The Demon Saint is Missing, so I Ran to Another World

The Land of Cherflammen (Part 1)

**Greg**

This was...the weirdest sleep I ever did since I was born.

"..."

Imagine, you're surrounded by the undead, yet you're still able to sleep soundly that those who were dead actually thought you just died. Perhaps I was utterly exhausted from all my travels lately, yes, but it felt really weird that the zombies—I mean, ghouls—were keeping watch of the bedroom for you, instead of trying to claw their way in, and eat your brains.

Oh, and not only that, they also brought in my breakfast earlier, straight to my bed.

"How did you have food here when you said before that you don't eat?"

"Ah, we would have 'living' visitors from time to time, see?" Vitalis said. "This region is nearby the Chersea-Cherflammen crossing, and if you're not careful with the shifting desert paths, you'd end up here."

"Err...so this is...?" I think I've read on some weird website before that human flesh was tasty. And the meat I was eating right now was...tasty.

"No! No!" the ghoul leader chuckled. "It's not what you think it is! As I said, there would be 'living' people who would get lost in our forest, so we decided to raise fowl and do some farming to provide food for them. It also helps our economy by having something to trade with the other cities...just don't let the others know where it came from because of the stigma."

He pointed his decaying finger towards the window, where a bunch of coops were placed quite a distance away from his house.

"..."

Somehow, I felt bad listening to Vitalis' story. I mean, these dead folks were just trying to be good Samaritans, and yet, they were often misunderstood...

Yep, and that includes me.

"Well, looks like you had a good snooze, laddie!" Vitalis commented. He motioned to his servant to give me a set of clothes, "After you eat, you may change into these; those 'human' clothes you wear won't take you far on the harsh desert journey."

"Ah, thanks for having me," I expressed my gratitude with a smile. "And my apologies for misunderstanding your intentions."

"Not to worry; we ghouls just wanted to help," he winked at me. "We're tough folks, too...maybe because our hearts are not beating anymore, that we don't get offended. Either way, it's jolly good. The ghouls only wanted to do business and charity; at least, let's be clear on that."

Speaking of ghouls, I noticed that—though their bodies were decaying—there was no rotten smell. Nor there were maggots feasting on their diseased flesh. Their skin was dry and discolored—either sticking to their bones, or hanging loose from it. There were wounds and lacerations that were 'fresh', I could still see some blood and pus oozing from it.

If I may describe these folks in two words, I think 'almost mummified' would greatly fit them.

Also, Vitalis' house wasn't your typical run-down, spider web-filled, dirty manor; it's actually clean and in order. One could tell that the ghoul lord was really a lord when he was still alive.

Though I guess I won't ask for the story of his life for now...

"..."

Well, of course, I'd just look away while I was eating. It's still quite disgusting and freaky when you eat with a walking cadaver nearby. But, I had to do it discreetly; I don't want to offend my kind host.

"Ah, shoot!" Vitalis suddenly exclaimed.

"Hm? Something wrong?"

"I know it's kind of late to ask you this laddie, but where are you heading, anyway?"