Overlord: Welcome the Birth of the King

At the entrance of Carne Village.

The wooden palisade surrounding the village remained unchanged—its defensive capability was minimal, and it was no different from the last time he was here.

Lyle's return quickly drew attention from the villagers, particularly from the gossiping women who still remembered the time he helped Enri carry a bundle of weeds. In a village where nothing much happened, this was enough to fuel conversation for days.

Through the narrow village path, three figures walked toward its depths.

"This time, I'll have to trouble you again, Village Chief," Lyle said politely to the man walking beside him.

"There's no need for such formalities, sir," the chief replied with a warm smile. "The room has already been cleaned. It's the same one you stayed in last time."

Lyle's steps paused briefly upon hearing this before he continued forward as if nothing had happened.

At the same time, his gaze subtly swept toward the middle-aged man walking alongside the village chief.

The man carried a bow on his back, his right hand swinging naturally with each step. However, his left hand—hidden from Lyle's direct line of sight—remained pressed against his waist, unmoving.

Lyle could clearly sense the tension in the man's posture. His nervous gaze occasionally flicked toward the small Barghest following closely behind Lyle.

Does he recognize the Barghest?

If Lyle remembered correctly, the only villager in Carne Village with a combat-related profession was a hunter named Latimon. Judging by the bow on his back, this middle-aged man was likely him.

With a thought crossing his mind, Lyle changed his tone slightly and asked the village chief, "Has anyone else come to the village recently?"

The village chief had no way of knowing that Lyle would return, yet he had prepared the room in advance. That meant someone else must have stayed here.

"Hmm," the village chief nodded. "Several adventurer teams have passed through recently. They all stayed for a night before leaving in a hurry."

"Do you know what they were here for?" Lyle's eyes sharpened as he asked, already forming a few theories.

"Adventurers are important people. We simple villagers wouldn't dare question them, and even if we did, they wouldn't tell us anything," the chief said with a broad smile, waving his hand dismissively.

Lyle gave him a thoughtful look.

A clever answer.

This was likely a survival instinct among common folk—avoiding unnecessary trouble by feigning ignorance.

Even though the chief hadn't provided any concrete information, it wasn't difficult to deduce the truth.

For a remote border village like Carne, which rarely saw any visitors, the sudden arrival of multiple adventuring parties was almost certainly related to Lyle's recent activities in the forest.

———

Back in his room, Lyle scanned his surroundings.

The place had been thoroughly cleaned—so much so that even the cobwebs clinging to the ceiling beams were gone.

"Arf!"

The little Barghest curiously sniffed around, excitedly exploring its new surroundings.

"Don't bark when there are strangers around," Lyle said calmly.

The Barghest immediately froze, its ears drooping as it shrank slightly.

Lyle had noticed that, contrary to common belief, many magical beasts weren't actually stupid. This young Barghest, in particular, was proving to be even smarter than he had expected.

As long as the instructions weren't overly complex, it could understand them perfectly.

With a flick of his wrist, Lyle summoned a goblin's corpse from his storage and tossed it to the Barghest.

"Your dinner."

———

Meanwhile, outside the house, the village chief and Lachimon made their way back along the uneven dirt road.

"Something's going on in the forest, isn't there?" The village chief's usual cheerful expression had faded, replaced with a look of concern.

Silence.

After a while, he frowned and turned to Lachimon.

"You're awfully quiet today. What's wrong?"

"It's a Barghest," Latimon muttered, his voice trembling slightly.

"What?" The village chief looked puzzled, not understanding what he meant.

"The creature following that man—it's a Barghest," Latimon repeated, looking paler by the second.

"That's one of the most terrifying monsters, even more dangerous than an ogre. According to the Adventurers' Guild's threat assessment, a fully grown Barghest is rated at a difficulty level of 45."

"That one is obviously a pup," he continued, taking a deep breath to steady himself. "But Barghests are incredibly cunning. There's no way an adult wouldn't be nearby, keeping watch."

The village chief still looked confused. "Difficulty rating?"

The Adventurers' Guild used a numerical system to measure the threat levels of monsters. A typical adult male had a difficulty rating of three.

As Carne Village's hunter, Latimon spent most of his time gathering herbs and hunting small game on the outskirts of the Great Tob Forest. Occasionally, he also traveled to E-Rantel to sell surplus grain and buy essential supplies.

Because of this, he was more knowledgeable about adventurers and their classifications than most villagers.

"Chief, that man—he's not an adventurer," Latimon said in a hushed voice, his eyes flickering toward Lyle's lodgings with unease.

"Every adventurer, no matter their rank, wears a visible metal plate indicating their guild status. That man had nothing of the sort."

And then there was his jet-black hair—a clear sign that he was a foreigner. Coupled with the fact that he had a Barghest pup as a companion, everything about him screamed 'danger.'

No matter how Latimon looked at it, this was not a person they should get involved with.

———

Suddenly, light footsteps sounded from nearby.

Latimon immediately stopped talking and looked up, along with the village chief.

They saw a young girl approaching, balancing a wooden tray in her hands.

The village chief's face softened into a gentle smile. "Where are you off to, little Enri?"

"Village Chief, Uncle Latimon," Anri greeted them with a shy smile, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"My mother asked me to bring some food to the adventurer as a thank-you for helping with the weeds."

Latimon glanced at the tray she was carrying—a bowl of steaming bean soup, generously filled with diced meat, along with a small plate of cleaned nuts.

"Hah, since when was Emmet so generous?" Latimon joked, letting out a low whistle.

"Alright, Enri, you go on ahead," the village chief said, waving her off with a warm expression.

Anri nodded politely and hurried away.

———

"Chief…" Latimon started again once she was out of earshot.

This time, the village chief raised a hand to cut him off. His voice was quiet.

"Relax, Latimon. This is the second time he's come to our village."

Latimon fell silent, his brows furrowed. After a moment, he muttered, "Should I make a trip to E-Rantel? I have a bad feeling about the forest."

The village chief didn't respond. He merely turned slightly, watching Enri's departing figure before continuing forward in silence.