Chapter 19: The Manor’s Reply

The afternoon after I had canceled my plans to send people out to the mountainside, three men came up the southern road.

Elmer was in the lead.

Elmer had a leather bag slung over his shoulder and was accompanied by two armed men, just as before. I didn’t stop when he saw me, but continued straight to the village entrance.

“Are you back?”

The village chief calls out.

“Ah. I reported it to the mansion and kept the reply.”

Hearing those words, I, who was outside the fence, also sat up.

Lina pops out from a nearby house, and Dario stops working.

A report about me has arrived at the mansion.

That’s the answer.

“What about the soldiers?”

The village chief was the first to ask.

“I won’t release it for now.”

Elmer answered without hesitation.

Lina’s shoulders, which were a little far away, relaxed.

The village chief still doesn’t change his expression.

“For now, huh?”

“Let me be precise about that. It wasn’t decided that we would slay it because it was a dragon, but it wasn’t decided that we would not intervene no matter what.”

“What kind of judgment is that?”

“As far as I’ve seen, Val hasn’t attacked the villagers. He hasn’t even touched the livestock. When bandits come, he’s actually protecting the village. There’s no reason to send out troops in the current state.”

It seems like the decision was made based on the current situation rather than being forced to meet certain conditions.

I felt a little relieved.

At least they aren’t coming to catch you for no reason.

“In the future, if Val starts attacking people or causes damage in other villages, the story will naturally change.”

“I understand that.”

The village chief answers.

“However, even if you tell me not to let this guy out of the village, it won’t be possible.”

“That was never said.”

Elmer looks at me.

“I also reported that you are not a livestock that moves on the orders of the village chief.”

I nodded.

“However, if you suddenly fly to a village you don’t know, it will cause a commotion. Do you understand that?”

I nod again.

Even if I don’t intend to attack me, the other person won’t know.

There’s also a possibility that a bow will be aimed at you.

“You can’t fly very far now, right?”

I nodded.

“Then it’s not a problem right now. I’ll think about it when I start moving far away.”

That’s where we separated.

It seems like he has no intention of making any decisions about the future.

“I’ll also tell the village side.”

Elmer turns to the village chief.

“Don’t try to threaten other villages or merchants just because Val is here.”

“Do you want to?”

“I’m not doing it now, so I’m telling you not to do it in the future.”

“This is not my soldier.”

“I know.”

Elmer answered easily.

“That’s why I’m not being told to ‘use’ or ‘manage’ them. If the village and Val work together and cause damage to the surrounding area, then it will be a different story. That’s all.”

That’s understandable.

Me protecting the village and the village using my power to subjugate the surrounding people are not the same thing.

It didn’t seem like it was time to worry about that now.

“Is that all your reply?”

the village chief asks.

“About Val.”

After Elmer said that, he looked towards the mountain side of the village.

“…Has anything changed?”

Dario and the village chief looked at each other.

“There is”

It was Dario who answered.

“Yesterday, a monster that looked like a big bear appeared.”

Elmer’s expression changes.

“Where?”

“On the mountain side. I was chasing Rock Ape.”

“What about the damage to the villagers?”

“No”

“What about Val?”

Look at me.

I turned my body slightly to the side so that I could see that there were no injuries.

“I did make contact.”

Dario continues.

“Rock Ape floated towards the village, so Val stepped in between them. The bear-like thing continued towards Val.”

“Did you defeat it?”

I shake my head.

“Did you drive him away?”

I didn’t answer that right away either.

In the end, it stopped chasing me and just moved towards Rock Ape.

“I left Val and went straight into the mountain.”

Dario makes up for it.

“I left the village, but I didn’t defeat it.”

Elmer took out paper and writing utensils from his bag.

“What does it look like?”

“The front half of the body is quite large. It looked stiff from the shoulders to the back.”

“How big is it?”

“At least, it’s not the kind of guy Val wants to deal with head-on on the ground.”

“That’s it?”

Elmer looks at me.

“Was it dangerous?”

I nodded.

I still remember how far that front leg passed right behind the tail.

“Val breathed fire once.”

Dario says.

“Did it work?”

I tilted my head.

“His legs stopped, but he didn’t have any injuries that would cause him to fall.”

“I see.”

Elmer writes.

“Do you know the name?”

“I don’t know. I once heard that a bear-shaped monster with hard shoulders and back is called an armored bear.”

“Have you seen it?”

“No”

Dario answered immediately.

“Don’t decide that this is it.”

“I can’t decide.”

Elmer writes something on the paper.

“It’s possible that it resembles an armored bear. I’ll just leave it as ‘unconfirmed.'”

That’s fine.

Just because it has a name doesn’t mean we know its true identity.

“I might be able to find out if there is anyone in the mansion who knows about such monsters.”

the village chief asks.

“Are you going to send someone out?”

“I can’t decide that far.”

Elmer shook his head.

“However, we can check to see if similar stories have come up from surrounding villages. It’s possible that hunters or people familiar with the mountains may know.”

“That alone helps.”

Dario said.

I felt the same way.

There’s no need to fight without knowing your true identity.

What kind of place do you prefer?

Is it a monster that goes down to the human village?

Is there a way to avoid it?

If there’s something you can know, that’s better.

“What about Rock Ape?”

Elmer asks.

“Still in the mountains”

Dario answers.

“A herd with cubs was moving towards us. Yesterday, something like a bear was chasing some of them.”

“Did Rock Ape escape from that and move on?”

“I don’t know that much.”

This time the village chief answered.

“No one saw what happened after the eight people fled from their original settlement.”

“Okay. I’ll write about that separately.”

Elmer did not connect unnecessary cause and effect.

After that, a short reply was given regarding the eight people who had fled from the other side of the mountain.

“The mansion didn’t say to kick out the eight people right away.”

Those who were near the storeroom looked at me.

“Really?”

asked one of the evacuated men.

“Ah. If it is dangerous to return to the original village, it seems that staying in Rue Village is not a problem for the time being.”

The man took a deep breath in silence.

The village chief also nods.

“That’s enough.”

“However, they have asked us to let them know if the situation becomes clearer.”

“I don’t know now.”

“Then it’s fine if we don’t know. It’s not like we should send someone back to the mountain just to confirm.”

It seems like he doesn’t want to force a conclusion on that either.

Elmer put away his notes.

“But…”

Look at the mountain side.

“I came to the village to check on the dragon, but I never thought I’d be returning with another report of a monster.”

“I’m not adding more just because I like it.”

Dario answers.

“I know.”

Elmer laughed a little.

That’s where the talk from the mansion ended for the time being.

I was a little disappointed.

I was expecting him to order something more unilaterally.

Actually, it seems like the museum hasn’t decided how to treat me either.

If there’s no danger, we won’t send troops.

Judgment will change if damage occurs.

That was all for now.

Elmer and his friends had just come up the mountain path, so they decided to rest in the village that day.

I go back outside the fence.

After a while, Lina came.

“Soldiers aren’t coming.”

I nodded.

“Good.”

She stroked her chest.

“But doesn’t that mean it’ll always be okay?”

That’s right.

They nodded.

“Does that mean it’s no good if Val does something wrong?”

It may seem a little different, but that’s mostly the case.

I tilted my head and then gave a small nod.

“Then it’s the same as before.”

Lina said simply.

Maybe so.

I wasn’t here to attack humans from the beginning.

He only moved when necessary to protect the village.

Whether or not the building acknowledged it, it wasn’t like the things I do now would suddenly change.

“But.”

Lina lowered her voice a little.

“I don’t want someone to take me away.”

I look at her.

“Val wants to be here, right?”

They nodded.

At least for now.

I started with half a loaf of black bread and have come this far.

I lightly pushed Lina’s shoulder with the tip of my nose.

“Wow”

Lina stumbles a step and laughs.

“Okay, okay.”

As the sun was setting, Elmer was at the village chief’s office, briefly confirming the location where the bear-shaped monster had appeared and the movements of the rock ape.

I don’t ask again if I’ve fixed a road I’ve seen before.

Instead,

“Is that road that the packhorses take still usable?”

I heard.

“Yeah. It’s different from the dangerous place on the mountain side.”

The village chief answers.

“Then, isn’t there a need to stop travel to and from the outside?”

“That’s my intention.”

That was it.

It doesn’t mean closing off the entire village.

Don’t approach dangerous areas on the mountain side.

On the other hand, if the southern route used by Heinz is stopped, neither salt nor grain can enter.

The current Rue Village doesn’t have that luxury.

By the time night fell, there was a new note on Elmer’s bag.

I can’t read what’s written there.

However, from what I heard during the day, I understand.

The information about going down the mountain this time includes not only me, but also Rock Apes and bear-shaped monsters.

No one knew yet how the building would receive it.