NOVEL NEXT chapter 0- Prolouge
**Prologue**
“Wow! It’s a storyteller!”
“Hurry up! The story will end soon!”
The children shouted as they ran to the corner of the village.
In a village of about 50 households, the residents called their village “Jang Village.”
The name “Jang” comes from an ancestor who started cultivating the land, leading his family to establish this village.
Jang Village developed as a port town, situated midway along the massive river known as the Flamber.
However, surrounded by mountains and marshes, the village only attracted small traders or those needing to dock quickly, as the larger port cities of “Medria” upstream and “Free Trade City Pilenia” downstream overshadowed it.
Though larger than an average mountain village, it was still considered a rural area. This was Jang Village.
Recently, the village began to buzz with life again. A small trading ship had come to the village, but the source of the children’s laughter was the storyteller who had come along with it.
“Wow! Over there!”
At the bustling dock, where the townsfolk exchanged stored grains and textiles with merchants, many children and a few young adults gathered.
Amidst them, a figure with a hood pulled low began to speak.
“Hehe. Well, since so many have gathered… shall I start the story?”
“Yes!”
“Tell us the story of a hero!”
“The story of love!”
“Please tell us about the king!”
The old woman’s voice rang out, and the children began to chatter excitedly as if they were in a noisy market.
A traveling merchant of tales—that is what the storyteller was. In some ways, they were not much different from wandering bards or beggars, but they had enough skillful storytelling to earn the name “storyteller.”
“Alright. Today, I will tell you a scary story.”
“Hahaha!”
“Wow!”
Perhaps the storyteller’s gesture of raising both hands to frighten them was amusing, as the gathered children laughed.
Amidst the laughter, the old woman’s voice began to resonate.
* * *
Once upon a time, long ago, there was a nobleman with a very beautiful daughter. The young lady was not only stunning but also wise and noble. Every man in the world loved her.
(Was there such a nobleman?)
(Listen, kid.)
However, the princess of a neighboring kingdom, envious of the lady’s beauty, cast a curse upon her.
(Suddenly?)
(While the curse is one thing… sending a demon is a bit much…)
The young lady, cursed by the princess, could not step outside her mansion. Even though she could not leave, she remained beautiful, wise, and noble.
Then one day, the envious princess sent a demon to the mansion where the lady lived.
(Huh? (Isn’t that a bit sudden?)
(Well, I can accept a curse… but a demon…)
The demons, like wicked bandits, attacked the mansion where the lady resided.
(Ah! So they were bandits like demons.)
The mansion had brave knights and loyal servants to protect the lady, but they were no match for the bandits with the strength of demons.
In the end, before the bandits could commit terrible acts against her, the lady hanged herself to escape.
After that, the mansion was burned down, and no one heard the story of the lady.
However, people occasionally report seeing the old mansion in the forest. Those who enter see:
“A woman hanging, dripping blood… glaring at them with resentment!”
“Hahaha!”
The storyteller’s scary tale came to an end successfully. The children all laughed, but… well, as long as they enjoyed it, maybe it was a good outcome.
A little boy sitting closest to the storyteller, who had been sucking his finger, spat it out and asked, “So what happened to the princess?”
“The princess turned into a toad as a price for using the curse and was eaten by a bird.”
“……”
The atmosphere suddenly chilled.
As the storyteller struggled to salvage the situation, Alex began to walk toward the dock.
“Geez. This storyteller isn’t all that entertaining.”
Well, what kind of great people would come to such a worthless rural village…?
Scratching his head and adjusting the burden of leather, bones, and meat on his back, Alex sighed.
“Ugh. I need to sell this quickly.”
Images of his mother scolding him for being late and his father, with muscles like a hunter, chewing him out flashed through his mind. Was it just his imagination that they were the ultimate bosses?
“I need to sell this fast.”
His pace began to quicken.
It was two days later that Alex discovered the massive mansion in the forest.