Only God

The Ausenco farmers stopped the convoy and watched Eden and Veldor with a wary eye.

The Dwarf Priest looked up at the group of farmers and asked,

"What exactly is the situation? Speak up, and we can solve it. Where is this ghost you speak of?"

An Ausenco youth stepped forward and said,

"It's not just any ghost, it's the wrath of the Divine! You'd better send your Princess back home right now!"

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately sparked echoes among the other Ausenco farmers, who started shouting one after another.

Veldor sighed,

"You'll have to take this up with your King. Even if the Princess wants to go back, it won't help if your King disagrees.

Don't you understand these matters? Why don't you go see your King instead of blocking our convoy?"

Veldor's words were logical, and after hearing them, the crowd of Ausenco farmers were momentarily left speechless. Finally, the leading farmer shouted,

"The King will lock us up in prison."

"So you block our convoy because you can't lock us up in prison?"

Veldor countered.

The Ausenco farmers nodded, agreeing with Veldor's reasoning.

Veldor scratched his head and said earnestly,

"You should realize it's impossible to send the Princess back.

Since that's the case, why not take a step back and let us help you solve this incident? I guarantee this is not any Divine wrath. Has anyone among you actually heard the roar of any Divine?"

At the end of his speech, the Ausenco farmers looked at each other, and the leading farmer hesitated before finally nodding in agreement.

"Then, please come with us."

............

Following the farmers' footsteps, Veldor and Eden arrived at a village that seemed simple and plain. Aside from a stone Temple, no other houses were made of stone.

"In the name of the Pasture God Plato, may He overlook your faith and bless you."

The village chief said upon seeing the two Priests.

"Let's get straight to the point."

Eden said directly.

"You should know that we've had ghosts around here recently, in the wheat field to the west. There's a dry well there, and a barn that has been abandoned since the haunting began."

The village chief pointed them in the direction.

"Don't hesitate to tell us the details."

The Dwarf Priest said.

The village chief took a deep breath and described the situation,

"The most recent victim was a young lad named Bruto. He went with his friend to reap the wheat in the field. There was no wind that day, the sun shone bright, the sky was cloudless, and the wheat swayed gently. Suddenly, he told his friend he was very sleepy and wanted to go back first, but when his friend returned to the village, he found that Bruto was not at home.

The next morning, when his friend went back to the wheat field, he found the lad dead on the ground, his entire body very hot."

Veldor and Eden listened to the village chief's narration.

The Dwarf Priest turned his eyes and whispered to Eden,

"It doesn't sound like a haunting... more like... heatstroke."

"What?"

Eden didn't quite catch it.

"Heatstroke."

Veldor spoke louder.

The village chief looked at them with a puzzled glance,

"What is heatstroke?"

It was clearly the first time the village chief had heard the word.

The Dwarf Priest scratched his head, unsure how to explain.

Heatstroke was common knowledge for a literate Priest like him, but to these farmers, who had worked their fields generation after generation, it was a ghostly fiend in the wheat field.

Eden thought of something and said aloud,

"He mentioned the body found in the morning was very hot; it might not be as simple as just heatstroke."

"You mean?"

"Possibly... a Daytime Demon Spirit."

The village chief asked again,

"What is a Daytime Demon Spirit?"

"A type of ghost, usually female spirits with a grudge. They hate farmers and Shepherds and try every means to kill them."

Eden answered.

"Is this 'heatstroke' you mentioned also a ghost?"

The village chief asked again.

"No, it's just a kind of... illness. People can get it from staying under the sun too long, especially on sunny days."

Veldor explained,

"Now it could be a Daytime Demon Spirit, or heatstroke, or maybe both. Anyway, we have to go and see to know for sure."

The village chief looked enlightened.

Eden thought of something and said aloud,

"Whether it's heatstroke or a Daytime Demon Spirit, it's clear it has little to do with the Divine. Who told you it was the wrath of the Divine?"

The village chief hesitated and said in a lower voice,

"A Druid living in the forest."

............…

Led by the villagers, Eden and Veldor reached the wheat field rumored to be haunted by ghosts.

With a clear sky and the sun shining fiercely, the two quickly began to sweat.

After bringing Eden and Veldor there, the villagers hastily left, clearly not wanting to stay a moment longer.

The two conducted a cursory investigation of their surroundings and found nothing unusual.

"Lad, can you find those bodies?"

Veldor complained.

"God, that villager slipped away too fast, didn't even tell us where those bodies are."

Eden shrugged,

"We just have to look slowly."

The two searched the area for a while.

Perhaps due to the bad luck penny, Eden wasn't having much success; he searched for a long time without a glimpse of the bodies.