The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief in Exile - Chapter 45

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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 45
This crooked sense of justice of mine—equal parts hobby and aptitude—had followed me since my days living as Chae Ha-bin in Korea.
My track record was rather impressive.
Using the evidence of domestic abuse I’d collected, I’d extracted university tuition, living expenses, and various forms of compensation from my family members.
‘It worked because my family cared about their public image.’
There was a group project partner who’d freeloaded shamelessly; I showed his KakaoTalk messages to the professor—the ones where I’d repeatedly asked him to get in touch—and got my grade adjusted.
‘I’d never reveal the messages during class itself. Some professors hate that kind of disruption.’
Instead, I visited the professor’s office directly and calmly explained that the situation was beyond my control despite my best efforts, then asked for his understanding.
‘There was also that lunatic of a manager who dumped work on me after less than six months on the job.’
That one barely required any scheming.
“Manager, I’m sorry to bother you when you’re busy, but could I ask you to review this midway through? Since this is my first time with this task, I wanted to make sure I’m heading in the right direction…….”
“Oh, and my senior took a personal day today, so I brought it to you instead…….”
Sometimes all you need is to play dumb.
The manager was horrified to learn that a five-month-in trainee had been handling a new contract negotiation with a client, and he actually thanked me for coming to him for review before things spiraled, even praised me for it.
‘If that situation had blown up, the manager would’ve had to take the fall.’
And when my senior came back Monday, he got reamed out.
Turns out he hadn’t just dumped his work on the trainee—he’d also taken a long weekend into international travel with his girlfriend.
After that, he quietly changed jobs not long after.
‘But I can’t indulge in this fun if I’m always watching Ian’s face.’
I wasn’t planning to stop.
‘Still, my conscience nags a little.’
I knew I was a bad person, but not bad enough to ignore goodwill directed at me.
“Ian.”
I told him plainly.
“I just like tormenting wicked people and making them kneel at my feet…….”
“I know.”
“Huh?”
“I know you like doing bad things when you have a good reason for them. I’ve seen enough from where I stand—would I not notice something like that?”
“Oh, well, I……?”
I’d been earnestly plotting how to persuade Ian, so I was completely blindsided by how easily it was resolved.
‘Well, as long as he doesn’t misunderstand, that’s a relief.’
I felt a wave of relief knowing I could act freely going forward without restraint.
“Hebenia.”
“Mm?”
“What I just said means that whatever choice you make for the village people, I’ll stand with you. So you won’t have to bleed alone.”
“…….”
“To be honest, I’d like you to work on that habit of yours—tormenting people…….”
“But?”
“Hmm…….”
Ian reverted to his usual slightly vacant expression, tilting his head back and forth as he wrestled with something for a long time.
After that long deliberation.
“……Still, it’d hurt the bad ones pretty badly, wouldn’t it?”
Ian let out a long sigh and wore a bitter smile.
“Just don’t torment good people instead.”
“Of course I won’t!”
“And since you’re going to torment bad people anyway, do it in a way that benefits us.”
“My, it seems the Village Chief has been corrupted by you after all, Miss.”
Verity’s cheerful jab made Ian shrug with amusement.
“Who could possibly outdo the Village Chief?”
“Miss, it seems people really do need to hold power.”
“Hehe!”
I broke into the widest smile.
At last, I had a guardian’s blessing to torment villains to my heart’s content.
* * *
While we were on the subject.
“Let’s leave Molle Rebus alone for a while.”
Drawing on my experience, I explained to Ian exactly how to torment people effectively.
“The type who flaunts their rank and broadcasts their inferiority complex—indifference is the way to go. Especially once they realize they’re utterly useless, that’s when it hits hardest.”
“And conveniently, Syckraf nearly died from the Gag Curse…….”
Ian murmured something as if he’d just grasped a crucial piece of the puzzle.
“He might not even realize he’s caught under a Gag Curse. And frankly, I got a glimpse of him earlier as he passed by—he looked more like a corpse than any undead I’ve seen.”
“You should look after his meals for a while.”
I said this.
“Look at him—expensive robes that cost a fortune, a pricey sword at his belt.”
“So we’re supposed to trigger his inferiority complex?”
“But I suspect the Gag Curse will keep him quieter still, won’t it?”
I nodded at Verity’s words.
“There’s nothing useful to extract from Molle Rebus anyway.”
Would the Emperor and the Chamberlain really entrust important information to someone who’d betray his own colleagues just to get promoted?
‘Not a chance.’
So Molle Rebus’s only use was to remain here quietly confined until the Chamberlain’s next visit a year from now.
“You little fiend.”
Ian ran his hand roughly through my hair.
I grinned and savored the praise disguised as a rebuke.
“So now…….”
Verity broached the most pressing topic.
“We just need to find the location of the Research Facility.”
During the interrogation, the moment I mentioned “the Research Facility burned down,” the Gag Curse placed on Syckraf activated.
“It seems the problematic Research Facility that Pex mentioned is still operating.”
“The lamp under the lampstand goes unseen—they used the fire as misdirection.”
“Do you think Clavis didn’t know about this?”
Huh?
I looked at Ian as if I didn’t understand.
Sensing my gaze, Ian offered a plausible explanation for his previous remark.
“Clavis has been watching the Imperial Court for a long time. So if he’d known about this incident, he would have investigated it at least once.”
“That makes sense.”
Verity agreed.
“Your grandfather—that wicked old man—is certainly capable of it.”
“What kind of person was my grandfather anyway…….”
Even demons lose patience with men like him.
My temperament was definitely a Clavis inheritance.
In any case, finding the Research Facility wasn’t a major problem.
“Since Pex remembers it, we should be able to locate it fairly quickly. If all else fails, the young lady can always use a Wish to ask about it.”
“Is that possible? Grandfather blocked information related to the Imperial Court from working beforehand, didn’t he?”
“If Pex knew about it, there’s likely someone among the villagers who knows of the incident as well.”
So Clavis’s restrictions on information wouldn’t extend to what the villagers knew—that was Verity’s argument.
It made sense, and I found myself nodding.
“What concerns me is the Tower Master.”
Verity muttered irritably while sending a text message on his Smartphone requesting information gathering from the Demon side.
Ian asked carefully.
“With our current strength…….”
“It’s manageable.”
Ian and I exchanged glances simultaneously.
I’d expected him to come back with the answer that we’d lose immediately, but Verity said the odds were actually decent.
“After all, you have the young lady. If she sets her mind to it, the Tower Master is nothing but dirt under her fingernails.”
“Do I really have to fight such a filthy creature…….”
“Ian’s growing stronger by the day, so I’m not too worried on that front.”
What actually concerned Verity was something else.
He said the Tower Master had likely made some kind of pact with a Demon, and he was worried about just how abnormally powerful that might have made him.
“It’s rare, but it happens sometimes—a coward becomes human-like to a Transcendent through underhanded means.”
“A Transcendent…….”
Modi’s voice suddenly came to mind.
“It means someone with power that surpasses human limits—a master of exceptional ability. Like a Saint, a Grand Mage, or an Aura Master, for instance…….”
Later, when I looked it up in “Clavis in One Volume,” it said becoming a Transcendent was an extraordinarily difficult feat.
“……Isn’t the Tower Master a Grand Mage?”
“The Tower Master right now is not quite that level. Around 8th rank?”
Mages are divided into a total of nine ranks, with each level called 1st rank, 2nd rank, and so on.
A Grand Mage, apparently, was 9th rank.
‘Wasn’t it said that Lich, that thing living in the Primordial Forest, was Grand Mage caliber? Then that would make him 9th rank.’
The Tower Master was inferior to Lich.
But having made some sort of contract with a Demon, I’d likely grown as strong as the Lich dwelling in the Primordial Forest.
“If Verity fought a Grand Mage, who would win?”
“Wow, I suppose I really have lived a long time.”
Verity’s brow furrowed as she remarked that she’d never suffered such an absurd insult in all her life.
* * *
Verity spoke.
“No matter how you look at it, would I really lose to some ninth-tier mage?”
“But you’re a Transcendent.”
“Not all Transcendents are equal. Even among us, there are rankings. Seriously, this is humiliating.”
For the sin of asking one careless question, I spent the entire day listening to Verity’s complaints.
Over the following days, all the ordinary household sounds seemed to blur with the phantom voice: “Miss, you’ve been ignoring me lately, but I’m actually quite strong, you know?”
“You know how when I’m washing my face in the morning, the sound of water starts sounding like Verity’s voice? Like ‘Miss, splish-splash, don’t you know how powerful I am, splish-splash.’ That kind of thing.”
“Ahahaha!”
During breakfast.
Livy, sitting across from me at the table, doubled over laughing at my joke.
“That just means you and Verity have really gotten close, doesn’t it?”
“Can’t be helped. Lately, every time Verity sees me, she can’t resist teasing.”
“You’ve definitely gotten close.”
Livy quickly urged me to eat, then spooned some soft scrambled egg onto my plate.
“Eat plenty. You’ll need your strength today.”
“Okay!”
Today, Exilium Village was hosting a historic event.
It was the harvest day for the first crops we had planted in the village.
After eating my fill, I put on the Colorful Patterned Pants that I’d received as a Wish from Verity. And I didn’t forget to slip on cute little Boots as well.
“Livy, how do I look?”
“You look adorable, absolutely adorable!”
“Hehe.”
“Hebenia, what about me?”
“Very cute and cool!”
Livy also took a fancy to my Colorful Patterned Pants and wanted a pair for herself, so I gifted her an identical set.
She put on a Wide-Brimmed Hat and didn’t forget to slip on Gloves.
“Hello, everyone!”
Upon arriving at the field, I called out cheerfully.
“Oh my, the Village Chief has arrived!”
“You’re here, ma’am.”
“Today’s glory would not have been possible without you, Village Chief.”
“Please, come to the center here.”
“Giggle.”
Basking in the adoration of the villagers, I climbed onto the platform I’d prepared the day before and seized the microphone.
“Ahem.”
I cleared my throat lightly, then swept my gaze across the gathered villagers below and gave them a nod.
“Dear villagers. I, Hebenia, your loyal servant and faithful errand-runner, bid you…….”
“Don’t lie!”
“……beloved villagers. I, Hebenia, your mistress and ruler of this village, greet you.”

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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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