Home/The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief of Exile/ch 23

Chapter 23

The makeshift subspace pocket.

Inspired by Verity's subspace pocket, it was a technique that connected the inside of my pocket to an empty room in our house, allowing me to store various items.

'Opening and closing ultimately means connecting spaces.'

And then, a further application.

'This is the real important part.'

A small door installed in one corner of the office.

Behind it were stairs leading to the basement. The interior was still under construction, but it was intended to be a guest room for special visitors.

A guest room like a prison, full of iron bars, where no one could leave without the owner's permission.

'But if I use the opening and closing ability...'

I slowly steadied my breath, grabbed the handle, and turned it to the right.

Click—.

At the familiar signal, the corner of my mouth lifted.

When I opened the door, Flora's room in the Deste mansion appeared.

The bleak and desolate room was so unpleasant that I wanted to resurrect the dead Viscount of Deste just to kill him again.

"You've finally succeeded."

Verity, who had come to stand beside me, offered his congratulations.

"To celebrate, I'll use this handkerchief to stop your nosebleed."

Verity firmly pinched my nose, which was dripping with blood.

"Your ability has improved considerably."

"Reawy?"

I asked in a nasal voice, and Verity grinned and said yes.

"At least you didn't faint. And you don't seem to be in pain."

Indeed, I only felt a slight fatigue, no pain or discomfort.

Plus, the nosebleed stopped quickly.

"It seems creating a 'passage' connecting the Deste mansion and Exilium is the maximum you can handle without straining your body."

Verity said, removing the handkerchief.

"Well done. Excellent."

"......"

Embarrassed by the praise, I fidgeted with my nose.

Either way, Exilium now had a safe route connecting it to the outside.

Now we could go to the Deste territory anytime.

'But for a while, we should still use the primeval forest regularly.'

All the villagers possessed tremendous aptitudes.

Knights, archmages, shrine dancers, and more. We couldn't let these precious aptitudes go to waste.

After a few rounds with the monsters, they too would become as strong as Ian.

'At least they should learn basic self-defense.'

This wasn't a decision made with revolution in mind.

Therefore.

"We need to hold a village assembly. I'll summon everyone under my command to discuss future plans."

"My Lady sure does love power."

With that, Verity returned to his paperwork.

---

The next day.

The first village assembly was held.

The venue was the basement conference hall.

All thirteen residents were present.

"The first agenda item."

Uncle Modi, the facilitator, spoke.

"Identifying those who wish to awaken the aptitudes revealed during the health checkup. Please raise your hands if you want to train."

Eleven residents raised their hands.

There were thirteen residents in total.

The two who didn't raise their hands were me and Flora, so all the adults had raised theirs.

'Aggressive determination—very good.'

Libby, appointed as secretary, raised her left hand and diligently moved it.

"The second agenda item. A proposal from the village chief: how about opening classes where we teach each other our hobbies or specialties?"

"I, the master of this village and your ruler, will explain."

"That's not what a village chief is."

Ignoring Ian's nagging, I stood up on my chair.

"Exilium Village must prosper. Why? So that when the Emperor later finds out, he'll be sick with envy."

The residents nodded in agreement.

"I will actively encourage the villagers' welfare and cultural activities. These seemingly unprofitable pursuits are precisely what can be enjoyed when you don't have to worry about food—they elevate the quality of life."

"My Lady, you just explained human needs theory in a very cheap and precise way."

Soon, the villagers shared their past hobbies.

"I used to knit. I can also do bobbin lace."

"I used to live off illustration commissions with my older sisters..."

"I played the violin. I worked in an orchestra. I can also play the piano to some extent."

A look of longing bloomed on the villagers' faces. They seemed to be recalling the days before they were framed, when they enjoyed their ordinary lives.

'Good, this is the reaction I wanted.'

"To learn how to live like ordinary people, they need to rediscover the joy of life through hobbies like this."

Soon, several villagers volunteered to open classes.

"We'll install a suggestion box, so please write down what classes you'd like to take. Topics not mentioned today are also welcome."

And so the first village assembly ended.

"Doesn't it feel like we're really living now?"

"Definitely. I almost teared up."

"Let's look around the village hall before we go."

"Did you see the library? There are so many books..."

Eavesdropping on the residents' reactions as they left the conference room, I grinned.

'Maybe I have a talent for being village chief?'

As I hummed and reviewed the meeting minutes Libby had written, Aunt Elva came to me.

"Aunt Elva, the apothecary who whispers death."

"Y-you memorized that...?"

Aunt Elva blushed, still embarrassed by her aptitude.

"Because I'm the village chief!"

It was the village chief's duty to know the residents' information.

Aunt Elva looked at me with a proud expression.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you something. Do you plan to go outside again?"

"Not right away, but yes, I do."

"Then could you take me with you?"

"Outside?"

I was surprised.

'Is the welfare effect already working?'

Such proactive attitude—very desirable.

"I've been worried about the herbs being funneled to the capital. If this continues, herb prices will skyrocket..."

"A disease that could be cured with one dose could end up killing people."

Aunt Elva nodded with a somber expression.

"So, what do you think about distributing the herbs we have?"

"Wouldn't selling them be better than giving them away? Of course, the price would be based on standard over-the-counter medicines sold in the market."

Honestly, I was glad she came to me with this suggestion.

'It means the villagers are finally at ease.'

Of course, even during the harsh exile days, they were such good people that they always put me first.

"Giving them away for free isn't good. It devalues the labor you put into making the medicine."

"Th-that's true..."

"We also have to consider the possibility of abuse. People could resell them at a higher price, or extort you by claiming side effects and demanding compensation."

I explained with specific examples, and Aunt Elva smiled weakly.

"You're so sharp, Hebenia."

"I'm sorry for being presumptuous. But this is just a suggestion. The decision is yours—these are Dulcevia herbs you found."

If I or anyone else had found them first, those precious herbs would have been treated like weeds and pulled out, left to wither and rot.

"No, Hebenia. You're right."

Aunt Elva said.

"There's no harm in being cautious."

"Then I'll let you know once we set a date to go out."

"Thank you for the consultation."

"Because I'm the village chief."

The conversation with Aunt Elva was a very meaningful time for me as well.

---

"I want to take control of the Deste territory."

"My Lady, even if you got lost somewhere, you'd stand out right away. Your very way of thinking is just so Clavis."

"That's an insult, right? Today, Ian oppa said I'm becoming more and more like a villain—is it the same vein?"

"Fortunately, mine has more of a compliment to it."

"So there is some concern too."

Verity and I were playing chess. More precisely, Verity was teaching me, who knew absolutely nothing about chess.

"But why the Deste territory?"

"The Viscount of Deste is dead."

A week had passed since we visited the Deste territory.

The Viscount of Deste was dead, and the demon and two human rats he summoned had been dealt with.

So what would happen to the crimes they committed?

"I'm worried about the Chief Chamberlain and the imperial knights outside the primeval forest."

"Because you think they'll find the bodies?"

"I'm worried they'll make the bodies disappear without a trace."

"Ah..."

Verity nodded slowly.

"Well, given what happened to Daliss-nim..."

"I still remember the mountain of corpses we saw that day."

"It was horrific."

"I hate their ruthless efficiency—killing innocent people so easily for their goals."

Aunt Daliss was greatly saddened by the news of the employees' deaths. Her testimony that they were all ordinary people made it even more tragic.

'In the end, they were no different from our village family.'

They were innocent victims caught up in something they knew nothing about.

"The Emperor will surely send people."

"To cover it up?"

"Shouldn't we see for ourselves how they clean it up to figure out the Emperor's intentions?"

"Even if you see, you might not understand."

"Even so, it's the best we can do for now. The Deste territory is our only link to the Emperor."

"Hmm..."

Verity crossed his arms and let out a thoughtful groan.

The demon stared at the chessboard, which had long since stopped moving.

"...To be honest, I do wish you would take the Deste territory, my Lady."

"Right? Of course, right?"

"I'm curious how the Viscount of Deste knew about Daliss-nim's birth. She didn't even know herself, did she?"

"She said she found out during the succession ceremony."

A few days ago.

After I told her what had happened in the Deste territory, Aunt Daliss had said this to me.

"I think my father was a demon. I grew up with my widowed mother and never met him. My mother never spoke of him either."

"Did you never once think you were a demon hybrid, Auntie?"

"Not at all."

According to Aunt Daliss, she met the Viscount of Deste through an acquaintance when she was living in the capital.

'That meeting might have been orchestrated too.'

All circumstances and suspicions always pointed to the Emperor.

'I will meet him someday. And we will inevitably clash.'

So before that, I needed to gather as much information about the Emperor as possible.

To that end, we absolutely had to take control of the Deste territory.

'And we have a certain legitimacy.'

Flora, the Viscount of Deste's very own bloodline, was alive.

'With the daughter alive and well, we should naturally inherit it, shouldn't we?'

Therefore.

"Verity, can you do hypnosis or brainwashing?"

To control whoever the Emperor sent, I needed such underhanded methods.

"Ah, well..."

Verity gave an awkward smile.

"Mental manipulation isn't really my specialty. I am, however, good at destroying the mind through physical pain."

That's my area of expertise, Verity said confidently.

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