The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief in Exile - Chapter 104

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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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Episode 104
* * *
I need to correct myself.
‘I thought I had terrible luck with family, but it turns out I’m incredibly blessed.’
From now on, I’ll never joke about having poor family fortune again.
With that resolve, I sniffled—not from crying, but because my eyes had suddenly grown hot.
It seemed I had an allergy to kind grandfathers.
‘……Hehe.’
Before I knew it, I was sitting on the sofa, swinging my dangling legs with pure joy.
The Holy King’s eyes watching me were so warm they seemed to melt. This must be what people meant when they said affection dripped like honey.
“Hehe!”
“Our little princess takes after her mother quite a lot.”
“Really?”
“Is there anyone in Clavis as intelligent and beautiful as your mother? Or perhaps you take after your grandmother?”
The Holy King told me how much he loved and admired those two women.
I twisted my legs together in embarrassment.
“She took it for granted that helping others with a good heart was natural, and she was so meticulous that she always maintained top grades in her studies.”
“My goodness.”
“So gifted, and yet she went ahead and married…….”
……
As the result of that union, I had nothing to say in my own defense.
The Holy King gave me solemn advice.
“Our little princess doesn’t need to marry at all. A woman with money and strength lives best alone, they say. Devote yourself only to your muscles. People betray you, but muscles never do.”
In my life, I’d never met such an optimistic cynic before.
So this is the sort of person who becomes a Holy King.
I nodded firmly.
“Yes! I’ll work hard on my muscle training!”
Besides, I had no intention of dating anyone but my senior.
‘And anyway, I have a seven-year-old body but a twenty-five-year-old mind.’
No matter which standard I used, everyone would seem strange as a romantic prospect.
“By the way, our little princess.”
The Holy King’s eyes, which had been watching me respond with such spirit, shifted slightly.
“What’s your next plan?”
Hearing that, I recalled something from a few days ago.
* * *
The Holy King announced that a miracle had occurred at the Deste Sacred Shrine.
“The miracle that descended upon the Deste Sacred Shrine was Holy Water that aided the growth of medicinal herbs.”
“I kept it secret entirely by my own decision.”
“Considering the circumstances when the miracle was reported…….”
He claimed the reason he kept it secret despite the miracle was to prevent the Emperor from seizing all the herbs.
And the next day.
An Angel appeared again above the Deste Territory.
The Angel gazed at something with white eyes, then pointed a sword in its hand toward a certain direction.
At the same moment, an emergency erupted at the Deste Sacred Shrine.
“No, disaster has struck!”
“High Priest Saikfeu……!”
High Priest Saikfeu stole the Angel Feathers and fled.
And the miracle vanished.
The glowing well lost its efficacy, and the medicinal herbs grown with its water withered completely.
And that wasn’t all.
“Viscount Deste has also fled!”
Upon receiving the report, the Holy King immediately dispatched a search party, ordering them to bring anyone they captured straight to the Western Central Main Temple.
‘He truly is a remarkable person.’
The location where the Holy King sent the search party matched a place I hadn’t yet told anyone about.
It was the Antemma Research Institute.
What surprised me most was his decision to open the Deste Estate when purifying the undead.
On the surface, it was all meant to mourn this tragedy and to show that the truth would not be hidden.
But in reality, it created countless witnesses, completely blocking any possibility of the Imperial Court opposing the punishment of the shrine’s nobility.
‘So this is how someone becomes the leader of a faction…….’
I spoke honestly.
“I thought I’d use this opportunity to focus more on running the village of Izelium while the Imperial Court lies low.”
“Izelium?”
“It’s the village’s name. I altered the spelling of Exilium slightly.”
“What a lovely name. A land that shines with radiance…….”
The Holy King, savoring the meaning of the name with a murmur, opened his eyes wide.
“Oh my, so the First-Aid Box that the Deste Sacred Shrine officially approved this time…….”
“Is our village’s pride — the flagship product of the Izel Company!”
“Oh my, oh my!”
The Holy King scooped me up suddenly and began swaying me back and forth.
“My dear princess is so remarkable!”
“Hehe.”
“Then I must tell the village chief something while I’m at it.”
The Holy King, setting me back down on the sofa, spoke.
“Why do you think the Imperial Court would lie low?”
“Because they’ve lost too much popular support from this incident.”
He nodded at my answer as if confirming I was right.
“And?”
“Hmm?”
“That’s correct, but wouldn’t that reason alone be too weak?”
“Well…….”
Now that I thought about it, he had a point.
Until now, the Emperor had acted as he pleased, pretending not to see the people’s hearts, ignoring their voices.
Why would such a man now concern himself with Deste’s popular support?
‘Hmm…….’
The Holy King watched me as I pondered, his gaze steady.
“My dear princess.”
Then he offered another answer.
“The Emperor may be foolish, but he is not a fool.”
“…….”
“He’ll appear to step back for now while reorganizing his position.”
Because this incident revealed to him the full extent of my abilities, the true scope of my power and strength.
He tapped my small nose lightly with his finger.
Worry had quietly filled the Holy King’s eyes as he gazed at me.
“I came forward, but he knows you stand behind me.”
“…….”
“His retreat could be both an opportunity and a crisis for you. So always be careful…….”
“Grandfather, how much do you know?”
I asked.
“Do you know what the Emperor really wants?”
“Petty ambitions more contemptible than a flea.”
The Holy King frowned, clicking his tongue as if the mere thought disgusted him.
“But…….”
Then he pointed upward with his finger.
I lifted my gaze skyward and gasped.
‘This was here?’
A painting covered the ceiling.
Like a cathedral ceiling I’d once seen in a book, the sky within the fresco seemed to pierce through the roof, boundless and distant.
Though I knew it was merely a trick of perspective, I found myself endlessly searching for the edge of that painted sky.
His large hand slowly covered my eyes.
When safe darkness descended over my vision.
“Beware of those who exist beyond that realm.”
The Holy King whispered the words close to my ear like a secret.
“Cowardly hypocrites who dress their selfish greed as justice, their self-preservation as peace.”
Grandfather knew about the Possessors.
* * *
The day we returned to the Western Central Main Temple.
“My dear princess, shall we go to the Central Main Temple together with Grandfather?”
The Holy King grumbled, reluctant to part with Hebennia in the temple’s reception room.
“Does Grandpa have lots of money?”
Hebennia asked, her eyes bright.
“Father, when you’re at the Main Temple, couldn’t I wear pretty clothes and put on some jewelry?”
“Your grandfather is the Holy King, so he has no personal wealth. Instead, he wears pure white, austere priestly robes, and black grain bread that’s good for his health…….”
“Please look after him!”
Hebennia bowed deeply, folding herself at a perfect right angle.
“Our princess, your greed has grown considerably…….”
There was no antidote for that sort of thing.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door from outside. It was the Holy King’s secretary.
“It’s time to depart, Your Majesty.”
The Holy King rose with reluctance weighing on him, leaning down to press his lips to Hebennia’s forehead and offering a prayer from the depths of his heart.
“My dear princess, I will always pray for your health and happiness.”
“I’ll definitely visit the Main Temple. Once I’ve been somewhere, I can travel there anytime I want. That way we can always see each other.”
Hebennia waved from the doorway as the Holy King left the reception room.
The door closed shortly after.
Hebennia retrieved the Aura-Concealing Cloak from her subspace storage, wrapped it around herself, and used her ability to slip into the carriage where the Holy King was riding.
‘No one’s here yet, right?’
Quickly, she cast a Protective Barrier.
‘Movies and dramas always have people getting assassinated because they let their guard down.’
From there, she immediately traveled to the train station.
Then she waited for the Holy King’s party to arrive.
‘Phew, look at this crowd.’
The streets of Deste Territory and the area in front of the train station were packed with people.
They had come to catch even a glimpse of the Holy King, who had purified the undead and performed the miracle of two angelic descents.
There were no loud cheers.
Because of the tragedy that had occurred not long ago, people silently sent the Holy King off with only their tears and their silence.
Hebennia hid behind a pillar and watched until the Holy King and his entourage had fully boarded the train.
* * *
“You must have had a difficult time.”
“What hardship have I endured? Everyone else did all the work.”
“There will be much to do when you return to the Main Temple.”
“First, I’ll need to identify those who verified that Saikfeu overcame the trials. I myself must reflect on my own failure to confirm it properly.”
“Perhaps this is also an opportunity for comprehensive reforms within the temple…….”
Hmm?
The Holy King’s secretary stopped mid-sentence, glanced out the window, and let out a quiet laugh.
“Your Majesty.”
Then he pointed outside.
The Holy King’s eyes widened as he looked out the window.
Hebennia was hiding behind a platform pillar.
When their eyes met, Hebennia swung her arms wildly back and forth.
She bounced up and down with a radiant smile, looking exactly like an excited puppy.
“It appears she came to see you off, Your Majesty.”
“…….”
“Please, do not cry, Your Majesty.”
“Thinking of all the hardships that lie ahead for that child…….”
“But now you can help her, Your Majesty. The princess said she’d visit the Main Temple, so from then on you can see her anytime you…….”
Hmm?
The secretary stopped speaking again.
“Your Majesty……?”
Then he quickly tapped the Holy King’s shoulder and pointed out the window again.
The Holy King wiped his damp eyes with his handkerchief and sniffled as he looked outside.
[Grandfather!]
Hebennia was holding up a large sketchbook.
On it, she had written the sincere words she hadn’t been able to speak.
[The Saint is living right next door!]
[And the half-human, half-beast person too!]
“What!”
With a loud, piercing whistle, the train began to depart.

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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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