Home/The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief of Exile/ch 25

Chapter 25

Void stones can't be mined by just anyone.

Because if an ordinary person or animal gets close, their mana touches the stone and makes it cloudy.

Every human possesses mana. And the aura and divine power newly constructed by applying that mana.

Only when none of these three energies are present can a pure void stone be mined.

'And that is also a condition for being a transcendent.'

Thus, it became clear once again that all twelve prisoners brought to the Exilium exile camp were transcendents.

And this is where the real problem begins.

'How were they found, and who gathered them here?'

Even to Verity, who had lived a noble life, transcendents are rare. He'd only met one every few hundred years.

The first suspect.

'The Emperor?'

Before coming here, Verity had done some investigation into the Emperor.

'He didn't have the capacity to pull off something like this...'

So he was confused. The knowledge to identify transcendents isn't the kind of information a mere human king could obtain.

But considering what happened in the Deste territory, he could no longer underestimate the Emperor.

Since he'd sent word to the demon and angel realms, new information would soon be updated.

Verity then thought of the second suspect.

'The Clavis, those damn insufferable bastards.'

Normally, he would have suspected them immediately. Especially the head of the Clavis family—he was such an eccentric that he was more than capable of this.

But now he couldn't.

The head of the Clavis family was famously devoted to his family.

That old man had sent his youngest granddaughter to another dimension, and the precious Clavis princess had to endure painful times alone.

That meant a situation urgent enough for the Clavis to make such a decision had occurred.

Verity looked at Hebenia.

Hebenia, who had been seriously fidgeting with her pink club, took a notebook out of her bag and started scribbling something.

Glancing over, he saw her drawing a childish magic wand.

Sensing his gaze, Hebenia subtly shielded the notebook with her body.

"I-I was just doodling."

"I didn't say anything, though."

"Liking magical girls at my age is a bit childish."

"There's no need to be ashamed of what you like. You're a wonderful twenty-five-year-old who pays her own way."

"Still..."

Though she hesitated, Hebenia spread the notebook back open and showed him what she'd drawn.

"This is from a cartoon movie I saw when I was little. All my friends had this, but I didn't..."

Hebenia Clavis.

The princess of the Clavis family, who should have been able to play with all the world's expensive treasures like toys, was still hung up on not having had a cheap toy.

'Is that why she likes magical girls so much?'

To Verity, Hebenia's obsessive love for magical girls looked like she was healing a wound from her childhood.

"My Lady..."

Verity's voice caught slightly.

'Oh dear, I've really grown attached.'

It would have been stranger not to grow attached.

Verity had come to genuinely care for Hebenia and the villagers, who always worked hard without scheming and never hesitated to help others.

"Shall I make you a magic wand?"

"Ah, no thanks. I can just ask the villagers to make one when I get back."

"I'll give you one right now as a gift for world peace. A pink, sparkly, moonlit-aura, love-love, strawberry-sweet-heart-evolution staff befitting the village chief's authority...!"

"......"

"Ah! Ow! Don't pinch me with your toes!"

---

The first crossing of the primeval forest with Ian took three days one way, and the second crossing with Flora took two days.

This time, it took five days.

[Well, it can't be helped.]

Ian's voice through the watch was full of sympathy.

[Lord Verity's training is effective, but it's just as tough. Besides, Libby, Aunt Elva, and Brother Pex have no combat experience.]

"I think five days is fast."

[Haha, I suppose.]

With a final word to be careful, the call with Ian ended.

"Are the villagers doing well?"

Libby, who was organizing her sleeping bag beside me, asked in a low voice.

She had dark circles under her eyes, a sign of how grueling the training had been.

"They're doing fine without us."

"Ugh, I hate that I can't just be happy about that!"

Aunt Elva and Uncle Pex, who overheard our conversation, chuckled weakly.

"It's okay, Libby."

"They'll soon go through the same suffering we did."

"Auntie, Uncle. When I get back to the village, I'm going to tell them the training was actually manageable."

Libby's lips twisted into a sinister smile.

'The venom has risen. Good.'

They'd grown so venomous that they'd started mentioning revolution and cursing the Emperor on their own, without me having to bring it up.

"I'm going to kill the bastard Emperor who put me through this...!"

"Libby's so kind. I'm going to tear his limbs apart."

"I'm going to torment him until blood flows from every hole in his body."

I wasn't sure if the club-beating training was working, but their venom was certainly full, and I liked that.

Today.

We were finally going outside the primeval forest.

"By the way."

I quietly asked Verity.

"Is this training actually working?"

"Five days have already passed—isn't it a bit late to ask that now?"

"I suppose there is that."

This training was fundamentally different from the last.

Just beating monsters with a club.

That was all.

And the clubs Verity gave us weren't even lethal.

Their weak strikes, having no combat experience, only enraged the monsters.

Whenever that happened, I had to put up a barrier, and Verity always finished them off.

"There's one fact you've overlooked, my Lady."

Verity said as he put the packed belongings into his cloak's subspace pocket.

"That Libby and the other participants are beginners with no real combat experience."

"......"

"Ordinary people faint at the sight of monsters, or freeze up and can't even run. So the first task they need to accomplish is..."

"Getting used to fear?"

"You knew."

"I was just confirming."

Smiling, Verity went over to Uncle Pex, apparently to teach him how to use the cloaking cloak.

'Right. Ordinary people do get scared.'

Feeling fear is a human instinctive protective response. I'd read in a book that it's one of the survival mechanisms acquired through long evolution.

Libby, Aunt Elva, and Uncle Pex.

Even Ian.

They'd all been afraid when they first started training in the primeval forest.

But I wasn't scared.

I was surprised by the monsters, but I wasn't afraid like they were.

'Back in Korea, being fearless was actually an advantage. It's how I survived my awful family.'

But not anymore.

The Emperor is targeting me, and I could run into dangerous situations anytime.

'How can I develop a sense of danger?'

I'd found another task just as important as enjoying my life.

"Hebenia! They say we're leaving soon!"

"Ah, yeah!"

At Libby's call, I quickly rejoined the group.

'Well, this too will work itself out over time.'

I decided to put it aside for now, as I did with many things.

And that decision was correct.

Exactly one hour later.

In the Deste territory, I experienced a 'sense of danger' for the first time.

---

"Good heavens...!"

"It's been so long since I've seen this many people..."

"My Lady, stay close to me."

"Can we stay close too?"

Upon arriving in the Deste territory, we were speechless.

There were so many people it felt like we were in a sea of people.

Dodging the crowds so dense we couldn't easily move, we quickly ducked into a side street.

"Verity, did you see that line?"

The crowd earlier wasn't just a dense gathering—it was a long line.

Following the procession, we saw a familiar building at the end.

"It was in the direction of the temple, wasn't it?"

"It seems to be because of the wish my Lady made earlier."

"By any chance, the angel's descent?"

Aunt Elva's expression darkened.

"You mean what you told us in the forest?"

The previous day, I'd briefly told the group about the events during our first visit to the Deste territory.

So they knew about the angel's descent.

"Elva, do you have any idea what's going on?"

At Uncle Pex's question, Aunt Elva nodded.

"It seems the herb supply problem has gotten serious."

"They've finally reached the point of relying on religion."

Tsk, Verity clicked his tongue.

"Come to think of it..."

Libby, who had been observing the long line toward the temple, spoke.

"A lot of them look sick."

"Because of the wish my Lady made, the Emperor took a hit. The balance of power between state and church has tilted toward the latter."

I quickly assessed the situation.

'The herb supply problem is more serious than we expected.'

I glanced at Aunt Elva. She was pale as if she might collapse at any moment.

'Auntie was framed for violating pharmaceutical laws and sent to exile.'

Considering her determination to save people with Dulcevia, she'd probably witnessed someone die or suffer in connection with her own case.

"Aunt Elva."

When I took her hand, she flinched.

"We came here to stop this."

"......"

"It's okay. Right?"

"......Y-yes."

Aunt Elva took several deep breaths. I watched her trembling hand quickly stop.

"There's a herbalist I recognize."

Though I'd only met him once, I judged that the elderly herbalist could be trusted.

'He spent a large sum to buy Dulcevia and stock up on herbs, and he didn't seem to like the Emperor much either.'

So he'd probably be dissatisfied with the current situation too.

'If we play our cards right, we might be able to sell our medicine...!'

Crash—!

In front of the herbalist's shop, where we'd arrived with hope, I and the group froze like stone statues.

"......"

Verity reached out and hid me behind him. The demon butler always tried to shield me from horrific scenes.

But it was too late.

The herbalist's shop was in shambles—display cases, glass shards, broken baskets, and withered plant scraps everywhere.

And in front of it, the elderly herbalist lay collapsed.

"New brother-in-law...!"

At my unintentional shriek, the group turned to look at me.

Flustered, I blurted out:

"That grandpa and Ian oppa had a strategic engagement..."

For the sake of herbs.

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