I'm really a crispy French

Judging from the condition of shops, houses and roads, the living conditions of the people in the village should be good—at least much better than most people in the city.But now the whole village is lifeless, no one is seen on the road, the wooden windows are tightly closed, and even most of the shops are closed.

"Many people who have no children at home have left. Either go to relatives, or find work elsewhere." Mr. Jerome said, he wiped his face, "Jeremy's family is just ahead."

Outside, Mr. Jerome was showing the way to Marcos, and they arrived at their destination in a short time.As the owner of the manor, Jerome is the surname, but as a farmhand, the male master of the Jeremy family has only one name called Jeremy.In this world, only nobles and a small number of wealthy businessmen have surnames, and most ordinary people only have one name. In some cases, the surname or first name will also be discarded.For example, Dragon Blood Knight, he abandoned his surname in the name of his title.

Jeremy's family should be a very happy family before the incident, with a blue roof, some flowers and plants in the yard, and a swing.But now the fence is broken and no one has repaired it, chickens and a few sheep are running around in the yard, the flowers and plants have been messed up, and there are chicken and sheep droppings everywhere.

By the way, there are two big guys guarding the door.

"Because their family is the first, some people are not rational. I can only let the guards protect them." Mr. Jerome explained.Everyone got out of the car, walked into the yard, and knocked on the door.

The door was thrown open almost immediately, and from the open door there was a strange smell--the stench of rot, musty rancidity, and the acrid smell of some burning herbs.The man who opened the door was skinny, full of fear and despair, and when he saw them, he expressed deep hope and pleading: "Master Jerome..."

"Jeremy, the church sent someone to help us, don't worry." Mr. Jerome patted Jeremy on the shoulder, and motioned for Priest Hogan and Leon to go in. He didn't care about the stench. .Priest Hogan's expression did not change either. He was a priest who often followed Father Morifio to give alms to the low-level people. The smell of those people was not much better than here.

"Can you open the window? The smell is too strong here." However, Leon didn't want his nose to suffer. In comparison, Leon and Eldi were simply fussy young masters.

Priest Hogan explained embarrassingly to Leon: "Leon just can't speak, in fact, he just wants to be able to see clearly."

Jeremy's pale and thin face blushed a little: "Little gentleman, please forgive me for not being able to open the window. Close the window, at least the devil won't be able to spy on it."

"Close the windows and your sons and daughters will be taken away. Your house looks clean, but I'm sure it smells like rotting meat. What's rotten?"

No matter how good a farmer's house is, it can't be like a rich man's mansion. Jeremy's home is a hall, a living room, a kitchen and a dining room at the same time. From the perspective of the loom, Jeremy's wife is also there. this type of work.There are two rooms on the left, the warehouse, and the master bedroom for Jeremy and his wife.There are two rooms on the right, which are the toilet and the rooms of the three daughters.

Leon could scan the entire hallway at a glance, the stove and dining table were neatly arranged, and the half of the ham hanging on the wall was also in good condition.The blood mosquitoes had already visited the place where the eyes couldn't see, and the bean soup and black bread in the storage cabinet were still fresh.

Mr. Jerome's complexion is not good anymore. There are no nobles in the Muller Federation, so there are no lords, but Mr. Jerome has always demanded himself as the best lord.To him, these farm laborers are his subjects.Leon's questions are insulting his subjects as well as him.

"It might be a mouse. I haven't found it yet."

"No, there are no dead rats in your house." Leon looked at Jeremy, "You should have looked for the source of the smell, too? If something is rotten, even if it died under the floor, you can't find the exact source. The location of the smell, but you can also find a general direction through the intensity of the smell. Isn’t it in your house? The smell is even in all places in your house?”

Jeremy's face was already purple now: "Maybe it is! Little sir, but I really don't have time to find any stink!"

But the humiliation and anger on Mr. Jerome's face disappeared, replaced by vigilance and solemnity: "Jeremy, when did this stink appear?"

"I don't know, it's been a while, a month or two?" Jeremy didn't understand why the respected Lord Jerome was asking this kind of question, the poor farmer was about to cry, if it was just a little It doesn't matter if the young master makes things difficult for him, but if he offends Master Jerome, he doesn't know if he can continue to get help, "I looked for it before, but I didn't think about it at all...Master, I was wrong, I will go right away... "

"No, no, no! We're not trying to embarrass you, Jeremy. It's not about taste, it's about whether it's normal or not." Mr. Jerome grabbed Jeremy, "Think about it, Xin Before Di and the others disappeared, did they have this smell or not?"

"Cindy and the others are missing? Ah!!!" Jeremy exclaimed, "It was just that day! It was that day! I remember it so clearly! I was always trying to find a damn rat or a skunk that day, and I and Mary searched for a long time, and didn't even notice that Cindy and the others were missing!"

"Does other people with children have this smell?" Priest Hogan asked excitedly. This was the first time he dealt with a mysterious incident. He didn't expect to find something wrong when he came up. Of course, he found out whether it was him or not. It's his thigh!How could he not be surprised?

"Yes!" Mr. Jerome and Jeremy exclaimed happily together, especially Mr. Jerome, who finally looked at Leon with trust.

"Open the windows," said Leon. "We're going to walk around your house and get your three daughters out."

"Okay." Jeremy was also a little energetic. Although this discovery seemed nothing, after all, it was a little different from before.

When Leon and Eldy turned around and began to circle, Eldy whispered: "Prejudice."

Mr. Jerome seems to have a lot of respect for Jeremy, but the other side also shows that he takes the fact that "the farmhand's house is full of stinky smell" for granted?Not only him, but even the farm laborers themselves think that it should be taken for granted. Obviously Jeremy burned vanilla at home. Obviously he doesn’t like this smell. Not much "love" is it?But no one raised any doubts.

On the contrary, it was Leon who proposed it on his own initiative, which made both the manor owner and the farm laborer feel the anger of being offended, but in fact he was the most unbiased.

"Don't like being biased?" Leon looked at him.

"I don't like smelly." Eldy brushed the chubby bear's fur in his arms, picked it up and rubbed it on his face, and then said with a smile, "It's fragrant and soft."

Turning around, the two still found something.Although the houses in Jerome Village are somewhat crowded, they are not yet protected from the wind. Jeremy’s house is occasionally blown by a small wind. Under normal circumstances, after the doors and windows of his house are opened, there should be some The strong smell spread to the surroundings.But now, the smell in the yard of his house is what it is, but it's all the feces of chickens and sheep, and the smell of livestock on the sheep, not the rotten smell in the room.

When they walked to the door or the bed again, the smell came to their nostrils—there seemed to be an invisible film around the house, sealing the smell in it.

All three girls were called out. Girls of this age, even if their facial features are not good, are still cute.Moreover, the three girls were well taken care of by their parents. They all wore two braids and wore small skirts with white aprons. The youngest girl held a doll made of pieces in her arms.From Leon's point of view, the doll is much cuter than the ones sold in the toy store in Dillier City.

The oldest girl was Cindy at 12, followed by Mary at [-] who had the same name as their mother and the youngest was Monica at [-].

Their mother stands behind them, her wife, like Jeremy, haggard and frail with grief and worry.However, in comparison, the three children are much healthier. Although they are a little panicked, their complexions are ruddy, their eyes are bright, and they are all healthy.

After seeing Leon, Monica even asked, "Are you a prince?"

"No, I'm... a thug."

Monica was disappointed, but Cindy and Mary laughed, probably thinking that Leon was joking?The kids were really not affected that much.Moreover, they have no smell on them, not at all.But Jeremy and his wife both had that strong smell.

The smell was pointed out by Leon, and the others obviously noticed it at this time.Without waiting for anyone to ask questions, Jeremy immediately said: "They didn't put anything in their room, and we didn't find anything." Mr. Jerome also nodded, and it seemed that he had just followed suit.

Leon and Eldy asked the three girls about their missing memories, but...even the first-grade elementary school students who have received standard education may not speak neatly, let alone those who have not received any education and only talk to each other in the village. Three little girls playing with their peers?

Their ability to express themselves is extremely poor, and their memories of what happened during their disappearance are indeed vague, stuttering and unable to remember.The final conclusion is that they will go to a vague place like a dream for a while, a group of children are there, everyone is playing games, and then when they open their eyes, they are lying on the grain drying field.

Leon: "Are there any marks on their clothes?"

"No, it's very clean, even cleaner than when we were at home."

"The last time they came back was this morning, right?" Eldy remembered something.

The adults all nodded: "Yes."

"Pick their throats." Eldy pointed to the Jeremy couple, then pointed to the three girls, and when everyone was at a loss, he had to add an explanation, "If they ate something last night, it's not the same now." It must be fully digested."

The Jeremy couple, who love their children, didn't care too much at this time. Mrs. Jeremy went straight to pick the throats of the girls one by one.The girls vomited, and a crowd studied the vomit of the three children.The most complete of these was, of course, the breakfast they ate today when they were brought back from the drying field, with beans and a little bread.

Priest Hogan fiddled around with a small stick, and they found...something milky white.

"What's this?" Priest Hogan flicked out the small pieces and looked at the Jeremys.

The two of them also leaned over to watch carefully, but they just shook their heads after watching it: "We have never seen such a thing, nor have we eaten it."

Priest Hogan rinsed the little white piece and picked it up—Mr. Jerome's facial muscles twitched, and Mr. Jerome took two steps back in shock.But Priest Hogan obviously didn't care about this, even if it was vomited out of the human stomach, it was part of the natural cycle: "I thought it was protein, but this... mushroom?"

He pinched the little white piece twice, and the elasticity really looked like a mushroom.

Priest Hogan also brought the mushroom up to his nose and sniffed it, but he didn't taste it, and didn't challenge the acceptance of others: "There is a very nice fragrance, some kind of flower and herb smell... I can't be sure what it is. Smell it and see if it is a local smell."

It was about their daughters, the two parents took the mushroom pieces and smelled them carefully.But Jeremy smelled nothing, and Mary smelled a little, but couldn't be sure.Next, they gathered all the families with children, made each child vomit, and asked the parents to sniff the mushrooms.

But unfortunately, most people don't know where there is this smell.

"It would be great if Papa Daisy was still alive." Blood Mosquito heard someone muttering in a low voice from behind the crowd.

"Who is Dace Dace?" Leon asked Mr. Jerome.

Mr. Jerome sighed: "It's an herbal doctor in the village. He met a bear while collecting herbs last year. When we found out, he..." Jerome obviously still couldn't say something to the child. Too cruel words.

"Oh." Leon nodded, indicating that he understood.

They went to several other houses, each of which had a similar stench, but to a slightly different degree.In addition, they also found a suspicious point-the parents are all anxious and haggard, but the children are much better, especially the girls, just like the three girls in Jeremy's family, they just saw people coming from the Church of the God of Nature. Finally, there are some fears, but in terms of physical and mental conditions, they are much better than their family members.

"The next group of adventurers also discovered this, but they couldn't find the reason. It's just that some villagers privately rumored that the devil was looking for a bride, but this is obviously impossible."

Priest Hogan asked: "This incident only happened in your village. Are there similar incidents in other surrounding villages?"

"No, not at all." Mr. Jerome sighed. "I am grateful to the God of Nature for this. I only hope that these ugly things only exist here and end here."

"Why is it ugly?" Eldi asked suddenly, "Although some people died in this incident, it was just that the adventurers were not capable enough. The children just disappeared every night, but they were not harmed, weren't they? Or, there are What are you hiding from us?"

Mr. Jerome froze for a moment: "No, I just subconsciously used an adjective...you know."

"And you just said that the devil is choosing the bride, but the boys were also taken away. Although they seem to be in a worse condition than the girls, they are also missing. Is this also a slip of the tongue?"

Leon... gave Eldy a thumbs up, expressing his praise.

"It has nothing to do with whether they are a boy or a girl. This kind of situation of secretly taking a child, if it is not eating them and sacrificing them, it can only be a bride."

Priest Hogan frowned: "Mr. Jerome, I think you should understand that although no one has been injured or died so far except for the adventurers, it does not mean that this kind of thing will not happen in the future. Concealment is harmful to everyone." No good."

Mr. Jerome kept smiling: "No, I really didn't hide it, otherwise how could I report this matter to the church?"

Having said that, it is clear that even Priest Logan's trust in him has been questioned.

Most of the children looked over, it was two o'clock in the afternoon, and Leon and the others missed lunch perfectly.Priest Hogan was very interested and wanted to continue to investigate, but Leon Nian calmly stopped: "We are hungry~"

Mr. Jerome quickly apologized, saying that he was not well received, and greeted them to the manor villa where Jerome's family lived, arranged food for everyone, took a bath after eating, and then talked about the situation in the village. Leon and Ai Andy went to bed.Nothing happened to them that night.

Until... around three o'clock in the middle of the night, Leon suddenly opened his eyes, and Eldy followed suit - they smelled a strong smell, just like the smell from the farmers in the village during the day.The two of them put on their clothes and were about to go out when Priest Hogan came running in his coat: "God of Nature protects you, you are all right! There is also a stench in the manor!"

The smell in the manor came out suddenly just now. Since everyone has confirmed that the people with the smell are those with children, it is certain that this smell is a sign.It's okay for ordinary people to be marked without knowing it, but were the two of them also marked without knowing it?

"You guys leave for a while, go to the first floor, I want to take a look." Leon was very calm, he waved to Priest Hogan, signaling him not to worry.

"See what?" asked Reverend Hogan.

"Secret." Leon replied with a smile.

"Okay, but you have to pay attention to safety. I actually have this on me! I can call the knights at the first time." Priest Hogan took out a morning glory. He deliberately bent down and approached the two of them, and whispered, "Although You are very strong, but after all, this is the first time you have dealt with such a mysterious incident alone. You must know that even a veteran gray hyena will capsize. There are too many unknown forces in this world, and there are even too many unknown evil gods. .”

Priest Hogan is often thought of as a dud by everyone, but when things really happen, he has firmness and wisdom that ordinary people don't have. Sometimes he looks like the legendary wise man.

"So! You must tell me something! Do you know that call morning glory can also be used as emergency fireworks? As long as I do this, this, and this again, I can make him blow up very beautiful fireworks!" Priest Hogan said with starry eyes .

Leon & Eldy: "..."

Forget it, their touch or something doesn't exist.

Priest Hogan doesn't know, he just missed an opportunity to establish his adult dignity - it may be the only opportunity in his life... But judging by his cheerful appearance, he wouldn't care much even if he knew Bar?

Priest Hogan left, and so did the Jerome family and their servants, not only on this floor, but now in this manor, only Leon and Eldy remained.Leon took out a grape of divine wine from his pocket and threw it into his mouth.After passing through his throat, the divine wine grapes were wrapped around his throat and devoured directly.

Leon thought very well, so that no smell of special energy could leak out, but...

Seeing Leon, Eldy suddenly covered his mouth, and his expression was more complicated: "What's wrong?"

Leon waved his hand and said nothing.But the chubby bear in Eldy's arms made a sound: "Suddenly I feel a little bit full, and I want to hiccup."

But if he really hiccupped, Eldy would have to fall down immediately.However, this feeling of being full and holding on, really has a strange long-lost feeling.If this hiccup can be burped, it will probably be very comfortable, right?

Eldy looked at Leon sympathetically. Although hiccups were indecent, he rarely had them, but he still knew the feeling of not being able to sneeze halfway through.

Leon endured the most uncomfortable stage, raised his hand, and opened an eye in his palm.Of course, the first thing the eyes saw was the pure white Eldie. The corners of Leon's smiling lips just turned up, and then they bent back because of displeasure.Eldi's pure white soul was wrapped with some thin threads.The threads are brown-green, and they wrap around Eldy like pliable waterweed around a drowning man.

Leon walked over and tried to pull the threads with his hands, but his hands went through the threads and it didn't do much.Leon thought for a while, and transferred the power he absorbed from the grapes of the divine wine to his fingertips. In addition to the darkness of his own soul, his fingertips had a little more vibrant grass-green light.He tried again to grab the thread.

This time, he did it.

Leon's touch after touching these threads is very strange, which is completely different from the feeling of touching a thread in the real world.It is cold, like a boiled stew, and it is full of stench-yes, it is obviously a touch, but in addition to the sense of touch, it also produces the experience of smell and taste, or at least it makes Leon think that His senses of taste and smell also produce perceptions.