Home/The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief of Exile/ch 50

Chapter 50

Crape Myrtle Cold.

Like chickenpox or measles in Korea, it's a dangerous epidemic that can be fatal if treatment is delayed.

However, if you take the medicine consistently in the early stages of symptoms, you can recover quickly, and afterward, you develop immunity and never get it again.

So for the people here, Crape Myrtle Cold was like a rite of passage that everyone had to go through at least once.

'But that might become a thing of the past now.'

There's reportedly a surge in Crape Myrtle Cold patients in the south.

A disease that can be cured quickly with early treatment is seeing a surge in infections because people can't get the cheap medicine.

"Phew..."

I took a deep breath.

'Getting angry won't solve anything.'

I tried my best to calm the rising anger.

But this damn situation, which I couldn't accept, kept producing unpleasant question marks.

'What exactly does the Emperor want...'

However, I quickly changed my mind.

"...Don't look for a reason."

Slowly opening my eyes, which I'd squeezed shut, I resolved not to seek reasons for whatever insane acts the Emperor committed.

'He's a natural disaster. A madman beyond human comprehension can't be understood by human logic.'

So I must observe.

I must carefully watch the Emperor's actions and words to uncover his sinister intentions.

Changing my mindset made me feel like my head was working again.

'To the Emperor, 'being Emperor' is just a means.'

What's happening now is nothing but a stain on the Emperor's reputation.

Yet he's still freely committing bizarre acts, which means his goal isn't to strengthen his power.

'What does it mean that no nobles are trying to stop him?'

I should probably figure out the faction dynamics.

Right now, my head was working better than ever. Feeling like even moving was a waste, I leaned my back against the well and sat down to focus on my thoughts.

'What has the Emperor done so far?'

Abnormal herb distribution.

Summoning demons and angels.

Experiments on undying human weapons.

The destruction of the Clavis.

'Framing innocent people, sending them to exile camps, making them mine void stones and collecting them...'

He's trying to get his hands on me.

Tap, tap. My fingers, touching the warm bare ground, twitched unconsciously.

'People want more than what they have. It's a natural instinct. Like wanting to escape poverty, or wanting a promotion.'

The Emperor already holds the highest status a human can have.

'He must be rich, and with the Clavis gone, he's top dog.'

What does he want?

Thud. Leaning my head back against the well, I stared blankly at the sky. The blue sky made me feel a little less suffocated.

"Emperor, you no-good absolute bastard..."

I just let the words spill out without thinking.

"Are you trying to become a god or something?"

---

Antema Territory.

Located in the northeast, it's an industrial city with many factories, thanks to its barren but wide and flat rocky terrain.

By carriage from the Deste Territory, it takes four to five days.

By train, about a day.

"We can't take a carriage."

Verity insisted from the start that we had to travel by train.

"Horses get tired, so we'd need to rest frequently. At night, we'd have to find lodging or camp."

"That sounds like fun?"

"Whenever we do that, we risk running into imperial knights or related parties. It's best to minimize risks."

"By that logic, isn't the train also risky?"

A train is an enclosed space, making it harder to escape.

At my argument, Verity wiggled his finger annoyingly.

"You worry about the strangest things, my Lady. If we run into a checkpoint, we just throw them out of the train. Considering the speed, they'll be knocked out for a day or two."

"In the worst case, that could be permanent sleep, couldn't it?"

"The best lullaby."

"...I'll make sure to wear the cloaking cloak properly."

Anyway, therefore.

Until the train tickets were secured, we spent our days as usual.

But a heavy tension already hung over the village.

'Did I say too much at the assembly...'

Since that day, the villagers had started training with fierce determination.

I hadn't intended to make them anxious, so I felt sorry.

But the adults saw it differently.

"Hebenia, this isn't because of you."

"Rather, we've been too lax. I think we were denying reality and relying too much on you."

"The Emperor will try to kill us somehow once he finds out we're alive."

"So it's right for us to get strong enough to at least protect ourselves."

At first, I couldn't help but think they were just being considerate of me, which made me uneasy.

But soon, that worry quickly dissipated.

The villagers' enthusiasm was hotter than I'd expected.

So much so that the forest training, which used to happen every few days, was now happening daily.

There were even so many volunteers that they'd split into morning and afternoon sessions.

That's where Poppy and Chuchu came in.

Thanks to the key on the collars the long-haired Lord had given them, the villagers could enter and leave the forest without me.

"I wonder if they're doing well..."

Could they train without me and Verity?

At first, I waited for them with half curiosity and half worry.

"I hope our dogs aren't giving them too much trouble."

"I love how my Lady is so cold even to her own family."

"They bite me too, you know."

"By the way, why did they bite you this morning?"

"Libby unnie boiled some beef sirloin for them, and it looked so good that I stole a few pieces."

"...Huff, even I'd growl at that."

Just then, the barrier opened and the villagers stepped into the village.

Poppy and Chuchu ran to me with noticeably lighter steps.

"Huuh, huff...!"

"Ugh, uwaaah!"

"I-I'm going to die..."

On the other hand, the villagers collapsed onto the dirt floor and fell asleep as soon as they entered the village.

Still, when they woke up, they all left positive reviews.

"I almost died, but Duchess Poppy saved me."

"The monsters ran away with their tails between their legs."

"She only brings monsters that are at our level..."

"Well, there are no monsters at our level, actually."

Ian explained in detail.

"It was similar to Lord Verity's training, yet different."

"How?"

"With Lord Verity's training, I felt safe. We could communicate, so he could correct my posture and bad habits in real-time during the fight."

In other words, it was efficient thanks to immediate correction.

"On the other hand, with Lady Poppy and Lord Chuchu, it was pure wildness."

"Wildness?"

"There's no time to think about what I'm doing. I just have to move. Whether it's a mess or not, instinct takes precedence over reason."

Ian said he'd realized something.

"Lord Verity was really teaching us with care."

"You've finally recognized my efforts...!"

Moved, Verity's eyes reddened.

"Of course, I'm better than a dog, aren't I?"

"Grrrr!"

"Growl!"

Poppy and Chuchu each grabbed a leg of Verity's pants and shook them vigorously.

Thanks to the villagers' cooperation, I felt as secure as if I had a solid backing.

"By the way, who are you going to take?"

Ian asked as soon as he entered the house.

"Hmm..."

As I hesitated, Ian's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Are you not taking me?"

"Oppa, you're mine and Verity's top priority."

"Of course!"

Ian clenched his fist like someone who'd won a competition.

His thicker-than-before forearm bulged, stretching his thin sleeves taut.

"It could be dangerous—are you that happy?"

"It means I'll be helpful."

"Libby unnie said the same thing, and now you? You were all helpful from the start, you know?"

"This is different."

"......"

Actually, it wasn't that I didn't understand.

In their eyes, everything I did probably looked like a child struggling alone to lead people and run a village.

'I do it because I want to...'

It was just selfishness—wanting us all to live happily together in the village forever—but every time they saw it as me sacrificing myself, I felt guilty.

"So besides me, who else?"

"Besides you..."

Just then.

Boom—!

An enormous explosion came from upstairs.

Soon followed by the sound of debris collapsing—wood and stone crashing down.

Ian and Verity rushed to shield me, and I instinctively closed off the space to create a barrier.

"What the...!"

Looking up, the three of us were stunned.

As the dust cleared, a large hole in the ceiling came into view.

Debris that had fallen with the explosion slid off my round barrier.

I felt the blood drain from my face.

"...L-Libby unnie!"

She was up there!

Ian and Verity grabbed me to stop me from running up.

Poppy and Chuchu also tugged at my skirt.

"It's dangerous! It could collapse again—get outside now!"

"We'll go check on Libby-nim, so you go with the dogs and...!"

"Eek! Is everyone okay?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice appeared.

"Cough! Hack! Ow, that stings...!"

It was Libby, blackened and disheveled, peering through the hole in the ceiling.

"Are you okay? What happened!"

At Ian's shout, Libby made an awkward face.

"I was practicing magic, and the flame got too big..."

"What?"

Soon, murmuring voices came from outside. The villagers, having heard the explosion, had rushed over.

For safety, we all went outside.

Opening the doors and windows let the acrid dust and burnt smell escape quickly.

"Sorry! Is everyone okay?"

Libby apologized first, then checked that we were safe.

Thankfully, no one was hurt.

Relieved, Libby explained what had happened.

"I only used the minimum mana needed to cast a basic fire spell, you know?"

But suddenly, the flame's color changed and became uncontrollably hot.

Unable to contain the heat, the magic wavered, and that caused the explosion.

"...The color changed?"

Verity squinted one eye.

Then, with a serious face, he asked.

"What color did it turn?"

"Ah, well..."

Flustered, Libby stammered.

"It, it turned a bit whiter..."

Back   Next