The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief in Exile - Chapter 46

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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 46
The townspeople greeted my remarks with fervent cheers and applause.
I nodded slowly, satisfied.
‘Everyone’s wearing the Gogjaengi Pants I gave them.’
I hoped it would catch on as a fashion.
“Today is the day we harvest the potatoes, corn, tomatoes, and peas that the townspeople have cultivated together.”
The faces of the villagers listening to my speech grew contemplative.
For them, worn down by unjust exile and unrecompensed labor, the coming harvest was truly the first fair compensation they had earned in a long while.
“You’ve all worked hard, but I want to extend special thanks to Eig, who guided our farming efforts and taught us so much.”
Eig, the quietest among the townspeople and stockier even than Ian the former knight, looked embarrassed and hung his head.
He was a former farmer who had come to this place under the false accusation of killing people with vegetables grown using illegal pesticides.
Knowing that Eig felt burdened by such praise, I quickly changed the subject.
“Verity will exchange some of the harvested crops for cash. We’ll discuss how to use the proceeds at the upcoming town meeting.”
Today’s lunch would be prepared by Popina, who would cook with the harvest himself.
“And I ask all the children to listen well to the adults. Otherwise, Popi and Chuchu will come running over and start growling.”
The moment I spoke, Popi and Chuchu, standing like guardian spirits beneath the platform, trembled and made their presence unmistakably known.
“Then……!”
My little finger, gripping the microphone, shot up dramatically.
“Let the harvest festival begin!”
* * *
“Are potatoes usually this big?”
Nulla, caked in dirt, pointed to a potato she’d just dug up.
“The ones we used to eat were tiny. Right?”
“Y-yes, that’s true…….”
Pania, equally covered in soil, couldn’t close her mouth at the sight of a potato the size of her own head.
“It’s the soil. The soil’s that good.”
The Herb Merchant Elder, sitting under a shaded awning reserved for the elderly and infirm, chuckled warmly.
“There’s never been a harvest this bountiful.”
“Grandfather, with so much, we can eat a lot, right?”
“I’m worried we’ll waste it.”
“Popina’s going to make an incredibly delicious snack—potatoes and corn with butter and sugar!”
Nulla’s mouth was already flooding with saliva at the thought.
The Herb Merchant Elder watched the young siblings head off to dig with quiet contentment.
“Hmm…….”
He folded the fan he’d been using and lightly tapped the baskets overflowing with crops beside him.
“Grandfather!”
The corners of the old man’s eyes creased like a fox’s.
‘Right on time.’
Glancing to the side, I saw the village chief—the town’s master and ruler—approaching with the Chihuahua couple.
A sturdy-framed man walked alongside them.
“Distinguished guests grace us with their steps.”
“I wish you’d join us, Grandfather.”
To Hevenia’s regret, the Herb Merchant Elder gestured kindly toward his aged frame.
“There’s nothing more shameful than being old and foolish.”
“Oh, don’t say that. Moving around keeps you healthier. That’s how you live longer.”
“If you’re old, you should go quickly. There’s no honor in lingering to a long age—all it does is burden you young ones. *Cough,* my throat’s parched…….”
The Herb Merchant Elder lifted a sturdy cup placed beside him.
“Grandfather…….”
Hevenia murmured sadly.
“You say things like that, yet you keep drinking the juice made with Dulchebia.”
“A toast to my beloved, waiting in heaven.”
May I set a world record for robust longevity while you watch over me.
He drained the cup in one long gulp.
He even remembered to shake the emptied cup above his head—an old courtesy.
“So, what brings our village chief here?”
“I need to ask you something.”
Hevenia, whose face had been twisted as if she’d bitten into an astringent persimmon, suddenly remembered her purpose.
“You know the land well, don’t you, Grandfather?”
“Having worked with medicinal herbs for so long, I suppose I know more than most.”
Medicinal herbs are heavily influenced by soil; their efficacy varies slightly depending on where they’re cultivated.
If one was to run an herb merchant’s shop, one needed to possess a certain level of knowledge.
At those words, Hevenia and Eig exchanged a meaningful glance.
“What’s your take on this?”
Hevenia gestured toward the crops piled in the baskets stacked beside the elder.
“Impressive, I’d say.”
“From an herb merchant’s perspective?”
“I suspect the land is the real issue.”
A flicker of interest crossed the old man’s drooping eyes, which had moments before held a playful gleam.
“These crops—they can’t leave this place. They mustn’t be sold. You, the village chief, know that too. That’s why you’re asking the Demon for help converting them into money.”
The first harvest was abundant beyond measure.
The problem was that it had been far too abundant.
Everything they’d reaped had grown faster than expected, and the produce displayed forms far larger and heavier than anticipated.
“The taste is fine. I’ve already verified it myself.”
True to her role as the village chief responsible for its safety, Hevenia had plucked and sampled each crop before harvest to confirm its safety.
“But produce that falls outside standard specifications…….”
“I’ve already recommended against selling them.”
Eig, who had remained silent until now, spoke for the first time.
“When it comes to foodstuffs, standardization is strictly enforced.”
Even the slightest deviation from standards causes people to question the quality and avoid the product entirely.
Food meant for direct human consumption naturally receives such rigorous scrutiny.
“And so another potential revenue source for the village vanished—!”
But Hevenia had no time to grieve.
“This situation has led us to discover a new possibility.”
“Oh, now I’m curious.”
“That’s why I wanted to consult with you.”
Hevenia pointed toward the new revenue source she had identified.
The Herb Merchant Elder lowered his head to follow where her short finger indicated and asked.
“Land speculation? Such ambition for something so small…….”
“We’re going to sell the soil!”
At those words, the Herb Merchant Elder’s head snapped up.
Hevenia spread her index and middle fingers.
“Dulchebia and the vegetables we harvested today.”
Then she extended her ring finger.
“The Sacred Shrine contacted us—crops have been growing wildly in fields where they spread our soil.”
Even the Dulchebia seedlings they transplanted are thriving.
These three facts are perfect evidence that the Primordial Forest’s soil is no ordinary thing.
“Originally, I’d planned to raise monsters and collect their dung…….”
“Ruthless.”
The Herb Merchant Elder flinched.
Hevenia pressed on, ignoring his reaction.
“If the Primordial Forest soil possesses such remarkable properties, wouldn’t fertilizer made by mixing it sell for an extraordinary price?”
“So you’re asking me to adjust the ratios and verify the effectiveness.”
The elder, understanding Hevenia’s intention, looked up at Eig.
“Along with this young man here.”
“Ordinarily, this would be work I should undertake myself, but since I’m scheduled to participate more in training going forward, I humbly ask for your assistance.”
The farmer’s request was remarkably polite.
The twelve early villagers, excluding Hevenia, had all been assessed for unique affinities, and among them, Eig shared the physical affinity with only Ian and Nema—one of just three in the entire settlement.
After discussing it with Hevenia and Verity, they had recently decided for Eig to participate more in training.
“No, no.”
The Herb Merchant Elder lightly tapped Eig’s forearm.
“Thank you for giving me the chance to participate in such a fascinating endeavor.”
Exsilium Village was peaceful, but to an elder who had spent so long running an herb merchant’s shop and living busily, it had grown slightly tedious.
To suddenly have such an interesting pastime fall into his lap was cause for genuine joy.
“So, what’s the deadline?”
“There’s no set timeframe. But do you think it’s possible?”
Hevenia glanced up at Eig once more.
“According to him, we’ll need more precise research equipment.”
The research facilities currently available in the village were only those set up in Elba’s home, and most were experimental supplies related to herbs—insufficient for soil research.
“I don’t claim to know much, but the Deste Estate should have what we need easily enough. They’re famous for Magical Engineering—there’s no experimental tool they don’t have.”
“Or perhaps…….”
Hevenia opened her mouth as if about to make some other suggestion.
“……No, that’s not it.”
Then she smiled faintly, as though it were truly nothing to worry about.
* * *
“Verity, you demon!”
The crops we’d harvested for the first time together with the villagers.
The first money earned from farming.
“Pay us more! For this quality and size, two million Ribs is what—a pittance?”
It was barely a month’s living expenses for a family of four.
“What more can I give you here? I’ve already been generous as it is.”
“Is this the wholesale price? Are you telling me this is the wholesale price?”
“It’s based on the maximum wholesale auction standard. You’re getting this much only because your harvest volume was large. Sad as it is, that’s how agriculture typically works.”
“Good grief, how do farmers even endure such injustice? If I were in their position, I’d burn the whole nation down and kill every picky bastard in sight, I swear……!”
“You’re welcome to just beat me if that’s what you want…….”
The two million Ribs clasped in my hand felt quite heavy.
But the emptiness pressing down on my heart felt heavier still.
‘Our first communal project as a village……’
After fleeing exile, we’d started farming with the resolve to reclaim the life we’d lost—a life worthy of being human.
Because we’d worked hard at it despite our clumsy hands, the harvest had felt all the more precious.
But not receiving returns proportional to our effort left me with nothing but regret.
Whimper, whine.
Following the pitiful sounds, I looked down to find Popi and Chuchu rubbing against my legs, their tails wagging back and forth.
“Hevenia, don’t take it so hard.”
“The field was small to begin with. Two million Ribs is actually quite a lot.”
“Here, try this Buttered Potato Roast that Popina made! It’s incredibly delicious!”
“And the boiled corn is sweet—have a bite.”
The villagers were busy comforting me as well.
‘……That’s right, I shouldn’t look at it that way.’
What mattered was that our effort had borne fruit.
‘Nothing unfolds exactly as I wish, after all.’
I’d been forgetting this fundamental rule while living so easily and pleasantly of late.
‘Sigh, calm down. Inner peace through imagining the Emperor and the Court Administrator sitting side by side, not kissing and causing Juri to have withdrawals……’
It was just as I was regaining my composure.
“Wow! Waaah!”
A startled shriek rang out from somewhere nearby.
When I turned around, there was Libi.
Libi, who’d been helping Popina with the cooking, had thrown down her utensils and was hopping up and down, showing us a pale yellow flame hovering above her palm.
“I-I did it!”
Libi had successfully cast magic.

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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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