The first rays of morning appeared, and a symphony of lyrical bird melodies began to float across the settlement. The streets were softly illuminated by the newly risen sun, which was accompanied by a rush of morning activity.
She massaged her groggy eyelids as dawn crept into her chamber. She caught a glimpse of a pearly gleam in the sky through the window. A man with a plague mask waited at the door next to her.
He turns to her and says, "Good morning," before going back to make her food. She leaps from her bed, rushes, and then suddenly clutches her master's back.
She buried her face into her master's back as she said, "It's been long—so long." When Screw noticed it, he said, "Go back now, and thank you for remembering me."
*****
"Happy birthday, Gura. Happy birthday, Gura. Happy birthday! Happy birthday!"
"Happy birthday, Gura!"
"Woah! Thank you," Gura said, closing her eyes before blowing out the candle. Everyone was partying at the Screw's residence; it has been five years since they arrived and lived here in this small community.
One of Gura's friends walked beside Gura and greeted her, "Hey, happy birthday." The girl smiled and gave her a gift.
"Ah!" Gura gasped with excitement, and while she held her big gift, other visitors formed a line and gave her their gifts one by one.
"Woah~"
"Gura, you got so many gifts," the young girl said with amazement. "Fufu—because I am Gura." This little girl raised her arm; she was so proud of her achievement.
"Anyway, Yui, your dress was adorable today," said one of Gura's friends named Lala.
Yui is the oldest one in the group, wearing a light blue dress with a rabbit headband that suits her red hair. Lala was the second-oldest, wearing a red dress with a polka-dot design. And Gura was Gura.
When Gura and her friends were talking, Screw was nearby. While he was listening to their conversation, the system prompt appeared.
[Why are you listening in?]
A woman suddenly barges in and runs to every guest of the house, asking, "Have you seen my son, Gastor?"
_____
The little community is currently in turmoil. After celebrating Gura's birthday, they called an emergency meeting, and all the men and members of the council gathered in a small hut. Over the last three months, members of their neighborhood have gone—first the old and now the children.
"How should we handle it?" the village leader asks. "We previously contacted the adventurer guild, and I just got a response from them," a bearded man says, raising his hand. "What did they say?" everyone inquired. "They'll send a group of rank Silver adventurers to investigate, and they said it would take one week."
Everyone was surprised by the guild's decision: "Why does it take a week? If they travel now, they'll be here in just three days."
Screw was standing in the corner of the room, behind a wood wall clock. "This will be fun," Screw said as he strolled outdoors without looking around.
"Who should I choose next?"
*****
The same day at midnight.
A little girl with a brown hood travels down the muddy road with a basket full of flowers. She was walking down the road when she glimpsed a shadow out of the corner of her eye. She became interested and turned her head to see who it was.
She noticed a man dressed in a black jacket, a dark blue hood, and a blackbird mask with glasses. The young lady was taken aback. "Gura's dad?" she inquired.
"Good evening, Yui."
"Good evening, Mr. Screw. May I ask what you're doing here?" She asked, "I should ask you the same; it's already nighttime; what are you doing at this kind of hour?"
"I'm delivering something, sir." Screw saunters toward Yui and the little girl at a standstill with a relaxed manner.
"You should be home; remember, there are numerous disappearance cases now."
"But I still need to deliver this; I'll go home right away after giving these flowers." There is momentarily silence between them.
"Alright, I'll accompany you—"
"No need, sir."
"Are you certain?" Screw asked.
"Yes."
"Alright then…" Screw put his hands on his hips and said, "Before I allowed you, could you please help me with something?" She thinks for a while before agreeing.
After a half-hour of walking, they reach the spot where Screw has been collecting a large amount of grass and plants. You can also hear the booming sound of a river flowing close by.
The wonder here is that they don't require a torch light or a moonlight. This region was dazzling because all of the grass he gathered was blazing with blue and purple colors, which is why the place was well lit.
"Sir, why are we here?" Yui was bewildered as she assessed the scenario. Suddenly, a hand entered her back and reached her heart. She didn't even react like a normal human would, but still, she tried to ask, "Why—?" while trying to look at her murderer's face.
He grabs her heart, seizes it, and shatters it. "Because it's enjoyable," he said as he laughed.
*****
"The adventurers are here!" yells one of the villagers, rashly running towards the village hall. The other members stood up and welcomed the great adventurers, saying, "Welcome, great adventurers. Welcome."
The head chief of this small village was the first to greet the brave adventurers of the adventurer's guild. "Hi, are you the head chief of this village?" Asked the leader of the group. "Yes, yes, that is me," the head chief delightedly answered.
The group of adventurers consists of five members:
The leader, named Zack, is a swordsman.
The black-hair magician, Perk.
The ranger of the group, Malt.
The white-haired healer of the group, May and finally, the female tanker of the group, Joy.
The teams have a well-considered balance; their members are all in silver rank, and currently, their group rank is D-one. At a young age, they can be considered elite.
"Please investigate what is happening in this village; all of us are in fear that any moment from now, another one will disappear," begged the village chief while bowing in front of these young adventurers.
"You don't need to worry; we are already here." The leader of the group, Zack, promised that he would finish this mission with ease.
"Ah. Good sir, please take one of our representatives to assist you." The chief villager instructed one of his members to call someone. A few minutes later, they brought a man wearing a black coat, a clothed hood, and a bird mask. "Here is our representative; he is our doctor here... His name is Screw, and he knows more about the geography of the forest."
Screw offered a handshake and said, "Hello, I'm Screw." Zack smiled and accepted his handshake.
"My name is Zack; nice meeting you." "Should we go now?" Their pleasantries were cut short by their healer, May.
"Sure, sure… I'll tour you inside the forest." May looked at Screw from head to toe and said, "Why do we start at the forest? We can start here in the village first."
"We need to investigate and conduct an interview with villagers one by one. This way we can gather more intel."
"It is better to investigate the forest first, because that is where the scene of the crime is." Screw notices that the priest, May, is a bit hostile.
May raised an eyebrow and asked, "Excuse me? We are the adventurers here, not you." "I know, Miss Priest... But please do understand that it takes you a week to be here, and another victim fell."
Screw put his hands on his back and said, "Today is a moon harvest, and we need to prepare for the festival of the moon god tonight."
"Instead of preoccupying one of the villagers, I volunteer myself to help the investigation."
May looked fiercely at Screw like a tiger that would devour him any second, and Zack raised his hand to stop them both. "Alright, Screw, we will take your advice and investigate first the forest."
"Good." Screw gave them a double thumbs up.
-------
Inside the forest, the group of adventurers follows the dancing Screw. "I don't like this person... Look at him," May said while glaring at the happy clown behind his back.
"I think he's quite funny," the tanker of the group, Joy, answered while watching Screw. "How come?"
"Just look at him—the way he behaves and also his get-up." May protest, "He's not a good guy; I can feel it."
"You show like a priest, but you don't act like a real priest." Teased by their hunter, Malt, the other members laugh.
While they're in a lighter mood now, Screw stops. "Mr. Screw, why did you stop?" Screw points a finger toward the giant oak. "Over there."
The group grasped the situation and prepared their weapons. They approach slowly; they hole up at the back of a gigantic oak.
There, they saw four monkey monsters. "It seems they're feasting." Malt masks his presence and climbs the tree, preparing his bow and knocking down his arrow.
"Get ready," Zack commands. He lifted his right fist and, after counting three, provided a go sign. Malt sniped down the baboon in one hit, and the others followed. The monkeys were shocked and frantically attacked the adventurers.
A monkey tried to slash Zack, but he avoided it. He counterattacked with a big swing of his weapon, slashing the monkey in half. Meanwhile, two baboons attacked Perk, the group's magician. Joy leaps and bashes the baboon using her great shield and slashes her long blade to stop the other baboon. Perk chants her spell Fireball and burns the baboon to the ground.
Zack followed up with a stab at the other baboon, who was sent flying. A total, clean victory for the adventurers
'It seems they can handle it well.'
"Zack!" May called the party's attention. "Look..." As they approached, they discovered a little red-haired teenager almost eaten in half by the baboons.
"Sir Screw—" Zack turned his head to ask the name of the lady, but he was stunned by what he saw.
"So there she is..." The aura of their supposed guide suddenly changed, and behind his rear, a group of angry baboons hangs at the trees.
Screw opens his arms wide and says, "Welcome and goodbye."