The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief in Exile - Chapter 24

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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 24
* * *
The second expedition to Desthe had been scheduled.
We’d depart in two days.
Like before, it would be a forced march through the Primordial Forest, and the party was set at five people total: myself, Verity, and three others.
Elba, the apothecary who whispers of death.
Pax, the craftsman who releases what is forbidden.
And Livy, the Grand Mage blessed by demons.
Elba wanted to personally verify the supply situation for medicinal herbs with her own eyes.
Pax, a former developer of magical artifacts, wanted to see the Desthe estate directly—the heart of magical engineering.
And Livy was coming to procure materials.
“……What kind of materials?”
Ian asked, watching Livy pack.
“Materials for a Magic Staff of my own!”
Livy’s answer came with spirited confidence.
“I want to gather the materials for my own Magic Staff myself. That way, my training will feel more rewarding, and I’ll treasure the weapon more.”
“That’s a solid idea.”
Ian began counting off his fingers as he thought of the monsters famous for their sword-making materials.
“But it won’t be as easy as you might think.”
I spoke carefully from beside her, packing my own things.
“I’m not saying I’ll catch one immediately.”
Livy overflowed with enthusiasm, yet she could assess reality with a clear head.
“It’s possible I won’t catch one even after years pass. But the harder I try, the stronger I’ll become—I want to find meaning in that effort.”
Livy looked quite impressive as she smiled, saying that setting a high goal meant you’d gain much even with half success.
I nodded vigorously in agreement.
“There’s no better teacher than experience!”
“Hebeniah doesn’t seem like she’s only seven at all.”
“How many times do I have to tell you? I was twenty-five.”
“Then you’re older than me…….”
“Good looks make me your older brother anyway.”
“R-really? Am I good looking?”
“You couldn’t even confess to Dallis before she turned you down, but you’re respectable enough.”
“Hahahaha!”
“……You’re terrible siblings.”
A sulking Ian headed upstairs, saying he was going to bed.
Livy and I soon returned to our own rooms as well.
I sat down at my desk and pulled out “The Complete Clavis in One Volume.”
Somewhere along the way, I’d developed a habit of reading for thirty minutes before sleep.
‘The table of contents listed here is equivalent to eighteen encyclopedic volumes, yet somehow I can see everything in just one book.’
Tonight I was reading the Monster section from Part One Theory.
[Habi: I’ve been having nightmares lately because monsters scare me so much.]
[Fairy: My goodness, Habi! Monsters aren’t merely frightening creatures. If you handle them well, they actually give you the chance to live an incredibly convenient life!]
[Habi: Really? Can I unfold my life fully too?]
[Fairy: You’re already as good as a victor in life, Habi. After all, you’re Clavis. But it’s good to understand monsters.]
[Habi: Wow! I think I won’t be scared of monsters anymore.]
[Fairy: Then let me explain in detail how much monsters help us from now on! First, monsters are…….]
Monsters taste delicious.
‘They really were delicious…….’
The monster meat Ian and I had eaten in the Primordial Forest.
The moment I bit into it, the juices burst forth and flooded my mouth, and the meat melted away gently as if it had fulfilled its purpose in that instant.
In that fleeting moment of marveling at the deep flavor and savory richness, my mouth was already empty.
And the byproducts—bones, organs—sold as expensive medicinal materials or ingredients, while the hides and fur were treated as premium goods.
[Fairy: That’s why monsters are also called living gold mines.]
Among them, the bones of monsters have long been coveted by high-ranking mages as Magic Staff materials.
Especially the bones of a creature called a Lich—said to be the finest grade.
The monster Livy was after was precisely a Lich.
“Liches are quite distinctive monsters.”
And the next morning.
“How so?”
“Because they were human in life.”
Verity explained while frying bacon for breakfast.
The smell of meat sizzling in pork fat made my mouth water.
“When a mage casts a curse spell on themselves and commits suicide, they become a Lich.”
“I can’t understand the minds of madmen. Give me the big portion.”
“That’s why they’re mad. And no. You’re supposed to be watching your weight.”
“But babies are supposed to be plump to be cute…….”
“Seven-year-olds aren’t babies, and pediatric fatty liver disease is serious. Have a boiled egg instead. Without the yolk.”
In the end, my plate held only the smallest strip of bacon and one boiled egg hollowed of its yolk.
I slumped into my chair with a whimper.
Verity carried a bowl of fresh vegetables to the table and finished what she’d been saying.
“Not every mage who does that becomes a Lich. Only a lucky few among renowned mages achieve that transformation.”
“Is ‘lucky’ really the word to use for that…….”
“In any case, hunting Liches is difficult. Very difficult.”
“You hear that, Livy?”
“My spirits are already crushed…….”
Livy muttered glumly as she mashed boiled potatoes.
Ian chuckled softly in consolation.
“It’s good to know these things beforehand. Besides, the Lich living in the Primordial Forest won’t be ordinary. Every monster there is strong.”
“Ian is right.”
Verity nodded.
“How strong?”
I asked as I spooned vegetables onto my plate and took a large bite.
“Since it’s top-tier rank, it should be around Grand Mage level. An Emperador Lich—the ancient word for emperor.”
“Livy, a Grand Mage is the strongest among mages, right?”
“You think you could hunt one?”
“Uh, I’d be dead instantly?”
Livy pouted and jutted out her lower lip, but soon shrugged and returned her focus to eating.
“Like I said. I never expected to catch it right away anyway.”
* * *
The day we departed for the Desthe estate.
I fastened the Watch I’d given to Livy around Ian’s left wrist.
“According to Verity, it won’t break even if you hit it with a brick, so keep it on during training. We don’t know when we’ll need to contact you.”
Next, I went to Modi.
“Please look after the Village in my stead.”
“Safe travels, Headman.”
I chose Modi, the eldest among us, as acting village headman to oversee things while I was away.
He possessed an aptitude called “Successor Following the Absolute”—something that made him unmistakably look like second-in-command.
After exchanging farewells with the other villagers, I asked Flora one last question.
“Flora, should I bring back something delicious when I return?”
“Yes……!”
Now she’d even learned to answer spiritedly.
‘It’s nice to see her smile like that.’
Dallis whispered something in Flora’s ear.
“Say goodbye and wish them well.”
“Come back safely, please!”
“I’ll be back!”
Stepping into the Primordial Forest with such a fine sendoff, it was still as dark and foreboding as ever.
‘But I’ve come here three times now—it’s starting to feel almost familiar.’
Verity’s blue light hung in the air, illuminating the forest.
“To be honest, I have a Physical-Type Aptitude, so there are limits to what I can teach those with Mental-Type Aptitudes like yourselves.”
At that, Livy raised her hand with a question.
“What exactly do you mean by Physical-Type and Mental-Type Aptitudes?”
“Physical-Type refers to an aptitude centered on direct physical attacks. The cold-blooded demonic knight Ian and the blood-soaked berserker Nema are prime examples.”
We nodded.
“Mental-Type, on the other hand, centers on attacks using Mana. Mages and bards are the most typical examples.”
“What about someone like me or Pax—apothecaries and craftsmen?”
“You’d be classified as Crafting-Type Aptitude, but the process of awakening that aptitude is the same as Mental-Type.”
Physical-Type aptitudes awaken naturally through practical experience and combat, the way Ian developed his.
But Mental-Type aptitudes require “Enlightenment,” which depends entirely on the individual’s capacity, or so I was told.
“That’s why I’ll help guide you all toward Enlightenment more easily.”
And so we found ourselves holding clubs in our hands.
Livy tilted her head when she saw mine.
“Why does only Hebeniah’s have those pink jewels embedded in it?”
“She said it makes her look like a magical girl, and she seems to like it that way.”
“That’s just teasing me……!”
Ignoring my protests, Verity continued her explanation.
“How do you come into contact with Pure Mana? Simple—you beat monsters senseless with these clubs!”
What?
Leaving the three bewildered humans to their confusion, Verity promptly changed into her winter uniform.
Monsters lurking in the darkness immediately emerged from their hiding places.
“Ahhh, you mad demon!”
I cried out and conjured a Barrier.
The monsters that crashed into the Barrier all wore savage, brutal expressions.
* * *
The second day of our Primordial Forest training camp.
Verity was glancing at the three unconscious villagers, utterly spent from beating monsters with her club all day.
‘They’ve all worked hard.’
No matter how much she protected them, unlike Ian, Livy and Elba and Pax were essentially civilians—and for them, beating monsters with a club was difficult work.
Moreover, weak strikes only stirred the monsters’ nature and made them more violent.
In the end, Verity had to finish them off, and the dead monsters became dinner.
“This is ridiculous to even say while eating, but is it safe to eat a man-eating monster?”
Hebeniah asked while holding a monster meat skewer in her hand.
“It’s fine. I’ve been trapped in the Primordial Forest for over a hundred years, after all. Besides, I’ve lived only on the forest’s clean dew and moss, so there’s no gaminess, and it’s quite delicious.”
“Hmm, rather like pork that’s been fed on green tea.”
It really was tasty.
After Hebeniah meticulously finished brushing her teeth after the meal, she sat beside the unconscious villagers and toyed with her pink club.
“Looking at it more, it’s growing on me. Wouldn’t it make a splendid Magic Staff if I just shaped it properly?”
“Ha ha ha!”
Verity burst out laughing.
‘Well, her spiritedness is certainly endearing.’
The demon placed pillows under the heads of the sleeping villagers and covered them with warm blankets.
‘They’d be amazed if they knew what those clubs really were.’
The clubs Verity had handed to the villagers were no ordinary objects.
They were what she called World Tree Root Fragments.
Precious items obtained from the Demon Realm with the permission of the lords.
Even as naturally fallen fragments, they were sturdier than most weapons, being part of the World Tree that composed the universe itself.
‘They have a special effect, too.’
Purification.
When you beat a monster with the club, the toxins the monster carries are purified into Pure Mana. Then the person wielding the club can absorb it.
‘But not just anyone can absorb Pure Mana.’
Everything born possesses Mana. It’s a universal natural law. And one can only use the Mana they’re born with.
But very occasionally, there are beings born without any Mana at all.
‘Like Void Stones.’
Did they know?
That their bodies were hollow, like Void Stones mined through hard labor.
‘That they’d been falsely accused because of it.’

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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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