The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief in Exile - Chapter 52

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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 52
The black ropes encircling the empty house began to undulate with a bluish light.
As the light deepened, the ropes’ movements grew more violent, and soon they began to ascend.
The ropes halted at different heights.
The fire station would rise to three stories high, the library a bit higher at five.
And the training grounds, added last, stopped at a far greater elevation.
From those ascending ropes cascaded torrents of light that wrapped around the buildings—like a waterfall pouring down from a dark chasm opened in the sky.
I couldn’t even breathe at the sight of it.
‘This is a demon….’
A being not of humanity.
Verity’s power.
I turned back to look at her again.
Verity slowly separated her clasped hands.
Her right palm faced forward, while her left hand braced it, wrists touching with her left hand turned upside down.
Then she flipped the hand position entirely.
Right hand pointing down, left hand up.
“Substitution.”
* * *
Exilium gained community facilities.
With them came a new catchphrase.
“Substitution!”
“Substitution!”
“Are you copying me? Oh, how adorable!”
Verity beamed at the village children mimicking her.
“But what does substitution mean?”
Pania, the eldest of the children at eight years old, asked the question.
The boy held Flora and Nulla by each hand, both of them continuing to fidget beside him.
“Substitution means to exchange one thing for another.”
“You exchanged those empty houses for that big building?”
“That’s right.”
“You did, Verity?”
“That’s right!”
Verity had become popular.
She’d always been well-loved for her easygoing nature, but after the construction of the community facilities, how people looked at demons themselves had changed entirely.
Warmth in their eyes was now mixed with reverence and awe.
“Haha, if you are all pleased, then I am satisfied.”
Verity had become noticeably brighter.
“……….”
Hevenia, however, watched her with obvious displeasure.
“What is it now that displeases the chief…….?”
Ian set a cup before Hevenia and asked carefully.
The discontented seven-year-old chief kept her eyes narrowed and fixed on Verity, sipping the drink Ian had brought as if it were wine.
“It’s annoying. That whole place was made from my nosebleeds.”
“A gymnasium and library made of nosebleeds……”
Hearing that, the value of the buildings seemed to evaporate, but Ian was wise enough not to voice such observations aloud.
“Is she trying to take over my position as chief?”
“Is power really that appealing?”
“If I can’t be a magical girl, I might as well be chief!”
“Fine, do whatever you want and live your life.”
Ian was beginning to find this tiresome.
Yet deep down, he knew that if those two were to fight over the chief’s seat, he would side with Hevenia.
There was an old saying: everything begins with Clavis.
It meant Clavis possessed such a long history and had wielded such tremendous influence across the continent and the empire itself.
‘This time too, everything begins with Hevenia.’
The community facilities had been met with tremendous enthusiasm.
They were all extraordinary welfare that surpassed the residents’ wildest imaginations.
The gymnasium, which Hevenia had always talked about, proved especially popular with residents who had recently begun focusing on training.
Adults who learned how to use the equipment under Verity’s guidance visited regularly to strengthen their bodies, and later conducted aerobic exercises in the swimming pool built underground.
The library was stocked with various books and newspapers. The residents, who had been isolated from the world for so long, eagerly filled the intellectual hunger they had long deprived themselves of through reading.
A fire station to guard against fire.
A health center that treats illness.
And even a modest Sacred Shrine alongside it.
“You planned all of this.”
Ian had not forgotten Hevenia’s effort.
“The adults all know. You saw it too. Elba started crying the moment she saw the herbal research lab inside the health center, calling your name over and over, thanking you.”
“…… It’s not like I did it all by myself, anyway.”
And Hevenia was not childish enough to carry on sulking.
“I was just grumbling for a moment. Honestly, what did I really do? All I did was imagine wanting to do something like this. Modi and Verity were the ones who planned it out in detail and actually built it.”
My contribution is maybe ten percent?
Though it was something to be proud of, Hevenia was harsh with herself.
‘She doesn’t seem to value herself much at all.’
It usually didn’t show, but now and then she treated her own efforts and achievements as trivial.
When she bled from overexerting herself, she’d laugh it off as nothing—a habit that had always worried him.
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Do I look like I’m pushing myself right now?”
“Not at the moment.”
Slouched in the chair, scratching at her calves, she looked like a grandmother who had weathered every conceivable storm.
“But that Demon Butler has been getting above himself lately, you know?”
Hevenia clicked her tongue with a sharp sound.
“I need to establish the pecking order. Once we get back from the institute, I’m going to knock some manners into that Demon Butler.”
“…… Now that I think about it, I don’t see the Duke and Duchess around.”
“They went to inspect the community facilities. The new building must be on their mind.”
“Ah.”
Marking their territory, then.
Ian’s flat reply awakened in him, anew and with perfect clarity, the awareness that he had been caught in an enormous vortex of fate.
‘…… But now that I’ve been through one extraordinary thing after another, it doesn’t even surprise me anymore.’
His sense of the ordinary had gone numb.
“Um…….”
That was when it happened.
A small, frail voice carefully interjected.
“Nema!”
Hevenia quickly straightened her posture.
Nema, her reddish-brown hair tied back modestly, looked at Hevenia with a shy smile.
“I… have something I’d like to talk about…….”
“With Verity?”
“Yes.”
“Nema, welcome!”
Just then, Verity approached with children dangling from both arms.
Verity knelt down and gently set the children on the ground, then asked if they would excuse her for a moment.
The children obediently headed straight for the playground.
Verity, watching them go with a pleased expression, turned back to Nema.
“Shall we go to the assembly hall?”
Nema gave an uncertain nod.
* * *
Nema.
In Exilium, there is a trio famous for their taciturnity, and Nema is one of them.
‘She’s quiet and gentle, easy to be around.’
Since my days in banishment, I’ve always enjoyed her company.
Nema is not one to force conversation, yet she makes quiet silence feel comfortable and natural.
‘And that Nema…….’
She had received the Bloody Berserker aptitude.
Neither I nor the villagers could believe it. That such a composed, timid woman could be a Bloody Berserker.
Nema herself had been so shocked when she first learned her aptitude that she’d come to Verity multiple times to confirm it was correct.
‘…… But I think it suits her quite well, actually.’
People as quietly well-mannered as she usually harbor something dark and sinister in the depths of their hearts.
And I’ve always been drawn to people like that.
‘People who are just good are boring.’
So my fondness for Nema had only grown stronger.
“Would you like some tea? Or something cold instead?”
“Either one is fine.”
“Verity, did you hear? Bring three cups, please.”
“But there are four of us?”
“Verity’s a butler—she can’t drink on duty.”
“……What, you’re really trying to teach me discipline?”
Grumbling about how she’d die of sadness, Verity nonetheless brought exactly three cups.
“I’m not going to drink anyway. I had some of what Ian gave me earlier.”
“Ah.”
“Hehe, got her in line that time.”
And so the teacups were set down one each before everyone but me.
“I……that is…….”
Then the real conversation began.
“I received a proposal to join a trip to the Anthema Research Institute…….”
“Verity recommended me.”
“I, I still don’t understand…….”
That was true.
This trip to the Anthema Research Institute was different from the previous outing to Deste’s territory.
Combat was expected, and in the worst case, we could suffer serious injuries. That’s why I’d warned the villagers multiple times beforehand.
So instead of accepting volunteers, Verity and I had decided to select the members ourselves.
Libi, who was one of the candidates, had been eliminated due to mana control issues.
Nema had been chosen as the replacement.
“No matter how I think about it, something feels wrong.”
Nema’s hands trembled as she gripped the teacup handle tightly.
“I’ve never fought in my life—that is, I have no combat experience. The most I’ve done is come here and beat up monsters…….”
“…….”
I gazed at Nema with pity, seeing the fear in her eyes.
‘Actually, beating up monsters is tremendous experience…….’
Of course, such an outlandish training was only possible because strong ones like Verity, Popi, and Chuchu watched over her.
‘But if she’s this terrified…….’
Taking her along might not help at all.
She wouldn’t fight properly, and worst case, she’d become a liability to our side.
‘And she’s absolutely petrified about it.’
She could turn out to be an even worse choice than Libi, who’d been disqualified for mana control.
“No, Nema must come with us.”
But Verity convinced Nema that she could do this.
“Brother.”
I whispered quietly into Ian’s ear, sensing his confusion.
“Verity actually wanted to bring Nema instead of Libi from the start.”
“From the beginning?”
“Yes.”
Verity had put Nema first on the candidate list from the very beginning, insisting she wanted to bring her.
“So that’s why she was so happy when Libi’s aptitude came up short.”
Ian nodded vigorously, as though understanding at last.
But understanding that didn’t mean he grasped Verity’s true intention. He still looked confused, and honestly, so did I.
“Nema.”
Verity looked at her with a serious gaze, all traces of amusement gone.
“I believe in your potential.”
“Is it……because of my aptitude?”
But Nema was desperate to refuse.
“But I, I don’t even know if I’m a berserker or what! Like I said before, I’ve never been in actual combat even once…….”
“Then shall I show you?”
“What?”
“Why I’m being this stubborn about it.”
She was aware she was doing something unreasonable.
As she peered sideways with sleepy eyes, Verity drew two long wooden batons from her pocket—apparently from a spatial pouch.
“Huh?”
Ian reacted audibly upon seeing the sticks.
“Those are…….”
“Ah, you recognize them.”
Verity smiled, looking pleased with herself.

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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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