The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief in Exile - Chapter 72

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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 72
Verity asked why I’d picked a fight with Olive, whom I’d just met, being so prickly about it.
My voice, muffled into the pillow as I lay face-down on the bed in a sulk, came out muffled and indistinct.
“No, really—when you find out your sister’s alive and well, shouldn’t you be grateful? What’s this about ordering me to go to the Central Headquarters?”
“That’s so like Clavis.”
“The Central Headquarters—that’s the base of the State Religion, right?”
“When you put it that way, it sounds rather like a den of evil.”
The State Religion.
Literally, the one and only faith endorsed by the nation.
Oddly enough, this religion had no name besides the designation “State Religion” itself.
It preached the worship of a single deity and condemned all other faiths as heresy, which I found a bit unsettling, but that was how things were.
The Central Headquarters was the very heart of the State Religion.
‘I’ve heard it lies to the west.’
Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded visiting once.
But that was a choice I should make of my own accord—certainly not something dictated by Olive’s commanding tone just now.
‘How am I supposed to tell Libi about this?’
My one and only family was here, yet that family didn’t even ask how I was doing. I was so irritated I felt like slugging her.
I asked Verity a question.
“Just curious, but what kind of person is the Saint King?”
“He’s a man of considerable age. I believe he’s the same generation as the Clavis patriarch…”
“He is the same age as Clavis’s father.”
Olive approached with long strides and planted himself firmly beside my bed.
His sturdy frame was so imposing that the moment he stood there, a long shadow fell across my bed.
“Clavis has made considerable donations to the Central Headquarters. Our institution regards the young lady and her house’s circumstances with deepest regret.”
“Ah, well… I see.”
Then I should be grateful.
I gave an awkward nod of acknowledgment.
Olive continued.
“The Saint King has received a revelation from the Archangel.”
“Oh.”
That’s something I asked the Angel to arrange.
“The Archangel has decreed that you are to be saved.”
“Mm-hmm.”
That’s also something I asked for.
‘The temple needs the Archangel’s revelation to gain the standing to raise questions about abnormal medicinal herb supplies on my behalf. The Imperial Court will also hold back, mindful of public opinion.’
Since I’d engineered the whole scheme myself, I felt little stirring of emotion.
So I was listening with indifference when Olive suddenly dropped to one knee before me, took my hand, and pressed it to his lips with reverence.
My eyes went wide with shock.
“I greet the Saint.”
…What?
“You who have received the Archangel’s divine decree.”
“Huh.”
“Miss, I’ll step out for a moment.”
Verity’s chuckling laughter drifted through the door as she left the room.
Presumptuous butler.
* * *
For whatever reason, Olive called me a Saint.
Honestly, it wasn’t unpleasant to hear.
‘My shoulders felt all puffed up.’
I even felt a thrill at the delusion that my existence had become something quite extraordinary.
But I was a pragmatist village head who knew my place, and I wasn’t the type to let misunderstandings stand, so I quickly denied it.
“I’m not a Saint.”
“The victims we rescued have testified. They say you set up a barrier with mysterious power. And you suffered the Awakening Fever.”
“I really am not. I’ve been tested.”
“By whom are you speaking? I hear you have acquaintances at the Deste Temple—might it be them?”
“Well…”
I found myself at a loss for words.
‘Good grief, a Demon verified it.’
To me, the sole resident of the village who had no aptitude and felt isolated because of it, the Demon gave me the position of village head as if tossing me scraps to eat.
Since I couldn’t explain properly, Olive spoke firmly.
“There are surely capable priests at Deste Temple. However, given the young lady’s unique circumstances, it would be necessary for the Central Headquarters to conduct a proper verification.”
“Look, you do know I’m Clavis, right?”
“I do. The failed assassin of the Imperial Princess.”
“It’s a false charge, but still — I’m a criminal. Is it even proper for someone like me to set foot in a sacred headquarters?”
“From the moment you are designated a Saint, you become a precious person whom the Church must protect and serve.”
“Huh.”
I felt myself wavering slightly.
Was I finally going to star in some saccharine coming-of-age drama?
‘That stubborn streak reminds me of Libi.’
The problem was that my younger brother had absolutely no flexibility whatsoever.
As things stood, even I—who’d been trying to be reasonable—was beginning to reach my limit.
“Once your fever breaks, we can depart together.”
“If you won’t listen to a person, what’s the point of having ears?”
“…….”
“What? Is a Saint not supposed to say things like that?”
“You are… quite like yourself, Clavis.”
“Good grief, my family’s name is becoming a curse word all over the place.”
That was when it happened.
“Miss.”
Frelia knocked softly on the door and stepped inside.
“The other members have just arrived. I wanted to introduce them to you.”
“Oh! Perfect timing!”
I eagerly welcomed them in with unbridled enthusiasm.
Olive’s gaze pricked at my temples, but I smoothly ignored it. If I could ignore Ian’s endless lectures, what was a sixteen-year-old to me?
“Forgive me, but Interrogator, would you mind stepping out for a bit?”
“…….”
“It’s a private matter, and I’m afraid it would be inconvenient.”
After Olive left,
three women entered.
Frelia introduced them.
“They’ve been helping the Bandit Group prepare comfortably.”
Disguised operatives, in other words.
The sort who lived as ordinary townspeople to gather information, or gave false testimony when the Bandit Group committed crimes to manufacture innocence.
“…….”
I regarded Frelia with a slightly complicated expression.
‘My husband is innocent, yet…’
His wife was the genuine criminal.
But her ability to assemble a group and command it was something I truly wished to learn from.
‘And her intelligence network is far from ordinary either.’
She’d sought out only the relatives of prisoners like Modi who’d been unjustly exiled, found this isolated Mountainside Villa, and even created disguised operatives for smooth criminal operations.
All of it orchestrated with remarkable precision.
It was only a guess, but perhaps the education she’d received as the heir to a baronial house had something to do with her command abilities.
‘I want to learn from her too.’
I felt reassured that such a brilliant criminal—no, such a talented individual—was becoming a new member of our village.
I exchanged greetings with the disguised operatives.
One was the wife of Makin, an acquaintance of Pex, and another was the wife of Popina, my overweight comrade.
‘Wait, Popina was married?’
That was actually more surprising.
“It’s wonderful to meet you. I’m…….”
I stopped mid-greeting, reclining comfortably against the bedframe.
My gaze fixed on the woman with the short bob cut.
The moment I saw her calm expression and her red hair, a memory surfaced—someone I knew very well.
“……Tapeah? Aunt?”
Of course, I already knew her name.
“You’re Nema’s younger sister, aren’t you?”
“How on earth did you…!”
“So she was alive after all. Thank goodness…….”
“You know my sister? Is she alive?”
“Yes! She’s here with me, and…….”
And then.
“Hebenia. Everyone’s finished their preparations……”
Right on cue, Aunt Nema stepped through the door.
“……Tapeah?”
Her face went slack with disbelief as she whispered her younger sister’s name, the girl standing plainly before her.
* * *
“Sister!”
Tapeah rushed forward and threw her arms around Nema in an embrace.
Nema, stunned and frozen in place, slowly came back to herself and reached up to cradle her sister’s face.
Her trembling hands brushed away the hair from Tapeah’s forehead.
A faint scar traced across her right temple and brow.
A wound Nema herself had inflicted, by accident.
“Ah……”
Nema tried to step back, as though fleeing from a past she longed to erase, but Tapeah caught her sister’s arm before she could slip away.
“Do you know how long I searched for you? Do you know how much I worried?”
“Tape, Tapeah……”
“I thought I’d finally found you, and then you were in exile! Accused of murder! And then two months ago you suddenly died…!”
“……”
“You stupid sister! You fool!”
Thud. Thud.
With her head bowed, Tapeah struck her sister’s shoulders again and again with her clenched fists.
“Why did you avoid me? Why did you run away?”
“Tapeah, I……”
“You were only trying to save me! And you did save me! It was an accident! Just like broken ribs during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation!”
“……”
Tears streaming down her face, Tapeah poured out everything that had happened, word tumbling over word.
“Mother and Father wanted to force me to marry that scum!”
“What?”
Nema’s eyes went wide.
That “scum” was a childhood neighbor who had grown up with them in the village—a vile boy who had tormented shy Nema relentlessly.
But at some point his cruelty had shifted to Tapeah, and Nema had lost her mind completely, beating him half to death in response.
In the process, Tapeah had been hurt as well.
“You didn’t know, did you? Mother and Father had borrowed money from that bastard’s family!”
“What? I saved up money before I left home……”
“Of course Father spent it all on drink!”
“……”
“They said I could pay off the rest of the debt by marrying into his family and bearing him an heir. They watched both of us be tormented and still made that decision!”
So Tapeah had fled in the dead of night the very next day.
Rather than marry that lunatic, rather than stay in a village of madness, she would sooner be torn apart by forest bears.
Running like that, she’d chanced upon Frelia.
She’d nurtured her hatred for the world and joined the Revolution.
“Sister, so……”
“……”
“Let’s never be apart again. Yes?”
“Tapeah……”
“Let’s live together. Let’s make the Revolution together!”
“……Yes.”
Nema’s face streamed with tears, and her chin quivered like a child’s as she answered.
“Yes, y-yes…!”
“Siiiister……”
“Tapeah…!”
“Wahhh! I missed you so much! You don’t know how worried I was!”
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
And so the two sisters’ long-awaited reunion, damp with tears, finally came to pass.
The watching crowd cheered and congratulated them, their joy plain.
Yet there was one.
“……”
Hebenia alone shed no tears.
With a solemn expression that belied her seven years, she pondered something carefully, then quietly called over to Frelia, who was wiping away tears of emotion.
And she asked her something.
To which Frelia answered, sniffling, with a soft reply.
“Yes, that’s right. I received help.”
“From whom?”
“The Bandit Leader.”
Erebel Clavis.
He had secretly aided Frelia in assembling her Bandit Group.

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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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