Chương 70: Rain

The next morning, I was woken by the sound of falling rain. At first, I didn't recognize the sound; it had been a very long time since I last heard rain drumming on a tiled roof from inside a wooden house. Once I realized what it was, I snapped awake, bolted upright, and threw open the window. The chilly air, carrying tiny droplets of water, brushed against my face. It was fully light out, but the sky was a leaden gray. The rain wasn't heavy, but it was enough to require an umbrella.

Under normal circumstances, this would be perfect weather for lazing in bed. But on a day when you need to climb a mountain to find a buried ghoul head and figure out how to decontaminate a poisoned spring? It was absolutely terrible. Rain could increase the volume of the spring water or even create new runoff channels, carrying Miasma through the northeast mountain and into the town. Furthermore, trekking up slippery trails without any protective gear was incredibly dangerous.

When I left my room and went downstairs, the Hero Candidates had already gathered on the ground floor of Iris's inn. Seeing me enter, Edgar said, "It looks like your plan to climb the mountain has to be cancelled, Asher." Iris looked anxious.

"With this rain, there will be more spring water, and the toxin will spread even faster. What can we do now?" Lealia offered a suggestion: "Should we... evacuate the town?" Iris shook her head.

"It's not that simple. The neighboring city already knows about the plague here; they won't suddenly welcome a thousand people. Besides, the townspeople won't abandon their homes so easily." I sensed Iris was leading up to something, so I asked, "So, what do you think we should do?"

"First, someone needs to go and ask the church in the next city if they'll accept the residents. Or at least report this to the Church so they can send more people to control the situation. We're just a few people; we can't do much on our own..."

"And the person going to report will be...?"

"It would be best if it were a Hero Candidate. You know, soldiers don't fully grasp the situation. Since this involves Miasma, the church will need someone with authority. So, even though traveling in the rain is difficult, Edgar and I were thinking of taking on this task." I let out a short laugh. Of course. Iris wouldn't let herself stay in a place that was both dangerous and no longer beneficial to her image.

I was about to mock her when Nathan suddenly spoke up: Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

"I'll go with Edgar. This place still needs someone with healing abilities to stay behind. If both of you leave, people will panic." The fact that someone as consistently silent as Nathan spoke up caught everyone off guard. Edgar countered, "But... Iris is a girl..."

"What does gender matter? Didn't she just say traveling in the rain is dangerous? I'm willing to face that danger." Iris frowned, about to argue, but Nathan suddenly approached and placed his hand on her shoulder. After three seconds, Iris's demeanor shifted. Her eyes went dull for a split second before clearing again.

"Actually, Nathan is right. I'll stay here and wait for the church officials to arrive." Edgar looked at her in utter shock, as if they had agreed on a different plan beforehand and he couldn't understand why she had changed her mind so easily at the last minute. I immediately understood what Nathan had done. He also wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible, so he had used his mind manipulation powers.

When he saw me looking, Nathan threw me a warning glance—as if to say that if I dared speak up, I'd be the next one brainwashed. Edgar looked from Iris to Nathan, seemingly making a decision. Clearly, he could have given his spot to Iris and stayed with Lealia... but it seemed he prioritized his own life over his new crush.

"Fine. Let's head out early then." It wasn't until the carriage carrying Nathan and Edgar had departed that Iris seemed to wake from her trance. She kept frowning and muttering to herself about why on earth she had agreed to that arrangement. Now, only Iris, her two assistants, myself, Lealia, and four church soldiers remained. Lealia had been avoiding my eyes since morning, but she couldn't help turning to me now.

"What should we do next?" I sat down in a chair, crossing my arms in thought. The rain was an unexpected variable, but in truth, it only reinforced the decision I had been mulling over since last night. The situation in Grasiva was now beyond my control. If the Miasma leak wasn't a Church experiment, then it was likely the work of the Cult. And the manpower currently here was nowhere near enough to face a group of dangerous, inhuman cultists.

So, I said, "Maybe we should leave too, and leave the rest for the Church officials to handle when they arrive." Iris, waiting for exactly that, hurried to agree.

"Exactly! We can't do anything by staying. I'm almost out of mana; if the number of poisoned people increases, I'll be useless. We might as well…" Lealia, however, disagreed.

"But the townspeople need us. They don't know about the Miasma yet, but they know the water is contaminated. If we all leave now, they'll fall into a total panic." I looked at Iris with unconcealed mockery.

"If someone hadn't been in such a hurry to announce that the water was poisoned, we could have left quietly." Iris bit her lip, looking visibly aggrieved. Lealia pulled me aside and whispered, "I... I don't think we should leave yet. The people in town need our help." I replied, "It's raining. They can collect rainwater and hold out for a day. We help them best by going out and finding support."

"The old patients have only just started getting better; they need at least three more days of treatment. Not to mention potential new cases..."

"If you stay here, you might die, Lealia." I looked at her with absolute seriousness.

"Didn't you say you didn't want to be a Hero? Stop worrying about everyone else, get out of here, and keep yourself safe until the Investiture Day. That is what you should do." Lealia's face went pale.

"Die...? Is it that serious? I mean, we have rainwater now. Can't we just wait for the Church people to arrive before we leave?" I sighed.

"I suspect something far more serious is happening. And whether my suspicion is true or not, we don't have the power to make a big difference. Therefore, leaving is the safest choice."