"That hunter gave up on Isolde and chose Isabelle instead? What terrible taste."
"They say he is a good hunter, but is he going to take the captain of the vigilante corps position at this rate?"
"Finn, do not cross the line. You might end up dead."
"Ah, sorry."
When Kaelen, a former mercenary, threatened him with his sword, the atmosphere turned ugly in an instant.
Thinking Kaelen might draw blood again, John hurriedly stepped in to mediate.
"Kaelen, that is enough. Finn only says that because he does not know any better. That bastard is not someone impressive enough for you to worry about."
"Of course not. How could the great Kaelen fall behind some mere hunting dog?"
"R-right. I was mistaken for a moment. Sorry."
"Finn, cross the line one more time and you are dead."
"O-okay."
"More importantly, the Ceremony of Light is coming up soon. Finn, have you finished preparing the thing we discussed before?"
To change the mood, John brought up the matter for which his gang had gathered.
At John's words, Finn swiftly pulled a small packet from his clothes and showed it to everyone.
"The sleeping powder is ready."
"Are you sure that stuff works? That bitch from the next village nearly woke up last time."
"Do not worry. I asked the bandits for help and increased the concentration this time. No matter what is done to them, they will not wake up until at least the following morning."
Finn handed the small packet of white powder to Torm, the potbellied son of the innkeeper.
"Just mix it into water or ale and have them drink it."
"Heh heh, got it."
"It is expensive, so use it sparingly. Do not skim any off for yourself."
"I said I got it."
Finn felt uneasy as he watched Torm grin lecherously at the sleeping powder, but Torm's father was a major customer at Finn's shop, so he could not show it.
"Daevon, is it true the church might be pulling out soon?"
"That is what Kate says. I do not know the details of what is going on. Apparently, they are looking for something, but have not gotten any results."
"Come to think of it, this bastard is the craziest one of us all. How can you even think about fucking a nun? If you get caught, the minimum sentence is castration."
"No need to be scared just because she is a nun. Nuns want men just like any other bitch does. And where can a nun who has lost her virginity even go? They are scared too, so they cannot go around telling anyone. Heh heh. A nun's pussy is tighter than you would think. Kaelen, you should fuck a nun sometime too."
"Fuck! Why are you only telling me about something that good now?"
"Just thinking about it is getting me hard. I should fuck Kate one more time before she leaves."
"Let me join in too."
"How much will you pay?"
"You fucking bastard, you fucked my wife as much as you wanted last time! This time, you share!"
"Eva, she was damn good. It was nice that no matter how much I beat her, she could not even scream. Some bastard got so worked up that he killed a perfectly good fuckhole."
"Fuck, are you saying Eva dying was my fault?"
"Then you should not have beaten her so badly. You cannot beat a woman as though you are handling an animal."
"Women need a beating to come to their senses. She dared talk back to her husband? She has nothing to say even if she dies."
"That is true. Bitches like that deserve to die."
John gave a snickering laugh and agreed with Kaelen.
After all, he and Kaelen thought alike when it came to handling women.
"Anyway, let us not forget to do everything according to plan."
"We finally get to monopolize this village, right?"
"Right. So everyone keeps their heads down. Especially you, Kaelen. Lie low for a while. Ever since Eva died, people have not been looking at you kindly."
"All right. I get it."
"Good. That is enough for today."
With that, John's gang finished their conspiracy and quietly dispersed.
They could not have dreamed of it.
This is interesting.
That a sixth person beside them had overheard every word of their conversation.
. . .
So this is how the scenario fits together.
In [A Country Village’s Circumstances], the story progression was almost entirely covered from Ian's point of view.
Because of that, I had not been able to learn everything leading up to the incident.
But through the conspiracy John and his gang had just plotted, I could roughly infer the scenario.
With Torm's help, it would not be difficult to drug the village men with sleeping powder.
The only reason Torm, the stereotypical fat loser, could hang around with John's gang was because his father ran the largest inn in the village.
And the bandits' raid on the village was probably arranged by Finn, who conducted illicit dealings with the bandits.
He was good at playing both sides, so he would have been able to set the timing of the raid to some extent as well.
Finally, John's gang, the only ones not asleep, would put Kaelen forward to wipe out the bandits. Through that, John had planned to elevate himself and his gang into the village's heroes.
The problem was that their plan had been completely ruined because of Ian.
They could never have imagined that a single hunter would annihilate the bandits.
John must be behind the reason Ian's heroic deeds could not spread through the village either.
I could also roughly guess why John had prepared such a plan.
It must be because of the village chief's inheritance.
John had a half-sister.
As befitted the medieval era, inheritances usually went overwhelmingly to the eldest son, but John's circumstances were different.
Contrary to appearances, John did not have a very good relationship with his father, the village chief.
It was because John's mother had destroyed the family through an affair, while his father was said to have had a loving marriage with his second wife.
The stingy village chief had even paid the considerable expense of sending his daughter to the academy.
If it were me, I would leave my inheritance to the daughter of a virtuous wife rather than the son of an adulteress.
Outwardly, John was treated as the village chief's only son, but inwardly, he had to worry that the chief's inheritance would pass to his half-sister.
He must be planning to murder the village chief amid the chaos.
I had a rough idea of how I needed to proceed from here.
Still, one thing bothered me.
I never expected the scenario to connect like this.
The nun named Kate, whom Daevon, the village's famous Casanova, had mentioned, was one of the nuns who appeared in the prologue of [A Lewd Nun’s Circumstances], where Reina was the protagonist.
She had not appeared as a simple supporting character, either. She was the very nun who reported Reina's virginity to the inquisitor.
She is not even a virgin herself, yet she had the nerve to report Reina? Is she out of her mind?
It was absurd, but thanks to that, I came up with a way to keep Reina in Entiel Village.
Still, the item the church is looking for...
Could it be that?
. . .
Recently, Adelia had been living happy days.
It was all thanks to her son-in-law, Ian.
"Isabelle, I made stew this time."
"It is delicious."
Ian genuinely cherished and loved Isabelle.
He attended more diligently than anyone to Isabelle, who could do nothing for herself.
"Cough, cough. I am sorry."
"It is all right. It is hot, so from now on, I will cool it with my breath for you."
Even when Isabelle made a mistake, Ian did not show it.
Instead, he smiled as he gently wiped Isabelle's cheek with a handkerchief.
"Just having you beside me makes me happy, Isabelle. There is no need for you to apologize."
Even watching from the side, it was clear that Ian's love was utterly devoted.
"It is already starting to get dark. Isabelle, I will come see you again tomorrow morning."
"See you tomorrow morning."
"This time of day pains my heart. To think I must leave behind the wife I love."
As he said that, Ian kissed Isabelle on the forehead.
"I hope tomorrow morning comes quickly."
"...I will be waiting for you."
Thanks to him, Isabelle, who normally never smiled, had begun smiling much more often recently.
Seeing that, Adelia felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted from her heart.
But that happiness did not last long.
"Sniff..."
Once Ian was gone, Isabelle began to cry.
When her daughter, who normally never showed her emotions, revealed her sadness, Adelia did not know what to do.
"Isabelle, what is wrong?"
"Waaah—"
Isabelle cried for a long time, and there was nothing Adelia could do.
All she could do was remain beside her as her mother.
"Mom, why did you give birth to me?"
"What?"
At Isabelle's words, Adelia's heart dropped.
"I cannot do anything. Ian works so hard for me, but I cannot do anything for him as his wife."
Isabelle poured out the emotions she had not shown in front of Ian.
"I want to love Ian too! I want to kiss Ian like ordinary lovers do! But with this body, I cannot love him!"
Below her neck, there was nowhere she could move at will, and pus and discharge seeped from all over her body.
Unlike her healthy, beautiful older sister, she herself was nothing but trash.
Isabelle knew it too.
That she had no value as a woman or as a wife.
So she had given up.
Because she thought she would never be loved.
But she was loved.
That was why it hurt.
The more Ian loved her, the more she could only lament her own circumstances.
"I-I am sorry."
Even at Isabelle's cry of anguish, Adelia could do nothing this time either.
"Mom is sorry..."
All she could do was apologize over and over.
Without realizing those words might wound her daughter.
. . .
Today, I went to see Reina again.
This time, rather than disciplining her, it was to calculate the lunar eclipse cycle through [Moon’s Shadow].
Then I learned one important fact.
"Oh my, a lunar eclipse is coming soon?"
"Really?"
The time to cure Rose's Punishment, which had tormented my beloved wife, was right around the corner.
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