The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief in Exile - Chapter 31

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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 31
Saikurf, the High Priest of the Temple, plummeted down the well. Yet no cry for help reached their ears, nor the splash of thrashing water.
The garden fell utterly silent—so quiet that only the faint whisper of fuzzy yellow tomato flowers swaying in the breeze could be heard.
“It’s… gone…!”
“The debt from the well has vanished too.”
Saker and Chel-do, staring down into the dark well, swallowed hard.
Hebennia, who had been watching them, spoke through her nose.
“He’s alive. Don’t worry.”
Hebennia was pinching her nose to stop the nosebleed.
“We’ll take good care of him as a guest in the village. And by the way, that saintly woman you saw reflected in the well earlier? She’s just a beautiful married woman. Best to forget about her.”
As it happened, the golden light emanating from the well had been nothing more than Ian activating the “Flashlight” function on his watch.
‘Damn, it won’t stop.’
Connecting the space between the village and the Deste Mansion even once was enough to cause a nosebleed, yet she’d done it three times already today.
The nosebleed that had stopped quickly at first now flowed like water.
‘This is bad… really bad…’
Having pushed her ability far beyond its limits, her vision blurred and a relentless drowsiness made her yawn repeatedly.
“…Cough.”
Then the blood backing up in her nose spilled out through her mouth.
“Cough! Gah!”
The uncontrollable choking left her face and clothes streaked with blood in an instant.
“Please, please lower your head!”
“Let it all out. You’re fine. And try to relax your body…”
Saker, his face drained of color, quickly pinched Hebennia’s nose to stanch the bleeding.
Chel-do knelt on one knee and sat her down on it.
“No, really, I’m okay…”
“You can stop saying you’re fine now.”
“But I really am…”
Embarrassed, Hebennia tried to insist once more that she was fine, but the priests’ eyes held such profound concern that she finally fell silent.
‘…To be honest, if I were them and a kid was bleeding to help me like this, I’d feel sorry too.’
Once Saker applied Healing Magic, the nosebleed stopped quickly.
Saker drew water from the well, dampened a handkerchief, and gently wiped the blood from Hebennia’s face.
“Whenever you use your power…”
Saker hesitated before asking.
“Do you bleed like that every time?”
“If I overuse it, I bleed a bit. But it gets better with rest, so don’t worry. If it were dangerous, Clavis would have said something by now, right?”
With a determined “Heave!”, Hebennia forced herself to stand, mustering a cheerful tone.
But dizziness made the world spin before her eyes.
‘I need to hold back on using my power today…’
Once she’d regained her balance, Hebennia pulled a thick pouch from inside her cloak.
Inside lay dried herbs, carefully preserved in sunlight.
“It’s Dulchevia.”
At the name of the herb, both priests’ jaws dropped in astonishment.
The legendary herb, said to be a cure-all, lay before their eyes.
“A skilled herbalist dried it, so you can take it as is and it works beautifully.”
“Could it be the same salve you applied to Saker’s scar…?”
“That salve was made from Dulchevia.”
Both priests were left speechless by the legendary herb’s remarkable efficacy.
I explained to the two of them what to do next.
“Before treating them with Healing Magic, have them drink water steeped with the herb, diluted.”
Just enough so the herb’s efficacy could be masked by Healing Magic.
“Then naturally, rumors will spread. That something must be present in the Deste Temple, where an Angel has descended.”
“Then we should…”
“Neither confirm nor deny it.”
“Pardon?”
“Instead, the other priests will question you. They’ll ask what medicine you gave to the patients.”
It was then.
“Tell them about the well. This is how you should explain it…”
As Hebennia’s words continued, Saker and Chel-do felt as though they were dreaming.
For a long time, the Empire had developed through the rivalry and conflict between two powers: the Imperial Court and Clavis.
Caught between those two beasts, the Temple had remained quiet as a frightened rabbit.
But I’ve fulfilled my role faithfully nonetheless—watching over people, sustaining the foundations of their lives.
It wasn’t until Clavis vanished that the Temple truly understood.
We had survived all these years because Clavis checked the Imperial Court’s power while secretly protecting us.
‘We stayed alive because Clavis kept the Imperial Court in check and sheltered the Temple in silence.’
Though Clavis was infamous for lacking piety, he gave generously—vast donations that let the Temple rescue countless poor souls.
But the moment Clavis disappeared and the balance of power tipped to one side, the Emperor’s tyranny plunged multitudes into suffering.
‘That small Clavis…….’
‘Fighting the Emperor alone……!’
Both priests were profoundly moved by Hebennia, who spared no effort helping people despite her own hardship.
‘Today, I can probably afford two strips of bacon……?’
The small Clavis herself, meanwhile, had only one thing on her mind: begging bacon scraps from the demon butler.
As Hebennia licked her lips, a twinge of disappointment struck her.
‘Ah, just as Elba said from the start—I ended up giving it away for free anyway.’
For someone like Hebennia, who wanted to convert every coin into profit, this situation was rather vexing.
“Young Lady Clavis…….”
That was when it happened.
“Why do so much for us?”
Chel-do’s voice trembled as he asked.
“You have no reason to help us. Worse, the world knows you as villains. You’ve suffered contempt and countless indignities…….”
“Chel, Chel-do…….”
Saker looked flustered, shooting his colleague a warning glance.
…….
Hebennia stared at both priests steadily. Her unwavering green eyes held the strength of an ancient, primordial forest.
“Simple, really.”
The small Clavis shrugged with deliberate indifference.
“If I have the means to help, why wouldn’t I?”
The villagers.
Magic Milky.
And…….
‘My senior, too.’
Everyone I respect acts the same way.
They don’t hesitate to help others. That decisiveness—unconcerned with profit or loss—is something I most want to emulate.
“But as I said earlier, I’ll make sure to claim my fair share of benefit.”
Because I’m the village headwoman, and I must put the village and its people’s interests first!
I placed my hands on my hips and answered with deliberate pettishness, but the two priests no longer feared Hebennia.
She was like a savior sent by God to aid foolish souls like themselves.
* * *
“Allow us to escort you to your destination.”
“Shall we hire a carriage for you?”
“Please, let me go alone. I need to stop by the Gyo-X Bookstore on the way…….”
After managing to shake off the two priests, I finally left the Temple.
Fortunately, once I pulled my cloak tight and kept my mouth shut, they lost sight of me entirely.
I exhaled quietly, relieved.
‘I appreciate the offer to help, but Rivi agreed to wait for me with the orphaned siblings.’
Thanks to removing the troublemaking high priest and providing rare herbs, it seemed both Saker and Chel-do had grown to trust me deeply.
‘……Or they might be helping me as a cover while they dig into my background.’
Now that I’d developed a sense of caution, I could think ahead like this.
‘Hmph, am I looking clever? Like some scheming strategist out of legend?’
The Temple steps were still crowded with people coming to pray. I moved carefully to avoid them.
‘……In the end, this problem will only be solved by restoring the herb trade to normal.’
What I’ve done is merely a stopgap measure.
‘The herbs in the village aren’t infinite, and if I bargained my blood to demons for wishes, the Emperor would catch on immediately anyway. Besides, I don’t want to do that in the first place.’
‘So here, I need to…….’
As I was thinking it through, something happened.
“Hebennia!”
Rivi waved from where she’d been waiting a short distance from the Temple.
Beside her stood two small children, exchanging awkward glances.
‘These must be the orphaned siblings the herb merchant mentioned.’
We plan to bring these children to the village as well.
Rivi must have explained things well—both kids already held small bundles in their hands.
But there was something odd about the way the children looked at me.
I was wondering why, when—
“……Hebennia.”
Rivi called out to me, her face gone pale.
The way she looked at me was far from ordinary. I followed her gaze downward and saw blood stains smeared across my cloak.
Rivi quickly examined my clothes hidden beneath it. Her hands trembled as she gripped the front of my shirt, soaked with blood.
‘Oh dear.’
Only then did I properly see the blood on my front. It was certainly more than a simple nosebleed.
“I had a nosebleed, but when it ran back down my throat, I choked on it.”
“…….”
“I’m serious. Look, I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine.”
For the first time, Rivi’s voice—always bright no matter the circumstance—dropped to a somber tone.
“Do you have any idea what your face looks like right now…….”
“I won’t use my abilities anymore today.”
I said it quickly.
“I can’t use them. I’m too tired today—I really won’t.”
“…….”
“So let’s leave here tomorrow. We’re hungry, we haven’t even eaten lunch, and we’ve been moving around too frantically, haven’t we?”
“……All right.”
Rivi let out a long, heavy sigh, as if letting the matter drop for now.
“Then let me carry you.”
She lowered herself and offered her back.
I was startled and waved my hands, insisting I was fine.
“I’m really all right, I promise? And besides, I’m still overweight, so I’d be too heavy…….”
“Let me carry you.”
Facing such unusual firmness, I hesitated. Then one of the boy-and-girl siblings Rivi had brought along—the older brother—spoke up carefully.
“You should let her. It’d be good for you.”
“…….”
“You look really hurt.”
“Oh, um……?”
“And our sister is no joke. We actually said we wouldn’t come, but she threatened to burn our parents’ graves if we didn’t follow.”
“Oh—I’m sorry about that…….”
In the end, I found myself on Rivi’s back.
Hoping to weigh as little as possible, I tensed my body, but Rivi noticed and scolded me to relax.
“Do you think an older sister can’t carry one younger sibling?”
“I just feel bad…….”
“There’s nothing to feel bad about. Besides, Hebennia, you’re light.”
Rivi laughed softly, calling me overly cautious, and began walking slowly.
With the pleasant sway, my eyelids grew heavier bit by bit.
Sensing it, Rivi spoke.
“Go ahead and sleep. I’ll wake you when we reach the mansion.”
“Promise you’ll wake me…….”
In the end, I gladly surrendered in the battle against my eyelids.
‘Being carried feels so good…….’
Back in my university days, a senior had carried me a few times, but this felt completely different, and it was strange.
This must be what a baby feels like, drifting off to sleep in a comfortable cradle.
It had been such a long time since I’d felt safe in a place where I had nothing to worry about, able to fall asleep at ease.
‘……I wonder if the me who lived as Clavis would have known this feeling well?’
A young Hebennia, playing with my brother in a splendid mansion.
In truth, I envied the childhood self I couldn’t remember.
‘But right now, I’m not envious at all…….’
Today, I too am indulging in this blissful laziness on the back of a dependable sister.

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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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