Chapter 90: Re-entering the Quirky Village

The suggestion from [Tree Branch] sounded reasonable and garnered majority support, so after a bit of preparation, they set off once again towards Adelaide Village 192, which was just nearby.

This time, however, the personnel distribution had undergone some adjustments compared to last time. They brought along Miss Le Qiao Qiao, Astrologer Qionghua, and Scholar [Tree Branch], while leaving [Tree Wall] Sophie behind.

This was the “controlled variable” that [Tree Branch] referred to, a common experimental method in academic research.

Since it seemed that there weren’t too many dangers inside the village for now, and considering that Vilyric and the others came back to reality from there before, they didn’t need to bring too many strong individuals; their main goal was to gather information.

The four chosen to stay behind, led by Sophie, all possessed considerable strength and enough self-defense capabilities, ensuring their safety regardless of what occurred. If they were attacked in the village, it would be entirely possible for them to regroup in time.

The key point was that if this strange time loop was indeed the underlying truth behind the frequent disappearance cases, which had been difficult to identify, then this method could help further deduce the true reason the three of them were able to return to “reality.”

Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?

Soon, the adjusted team of five successfully arrived at the village entrance.

As last night, two militia members in standard leather armor with long spears stood guard at the entrance, and the torches mounted high above cast a faint glow, intertwining with the brighter searchlights from the village, extending the soldiers’ shadows long into the night.

Since they hadn’t hidden their presence, the group was easily spotted again.

“Stop! Who goes there?”

Enrique, with the keen eyesight of an archer and legendary adventurer, recognized the guards were indeed the same two youths from last night. He stepped forward, exposing himself to the light of the torch, attempting to show a friendly smile.

“Don’t be nervous, it’s us, the adventurers who visited the village last night. Do you remember us? You were the one who took us to meet Captain Marcelo.”

“?”

Perhaps mentioning “Marcelo” had some effect; the two guards exchanged glances, and the one who led them before sized up Enrique a few times, casting a bewildered gaze over the adventurers behind him.

“Adventurers from the city? You know the captain’s name, so you must be acquaintances…but I wasn’t on duty at the village entrance yesterday. You must have mistaken me?”

“Ah? Oh, oh…”

After confirming the face of the militia youth, Enrique shared a knowing glance with the Priestess beside him, both nodding slightly. Soon, he scratched his head and said with a laugh.

“Right, right! Haha, look at me, I’ve been working in the mountains all day and got all muddled up! I must’ve mistaken the person! Can you tell us if Captain Marcelo is in the village? We’d like to see him… oh, here’s my adventurer badge.”

Unlike yesterday, this time Enrique deliberately showed his real identity by presenting the legendary adventurer badge forged from Ink Steel, with delicate patterns of a small short bow etched on its surface.

Judging from the experience of yesterday, these two militia youths, trained by villagers, had probably barely seen outsiders and could only recognize the badge’s appearance, while specifics about its rank would likely elude them.

In this Adelaide Village 192, the only person who truly had the knowledge to recognize such things was probably Captain Marcelo, who had understood the fake badge representing the golden grade and even raised some doubts about it.

The fact that these two treated him and Vilyric like strangers was a strong indication. As long as they could further validate this point…

“Why does this badge feel a bit off? It doesn’t look like the ones I’ve seen before. What’s this pattern supposed to mean? Hmm, but the shape seems fine…”

Sure enough, after studying the badge that actually represented the highest rank of legendary adventurer for quite some time, the two militia members couldn’t figure it out, scratching their heads in confusion. After a quiet discussion, they ultimately nodded in resignation.

“Fine, as long as you’re adventurers, the captain is here. Please, follow me.”

Just like yesterday, one of the guards quickly designated himself as their guide, leading them along a route similar to the last time, straight toward the tower area.

However, due to some time differences compared to yesterday, unlike the deserted path the first time, Vilyric and the others happened to encounter a villager from 192 Village.

But…

“Hey? Isn’t that Grandma Shalin? Why are you out at this hour?”

“Little Ryan, hehe, I made too much for dinner today, so I thought it’d be a waste to let it cool down. I’m planning to take some to the young men at the watchtower for a midnight snack. They work hard at night…”

“By the way, Ryan, weren’t you on duty at the village entrance today? This is…”

The militia youth named Ryan turned around and pointed to the few silhouettes behind him.

“These are the adventurers from the city who just arrived tonight and said they wanted to see Captain Marcelo. I was about to take them there.”

“Oh… so you’re the esteemed adventurers! Hello, hello, thank you for your hard work!”

The elderly villager named Shalin turned her head, glanced at the group, and slightly lowered her head as if to show respectful greetings.

But…

“Ahem!”

The Priestess cleared her throat and poked the representative, [Tree Bow], with her elbow. With a slightly stiff expression, he finally responded, quickly forcing a smile and nodding in return.

“No trouble at all! It’s all part of an adventurer’s job, uh… Grandma Shalin, may I ask, have you been feeling unwell anywhere recently?”

“Unwell?”

After thinking for a moment, the old villager with a food box in hand smiled and shook her head.

“Thank you for your concern! My body does have some issues, but those are just old ailments from my younger days. I’ve long since grown accustomed to them. As for recently… I actually haven’t had any problems.”

“Oh… I see.”

Looking oddly at the somewhat unusual expressions of the few adventurers, Ryan didn’t say much more. He gently took the food box from the old woman’s hands, helping her turn around before taking a few steps.

“Grandma Shalin, your legs aren’t great. It’s dark out tonight, so it’s best not to run around alone. Perfect timing, we’re heading to the camp too. Let me take this midnight snack with me. Thank you for your kind offer.”

“Hehe, that’s fine, that’s fine… Little Ryan has grown up! You must treat the esteemed adventurers well. They are here to help the village…”

“Don’t worry, walk safely!”

As they watched the old woman slowly walk along the village road until she gradually disappeared from view, Ryan turned back with a slight frown.

“What’s wrong with you guys? You’ve all had strange expressions since a while ago. Is something up?”

“No, did you not notice… Ouch!”

After secretly pinching the soft flesh at Le Qiao Qiao’s waist to make this loose-lipped fellow shut up, the Priestess smiled and shook her head at the young man.

“It’s nothing, just some quirks of adventurers. Let’s go see Uncle Marcelo… there are some things we want to confirm with him.”

   

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