**Chapter 11: Kaito's Special Headache**
Before long, Kaito and Erza arrived at the village. The moment they stepped inside, both of them felt that something was off.
The village was far too quiet. It wasn't completely empty or locked down, but there were hardly any people around. Most of them were either very old or very young children. Almost no young adults could be seen, making the entire village feel lifeless and gloomy.
Kaito actually found this scene familiar. In his old village, the young people didn't want to stay in the countryside and all left for the cities to work. He didn't expect the same thing to happen in another world.
"The atmosphere feels wrong."
"We'll know once we ask someone."
Erza immediately walked toward an old grandmother sitting under a large tree to enjoy the shade and asked, "Grandma, may I ask you something? Have you heard of any bandits around here?"
The old lady, who was a bit hard of hearing, asked, "What? Mountain?"
"Bandits?!"
"Thieves?"
"Bandits?!!"
"Mountain?"
"..."
Both Erza and Kaito were speechless. The scene reminded Kaito of a movie he once watched called *XX's Special Trouble*. He wasn't sure if Erza was troubled, but he definitely was.
Erza looked at Kaito helplessly. Kaito took out a handful of candies and walked over to the children playing nearby.
"Hey kids! Big brother has some candies here. I'll ask a few questions. If you answer well, I'll give you one candy each."
The group of little brats immediately surrounded him. "Ask us! Ask us!"
"Alright, first question. Where did all the adults in the village go?"
"I know! I know!"
"Me too!"
All the children raised their hands eagerly. Kaito picked the cheekiest-looking one—the kid who reminded him of himself.
"All the grown-ups in the village went to work for Lord Darlock."
Kaito handed the boy a candy. "Does anyone know what kind of work they're doing?"
All the children shook their heads. Kaito asked again, "Have you heard anything about bandits nearby?"
The kids shook their heads once more. "Nope."
Kaito gave all the candies to the children. "Your answers were good. Here, go share them."
"Woo!" The kids cheered and ran off happily to divide the sweets.
Erza looked at Kaito curiously. "Did asking those questions really help?"
Kaito closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded. "I have a rough guess. Looking at this village, it's not rich, but it's not poor either. Yet there's not a single able-bodied young adult here. Isn't that the perfect target for bandits?"
"But the village is completely peaceful. If I'm not mistaken, that guy just wants us to handle some shady private matter for him."
"Let's go. I want to check the mountain road."
Kaito and Erza headed to the mountain road. As a proper former village tyrant who had spent his time hunting in the mountains and fishing in the river, Kaito's tracking skills were maxed out. No prey he set his eyes on had ever escaped. Soon, he discovered some faint traces.
Following those clues, Kaito and Erza arrived at an extremely remote valley.
Erza was stunned by the sight before her. Inside the valley were rows of crude, shabby houses. Men and women, all sharing the same features: pale, malnourished faces, ragged clothes, and iron shackles around their necks, wrists, and ankles.
The familiar scene triggered a painful memory in Erza's mind. Her face turned pale as she hugged her own shoulders, her body trembling. "This is…"
"These must be the 'bandits' Darlock mentioned."
The people in the valley naturally noticed the two unexpected visitors. They immediately grew tense, grabbing crude weapons and surrounding Kaito and Erza.
"Who are you?! Why are you here?"
Kaito raised both hands to show he meant no harm and said, "We are mages from the Fairy Tail guild. We accepted Darlock's request to exterminate the bandits and came to investigate."
The moment they heard Darlock's name, everyone became agitated. Hatred burned in their eyes.
"Darlock! That damn demon called us bandits! He's the biggest and worst thief! One day I'll kill him with my own hands!"
"Are you his accomplices?"
Kaito waved his hand. "No way! Do I look like I'd work with that fat pig? I'm a partner of justice."
"If you're willing to tell us the situation, I'm a proper mage from an official guild. If needed, I can accept a new request to help you."
The people exchanged glances. Kaito and Erza were clearly just a boy and a girl, not much older than many of their own children. Could they really be trusted?
Suddenly, an elderly man stepped forward. "If we're going to talk, then let me do it."
"Village Chief?!"
The old man raised his hand. "We can't keep hiding forever. My family is waiting for me. Today I was found by two children. Tomorrow it might be Darlock's men. This may be our last hope."