The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 225

Chapter 226
Gunshot Wound in the Back

Eivass confirmed with a jolt, realizing the front desk attendant hadn’t misled him — there was indeed no hot water in the room. Not only was there no hot water, but it was impossible to even heat any. The room lacked a stove, and there was no bathing facility. After all, it was Avalon sixty years ago, so it was somewhat justifiable. Judging by the fact that they could provide hot meals, at least the kitchen was capable of heating water. They just didn’t offer it to guests… likely still relying on burning wood.

Eivass deeply understood the “great deeds” Queen Sophia had accomplished — without the popularization of alchemy, the facilities in Avalon’s rural areas were no different from the Middle Ages. No electric lights, no telephones, no hot water… guest rooms didn’t even have gas stoves. The price of fireplaces alone was simply not coming down. Fortunately, the body Eivass was currently inhabiting was quite sturdy, and they weren’t staying overnight, so he didn’t need to worry about catching a cold or getting a fever. Luckily, there were clean towels in the room.

Eivass tried to use the Illuminate Spell to treat Daiya’s body. As expected… the Great Philosopher’s ritual was indeed demanding, and Eivass couldn’t cast the Illuminate Spell at all. Or rather, he had no mana within him. …Tsk. It made sense, though. If he could use the Illuminate Spell, the mission wouldn’t have required him to find medicine.

However, Eivass wasn’t panicked. He had only recently acquired his Extraordinary Ability and didn’t yet have the habit of relying on it too much. Unlike veteran Extraordinarys who were accustomed to the existence of Extraordinary Abilities, this might be considered Eivass’s strength.

He first dried “daughter” Daiya’s hair, allowing the drowsy and listless girl to get under the blanket and rest. He then proceeded to wipe himself down, wringing the water out of his hair. Afterward, he put on his own underwear. — He had checked when he first entered the room; there were no pajamas provided here either.

“This dump of an inn really has nothing…” Eivass grumbled, not even having hot water to drink — instead, he found a barrel of low-alcohol wine. This surprised Eivass greatly. He twisted the tap, poured himself a cup of wine, and downed it in one gulp. Eivass smacked his lips. Surprisingly, even by Eivass’s culinary standards, the taste of this wine was quite good — considering the poor service provided by the inn, it was the most high-quality item among them.

“I guess I’ll just have to make do with this for now,” Eivass decided. He drank two more cups, feeling his body gradually warming up. Although he knew this was merely an illusion brought on by alcohol, at least his spirits improved. He hadn’t drunk any water for a long time, and his throat was dry. Using low-alcohol wine to quench his thirst was better than drinking raw water directly.

He hesitated, unsure whether he should let Daiya have some wine. But he quickly dismissed the thought. Asking the front desk for some hot soup should suffice. Besides, he might be leaving this floor soon… However, if he were to go out, he would need to find some clothes.

“…Do I really have to wear these clothes?” Eivass frowned deeply, looking at his soaked outer clothes and feeling a headache coming on. He glanced at “Agni’s” travel bag. It was also soaked by the rain, and he had no idea what was inside. Logically, no one would pack a change of clothes for a trip that ended the same day… but he should check first.

But after opening the travel bag, Eivass was surprised to find a neatly folded set of clothes inside. There was a shirt and a sweater. Both were elegantly styled, and the material was good. Because they were folded, the edges were a bit damp, but it was better than what he was wearing. At least, it should be fine to wear directly against his skin.

“…Hm?” But as Eivass unfolded the clothes, he discovered something abnormal. Both garments had a small bloodstain in the center of their backs, along with a tiny hole. Eivass reached out to touch it, bringing his fingers in front of his face. A smear of red was clearly visible on his fingertips. Perhaps it was due to the rain soaking the travel bag; the bloodstains looked somewhat wet.

Eivass immediately became serious and reached out to his own back. He found his back was completely unharmed and not injured. “So, that means…” Eivass muttered softly, turning the travel bag upside down and scattering its contents. Inside were folded trousers, which looked like the same pair as the coat he had used to protect Daiya earlier; a large envelope, from which stacks of brand-new White Crown coins spilled out; and a silver pocket watch, exquisitely designed. Eivass snapped opened the pocket watch. The hands pointed to 5:11. It should be 5 PM, Eivass thought. And if that were the case…

Eivass searched the bag carefully. Soon, he shook a gun out from the folded trousers. …As expected. He first put on the shirt and trousers, feeling his body gradually warm up. Relieved, he sat down and began to examine the gun. It was a rather exquisite revolver with a five-round cylinder. The grip had some silver engraving decorations, with intricate Elven Language runes carved on it. In his dream, Eivass couldn’t summon his status panel, nor could he see equipment properties. He also didn’t understand alchemy. However, drawing upon his knowledge of Ritual Studies and Demonology, Eivass could vaguely judge… this seemed to be a special firearm used for hunting demons, capable of dealing greater damage to shadow-aligned Phantom Demons.

How could a teacher possibly have something like this? He swung the cylinder to the left and discovered that one chamber already had a fired bullet, leaving behind a disc-shaped brass residue. Eivass pondered, rotating the cylinder notch by notch, falling into thought.

“…Recall your true identity.” Eivass remembered the mission “The True Self,” his brow furrowed slightly. My memory… no, should it be Agni’s memory that’s problematic? He stared at the gun in his hand when he suddenly heard a very faint sound from behind him: “Dad…?” “…Why aren’t you wearing clothes?”

Eivass turned around, simultaneously tucking the handgun into his waist. He saw Daiya had already opened her eyes and was looking at him from under the covers. She was a little girl with delicate, soft brown hair and blue eyes. Shy and looking very cute. He spoke gently, “Are you more comfortable now, Daiya?” “Mhm. My head doesn’t hurt as much…” the girl said shyly. “You still need to rest. Don’t get out of bed, I’ll go get you some hot soup.” Eivass said, packing his removed clothes into the bag. He vigorously shook his leather coat, letting the water drip onto the floor. Then, he put on the coat, covering the hole in his back, and also concealing the gun at his waist.

Afterward, Eivass pushed open the door and left the room. At this time, many people seemed to have already arrived at the inn. As he went out, he saw people in the next room seemingly arguing… they were even arguing with their door open. A young woman stood at the doorway, arguing with someone inside about something. When they saw Eivass push open the door, the argument immediately stopped. The woman looked at Eivass with a mixture of vigilance and distance, then quickly went back into the room and locked the door.

Eivass raised an eyebrow and did not speak. He stood quietly by the door and listened for a moment, his tall body casting a silent shadow. As a result, there was no sound from inside the room, not even a whisper. — Interesting. Eivass grinned and let out a silent chuckle. Then, he made his way downstairs with long strides.