Home/The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief of Exile/ch 47

Chapter 47

"Oh my! Oh my, our unnie did it!"

Unable to contain my joy, I ran over and hugged Libby's legs.

In my excitement, I tried to lift her up but couldn't handle the weight and fell flat—but I quickly got up and hugged her again.

"Our unnie did it!"

She'd succeeded in learning magic through self-study!

The adults were just as happy as if it were their own achievement.

"Good heavens!"

"That's amazing! Wow, congratulations!"

"Show us again! How did you do it?"

Libby, who had been stunned, finally came to her senses at the villagers' congratulations.

Shy from all the attention but desperately wanting to show off, Libby was as cheerful as a girl under twenty.

"It's hard to explain in words..."

After struggling for a while to find the right words, Libby produced the yellow flame again.

Ooh, a collective gasp rose from the villagers surrounding her.

"I was helping Uncle Pofina with the cooking. Suddenly, I felt a strange sensation in my body."

As she traced the source of the sensation, she naturally became aware of her heartbeat, the movement of her muscles, and the pulsing of her blood vessels.

Then, by chance.

"...I felt it."

Something incredibly clean and small.

An energy gently flowing around her heart.

It was mana.

Once she recognized it, she could clearly sense the flow of mana, and that's how she succeeded in performing magic.

'This unnie is a genius too.'

Her younger brother had become an Inquisitor at an unusually young age—like brother, like sister.

"Hebenia."

Libby grinned at me, still marveling.

"I can be helpful now too."

"...Unnie, you've always been helpful."

"I'm even more excited now!"

"......"

Why are the villagers all so kind?

I slowly calmed the rising emotions with a deep breath.

Sometimes people cry instead of laughing when they're happy—and unfortunately, I was in that exact moment.

'Not now.'

In front of everyone.

Especially as the village chief.

On this joyous day.

'Right now, what's needed is noisy, lively chatter.'

The atmosphere had quieted down slightly. Not an unpleasant silence, but an expectant waiting for what would come next.

"...Today!"

I shouted with vigor.

"On this first harvest festival of Exilium Village, we have such happy news. As village chief, I can't just sit still!"

The village instantly became lively.

"Today, it's on me! Korean beef barbecue—all you can eat!"

"Wooooow!"

"...What's Korean beef?"

"Something delicious, I'm sure."

---

Korean beef.

'It's the food I have the most love-hate relationship with.'

Until I turned twenty, I'd never once eaten Korean beef.

For me, Korean beef was a food my family ate together on happy occasions. At least that's how it was in my house, so I naturally couldn't join.

Even after I moved out, I avoided even looking at Korean beef for quite a while.

"...My Lady, you have such a sensitive side."

"I was just immature."

Outside, it was lively.

At my request for Korean beef barbecue, Verity immediately set up an outdoor dining area.

"Oh my, the meat just melts in your mouth with one chew?"

"There's a way to grill it over charcoal, how fascinating..."

"What's this fat called? Dipping it in salt is absolute heaven...!"

Tables equipped with hot charcoal grills and griddles, fresh vegetables, and the star of today—top-grade beef.

Plus soda and alcohol.

"Alcohol!"

"It's been years since I've had a drink...!"

The adults, especially those who used to enjoy a drink in the outside world, were moved to tears by the familiar aroma of alcohol.

"Mom, this is the potato I dug up?"

"Flora, you need to sit still and eat."

"Nula, Pania oppa! Let's have a corn-eating race!"

"Okay! I'm going to win this time."

"Eat slowly. You'll get a stomachache."

The cheerful, pleasant noise reached the village hall.

Leaning against the windowsill, watching the heartwarming scene, I reached down to the warm touch at my feet.

"Go ahead and eat, you two."

Poppy and Chuchu licked my hand instead of answering. These clever Duke couple seemed to read my emotions well.

It wasn't just the dogs who noticed my state.

"Why do you look so gloomy?"

Verity asked, gently brushing my bangs aside.

"It's homesickness. Of course, this world is my real home, but not everything in Korea was bad. I have many good memories too."

I just didn't show it.

'They come to mind occasionally.'

Friends who shared my difficult family troubles.

People who left a good impression even though our time together was brief.

The street leading to my small studio apartment.

Ice cream or fish-shaped buns I'd eat while humming.

'And...'

Senior.

"The first time I had Korean beef was when Senior treated me."

"Senior?"

"A senior from university."

"...Don't tell me it's a guy?"

"......"

"It-it's really a guy?"

Verity looked flustered, like someone who'd been slapped without reason.

"You ate meat with a man without knowing how dangerous the world is? That's how you go from one bite to calling him darling, dear!"

"Is this demon crazy..."

Ignoring Verity, who was now nagging as much as Ian, I savored the long-forgotten memories of Senior.

"Wow, so you only ate imported beef?"

"Domestic farmers would hate me."

"They'd hate your family more than you."

And the coming weekend.

'Senior' took me to a butcher restaurant. He ordered the most expensive cuts by each part and had me taste them one by one.

"From now on, let's come eat here together."

"...Who's paying?"

"It's an investment to get hired as your sugar daddy, so I should pay."

"Keep eating imported. There's not much difference."

"Yet you're picking up two pieces at a time? Take a minute break from your chopsticks."

"Ugh, what a stingy investor!"

Just recalling that day made the corners of my mouth lift.

'Actually, there was a big difference.'

Korean beef was delicious.

'I should have said that honestly.'

Fortunately, those lingering regrets of the past quickly faded.

Thanks to Verity, who wouldn't stop nagging until my ears bled.

"Only twenty-five years old, still a baby! How dare someone as small and weak as an ant think about dating...!"

Even Poppy and Chuchu started growling, finding Verity annoying.

"So, what did you want to tell me?"

Though I had complicated feelings about Korean beef, it wasn't enough to stop me from eating that delicious food.

"Let's hurry up and talk so we can go eat. You saw them earlier, right? How amazed everyone was when I cut the meat with scissors."

They praised me endlessly, saying my ideas were unique and that I was no ordinary genius.

"I'll go teach them drinking games, 'after bitterness comes sweetness,' and how to mix bomb shots..."

"A message came from the Lord."

"Lord? Bleached Demon?"

"The long-haired Lord."

"Oh."

My indifferent, half-lidded eyes widened instantly.

The one who'd taken a long leave of absence to care for his pregnant wife had contacted us first.

'What for? Something...'

Ah.

I quickly recalled why the long-haired Lord would contact us.

"The key to go in and out of the barrier..."

"It just arrived. It was in the mailbox at home."

What Verity handed me was a dog collar with a small bead attached.

"Attach this to the..."

"Grrrrr!"

"Rawr! Rawr!"

"...Attach it to the Duke couple, and they'll be able to roam freely anytime."

I put the collars on Poppy and Chuchu—black for white Poppy, white for black Chuchu.

And so the furballs became little dumplings.

"...So cute!"

I quickly took a picture of the two dogs with my watch.

"The Duke couple are strong enough to crush a familiar's trachea if it tries to eat a monster. Even without me or my Lady, they can protect the villagers well enough."

"Couldn't the monsters stop appearing because they're afraid of Poppy and Chuchu? Then we wouldn't be able to train."

"Such a needless worry."

Verity laughed heartily as if he'd heard a funny joke.

Poppy and Chuchu, displeased again, growled and snapped at him. I quickly held them firmly in my arms.

"If you fought them, my Lady, you'd lose for sure!"

"What about you, Verity?"

"I barely win. Though it's humiliating."

"Rawr! Rawr!"

"Growl! Woof!"

Poppy and Chuchu barked fiercely, even drooling.

'Wow, they're that strong?'

I looked at the dogs with new respect.

"And the Lord left another message."

"What is it?"

"My Lady, you said before that you wanted something you left behind in Korea, right?"

"I did..."

But I'd have to pay with one of my fingers. So I'd given up with bitter resignation.

'I even revised the village welfare plan because of it...'

I wanted to bring my magical girl collection too, but what I really wanted was a tablet PC.

'I was going to use it for the theater.'

I'd planned to enrich the villagers' cultural lives with the various streaming services on my tablet.

'Ah, but what about copyright issues?'

Just as I belatedly realized the important issue.

"The Lord set a condition."

Verity said.

"If you grant his request, he'll bring you one item at a time."

"Really?"

"Of course, you have a choice. He said you don't have to do it if you don't want to."

"How dangerous is the task?"

"A mix of danger and annoyance. Danger's about 80% by ratio."

"What? I'd rather just give him a finger..."

That's just trying to kill me.

At my deadpan expression, Verity cleared his throat.

"As you know, my Lady, the Emperor has been summoning demons and angels indiscriminately, causing all kinds of chaos, right?"

That was true—I nodded.

"The Lord said that if we capture those insane demons and hand them over, he'll bring you the items you left in Korea."

"One item per demon?"

"It depends on their rank."

"Rank?"

"Think of it like a bounty. A serial killer has a higher bounty than a pickpocket."

Since demons live in a hierarchical society, higher-ranked ones would fetch a better price.

"Aha."

I understood immediately.

But before readily accepting, I needed more information.

"But the criteria are vague. And what about my safety? Has this been discussed with the angel side? From what I'm hearing, it sounds like they're dumping their problems on me. The cost-benefit doesn't add up."

"Ugh, who else but a Clavis would think like that."

A true demon's liver-extractor.

As if expecting this reaction, Verity slowly pulled something out.

When I saw it, I quietly drew in my breath.

"It's a down payment."

"......"

"This is yours, isn't it?"

A hair tie with a straw-shaped accessory.

It was Magical Girl Milkshake merchandise.

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