The report coming from Rick’s mouth wasn’t all that different from the information we already had.

However, there were a few pieces that hadn’t made it to us yet.

Apparently, Carlos had deemed them unnecessary and discarded them.

And that information was…

“Did someone lose their life?”

“Yes. It seems an adventurer who was sleeping in this area was attacked by an Undead in their sleep. There were no signs of resistance. Because of that, the local residents have obediently followed our guidance and evacuated to the church.”

I see… So they’re at the church not because Rick and his team are detaining them, but because they’re taking shelter there.

Well, even though Undead have appeared here, the fact remains that they still can’t leave the area—but I guess that’s just something they’ve resigned themselves to, based on their daily conduct.

However…

“So then, does that mean they didn’t know?”

Aside from the church, the buildings in this block are all flimsy structures with virtually zero security—or defensive—capability.

If they’d known Undead were appearing, they wouldn’t be sleeping so carelessly in a place like that.

Rick nodded at my words and continued.

“That’s probably the case. The ones who caused the incident resisted fiercely, and since we had to apprehend them a bit forcefully, we haven’t been able to interrogate everyone yet. But for the most part, that’s what they’ve said.”

“I see… Well, I suppose it’s a good thing that we won’t have to execute everyone involved. So then… all the Undead that appeared here have been eliminated, and the search of the city is complete. Is that right?”

“Yes. We’ve also completed the inspection of the waterway and well that they supposedly tampered with.”

The well, huh.

Investigating the waterway—where rainwater flows—is one thing, but wells are relatively simple to check.

There are four wells in this block. That’s not too many, so it’s unlikely any were overlooked.

It’s supposed to be an underground space, so I imagined something like the kind of well entrance you’d see in a game from my previous life… but maybe that’s not the case here?

“We began by checking the drainage outlet of the waterway, then inspected all three wells in this block.”

“…Three?”

“Hmm? Oh… there’s one just behind there, one you can see over that way, and one behind the church—so that makes three.”

Rick responded to my muttering with a puzzled expression… but wait—why would the number of wells decrease, not increase…?

“Sera, where’s the other one?”

“Behind the orphanage…”

“The orphanage? No, there wasn’t anything like that… Couldn’t it be a mistake from above?”

The squad leaders nodded at Rick’s words.

They don’t know I’m originally from this area… and since they only caught a glimpse from the air, they must think it was just a misidentification.

…But.

“Then let’s go check it out. Sera, lead the way.”

“Okay.”

Seriana knows I’m from here.

To confirm, we decided to head that way.

◇

The well Rick didn’t mention earlier is located a bit behind the orphanage.

In terms of sheer distance, the one behind the adjacent church is actually closer, but we were never allowed to use that one…

The older kids would carry water in jars for daily use, and for cleaning, we would haul it each time in buckets.

Man, that was heavy…

While heading there with everyone, I ended up reminiscing a bit.

As for the orphanage, there are no children or staff there anymore.

We used to live together in groups of dozens… but with Liesel cracking down, it became harder to exploit orphans, so the orphanage was shut down.

That doesn’t mean all the orphans in the city disappeared, but even without the orphanage, a relief facility funded by the lord took its place, so in a way, things are better for the children.

If the church can’t gain Holy Coins from it, then even they wouldn’t oppose the lord just to keep running it.

Still…

“It’s in ruins…”

The area was too dark to see clearly, but it was obvious how badly it had deteriorated.

It’s only been a few short years since it closed, though.

“There was some fighting here too, but there was no sign anyone had been living here. The area around the church over there was still in better shape…”

“Hmm…”

Talking like that, we passed by the orphanage and came around to the back.

There used to be a small garden back here, but like the front, it had gone wild with overgrown weeds.

Amidst it all, there were traces of battles here and there.

Those who died—not just the orphans, but also some who passed away at the church’s clinic—had been buried here, out of sight from the main road, so perhaps they were the ones who turned into Undead…

But…

“Huh? I’m pretty sure it was around here…”

“There was fighting in this area too, but we had lighting at the time. We shouldn’t have missed anything.”

As Rick said, soldiers carrying lanterns were still patrolling the area. It seemed unlikely anything would be overlooked.

I glanced around just in case, but I didn’t see any sign of a well.

The storage shed had been demolished, so the scenery had changed a bit, but I thought it used to be at the far end of that field… No, wait!

“Can you go over there for a second?”

I pointed to the spot where the storage shed used to be.

The remnants of the demolished shed were stacked messily, and among them, the ground looked slightly raised.

The area was hard to see due to the darkness and the rain, but could it be…?

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Sera – Blessings – 【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind’s Garment】 Blessed Item – 【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】+1【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Serpent’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】【Red Sword】【Monkey’s Arm】 – 8 cards

Seriana – 【Area Recognition】 – 【】 – 0 cards

Elena – 【】 – 【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】 – 4 cards

Alec – 【Heavy Strike】 – 【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】 – 10 cards