Within the dark vision that Rita possessed, the faces of those few figures slowly emerging from the shadows were exceptionally clear.
The youngest among them seemed to be middle-aged at best, while most were elderly women, each wearing a smile that made Rita want to go up and tear it off. Step by step, they kept advancing toward Rita.
Rita was certain she had never seen these women before. Whether it was when she entered the Village or when she was soaking in the hot springs, she had absolutely no impression of them.
“You all…” Rita carefully considered her words. After the incident with Dorothy, she was very worried about startling the snake in the grass.
Given such obvious abnormality, there could only be two possibilities: either this group was completely brainless, or they were so formidable that they had no need for caution.
“What do you want?”
“We just want to have a look at you.” The oldest of the hunchbacked old women smiled kindly, “In this Village, are you living happily?”
“Why do you want to look at me?” Rita’s tone was not pleasant, and as for those questions about happiness, her brain automatically filtered them out.
“Because we’re worried you’re not happy. The Happy Doctrine of our Village is happiness. Everyone who comes to our Village must attain happiness.” Another chimed in.
These people were truly obsessed, repeating ‘happiness’ over and over without end.
Yet they didn’t seem to have any intention to use force. They merely formed a semicircle, and honestly, even if they did attack, Rita was confident she could take them all down.
But since they were obsessed, prying information from them shouldn’t be too hard.
Rita casually picked a topic, “By the way, don’t you have any adventurers in your Village? I noticed the Adventurers’ Guild hasn’t been used for ages.”
“We can handle our own problems without adventurers.”
“We have no need to ask adventurers for help.”
“Our happiness depends on ourselves.”
They all spoke over each other, and their words, which might have sounded motivational, only made Rita feel more uneasy.
“Then why is there nobody at your Village church anymore?” Rita asked again.
“Because even without the Goddess’ guidance, we still have no disputes, no anxiety, and we can continue to enjoy endless happiness.”
This wasn’t going anywhere—communication was impossible.
“Then, how exactly do you attain happiness?” Rita asked the most critical and curious question.
“As long as you stay here, you’ll be happy.”
“It’s impossible for anyone to feel unhappy here.”
Incomprehensible, completely incomprehensible.
Rita wanted to say, “Actually, I’m not feeling very happy right now,” just to see their reaction, but she thought such bluntness might not be wise, so she swallowed it back.
Anyway, she could leave tomorrow. Tonight, she just had to be careful.
With that in mind, Rita bid the group farewell. True to form, they didn’t press her further and let her leave just like that.
Back in her room, Rita briefly reported her discoveries to Cecilia.
“Rita, your observation skills are impressive. You’ve improved a lot since before. Let’s get some rest tonight and set out early tomorrow.” Cecilia first praised Rita, then lazily sprawled back onto her bed.
“Lady Cecilia, are you feeling unwell?”
“No.”
“So after eating their food, you don’t feel anything wrong? Ordinary poison doesn’t work on me, but I was worried about you, Lady Cecilia…”
“You already said there was no poison, so I ate with no worries.” Cecilia yawned. “Don’t overthink things, just get some sleep.”
“You’re right.” Rita thought for a moment, “Lady Cecilia, I think I won’t sleep tonight.”
The Moon was already hanging fully in the sky. Feeling bored, Rita hugged her sword, leaned against the wall, and watched the moonlight outside through the window, which was thick with Enchantment energy.
Rita had already reminded Cecilia: if she wanted to go out, she should inform Rita first. Rita definitely didn’t want Cecilia, after inhaling her Enchantment energy, to suddenly change personality and then assault her.
Though it might not really happen, Rita was scared—really scared.
At this time, Cecilia was already breathing evenly in bed. As a night-dwelling creature, Rita didn’t mind staying awake—just resting her eyes was enough, nothing too serious.
In a daze, Rita heard a melodious Flute drifting through the night air, as if carried by a faint breeze. The sound was soft, yet impossible to ignore.
Who in their right mind plays the Flute in the middle of the night?
Leaning against the corner, Rita shifted, hugging her sword even tighter.
After a while, the Flute continued. The monotonous melody let Rita tell this wasn’t just some kid next door messing around with their instrument; there was a thread of coherence, yet it repeated endlessly, making Rita increasingly restless.
Seriously, is this ever going to stop?
Rita pushed open the door and put another layer of Enchantment over Cecilia’s door before striding out of the inn.
Stepping outside, the sight before her startled Rita. Under the cold, silvery Moon, the Village’s stone-paved roads were illuminated with a pale, chilling light.
But there was nothing cold about the roads themselves—every villager she had never seen together in one place was now gathered here.
The villagers, in their everyday clothes, lined up in a neat procession, gliding down the street like a school of fish.
Their movements were a bit loose—not quite uniform, but Rita could easily spot the pattern.
Step forward, step down, turn, step again. With the Flute’s tide-like rise and fall, the cycle repeated. It was as if they were puppets controlled by invisible strings, dancing a stiff and bizarre dance on the stone road.
Rita had only seen such a sight when watching middle-aged men and women dancing in the Plaza.
Of course, she wasn’t so naive as to believe these people were really out for a midnight dance in the Village.
At the very least, the smiles on their faces told her otherwise.
Rita had seen those smiles more than once: curved eyes empty and hollow, unable to reflect the bright Moon, and lips twisted in an eerie arc that looked both stiff and mechanical in the cold moonlight.
They smiled, but there was no laughter, no cheerful sounds. All Rita could hear was the soft scuff of shoes on the ground and the Flute music swirling around the entire Village.
Within the crowd, Rita even spotted a familiar figure bringing up the rear of the procession.
Claire, the bard, was not wearing her flashy outfit but rather her sleepwear, drowsily following along.
Though her movements were a bit clumsy—just like when Rita had tried copying Plaza dancing out of boredom—she was doing her best to fit into the strange rhythm.
“Claire, Claire.” Rita poked Claire in the side, causing her to pause.
“Huh?” With a silly grin, Claire turned her head. Although her state wasn’t as exaggerated as the others, Rita could sense she was already starting to be assimilated into their ranks.
“Claire, what are you doing up in the middle of the night? We have to travel tomorrow.” Rita tugged on Claire’s arm, slowing her steps.
“Travel? What travel?” Claire rolled her eyes, her gaze never really resting on Rita.
“Weren’t you going to the Royal Capital?”
“Oh, right, that’s a thing… but, it’s pretty nice living here, too.”
Rita frowned. “Didn’t you want to write interesting stories?”
“Stories—I can write them here, too. I’ve already captured the feeling, the inspiration to write good stories.” Claire spoke lazily, and even as Rita pulled her, she still drifted in the direction of the crowd, as if she had always belonged here.
This is kind of scary—just staying in the Village leads to Enchantment.
No wonder those people kept urging “join the Village soon” and “become happy.” Everyone who moves in is already caught in the trap.
Whatever, all fear comes from lack of strength. If it comes down to it, just flip the table.
Rita stopped pestering Claire and silently followed the crowd.
Yet it was as if no one noticed Rita trailing behind them; they kept dancing those rigid steps, as if lost in a dream they could never wake from. Rita felt a chill run down her spine.
Wait—where was Cecilia?
Suddenly, Rita remembered Cecilia, alone in the room, and an ominous feeling surged in her chest.
“○奇!” Rita called out softly.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, she wouldn’t call out—otherwise, she’d attract the Law Department’s attention.
But now, it really was necessary!
“Squeak squeak squeak squeak.”
In response to Rita’s voice, a plump Field Mouse lying in the grass squeaked a few times, then scurried away. Less than half a minute later, it dashed back and squeaked again.
Whew, it’s fine. Thank goodness.
See, animal companions are useful.
This was all Rita could do, so of course she had to make use of her skills whenever she could.
Rita continued walking, joining the flow of people as they gathered at the Village’s Plaza.
From a distance, Rita could see someone standing on the low platform in the Plaza—barely half a meter off the ground—dressed even more flamboyantly, with a hat so enormous it covered their entire face, playing a Flute.
If Claire was a flashy wild pheasant, then this person was a MEGA-evolved flashy wild pheasant.
No need to think further: this was the Enchanter.
Wait, did she just manage to offend both of the strongest Law Departments at once?
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