The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief in Exile - Chapter 81

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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 81
Even now, the undead servants move busily about the manor, cleaning, cooking, doing laundry—fulfilling their duties as they did in life.
But there’s no guarantee this will continue indefinitely.
‘For safety’s sake, staying here overnight is…….’
A troubled groan escaped me unbidden.
“Wait.”
I pressed Modi again for clarification.
“The Crown Prince is coming too?”
“That’s what the letter states.”
Modi, who always spoke formally to me during his duties, explained the contents in detail.
“He intends to visit the Deste Temple for prayer. I suspect it may be due to the Angel descent you mentioned before, sir.”
“Speaking of which, an Archangel descended at the Central Temple not long ago.”
“I’m the one who did that.”
I tilted my head this way and that, ignoring the wide-eyed stares of the adults around me.
‘That’s odd.’
The Magic Tower Lord is the one who turned the servants into undead.
He summoned the Demon Necro to learn Curse Magic, and the Emperor was mentioned multiple times even when I fought demons at the Antemma Research Institute.
‘So they should be on the same side…….’
Yet he sends his own son despite knowing undead exist here.
Even his dead wife’s mother.
“Good grief, the Emperor isn’t just ordinarily mad.”
“Perhaps he’s confident it’s safe?”
Modi asked.
“But I caught the demon the Magic Tower Lord had contracted with. Wouldn’t he know that too?”
“In that case…….”
Prelia ventured a careful guess.
“Might he be sending them to confirm something?”
“What, with his own son and mother-in-law?”
I let out a hollow laugh despite myself.
“In all my days, I’ve never met a human so creatively vile.”
“You have a way with words, sir. I rather like it.”
“Our village chief here has real talent for it.”
Modi spoke with pride as if he were praising himself.
But his face fell at what came next.
“Anyway, they’re coming, so we need to show them proper hospitality. You can do a good impression of Molle Rebus, right?”
“Ugh…….”
“I’ll borrow a Shape-Changing Magical Tool from Verity.”
“I’m not sure I can pull it off…….”
I patted his waist reassuringly despite the hesitation in his voice.
Modi has the aptitude of an Executor of the Absolute—there’s nothing he can’t do.
‘Because!’
The Absolute is my superior.
The Executor is my subordinate.
“When the superior gives an order, you obey without question, perfectly, flawlessly—that’s your aptitude, your talent, your duty!”
“…….”
“You are now a treacherous coward who acts like he’ll surrender everything to the strong, but bolts the moment trouble erupts. That’s Molle Rebus.”
“The complete opposite of our Modi, then?”
“He’s in the Underground Prison. I’ll introduce you later.”
“Wonderful!”
Prelia, having once been the heir to a Baronial house in her youth, understood perfectly how to treat distinguished guests.
‘Thank goodness we have a village resident now of such caliber…….’
I was about to move past this thought when I hesitated.
‘Could this be Clavis’s doing too?’
Ever since learning the true intentions of the Emperor and the Multi-Dimensional Alliance, my regard for Clavis had grown exponentially.
‘How much must he care for me, to arrange such perfectly timed encounters.’
People were truly such fickle creatures.
‘Hehe!’
When I knew nothing, I felt anger at his very name, but now he had become my safest, strongest refuge.
* * *
As we finished roughing out a plan to receive Countess Stria and the Crown Prince.
“But why does the Heretic Inquisitor want to meet with Molle Rebus?”
Prelia’s offhand remark brought both Modi and me to a halt just as we were about to discuss our next move.
“Because there’s no real reason for a Heretic Inquisitor to meet a nobleman at all.”
“She might be acting on the Holy King’s orders.”
Modi said thoughtfully.
Since the Heretic Inquisitors were the Holy King’s direct unit, it wasn’t uncommon for them to conduct diplomatic activities on his behalf.
“Oh, it might be because of me?”
A suspicion crossed my mind, and my lips twisted involuntarily.
Prelia, catching my meaning, voiced it aloud instead.
“You mean she mistook you for a Holy Maiden?”
“Goodness, for a Heretic Inquisitor to harbor such a misunderstanding.”
“Uncle, what do you mean by that?”
Irritated, I jabbed my finger into his ribs five times in succession.
“I didn’t mean to, but I did tell Olive that we were all alive and well in the Exile Territory.”
“I see.”
Modi rested his hand on his side as he spoke.
“So she’s trying to join the search of the Primordial Forest.”
“Modi, wouldn’t that be dangerous then?”
“Not at all. Quite the opposite—it’s a pointless effort.”
I nodded in agreement.
The Primordial Forest is currently wrapped tight in the Long-Haired Demon’s barrier, and besides, the narrow passage that once connected it to the Exile Territory every full moon has long since vanished.
‘Olive would never overlook that.’
So then, why has she come?
‘She’s verifying things just like the Emperor would.’
My safety and wellbeing as her granddaughter.
And laying the groundwork for a game of moves to check the Imperial Court.
‘Could my plan to use the Temple System as a check on the Imperial Court stem from the naive notions of a childhood I don’t remember?’
My mother, as she appeared in my dreams, had told me.
“Your grandfather will help you.”
“But isn’t he already dead?”
“No, you have another grandfather. My father.”
My mother’s adoptive father.
Holy King Ecclesia Kathol.
The surname he bore before dedicating himself to the Temple System was Angrus.
And Angrus was one of many aliases owned by the Clavis family; Holy King Ecclesia Kathol was a man supported by Clavis patronage.
* * *
Since I was already in the Deste Territory,
‘I might as well get everything done.’
Strike while the iron is hot—I decided to visit the Deste Temple and have a word with the priests.
Modi and Prelia offered to accompany me, but after eight years apart, I wasn’t tactless enough to intrude on a couple’s reunion.
“Enjoy your intimate time together.”
I winked with one eye and gracefully flicked my index and middle fingers pressed together.
“Oh, what’s a little thing like you worried about…….”
“We can’t very well ignore the village chief’s kindness!”
“W-well, that’s true……!”
I ignored the affectionate sounds coming from behind.
‘Heh, so our village will soon welcome a baby.’
Then how could I arrange for people with expertise in childbirth and postpartum care to come to the village?
With such thoughts swirling, I donned the Concealment Cloak and headed toward the temple.
The Deste Temple still bustled with people.
Yet their numbers had dropped to half of what they once were, and most of those standing in line looked healthy and prosperous.
‘A Sacred Pilgrimage.’
Since an Angel had recently descended at the Central Temple, they had returned to Deste, where an Angel had descended before.
I slipped skillfully into the temple and immediately sought out Saker and Cerdo.
With fewer people about, the work was easier, and the two priests—their red and blue hair divided like a yin-yang symbol—had been tending the vegetable beds in the garden courtyard since morning.
They were harvesting Dultsebia that had grown magnificently.
‘Wow, it’s really thriving.’
So I felt a little sorry.
According to the plan I’d prepared, the Dultsebia would have to disappear now.
First, I approached quietly and gave the two working priests a gentle tap.
The two priests turned and recognized me instantly, breaking into bright smiles. They were careful not to speak my name aloud.
We moved to an empty Prayer Chamber nearby.
“It is an honor to meet you again. May the blessings of our great god be upon you.”
“And thank you—truly, thank you.”
“For what, exactly?”
“You’re pretending not to know when you understand perfectly well.”
Saker’s eyes softened with warmth.
‘Wait, I genuinely have no idea.’
What had I done?
Cerdo answered my unspoken question.
“Thanks to the miracle you created, we were able to save countless lives using medicines made from Dultsebia.”
“We barely managed to contain the spread of Crape Myrtle Fever that summer. So many patients were in danger because they couldn’t obtain medicine.”
“And the distribution of medicinal herbs has finally returned to normal!”
“Not to mention you removed that wretched priest!”
Overwhelmed by the avalanche of praise, I felt both bewildered and deeply satisfied—knowing that I had saved so many lives.
‘This is why I help people. This feeling.’
I smiled broadly, meeting the priests’ gazes.
“However.”
Cerdo broached the subject carefully.
“Priests from other regions have inquired. They want to know where we obtained this medicine. And the source of the herbs as well…”
“What did you tell them?”
“We said it was manufactured from reserves the Imperial Court had hidden away.”
“Hmm.”
From the Temple’s perspective, they’d done their best to obscure the truth. And I was pleased with the excuse—it suited me perfectly.
“I came, in fact, to discuss what comes next.”
I told them it was time to withdraw the miracle.
Saker’s face fell, and Cerdo’s eyes dropped away as though trying to hide his disappointment.
But soon enough, both bowed their heads, seeming to respect my decision.
“You must have your reasons, as always.”
“What you have already shown us is more than enough.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
I explained the specifics of how to proceed.
“Harvest only the Dultsebia that are still growing, and collect as much of the soil from the field as you can.”
“You mean the soil from the Primordial Forest you gave us before?”
“Yes. And plant just a few Dultsebia roots in the restored garden bed.”
“Once you do that, the transplanted herbs will…”
“Wither quickly.”
From that point forward, the true purpose of my plan would become clear.
“Olive the Heretic Inquisitor will visit Deste Territory soon. Did you know?”
“Yes. We received word.”
“We’re not entirely sure of the reason, but…”
Saker and Cerdo spoke in turn.
‘Just as I thought. She’s coming to find me.’
She would be carrying out the Holy King’s orders, but Olive would also personally inspect the Deste Temple—the place connected to me.
And that’s when.
“When Olive asks about the source of the herbs, tell her a miracle occurred here—that Dultsebia grew spontaneously in this place.”
But Olive would see only a field of withered plants.
How would the priests explain this ill omen?
Who would they blame?
“Point to the Chief Priest Saikurp as the one who destroyed the miracle.”
I cannot give Misery Syskon the key to Libi.
But a deceiver who performed false priestly rituals through an Angel’s power—him, I can hand over without hesitation.

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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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