Home/The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief of Exile/ch 98

Chapter 98

Since the topic came up.

"I like guys who are handsome and listen well."

Hebenia decided to clearly establish her preferences once and for all.

"I can't stand guys who get too full of themselves. I'll earn the money, so he should just live comfortably in my shadow without facing any hardship."

"Why does she keep saying things like this..."

He'd been trying so hard to raise her right.

As a reward for her unwavering conviction, Hebenia earned Ian's deep concern.

"Anyway, what do we do now?"

Prellia interjected appropriately, steering the conversation back on track before it could go off the rails.

"At this rate, the Grand Duchess might really..."

While playing the role of Misa, Prellia had grown quite fond of the Grand Duchess. She desperately wanted to save her.

"But."

Hebenia brought up an even more horrifying possibility.

"Do you think they'll only kill the Grand Duchess?"

"Pardon?"

"Head Priest Saikeuf, who they'll frame for the crime, is with us."

Hebenia pointed out the crucial point.

The adults' faces paled once more.

"They'll, stage it."

Uncle Modi swallowed dryly.

"They'll find someone to replace Head Priest Saikeuf, but..."

"If something goes wrong, it'll be exposed."

Ian continued.

His lavender eyes, weighed down with gravity, now recognized the nine-year-old Crown Prince as an 'enemy to be eliminated.'

"So they'll make it so no one can tell if it's Saikeuf or not, probably by..."

"Boom."

A single onomatopoeic syllable, said flatly.

It was Verity.

"We experienced a preview at the Magical Engineering Academy."

Stagnation.

The ability to suppress the flow of mana, letting it accumulate, then explode in an instant.

"The Deste Territory is the birthplace of magical engineering, so there are magical tools and large circuits buried underground all over the place."

Pex gave an example.

"If a similar accident happened at a small shop the Grand Duchess visited to buy souvenirs..."

If the mana in the shop were forcibly accumulated through stagnation.

"...Half the commercial district would be caught in the explosion."

It would be a disaster so massive that estimating the death toll would be meaningless.

"If the dead perpetrator is wearing a High Priest's robe, even with a destroyed face, they'd assume it was Saikeuf."

"Habi."

Ian asked.

"Are you going to kill that bastard?"

"Head Priest Saikeuf needs to be handed over to the central headquarters, so he can't die. Which means we have no choice but to protect him."

Hebenia thought for a moment.

'We'll need reinforcements...'

The village chief quickly decided who to bring from the village.

And she discussed with the adults how to resolve the situation.

It didn't take as much time as expected.

---

That night.

"Sigh, the village chief never gets a break."

"Sorry, it's because the adults are useless..."

"Th-that's not what I meant..."

I visited the Deste Temple with Ian.

We'd sent Verity back to the village, because of the mad Crown Prince who thought he was undead and wanted to shred him with scissors.

"If anything happens, summon me right away."

"I'll take this chance to review the Antema Lab materials one more time."

"To look into the void stones again. Brother Pex's hypothesis is currently the most promising..."

Void stones.

The ore the exile family had mined for so long.

'I never imagined they'd be used like that...'

The use of the void stones that Verity and the adults had explained was so horrifying that even I, known for being fearless, felt my hair stand on end.

"I'm glad that last shipment never made it out."

"...Yeah."

Ian answered weakly.

"My Lady!"

Priest Saker, now as familiar as a neighbor, led us to the same luxurious reception room as before.

"The High Priest said you can use this room anytime you come."

"Excuse me, but she's not a saintess."

"Don't worry. We know that's just the cover story."

"She's really got you wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?"

"Does this oppa?"

I poked Ian's side with my finger.

Just as Ian twisted away in pain, Inquisitor Olive and Priest Chel do entered.

"Hi!"

I gave Olive a shameless smile as he frowned at the sight of us.

Olive's brow furrowed even deeper.

I turned away and greeted Priest Chel do as well.

"Priest Chel do, hello! The order of first-aid kits you requested is fully produced—I'll send them in two days."

"May God's blessings be with you and Ixelium Village."

"Are more orders coming in?"

"Orders are coming from neighboring territories too. So I was thinking, perhaps we could collaborate with their temples to sell the kits more widely."

"I'll discuss it with the village when I get back."

Unfortunately, this profitable topic would have to wait.

'The matter we're about to discuss isn't something to smile about.'

Just then, Olive asked in a low, serious voice.

"Is the attack at the Magical Engineering Academy related to the undead infesting the Deste mansion?"

"Yes."

I didn't deny it.

Olive pressed his lips together, as if he'd expected it.

The ones surprised were the others.

"...Pardon?"

"Undead? At the Deste mansion?"

"What is this...!"

"An attack? What are you talking about!"

The two priests, who had entered without knowing anything, were shocked by the brief exchange between me and Olive.

"Last spring, do you remember the day an ominous energy covered the territory?"

At Ian's words, the two priests nodded involuntarily, then gaped.

"Surely...!"

"Were the undead created then?"

"More precisely, a summoned demon put the territory to sleep."

"A demon? A demon?"

"Are you joking right now?"

"No."

To repay their trust and secure their future help, we had to reveal some of the truth.

The Exilium exile camp.

The wrongly accused prisoners.

The tragedy of the Deste mansion.

The sudden herb supply problem.

The Antema Lab.

And the Crown Prince and the Magical Engineering Academy.

Ian and I slowly told them everything we had learned and what was about to happen.

By the time the story ended, the tea Priest Chel do had prepared had gone lukewarm.

"The Emperor will frame the temple to get his hands on the academy. And he'll station imperial knights and troops here."

"There will be many casualties. The Crown Prince's side has several who have made contracts with demons."

Of course, I withheld the truly important information—like my own summoning of demons, the creation of possessors, and the true nature of the void stones.

'If they knew that, all three of them would faint.'

See?

"......"

"......"

"......"

The two priests and the one Inquisitor.

All three sat with their mouths open, blinking blankly.

Ian and I patiently waited for them to process the overwhelming truth.

'Oh, this tea is still good even lukewarm.'

After a while.

"Huff, pant!"

Priest Saker, who had been frozen like a stone, reacted first. His blue hair trembled with his body.

"Th-they kill people and turn them into undead...!"

"Why, why would they do such a thing..."

"We don't know the exact details either."

That wasn't a lie.

What we'd uncovered so far was, strictly speaking, only the most plausible hypothesis.

"However, it's clear that the Emperor orchestrated all of this for some ambition of his."

"W-wait..."

Priest Chel do raised his hand, asking for a moment.

After a few deep breaths, he clenched his trembling hands.

Then he wore an expression of firm resolve.

"Inquisitor."

Priest Chel do called out earnestly.

"We've received so much help from her—from them."

"......"

"They led us back to the right path when we were about to go astray, and they personally showed us how to save many people."

"We want to help them."

Priest Saker joined in.

"You two..."

Moved, I couldn't quite finish my sentence.

The time I'd spent with those two came back to me faintly.

My heart felt as full as when I'd found the white jade ring with the train ticket.

'On the other hand...'

What about him?

'Olive.'

Apart from being Libby's brother, he was still the misery sister-con I had no reason to trust.

He finally spoke after a long silence.

"Inquisitors are God's hounds, who judge all wickedness that torments people with false words and filthy temptations."

So we have no reason not to help.

At his words, everyone, including me, smiled in relief.

"However."

Olive suddenly glared straight at me.

"There's a condition."

"Men who put conditions on good deeds aren't attractive. Besides, this is your job. Libby unnie would be sad, you know?"

"My sister would praise me for being shrewd. She always said there's nothing stupider than working yourself to the bone for a low-paying job."

"Wow, you really are Libby's brother..."

Ian muttered that there was no better confirmation of bloodline.

Equally dumbfounded, I glanced at the priests.

"The pay is low, isn't it..."

"It's a path I chose willingly, but..."

Fortunately, the two priests seemed to agree.

'No wonder they were so eager during the first-aid kit profit negotiations.'

I asked.

"As long as it's not something weird like taking me to the central headquarters or making me a saintess."

"Don't worry. It's not that."

Olive surprisingly revealed his condition readily.

"Would you accompany me to the south?"

"The south?"

"I need help. Not just the knight beside you, but the other two I met before—I'd be even more grateful if they came as well."

"Well, in that case..."

I'd been planning to go south anyway.

All the factories I wanted to acquire were there.

"Alright."

"I'll explain the details once everything else is finished."

---

Hebenia and Ian returned to the Deste mansion, promising to come back in a few days.

This time too, Hebenia used her ability to instantly move to a room in the mansion, and the priests and Olive witnessed yet another miracle.

"Inquisitor."

Priest Saker made the sign of the cross and bowed politely.

"Thank you for trusting us and offering your help."

"I'm just doing my duty, so there's no need for formalities..."

Olive's eyes, as he answered absently, stopped on Priest Saker's hand.

"That ring..."

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