The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief in Exile - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 10
Hebenia asked the Medicine Shop owner.
“This herb is incredibly expensive, isn’t it?”
“It’s a legendary medicinal plant rumored to be extinct. The price is whatever the seller decides.”
The Medicine Shop owner pushed his glasses—hung from a cord around his neck—up onto his nose and flicked an abacus.
“That’s what makes it valuable.”
“……But we’re the ones selling it, so shouldn’t we be the ones setting the price?”
Hebenia frowned and stared at the abacus.
“Berity—no, wait—how much is he saying again?”
“Two million Lib. That’s way too cheap.”
“Sir, we’ll be leaving now.”
“Wait, wait just a moment!”
The Medicine Shop owner hurried to stop the three of them from departing.
“Then five hundred! Five hundred thousand for three stems!”
“Why do you keep deciding the price like you’re doing us a favor?”
“Please, I’m begging you! The truth is my wife has a chronic illness—she desperately needs Dulthobia. Take pity on this old man and…….”
“You’re a married man, and you were trying to marry our brother?”
“It’s fine! My wife died twenty years ago.”
…….
Thanks to this desperate attempt—even peddling his deceased wife—the Medicine Shop owner sold three stems of Dulthobia for five hundred thousand Lib.
Ian and Berity counted every note of the five hundred thousand Lib the shop owner handed over on the spot. It was due to Ian’s distrust; he simply couldn’t bring himself to trust that old man.
While that was happening, Hebenia casually looked around the interior of the Medicine Shop.
“Do you keep the herbs stored separately?”
It was supposedly a Medicine Shop, yet not a single herb was visible. If not for the faint acrid scent lingering in the air, one might never have guessed this was a pharmacy at all.
“Half of the herbs go up to the Capital.”
The Medicine Shop owner handed Hebenia a licorice candy he’d made and spoke.
“What is it…….”
The Medicine Shop owner muttered with his eyes closed.
“The Imperial Princess.”
Hebenia’s hand, which had been peeling back the candy wrapper, froze.
Ian and Berity, who had been counting money, stopped what they were doing and turned to look.
“She nearly died this time, didn’t she? They say Clavis caused an accident, though who’d believe that anyway. In any case, the Imperial Family is buying up herbs from all across the realm on the pretext of treating the ailing Princess…….”
The Medicine Shop owner jeered, as if only the Emperor stood to gain.
“After all, they’ve disposed of Clavis—that source of Eternal Regret.”
* * *
Five hundred thousand Lib earned from selling three stems of Dulthobia was the exiles’ first income.
After leaving the Medicine Shop, we used that money to purchase various items and returned to our lodgings.
Everything from daily necessities to fabrics, writing materials, books, and jewelry and ornaments.
They were all gifts for the exile family.
“It reminds me of when I bought gifts for my mother and siblings with my first wages.”
“You’re a conscientious young man, quite rare these days, Ian. I’ll give you a bottle of Holy Water as a gift.”
“N-no, I couldn’t. I’m honored, but Holy Water is too much…….”
“Berity, what about me?”
“You already bought two magical girl dolls.”
“Ugh, seriously. I’m so miserable I might as well be seven years old.”
“Decide whether you’re going to be twenty-five or seven and stick with it.”
Everything we’d purchased fit inside Berity’s Interdimensional Pocket. It was remarkable how items vanished into the cloak without taking up any space.
‘I wonder if I could learn to do that too?’
Once we finished organizing.
We compiled the information we’d gathered while shopping.
I spoke first.
“The Emperor seems far more consumed by inferiority than I’d anticipated.”
Everyone we’d met—the knights outside the Primordial Forest, the Medicine Shop owner, and the other people of the Deste Territory—spoke with one voice.
The Emperor had been jealous of Clavis.
The situation was peculiar indeed.
‘Clavis committed the crime, yet the Emperor takes the blame…….’
But even from this alone, one could see where public sentiment truly lay.
‘Only the Princess is pitied.’
No one was concerned for the true victim—the Imperial Princess.
Not even Ian.
‘It’s possible the attempted assassination of the Imperial Princess is a false charge. She might not have been hurt at all. Still, it’s odd that no one seems concerned about her involvement in such a serious incident.’
That was when Ian spoke.
“If the supply of medicinal herbs becomes unstable, people will suffer immediate, severe damage. Even that Medicine Shop we visited earlier had almost nothing in stock.”
“But you said the Imperial Princess was badly injured.”
When I let my displeasure show, Ian replied like this.
“The Imperial Princess was always frail.”
From birth, her body was weak — she’d never once engaged in outdoor activities.
Because of that, there were many times she’d hovered at death’s door.
“There was a period of two months when I carried a Black Cloak and White Ribbon at all times under orders, because no one knew when the Imperial Princess might die. She did face several critical moments.”
…….
“The Imperial Princess suddenly purchasing medicinal herbs because she’s in critical condition? That makes no sense. It’s never happened before.”
“I, I see…….”
It was certainly strange.
No matter how ill someone was, would they ever need half of all the medicinal herbs cultivated across the entire kingdom for a single person?
‘……Could it possibly be connected to the Mysterious Ore we mined in the Exile Settlement?’
That unidentified ore.
And the medicinal herbs the Imperial Family was hoarding.
‘They look like materials for some kind of experiment.’
Just as I was trying to piece together the puzzle, Berity brought up a different topic.
“Come to think of it, there were quite a few armed knights in the Town Square.”
“It’s probably because of Exilium. With all that chaos in the Primordial Forest, they must be on alert. This place is the closest settlement to the Exile Settlement, after all.”
“That’s not the only reason.”
I unfolded the Newspaper I’d bought from a street vendor.
“Look here.”
And I pointed to a large article on the front page of the Newspaper.
“The Imperial Prince is currently visiting the Deste Territory. According to the article, it’s to reinforce the Defensive Magic Formulas protecting the territory and nearby villages.”
Now that I think about it, I’m reading these letters smoothly?
I was slightly startled by this strange phenomenon, but since it wasn’t immediately important, I decided to move past it.
“If that’s the case, there might be Imperial Family knights here as well…….”
“Be careful, Ian.”
I was genuinely worried.
“If we’re exposed, I’ll have to abandon and leave.”
My peaceful exile life.
“Even if you don’t mean it, at least say you’ll help.”
“I can’t do that. I have adults I’m responsible for.”
“Sharp for a seven-year-old.”
With that said, we flipped through the Newspaper thoroughly.
Most of the articles expressed fear of the colossal monster that appeared in Exilium and speculation about how the Imperial Family would respond to it.
There was also an editorial mentioning the medicinal herb issue. While it didn’t directly criticize the Imperial Family’s actions, it carefully noted negative predictions that the situation would lead to dangerous circumstances if left unchecked.
There was an article analyzing the impact of the Clavis Clan Elimination on the empire, but Berity muttered “What a pointless thing to do……” so we just moved on.
No article expressed concern for the prisoners in the Exile Settlement.
‘Well, of course not.’
We were heinous criminals, after all.
Moreover, there were several articles reporting that prisoners had met divine retribution and died.
‘To the public eye, we’re all dead.’
It had turned out exactly as I wanted, but I couldn’t help feeling a hollow sense of dissatisfaction.
Then.
As we read the Newspaper, we noticed something odd.
“There’s nothing, is there?”
“Right.”
There was no information whatsoever about the Mysterious Ore we had mined.
‘Even the articles I saw outside the forest didn’t seem to know about the ore.’
The Imperial Family had gone beyond mere information control and appeared to have cut off all information about the ore itself. The Mysterious Ore we had mined might be something that didn’t exist in this world.
‘Maybe I should have spared a guard or two. There would have been a lot of information to extract.’
With a pang of regret, I clicked my tongue.
‘What on earth is that ore…….’
I looked at Berity without thinking. When our eyes met, Berity smiled silently, with a knowing grin. It was an irritating sort of smile.
‘Does he know something?’
But he didn’t seem inclined to tell me.
‘Well, I’ll just ask him as a wish later and find out.’
From all the information I’d gathered, I had a rough grasp of the current situation.
‘The emperor is a suspicious wretch, the princess is pitiful, the prince is here, and Clavis is off the table for now.’
Herb prices looked set to keep climbing for some time.
‘I think I sold them too cheap to the Medicine Shop proprietor…….’
Still, I’d obtained important information, so I let it go.
Now only one goal remained.
Dalis’s former husband’s family home.
The Deste Mansion.
“We’re going, aren’t we?”
It was a proposal with the object omitted, but Ian and Berity nodded without hesitation.
* * *
Though small in scale, the Deste Territory was a city where lights burned late into the night, befitting its status as the birthplace of Magical Engineering.
Yet the Deste Mansion we approached exuded an atmosphere as eerie and dangerous as a haunted house, devoid of any light.
Click.
Thanks to that, we slipped inside without being detected.
The mansion’s exterior was modest and antiquated, like a small castle from a storybook, complete with the sort of pointed turrets where one might imagine a kidnapped princess languishing.
‘There are two things I need to confirm.’
First: whether Dalis’s daughter is safe. If she’s here, I also want to see that she’s doing well.
Second: investigate Dalis’s criminal activity.
‘Dalis is the only active criminal among our family.’
The impression that she’d been dealt with hastily lingered strongly.
‘If there was a pressing reason to dispose of her quickly, what could it be?’
Knowing just this much would help me determine which direction to move forward.
The interior of the mansion was discernible thanks to moonlight streaming through the windows. Overall, it was clean and orderly.
Yet an unnaturally gloomy and frigid air permeated the space.
‘Anyway…….’
I looked around the mansion’s interior here and there.
‘I don’t see a single person.’
Even an ordinary company would have a guard or night staff stationed on-site, but the Deste Mansion gave off no trace of human presence whatsoever.
Then I spotted a crack beneath a door with light seeping through.
Ian, who had been gazing steadily beyond the door, spoke slowly.
“……One person. Looks like they’re sleeping.”
“How can you tell without looking?”
“Well, I… how am I?”
Ian’s reply sounded perplexed, his expression suggesting he too was wondering: ‘How am I so certain about this?’
“There is only one person. And they are asleep.”
Fortunately, Berity confirmed it for us.
I turned the handle and the door slowly swung open.
The first thing that caught my eye was a bed. Someone was lying in it.
Drawing closer to look, I saw a man of ordinary appearance, seemingly in his thirties.
His hair, grayed with age, seemed strangely familiar.
‘Who is this?’
As I puzzled over it, Berity spoke from beside me.
“That’s Count Deste.”
Ian and I turned to stare at Berity in shock.
“What? Dalis’s former husband?”
“How did you know that, Berity?”
“There was a portrait in the corridor earlier. Even though his hair color’s different, he looks identical to it. So I recognized him. Turns out he’s alive. I have to admit, that’s a bit beyond what I expected…….”
What Berity found unexpected wasn’t Count Deste’s survival.
“This man has made a contract with a demon.”
Ian’s and my eyes went wide as saucers.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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