Volume 5 Chapter 1 New Village
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I’ve been shuttling back and forth between the capital and the village a lot, dealing with all sorts of trivial matters. Used to feel like a grand journey just to go to the capital, but once you get used to the road, it’s just a 2-hour horsefolk trot one way. Not that far, really. Just a distance you can easily travel in a day.
I sort of made the summoned Heroes, Justice and Musashi, my slaves, even though it’s not exactly how it went down. Needed to square things with the Hero Management Bureau about their treatment. There’s a whole bunch of messy paperwork, but in the end, Miss Floria took care of it for me.
A smart partner is a must-have, but Miss Floria is too damn good. The official in charge was just spewing out words like a machine gun, not really listening to me, so I was stuck. But she convinced the guy in just a few minutes.
Scarily enough, the guy didn’t even realize he’d been persuaded. He thought he’d made all the decisions himself, like a teacher guiding his thoughts, and he was thrilled in the end.
It was like magic or hypnosis or something. But as far as I could tell, Miss Floria didn’t use any skills or magic at all. She’s got that extra-skill, maybe? Sharp mind, rich knowledge, great observation strength, and insight strength, plus persuasion strength – she’s got it all, no blind spots. I fell for her all over again. What could such an amazing woman possibly see in a guy like me?
Shea-Shea tagged along to the capital to help with paperwork and stuff, and for some reason, Miss Floria took a liking to her right away. Next thing you know, Shea-Shea’s her apprentice. Shea-Shea and Ms. Nina are like sister-apprentices now. For a commoner’s daughter to become a noble’s apprentice – it’s like something out of a story, super lucky. Shea-Shea was so happy she looked like she could fly.
I decided to be a pest at Miss Floria’s mansion while waiting for the Hero Bureau’s paperwork. Time’s precious, so I’ll do what I can in the capital: hunt for books written in ancient script, gather info on the Doll Keeper’s Dungeon. With Ms. Nina’s deadline looming, I’m getting antsy. Given the doll princess’s lifespan, she could give out any moment now.
Thanks to Miss Floria’s silver tongue, it seems like I’ve been credited with arresting Justice and Musashi on the Hero Bureau’s request. The two, now slaves, spilled their sins to clear their names. It’s backward, but it still counts as villain-slaying. So, all’s well that ends well.
As for Mr. Laken’s quest, they’ve accepted that I was using the alias “Justice” from the start. Two Justices? No big deal──it’s not a game. Different Guild Cards, same name? No problem. But the Hero Bureau’s power lets them bend the rules as they please. They need that muscle to keep the summoned Heroes in line.
Now I’ve got another Guild ID on my hands. It’s like having a sock puppet account in an online game──people use ’em to play with multiple characters or scam others. I’ve never bothered because real money’s too precious. But with some tricks, you could pull off all sorts of sneaky stuff.
In this world, folks with no-name status, like spies, use fake names too──it’s not illegal. I thought being a mysterious hero with an alias was cool, but they drove that idea straight into the ground with a warning not to abuse it.
* * *
Now, I finally took care of all the small stuff in the capital. Might be away for a while, so I stopped by to say goodbye to Ms. Hóa. She gave me some rice, almost like she was hurrying me along. A bit odd, but I’m grateful. Rice is a special treat for me now. Shea-Shea’s staying with Miss Floria to learn the trade, while I rush back to Toyata village.
Just outside the capital gates, I remembered an old promise to visit Mr. Kondou. Never set a date, just said “eventually.”
Guess that works. It’s full-on winter now. Even wrapped in leather, the cold seeps in. The water’s frozen, so it must be below freezing. But the wall barley is still nice and green. Tough plant, that.
I ride Ms. Claire through the streets, passing carts and horses. Guess centaurs are naturally faster than horses. Not that anyone’s racing seriously, or they’d be toast.
Riding keeps me warm enough, but my ears are another story. They hurt. Ms. Nina’s got a stylish fur hat. Ms. Claire and Ms. Joa seem unfazed by the cold. Maybe I’ll make myself some quail-feather earmuffs when I get back to the village.
With the tailwind, we reached Toyata village in no time. At this rate, a full sprint might take less than an hour. But, gotta think about other travelers’ safety. No need to push it.
Back at the blacksmith’s, Mr. Mauro was there, which is rare. Perfect chance to talk about Shea-Shea’s apprenticeship.
* * *
”I got something important to discuss.”
Mr. Zenom led me to his rarely-used study. I was hoping for a nice, warm soup break. Instead, we sit at a polished wooden table – Mr. Zenom, Mr. Mauro, Ms. Nina, and me. Wonder what this is about?
”The village head’s people are after my life.”
Mr. Mauro spoke with a nervous tone. Again, the same kind of trouble. Just thinking about it makes me tired. Lately, the fight among the Toyata village factions has been getting worse. It’s partly my fault, and I feel responsible. Miss Floria says enemies should be crushed quickly under the law──no mercy. But I can’t be that cold to people I know well.
”Shea-Shea took care of things properly, so I don’t think Mr. Laken will do anything strange.”
”For now, Laken is staying quiet. The troublemakers are a small, radical group. Shea is clever but still inexperienced. She only understands strength in her head, not how power really works.”
At present, Toyata village is secretly splitting. Two sides──village head supporters and the Hero faction──are fighting behind the scenes. Shea-Shea becoming my fiancée made things more complicated. Her father, Mr. Mauro, got pushed to the top of the Hero faction. If I marry Shea-Shea, Mr. Mauro will be my father-in-law. Family in a strange world… it feels kind of deep and strange.
Mr. Mauro has always been a secret boss of the village head side. Now it’s even more complicated. To the village head faction, he’s a traitor──an insider turned enemy.
I heard Mr. Laken is skimming taxes close to the line for the lord. He’s also had issues with the guild and church over land lease deals. No matter who it is, Mr. Laken always pursues his own profit. Mr. Mauro advises him on legal matters. He handles contracts and legal stuff──more than just writing letters. Basically, he’s like a lawyer or a scrivener.
He didn’t just lend his wisdom; he even took charge of the outcast tax collectors, supporting Mr. Laken from the shadows for years. Mr. Laken and Mr. Mauro are said to be childhood friends. They used to talk passionately about making the village better when they were young – seems like they had that kind of relationship.
”Shea should’ve gone all the way and enslaved Laken’s family to make me village head. If she couldn’t do that, she shouldn’t have gone against Laken.”
Mr. Mauro sure says some scary stuff. Does he want to be village head that badly?
”I’m not that interested in the position of village head, but I need to make it clear who’s on top to avoid trouble. Sometimes, a strong person’s kindness is mistaken for weakness, and good intentions can spark unnecessary fights – that’s a lesson from history.”
Mr. Mauro’s words are tough, but I kind of get it. It means my kindness could lead to fights. I’ve been reminded of that this time, and it feels like I could make the same mistake again. I can’t just come to another world and be strict right away – it’s not me.
”Before Sir Hero came, Laken had quite a bit of popularity among the villagers.”
Mr. Laken’s biggest achievement was expanding the wheat storage warehouse at the village head’s mansion. It’s a simple story, but it was important for the village.
Wall barley brings rich harvests even if you do nothing, but you still have to gather and store it to eat. Around Toyata village, wall barley grows as far as the eye can see in early summer, but only a small part is eaten in the village. Most of it goes to waste, used as food for the quails – a real shame.
Wall barley is just like weeds. You can harvest as much as you want. Though it seems like the villagers near the village cut it down before we can get to it. (Laughs) It’s all about luck, really. No one wants to hike too far, so once the village storehouse is full, they stop gathering. Then, by mid-summer, all the untouched barley drops its ears and becomes unharvestable.
Until Mr. Laken built more storehouses, the village food storage could only hold the bare minimum needed to survive. In the old days, before the Demon Lord’s army attacks, there was a strict limit on food stockpiling set by the kingdom. It was to prevent any rebellion, you see. Food supplies are strategic goods, after all.
Even after the restrictions were lifted to fight the Demon Lord, people’s lives stayed the same, and the food storage didn’t increase. Part of it might be because wall barley, a gift from the Goddess, was managed in a sort of primitive communism. If you ran out, you just borrowed some. I’m not knocking communism, but I guess I just didn’t get along with the folks in Toyata village. No one took action, and everyone stayed hungry.
In the midst of this, Mr. Laken noticed the remains of an old food storage on his estate. It was from when Toyata village was a fortress, long before the Goddess brought us wall barley. As village head, he used his authority to rebuild the storage, making it possible to stockpile enough wheat for several years.
Whether Mr. Laken was trying to save the villagers from starvation or just wanted to spruce up his estate, I can’t say. Either way, it seems he’s making a decent profit selling the stored wheat to merchants.
Wall barley is super cheap in this world. But from winter to spring, food can get scarce, so the price of wheat goes up. In big cities like the capital, there are plenty of people who don’t bother to harvest it themselves and just buy it instead.
In the end, Mr. Laken made money, and the villagers had to go farther to cut barley, but at least they stopped going hungry.
Many villagers treat Mr. Laken as a hero. He’s the village head, the strongest fighter here, and runs the Adventurer Guild branch. But usually, the village head and guild branch boss are the same person in most villages.
”But then suddenly, Sir Hero showed up, and everything changed.”
”Did I do something wrong?”
”It’s scary not to realize it yourself. Even nobles praised you──remember how you threw around expensive perfumes without hesitation?”
Yeah, I remember. Not a big deal, but the villagers liked it so much I got carried away and handed out more.
”Was bringing in foreign customs so easily a bad thing?”
”Luxury is like a drug. Once you taste it, you can’t go back. We realized our lives had been boring.”
Boring lives might be a bit much. Toyata Village’s food has almost no salt, but it’s a part of our traditional culture──and I hope we keep it that way. I personally don’t eat it, though.
Still, salt and protein together are surprisingly powerful. Just one salty piece of torimham gives the village bread a decent taste. It’s pretty good. But too much salt isn’t healthy. If your diet was fine all these years, it’s not wise to suddenly change everything.
Sure, as Mauro says, tasty food might be like a drug. Once you get used to rich flavors, plain food is tough. I never thought that torimham would split the village or cause conflict… Guess I did something wrong.
”Laken can’t really be blamed. He’s put so much into protecting the village. But with Sir Hero suddenly so popular, it’s understandable he’d feel left out. Even without Anita’s situation, conflicts probably would have come.”
”I didn’t mean for it to be like that with Ani-Ani.”
”I get it, but here’s the deal: the village head’s gang says Sir Hero’s corrupt for gold, while Hero’s fans trash Laken for being ungrateful. It’s all just silly rumors blowing everyone off course.”
I don’t care about the gold or any of that. Should I have just kept my mouth shut, worked for free, and laughed it off like some storybook hero?
”About Ani-Ani, what does Mr. Mauro think?”
”Laken’s crime was demanding the Dragon God’s Herb, a treasure beyond his station. Even nobles don’t dare defy fate. As village head, he should’ve been ready to cut his losses, even his granddaughter.”
Saying we should cut Ani-Ani loose… that’s harsh. Would this guy say the same if his own Shea-Shea was dying? If you can save someone you love, you’d go to any lengths, right? Wait, is Mr. Laken not so bad?
”Sir Hero’s sin was not delivering the herb directly. People are grateful when helped, but they still penny-pinch by morning. That’s just how humans are. Laken’s no more ungrateful than anyone else.”
I got my ass handed to me too. I had Ms. Joa send the Dragon God’s Herb because I wanted to heal Ani-Ani as fast as I could. But looking back, it would’ve been fine if it arrived the next day. People don’t scheme while they’re truly grateful. Maybe if I’d done things Mr. Mauro’s way, we all would’ve lived happily ever after.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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