The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief in Exile - Chapter 121

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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 121
* * *
When Hebeniah arrived at Izelium Village and lay down on the bed claiming exhaustion, she came down with a fever.
“Wow, so you can actually get sick…….”
“That’s what you’re going to say right in front of someone who’s ill?”
Ribi struck Ian on the back, while Verity quickly called for Merdi, the only physician in the village.
Upon examining Hebeniah as she lay in bed, Merdi clicked his tongue.
“It was about time you came down with something.”
“Ugh, that’s not fair…….”
“Mayor, there’s nothing unfair about it. You’re constantly running about and working without rest—how could you not fall ill?”
“Why am I the only one getting sick…….”
“The way you’re carrying on, you’ll be back on your feet in no time.”
Merdi produced a medicine he’d brought along.
“This is Fever Medicine that Elba prepared.”
Merdi said to give her half a bottle after lunch and dinner, and she’d be up and about by the next day after a good rest.
Once the examination was complete, Merdi gathered his medical bag and stood to leave.
“The villagers are all concerned to hear that you’re unwell, Mayor. I hope you recover quickly.”
After that, the residents came to visit Hebeniah’s house.
“How are you feeling?”
“Here, we made you some bread porridge…….”
“The Duke and Duchess said they were feeling low themselves.”
“Are you in much pain, sister?”
They arrived bearing gifts—foods easy for an invalid to eat and various other offerings.
“We feel shy about calling these gifts when it’s all thanks to our Mayor that we have them in the first place.”
Though they all spoke in embarrassed tones and laughed awkwardly, even through the fog of fever, Hebeniah smiled broadly with joy.
“At last, everyone truly respects this Mayor…….”
“Your true feelings come out when you’re ill, I see.”
Verity spooned up some of the bread porridge and fed it to Hebeniah.
Hebeniah accepted it obediently.
“I’ve been reflecting on my conduct as well, this time.”
By the time the bowl of porridge had been scraped clean.
Verity spoke in a subdued voice.
“Miss, you’re always so composed that I’d forgotten, just for a moment. That you’re still just a child.”
“Are you actually being sincere about this?”
“Of course. I’m your personal chamberlain, after all…….”
The sight of Verity slumping her shoulders and murmuring was rare enough that Hebeniah felt genuinely surprised.
‘Hmm, being sick isn’t so bad after all.’
Though there were mountains of work yet to be done, watching people worry over her like this was honestly gratifying.
Hebeniah smiled and graciously accepted the apology.
“And…….”
After setting the empty bowl aside for a moment.
“Do you remember what I said at the Harbor?”
“At the Harbor?”
Hebeniah, with her fever-slowed mind, drank down the rest of the Fever Medicine and concentrated hard.
“Could I bring another Demon here?”
Hebeniah’s eyes widened.
“The thing about bringing a Demon?”
“Actually, I’ve been wrestling with this idea for quite a while now.”
All eleven native inhabitants with Transcendent Aptitude were growing at a rapid pace. Verity’s instruction played a large part in this mysterious phenomenon.
Yet that very instruction had become a bottleneck to their continued advancement.
“I specialize in Physical Attribute training, so I can’t teach Mental Attribute aptitude beyond this point.”
“Physical Attribute—that would be Ian, and Nema…….”
“And Aig.”
Knight, berserker, archer.
Only three practitioners of Physical Attribute training, yet their results were dazzling.
By contrast, the remaining eight Mental Attribute practitioners—twice as many—were yielding results that fell far short of their efforts.
The most obvious examples were Ribi and Dalis.
Ribi had awakened magic on her own and even created an evolved Mana Circle, yet she still couldn’t control her power and frequently went haywire.
And Dalis had awakened to Saint’s Power in the wake of the Undead incident, but still didn’t know how to use it and remained uncertain.
So Verity was proposing that this time, she’d like to summon a Demon who was versed in Mental Attribute disciplines.
Hebeniah accepted willingly.
“But what kind of Demon is he?”
“You know of him, miss.”
“I do?”
“We’ve never met, but I’ve read something he wrote.”
The Transcendent Aptitude listed in the remarks section of the health checkup form.
Hebeniah started in surprise.
“Whoa! The one who wrote all those cringey sentences?”
“He didn’t actually have to write quite so much, but… hmm…”
Verity stood with her arms crossed, eyes squeezed shut, tilting her head back and forth repeatedly.
She was still searching for the right way to introduce him.
“…I’ll just speak honestly.”
Verity’s expression became so grave that Hebeniah instinctively straightened up from where she’d been leaning against the bed.
“He’s quite a deviant.”
“…Excuse me?”
“A deviant acknowledged by everyone, and by himself as well.”
“….”
“I’m not joking—even the Long-haired Lord acknowledges him as a deviant. The Bleached Demon acknowledged it, and Lord Sappajeoah acknowledges him as a deviant too.”
The word “deviant” had been used four times in total.
At this point, Hebeniah raised her hand with a question.
“But who is Sappajeoah?”
“There are four Lords in the Demon realm, and he’s one of them. The deviant I mentioned earlier is also one of those four Lords.”
“So we’re serving someone quite extraordinary…?”
Hebeniah felt slightly embarrassed.
‘Still, a deviant….’
A deviant even other Lords acknowledge.
‘Is it all right to have him come here?’
Still, it was undoubtedly a rare opportunity. She hoped everyone would gain something valuable from this chance.
“But why is his name Sappajeoah?”
“It means ‘a man who fell in love and committed sin.'”
“What kind of desperate love did he have? An affair? A crime of passion?”
“He fell in love with a human.”
The moment she heard those words, someone’s face flashed through Hebeniah’s mind.
“Humans and Demons aren’t supposed to fall in love in the first place. They’re beings from different dimensions, and such relationships cause all sorts of problems.”
“So that Lord Sappajeoah is now…?”
“He’s confined in the Abyss. He went willingly.”
“Um, could it be…?”
Hebeniah asked the question desperately hoping the answer would be no.
“Does that man have a child with a human?”
“Yes.”
“Could that child possibly be…?”
“Yes.”
Verity pointed beyond the wall with her finger.
“It’s Dalis.”
* * *
The next day.
With the recovery speed of a beast, I was fully healed and drove my beloved Shing-Shing Car to the Village Hall to work.
Ian and Ribi had asked if I should take the day off, but there was too much to do.
“Hebeniah, are you feeling all right?”
“Never better!”
Everyone I passed greeted me with concern for my health. I grinned and called out that I was completely recovered, thanking them for their well-wishes.
But my mind was a tangled mess.
‘I’ve learned yet another astounding fact…!’
Aunt Dalis seemed to know she was Half-human Half-demon, yet showed no interest in seeking out her biological father.
So I didn’t ask her about it either.
Verity, for much the same reason, had apparently noticed whose child Aunt Dalis was but kept quiet about it.
‘Ugh, I should have just kept wondering to myself!’
When I arrived at the Village Hall, I walked briskly into the office.
“Village Chief!”
Aunt Frelia looked at me and immediately cradled my face in both hands, turning it this way and that to examine me closely.
“How badly did it hurt? Your face has gone half-gaunt.”
“I lost a little weight, but it’ll come back quickly once I start eating again.”
“At your age, ‘a little’ is quite a lot. Let’s make sure you don’t overdo it today.”
Modi, who’d been working, nodded in agreement.
I answered their kindness with a bright smile.
First, I let them know that new residents might be moving into Izelium Village.
“So the Okto Trading Company head is coming too.”
“That company’s going to have a rough time ahead.”
Modi and Frelia exchanged words.
Arun and Kanna of the Okto had committed terrible crimes using the trading company.
They’d thought it would impress the Emperor, but really they’d just handed him leverage over themselves.
The Okto Trading Company was finished because of those two.
“Then the number of new residents will be considerable.”
Modi said.
“We have plenty of empty houses, so that’s not a problem. But we should establish proper systems for maintaining order.”
“So you’re going to give them houses……?”
“Not for free.”
I said it firmly.
But I couldn’t deny benefits to those who came of their own accord.
Especially these new residents—they were exactly the people we needed most for running the Izel Company and the village itself.
“I’m thinking of leasing them houses for a few years on a monthly rent basis, then transferring ownership. I’ll also waive taxes for about a year.”
The three of us discussed many other matters besides.
Establishing a patrol unit, creating new administrative bodies, selecting administrators, and so on.
“Oh, and I’m planning to bring in a new Demon.”
I told Modi this while Frelia had stepped out briefly.
“I’m inviting them to provide Mental Attribute training, so make sure you train well.”
“Then they must be quite strong. I do hope the training won’t be too harsh. What sort of person are they?”
“According to Verity, they’re a pervert.”
“Is that a nickname?”
“When I asked who they were, I heard the word ‘pervert’ four times. Long-haired Lord and the Bleached Demon both acknowledge them as a pervert.”
“Are you certain it’s safe to invite them?”
Somehow I’d only left Modi feeling anxious.
After that, I climbed back onto the Shing-Shing Car to go back out.
‘Do we need public transportation?’
Right now we had only thirty people living clustered together, but Izelium Village was originally spacious enough to hold hundreds of two-story estates with room to spare.
‘As the population grows, the residential area will expand too. Yeah, we should prepare public transportation.’
After rolling diligently along, I arrived at a plot of land where a school was to be built.
I rang the bell hanging beside the door, and familiar faces rushed out.
“Village chief! Welcome!”
“Oh, you’re the sister who knocked Kevil out!”
“Big sister!”
“You were sick? Are you better now?”
It was the orphan children we’d rescued from the Keveilis Estate and their teacher, Edul.
“I’m so sorry, the house is in terrible shape, isn’t it?”
“With this many kids, it’d be stranger if it were clean.”
Just as Edul said, the interior of the house was a mess.
Toys and storybooks were scattered everywhere, and the children, already losing interest in me, chattered loudly among themselves as they played.
The children looked far more lively than before.
“It’s cramped, I know, but bear with it a little longer. Soon we’ll have a new place built for all of you. We’re building an orphanage right next to the school…….”
No, wait.
‘What if we called it something other than an orphanage?’
Yeah, that might be better.
I continued speaking to Edul, who’d been waiting for me to finish.
“In any case, we’ll be moving to a bigger place soon, so don’t worry.”
“I truly don’t know how to thank you enough…….”
“What good is a village chief who can’t do even this!”
I quipped confidently and thrust out my hand.
“But have you prepared it?”
At my words, Edul snapped to attention.
“The application form for participation in the talent show celebrating the village chief’s boundless glory and magnificent deeds? One moment, please!”

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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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