Apocalypse Hunter - Chapter 41

 

When Zin finished washing up in a rush and came out, the cleaned-up Leona was waiting for him on an old and polished sofa.

 

“Soap is awesome.”

 

“You were screaming like a pig a while ago, and now you seem to have changed your mind.”

 

“That’s because people feel different emotions at different times.”

 

“Hunter, did you just wear the same clothes?”

 

“Yes, I did…”

 

“What’s point of washing up if you’re going to wear the dirty clothes again?! Give that to me. I’m going to wash it. Go to your room and get dressed in the new clothes that I have prepared.”

 

“You didn’t have to do…”

 

“I am doing this because of sanitation purposes, not out of hospitality. Now give me that!”

 

“Well then, hold on…”

 

After Zin took off his coat and bag, he took out the void storage and other necessary items, before giving the clothes to the woman.

 

The woman freaked out and murmured, “Man, oh man, look at this thing. Drenched with oil and dust… Not even flies are going to get drawn to this.”

 

The woman gathered all the clothes, and looked at Zin, who changed into new garb. She wanted to tell Zin to wash up again, but didn’t. Leona and Zin had both received new slippers and clothes.

 

The woman was determined to wash clean all the clothes, as well as the shoes. The woman displayed all the items in a wooden box on a table in the hallway. There were food, bolts, weapons such as crossbows, soaps, and other items that were available in Jule.

 

“If you need anything, let me know how much you want, and we’ll have it ready. The prices are non-negotiable, just to let you know.”

 

“Do you handle outside visitors?”

 

“Yes, sort of. If you need anything, let me know.”

 

“The Jule castle must have hired very outgoing people as hosts,” Zin murmured as he was tired, and the woman smiled.

 

“Well, should you say that we are more friendly, oh hunter? Wouldn’t you rather deal with me than a cold person?”

 

“Hmm… I suppose so.”

 

“Hahaha! I will take as a compliment. I like meeting new people. I especially enjoy the dirty strangers getting cleaner.”

 

“Ma’am, you are a quirky one…”

 

Leona was thankful for the woman’s hospitality, but she was getting tired of her. Zin looked at the supplies available. Some of them had signs that said “chicken” and “wild rat meat.” It seemed like the castle had livestock.

 

They did not have any weapon supplies that Zin was looking for, but there were many food supplies and clothes.

 

“Could you prepay today’s lodging fee?”

 

“Here it is.”

 

“Thank you very much.”

 

Zin paid five chips. Considering that the inn offered soap and water, the lodging fee of five chips per night was cheap. Most of the cities charged a chip per night, but this inn even provided clothes, so it was not a bad deal.

 

“Ma’am, what do you do for living usually? I don’t think visitors come by very often.”

 

“Hmm? I…”

 

Leona rudely asked questions, but the woman did not point it out. Before the woman was able to answer, a loud shout could be heard from far away.

 

“Lord! Mr. Good hurt his finger while using a hammer!”

 

The guard was running straight towards the hallway. The woman was surprised and ran towards the guard in a hurry.

 

“Oh no, that’s terrible! Did he get hurt bad?”

 

“I think he broke his nail, and we’ll have to disinfect his fingers!”

 

“Okay, bring some disinfectant and gauze to the blacksmith.”

 

“Yes, my lord!” the woman replied and then looked towards Zin and Leona.

 

“Phew… I will be right back, so please rest up.”

 

“Ah, yeah… sure…”

 

“…”

 

The woman started running somewhere, and Zin and Leona looked at each other.

 

“Is she the lord of the castle?”

 

“Looks like it.”

 

“… Didn’t expect that at all.”

 

Zin and Leona were shocked and stood there for a while.

 

The woman wore an apron and had a white bandana around her head, and she didn’t look any different from the other villagers.

 

“My husband used to be the lord of this castle. This place used to be a point, and then the population grew enough to be called a castle. But one day, he went out to hunt a bear and was injured. His condition got worse, and he died. That was… about ten years ago. We did not have any children then. People were getting scared because the lord died, and somebody had to step up to lead the castle, but there were no people as qualified as me. They started calling me lord, and I started to lead as the lord since then.”

 

After returning from the blacksmith, she prepared a meal and started talking about her life story even though Zin and Leona did not ask about it. Zin and Leona did not have much to do, so they watched the woman cook food on the stove.

 

“In the past, we rejected all outsiders and closed off the castle from outsiders. But you know, I wondered how many visitors actually came to our castle. I am thinking maybe two or three visitors pass by every three months. But after losing my husband, my mind changed completely.”

 

“How?” Leona asked.

 

“If we had a single bottle of disinfectant, he wouldn’t have died so easily. Since then, we’ve been welcoming any visitor to see if they could share any medicine or herbs and such. I know how to read and write, so I try to note down as much as possible. I know how to make paper, and I learned how to make soaps about five years ago when we had refugees visit our castle. They are currently living in building number four.”

 

After the death of the previous lord, the current lord realized that they needed knowledge from outsiders to survive. And they welcomed hunters and other foreigners so that they could gain more knowledge. She hosted the visitors herself not just because she was an outgoing person. She learned how to raise cotton plants, make disinfectants, make soaps, and craft weapons. And sometimes, the people who were knowledgeable settled in the castle as residents.

 

She thought that the most important thing was sanitation and that the secret to healthy living was clean clothes and good hygiene.

 

Water was readily available in a nearby valley, and monsters were unable to climb the walls. It was not too troublesome for them to fend off any monsters coming to steal the crops at night.

 

The current lord was spot on, and even though Jule castle did not have the best weaponry, the castle was developed enough to protect the residents.

 

The meal was four chips a meal, but he didn’t think it was that bad, as chicken broth soup was served.

 

“It’s good!” Leona was excited about the meal and ate the soup with steam cooked barley. Zin didn’t express it, but he was enjoying a proper meal which he had not had for a while.

 

“I don’t have a child, but I love watching kids eat well.”

 

“Ma’am, you are such a nice person. I am sure of it,” Leona nodded as the lord spoke. “Hey, mister.”

 

“What’s up?”

 

“I just realized something.”

 

“And what is that?”

 

“People live to eat good food.”

 

“I agree.”

 

“Right?” Leona stuffed more food into her mouth. As Zin agreed, the warm and hot meal made him feel great. It was such a great experience compared to eating monster meat that tasted sour and foul.

 

After they finished the meal, Zin looked at the lord. The lord did not look much different than other housewives, but Zin knew that she was charismatic in her own way. This sort of charisma was rare and noble.

 

“I am sorry to say, but as a hunter, I don’t have much to offer you that will help with the castle’s wellbeing.”

 

“It’s okay. We are fine as long as you can spend chips for our services. It’s getting trickier to run a power generator these days. And there are not that many monsters to hunt.

 

“But, I can help you in one way.” Zin started to get down to business. It was lucky that the lord was an open person, and Zin did not have to small talk to break the ice in the beginning. After Leona finished her meal, she looked at Zin, wondering what he would say.

 

“Help?”

 

“Please listen to me without any misunderstandings,” Zin started to speak with a serious tone.

 

“The Jule castle will be destroyed within a year, or even within six months. Well, to be exact, it will fall.”

 

“… what do you mean?”

 

The lord became serious as Zin kept on talking.

 

“I am pretty sure it will happen because of the cave ants.”

 

“…”

 

The lord did not smile anymore and looked very serious. Then, Leona realized that the lord was all buffed with muscles hiding underneath the white dress. It showed that she trained herself hard to maintain such body.

 

Her facial expression was very intense, like a wild beast.

 

She was a person who had been managing about six hundred people.

 

It was impossible to lead that many people by being a nice person. Her expression showed how she was able to manage the castle. Her time as a lord was not always peaceful. After her husband’s death, she overcame the tragic event to develop the Jule castle even more.

 

“When I acquire information, I always review the trustworthiness first.” She was implying that lies would not fool her.

 

“I don’t earn my living through lies.”

 

“You better not.” The lord conveyed that she was open yet not foolish. She warned him with a calm voice. “I found the red bear that killed my husband and ripped it apart with my hands.”

 

The lord’s arms looked strong enough to do so.

 

It was a polite threat that she was going to rip them apart if they lied.

 

It was natural for the lord to display such calm anger as what Zin told her seemed like an unbelievable lie. It was fortunate that she did not call the guards.

 

“As you said, don’t you think there’s a reason why monsters are decreasing in number?”

 

“That’s true.”

 

“Do you know that the cave ants have started living around the area?”

 

“Yes, but they only steal dead monsters. I heard they don’t hunt for food. We had our hunted monsters stolen by them, but there was no way for us to wipe them out. They didn’t cause too many issues for us, so we’ve been ignoring them. And they don’t steal the crops…”

 

Zin cut off the lord as he was ready to point it out.

 

“Cave ants are omnivores. Why do you think that they do not steal crops? Crops grow underground, and they will eat root vegetables.”

 

“Well… I haven’t thought about it. Maybe they have other things they attack for food…”

 

“The cave ants do hunt. And when they hunt, they do it very slowly.”

 

Hunters knew the characteristics of their prey. And Zin knew the traits and habits of most monsters.

 

“The cave ants have formed a sizable colony around the area. In order for them to maintain the colony, they need more food.”

 

“Please get to the point, hunter. I don’t like the long explanation when it comes to this kind of matter.”

 

“Cave ants usually scavenge the dead body of the monsters that lose a battle, but when they hunt, they target a group. A community that is stationary and doesn’t move around. It may be a group of monsters or a nest of monsters.”

 

Zin pointed to the ground.

 

“Or a city of humans.”

 

At those words, the lord was astonished.

 

The cave ants hunted slowly but surely. They would decide on the community to attack and dig many tunnels beneath them. In other words, they weakened the base of the community. And when they were ready, they collapsed the ground of the community and buried the community.

 

And then the cave ants picked off and hunted their prey easily.

 

And the work happened slowly and secretly. It would be too late to defend against it after the attack started.

 

Listening to Zin, the lord kept silent and asked another question. “But I have never heard of the cave ants performing such attacks.”

 

“That’s obvious. Villages that were attacked disappeared completely. And when they plan on hunting, they do not bug the community until the attack. They know that the community will disperse when they feel in danger.”

 

There were not many people who knew about the traits of the cave ants as they were killed by them.

 

Zin asked a question. “Recently, did the ground sink down, or did a sinkhole appear all of a sudden?”

 

“…”

 

“It looks like it did.”

 

“Yes… One sinkhole appeared after the last storm. I thought it was because of the rain… but didn’t know it was because of the cave ants…”

 

She probably thought that the ground became weakened, and did not even think that the cave ants were the culprits.

 

“Think of this as insurance against a possible disaster.”

 

Zin was implying that he was here to sell a solution.