Chapter 61: Plague!

Chapter 61: Plague! Keeping the initial analysis in mind, the group finally reached the center. Knowing that the casualties up till now had only been those directly targeted and the village as a whole is still living normally did give the group less pressure. Especially Alex and Marwa, who thought that they had to take things slowly depending on the situation, and this situation is exactly what they hoped for. Ken, however, couldn’t care less. "My children... please, keep my children safe." a hoarse voice repeated these words like a mantra, drawing Ken’s attention His eyes landed on the ground, where a woman had red vein-like lines running through her entire figure, especially her face. Her eyes were deep red, and she seemed more like a demon than anything else at this point. Next to her was a doctor; he was sweating and repeatedly saying, ’Don’t worry, I’m with you,’ to the woman who was hardly speaking. He held her from her back and raised her slowly as his other hand made her drink some kind of liquid, likely water, as if he didn’t care about the plague and if it was contagious. "This is the village’s doctor." The old village head spoke, his eyes on the lady, as he didn’t add any words. Ken looked at the village head and then back at the woman and chose not to speak. "Mom!" "Mommy!" "M-mother." To the side, there were children who were barely held back by the other villagers; one was a baby, crying his eyes out. The other was a child who similarly couldn’t stop her tears, a young girl. And the last one was a young man, his hands held tightly into fists as he held himself back, but his face was covered with dried-up tears. Their father was a victim the past few days, and now, their mother was following him, leaving them alone, and him to take care of his siblings. He was too young for this. Ken looked at them long enough, his expression not letting on anything. but his actions sure did. "They’re the children of this young lady, Marga." The village head explained, seeing how Ken resonated with the children. "What do you think?" He then asked. "..." Ken didn’t reply. And the village head didn’t speak another word. It was obvious Ken wasn’t able to think of a solution, or so the village head thought in his head. "The doctor is doing his job. With his help, the victims of the plague are able to stay alive for a few days, and his medicine is getting progressively effective." *Cough* *Cough* The old man coughed, and the middle-aged man caught him, fearing that his body would give up. "The first victim hadn’t been able to survive a single night, dying by the time the sun set for the next day." The village head then stopped speaking. And Ken stood there, not doing anything until the crowd dispersed; a group of people helped the doctor take the woman to his land, where he’d put her close to the other victims. The village head followed them, and the group did so too. There, aside from the young lady, there were two other victims, one of whom was almost entirely red from head to toe. If this continued, then he’d be dead by tonight. "I’m sorry for having you follow me this long. If you’d like, please be my guests." The village head, after dealing with the victim’s matters, invited them to his house. "We are the ones who are sorry to intrude on you while your village suffers from such a plague. We’d still like to help however we can." Ken stated. The village head only looked at Ken and said nothing. Then, the group went to his house. A large estate that stood alone at the very end of the village with a large farm behind it. They entered through the door, and many of the village head’s children came to welcome him, some of whom were tending to the courtyard’s crops or cleaning inside of the estate. Ken noticed how this building was by far the largest in the village and continued analyzing the village head and everybody around him. Till now, he and his teammates hadn’t spoken much, and they focused on the details surrounding them. Any suspicious individuals who might be the contractor are also keeping a tight lock on their actions to not give much information to the enemy. The village head led them to an office that was on the first floor. And once there, a lady at the same age as them brought tea and some snacks; she glanced at Ken, Darek, and then Alex before she was awestruck. Her gaze lingered on him. It wasn’t that Ken or Darek weren’t attractive; It was just that Ken... Darek looked slightly gloomy and dangerous, and she was a pure, innocent lady who wouldn’t go for a young man with bad boy vibes who looked like he’d kill her with a stare. Alex was like an angel, and any girl would be attracted to her. He was the most noticeable of the group, the total opposite of Ken, whose face... hard to describe. "Young man." The village head looked at Ken seriously. "Our village never drives off travelers such as yourself, as rarely as we receive them." He said. "But, it is out of fear that you’d be affected by the plague that I say. Please don’t take this village as a resting place." The village head bowed his head, and the middle-aged man who was to his right also did the same, but his eyes were on the old man, who looked like he was about to fall from his seat. "Elder..." Ken stood up for a second, and the group followed. They couldn’t have a man as old as the village head bowing to them. "As I said, I’m not driving you off. It is solely out of fear for you that I say these words. I don’t want innocent travelers such as yourself to meet your end at our village." -----End-----