Home/The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief of Exile/ch 8

Chapter 8

According to Verity, he didn't have the ability to open this barrier.

"But with your 'opening and closing' ability, Lady Hebenia, you can open it."

"But if I open the barrier..."

"I heard from the Lord about you coughing up blood and collapsing."

Fortunately, Verity didn't just push me blindly.

The school-uniform demon taught me a trick.

"Don't open the entire barrier—just touch enough for the three of us to pass through. Imagine there's a door here."

"A door?"

"The only entrance on this vast wall of a barrier."

Encouraged by Verity's words to take it slow, I closed my eyes and pictured a door in my mind.

A rectangular, elongated door panel.

The handle was on the right.

'Right about here...'

As I reached out, I felt something round and smooth within my grasp.

"Now, what do you do?"

Verity asked in an excited tone.

'That's obvious...'

You open it.

I slowly turned my hand to the right.

Click—.

The sound of a lock opening echoed vividly in my ears.

Along with a strange sensation of energy draining away, we entered the primeval forest.

Ian asked.

"Hebenia, are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah."

I was just a little tired, but otherwise fine.

"Lady Hebenia, close the barrier."

"Ah, right."

Click—.

Another lock sound rang out.

'Oh, am I getting used to it?'

Closing the barrier succeeded even faster than opening it.

'But it's really dark.'

In the village, it had been a bright morning with a clear blue sky, but the primeval forest was as quiet and dark as an eternal night.

The only light was the thin sunlight that briefly squeezed through when the branches of the great trees swayed in the wind.

The light, thinner than a spider's web, briefly revealed the forest's scenery.

Buildings overrun by giant trees and vines.

"Judging by the buildings, this seems to be the commercial district."

Verity pulled out a winged eyeball and tossed it into the air. The eyeball emitted a bluish light, brightly illuminating the surroundings.

"Before we begin training, I'll give you some warnings."

For the first time, the cheerful, chuunibyou demon wiped the smile off his face.

"Most of the monsters gathered here have experience killing people. They've also eaten them. They're that dangerous."

At his serious warning, I nodded instinctively.

"So please follow my instructions without fail. Even if my words seem incomprehensible or crazy at first..."

"Yes!"

"Understood."

"Good. Then, Lady Hebenia, if you don't mind, may I count the weapons and various aids used in this training as your wishes?"

"Fine."

With my permission, Verity brought out several weapons.

I put on a glove that looked like a wrist guard on my right hand.

And Ian, with simple protective gear, held a rusty, dull sword.

In the meantime, Verity's outfit had changed.

He'd changed into a thick winter school uniform, layered with a hoodie underneath, making it look very stuffy. He seemed uncomfortable too, fidgeting with his collar.

Just then.

"Hebenia!"

Ian quickly hid me behind his back.

I swallowed dryly.

A terrifying force, bone-chilling and breath-stealing, surged toward us like a storm.

'Th-this is a bit scary!'

Ian gripped the dull sword with both hands and adjusted his stance.

"Sir Ian, quick reaction! Very good."

Verity praised him.

"These guys must be excited. It's been a while since something weaker than them appeared."

I looked at Verity's school uniform.

'That outfit conceals Verity's power. That's why I'm feeling killing intent now that I didn't notice when we first entered the forest.'

But it was only concealed.

'It hasn't disappeared.'

Before we knew it, monsters had surrounded the three of us.

But thanks to Verity, who seemed to mock them with contempt, I was no longer afraid.

---

The training method was brutally simple.

Just kill the monsters that came at you.

Skreeee—!

Thud. A monster with a lion's body and a snake's tail let out a bizarre death rattle and collapsed.

It was the last of the monsters surrounding us to fall.

"...Haah, huff!"

I let out the breath I'd been holding and slumped to the ground. I gripped my right wrist, which wore the guard, with my left hand.

Exhausted to the point of collapse, my right hand throbbed.

'I'm tired...'

The monster that had just fallen was killed by me.

I recalled what I'd read in the Clavis in One Volume that Bleached Demon had given me, and hunted it by closing the monster's airway.

'I really killed it.'

The chilling fact that I had taken a living life pressed down on me belatedly.

'Will I really be able to use this power properly?'

The saying that great power comes with great responsibility suddenly came to mind.

I was glad it had come to me then. If I remembered not to forget this feeling, I wouldn't abuse my power.

"Wow, our Lady."

A hand landed on my head with a pat.

I looked up to see Verity looking at me with pride. His black school uniform had grown even darker from the monsters' blood.

"You finished the last one all on your own. Are you getting the hang of it?"

"I'm not sure if I can say for certain..."

I gave an awkward smile.

Opening and closing.

The power to open and shut.

I wasn't sure if I was using it correctly, but I could tell that its application was formidable.

'I can protect myself.'

With that thought, I looked down at my right hand, whose pain had subsided somewhat.

"Why does this hurt?"

"Muscle pain."

Verity took out a small glass bottle of potion and sprayed it on my wrist. The pain in my wrist vanished like a lie.

"According to the report from the Lord, you seem to use your power by moving your hands. It was the same when you entered the primeval forest and when you fought just now."

He said he'd put the wrist guard on me as a precaution, since I might unconsciously twist my wrist excessively.

"It seems that motion is the 'activation' you've settled on."

"Activation?"

"It's the motion that focuses, aims, and triggers your power to draw it out strongly. Kind of like a kiai?"

Verity then held out the glass bottle to Ian as well.

While Verity and I were talking, Ian was catching his breath, using the dull sword as a cane and resting on one knee.

'Ian oppa was amazing too.'

Ian had single-handedly taken down half of the monsters.

And with just that blunt sword.

As warned, Verity had given us seemingly insane instructions in the middle of battle.

Like putting an arm into a monster's mouth, or trimming a monster's fur.

But Ian trusted and followed Verity's instructions firmly.

Some monsters lost their strength as soon as a foreign object entered their mouths—there was a weak point hidden inside.

Another monster had poison in its fur. Thanks to trimming it short as Verity instructed, we weren't poisoned.

Verity didn't hold back his praise for Ian.

"You exceeded my expectations! How's your body holding up?"

"I feel like I'm going to die..."

"But seeing you endure this makes me look forward to your future. Your diligence during exile paid off."

"You consider that an achievement...?"

"It is. Enduring injustice silently is a difficult thing. Since you've done that, you can accomplish anything."

At those words, Ian smiled as if he were about to cry.

After barely managing to drink the potion from the glass bottle, Ian's eyes went wide as if they'd pop out.

"Th-this, is this holy water?"

"What?"

Startled, I also looked at the empty glass bottle in my hand.

Looking closely, a holy angel's wing was embossed on the glass bottle.

Startled, I couldn't help but shout.

"You crazy demon!"

"Crazy? That hurts, you know!"

"Can a demon even carry holy water? Isn't that suicide?"

"What are you talking about!"

Verity passionately argued that demons also go to temples to pray and confess to God, then chugged his share of the holy water.

"Wow..."

A demon with an angel tattoo wasn't enough—now a demon who enjoys holy water.

'Philosophers would love this.'

The coexistence of good and evil was right here.

---

Three days into the training camp in the primeval forest.

Verity was deeply impressed by Hebenia and Ian's diligent participation in the training.

'They're doing better than expected.'

The monsters living in the primeval forest weren't ordinary monsters.

The embodiments of disaster that had once destroyed entire nations, or demon gods worshipped by heretical cults—all of them were gathered here.

'Ordinary humans could never fight these things.'

Only 'transcendents' who had surpassed their limits, or beings equivalent to them, could hunt the monsters in the primeval forest.

'Lady Hebenia is a Clavis, so she's an exception. The fact that she has stronger power than anticipated is concerning, but she's learned to control it through this training, so she'll be fine.'

In truth, the one who surprised Verity the most was someone else.

It was Ian.

'Perhaps soon, he'll be able to hunt monsters on his own.'

Which meant.

'He has the talent of a transcendent.'

A transcendent beside a young Clavis.

'Is this a coincidence?'

Just as his thoughts reached that point, Hebenia called out to Verity.

"Where are we now? It feels like we've gone pretty deep."

"A little further and we'll reach the outer boundary."

At that, Hebenia's eyes sparkled, and Verity asked casually.

"Do you want to go out?"

"Hmm..."

Hebenia glanced at Ian.

At the word 'outside,' Ian's face became complicated. It seemed like the desire to go out and the fear of going out were clashing within him.

"Ian oppa."

Hebenia spoke.

"Let's go outside and do some reconnaissance. And while we're at it, let's take out a few of the Emperor's limbs!"

"...Going outside is fine, but let's not take anyone out."

And so, the outing was decided.

The three of them gathered in a circle around a map.

"From here, the territory closest to Exilium is..."

Verity pointed to a city on the right side of the map.

[Viscounty of Deste]

"This place is famous for magical engineering."

"Magical engineering?"

"It's the study of developing useful technology by applying magic. That's why it's quite prosperous for a border city. The Deste family is also a prestigious house."

"Oho...?"

Hebenia tilted her head, feigning interest.

'That name sounds familiar.'

Just as she was trying to remember where she'd heard it, Ian next to her muttered in a low voice.

"Aunt Daliss's..."

"Huh? What about her?"

"Aunt Daliss's former surname is Deste."

"...Ah! Ahhh!"

Hebenia quickly recalled her crime.

Murder of her husband and child abuse.

The victim in that crime, her husband, was the Viscount of Deste.

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