Cold, damp, desolate.
This was Goki's first impression after entering Saltwind City.
After the Inquisitor's interrogation, Goki and Skadi followed Hearth's guidance to the area where they would be staying.
"We'll be living in the north of the city for now. Most people have left, so there are many empty houses you can choose from, Hunter. I'll find a big house for you."
Hearth and the other devout Iberia citizens were immensely grateful to Goki, their savior who prevented them from being taken away by the Inquisitor, and their benefactor who kept them from straying.
Especially after Goki provided them with a meal's worth of rations, they immediately volunteered to find a house for Goki and Skadi.
It's said that 'when the granaries are full, people know etiquette; when food and clothing are sufficient, people know honor and shame.' But for the residents of Saltwind City, who constantly teetered on the brink of starvation, to share a mouthful of food with outsiders was akin to being a living Saint, on par with an Inquisitor.
"No need for such trouble, we just need a place to stay."
Goki and Skadi, meanwhile, followed their guide closely, observing the city.
Saltwind City was a mobile city built decades ago, so it didn't have many modern high-rise buildings. Instead, there were mostly white bungalows, with two or three-story houses occasionally visible.
Because it was originally an immigrant ship used to explore the ocean, the city didn't show many industrial areas filled with machinery. Most of it consisted of densely packed residential buildings.
Saltwind City was clearly much smaller than Lungmen in the main storyline. The city had no inner or outer rings, only a few simple main roads. It was more like a town than a large city.
The streets on both sides were exceptionally narrow. The cement-like road underfoot, though old and in disrepair, thanks to Terra's Materials science, only had a few cracks occasionally and no moss, just a simple dampness typical of a coastal area.
Of course, this was normal for a coastal city. Goki, having grown up by the sea, knew that so-called 'sea-view' properties were just a scam.
Real estate bosses would only show you blue skies and clear seas, never letting you know how terrible it was when a storm surge arrived.
This might also be why the exteriors of the houses here were all painted white; at least they looked drier.
However, none of this was the main point. Saltwind City lacked something a town should have: a sense of human life.
Along the way, the houses Goki and Skadi saw were either empty and bare, or their doors were tightly shut, with only curious and wary gazes peering out from the darkness.
It was said that there were still a few hundred living people left in Saltwind City, scattered throughout the city. However, along the way, Goki and Skadi truly only saw a few frail old people who were not afraid to come out and look at the outsiders.
For them, death was a natural process that didn't need to be avoided.
Although it was already an overcast day, this desolate and eerie atmosphere made Goki involuntarily think of Yarnam.
"But at least they're not as enthusiastic as the bonfire-loving folks. Those bastards would want to gang up on me if they saw me."
Recalling his experience as a newbie, being ambushed and killed by despicable locals hiding in every nook and cranny when he first entered Yharnam, Goki couldn't help but sigh.
Indeed, this Saltwind City was very unsettling.
"We're here, Hunter. This is the largest empty house. We all live nearby. Go two streets ahead, the second house is mine. If you need anything, you can find me. Everyone will be willing to help you and your wife."
Patting his chest, which was so thin that his ribs were visible, Hearth looked at Goki with enthusiasm.
"Well, I'm going back. I still need to take the meat to Wooden Frame. My wife left with the children a long time ago. I stayed to take care of my father, and then he left too. I treat Wooden Frame as my own child, yes, a child."
Clutching the dried meat in his pocket, the man, who usually wasn't very articulate, seemed to fall into a reverie. His brown eyes briefly lost focus, and he began to mumble.
But in an instant, he returned to his usual demeanor and gave them a sheepish smile.
"Alright, go do what you need to do—next time, there won't be free food. You'll have to pay extra."
Goki waved his hand, and the man calling himself Hearth immediately ran eagerly towards his home.
"It's alright, Hunter. Saltwind City has everything except food—tomorrow is Sunday, you can come with us to the church to pray."
Soon, Hearth's figure disappeared at the end of the street.
"Ha, this city is beyond hope. It's better to move out early."
Goki sighed, both for these abandoned poor people and for this once prosperous city.
As the ocean gradually stopped producing food, Saltwind City rapidly declined. Everyone's energy was focused on finding food, so it was naturally impossible to have teachers or scholars.
After just one generation, the residents here had almost forgotten the knowledge and culture of Iberia, even using the simplest methods for naming themselves: Hearth, Wall Ash, Tin Plate... no different from calling someone Er Gou or Tie Dan.
Then, Goki looked at the red-dressed girl beside him, who had been behaving obediently, and a smile reappeared on his face.
"Alright, Skadi, stop pretending. No one's here now."
From the very beginning, Skadi had been very well-behaved, staying by Goki's side without saying a word, trying her best to act as a background.
"I wasn't pretending. I don't really like crowds. When there are too many people, I don't like to talk. Besides, I don't understand what they're saying."
Clutching the weapon case containing the greatsword, Skadi also let out a soft sigh. Putting aside the language barrier, she genuinely didn't like crowds.
"Leaving is indeed a good choice, but one's homeland... not everyone has the courage to leave it voluntarily."
If she could, Skadi would also not want to leave her homeland.
However, even without this ultimate battle, Skadi had no one left to care for in her hometown.
Blinking, Skadi shook the strange thoughts from her mind.
"And... I don't know if it's my imagination, but I feel like this city isn't quite normal."
Of course, just now, Skadi hadn't just been a good girl; she had been carefully observing this coastal city.
"I don't understand land-dwellers very well, and you said you're different from them, so I can't use you, Goki, as a standard to judge other citizens."
Recalling the 'bandits' she encountered at the beginning of their journey, and then the other Saltwind City residents she occasionally saw, Skadi hadn't noticed any obvious abnormalities, but she always felt something was amiss.
"However, I always feel a familiar, abnormal aura here—at least, the feeling these citizens give me is different from that of the Inquisitors."
Hearing Skadi's words, Goki also nodded solemnly.
The residents of Saltwind City would be chosen as sacrifices to feed the Seaborn, just like the residents of Innsmouth. The Abyssal Cult, which worshipped the Seaborn, had infiltrated every aspect of the city.
Although Goki was currently long before the main storyline, who knew if Saltwind City had already been infiltrated by the Abyssal Cult?
"Yes, be more careful. Although those Inquisitors will cause us trouble, they are, to some extent, an official force of Iberia. The danger isn't with them."
Turning around, Goki walked towards the two-story house behind him. Although the main door was a bit old, at least it could be closed.
"Goki, you noticed too. Those Inquisitors wouldn't relax their guard around us."
Skadi's gaze subtly swept towards a plain chimney not far away. Pretending not to have noticed anything, she followed behind Goki.
The young Inquisitor was well hidden, but clearly, for two top-tier Hunters, this level of hide-and-seek skill was nothing.
A simple inquiry wouldn't make the Inquisitor relax his guard against two outsiders.
"This at least indicates that these people are indeed protecting the safety of the citizens, it's just that they can't fill the citizens' stomachs."
Click.
When Goki twisted the doorknob, he found the house door was tightly shut and couldn't be opened.
"Ah, this again. Wait, there must be another entrance on the other side. I'll open the door from there."
Goki sighed. He was already used to these 'doors that can't be opened from this side' in Yarnam and instinctively planned to go around the back of the house.
The next second, a loud bang came from behind Goki.
Crash—Bang!
"It's just a locked house, why would there be another entrance?"
Turning around, Goki saw Skadi lift her red skirt, raise her fair leg, and kick the door open.
"Ah... occupational habit, occupational habit. We Yharnamites are used to going through back doors."
Goki chuckled awkwardly twice, scratching his head a little sheepishly, and followed Skadi's footsteps into the dim room.
Only Yharnamites would like to have one-way doors everywhere.
"Hmm... not bad. Let's tidy up and rest for tonight. It's best not to stay in this place for too long."
Opening the window, letting the cool sea breeze blow into the musty room, Skadi clapped her hands, shaking off some iron filings. She looked at the empty room and nodded with satisfaction.
"Hmm, it's really not bad... the room is big, we can live comfortably."
Goki also nodded—this room seemed to only have one double bed.
"Yay! Three people sleeping together!"
"Kind Hunter, please don't include me."
Of course, someone wasn't so happy.