Chapter 5
Alice immediately stood up.
“I need to see him! Where is he?”
“He’s staying in the clinic building. He said he was too tired to open the clinic today, so you should be able to see him right away.”
“I’ll go.”
As she grumbled about just having sat down, Arno followed behind her.
As Madame Adelaide led the way ahead, Arno whispered,
“Did you see those kids watching us from outside?”
“I didn’t know there were children.”
“There were two of them. Not cute at all.”
Alice flinched. Fortunately, it seemed that Adelaide hadn’t heard him.
“I wouldn’t say that out loud if I were you. Anyway, it’s a bit reassuring to know there are kids around.”
In the phrase “a group of outsiders occupying an abandoned detention center,” the first thing that came to her mind was a wanted criminal.
Next—though it was embarrassing—she thought of the fanatics and witches that Marie Serda had mentioned, people who couldn’t stand proudly in front of others.
Alice thought, ‘But if there are children, they might be refugees who left their hometown due to war or flooding.’
In front of the white two-story building, Madame Adelaide sang cheerfully,
“Professor Nathan, are you there? We have a delightful guest!”
The curtains fluttered at the second-floor window. Soon, the sound of footsteps came down the stairs. Alice clenched her fists in nervousness.
Is Nathan Labouff truly in his right mind?
What if that letter was not an S.O.S. signal but a sign of someone losing their grip on reality? What should I do…?*
The wooden door opened, and a familiar voice struck her ears.
“Ahem! Ugh, I mentioned I was feeling unwell…”
With tousled brown hair, large round glasses, and gentle blue eyes peering through them—things that hadn’t changed in three years slowly focused on her.
“Alice…?”
“Hello, Professor. It’s Alice.”
“Is it really you, Alice Boucher? This isn’t a hallucination, is it? This is—”
“Yes, this is the clinic, right? I rushed over because I received your letter saying you needed an assistant. This is Arno, the worker introduced by Lady Serda.”
She hoped he wouldn’t start asking how she ended up here or say something awkward like “It’s been three years since we last met.”
Fortunately, Nathan understood her meaning right away.
“Ah, yes! Come in! You too, Mr. Arno! I’m a bit sick and haven’t been able to clean up; it’s a bit messy, but if that’s alright with you…”
“Professor, can I clean for you?”
“No! Madame Adelaide is always busy with village matters!”
“Alright then. I’ll come to fetch you all for dinner later. It would be nice for you to join us after so long!”
Madame Adelaide smiled brightly and waved her hand. Both Alice and Arno instinctively smiled back.
After the door closed for a moment…
Nathan’s voice doused her with cold water.
“Isn’t it nice? After a long journey, you finally meet kind people.”
“Professor.”
“Come on in, both of you.”
The first floor of the clinic was illuminated by the soft sunlight filtering through white curtains, casting light on two beds, a desk, and a long bench.
Alice quickly noticed something odd.
“Have you not been practicing for a long time?”
It didn’t take much deduction; there were piles of outdated documents stacked in the patient chairs.
However, instead of answering, Nathan merely pulled back the clinic curtain to check who was outside.
“Professor? I heard you came under the guise of providing medical services. Have you given up on that pretense?”
“What are they trying to do with just two people?!”
“What?”
“You’re the one who was asked by Marie, right?”
“Yes. After seeing that strange letter, she was worried you might have gotten trapped in some fanatic’s village…”
“They should have sent more people if you knew it was dangerous! Just two? Are you kidding me? With the count’s connections, they could have hired four or five mercenaries!”
“Professor.”
“Did I ask for people to die alongside me?”
Seeing Nathan shouting, Arno started rolling up his shirt sleeves, muscles rippling as he prepared to use the most effective method to handle a man like him.
But Alice moved first. It was simple to calm Nathan down when he was acting like a child.
“It seems you’ve learned a lot about this village, unlike your colleagues who went missing.”
It was an obvious compliment, but Nathan’s mind would have started spinning at the very mention, eager to show off any knowledge he had.
He took a deep breath and sat down.
“Did you hear everything from Marie?”
“Yes. The son of Marquis Nassau was found dead on vacation. Given the multiple injuries and the size of the wounds, it was presumed to be caused by local carnivores, particularly bears, but the autopsy results—”
“Keep it brief.”
“There’s a group around here that kills, dismembers, washes, and places flowers on bodies. It’s suspected to be a small religious cult that practices sorcery. Perhaps in this village.”
“…What do you think?”
“It has some peculiar aspects, but it didn’t seem like a religious group.”
Madame Adelaide’s house did not look like the dwelling of a leader of a bizarre cult.
The stove in the kitchen had a sign saying “the world’s first stove,” and it looked like it belonged in a museum, yet it was clean and well-maintained. Alice felt relieved that there wasn’t a large black cauldron hanging over the stove.
“Using a stove means they use coal, which indicates interaction with the outside world. I also saw some modern tools. But is Madame Adelaide in a position like the village chief?”
“Yes.”
“That’s interesting. A female village chief sounds like a matriarchal minority tribe rejecting mainstream society.”
Arno interjected with a chuckle,
“That’s not something a female doctor should say.”
“I said it was interesting; I didn’t say it was wrong.”
“Yes, yes. The ignorant will be crushed.”
“Anyway, if they are refugees, it wouldn’t be strange for an elder who survived, regardless of gender, to lead the group.”
“I understand. You’re still thorough, Alice.”
Receiving praise after such a long time made Alice want to smile but she bit her tongue instead.
Memories of her student days flooded back—crying almost daily under a strict professor and grinning like a fool at the rare compliments tossed her way like candy. She wasn’t naïve enough to fall for that now.
“How much have you confirmed, Professor?”
“First of all, most of the villagers are not blood relatives. Adults voluntarily take care of the children, but that’s about it. There are no visible parents or siblings.”
“Isn’t that a characteristic of a cult?”
“However, there’s no evidence that it is a cult. It doesn’t make sense for there to be a religion without an object of worship or gatherings. Yet, interestingly, this group follows rules set by Adelaide…”
“When does class end? I guess you’re not a professor for nothing with that long tongue.”
Arno interjected irritably.
“Just tell me one thing. Are you going out with us tomorrow, or are you going to stay here longer?”
“Did you say you were Arno? Why do you think I can’t leave here?”
“Are the villagers stopping you from leaving?”
“Not at all. The door is open, and if I were to leave, they’d wave goodbye while feeling a bit disappointed.”
Arno let out a hollow laugh, his expression suggesting, ’Ah, this professor is getting long-winded again.’
But he soon lost his smile at Nathan’s next statement.
“You’ll die if you leave this village.”
“What? Is someone chasing after you to kill you?”
“If that were the case, at least there would be a way to deal with it. Two researchers who initially accompanied me ran out of the village, and one of them crawled back a few days later.”
Alice briefly thought that Nathan wasn’t someone who used such harsh words.
Nathan added, “Literally crawled back, dripping with feces and fluids. When the villagers called for me to see a patient, he collapsed there…”
Nathan’s jaw began to tremble. After moistening his dry lips several times, he opened his mouth again.
“As soon as we helped him up, his insides spilled out. Damn it, something warm splattered on my shoes; at first, it dripped like rain and then suddenly gushed out…”
“His insides spilled out? Did he have an abdominal wound or something?”
“No. His belly got torn on the way crawling over the road. From the epidermis to the dermis and mesentery, it was all shredded; as soon as I helped him up, his rotting intestines flowed out through the gaps.”
“Unless someone dragged him for several days over stones, it’s impossible that he crawled around until his mesentery was damaged!”
“It sounds impossible, but it happened in reality. His insides started to rot first, gas filled his abdomen, and the distended belly skin weakened like a foolish frog from a fairy tale, leaving my colleague too weak to walk. He crawled over the stone floor and met his fate.”
“……”
“Before he died, he testified that another colleague who went out with him sat down, claiming he had a stomachache, then collapsed after vomiting fluids.”
Each detail sounded absurd.
The intestines don’t easily rot if they remain inside the body. If the bags that hold food and waste rotted easily, humanity would have perished long ago.
There must have been external wounds or poison involved…
Alice rolled her counterarguments around in her mouth before swallowing them. Nathan likely considered everything she could think of.
Nathan smirked.
“What’s even more maddening is that the villagers clicked their tongues, wondering, ‘Why didn’t they follow the rules and go out?’”
“There are rules for leaving?”
“They say anyone wanting to leave should stop by ‘Doctor Esha’s’ hut for ‘special treatment.’”
“Now we’re hearing some ghost story. What kind of treatment is that? Anointment with crow’s blood?”
“They say it’s not disclosed to anyone except the person receiving the treatment. Would you take it?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Right.”
Alice splashed her face with cold water.
If her mentor was to be believed, anyone leaving this village would die from rotting intestines. The villagers claimed that those who received ‘treatment’ would be fine.
‘Could it be an endemic disease? An old illness from the detention center has revived upon finding a host. That’s why the residents are taking preventive measures with folk remedies…’
Alice’s contemplation was abruptly interrupted by Arno snapping his fingers near her ear.
“Sounds like footsteps. I guess it’s almost time for dinner.”
“It’s early. It’s still afternoon.”
Alice glanced at Nathan, who wore a look of exasperation as he replied,
“It’s not dangerous. But it tastes bad, and I won’t be eating it.”
“Thanks for the explanation.”
A soft voice called from outside the door,
“Would you like to come for a meal?”
Alice and Arno headed toward the entrance.
***
The cliffs standing by the coast, seemingly reaching for the sky, perhaps contributed to the eerie atmosphere of the village, even at this early hour.
“The sun sets quickly here. If you want to return while it’s still bright, you’ll need to eat early.”
“I was just getting hungry. Thank you.”
Adelaide smiled warmly.
“What is your relationship with the professor? You seem close. Are you perhaps engaged?”
“No!”
Alice exclaimed in shock.
“He was my mentor when I attended medical school!”
“Oh my, I must have misunderstood. I’m sorry.”
“…It’s okay. I often get misunderstood.”
“A mentor-student relationship is a good one as well. You must be a wonderful doctor.”
“Ahaha, you’re too kind…”
While she was responding socially, Alice suddenly paused.
She had been told to keep quiet about being a female doctor, and she had slipped up. But that wasn’t the main issue.
‘Doesn’t she find it surprising that I’m a doctor?’
Arno seemed taken aback as he exchanged glances with her.
Meanwhile, Adelaide opened the door to her house.
“I thought it would be good to introduce some villagers to our guest, so I called a few more people over. Is that alright?”
“Ah, yes! We’re fine with that.”
“I’ll introduce you slowly during dinner, but feel free to greet them first!”
With a social smile firmly in place, Alice ascended the stairs. However, that smile broke as she encountered a familiar face among the villagers.
“Oh…?”
The pirate-like man who had stolen her wallet just yesterday was sitting at the end of the table.
