The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief in Exile - Chapter 42

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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 42
A brilliant blue star-shaped Summoning Circle materialized across the ground.
Warm, silken wind surged upward, carrying with it the subtle scent of clean fabric softener.
“……Damn it.”
The Angel who emerged through the sacred light let loose a crude curse.
“Summoned into a Demon’s den, no less. What kind of nonsense is this……!”
“Hello there!”
“……This doesn’t seem like a pleasant situation.”
The moment the Angel caught sight of Hebennia greeting me with innocent cheer, she gulped down a mouthful of curses that had been rising to her lips.
* * *
‘Good nature runs deep, I suppose.’
The Angel who’d swallowed back her profanities at the sight of me couldn’t quite contain her surging irritation—her leg bounced restlessly.
Today, as always, the Angel’s long bangs obscured her eyes, but her distinctive outfit immediately captured attention.
“Miss, looking at things like that will damage your soul.”
“It’s already damaged, so step aside and let me see more.”
I brushed away Verity’s fingers from my eyes.
For reasons I couldn’t fathom, the Angel was bound in Iron Chains.
With nothing worn underneath, her muscular frame was blatantly exposed, though her nipples were somehow perfectly concealed.
‘The chains are going to pinch her skin in the gaps.’
Fortunately, her pants were properly fastened this time, but the snug leather material clung so tightly it was rather embarrassing to look at.
The Pistol tucked into the waistband, at least, was a welcome sight.
‘Seems like she has a particular taste.’
I nodded to myself at this plausible deduction.
“Ow!”
A sharp, stinging pain shot through my forehead.
The banged-up Angel had flicked me right on the brow.
“Why’d you hit me!”
“I felt insulted.”
“But I didn’t say anything!”
“Miss, come here. They say you shouldn’t associate with Angels.”
Verity drew me behind her protectively.
I went along obediently, peeking out only my face as I glared at the banged-up Angel.
A Demon and an Angel began to converse.
“Look at this hooligan. Laying hands on a child—what’s that about?”
“You started it. Is it in your nature to be this rude, summoning a busy Angel to such an unpleasant place?”
“Look at your own outfit first. Did you rob a hardware store? Forget the Iron Chains—what in the world are those pants? Your rear end must be suffocating.”
“Hmph, as if a low-class Demon would understand fashion.”
“If that’s fashion, I’ve said a thousand times I’d rather remain ignorant for the rest of my life.”
The banged-up Angel reached for a cigarette pack from her back pocket, then paused and glared at me. I flinched and buried myself further behind Verity.
The Angel clicked her tongue and shoved the cigarette pack back into her pocket.
Then she spoke irritably.
“Get to the point.”
“……”
“Why you summoned me.”
“Oh! To make a wish!”
When the banged-up Angel lowered her lower body, a cushioned chair materialized and supported her weight.
“Right, there was an advance payment you pipsqueak forced on me.”
I was more startled by the Angel calling me a “pipsqueak” than by the chair’s abrupt appearance.
“Good timing. I’ve been bothered by it—let’s settle this quickly.”
“My wish has two parts.”
First: to make a soft, gentle light bloom in the well of the Deste Temple.
And then, finally, the second one.
“……”
“……”
When I stated my second wish, both Verity and the banged-up Angel’s faces twisted as though they’d just bitten into bitter herbs.
“Pardon me a moment, Miss.”
Verity stepped forward.
“Did I mishear you?”
“What did you hear?”
“I must have misheard—asking the Holy King to grant you a divine revelation.”
“You heard me correctly, didn’t you?”
“Are you insane?”
“Everyone’s got something loose up here somewhere…….”
“No, no! You’re really serious about this?”
Verity grabbed my shoulders and shook me wildly.
“Go check if that spell was weak.”
The winged Angel in front looked at me with pity as I spouted off nonsense about having something loose.
“…….”
My pride was a little bruised, but I deliberately put on a pitiful expression and said this.
“I guess you can’t do it…….”
There was a sharp grinding of teeth. I pretended not to hear and kept up my performance.
“It’s fine. I can just ask Verity instead. Since it’s Temple business, I thought an Angel would be better, but if it’s difficult for you, I’d be happy with just the first wish…….”
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“So when should I deliver the revelation?”
“You’re going to fall for provocation like that?”
Verity called me out as if exasperated, but she looked a little more excited than before.
She seemed pleased that I’d subtly insulted the Angel just now.
The winged Angel was already thinking seriously about how to deliver a revelation to the Holy King.
“This is a matter of my pride. I’ll give a revelation so magnificent that you wouldn’t dare dream of it.”
“From what I can see, you just lost a rank dispute with a human child.”
“And if you ask me, it looks like this Demon lost a long, long time ago.”
“Kyahahaha.”
“Miss, don’t smile so innocently with such an irritating expression. By the way, why did you make such a wish…….”
“It’s obvious what it is.”
The Angel cut off Verity’s words and gave the answer.
“Medicinal herb distribution.”
The winged Angel tilted her head toward me as if asking whether my guess was right. I answered by tilting my own head in return.
“I figured it out too, you know?”
After glaring at the Angel once, Verity turned back to me.
Worry and confusion filled her pretty face now that irritation had vanished.
I spoke.
“The Undead we saw at the Deste Estate could be Test Subjects.”
“Well, I mean…….”
Verity’s words trailed off weakly.
“But like you said, it’s just a possibility…….”
“Actually, I asked the medicine merchant grandfather about it.”
“About what?”
“The common trait among the herbs the Imperial Court has been buying up.”
The herbs the Imperial Court was currently procuring in near-monopoly quantities possessed only modest efficacy—treating common ailments like colds, fevers, bruises, headaches, and fever reduction.
Before Dulchevia, which had been called a panacea, these herbs couldn’t even present their calling card, but for ordinary people, they were absolutely essential.
“Grandfather deliberated for quite a while before telling me this.”
I noticed that Verity and the winged Angel were focusing intently on my words.
I grew tense as well.
Because the conjecture I was about to voice was quite grotesque and cruel.
“They have a preservation effect.”
* * *
“If I’m forced to find something, the only common trait is the preservation effect, but I can’t be certain whether the answer you’re looking for is correct.”
“Preservation isn’t anything remarkable. It just makes food rot a little more slowly and destroys bacteria in the body.”
“Treatment and preservation are different concepts, but in a broader sense they share similarities. That’s why most herbs have some preservation properties.”
Preservation.
The act of preventing an object from rotting or decaying and becoming corrupted.
The moment I heard the word preservation, I thought of the servants who walked about the Deste Estate.
They had become Undead, yet they did not decay.
“Back then, you said it, remember? That a Demon seemed to be involved.”
“Non-decaying Undead is only possible with high-level Curse Magic. A human of this world couldn’t perform it on so many people all at once.”
“What kind of fool…….”
The Iron Chains wrapping around the Angel’s body jangled and swayed.
The air grew heavier as the winged Angel radiated obvious fury and bloodlust.
“What kind of fool would do such a thing?”
I recalled the conversation I’d overheard that day.
“……The Chief Attendant told me that the person who created all those Undead in bulk was the Tower Master.”
“High-tier magic requires supplementary materials if the caster’s power isn’t sufficient. I’d wager he did something with those herbs to compensate…….”
Verity, who had been dismissive of the Angel with the bangs until now, showed genuine concern for the first time.
“Will you be alright?”
“…….”
I surveyed them both with a puzzled expression.
A mad Demon was involved in this mess—so why on earth was Verity asking the Angel if she was okay?
Noticing my confusion, Verity offered an explanation.
“Do you know what Holy Magic is?”
“I’ve read about it in books…….”
Clavis kept her answers brief.
I quickly recalled the content from the first half of the theoretical section.
“It’s magic granted to priests who have endured trials and hardship, isn’t it?”
Unlike other types of magic that must be learned through one’s own effort, Holy Magic could only be acquired by receiving it from an Angel—God’s messenger.
“It’s divided into three main categories: Healing, Purification, and Enhancement.”
I folded my fingers one by one, recalling what I’d learned.
Healing. The power to mend wounds and restore a weary body.
Purification. The power to eliminate what is wicked and defiled.
“And finally, Enhancement amplifies one’s inherent power many times over—a positive, beneficial, beneficial effect…….”
All at once, something clicked loudly in my head.
I froze mid-gesture and looked foolishly between the Angel and the Demon, uttering a small “ah” of realization.
The two beings’ eyes met, and they nodded in unison.
As if to confirm that my suspicion was correct.
“Don’t tell me that Enhancement…….”
“He must have amplified the preservation effects of the herbs.”
Verity gestured toward the Angel with the bangs with a jut of her chin.
“Demons can’t use Holy Magic, so it had to be either a priest or an Angel. Given how events have unfolded, the Angel’s involvement seems more likely.”
“Damn it.”
The Angel with the bangs fumbled with the pistol tucked into her waistband. She’d released its safety.
“If she gets caught, I’ll kill her……!”
“Well, now it’s not just a Demon problem anymore.”
Verity, for her part, seemed delighted by the development.
“……Summoning anyone and everyone, in the end.”
I glared at the two inhuman beings in utter exasperation at their poor management of their own kind.
* * *
“That perverted Angel came to the village?”
The morning after.
I told Ian and Libi about what had happened the previous day.
The moment he heard that the Angel with the bangs had stopped by, Ian’s face twisted in disgust, and he let out a groan of exasperation.
But as I continued my explanation, his expression grew increasingly grave.
Propping his elbows on the table and covering his lower jaw with his interlaced fingers, Ian looked rather striking.
“Ugh, this isn’t something an ordinary person like me should be dealing with…….”
The words he spoke were somewhat pathetic.
“You’re not an ordinary person anymore. You’ve been beating monsters to a pulp.”
“At this point, I’m starting to miss my unjust exile.”
“I’d like to curse you for saying that, but I feel the same way.”
Ian and I let out a deep sigh in unison.
It was then.
Libi, who had been listening quietly until now, finally spoke.
“But…….”
Libi was combing through Popi and Chuchu’s fur in turn.
Popi, whose turn had finished first, lay on a cushion placed on the chair beside her, while Chuchu, still being combed, kept her eyes closed and contentedly enjoyed the attention.
“Wouldn’t it be terribly inefficient to gather such common herbs in bulk just to preserve corpses? It’s the kind of thing that would damage the Emperor’s own reputation.”
“I’ve found that point puzzling too. Perhaps…….”
“Perhaps?”
“Perhaps the Emperor gets aroused by being insulted.”
“Ah, that’s a bit…….”
I really didn’t like that possibility.
Libi’s expression turned serious.

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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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