, looking around in the warm air inside.

A small village in the north. An Inquisitor, a vampire, and a shaman met at the only tavern there.

It was too coincidental a meeting considering the vastness of the continent, but in reality, it wasn’t that strange.

They were all chasing the same thing. Rather, it was a testament to the excellent tracking abilities of both sides.

“……”

Marchena and Kazan met Lephra’s gaze without avoiding it.

The small tavern was filled with a tense atmosphere.

The innkeeper gulped, unable to even think of speaking due to the murderous aura emanating from the three people who were anything but ordinary.

The cold air entered through the slightly opened door by Lephra, the last one to enter. Vampire Marchena, with a displeased expression, pointed behind her and said.

“Why don’t you close the door first? I barely found this tavern after searching several villages.”

She was the first to say something the innkeeper would welcome, but her face was filled with clear hostility, though she didn’t seem to be planning on causing a scene here.

“……”

Lephra slowly extended her hand after hearing those words. With her gaze still fixed forward, she slowly closed the door behind her with only one arm.

Creak. The door closed, and the wind that had been making a sharp sound as it flowed through the narrow gap subsided.

The situation was somewhat unstable, but it didn’t seem like a fight would break out. Kazan let out a sigh of relief after confirming this.

An Inquisitor and a member of the Shadow Church.

The only person who could calm the two sides, who could never be on good terms, was not here.

In such a precarious situation, Lephra spoke.

“It seems.”

She slowly walked toward the table, as if she still had the will to talk.

“We are after the same thing.”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

Marchena grumbled in response and pulled out an old chair with her foot, sitting opposite the Inquisitor.

There was no need to confirm. What they were chasing was Inquisitor Luciel’s target, the last remaining Catacomb in the north.

A hidden secret place whose approximate location was known, but due to the harsh environment, no one was known to have ever approached it.

“I would like to propose an information sharing.”

Kazan’s dry words. Lephra raised an eyebrow slightly.

“If you don’t like the word sharing, consider it an exchange.”

“An exchange of information.”

The Inquisitor looked into the air for a moment, lost in thought.

Sweep. The innkeeper carefully placed bottles and glasses on the old, scarred wooden table in front of them.

After serving them with the utmost care, the owner quickly left the small hall, as if afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.

“That’s an absurdly presumptuous offer to make to an Inquisitor.”

Inquisitor Lephra, known for her rather strong stance, said, looking at Kazan and Marchena with cold eyes.

Click. Lephra opened the wax-sealed bottle and slowly poured the alcohol into three chipped glasses.

The fiery liquor unique to the north gave off a pungent smell in the air.

Sweep. Marchena and Kazan looked at the two glasses pushed in front of them. An action that contradicted her words, which sounded like a refusal.

“……Then let’s hear it.”

The vampire, holding the glass, chuckled at the Inquisitor’s words and downed the liquor in one gulp.

🔹🔹🔹

The matter in Schwarzcolm was quickly concluded. The Holy Knights of the Holy See arrived after being contacted and escorted the lord and the slave traders, and all the underground facilities were destroyed.

The remaining miscellaneous administrative tasks were not my concern, so we immediately moved on to our next destination.

Further north.

“Ah, the air is so refreshing.”

“Indeed.”

I nodded in agreement with Jerit’s words. The air in the north, clear and crisp, was cool, even chilly, despite it being midday.

It was the perfect weather and air for an adventure, but I quietly looked up at the sky.

The fact that Jerit still had the leisure to chatter meant that our destination was still far away.

“……”

I looked at the Saintess and Jerit, who were chatting about various things as if they were on a picnic.

They seemed quite excited, for now. I looked at them and then silently increased my pace.

After a few more days of traveling north.

“……”

The surroundings were distinctly different from before.

Fields filled with white instead of green. The north wind blowing fiercely over the snow-covered ground pierced sharply through my cloak like a blade.

It wasn’t a very pleasant environment, but I didn’t feel bad.

The fact that the surrounding climate had changed to something harsh for humans meant, in other words, that we had almost reached our destination.

The slave trade and the forces behind it were just a facade. It was quite satisfying that we were able to quickly wrap things up in Schwarzcolm and arrive in the north thanks to our haste.

“The air is truly refreshing.”

A small village visible in the distance. I spoke to the other two in a rather bright tone, having our first destination in sight.

“……”

“……”

But there was no reply.

I chuckled, looking at Jerit and the Saintess, who were twice their size and only exhaling white breath.

Wrapped in thick blankets over their armor and clothes, they didn’t seem accustomed to the cold of the north.

They looked like they had abandoned their dignity as a priest of the Holy See and a Saintess.

Of course, they could use their holy power to ward off the cold, but they seemed to be trying to get used to this harsh journey without using any shortcuts.

It was a wise choice.

We hadn’t even reached the vicinity of the Catacomb, our final destination, the so-called true north.

“Th, th, that’s it, over th, there.”

Jerit, chattering his teeth, stuck his hand out from under his cloak and pointed to the village in the distance.

It was a bit comical and rude, but I chuckled and answered him.

“Yes. It looks ordinary on the outside.”

The small village, with its roofs covered in white snow, didn’t seem particularly unusual. At first glance.

“……Let’s hurry.”

The two, who were new to the north, seemed to only long for a warm interior, not noticing anything strange.

I glanced up at the village one last time and then rode towards it. The sky above the village was still clear.

🔹🔹🔹

As is typical of cities and villages in the cold north, there were no guards patrolling the frigid outdoors.

In the first place, this small, nameless village wasn’t large enough to have separate guards.

“Is anyone there?”

Arriving at the village entrance, we cautiously stepped over the stone wall.

There was nothing but the sharp sound of the wind as it grazed the snow piled here and there, the fences, and the walls. No other signs of life could be felt.

“It seems there’s no one outside. Well, it is this cold.”

Jerit, pulling up his cloak, said while sniffling.

“No, Jerit. It’s not just that there’s no one outside.”

I spoke in a low voice, watching him. It wasn’t simply that everyone was staying indoors to escape the cold.

“There’s no smoke.”

“……!”

At my words, Jerit and Sophia looked up at the sky above the village, as if they had just realized something.

Fire is essential in this cold northern village. The absence of any rising smoke, in other words, meant that no one was living here.

Jerit, his face hardening after hearing my words, strode towards the door of a small house nearby.

“Excuse me!”

Having shouted a final warning just in case, he then slammed the door with a strong force, accompanied by a bit of holy power.

Crack. After a few impacts, the wooden door’s latch broke, revealing the inside.

We cautiously examined the scene within.

The interior was filled only with chilling cold and silence. As expected, there were no traces of people.

We checked a few more houses, but they were all the same. No signs of life could be felt.

Judging by the generally tidy state and the lack of signs of struggle, it didn’t seem to be due to some external factor.

It appeared that the villagers here had left of their own volition.

“……You said most of the captured slaves were refugees from the north.”

Saintess Sophia spoke calmly.

The fact that something was happening in the north was already known. We even knew the approximate nature of that magic, thanks to Harzan of the Black Magic Tower, who had gathered the faint energy lingering on those refugees.

“Perhaps the people of this village were among those we rescued.”

Jerit muttered, with a sigh mixed with emptiness and relief. I nodded and looked around the village.

There was nothing to gain from this deserted village, which seemed to have been abandoned for quite some time.

“Let’s move.”

I immediately started walking. A hint of sadness appeared on their faces at my action, but they followed me without complaint, vaguely realizing that something was indeed happening, as they looked at the empty village.

Thus, once again crossing the snow-covered fields, we reached the entrance of another village located quite a distance away, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Clearly rising smoke.

This village, which appeared slightly larger than the previous empty one, showed clear signs of habitation in various places.

“Phew, thank goodness.”

Jerit rubbed his palms together, exhaling white breath. His face was full of anticipation for the rest he would finally get in a warm space.

Early evening in the north, where the days are short. We passed by houses with scattered lights and arrived in front of what appeared to be an inn.

The refugees who had fled quickly did not have enough accurate information to satisfy me. However, those who still remained in the north, protecting their village, would know exactly what was happening here.

Of course, it would be to gain certainty about my speculation, but that was enough for me.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Is anyone there?”

Jerit’s words were delivered with the utmost respect that someone who had been running through the cold winter fields all day, facing the biting wind, could muster. Even I wanted to applaud his patience and politeness; his tone was incredibly courteous.

Click.

A small window above the thick wooden door, just large enough to see through, opened quickly and then closed again. They seemed to have checked our appearance.

And then, as if responding to Jerit’s words, which were unbelievably kind for someone cold, hungry, and tired, a reply came back.

“What do you want? Get lost!”

Translator’s Blog

Blog

• 30-Year-Old Me Watching Skibidi Toilet TikTok: A Descent into Madness
• Is Your Cat Plotting Your Demise (While You’re Face Down, Drunk)?
• Is Ramen Overrated Because of Naruto? A Ramen-Loving Anime Fan’s Take
• Unlocking Your Inner Naruto Fox: Finding Your Sasuke and Mastering the Sharingan
• Guts Needs a Therapist: The Berserk of Mental Health