Translator: yAmi
The small village was full of activity early in the morning.
People were scrambling to get out of the village as quickly as possible, packing as much as they could into their carts or on their backs. They were trying to avoid the ravages of war.
"Hurry up, hurry up!"
"Hurry, or they'll come!"
"St. Gallen barbarians......!"
The villagers gathered in the village square, carrying their belongings, each face coloured with fear and frustration.
The neighbouring country, the Federation of St. Gallen had crossed the mountains to invade this land, Volden. The barbaric acts of the enemy army in the surrounding areas have even spread to this mountainous farming village.
"Villages would all be killed and their harvest taken from them."
"Village girls would all be gathered for raping."
"It doesn't matter if it was a boy or a girl, so long as they possess good looks."
And so on…
The stories they had heard were a mixture of fact and exaggeration, but one thing was for certain. Nothing good could come from being captured by the St. Gallen army.
That's why they ran away without any hesitation. They even abandoned their almost harvest ready fields, the lifeline for them peasants.
"Is it really fine… for us to leave our fields and escape?"
"This isn’t the time for that! Staying alive is more important!"
"But if we escape, if we come back after the war and the fields are a mess…"
"Don’t say such inauspicious stuff, old man......"
However, there was still a lingering feeling of regret for the fields they had painstakingly worked to cultivate. After all, they were the foundation of their lives. They paid taxes on the crops and fed themselves or sold the leftovers. That was the way of life for a farmer. Even if they fled to extend their lives today, it would be meaningless if they starved to death the following day.
Shaking off their fears, they continued to evacuate.
"I'm sure the lord understands that war is not an option. There may be some tax breaks or allowances."
"Yeah, is that so? But, how can we expect such magnanimity from a noble?"
"So you're going to stay here with your hoes and take on St. Gallen? That's not going to end well."
"A-Alright......."
The farmers persuaded themselves as they escaped towards the castle town.
They were in dire straits. There was no choice but to cling to the mercy of the lord and beg for tax exemptions and food rations. Now that they have abandoned their fields and fled, it was the only way to survive.
What if their pleas were rejected? In the first place, the reason they had to flee was because of the lack of protection from the lord. If their destitute selves were subjected to further exploitation, then they were resolved to do one thing.
To revolt.
Now that they were now at war, surely the officials would like to have their own people on their side. At the very least, they don't want to create more enemies. Hence, if they showed signs of an uprising, their demands would surely be accepted. Just a little of the tax that they have been offering should be acceptable. At the very least, the lord's army, which suffered a series of defeats against St. Gallen was a much easier opponent to fight against than the monstrously strong St. Gallen army.......
That was the popular thought of the commoners.
"Mom, w-water......."
"Patience, my dear! If we don't get out of here right now, the scary soldiers will catch up with us!"
"But I'm so thirsty..."
Suddenly, one of the young men in the village stopped to listen to a mother and child arguing. Apparently, the mother was hurrying her child who wanted to get a drink.
"Miss, please give him a drink. It's going to be a long walk from here to the nearest town. You'd better get him some water while you can."
When he said this in a friendly manner, his mother turned away, looking unhappy.
"It's not like I was being mean to my child..."
"Okay, I'll help you draw water from the well."
"Thank you, Uncle!"
"......boy, I'm not old enough to be an uncle yet."
With the innocent joy of the child in his eyes, the man went to the shared well in the village and drew water. He scooped up the water with a ladle and presented it to the child's mouth.
"Here, have a drink. Just a little, okay? If you drink too much, you'll get a heavy stomach on the way."
"Yeah!"
"I'm sorry you have to listen to the whims of my child......"
"No, this much is fine—"
Helping each other in the midst of danger. The villagers felt their excessive tension melt away at the warmth of the friendship between neighbours.
It is alright. They would not be attacked like the other villages, and they would escape. If they could assist each other and encourage one another like this, then they would be able to progress.
Such optimistic hope even came to mind.
But it was right after that that something strange happened.
"Cough, cough…gurr!?"
The child was drinking water. Suddenly, he appeared to be in distress and vomited the contents in his stomach. The abnormally coloured vomit released a sour odour into the air.
"—What?"
"Hey, kid!"
While the young man and his mother in the village were stunned, the child began to convulse and curl up like a shrimp. The vomiting did not stop, and he was intermittently vomiting acidic liquid from his mouth.
"Gueehh, ohh......!"
"Hey, what the hell! What's going on!"
"Hey, the brat collapsed!"
"What, why are you......? Oh, the water ......."
"Boy! Hang on! Boy!"
The villagers heard the commotion and flocked to the well. A young man stood dumbfounded. The mother was frantically calling out to her child. In front of their eyes, the convulsions of the fallen child became more and more violent ...... and eventually stopped.
He was dead.
"Ahhhh......! Why, what ...... happened to my child?"
"No, no ......, it wasn’t me! I didn’t do anything!"
"Calm down. Nobody is accusing you of anything yet—"
"Then who the hell did it? What the hell happened?"
"......It’s the St. Gallen army."
In a village that was on the verge of panic, someone muttered to himself.
The villager shuddered as he continued to speak as other people stared at him.
"It's St. Gallen. They've been poisoning our wells without us knowing it......"
The Army of the Federation of St. Gallen. They appeared from beyond the mountains and attacked this land, looting their villages, killing their people and violating women and children. Their mention of their name spread through the villagers like an eerie ripple.
"St. Gallen......?"
"Wait, wait. What do they have to gain by poisoning the village well?"
"Well, who else would benefit from it?"
"They would do it...... They definitely would do it!"
"They're going to kill us all!"
The frenzy that had once almost subsided shook the people with increasing intensity, like the main earthquake after a preliminary tremor.
"Run ......! Come on, let’s get out of here!"
"They're getting close, aren't they?"
"They've snuck into the village and poisoned the well! They’re definitely nearby!"
"No…noooooooo!"
"Get out of the way, get out of the way! I don't want to be killed! I'm not gonna let them kill me!"
"No, don't! Stop pushing! My belongings—"
"Don't just stand there, slowpoke!"
"W-we have to get out of here fast......!"
"Ahh!? No, no, no! Don't step on me!"
The panic-stricken villagers rushed to the exits of their village. There was no such thing as consideration for neighbours, nor was there any sense of cooperation.
Some of them even threw away their belongings and pushed others out of the way in order to save themselves. Others were pushed over and trampled by the villagers who followed. Others were shocked in place and did not move from the well.
"My child...... my child......"
The mother shook the corpse of her dead son, as if unable to accept the situation. No one paid any attention to her at all. Even the young man had left the scene, followed by the other villagers.
This fear of war that had been tormenting the villagers had finally closed in on them. The water level had risen to the limit, and the moment it materialised in the form of the sudden death of an innocent child, nothing could stop it from flooding in. The wave of people was like a tsunami. Those unable to move were left behind.
"O-Ouch...... Why was I left behind...... aren’t we friends in the same village—"
"Why don't you wake up, boy? If you don't, the scary people will—"
Thus, the village was quickly abandoned.
And soon, it will fall into ruins.
The tallest building in the village, the church.
There were two shadows looming down from the rooftops as they observed the poor villagers entering a frenzy and fleeing. They were both wearing black robes with hoods so they were indistinguishable. But from the unevenness of their silhouettes, they would probably be identified as women.
