The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief in Exile - Chapter 53

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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 53
“This is a Training Stick I provide to everyone during their sessions.”
“But why did you bring out mine?”
“Yours serves as a control group.”
Verity pointed to the end of the Training Stick.
“See how much it’s been worn by hand? That’s because you’ve committed yourself to training more diligently than any other villager.”
Ian rose every morning to warm up separately, trained twice over whenever the other villagers did their single session, pushing himself so hard his clothes soaked through with sweat.
So it was hardly surprising that the stick bore the marks of all that effort.
Looking closely, the end—which should have had clean, sharp edges—had rounded off. A testament to how many Demons he’d beaten down.
“You’re truly my finest student.”
“I still have so much to learn.”
Ian felt bashful at Verity’s praise.
“But.”
Verity set another Training Stick on the table.
“No matter how many times you’ve swung yours and beaten Demons, it’s only worn down slightly. There’s not a single break in it.”
“You said it was tougher than diamond.”
Wasn’t that what you claimed when you handed them out?
Verity nodded at my words.
“That’s precisely why I intend to bring Nema with me.”
I gasped when I saw the Training Stick she produced.
This one was in terrible condition—but in a completely different way from Ian’s.
It was pocked with deep indentations all over, jagged and uneven like footprints pressed into muddy earth after rain. Ian’s stick had never looked anything like this.
But the truly shocking part was something else entirely.
“It’s… cracked?”
The handle end was split down the middle.
“Could it be…!”
“Yes.”
Every eye turned toward one person.
Nema.
Feeling the gazes upon her, she hung her head low. Her trembling shoulders didn’t speak of shame—they looked dangerous, like a warrior surrendered to Frenzy itself.
“The crack is tiny and shallow, but among all the Training Sticks I’ve given to the villagers, this is the only one that’s fractured at all.”
“Big sister…!”
Now even Ian was seeing Nema in a new light.
But Nema kept her head bowed throughout.
‘Ah…’
My worries shifted to something else entirely.
‘When aptitude and inclination are at odds, that’s when it hurts most.’
When the gap between what you want most to do and what you do best is widest, that’s when a person suffers.
Of course, it’s possible to balance the two—but that’s far easier said than done.
Thankfully, Verity didn’t push any further.
“Nema. As I mentioned at the assembly, you’re completely free to decline this offer.”
“…”
“The reason I’m being so stubborn about it is that you possess a strength capable of protecting the Village.”
“I love the Village too. This place. I truly do…”
“I know.”
Verity smiled at me warmly.
“I can tell from the clothes you and the children are wearing. You made them, didn’t you? Everyone says they’re wonderfully comfortable.”
“Yeah! They really are!”
I agreed at once.
These Orange Overalls I was wearing today were not only beautiful but incredibly easy to move in.
They were by far the finest clothes I’d worn in this world.
Only then did Nema lift her head. Her face was still flushed, but this time with something like joy.
“You don’t have to say yes, just like Verity said.”
“But…”
“The fact that you’re struggling with it this much means you’re taking our proposal seriously.”
Nema knows her own nature well.
So she’s stubbornly refusing out of fear—worry that she might get in the way, that she might disappoint Verity’s expectations.
‘If I were in her position, I’d refuse too.’
Someone without any real fighting experience charging forward and causing trouble would be far worse.
Only then did Nema’s expression finally ease.
* * *
The moment Nema left, Verity began whining.
“Alas, to lose such talent…….”
“Please, stop your complaining.”
That night.
Well after dinner had ended, Verity remained slumped across the table, sniffling, while the rest of us took turns washing up and preparing for bed.
For what it’s worth, we’d returned to our original home.
“Was he always this careless?”
“Goodness, one swing of the hammer and the nail sinks right in?”
Thanks to the trained adults, the house repairs finished ahead of schedule.
“Arf-arf-arf!”
“Grrrowl!”
“Look, even Popi and Chuchu are telling you to stop gnawing.”
“They only bite when they see me, anyway…….”
Despite being nipped in several places by the dogs, Verity didn’t so much as flinch.
Losing interest in an unresponsive Verity, the pair huffed sharply through their snouts and trotted over to Libi.
Each took a turn sitting on her thigh while she combed their fur.
I stroked Verity’s back.
“Is Nema really that remarkable?”
“In terms of growth potential alone, she surpasses even Ian…….”
“What? Ian is losing?”
“This isn’t a competition.”
Ian tapped my head gently, careful not to hurt.
“Still, if Nema is that strong, I’d like to spar with her sometime. Having a training partner helps both of you grow together, after all.”
“Don’t even dream of it.”
“Haha, I understand. But Nema in actual combat…….”
“Ian would die if things went wrong.”
“Experience is…….”
What?
Ian’s mouth froze mid-word, only a stupid half-question escaping his lips.
An awkward silence settled over us.
It wasn’t only Ian who was shocked.
Libi, who’d been combing Popi, and I, playing with Chuchu and her toys, both fell silent.
‘Did I just mishear that?’
Verity glanced at our stunned faces, exhaled heavily, and began explaining just how remarkable Nema’s potential truly was.
“Of course Ian is strong. His background as a knight provides a solid foundation, and his growth has been remarkably swift.”
If the villagers were to rank themselves by raw strength, Ian would undoubtedly claim first place—or so Verity insisted.
‘That much is fair.’
I had to agree.
There was no argument against it.
But.
“In terms of pure martial ability alone…….”
“You’re saying Nema ranks first?”
“That is my assessment.”
It was conjecture in form, but conviction in substance.
“Wow.”
Now even I was astonished.
The fact that Verity would say such a thing suggested Nema’s skill was genuine.
Only then did Ian begin to take the situation seriously.
“Then surely we can convince her somehow…….”
“That’s precisely what troubles me.”
To explain further, Verity began with the very concept of the Berserker.
“A Berserker is a warrior who fights in frenzied madness, bereft of reason. Called Berserker, the possessed warrior, the mad knight—it goes by many names in many places.”
Such warriors possessed a peculiar characteristic.
In ordinary life, they seemed almost simpleminded, remarkably kind, and deeply shy.
“That’s exactly Nema.”
Libi’s eyes widened in realization.
“Then why does someone like her have Berserker aptitude…….”
“No.”
Verity corrected Libi’s words.
“It’s not ‘Why is such a kind person a Berserker?’—it’s that being a Berserker makes them this way.”
A Berserker fights in a state of true madness, quite literally.
Which is to say they become utterly shattered—so mangled that anyone watching would recoil in horror.
To conceal that latent frenzy, a Berserker clings desperately to goodness and gentleness of spirit.
It’s an instinctive camouflage their survival instincts chose, without conscious thought.
“Please, don’t misunderstand. Since instinct created it, that kindness is Nema’s true self as well.”
The training bore fruit.
Didn’t the adults repairing our half-destroyed house realize this even as they worked?
So Nema too must have felt the results of her own training efforts.
If what she felt was the Berserker’s frenzy growing steadily more pronounced, then she must have suffered terribly trying to suppress it.
I recalled the training stick Verity had shown me—the one Nema wielded.
‘Aunt, enduring all that pain…’
I was grateful for her perseverance, yet the thought of her tender heart unable to voice a single complaint made me feel as though I might go mad.
‘I was just now thinking her frenzy was something to admire, or some nonsense like that.’
Thank goodness I never said it aloud.
A solemn silence settled over us.
Growing stronger wasn’t simply good. I’d never imagined problems might arise this way.
‘Tomorrow when I go to the Village hall, I’ll announce on the broadcast that nobody is forced to attend training. There might be people who’ve joined just because they got caught up in the atmosphere.’
My heart grew heavy.
This was a grave error on my part as the leader.
The Village’s prosperity and strength are certainly important matters.
But I cannot demand sacrifice from our people to achieve that.
The greatest purpose of our Exilium is to eat well and live well.
“This isn’t your fault.”
“That’s right. You always do your very best.”
Sensing my troubled thoughts, Ian and Libi patted my shoulder in encouragement.
“Would we be living this comfortably right now if it weren’t for you?”
“If anyone hated the training, they’d come and say so like Nema did. Isn’t there a suggestion box for a reason?”
“And to be perfectly honest…”
“The real culprit in all this is Verity.”
“Ugh…”
Under their merciless accusation, Verity’s eyes darted about as if shamefaced.
In the end, she even nodded as if acknowledging the charge.
“I am reflecting on my actions.”
But the Demon appended a “However!”
“I come from a martial background, so whenever I see talented people like Ian or Nema, I just go mad with the desire to develop them! My eyes nearly turn inside out!”
“Next time you get that look, I’ll turn your scalp inside out.”
My people are my responsibility to protect.
At my stern warning, Verity’s lip jutted out.
“If I may add another excuse…”
“Libi, can you fetch thread and a needle? I need to stitch this Demon’s mouth shut. How many excuses does she have, anyway?”
“Berserkers don’t lose all reason every time they fight.”
Once fighters build sufficient skill, even a Berserker can maintain rationality in combat, she explained.
I asked her a question.
“Is the training difficult?”
“What easy thing exists in this world?”
“O Lord, today I offer you one Demon to expel.”
And so the Exorcism Ritual began.
* * *
Unfortunately, the Exorcism Ritual failed.
“Strange.”
I sang the Christmas carol that plays every holiday until my voice grew hoarse, yet Verity stood unharmed.
Later she even showed the composure to sing along with me and dance.
“As expected—this isn’t just any ordinary Demon. The audacity to sway her hips while singing along to holy hymns…”
“Where exactly was that a holy hymn?”
Ian, who’d been turning the pulley to haul up water from the well, let out a dry laugh.
“That was just her whining for presents…”
Ian, who’d been mocking the whole thing, suddenly went quiet.

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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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