Home/The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief of Exile/ch 6

Chapter 6

In the comic, Habi was in the same state as me—she had just awakened her power.

Beside her was a mummy fairy that looked like it had been dried out in a blazing hell.

[Habi: I can feel a mysterious power!]

[Fairy: Congratulations! Habi, you've finally become a true Clavis! With that power, you can help those in need and defeat evil villains!]

[Habi: Wow! How do I do that?]

[Fairy: That power is opening and closing. You can open a stuck bottle cap, or close the blood vessels of scumbags wearing masks, causing arrhythmia and killing them...]

SLAM!

I quickly shut the book.

Bleached Demon was looking at me with a proud expression.

"How is it? Pretty impressive, right?"

"......"

A demon was still a demon.

---

The next morning.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

Bleached Demon banged on the cast iron pot lid with a ladle, rousing us.

"Kyaaa!"

"Ugh! Aaaah!"

We woke up in a frenzy and stumbled into the yard.

"You."

Today, Bleached Demon, wearing a bright blue silk shirt, pointed at Uncle Modi again.

At this point, there was clearly some personal interest involved.

"Standard."

"Huh?"

"Standard!"

"St-standard...?"

Uncle Modi repeated after him, bewildered.

"Everyone, spread your arms and line up! Side by side!"

And so we lined up in four columns.

"Morning exercises! Begin!"

Following Bleached Demon's lead, we began a lively workout to the song of a man who'd gone to his ex's wedding and regretted it too late.

After the exercises, the exile family gathered around the radio that had played the song, fascinated.

"Demons have so many interesting things."

"Must be magical tools."

"How does it work?"

"Bleached Demon, can we touch this?"

"Don't touch it carelessly! It'll break!"

When Bleached Demon shouted, the exile family giggled.

"Aish, humans sure are quick to get comfortable."

Though he grumbled, the corner of Bleached Demon's mouth twitched upward.

Pretending not to notice, I spoke.

"I want to make a wish."

"Oh, good timing. I should be going soon myself."

Bleached Demon put a watch that looked like a smartwatch on my wrist.

He tapped the black screen with his finger, and an inverted pentagram appeared. The red eyeball I'd seen in the exile camp came to mind.

"Come to think of it, the long-haired Lord Demon gave me a winged eyeball."

"Ah, that?"

"Do you know what it is?"

"A magical tool the Sovereign made for surveillance. Originally, Exilium was like a playground for the familiars he looks after, so he uses them to keep an eye on things."

By the way, all the monsters living here are snacks for those familiars.

'Wow, some dogs have all the luck.'

In my next life, I'm coming back as a rich family's dog. I'd even accept being neutered.

"This watch is a sort of free pass."

"Oho."

"Meaning you won't have to spit every time you summon."

"Eugh!"

Bleached Demon lightly pressed my head with his hand. He'd apparently been holding a grudge about me summoning with spit. So petty!

The watch's various functions were explained in the Clavis in One Volume book.

"So, little ant, what's your wish?"

"Please make these things for me."

I explained each item the exile family had requested one by one.

A large cart, various farming tools, real swords, armor, shields, seedlings for summer crops, and other miscellaneous items.

After scanning the list written on paper, Bleached Demon asked.

"You want to earn money yourselves? And try to go outside?"

"Yes."

"If that's the case, why not just wish for..."

"If I keep relying on wishes, I'll end up being able to do nothing later."

"......"

"We're not ready to go outside yet, so we need to prepare by trying various things here. It would be bad if we just stayed like baby birds waiting to be fed."

"Social reintegration training."

A large hand tousled my hair.

"Well done!"

Bleached Demon smiled brightly.

Embarrassed, I just kicked the ground with my foot.

Soon, pale smoke and dazzling light began to pour out at Bleached Demon's feet.

It was truly time to part.

Before disappearing, Bleached Demon told me about the demon butler he'd be sending soon.

"He's a pretty strong guy, so if you want to train, get his help."

Bleached Demon's form grew increasingly transparent.

I asked urgently.

"When will the health checkup results come out?"

"They'll be mailed to you in a week!"

"But we don't have a mailbox!"

"Make one, you idiot!"

And so I parted ways with Bleached Demon.

Where the demon had disappeared, the items I'd wished for were piled up.

---

In the morning, we chose one of the clearings, plowed the field, and planted seedlings.

Tomatoes, potatoes, corn, peas, and more—all vegetables that could be harvested in summer.

And the exile family each chose an empty house and moved out independently.

Finally, we had complete personal space where we could enjoy privacy.

At first, everyone felt awkward, but once they got inside, they were delighted.

I decided to stay in the house we'd first stayed in with Libby, Ian, and Aunt Daliss.

A seven-year-old and a mentally unstable woman needed guardians.

'Bleached Demon—you only stayed one day, but your absence is huge.'

Hiding my wistfulness, I took the book and headed to the playground.

In the residential district, there was a playground for the children who had once lived here. The long-haired Lord Demon had restored it perfectly.

"Oh my, where's our little miss going?"

"It's cute little Hebenia from next door!"

"Did you eat lunch?"

Every time I passed by, the exile family waved and greeted me.

"I'm going to study!"

When I held up the book, the adults smiled warmly and encouraged me to take it easy.

My steps toward the playground grew a little lighter.

I sat on a bench half-shaded by a tree, and before opening the book, I examined the watch on my wrist.

"What kind of civilization do demons have..."

The watch looked exactly like the smartwatches made by a famous smartphone company.

I looked up the section on "watch" in the book's index.

Once again, the protagonist 'Habi' was consulting the fairy.

[Habi: Look at this! A watch I received as a gift from Lord Demon.]

[Fairy: Amazing, Habi! You've earned the demons' trust! This watch is a 'chosen trust' that allows you to summon a demon in any situation!]

[Habi: Any situation?]

[Fairy: If you register the summoning circle on the watch, you can call a demon without drawing the circle.]

Other features included time display, calendar, phone, heart rate monitor, pedometer, music player, and camera.

'...It really is a smartwatch.'

It was nice to see advanced technology after so long.

"Shall I try summoning?"

To store it on the watch, and to summon the butler, I drew the summoning circle with my heel.

'I hope a kind and cool demon shows up. Since it's a butler, maybe an older adult? They said it's a strong demon, so I'd like it to help with my training too. And...'

My foot, finishing the inverted pentagram, slowly stopped.

'Could Ian oppa train with me too?'

Among the items I'd requested from Bleached Demon were real swords and shields.

That was Ian's request.

'He said he was driven out by his comrades' betrayal.'

He'd watched as his fellow knights framed him and cast him out.

He had every reason to hate knights because of that betrayal, but Ian didn't.

Instead, he was happy to be able to train in swordsmanship again.

But the bitter smile he'd worn remained vivid in my mind.

In fact, all the exile family members made that same expression whenever they checked the items they'd requested.

'Sigh, how can the world be so unfair and petty.'

I extended my left hand, which wore the watch, and used the 'camera' function to take a picture of the completed summoning circle and save it.

"Let's see, next..."

When summoning a demon with the watch, you're supposed to shout 'Summon!'

'It feels a bit embarrassing, like a magical girl's chant.'

Still, I wanted to try it at least once, so I mustered my courage and called out.

"Su-summon!"

At that moment, a warm earthy scent filled the air.

It smelled just like a summer morning after a night of rain, clearing up bright and fresh.

Above the summoning circle, which had begun to emit a faint glow, something shot high into the sky at incredible speed, then landed lightly.

Soft wheat-colored hair fluttered.

"Hello!"

A male student in a hoodie layered over his school uniform smiled brightly.

"It's an honor to meet you—and to serve you, Lady Clavis!"

---

I'd once heard that demons take on physically perfect forms to bewitch people. Whether it was from a movie or something, I couldn't recall.

The demons who had appeared so far were perfect beauties in appearance.

This demon was no exception.

A kind and handsome, likeable face, tall stature and sturdy build, a polite way of speaking, and a pleasant voice.

He was the very image of a schoolgirl's first love.

'He looks like a middle schooler. Around fifteen?'

I had imagined an older adult as a butler, so this appearance was a bit surprising.

"Wh-what a baby face..."

"Yes! I'm the famous baby-faced butler! I was chosen after beating out countless competitors! Ahem!"

The school-uniform demon pounded his chest and answered energetically.

He was so polite that I naturally felt drawn to him. My surprise quickly faded, replaced by a sense of welcome.

Suddenly, I thought of my younger brother from my previous life.

He used to follow me around the most when we were young, but as he grew older, he was the first to insult and bully me.

'He always said they didn't need someone like me, so maybe he's happy now.'

If my body from my previous life was still alive, I hoped it would die and rot quickly. I never wanted to go back there.

'I feel sorry for the little girl who was the original owner of this body, but...'

As I thought that, I tilted my head in curiosity.

The school-uniform demon smiled and tilted his head the same way.

'Come to think of it, Bleached Demon seemed to know I came from another world. So did the long-haired Lord Demon.'

Did this school-uniform demon know too?

Just in case, I asked.

"Do you know about possession?"

"Of course!"

The school-uniform demon said matter-of-factly.

"We demons communicate with various worlds. The world isn't just one. So I've seen possessed people quite often."

"Then...!"

"Yes!"

The school-uniform demon beamed.

"Possessors are summarily executed upon discovery!"

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