Home/The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief of Exile/ch 73

Chapter 73

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Prellia's gang, including herself, consisted of fourteen people.

Among them were four children and one elderly person with dementia.

"She's Aig's mother. Her name is Glora."

"Hello, ma'am."

I greeted Glora, Uncle Aig's mother.

The silver-haired old woman with dementia glanced at me and then looked away.

Her eyes, as if she'd lost something precious, made the onlookers feel a pang of loneliness.

"I'm sorry. She rarely comes to her senses lately..."

"It's alright. But it must have been hard for you to take care of her alone..."

"I can't deny that."

Uncle Redem smiled awkwardly.

"It would have been hard alone, but after joining the gang, everyone helped, so it wasn't too difficult."

He'd also met good people.

Uncle Redem had actually married Aunt Tape and started a family.

Two of the children playing in the garden when we arrived at the villa were theirs.

"Lady Glora is our spiritual pillar."

Prellia kissed Glora's forehead.

"When she occasionally comes to her senses, she cherishes us like her own children."

"I see."

I nodded slowly.

Though I acted calm on the outside, inside I was quite conflicted.

'This is driving me crazy.'

It was no coincidence that the gang was composed of the villagers' families and acquaintances.

'It was all orchestrated by that man—my father.'

Erebel Clavis.

The young lord of the Clavis.

I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or sorry. Maybe both.

Because it meant the Clavis had foreseen all of this and still allowed it to happen.

'But I can't say they did nothing...'

In the end, the young lord Clavis had helped the left-behind people gather through Prellia.

'Hmph, of course it's not my fault, but...'

After meeting my mother in the dream, I finally felt a sense of belonging to the Clavis as my family.

So even if I was sent to exile because of the Clavis's wrongdoing, I felt I should carry some guilt as a blood relative.

'If only that were the only problem...'

My gaze naturally drifted outside.

Through the wide-open villa door.

Ian was playing with the children in the garden. He picked wildflowers and made flower crowns, placing one on each child's head.

"......"

I couldn't tear my eyes away from Ian's slightly bent back as he played with the children.

The gang was made up of the villagers' families and acquaintances.

Except for two people.

'Ian oppa and Aunt Daliss.'

But Aunt Daliss had been exiled most recently, and her only remaining family was her daughter, who now lived with them in Exilium.

In other words.

'The young lord Clavis didn't find Ian oppa's family.'

And I had a guess as to why.

'Ian oppa often talked about his younger siblings...'

But he never once mentioned his parents.

Even when I visited homes to gather information about the villagers' families and acquaintances, Ian never told me about his parents.

"Lady Clavis."

Just then, a stubborn voice pulled me back to reality.

Freed from the headache-inducing thoughts, I turned.

"Sir Olive."

Looking like a twenty-six-year-old, Olive warned me sternly.

"I will escort you to the central headquarters."

In his hand was the massive axe he'd willingly surrendered to the gang. He looked ready to swing it if I refused.

But I'm not the type to be intimidated by that, so I repeated my answer for the sixteenth time.

"I don't want to. I'm not going."

"This isn't something you can decide arbitrarily. You've been decreed a saintess, so your safety is now the Church's responsibility..."

"Wow, you're really stubborn, aren't you?"

I laid everything out for Olive.

That I was Lady Clavis, that Libby and all the other exile camp residents were alive, and that we'd built a village in a secret location.

I'd said I wasn't a saintess nearly thirty times.

But this stubborn man insisted I had to go with him.

He had a plausible reason.

"How can you lead such a large group without being discovered?"

"That's a trade secret."

"Don't be stubborn. At least I can protect you in the name of the Church."

According to Olive, if we disguised ourselves as priests on a pilgrimage, no one would suspect a thing.

The new residents looked uncertain.

"Hmm."

I nodded in acknowledgment.

"That's a good idea."

Olive's tense expression relaxed slightly.

"Then could you go to the room and call Verity for me?"

"Understood."

Olive readily stood up and opened the door to Verity's room.

Click—.

"...Inquisitor Olive?"

The green-haired holy knight, whom we'd parted ways with at Antema Station that morning, was staring at Olive in surprise.

"Wh-why are you here?"

"......"

"You were supposed to escort the saintess to the Deste Territory!"

"Damn."

Biting his lip, Olive quickly turned back to the door he'd come through.

But instead of the mountain villa where he'd been just moments ago, there was only an empty research lab on the third basement level of the Antema Lab.

"......"

A grinding sound came from the axe in Olive's hand.

---

"Ta-da."

I spread my arms wide and bowed with a flourish, like a magician who'd just completed a perfect trick.

"Ooh!"

"A-amazing!"

The new residents, seeing my ability for the first time, were full of admiration and applause.

'Hehe, I feel a little dizzy.'

My body hadn't fully recovered, so I felt a bit lightheaded, but even that felt satisfying right now.

'I've definitely gotten stronger.'

As a reward for surviving that damn trial, my ability, 'Opening and Closing,' had grown immensely powerful.

Now I could connect spaces without having to grab a doorknob or make the motion of turning one.

And I succeeded easily even with faraway destinations.

'It's quite moving. When I first connected the primeval forest to the Deste Territory, I would always get a nosebleed.'

Even though my body wasn't in great shape, I didn't even get a nosebleed, and I barely felt any fatigue.

'When I get back to the village, I'll have to try out various things.'

Now I could use this ability in so many more ways than before.

"Now that the nuisance is gone, let's move quickly!"

At my words, the new residents hurried into motion.

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[Hebenia is bringing new family members!]

After Modi's dramatic phone reunion with his wife.

Libby used her power as the village chief's housemate to broadcast the breaking news through the audio system.

[She found your families, friends, and lovers! They're coming soon! Hebenia, our village chief, kept her promise and found them!]

Her tearful, joyful voice spread through the speakers installed throughout the village.

The residents, frozen in their tracks, soon rushed to the village hall.

"Wh-what is this? She found them?"

They asked for the details of the announcement, and Libby excitedly explained.

"Uncle Modi just talked to his wife on the phone!"

"Huh? I thought she was imaginary?"

"She's real! Your families and acquaintances are real too!"

On a summer day when the sunlight was scorching.

"Hebenia says she's bringing them all!"

In Exilium Village, where no living creature other than humans could survive, and the sound of cicadas—the symbol of summer—couldn't be heard.

"...Ah, ah!"

"Oh my! R-really?"

"Oh, oh my!"

Sobbing more sorrowful than a cicada that lives only a week after spending seven years underground erupted.

"Squeak."

"Squeak, squeak."

Even Poppy and Chuchu, who always looked down on the villagers, showed sympathy for their sorrowful cries.

They even approached and rubbed their heads against them.

"Th-this is no time for this!"

Modi was the first to come to his senses.

"We need to get ready! I can't see Pre-Pre looking like this!"

"R-right!"

"Oh no, I haven't showered in two days."

"Oh, that's a bit much..."

The residents quickly returned home.

They washed thoroughly with warm water, groomed themselves in front of mirrors, and put on their finest clothes.

"......"

The children, not understanding the situation, asked the adults nearby.

"Grandfather, why is everyone doing that?"

"They're going to meet their families and friends again after a long time. That's why everyone's nervous."

The elderly herbalist gently patted Pania's head.

"It's a good thing."

The old man chuckled.

"As expected, these people haven't lived their lives in vain."

"Everyone is a good person."

Daliss looked at Flora and Nula, seated on either side of her. The children smiled when their eyes met, and Daliss smiled back happily.

"Since Hebenia said she'd bring them, it means everyone believed in their innocence."

"As always, it's a universal truth—people should live good lives."

And a moment later.

"Hebenia will be here soon!"

With Libby's shout after finishing a call.

Click—.

Creak—.

The front door of the empty village hall opened on its own.

Modi, waiting at the front, recognized the person who came out first at a glance.

"Pre-Pre..."

Bright yellow hair like a mimosa.

A small build and a lovely face.

But his wife, slightly older than the last time he remembered her.

"Prellia! Pre-Pre!"

The husband, who had never forgotten his wife for a single moment, recognized her instantly.

"Modi-Modi!"

"Honey! Pre-Pre!"

"Waaah! Hwaaah!"

"Your, your face! Let me see your face!"

Starting with the couple reunited after eight long years, Exilium Village was swept by a second wave of tears.

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