Ren and Keno traveled using a carriage that Ren had once won in a lottery. At first, he thought it was just a decorative piece for a building, but unexpectedly, it turned out to be quite useful at this moment.
Keno, on the other hand, believed Ren must be a very high-ranking undead. Otherwise, how could he possess so many incredible things?
They soon arrived near a city district.
"Keno, put this on," Ren said as he handed her a magic robe.
"This is too precious. I can't accept it," Keno quickly refused, feeling it was far too expensive for her.
"Humans are usually very hostile toward non-human races like us. If you wear this, it'll conceal your aura. As for your eyes, just say you're from the Red-Eyed Clan, and I'm from the Snow Clan," Ren explained smoothly, already having crafted their cover story. Then, the two made their way toward the city.
"Stop! Who are you? Where did you come from?" the city guards demanded, blocking their path.
Keno immediately hid behind Ren, trembling slightly. She had encountered humans before—every time they discovered she was a vampire, they tried to kill her.
"I'm from the Snow Clan, and she's from the Red-Eyed Clan," Ren said calmly, slipping a small gold nugget into the guard's hand where others couldn't see.
"Our homeland was destroyed by the undead, so we've been traveling since then."
"The Snow Clan and the Red-Eyed Clan?" The guard accepted the gold. Though puzzled, he didn't press further—there were many races in this world, after all.
"By the way, Captain," Ren said in a friendly tone, "has something happened nearby? The inspection seems unusually strict."
The guard sighed. "Don't even mention it. Another town was overrun by a massive horde of undead. Everyone's terrified right now. I shouldn't even be this busy, but... there are rumors it was caused by a sixth-tier undead—something powerful enough to turn an entire town into the undead."
"Where exactly did this happen?" Ren asked with a look of concern.
"Our family turned into undead in a similar incident. We were away on an adventure and barely survived. To be honest, we came out this time to investigate the truth behind what happened to them."
He quietly slipped another gold nugget into the guard's hand.
"Keep walking in that direction," the guard said, pointing down the road. "That path will lead you there. Do you still plan to enter the city?"
He seemed more relaxed now, his impression of Ren greatly improved after receiving two gold nuggets.
"Yeah, we'll need to stop in town for supplies along the way." Ren said cheerfully. Thanks to the money obtained from trade made through the game, Ren and Keno soon entered the city.
"Lord Ren, that was amazing," Keno said, wide-eyed. It was her first time seeing someone trick humans so easily.
"Once you interact with them more, you'll learn too. For now, let's rest." Ren went to the inn and rented a small single room. Inside, there was only a wooden bed and a wooden chair.
When they entered the room, the young girl still seemed uneasy. She sat on the edge of the bed, only a small corner of her hips touching the mattress.
"Don't worry. I'll keep my promise. We agreed on it, didn't we?" Ren crouched in front of her and spoke gently.
"Mhm." Keno nodded softly and slowly sat properly on the bed. Building trust took time, after all.
The next morning, Keno woke up curled in the corner of the bed. Her clothes were still neat, while Ren sat in the chair, trying to contact others and checking what items he could still use.
Seeing him awake, Keno asked, "Lord Ren, aren't you going to sleep?"
"Zombies don't need sleep," Ren replied calmly. His mental state remained perfectly fine.
"This is your breakfast. Try it." Ren handed her a plate. It was an experiment of his—to see what in-game consumables would do in this world.
Looking down at the bread, Keno hesitated. "I'm a vampire… I can't eat this."
"Just give it a try. If it doesn't taste good, spit it out."
Keno cautiously took a bite. The taste brought her back to her childhood—sharing meals with her parents. It wasn't particularly delicious, but it was warm and familiar.
Tears welled in her eyes as she began eating mouthful after mouthful.
Watching her reaction, Ren confirmed his hypothesis. The bread was indeed a premium item from the game—something that let players experience real flavor without gaining any weight.
After eating, Keno grew quiet and melancholic. Memories of her happy days flooded back, making it hard for her to snap out of it.
During that time, Ren didn't comfort her. Instead, he simply left the room.
With his minimap completely blacked out and unusable, the thing he needed most right now was a proper map. Everything else he could manage on his own.
He searched for an adventurers' guild, but unfortunately, this town didn't have one. If it did, he could've gathered useful information from the adventurers there.
When Ren returned to the inn, Keno was asleep again. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He hadn't expected that bread to have such a strong effect.
"Mm~" When Keno finally woke up again, her mood had improved a lot. She hadn't let her emotions out like that in a long time.
"Awake?" Ren closed his book.
"Mm, Lord Ren, about that bread…"
"There's still some left. Want more?"
"Mm." Keno nodded lightly.
Ren took out a few more pieces of bread, and Keno's face lit up with pure happiness as she began to eat.
Other than reuniting with her parents, being able to taste ordinary food again filled her with joy. It had been so long since she'd eaten anything.
Ren returned to his reading. He had bought a few easy-to-understand books about this other world to study the language.
What frustrated him, though, was that while he could understand the spoken language perfectly, he couldn't read it at all.
Luckily, after merging with the memories of the Game Ren, he also inherited that Ren's methods for learning new languages, so he was picking it up quickly.
By nightfall, the two finally decided to head out. Since both of them were undead, the night suited them better than the day.
Leaving the town behind, they once again set off on the road. Keno felt a bit embarrassed—she hadn't done anything in the town.
She hadn't even stepped out of the inn, only eaten a few pieces of bread while Ren handled everything else.
After a long silence, Keno finally spoke. "Are we going to that village the guard mentioned?"
"Yeah," Ren replied seriously. "We don't have any solid information yet. First, we need to find out what the enemy's goal is. No one extracts souls without a purpose. We need to identify the common factor among those who turned into undead."
He spoke with the same focus he once had during his gaming days.
That game had been wildly popular in Japan, largely because of its high level of freedom. Combat, puzzles, crafting—you could experience it all within the game.
"Is that so? Then let's hurry!" Keno said energetically. Having tasted the flavor of home again, she was full of motivation.
Under the moonlit sky, a single carriage rolled down the road. Keno was no longer as reserved, while Ren held the reins, guiding the horse forward. He took out a magic scroll, and suddenly, glowing lights appeared all around them.
"What's that?" Keno asked curiously, no longer calling him "Lord."
"A detection-type magic scroll," Ren explained. "It's how non-magic users can use magic. We're almost there—another city of the undead."
Keno's expression grew solemn.
A second dead city.
A deliberate plan.
Yet, there seemed to be no direct connection between the two. Investigating this mystery would likely take a very long time.
**********
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