Reincarnated in a Light Novel

The first mission is done, though Eclair felt it was a shame to burn every single piece of the demon whole along with the old woman. 

He wanted to get some demon to sell but since nothing survived he couldn't sell it to the Association. 

"Well, I guess that's a wrap."

He checked every single villager with the possibility of being controlled by another demon. He didn't take any chance, the whole body of the demon may have been burned but there might be a chance for it to be still alive by some sort of other host. 

It was unfortunate but the Elderly woman's grandchild, Iro, was under the demon's control too. He was found… expired near the outskirts of their house. 

After checking each villager who survived inside their homes and found nothing unusual, Eclair decided to burn every single worm he could find to prevent some sort of incarnation.

He was thanked by the villagers for his effort which he received with welcome. After that, he set off on another mission, the sighting of a demon in a village. 

Eclair didn't want to linger long, he was on a time limit and thankfully the entire ordeal was done in a day, though it was quite dark already so going to his next destination would probably happen at dawn. 

Nonetheless, as he ventured to the night he was careful, demons may not be something that can happen to someone quite often but they attack when you least expect it. 

Eclair also pondered, that the village back then had no concrete road, and despite the world already being advanced some people wouldn't have the same luxury as those in more developed cities. 

Maybe it's because of the higher-ups, not deeming those in the backwater villages and towns that much of value if it's some other reason, Eclair didn't know. 

To save some energy and as some form of rest, Eclair would walk slowly while keeping his Senses peeled open. He might feel some presence around him but most of them are lingering, which is a telltale sign of bugs and small rodents. 

His travels were long and fortunately, he didn't encounter any demons. That kind of luck is something a protagonist would have. Once he could see the village from the horizon he decided to slow down and walk.

Once he reached the next destination, which was also a village, he was immediately spotted by a guard at the gate. Unlike before, people there met him with smiles. 

Eclair involuntarily pursed his lips but as fast as it appeared, it vanished. He walked up to the two folks who were walking up to him.

"Welcome, young sorcerer!"

It was strange that he was immediately recognized but he didn't point that out, instead, Eclair decided to smile in front of them. 

"Thank you for the warm welcome."

Eclair thanked them and the two folks, both women, smiled at him. However, Eclair could see some tension lingering. 

"Come, we've prepared a feast in your honour."

'My honor?'

Eclair was clearly suspicious, they knew who he was far away and they were tense in their welcome. They're trying hard not to offend him. 

Eclair hoped they knew that he was a sorcerer because he was running fast from a distance. Because he couldn't see any towers here to see that he ran fast and slowed as he neared the village. 

Or is it some sort of paranoia? Eclair chalked it up to that, maybe he was paranoid. He walked along behind the two women. 

They went within a house without much of a fuss and what greeted Eclair was rows of villagers sitting at a long table filled with food. 

Eclair pretended to be happy, the tension was palpable and Eclair wasn't glad to be here at all. Weren't sorcerers supposed to be trustworthy?

Eclair could understand why the last village was depressing, some sort of demon was doing some shenanigans that made them depressed. 

He sometimes wonders if he left the previous village too soon, Eclair shakes his head, he was on a time limit and he had to do it this week. 

The main objective is to get used to facing demons alone. Which is a good way for him to acclimate to miasma when he gets out of the Academy. 

Though Eclair was having second thoughts. 

Eclair sat down at the table he was presented with. An old man at his side started to announce. 

"We present our harvest as a thank you for your arrival, young sorcerer."

After that, the villagers try their best to cheer lively. Eclair was having a hard time keeping up his facade and raised a hand for them to stop, they did slowly. 

"Let us eat, after that, I'd like to have a conversation with the village chief."

Eclair glanced at the old man before settling down to eat. It was chicken, some alcohol and vegetables. 

Eclair wanted to refuse and not eat at all but if the villagers are sincere in wanting the demon in their midst dead, then it's best to just accept this. 

He took one chicken drumstick and ate it up. Eclair wasn't that eager though, the villagers were just eating porridge and that left a bland taste in his mouth. 

He had the chicken set aside and passed it to the village chief, pointing at the next person at his side. "pass it around." The old man looked at him with wide eyes but didn't question it. 

Eclair just ate the chicken drumstick and ate some vegetables. He didn't particularly find it fun eating the food that was clearly there to appease him. 

Besides, he wasn't here for this. He was here for the demon sighting investigation. The more time he spends, the more time the demon will lurk around. 

'That's a bad thing, isn't it?'

Fortunately, against his paranoia, the food isn't tampered with. Though Eclair felt some sort of disappointment, it seems he felt like it was a waste of opportunity to use his art to see if it worked with his body. 

Eclair met with the Village chief and they both walked around the village. The old man taking slow steps. 

"The demon we saw about a few months ago is the same demon we have reported. Another Sorcerer tried to deal with it before but… we were unfortunate…"

"Hmm… can you describe the demon?"

"It was a small man with a fish for a head."

"... Just that?"

The old man tensed at Eclair's words "I-It's about as tall as a four or five-year-old child." he stammered. 

"No… no… What I mean is there are no other notable features?"

"I'm sorry Sorcerer… the Demon is always at the outskirts of the forest. It always stays there so we don't know—"

The Village chief's words were cut off after someone was heard audibly screaming. It wasn't just yelling in the distance, it was an aggressive and violent scream. 

"What is that?"

"That's… the fisherman… he lost his daughter a few days back and now he's completely lost it."

"... I see."

A man lost in grief, Eclair could understand that. Though he could hear it at such a distance because of his enhanced capabilities he could tell the man was annoyed more than anything. 

"Let's continue talking about the demon."

There was a river nearby, Eclair hasn't memorized the map yet so he doesn't know if it's one of the rivers that connects to the ocean.