The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief in Exile - Chapter 82

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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 82
The Chief Priest of Saikruph was currently enjoying generous hospitality in a guest room beneath the Village Hall.
‘I need to vacate soon.’
There were limits to how long one could accept free lodging and meals.
“Ah, that man…….”
“He’s still alive, then?”
Whether it was her imagination or not, both priests seemed disappointed.
“Well, ahem, even so.”
Still, she quickly buried her true feelings and maintained a priestly demeanor.
“The Chief Priest of Saikruph did wreak havoc on the temple and committed vile acts of political scheming…….”
“But would it not be somewhat severe to execute him on false charges?”
“I believe it would be far better to classify it as an unfortunate accident instead.”
“Monsters roam the Primordial Forest where the young lady dwells for good reason, do they not?”
“All living things have their purpose in existence.”
“Precisely. The Chief Priest of Saikruph, by walking alongside the calamity of monsters, shall at last achieve a cooperative——!”
The priests spat out curses so venomous their throats nearly choked.
‘They must have suffered greatly.’
To express a wish for death with such careful circumlocution was no small thing.
Yet the Chief Priest of Saikruph could not be allowed to die—not yet.
‘I have matters of my own to verify.’
Mother would be hurt if she knew, but I did not fully trust the Holy King. How could I trust someone whose face I cannot remember?
‘And here I am planning to use you for my purposes—I suppose that makes me just as culpable. But what choice do I have? I am the village elder.’
My safety and that of the villagers came first.
‘Of course, I must take care not to trouble Grandfather the Holy King.’
The Chief Priest of Saikruph would be transferred to the Central Temple to answer for stealing the miracle.
At that time, how would the Imperial Court react?
And what would the Holy King do in response?
I would watch both with my own eyes, carefully and clearly.
* * *
After finishing a broad explanation, I gave the two curious priests a summary of what had transpired at the Antema Research Institute.
“The Chief Priest of Saikruph’s healing ability was a fake. Turns out his family was connected to the Antema Research Institute. We found traces of Fallen Angel summoning—human bones, blood, that sort of thing…….”
“What? You mean Fallen Angels?”
“Heavens, such impiety——!”
“I knew it! That madman!”
“Lord, save us from such wicked truth!”
The two priests gasped and bounced on their feet where they stood.
‘Hmm.’
Just as Verity had said.
‘They really do despise Fallen Angels.’
Verity had instructed me that if I were to inform the Deste Temple of what occurred at the Antema Research Institute, I should mention only “Fallen Angels.”
It was because Fallen Angels were the most reviled beings in the temple.
Fallen Angels, she’d explained, referred to those angels who had committed wrongdoings under the guise of holy magic meant to save the world.
I’d recently learned that the demon we’d seen at the Deste Estate had illegally enhanced its body with the aid of a Fallen Angel.
‘Using healing, purification, and enhancement to commit atrocities—they’re quite inventive.’
In any case, learning of the Chief Priest of Saikruph’s vile secrets, Saker and Cherdo shed whatever sympathies they’d held.
“Please dispose of the corpse as you see fit.”
“Young lady, that is a no-return item, you understand?”
“I won’t be returning it, but I won’t be killing him either.”
So I asked them once more to handle matters well when Olive, the inquisitor, arrived.
And then came the second purpose of my visit.
“I’d like to sell first aid kits.”
“First aid kits?”
“Well, it’s something like the medical bags that physicians carry around…….”
As I continued my explanation, the priests showed considerable interest.
“That could work. Late at night it’s difficult to reach a physician.”
“Especially with small children—fevers come on suddenly. For simple indigestion or minor fever…….”
Though I received positive responses and felt delighted, I maintained a composed expression.
“I’ll be dividing the market by category. Household use and field use.”
“Field use, you mean?”
“For people who are prone to injury, like railway workers or construction laborers. Their injuries are of a different sort, so we’d need different medicines and supplies.”
It was here that I broached the real question.
“Could I get the Temple’s official endorsement? I’d naturally offer proper compensation in return.”
“Ah, endorsement?”
“Well…….”
But suddenly both priests stiffened, their expressions growing troubled.
I felt a flutter of concern.
“Can’t the Temple engage in any economic activity?”
“That’s not quite it.”
Cherdo was quick to deny it.
The Temple couldn’t openly pursue profit, but it could generate income through service work like helping others.
As for payment, it would come in the form of donations.
After taxes, of course.
“The problem is, the final decision rests with the High Priest…….”
“Ah.”
I recalled someone I’d momentarily forgotten.
‘Right—the High Priest here is currently afflicted with what I can only call a curse dressed up as a blessing!’
The White Feather discovered during the first Angel’s descent.
Prince Aidellos had handed it over to the High Priest, and the moment he received it, he’d apparently started dressing like some half-wit who’d learned hip-hop wrong, sagging his trousers down his hips.
“He’s still shuffling about with his hands gripping the waistband.”
“Ugh.”
I couldn’t help but grimace.
‘Honestly, I didn’t really want to help him.’
The Deste Temple had locked away an innocent young prince alone in that cramped, frigid cell simply because his parents had failed him.
‘Even thinking about it now makes my blood boil.’
Yet despite that, I’d decided to help this place because these two priests before me had acknowledged their wrongs and genuinely reflected on them.
Humans seem to think admitting fault means denying themselves; unable to bear even that brief moment of shame, they accept a lifetime of disgrace as if it were martyrdom.
‘……Hm, I’m thinking about humans like I’m not one myself.’
Perhaps it was because I’d seen so many like that back in Korea, it had left a bitter taste.
‘Either way, I’m pleased that the Deste Temple isn’t like that.’
So I’d resolved this time to put in real effort and help the High Priest as well.
“But helping you doesn’t mean I absolutely have to push for official endorsement or anything like that.”
“Pardon?”
“Though…….”
“Putting conditions on helping people is too tacky, isn’t it? The First Aid Kit can be sold without any official approval anyway.”
Still, asking them to put in a good word wouldn’t be out of line, would it?
* * *
Hebenia repaired the High Priest as promised.
“Ahhhhh!”
“Oh my! Young Lady! Close your eyes! Cover your eyes! If you look away, we’ll guide you to where the feather is!”
“This old codger of a High Priest—now he’s even torn holes in his undergarments…….”
“Eek! Don’t say it! Don’t say it or I’ll start imagining it!”
Despite an unexpected visual assault, the three of them successfully recovered the feather left behind by the Angel.
Hebenia picked it up with two short, thin metal rods and tucked it safely within the cloak.
The chopstick technique she’d learned in Korea served her well here too.
“Where…….”
Then the High Priest came back to his senses.
“High Priest! Do you know who we are?”
“Saker, Cherdo…… But why are my trousers like this…….”
“Oh! The High Priest has regained his wits!”
“At last he realizes he’s been wearing his trousers wrong!”
The joyful news spread through the priests in an instant.
They presented him with fresh undergarments they’d prepared just for this day, and when they saw him finally wearing his trousers properly, they couldn’t help but shed tears of relief.
“But why is my head like this?”
“You remember nothing of it?”
“Remember? Both sides of my temples are completely shaved!”
“Ah, truly you are restored……!”
“You brats! Why is my hair like this!”
Under cover of the commotion, Saker and Cherdo escorted Hebenia to the Temple entrance.
“Then I should be on my way.”
“Thank you so much. How could we ever repay such kindness…….”
“I wish I could’ve helped so easily from the start. I feel rather guilty about it.”
After adjusting the Cloak of Concealment properly, Hebenia bowed politely to the priests.
“Well then, I’ll see you next time!”
With that, she turned and walked away with spirited determination.
Saker and Cherdo watched the young girl recede into the distance.
The Cloak of Concealment soon erased her from sight, yet both priests remained standing.
“Cherdo.”
Saker spoke quietly, with care.
“Could she possibly be…….”
“A saint, you think?”
“Well…….”
When Cherdo glanced sideways, his colleague wore an expression practically begging to be misunderstood.
Flushed cheeks and eyes grown slightly distant—he looked utterly entranced by something.
“Get ahold of yourself. Don’t speak such things carelessly.”
“But there are more than a few suspicious points, aren’t there?”
……
Cherdo found himself unable to mount any real objection.
Saker let out a dismissive snort.
“She connected spaces through a well, survived—no, thrived—in the Primordial Forest teeming with monsters, distributed countless Duelchebia when they were thought extinct, and just now restored the High Priest to his proper state…….”
“The High Priest isn’t an object.”
“And she even set the herb trade back in order!”
“That is rather impressive, I admit.”
“And she performs self-sacrifice as if it costs her nothing…….”
……
“Tch, that part did give me pause.”
Both priests still remembered the moment Hebenia coughed up blood.
The world was quick to point a finger and call that small child a villain, yet the girl herself showed no hesitation in saving the world.
“I suppose one mustn’t harbor prejudice. Honestly, I was rather frightened of her at first—on account of her lineage.”
Saker smiled sheepishly.
Cherdo did not reprimand him. In truth, he had held the same thought—and he didn’t believe it wrong.
‘Clavis does have that kind of presence.’
It wasn’t uncommon, after all.
There existed those who emanated an extraordinary aura by their very presence alone.
“……Saker.”
Then.
Cherdo suddenly recalled a fragment of memory, as if a fish had leapt from the water’s surface.
“Didn’t Clavis visit here several years ago?”
“Clavis visited?”
Saker’s eyes widened as he searched his memory.
“That’s right, he did!”
Years ago, Clavis had come to the Deste Temple.
“He stopped by the Magical Engineering Academy on some business, then came here to pray and made a substantial donation. Yes, now I remember.”
“The year before last. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes. But why hadn’t I remembered this until now?”
At the time, Clavis had donated a considerable sum to the Deste Temple.
The High Priest had been so delighted that he’d forgotten all about his knee arthritis and bounced about like a child.
It was such a vivid memory.
“Well, these things happen sometimes.”
“I suppose so.”
He seemed to have forgotten everything when the news of Clavis’s destruction came as a shock.
Cherdo accepted this explanation and deliberately set aside the lingering unease.
‘Next time I meet the young lady, I’ll tell her I once met her brother.’

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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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