The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief in Exile - Chapter 61

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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 61
* * *
When we arrived at the lodging, Verity was crouched pitifully in front of the guest room door.
I looked at her questioningly, and she freely explained herself.
“Nema cried herself to exhaustion and fell asleep. I felt terrible about a dark man sitting beside her while she slept, so I came out.”
“There are other rooms. Wait there instead.”
“I don’t have a key…….”
“Ah.”
Ian retrieved another room’s key from his pocket.
While Ian unlocked the adjoining guest room, I asked Verity carefully.
“Did something happen?”
“Nothing serious.”
I remained uneasy knowing that Nema had been crying, but Verity seemed far too composed about it.
“A good night’s sleep will set things right.”
“Isn’t that too simple? If I’d known this would happen, I never would have brought her along in the first place——”
“Nema is not as fragile as you imagine.”
My eyes widened as if I’d been caught in a blind spot.
“She bore false exile with unwavering resolve. Her strength of spirit is already more than proven.”
Verity pressed Ian pointedly, as if to say, “Isn’t that right?”
Caught off guard, Ian let out a foolish “Y-yes…….”
Verity shrugged with evident satisfaction.
“Comforting someone out of pity, sympathizing because they’re unfortunate—that can actually do more harm. In a situation like this, it’s better to simply give them time and wait.”
“…….”
Rather than answer, I fidgeted with my interlaced fingers.
‘She’s right about that…….’
Back in the village when I spoke with Nema, I too had shown solidarity—that we were the same—rather than offering hollow reassurance.
“Did you talk to her about something?”
“I did.”
“…….”
“That’s why I’m confident she’ll be fine.”
“……I understand.”
If Verity speaks with such certainty,
‘I shouldn’t doubt her further.’
Rather than indulge my own meddlesome worries, I chose to trust Nema, who had come all this way, and Verity’s faith in her.
Ian seemed to share my thoughts; his expression lost its anxious edge.
Verity nodded approvingly as she watched us.
“Now then, let’s formulate a plan to destroy the research institute.”
Since she couldn’t follow us all the way, Verity spoke with spirited determination about helping us as much as possible from here.
Ian unfolded the Antema Territory Map he’d bought in the square.
“The burnt-out ruin of the research institute that was consumed by fire is located here, they say.”
“That’s quite far from the territorial center—on the outer reaches.”
“It takes at least thirty minutes by car to reach, apparently.”
“Well, movement isn’t really a problem if we steal a vehicle…….”
Verity stroked her chin thoughtfully as she spoke.
“Miss.”
“What is it?”
“You are strong.”
I tilted my head at the sudden compliment.
“Well, I appreciate that…….”
“But you cannot kill.”
“…….”
I froze entirely.
“In fact, I worry more about you than I do Nema. At least Nema won’t hesitate if she lets loose——.”
But I would hesitate.
I completed the sentence Verity couldn’t quite voice.
It wasn’t that I was shocked. This was a problem I’d kept at the back of my mind all along.
I was afraid my own uncertain resolve would hobble not just myself but everyone else.
‘Now I see I’m in no position to worry about Nema.’
Verity asked point-blank.
“Can you kill a person?”
“…….”
“Not boasting that you can kill—that alone shows a remarkable frame of mind. But you should prepare yourself nonetheless.”
The Demon reminded me of the Beast Hunting I’d done in the Primordial Forest.
“Do you remember how you killed that monster then?”
“I closed off its nose and mouth, strangled its airway. That’s how I killed it.”
Just one.
Even that I’d barely managed with Verity’s help.
“Do you remember that sensation from that day?”
“Yes.”
“I never thought I’d be saying this, and I wish I didn’t have to, but don’t forget. Remember it. Make sure you can use that method in any situation.”
“……All right.”
I nodded.
“Verity, that’s…….”
That was when Ian interjected.
But I shook my head, cutting him off.
“No, it’s fine.”
“Hebenia, you’re only seven……!”
“I’ll have to face it eventually anyway. Don’t you think so?”
“…….”
Ian’s face twisted as he clamped his mouth shut.
In the ruins of his expression lay pity for me, tangled with a rage at his own inability to argue back.
“The Emperor tried to kill us, and those attempts will only continue. Not just us—others too. There are already victims piling up.”
The Deste Estate’s servants.
The people suffering from the herb poison.
The young prince who stayed awake all night in the Sacred Shrine.
Even an unknown young princess turned into the Emperor’s scapegoat.
“I’m not good enough to speak of morality and conscience when my own life hangs in the balance.”
The moment the words left my mouth, my resolve crystallized.
“Verity.”
I spoke.
“I can kill people.”
* * *
Before we left for the Antema Research Institute.
I learned basic Self-Defense Art from Verity and the locations of human vital points in crash courses.
Ian disapproved the whole time but stayed by my side anyway.
“Go to sleep now. I’ll wake you tonight.”
I lay down on the bed as Ian instructed.
“Are you very angry?”
“I’m not angry at you.”
Ian lowered the blanket I’d pulled up to my chin, draping it only to my shoulders.
“It’s just—I can’t shake the thought of how much you’ve suffered.”
“I eat well and live well enough, compared to most.”
“There’s no one with a fate as twisted as yours.”
“Don’t say things like that. Words have power.”
I’d resolved to kill a person, but I still wasn’t certain I could actually do it.
‘I’ll definitely hesitate.’
That moment.
Would become the most critical turning point in my life.
‘……How like me, to brood over such gloomy thoughts in a fancy hotel.’
It wasn’t bad.
That was when Ian gently touched my forehead.
“I know what kind of heart led you to that decision.”
“Yes…….”
I understood what he was worried about too.
Because we understood each other, we needed no further words.
And so I drifted into a long, deep sleep.
When I woke, darkness had already settled thick outside.
‘Eight o’clock in the evening…….’
I checked the Watch on my wrist and turned to look beside me, and all traces of drowsiness vanished.
“Nema!”
“Did you sleep well?”
“Mm, Auntie!”
I pulled her into a tight embrace at once.
Nema seemed far more settled than she had been earlier in the day.
But instead of asking whether she could come with us to the Research Institute……
“I’m hungry!”
That was what I said first, shameless as anything.
Nema reached out and stroked my cheek gently.
“Ian is with Verity in the next room. They’re about to leave, I think. They asked me to wake you.”
“I woke up right on time, didn’t I?”
I climbed out of bed and stretched, and that’s when Nema gestured toward the food laid out on the table.
“Verity prepared supper for you.”
……
I was speechless.
A bowl with a boiled egg and white yogurt.
“……Even our dogs at home eat more than this?”
I learned later, after we returned to the village, that on that very day Poppa and Choo-choo had enjoyed a special prime cut pork sous-vide prepared by Popina, drizzled with unsweetened blueberry sauce and roasted vegetables.
Seeing the food, I faltered, and Nema glanced toward the adjacent room.
“Verity said too much food upsets your stomach.”
“My stomach’s upset even without eating. I’m upset about being upset?”
With a major enterprise looming ahead, what kind of self-pity was this?
I sniffled and popped the boiled egg into my mouth. With no salt, it caught in my throat.
And the yogurt was unsweetened at that.
Then the damned demon opened the door and appeared.
“Miss, you’ve just woken up——”
“Child abuser!”
The vicious curse made the demon’s eyes go wide with shock.
“Never mind if I’m pudgy—this isn’t it! Starving a child to death? You could at least make a sandwich……!”
“A chocolate bar. I brought one…….”
Verity murmured weakly and produced a finger-sized chocolate bar from his pocket.
“Before combat, it’s standard to eat a bit of high-calorie food, so I packed it thinking you’d have it after you finish your protein intake…….”
I lowered my head quickly.
“I didn’t understand your thoughtfulness. I’m truly sorry…….”
* * *
The Antema Research Institute was a thirty-minute drive from the estate.
So we stole a car.
“This is actual crime……!”
Ian kept glancing nervously over his shoulder, looking ashen.
I gave his back a light pat.
“This is the sacrifice of the few for the many.”
“Don’t dress up theft like that.”
“Once you and Miss raise a fuss at the Research Institute anyway, a car theft becomes the least of anyone’s worries.”
Verity, gripping the steering wheel, spoke up.
“Besides, we have a conscience—we left money for the car right there. The owner might even have wanted a new one.”
“Look, if you’re really worried, call it an unjust banishment and move on.”
“What kind of logic is that?”
“Prepaid incarceration.”
“Ha ha ha! You really do have amusing ideas, Miss!”
By the time we’d finished flipping Ian’s sense of justice inside out, thirty minutes had passed like nothing.
The Antema Research Institute we arrived at was a complete ruin—entirely burned down, with only a skeletal frame standing precariously.
Though the fire had occurred some time ago, the ground remained charred black, and not a single weed grew nearby.
Ian knelt and touched the blackened earth with his fingers.
Then he brought his nose close and sniffed lightly.
“……It’s rotten.”
At those words, we all went rigid, as if by mutual agreement.
A small building stood alone in a corner.
A shabby, tiny wooden structure with a faded no-entry sign bleached white by sunlight propped against the door.
“That looks like the entrance.”
Verity stepped closer to the building and reached out a hand.
The hand bounced back like a rubber ball.
“Verity!”
“I’m all right.”
She smoothed her reddened hand with a quick touch, speaking calmly.
“Since I was rejected, it seems that place truly is the entrance.”
……
“Miss.”
At the sound of her voice, I looked up. Verity smiled at me, that slight, knowing smile.
“When you come back, you’ll eat lots of delicious things.”
“Be honest with me now—you felt a little sorry for what you did to me earlier, didn’t you?”
“From now on, I’ll feed you more, and make sure you move around more. Pediatric fatty liver is dangerous, after all.”
“That blasted pediatric fatty liver again……”
The nagging I’d heard so many times it had practically calcified in my ears now sounded like genuine affection, given the weight of this moment.
Though truthfully, I’d known it was affection all along.
People are foolish creatures—we only see the sincerity in each other’s hearts when a moment as grave as this arrives.

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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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