Home/The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief of Exile/ch 32

Chapter 32

'I'll just close my eyes for a bit and wake up when we arrive.'

Perhaps because I felt good, even though my body was tired, my mind was becoming clearer.

At the same time, the swaying began to lessen. It seemed we were almost at the mansion.

'So fast? Can this unnie teleport?'

Thinking that, I slowly opened my eyes—the bright sunlight was dazzling.

'My body feels restored too. As expected, my ability has improved a little...'

Feeling proud, I tried to sit up, but suddenly my body tilted sideways. The arm supporting my upper body had given out.

"Huh?"

I blinked, wondering what was going on.

With a bang, the door opened and the adults came in.

"Oh, my Lady finally woke up."

"Hebenia, did you sleep well?"

"Haha, looks like our village chief had a good rest."

Uncle Pex laughed heartily, pointing out the drool on my mouth.

I reflexively wiped my mouth. A wet patch of saliva came off on my hand.

Verity, who had pulled up a chair beside the bed, said.

"Oh dear, using your power so recklessly—your body can't handle it. You slept almost a full day. I'm surprised you don't have bedsores."

"What?"

"You slept a whole day. Look at your watch."

Verity showed me his left wrist, pointing at his watch.

"Whoa."

The time was seven in the morning.

The date had changed to the next day.

---

"Just to be clear, I tried to wake you."

Libby said as she fed me a spoonful of soft stew.

The smooth milk and soft, chewy carrots were quite good.

More importantly, my bowl had two whole strips of bacon today.

"But you wouldn't wake up. Your complexion was terrible, so I put you to bed, and you just kept sleeping."

"Her body was exhausted from using her power beyond its limits. But seeing her eat well, I think we can rest easy."

Verity, with a wistful expression, cut the bacon into bite-sized pieces.

"Eat a lot today..."

It seemed he'd been scolded by Libby.

After a hearty breakfast.

"I'll be in the next room. The kids just woke up."

Libby went to take care of the siblings she'd brought yesterday, while I, Verity, and Uncle Pex exchanged information.

When I told them about what happened at the temple, Verity was delighted, saying, "Priests are highly useful." Uncle Pex felt sorry for the temple's difficult situation.

Then it was Verity's turn.

First, he said he'd knocked out all the imperial knights and locked them in the dungeon.

Whatever method he used, they wouldn't wake up until tomorrow—the statement sounded ominous, but I decided to let it slide.

"The undead employees here all seem to be test subjects."

"Test subjects?"

Hearing that, I recalled my earlier suspicion that the Emperor was conducting some kind of experiment.

"Yesterday, Lord Verity and I observed several things."

Uncle Pex said.

"They all repeat certain actions regularly."

"Actions?"

"They seem to be programmed behaviors implanted when they were made undead, combined with their past experience working in this mansion."

"Yesterday, while Sir Pex and I were searching for documents in the office, they knocked on the door at mealtime."

It was an action to assist Molle Livus.

'...It's disgusting.'

Killing living people and turning them into obedient puppets.

How does anyone even come up with such an idea? And even if they did, I simply couldn't understand the drive to carry it out.

'It reeks of a superiority complex, and I hate it...'

The notion that everyone else is insignificant.

That it's okay to treat them however they please.

'To me, that kind of thinking looks far more primitive.'

The silver lining was that the undead employees had no cognitive function.

"That's right—they called Sir Pex and me 'Lord Viscount.'"

"So they can't distinguish between individuals."

Although I felt sorry for the dead, I was relieved.

This meant it would be safe to put a replacement in Molle Livus's position.

But then Uncle Pex made an unexpected suggestion.

"Could we take one of the employees back to our village?"

"Pardon?"

As I froze in surprise, Uncle Pex quickly explained.

"I want to analyze the spells and techniques bound to their bodies. If I can figure them out, I might be able to grant them peace."

"No, it's not that I doubt your intentions..."

I never doubted his motives from the start.

'The adults in our village chose to silently endure even under false charges.'

What I was worried about was something else.

"What if the employee has a location-tracking function? What if they alert the enemy when they leave a certain area, or explode...?"

"Hmm, I see you were worried about that too, Hebenia..."

Uncle Pex readily accepted my opinion. He admitted it had been bothering him as well.

"If we can confirm they're safe, I don't mind bringing them."

At my words, Uncle Pex nodded.

"But if demon magic and technology are involved, I won't be able to figure it out alone. It'll take a long time."

"Within a year..."

"Absolutely impossible."

"......"

I couldn't hide my disappointment.

'I wish we could finish this before the Chief Chamberlain returns.'

I'd thought a year would be enough, but now it felt far too short.

My confidence about taking the Deste territory within that time felt embarrassing.

'Even if we take it...'

Would the people here be safe?

Would the Emperor just watch?

Could I protect this place?

My sense of danger toward the Emperor harshly pointed out my complacency.

I realized just how delusional my dreams had been, and how powerless I truly was.

"...Hmm."

Watching me, Verity lifted the corner of his mouth.

"An ordinary person would despair in this situation."

"......"

"Why is our village chief making such a spiteful face?"

"I'm just cursing. Cursing."

I grumbled, but my hand felt my face.

One corner of my mouth was twisted upward.

'It really is a spiteful face.'

But I couldn't help it.

'It's fun.'

How thrilling would it be if we actually took the Deste territory in this desperate situation?

'I never knew I had this kind of competitive spirit...!'

The Emperor probably thinks he's in control of this situation.

'Then I'll just use that against him.'

It's not impossible.

'...This might be even more fun than a revolution.'

---

Before returning to the village.

We observed the undead employees once more.

We casually walked among them as they busily cleaned today, and we even tried talking to them.

Each time, the employees smiled and greeted us. Then they chose one of three phrases to respond with.

"I will bring the Lord Viscount."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"I will guide you to the office."

And at mealtimes, they would knock on the office door and say, "It's time to eat."

If Uncle Pex, waiting inside, said he'd eat, they'd guide him to the dining room.

"...They seem alive."

Watching them unsettled me.

They'd been unjustly killed, and now they were being used like this even in death—it was heartbreaking.

Verity lightly patted my head.

"As you can see, as I said, they only repeat implanted behaviors."

"What if they show or report what they've seen to the Emperor or the Chief Chamberlain? Like wireless communication or surveillance camera functions..."

"If that were the case, I would have noticed by now."

"......"

"My Lady, I may not be a magic specialist, but I am a demon recognized by the Lords."

"You said magic wasn't your specialty."

Anyway, we'd confirmed it was safe to leave the undead employees as they were.

We also properly greeted the siblings who had been with Libby.

The boy, who looked quite mature, introduced himself first.

"I'm Pania, eight years old. And this is my little sister, Nulla."

"Five years old..."

Nulla shyly extended her small hand and gave her age.

"I'm Hebenia. I'm seven, and I'm the village chief of Exilium."

"Village chief? You?"

Pania squinted one eye in disbelief.

"Unfortunately, it's true."

Verity stepped in to confirm.

The word 'unfortunately' was a bit annoying, but I had no intention of proving it with words.

'Because I'll show her.'

Before that.

I asked Pania and Nulla one last question.

"You don't regret coming with us?"

"Did we have a choice?"

Pania pointed at Libby.

"She threatened to destroy our parents' graves if we didn't go. This unnie was seriously unhinged."

"Don't doubt my sincere intentions to save you."

Libby winked, apologetically.

Pania shuddered with a eww sound. He seemed like he'd get along well with Ian.

"...The herbalist grandfather got hurt because of us."

"It wasn't because of you."

I clearly pointed out the misinformation and corrected it.

"The bad adults did wrong."

"Those knights?"

"Yeah."

"Still, I feel sorry for the grandfather. If I hadn't gotten sick, he wouldn't have gone through that."

Pania's blue eyes grew slightly moist with guilt.

"So this time, I'm going to help him."

But instead of crying, this determined boy quietly steeled himself.

"After our parents died, the grandfather always looked after me and my sister. He even offered to let us live with him."

"Are you going to live with him?"

"He's offered many times, but I refused. I felt bad toward my deceased parents. But..."

Pania glanced at Nulla beside him. Nulla beamed at her brother.

"...Now I'm going to live with him."

After exchanging a smile with his little sister, Pania looked me straight in the eye.

"Is it safe there?"

"The Empire can't touch it."

"I'll trust you for now."

"You little thing, so cheeky."

That's why I liked him.

'To become a member of our village, you need that kind of spirit to survive.'

Because I'm going to put them all to work.

'You're no exception, boy.'

As I chuckled inwardly, Pania's wary gaze fell on me.

"She's acting weird..."

"Oh my, this new resident has good instincts."

Verity lightly patted Pania's shoulder.

"That weird and adorable lady is the village chief you'll have to deal with from now on."

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