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Chapter 41
After Nana had declared most of Sweet Little Village as farmland, the blackened, dead soil of the village had transformed into rich, brown, fertile land.
But outside the village, everything remained the same. The land, dead and black, stretched endlessly, lifeless, giving only a sense of despair.
“This is definitely the place, but why can’t I see it?”
With a squelching step through a puddle, a man with a scraggly mustache wandered back and forth, muttering to himself.
This area had to be correct. Even if the land had become barren, it was a place he had lived in for years. Even if his mind didn’t remember, his body knew the way.
Still, no matter how much he looked around, there were only rocks; the entrance to the village was nowhere in sight.
“I searched other areas as well, but there’s no difference from here.”
A man wearing a robe with a hood covering half of his face saluted the mustached man respectfully.
‘Did I really come to the wrong place?’
But the village sign that had once stood at the entrance was here. It was all broken and scattered on the ground, but he was certain. He had made that village sign himself.
“If we stay here, we might become targets for walking corpses.”
“I know that.”
Brody let out a bitter sigh.
“The knight is right. I tried to track down His Highness, but maybe because of the rain, I couldn’t find him anywhere.”
A girl with short hair and exotic features had quietly approached them.
“I still have to find him. His Highness must be waiting for me.”
If his assumption was correct, His Highness was still holding out in an underground shelter.
Who had stocked several years’ worth of emergency rations just in case?
“But if you keep standing in this rain, it will affect your health. You need to stay healthy to find the Crown Prince, don’t you? Night will come soon. We should hurry before it gets even darker…”
“Uh? Brody?”
Brody’s pupils shook as he heard a familiar voice.
He snapped his head around and widened his eyes in disbelief.
“Ah… no, you’re Nana, aren’t you?”
Brody splashed through the mud without hesitation. His pants quickly became soaked with dirt, but that didn’t matter.
“You… you’re alive! I thought everyone was dead! Why didn’t you even send a telegram if you survived?!”
“I thought I was the only survivor in the village. And how would I know where you are to send a telegram?”
“Still… I really thought everyone was dead… that hope, the village… all gone…”
Brody collapsed onto the ground, muttering incoherently, tears streaming down. It was impossible to tell whether the drops hitting the ground were rain or his tears.
“My lord!”
“Sir!”
The two people around Brody helped him stand. He wiped the wetness off his face, still unsure if it was rain or tears.
“Still… I’m glad. I’m so glad you survived. I don’t even need to ask how you’ve been…”
Finally looking up after a long while, Brody truly saw Nana’s condition.
More precisely, he saw Nana, her face flushed, nestled in Ishanka’s arms.
“Ah… well… you can put me down now!”
“No. The ground is still muddy.”
“Getting your feet dirty won’t kill anyone!”
“But I refuse to see you like that, even if it kills me.”
Watching Ishanka and Nana bicker, Brody couldn’t help but smile.
He was relieved she was alive. Truly, after thinking everything in the village was gone, it was a miracle to have even one survivor.
The public display of their sweet affection was a little awkward, though… just a little.
“Anyway, let’s not stay here. Let’s head into the village.”
Having won their small argument, Nana stepped out of Ishanka’s arms and led them toward the village.
“But… where exactly is the village? Everything’s blocked by rocks. And just now, I couldn’t even sense you, Nana. How did you appear here?”
‘Ah! I forgot to set the access!’
Nana’s land was configured to appear as a rocky cliff to unauthorized people, rather than farmland, so Brody’s surprise was understandable.
“We came around this way. You can follow us.”
As Nana stepped forward, a message window appeared.
<Do you permit these three to enter?>
This could be approved from another entrance to the village. Nana naturally led the way, followed by Ishanka, Brody, and his party, slowly walking along the rain-soaked desolate path. The silence was broken first by Brody.
“By the way… I just realized, who are you?”
His gaze was on Ishanka.
Ishanka narrowed his brows briefly and replied in a calm voice.
“You don’t need to call me ‘sir.’ I’m Isaac Smith.”
At that moment, everyone present thought the same thing.
‘That’s a pseudonym.’
‘But why choose such a name?’
The surname Smith and the first name Isaac were extremely common in the kingdom. Actually, Isaac was somewhat old-fashioned.
In modern terms, it would be like saying, “My name is John Doe.”
For an older person, it might be fine, but for a young adult, it was clearly a pseudonym.
Still, no one present questioned the reason behind it.
Nana assumed he didn’t want to reveal his real name, and the others figured there must be a story behind it, given how dangerous the world had become.
In any case, the pseudonym served its purpose.
“My goodness… this is unbelievable.”
Brody stood in the middle of the living room, still in awe.
Specifically, it had started when, following Nana’s guidance to the back entrance of the house, he saw the blackened, dead soil had transformed into fertile brown farmland.
Now, having removed his rain-soaked coat and receiving a warm cup of tea inside Nana’s living room, the shock had not fully subsided.
“It really is amazing, isn’t it? One morning I just noticed something was off, looked outside, and suddenly the land had completely changed.”
‘Wow, really amazing. My acting skills are so natural.’
Nana smiled naturally but her attention was fixed on the two people sitting beside her.
A man in a black robe and a lively young girl.
They were unfamiliar faces.
It was natural she didn’t know them, but the unease she felt wasn’t just simple unfamiliarity.
‘These aren’t characters I know.’
At first, she suspected they were newly added NPCs or strategy characters.
But in Mars Farm, updates with new characters or storylines usually came with an announcement. Nana, who had been active in the community until just before possession, surely wouldn’t have missed it.
Moreover, the system had turned into a zombie apocalypse due to an error, likely halting any updates.
Then who were these two?
Ghost data from an error?
Or proof that this world isn’t just a game, but another reality?
When she faced the bald, muscular administrator, she had said it didn’t matter if it was a game or not—but now, seeing this in front of her, it felt strangely real.
“Ah… anyway, I’m just glad you’re alive. I have many questions, but first I want to ask this…”
“Sir, I’m curious about something!”
Nana and Brody spoke at the same time.
Nana only realized later that she had interrupted Brody, lost in her own thoughts.
“I thought no one could have survived after the world changed like this. You must have seen on your way here, the land is fertile, but the village is still in ruins, just like before. So anyone surviving is truly a miracle.”
Nana had already experienced a miracle with Sam Lindberg once, but she decided to set that aside for now.
By the way, she would have to tell Brody that Sam was here.
“But you survived. Does that mean other villagers escaped safely like you?”
Brody closed his eyes briefly at Nana’s question.
A fleeting emotion passed over his expression—guilt, perhaps, or sadness.
“That I don’t know. I escaped alone. At the time… it was too chaotic to check on or take care of others.”
For a moment, the room fell silent.
Who among them had survived the disaster without trauma?
After a short pause, Brody spoke again.
“Ah… my mind! I haven’t properly introduced these kids yet. This friend here, I met on the way to this village and…”
Just as he tried to speak, the creak of the front door opening echoed through the room.
“Hey, Nana. The prototype alcohol distiller you mentioned last time…”
