Circling the village twice, the village chief Hodder followed closely behind the group.
With consent, Gauss eventually chose a vacant plot in the village.
Then, under the curious eyes of the villagers, he unfolded the Foldable House.
The existence of the Foldable House shocked the villagers, who were pondering how Gauss and his companions planned to build a house.
Each person looked at the house and exchanged words of amazement.
"Village chief, my teammates and I are a bit worn out from traveling, so we’ll go inside and rest first."
After saying this, Gauss led his teammates into the house and closed the door.
"Is there something not quite right?"
Aaliyah could no longer contain the confusion in her heart.
But she wasn’t clueless of the looks in people’s eyes, so she didn’t ask too many questions in front of the villagers earlier.
Gauss sat at the table in the living room.
Poured himself and his teammates a glass of water.
Through the one-way glass of the window, his gaze looked outside, where the villagers in the village square evidently had a keen interest in their group and the magical house; even though they had entered the house, the villagers had not left.
"Don’t you think it’s odd? This is the first village that doesn’t require our help."
Gauss withdrew his gaze and spoke slowly.
This was very unreasonable.
Humans are greedy and never satisfied.
Faced with free help handed to them, even if the village’s condition was better than most, there’s certainly something worth improving, right?
For instance, they could request reinforcement of defense works; although they have monster-repelling powder, it’s always good to have extra preparation, or ask them to help clear out the surrounding monsters, train the village’s young ones, help Uncle York find his missing daughter... The assistance they could offer is still plenty, isn’t it?
Moreover, the lack of defensive works itself suggests a hint of oddity.
Even with the effectiveness of the powder, the protection it provides is a form of soft protection, and the villagers living here—do they really not feel a lack of security?
Even if ordinary villagers don’t understand, shouldn’t the village chief and elders, who manage village affairs, show some concern? This concerns their lives and well-being.
Or, are they completely certain that monsters won’t invade the village?
Thinking about it now, the village chief’s attitude of lacking desires—could it be a way of sending them off?
However, later when he requested to stay for a few days, the village chief didn’t show any particular expressions.
"Isn’t it also good?" Aaliyah nodded. "Since the villagers can be self-sufficient, we can save ourselves some trouble."
She didn’t think as much as Gauss did.
"I feel like it’s quite nice here; the air is very fresh."
Aaliyah’s perception made her feel like this was a good place, with the environmental field being very comfortable. She didn’t delve further into the areas of doubt because of this.
"This village indeed seems to have some issues."
Serdur suddenly spoke up, his expression appearing somewhat odd since entering the house.
Only after Gauss spoke did his suspicions get confirmation.
"How so?" Aaliyah humbly asked for guidance.
"Earlier, when I examined the man named York, I found a considerable amount of residual medicinal power in his body, suggesting he has taken a lot of herbal medicine lately..."
"Normally, if his nerves were frayed due to stimulation, he shouldn’t need such potent medicine."
"This village which lives by collecting herbs should have a decent physician, right?"
Gauss’ conversation with the village chief, combined with Serdur’s findings, made everyone realize something was amiss about the Herb Village.
"Should we leave quickly?" Aaliyah asked in a small voice.
Despite being inside the Foldable House and having been quite carefree earlier, the two’s analysis seemed to make her nervous, as if they had walked into a den of thieves.
"No rush, just carefully investigate."
Gauss observed the village earlier, seemingly without spotting anything or anyone noteworthy.
Moreover, at the end of the day, his and Serdur’s analyses were mere speculation without direct evidence indicating shady dealings occurring in the village.
"Ying, I’ll leave the investigation of the village surroundings to you, and also check the distribution of monster camps nearby."
Gauss looked at Ying, who was in thought, and gently instructed.
The team’s most adept at reconnaissance was Ying, whose abilities had soared since reaching level 6.
When she activates her reconnaissance skill, even Gauss finds it hard to detect.
"Alright, I’ll circle around the village a few times; I just don’t know if I’ll discover anything valuable."
Aaliyah hesitated for a moment.
"If the village chief is hiding something, how about... using the ’Friendship Spell’ when we get the chance?"
The effect of the Friendship Spell is akin to the Truth Serum; ordinary people facing Gauss’s use of this magic have no ability to resist.
Gauss hesitated for a moment upon hearing this.
He had indeed considered this method, but there were reasons for not mentioning it.
Firstly, after using the Friendship Spell, the recipient would surely notice and develop negative emotions.
If it turns out to be a misunderstanding, it would be awkward, and he wouldn’t have grounds to defend himself should matters escalate to the town.
Furthermore, there’s an expression: a smiling face should not be struck.