Barou's face grew grim.
"So, they think we are the curse?"
"It seems Thalen has painted us as such," Riku confirmed. "And this 'Crimson Creep'… they mentioned it's in Luxia too. That means it's not just our local problem."
Lila's eyes widened. "So, what did you do? Did you talk to them? They have the authority of the Crown and Church, and might be tricky to deal with."
"No time for talk," Riku said. "I've… persuaded them to look elsewhere for now. An illusion. They won't find the village easily, and it might hold them off forever. But I don't want us to be seen as someone with questionable practices. After all, I wish to increase the commercial scale of this village and slowly make a town."
"Then what do we do?" Barou asked, the weight of responsibility heavy on his shoulders.
