The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief in Exile - Chapter 80

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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 80
“A blind date?”
“Yeah. A blind date.”
Ian squinted involuntarily at one eye.
‘What is she suddenly talking about?’
Given Hebenia’s track record, it was only natural for Ian to doubt her proposal and regard it with suspicion.
“I know a really good woman, you know? She has the kind of charm you’d like. She seems innocent and gentle, but she’s got real backbone—a wonderful woman.”
……
“Just think of it as a way for you to get a change of pace.”
“Besides, there’s practically no one in this village I don’t know.”
“That’s just acquaintance. A friend is different.”
Hebenia’s suggestion that he ought to play around noisily with friends like other men his age and form new relationships sounded reasonable.
So Ian accepted her proposal readily enough.
They arrived at a tailor shop that Nema and Tape had recently opened.
“Let me introduce you.”
Hebenia introduced the pallid-looking woman sitting across from Ian’s table.
“This is Mrs. Kim Hyun-suk, who works here at the tailor shop.”
……
“And the gentleman beside her is her husband, Lee Jung-gwi.”
……
Ian gave it serious thought.
‘Did I do something terribly wrong to Havi and Libi?’
Why were they so desperate to torment him?
Ian stared at the couple before him with empty eyes. But there was no response.
Because they were mannequins.
The couple was so bold that neither of them wore a single stitch.
“They’re both Sun People, so their bodies generate a lot of heat.”
……
“Still, next time they’ll wear clothes properly. Right, Kim Hyun-suk?”
Of course we will. Hehe.
Kim Hyun-suk answered in a strained falsetto.
“Argh!”
The blind date ended pathetically, concluded by Ian’s Temple Pressure Point Technique delivered with considerable affection.
“Man, you really got me, Havi.”
“It wasn’t a joke—I almost cried……”
“All right, I won’t pull pranks like that anymore.”
Hebenia grinned and clung to Ian’s leg.
“It’s because I have a brother who accepts everything like this that I keep acting up.”
“That’s just an excuse.”
A large hand tapped Hebenia’s exposed forehead lightly.
Rather than hurt, the soft touch that brushed across and withdrew made Hebenia smile like a beloved youngest daughter of seven years old.
“Oh, be gentle. Be gentle about it.”
“It’s because Mr. Ian indulges her like this every time that the young lady keeps misbehaving.”
Verity shook her head, saying it was self-inflicted, and sighed.
“But they picked the names well.”
Libi was still clutching her sides, laughing.
“Kim Hyun-suk and Lee Jung-gwi.”
“They’re odd names.”
“But don’t they roll off the tongue nicely?”
Kim Hyun-suk, Lee Jung-gwi.
Not yet, but someday, these two would become the symbols of Exsilium Market.
The market, established to revitalize the village’s economy, had finally begun operations.
Storefronts were rented to residents who had applied, and the residents ran their own shops there.
“Who would have thought this day would come?”
“We can finally eat out!”
“There are still many vacant storefronts, but I’m sure they’ll be filled soon.”
“Who knows? Maybe later there will be so many street vendors that it’ll be hard to get around.”
“Wow, so our Exsilium will flourish like that?”
The residents used the toy currency they’d received from the village chief to shop at the market.
“Welcome! Fresh-baked bread just came out!”
“Summer clothing? Of course we can make it. If you’d like to see the designs we’ve drawn…….”
“My watch is broken. Can you fix it?”
“Please fill out a service request here. Ah, the mainspring is missing. That’s a quick fix, so feel free to browse the market while you wait.”
Everyone held a purse in their hands.
“Mom, can you buy me some candy?”
“Me too!”
“Grandfather, you’re buying bread for tomorrow morning, right?”
“Can’t we get jam too? Please?”
“Well, maybe I’ll get a couple of things.”
Children pestering their parents to buy this and that.
Adults feigning reluctance before giving in anyway.
Paper bags rustling with each step.
“Should we close up now?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you all for your hard work.”
“Sure thing! Let’s head in!”
The storefronts darkened with the quiet of evening.
No trace of exile remained—the place of banishment had become nothing more than an ordinary village.
* * *
As the plans for the First Aid Box venture reached their final stages,
my concentration faltered slightly. I stretched languidly and gazed out the window.
‘The market really is having a more positive impact on the residents than I expected.’
Since my mind was already wandering anyway, I decided to seriously consider the market’s influence on the villagers.
Currently, five shops were in operation.
A tailor shop, a repair shop, a bakery, a general store, and a tavern that served alcohol.
The general store was where I’d convinced Verity to provide essential goods as a favor—I’d hired one of the newly arrived residents to run it.
‘Honestly, I thought it wouldn’t work out…….’
From the start, the market was created mainly for the residents’ reintegration into society, so I hadn’t expected much.
But what did I know.
The market received far more support than anticipated.
‘I misjudged the situation.’
The market didn’t simply facilitate economic activity.
The residents delighted in chance meetings with neighbors there, and friends would visit each other’s shops to chat and pass the time.
Noting this, Modi suggested creating something called the Merchant Association.
“The Merchant Association? Something like a village assembly?”
“An organization that manages and operates the shops and streets belonging to the market. If we expect the village to grow, it might be good to establish it now.”
“I see.”
“And it would be nice to prepare a place where customers can rest.”
As village chief, I found the suggestion reasonable.
So I had a rest area built in the market where people could relax while shopping, and created an unattended tea house for them as well.
I installed a vending machine in the tea house.
The vending machine dispensing snacks and beverages was hugely popular with the children. As for the machine’s maintenance, Pex—whose aptitude is “Liberating the Forbidden Craftsman”—took care of it.
“How peaceful…….”
With my eyes closed, I savored the quiet that drifted through the open window.
‘……I should divide them into household and field-use models.’
Even so, my hand scribbled furiously on the back of scrap paper, jotting down whatever came to mind. A village chief had to work even during their rest. That was what it meant to be a chief.
Knock, knock.
“Village Chief.”
At the voice calling me, I opened my eyes.
“Prellia.”
Prellia, who worked as my secretary along with her husband, wore a slight frown on her pretty face.
“Really, I’ve told you to be more casual.”
“Elders should be respected.”
“To be honest, I don’t like being called that.”
“Unfortunately, anyone over twenty-five is an ‘aunt’ to me.”
“So that’s why you only use sister and brother with Libi and Ian.”
Prellia nodded lightly in acceptance and stated the purpose of her visit.
“Modi wants to see you.”
Something about the Deste Estate, he said.
At that, I sprang from my chair at once.
And with the business plan I’d just drafted in hand, I stepped outside.
The Village Hall, a converted building that was the largest in the settlement, contained many rooms—most of them vacant.
I pushed one of them open.
Beyond it lay a passage connecting to the study of the Deste Estate, just outside the Primordial Forest.
“Modi.”
“Village Chief.”
Modi, who’d been sifting through various documents at the study desk, shot to his feet.
Prellia murmured beside him in an enraptured voice, “My husband’s so handsome……” but I pretended not to hear.
‘Though admittedly, he does cut a fine figure.’
A man in crisp clothes, working with serious focus.
He was bound to be impressive.
“A matter’s come up that needs your input.”
“What is it?”
I took the seat at the study desk that Modi had yielded to me.
Prellia had already brought three cushions and placed them beneath me.
“We’ve received word from two places that they intend to visit the Deste lands.”
Modi currently helps manage the estate on a regular basis while posing as Mole Rebus, unseen.
“Upon confirming the visitors’ names, I felt I shouldn’t decide alone—so I’ve come to seek your counsel, Village Chief.”
“Well, I’m not sure my opinion would be all that helpful……”
I began to think.
‘Huh?’
Upon reading the visit notice, my mouth fell open.
[Olive, Interrogator of the Central Headquarters]
“Good grief, it’s a sister-complex!”
“‘Sister-complex’?”
“A vile man who becomes unnaturally obsessed with his sister or younger sister, trampling upon her freedom and happiness.”
“A criminal-in-waiting, then.”
Prellia muttered.
I tried to recall why Olive might want to visit the Deste lands.
‘Ah, that’s right……’
I’d mentioned the Sacred Shrine a few times trying to shake off Olive, who’d mistaken me for a saint.
‘I should go to the Shrine and get some cooperation.’
The Shrine’s visitor numbers had declined noticeably of late.
Not long ago, the Emperor announced that the Crown Princess’s health had recovered, and thanks to that, the distribution of medicinal herbs had returned to normal.
But it would take more time before the herbs could be processed back into medicine and distributed throughout the empire again.
‘That bastard of an Emperor. Shameless as they come.’
In any case, now that the Shrine had more breathing room, it was time to expose its miracles and deal with the whereabouts of Saikupu, the High Priest.
Then came the second visitor.
[House of Stria]
There were two points worth noting.
Stria. And a duchy.
Only two dukedoms exist in the empire.
One of them is this Stria Family.
The last one belongs to our Poppy.
Strictly speaking, the dukedom belongs to Clavis, but the family heads were such eccentrics that they’d always passed the title to the pets they raised.
That’s why whenever people said “duke,” they invariably thought of the Stria Family.
And with good reason.
“That’s the Crown Prince’s maternal family, yes?”
“Yes.”
Modi nodded.
“The Stria Duchess, mother of the late Empress, will be visiting along with His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“So where will they sleep? The Shrine? A lodge?”
“Here at the Deste Estate, of course.”
“What?”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Seeing my bewilderment, Prellia explained.
“Usually, even nobility stays at lodges or private villas, but high-ranking nobles or those of considerable station often accept hospitality at the estates of lower-ranked families.”
Moreover, if they were royal, then all nobility were their subjects and obliged to eagerly offer their homes in service.
“But still……”
My words began to stammer.
I understood the explanation.
The problem, though…….
“Here, it’s crawling with Undead…….”
Every employee at the Deste Estate was Undead.

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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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