With Conrad's words, the group formed a circle and took a last look at Melboue as they moved further toward the center. As they were walking, Orvel asked Liebeld:
"Do you think it would make sense to ask the villagers to help us—at least to find a house to spend our time in?"
Liebeld shook his head, and then his eyes turned serious for a moment. It seemed like he remembered something he didn't want to share in detail.
"According to my experience, it's a 50% chance."
Conrad and the others nodded, understanding the meaning. Liebeld was saying that if they contacted the "Aboriginals" of the trial, there was a 50% chance it would either benefit them—or put them in a worse situation.
Orvel then added:
"I can respect that, but it still doesn't make sense not to have some sort of place to enter."
"We'll need food and other things."
Liebeld thought for a moment.
"You may be right."
"We might need to kill one of the villagers and take his house for the time being."
Hearing Liebeld's words, Orvel, Leylis, and Elaris were all shocked and took a step back. On the other hand, Conrad just smiled and said nothing.
Liebeld then laughed.
"I'm just joking..."
Orvel shook his head.
"That's not a great joke at all..."
Meanwhile, Conrad looked deep into Liebeld's eyes. Liebeld, noticing his neutral expression, smirked.
Conrad said to himself in his mind:
"He wasn't joking at all."
"He just threw that sentence out to gauge the reactions of the others—to see if they'd be okay with killing people in these places, the trial worlds."
Conrad let out a breath, and at that moment, an old man with a walking stick shouted at them.
"Who are you people? Why did you come to our village?"
Liebeld, Orvel, and Conrad looked at each other for a moment, and before they could respond, Elaris spoke up:
"Mister, we are travelers..."
"Our friend was cursed and is now dead. We are looking for a place to stay for two or three days..."
"Can you help us?"
Conrad and the others looked at Elaris—normally aloof and clearly displaying an elitist attitude—now showing a face they didn't expect.
She looked like a woman in desperate need of help, someone who had been wronged all her life.
"Great acting..." Conrad thought, but said nothing.
The old man was taken aback and gulped.
"Cursed...?"
"Did he spend too much time in the dark, by any chance?"
With that question from the old man, the group members all nodded.
They now definitely understood that spending too much time in darkness would lead to a curse.
Elaris nodded.
"Yes, we didn't—"
Liebeld stopped her and added:
"Don't say anything about us not knowing the general rules of this place..."
"If you tell him we didn't know that darkness causes a curse, it's the same as saying we know almost nothing."
"That would make them think we're not just strangers—maybe monsters or worse."
Conrad said nothing but nodded.
"One should never underestimate the human instinct to attack what they don't understand."
"Humans often prefer to shoot first and ask questions later."
"If we give them any reason to be afraid of us, they'll kill us just to avoid the risk."
"Considering that they live in a real cursed place, not a fictional one, and seemingly have medieval-level technology—it's not hard to understand their logic at all."
The old man didn't seem to care about Liebeld's interruption, and said:
"I don't know you people, but I believe you don't have ill intentions."
"I suppose you can stay at my place—I have two extra rooms with two beds."
"In return, you can help me with some work around the house..."
The group looked at each other and nodded.
With the agreement, the four-person group followed the old man to his house. It wasn't the best, but it looked surprisingly good as they arrived.
It had two floors—unexpected for a village home.
The old man entered and smiled.
"Come closer to the fire—the air will get colder as time passes."
"I'll prepare something for you if you're hungry."
Liebeld looked at the others and then said:
"We'll sit for the moment. We don't need food right now. Thank you."
Leylis, who had been silent until now, asked the old man while scanning the room:
"Do you live alone?"
The old man put on a sad grin.
"I'm Ectal. Yes—my wife died, and my kids moved to the town nearby..."
"So I've been living in the village alone for about three years."
Leylis nodded and asked.
"Why they have left for the town ?"
Ectal thought a for a moment and answered.
"There are many reasons for them to live but I suppose they thought that they did not wanted to live their life out in a village like their father."
"Considering that it is easier to find jobs in a big town and easier to find adventures and experience new things it does not surprise me."
Ectal despite trying to show that he understood his sons decision still gave away the fact that he was missing them and would prefer them to live with himself.
But it was nothing big.
Conrad, on the other hand, noticed that despite the house being minimalistic—with just a big table in the center and some wooden benches around the fireplace—it was very clean.
Orvel, sitting silently on one of the benches, asked Ectal:
"How much time until the darkness passes?"
He glanced at Liebeld for a moment, knowing this question could reveal their ignorance. But Liebeld didn't react.
Ectal, who was tending to the fire, spoke without looking at Orvel:
"Around here, it takes about a week for the darkness to pass. Then a week of sunlight follows."
"I'm surprised you didn't know that."
Orvel grinned and rubbed the back of his head in shame, trying to appear ignorant.
Conrad, meanwhile, smiled and sat on the right-side bench, closing his eyes for a moment.