The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief in Exile - Chapter 50

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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 50
Baerongnamu Fever.
Like chickenpox or measles in Korea, it’s a terrifying epidemic that leads to death if treatment is delayed.
However, if medicine is taken consistently in the early stages when symptoms appear, recovery is swift, and afterward immunity develops so one never catches it again.
For the people here, Baerongnamu Fever was like a rite of passage that everyone had to endure once in childhood.
‘But that might become a thing of the past now.’
Cases of Baerongnamu Fever have exploded across the Southern Region.
A disease that could be cured quickly with inexpensive medicine taken early—yet infected cases are multiplying because people can’t obtain that very cheap remedy.
“Sigh…….”
I drew in a long, deep breath.
‘Getting angry won’t solve anything.’
I did my best to suppress the rage that threatened to boil over.
But this damnable situation, utterly incomprehensible, kept spawning fresh question marks of displeasure.
‘What in hell is the Emperor trying to do?’
Yet I caught myself and changed course.
“……Don’t try to find the reason.”
Slowly opening the eyes I’d squeezed shut, I resolved never again to search for a reason, no matter what madness the Emperor committed.
‘That’s a natural disaster. An insane creature beyond human comprehension can’t be understood by human logic.’
So I had to observe instead.
Watch the Emperor’s movements and words carefully, uncover the sinister intentions beneath.
The shift in my thinking made my mind feel sharper
‘To the Emperor, “Emperor” is merely a means.’
What’s happening now is nothing short of a stain on the Emperor’s reputation.
Yet seeing how he continues to commit these bizarre acts at will, his purpose cannot be the consolidation of power or any such thing.
‘What does it mean that no nobles are stopping him?’
I ought to figure out the factions while I’m at it.
My mind was working better than it ever had. Since even moving seemed wasteful, I settled my back against the well and let myself sink into contemplation.
‘What has the Emperor been doing all this time?’
Abnormal distribution of medicinal herbs.
Summoning Demons and Angels.
Experiments with undying human weapons.
The extermination of Clavis’s clan.
‘Framing innocent people, sending them to exile, having them dig up fossils to gather them…….’
Trying to acquire me.
Tap-tap—my fingers resting on the warm earth trembled of their own accord.
‘Humans always want more than what they have. It’s a natural instinct. Just like wanting to escape poverty, wanting promotion.’
The Emperor already holds the highest station a human can attain.
‘He must have plenty of money too, and with Clavis gone, he’s the top dog.’
What more could he want?
Thunk—I leaned the back of my head against the well and gazed blankly up at the sky. The blue expanse seemed to ease the slight suffocation in my chest.
“You bastard of an Emperor…….”
I let words spill out without thought.
“Do you want to become a god?”
* * *
Antema Territory.
Located in the northeast, this place has sparse soil but sprawling flat bedrock, making it an industrial city packed with factories.
From the Deste Territory, a carriage takes four to five days.
A train takes just over a day.
“A carriage won’t do.”
Verity had always insisted we move only by train.
“Horses tire, so we’d have to rest frequently. We’d need lodging at night or have to camp.”
“Sounds like it could be fun though?”
“Each time we stop, we could run into Imperial Court knights or their associates. It’s best to eliminate risk as much as possible.”
“By that logic, isn’t the train dangerous too?”
A train is an enclosed space—you can’t even escape if something happens.
At my objection, Verity wagged a finger mockingly.
“Miss worries about everything, doesn’t she. If inspectors show up, we just throw you off the train each time. Given the train’s speed, you’ll be knocked out cold for a day or two.”
“In the worst case, isn’t that permanent sleep?”
“The finest lullaby.”
“……I’ll make sure to wear the Presence-Concealing Cloak well.”
Anyway, that being the case.
Until we could secure train tickets, we passed our days much like any other.
But the village had already grown heavy with tension.
‘Did I say something unnecessary at the assembly……?’
From that day forward, the residents threw themselves into training with fierce concentration.
I felt sorry, since I hadn’t meant to make them anxious.
Yet the adults saw things differently.
“Hebenia, this isn’t because of you.”
“If anything, we’ve been too lax for far too long. We denied the reality of our situation and leaned too heavily on you.”
“The Emperor will kill us the moment he learns we’re alive, by whatever means necessary.”
“So at the very least, we need to grow strong enough to protect ourselves.”
I wondered if they were simply being tactful for my sake.
At first, I could only interpret it that way, and my heart remained unsettled throughout.
But that worry soon dissolved.
The residents’ enthusiasm burned far hotter than I’d anticipated.
How remarkable was it? The Primordial Forest training that had once occurred every few days now happened daily.
There were so many volunteers that they split it into morning and afternoon sessions.
And that’s where Poppi and Chuchu proved invaluable.
Thanks to the key attached to the Dog Collar that the long-haired Demon had given us, the residents could now enter and leave the Primordial Forest without me.
“I wonder how they’re managing…….”
Could the training really go on without Verity and me?
At first, I waited for them with a mixture of curiosity and concern.
“I hope our dogs aren’t giving them too hard a time…….”
“You’re so wonderfully cold even to your own family, Miss.”
“They bite me too, you know.”
“But why did they bite you this morning anyway?”
“Libi boiled some beef tenderloin for them, and it looked so delicious that I stole a few pieces.”
“……Hmm, I think I’d growl too if I were in their position.”
Just then, the barrier opened and the residents filed back into the village.
Poppi and Chuchu bounded toward me with noticeably lighter steps.
“Huff, puff……!”
“Woof, arf arf!”
“I’m… dying…….”
The residents, meanwhile, collapsed to the dirt the moment they entered the village and fell asleep as though dead.
Still, when they woke, they all left positive reviews.
“I nearly died, but the Duke Poppi saved me.”
“Monsters scattered and fled with their tails between their legs.”
“They brought only monsters suited to our level…….”
“Though truthfully, there are no monsters suited to our level.”
Ian explained the details to me afterward.
“It was similar to Verity’s training, but different.”
“How?”
“With Verity’s training, there’s the certainty of safety. Since we can communicate, we’re able to correct our posture and bad habits in the moment, as we’re fighting.”
In other words, immediate correction made it efficient.
“But with Poppi and Chuchu, it’s genuinely raw nature.”
“Raw?”
“I don’t have time to think about what I’m doing. I just move. Whether it’s sloppy or not, instinct takes precedence over reason.”
Ian said he’d come to understand this deeply.
“Verity really has been teaching us with such consideration.”
“At last, you recognize my efforts……!”
Verity was moved to tears.
“Surely I’m a bit better than dogs, at least?”
“Grrrrr!”
“Rowwwf!”
Poppi and Chuchu each seized a pant leg and shook them viciously.
With such cooperation from the villagers, I felt bolstered as though I’d gained a great backing.
“By the way, who are you planning to take with you?”
Ian asked the moment he stepped inside the house.
“Well…….”
As I hesitated in my answer, Ian’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“You’re not planning to leave me behind, are you?”
“You’re my first priority. And Verity’s.”
“That’s right!”
Ian clenched his fist like someone who’d won a competition.
As strength flooded into his thickened forearms, the thin fabric of his sleeves pulled taut, threatening to tear.
“It could be dangerous, though. You’re really that pleased?”
“It means I’m actually useful, doesn’t it?”
“Libi said the same thing, and now you too? You all keep saying I’ve always been helpful anyway.”
“This is a little different.”
…….
If I’m honest, I don’t completely fail to understand their reasoning.
To their eyes, everything I do must look like a child flailing about alone, trying to build a village and raise people all by myself.
‘I’m doing this because I want to…….’
It’s only selfishness—wanting us all to live together in the village forever, happy. Yet every time they called it a sacrifice on my part, I felt sorry.
“Then what about everyone else?”
“Besides you…….”
That was when it happened.
Bang!
A tremendous explosion roared from the upper floor.
Immediately came the grinding sound of wooden planks and stones collapsing.
Ian and Verity rushed over, pulling me into their protective embrace, and I reflexively sealed the space and raised a barrier.
“What in the——!”
The three of us looked up in horror.
As the thick dust clouding our vision cleared away, a gaping hole in the ceiling came into view.
Debris that had fallen with the explosion slid slowly down the curve of my protective barrier.
The blood drained from my face.
“……L-Libi!”
My sister was up there!
Ian and Verity quickly caught hold of me as I tried to run upstairs.
Poppi and Chuchu tugged at the hem of my skirt with their teeth.
“It’s dangerous! The ceiling could collapse again—you need to get outside right now!”
“We’ll go check on Lady Libi and come back. Please go with the dogs——!”
“Is everyone alright?”
A familiar voice suddenly called out.
“Cough! Hack! Ow, it stings……!”
Emerging from the hole in the ceiling was Libi, blackened and singed beyond recognition.
“Are you hurt? What happened?”
At Ian’s cry, Libi’s expression turned sheepish.
“I was practicing Basic Fire Magic and the flames got out of control…….”
“What?”
Soon, murmurs rose from outside the house.
The villagers, having heard the explosion, came rushing over.
For safety’s sake, our entire family came outside.
As we opened the doors and windows, acrid dust and the smell of char quickly dispersed.
“I’m so sorry! Is everyone okay?”
Libi apologized first, then checked to make sure we were unharmed.
Fortunately, none of us had been injured.
Only then, relieved, did Libi explain what had happened.
“I only used the bare minimum of magical power needed to cast Basic Fire Magic, right?”
But suddenly the flame’s color changed, and it became unbearably hot.
Unable to withstand that heat, the magic wavered, and the explosion resulted from that.
“……The color changed, you say?”
Verity narrowed one eye.
Then, her face growing serious, she asked:
“What color did it change to?”
“Ah, well…….”
Libi hesitated, stammering out her answer.
“It became……a bit whiter, I’d say…….”

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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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