บท 48: Silent Farewell
Prison Star Calendar
May 12, 187
6:48 AM
Countdown to Confession of Death: 29 days remaining
━━━━━━━━━
Village chief Woodall awakened to find a letter on his doorknob.
It was a letter from Banning, roughly stating that he had decided to venture out and would visit the village again in the future. Banning expressed his heartfelt gratitude to village chief Woodall and everyone in the village, stating that he had spent delightful days there.
"Ah, he has indeed left. I had hopes of grooming him as the next village chief..."
Seeing Woodall lamenting, his wife approached and inquired about the reason.
Woodall told his wife that he should have encouraged Banning to be with Avril, as there was an obvious connection between the two young individuals. If they married, Banning could have stayed in Ira Village.
His wife contemplated for a moment and then said, "Is there a possibility that once they are together, Avril will leave with Banning? In that case, the village would lose someone skilled in sewing, wouldn't it?"
Woodall had a sudden realization upon hearing this. Indeed, it would not be acceptable. It would be a case of penny wise pound foolish.
"But, you know, his departure feels so sudden. We agreed last time to bid farewell properly before leaving. Could it be that the lad is just shy?"
·
After venting his frustrations and having breakfast, Woodall went to Avril's house.
Considering Banning's shyness, Woodall assumed that he might not have bid farewell properly to Avril. As the village chief and an informed individual, he felt obliged to inform Avril.
As he was about to knock on the door, Woodall faintly sensed an unusual scent in the air. He sniffed with force and caught a lingering smell of blood.
With over twenty years of hunting experience, he would never overlook such an important piece of information as the smell of blood.
—"What's going on...?"
Woodall looked around but found no traces of blood. He temporarily set aside the matter of the blood scent and knocked on Avril's door.
"Good morning, Avril. It's me, the village chief. I have something to discuss with you."
Woodall knocked on the door for a while, but no one answered.
—"How strange. Avril would usually be up by this time..."
—"Could it be that she's already gone out?"
—"Is it possible...?"
An ominous feeling surged in Woodall's heart. Could it be that his wife's words had come true? Did Avril run away with Banning?
—"But that's not right... Banning's letter didn't mention Avril..."
The faint scent of blood permeating the entrance made Woodall increasingly uneasy. He bent down and smelled the floor at the doorstep, discovering that the source of the blood scent was the floor. The bloodstains had been wiped away, but the blood had seeped into the wood and couldn't be erased.
"Avril!"
Woodall realized that something bad might have happened and kicked the door open with a forceful kick. He rushed into the house, and at that moment...
"...Chief?"
Avril stood in the living room, her face filled with terror, as she watched Woodall. It seemed like she was about to open the door.
"Uh..."
"I...uh...well... Are you alright, Avril?"
Woodall awkwardly scratched his head, relieved that Avril wasn't behind the door just now.
"I'm fine... But, village chief, what happened to you?"
The door of Avril's house fell to the ground with a resounding "bang!" at this opportune moment, as if accusing Woodall of his recent brutality.
"Ah... sigh!"
·
Woodall informed Avril about the bloody incident at the door. Upon hearing it, Avril couldn't help but burst into laughter. She told the village chief that Banning had brought her fresh meat last night, and it might be that some blood hadn't been cleaned properly and had dripped onto the doorstep.
After Avril's revelation, Woodall felt even more reluctant to disclose Banning's departure. However, seeing the melancholic expression on Avril's face when she mentioned Banning, he had a vague sense that she might already know. Thus, he decided to tell her the truth.
"Well... I know. Banning also left a letter for me... Thank you, village chief, for coming here to inform me."
Avril lowered her head, her gaze fixed on the ground.
It was only at that moment that Woodall noticed Avril's slightly swollen eyes, as if she had just finished crying.
Since Avril was already aware, the village chief had nothing more to say in this situation. He didn't know how to comfort a girl in such circumstances.
Woodall made an appointment with Avril to come later and fix the door, then he left.
·
In the forest of Ira Village, Tyler was pulling an arrow out of a grass fox-rabbit.
"Successfully killed 'Grass Fox-Rabbit,' occupation experience +20, current experience 200/400."
After the actual hunting, Tyler now understood why the village chief's hunter profession was only at level 2. It was indeed not easy to level up in this regard. The wildlife in Ira Forest was not only scarce in variety but also mostly weak, resulting in meager experience points... But precisely because of this, Ira Village could maintain such peace.
After a night of rest, Tyler's life energy had recovered to "26/30." The endurance reduction of "-2" had also disappeared automatically. However, the remaining four points of missing life energy seemed to require the healing of the wound on his shoulder before they could be restored.
This phenomenon made Tyler realize that the seemingly gamified numerical display was actually a reflection of harsh reality. If his arm had been severed by Avril last night, his maximum life energy would likely have been permanently reduced.
During the critical moment of decision last night, Tyler chose not to kill.
Although the stupid loli was indeed stupid, she was right in terms of emotions. The reason Tyler took the risk to break into the locked room was indeed to ensure Avril's safety.
Now that the puzzle had been solved, Elle was indeed a dangerous presence, but her actions were all motivated by the desire to protect Avril. In that case, it was acceptable for her to stay.
Moreover, while Elle had killed, it was all in self-defense.
Conversely, as long as Avril wasn't in danger, Elle wouldn't appear.
The fact that Tyler hadn't encountered Elle at night in the past few days was the best evidence.
Therefore, Tyler's final decision was to leave Ira Village and find the next target for confession in another location.
Before parting, Tyler used the needle and thread from Avril's house to bandage his wound.
He tidied up Avril's house, cleaned up the bloodstains from the fight, closed the windows and doors, and put the two keys back in their original positions, making the house look as if nothing had happened. Finally, he helped Avril onto the bed, covered her with a blanket, and left.
Tyler wrote two letters overnight, one placed at Avril's house and the other at the village chief's house. Then he packed his belongings and left Ira Village, temporarily seeking to enhance his strength by living a primitive life in Ira Forest.
Last night's events made Tyler realize that even falling in love with a young girl in this Prison Star world could be life-threatening.
Therefore, it is necessary to be strong himself and improve his combat abilities.
·
In Avril's house, within Ira Village.
After the village chief left, Avril returned to her own room.
On her desk, there were two opened letters.
One was left by Banning.
The other one was written by 'Elle'.
——————
(●°u°●) 」End of Volume: <Ira the Ghost Village>
ψ(｀∇´)ψ Next Volume: <Shadow of the Sandrift Gorge>
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