Reborn Into A Dark Social Game World With Completely Loyal Friends. - Chapter 11: One step towards hope.

One step towards hope.

Moving from shadow to shadow was sufficient.

However, Minato couldn’t stop walking on his own… Before he realized it, he was gradually moving forward.

Thanatos perched on his shoulder, and Mia held his right hand like a lover.

“Is it too optimistic to say this feels like a date?”

“Sorry that our first outing is like this.”

“No, you don’t need to apologize. Anywhere is fine as long as you’re with me♪”

However… there wasn’t even time to be thrilled by the word “date.”

Not only the body of the boy they had just found, but several corpses covered in snow lay scattered about as they walked… from old ones to new ones.

(It feels like I’m being shown hell on earth…)

If… if he had been thrown here when he reincarnated, Minato thought he might have gone mad, feeling a cold sweat on his back.

Even now, his heart continued to wear down, but he could keep himself together because Mia and Thanatos were with him.

“Oh, a village.”

Mia raised her voice, and Minato strained his eyes to look in that direction.

Mia and Thanatos, with much better vision than Minato, had noticed it, but Minato could just barely see it.

“It seems to be quite a desolate village… Master, Mia, you both should enter my shadow. Let’s approach while concealing our presence.”

“Hmm?”

“I see. Hey, Minato-san, I feel something ominous from that village.”

“Understood. Thanatos, I’m counting on you.”

Nodding, Minato quickly entered the shadow with Mia.

Moving this way took only an instant before, but looking out through the shadow felt refreshing, almost like being in a taxi.

As soon as they slowly entered the village, Minato understood the ominous feeling Mia had mentioned.

“Sir… there is nothing left that we can give from this village.”

“What are you talking about? I’m not asking. I’m telling you to give it.”

“But… there’s nothing–“

“Silence!”

It was a truly sickening sight.

In the center of the village, a forceful collection was taking place—an old man, presumably the village chief, faced an official, seemingly protecting the other villagers.

The official wore relatively clean clothes, while the clothes of the old man and the other villagers were tattered, unfit for such a cold place.

“You filthy scum are still alive, which means you must have some food stored. I don’t care if you starve to death. Pay what you owe—or I will burn this entire village to the ground.”

The villagers bowed their heads in despair at the official’s words.

There were about thirty people, young and old, and it was likely there were no more villagers beyond them.

“This is the first time I’ve seen the inside of the Empire, and it really is a trash country,” Mia spat out next to Minato.

“…”

Yes… this was what the Empire was like. Villages on the fringes like this one were continuously exploited until they faded away in despair.

Moreover, the villagers faced an even more severe problem.

“Master, that official can’t see it, but most of the villagers have marks on their necks.”

“Yeah… it’s evidence of the plague.”

It was as if they were being strangled by those marks on their necks.

This was an unknown plague spreading only in the outskirts of the Empire. The marks would start at the chest, and once they reached the head, the person would usually die.

This plague was something that would spread during a later chapter of the story, hinting that the Empire itself might be behind it.

“This is the medicine to remove the disease from their bodies.”

“Yeah.”

One of the items in Minato’s bag was the medicine. It wasn’t supposed to be developed until later, but Mia had consulted a knowledgeable acquaintance in the field of medicine, resulting in the medicine’s early completion and their ability to bring it here.

It was uncertain if it would work, but Minato’s knowledge from the game about the preparation method had proven useful.

“Currently, there’s no cure, only a suppressant… but what would happen if the Empire’s higher-ups found out?”

“Haha, just thinking about it is a headache♪”

In the meantime, there was a change between the official and the villagers.

A woman stepped in between, spreading her arms to protect the old man… She also had marks on her neck, and it seemed the disease had progressed quite far.

“We will pay the money… please, just leave us in peace!”

“Don’t get cocky, you filthy woman. You’re going to die soon anyway, so I could kill you right here and now if I wanted.”

The official pulled out something like a handgun and aimed it at the woman.

Despite this, the woman didn’t back down… A young boy stepped forward to protect her and the old man.

But then… the boy coughed and spat out blood.

“Ugh… If I stay here, I might catch the disease too. I’ll be back next time, so prepare today’s portion with extra. You dying trash.”

Minato knew that the plague wasn’t airborne; it spread through the body fluids of infected individuals. That’s why the official backed away from the boy who coughed up blood and decided to leave.

“If I were asked whether to kill that official in a choice, I’d probably do it without hesitation.”

“You can do it if you want.”

“Just give the order, and I will kill him,” said Thanatos.

Minato shook his head. However, the truth was, he almost reflexively ordered the kill when he saw the gun aimed at the woman. The sight before him was enough to erode his sanity.

“Kei! Are you okay?!”

“Cough… cough!”

As the villagers rushed to the coughing boy, Minato instructed Thanatos and decided to step out of the shadow.

To the villagers, it must have seemed as if a pitch-black hole suddenly appeared from nowhere, and Minato and his companions emerged from it.

“Wh-who are you…?”

“You’re not officials, are you?”

“…Are you nobles?”

As soon as someone mentioned nobles, fear mixed into their gazes. Minato and Mia’s coats weren’t extravagant, but they were in better condition than the official’s clothes, which might have led to the misunderstanding.

Mia and Thanatos stayed silent, waiting for Minato’s instructions.

“That boy’s illness seems quite advanced…”

Minato slowly approached and knelt beside the coughing boy.

“Noble sir… that child is sick—”

“Don’t worry about it. And I’m not a noble. I’m not even from this Empire.”

Minato took out a pill from his bag. There was a risk of infection, but Minato had Thanatos’s magic, and Mia had a natural strong resistance, so there was little concern.

(Please, let this work…)

Minato hoped this wouldn’t turn out to be one of those times when things didn’t go as smoothly as in the game.

“Cough!?”

The boy coughed violently again, and Minato’s face was splattered with blood. Despite this, Minato didn’t mind and carefully put the pill into the boy’s mouth, not worrying about his fingers getting stained with blood.

“Alright? Swallow it with some water… good, good, you’re doing great.”

This boy was likely not even ten years old… He would have died soon, suffering without any hope for the future. But now, Minato was here—a presence that wished to change such a bleak fate.

“Minato, how is he?” Mia asked.

“…Looks like it worked,” said Thanatos with a slight smile.

“Yeah,” Minato nodded.

As soon as the medicine entered his body, the marks that had nearly reached the boy’s face began to fade rapidly. Minato felt relieved to see the medicine working, but the villagers were even more astonished—they stood frozen, staring at the miraculous event before their eyes.

“Kei… what happened to you!?” the woman exclaimed, her voice shaking.

Minato smiled gently and replied, “We need to monitor him, but I believe this boy’s disease is cured. This medicine removes the cause of those marks on your bodies.”

“What…?”

“It will cure… our disease…?”

The villagers looked at Minato with disbelief. Mia approached and touched the bloodstained part of Minato, using magic to clean it. Seeing the boy breathing peacefully in Minato’s arms, a glimmer of hope finally appeared in the villagers’ eyes.

“I’m here to help you. First, everyone needs to take this medicine,” Minato said.

He began distributing the medicine with Mia’s help, indicating that their conversation would continue from there.