Chapter 146: Appeal Time

“My name is Zebas, and I am the chief butler of the lord. Please prepare to leave today. I will be leaving tomorrow morning, so please take care of me.”

The butler who introduced himself as Zebas began speaking with a condescending attitude. To address the current lord with such an attitude… he must be quite formidable or exceedingly foolish.

“Zebas-san, isn’t that a bit too overbearing? I understand it’s under the instructions of the new lord, but… what about the refugees?”

“It’s a matter of about a week; it’ll be fine. Besides, I’m quite familiar with this place.”

While listening to the exchange between Lux and Zebas, a maid nearby discreetly informed me of the situation.

It turns out that this Zebas person was originally the butler of the previous lord before Lux. When the previous lord was dismissed, Zebas was given some free time, but he abandoned the lord and quickly went to the fox-person lord.

(I see. He was probably originally a spy for the fox lord. Drago probably knew that too, which is why he exiled him along with him.)

As the conversation continued, Lux was quite persistent, but in the end, he had no choice but to agree to evacuate by tomorrow noon. The main reason for this was that the opponent presented an official notice from the parliament as a trump card. It included a clause stating, “In the absence of the lord, the head butler acts as a representative of lordship.” There was nothing we could do about it.

“By the way, what is that thin film-like thing? Please remove that unknown thing immediately.”

“Oh, that might be a bit difficult. Ah, right, right. This appeared out of nowhere. So, I can’t do anything about it.”

“What? That’s… Just move from there!”

Pushing Lux aside, Zebas plunged into the barrier. Naturally, he couldn’t enter, and he collided face-first with it.

Zebas, groaning in pain as he crouched down, quickly recovered and headed straight to the lord’s mansion. His tenacity was admirable, but seeing him slightly embarrassed, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter along with Lux.

(I could just tie him up without any explanation… No, let’s not do that. Once we start that, it’s over. As long as they’re following the proper procedures, I don’t want to resort to such measures.)

“Regardless of the reason, I hope they become hostile soon,” I thought as I decided to observe the situation for a while.

◇◇◇

After that, the new lord’s servants were fully occupied with the transfer of personal belongings. They didn’t even offer words of gratitude to the refugees.

If they were acting as the lord’s representative, they should at least do that… but it seemed like they had no intention to.

“Now then, Lux, the plan has gone slightly awry. Originally, I planned to recommend relocation tomorrow morning, but the deadline is until tomorrow noon.”

“Village Chief, let’s explain to everyone now. Let them think overnight, and in the morning, we’ll select those willing to move.”

“Well, that’s probably the way to go. Alright, let’s do it immediately. Ignore them even if they come. If they make too much noise, silence them.”

“Is it okay with the adventurers serving as guards? Most of them seem to have gone to the guild… but about 20 are still here. Probably the lord’s retainers.”

“No problem. They’re all around level 45, and none of them have special skills.”

“Understood. I’ll prepare right away. I’ll introduce the village chief during the explanation, so please be present.”

As a precaution, I contacted Haruka and instructed her to send several security personnel. Honestly, it seemed fine with just me, but getting complacent in situations like this usually leads to something bad happening.

I have no intention of acting like an invincible cheat character. No matter how strong you are, if you let your guard down, it’s normal to die easily.

—After a while, Lux’s servants began gathering the refugees.

Thanks to the delicious meals, as long as they could move, there was no problem. Even now, people were gathering one after another with the feeling of “Isn’t it a bit early for dinner?”

“Oh. Dinner is still a bit later. Actually, there’s an important matter to discuss, so we’ll prepare after you hear it.”

“Everyone! Please come closer. Form a circle around Lux-sama!”

“Don’t leave gaps! Our voices won’t reach otherwise!”

The cute maids continued to call out desperately. There were over 2,000 people here. If we didn’t do this, there was no way our voices would reach.

Eventually, the circle shrank, and a vast number of refugees gathered around Lux and me.

“What on earth is starting?” “Do you know the guy next to the lord?” “I don’t know. More importantly, are the sweet potatoes ready?”

Whispers and murmurs approached from all directions, 360 degrees. Moreover, everyone’s gaze… remained fixed on us.

(What a horrifying sight… We’re being watched, intensely watched. Oh, I’m feeling the urge to pee from nervousness… But no, there’s no escape, completely surrounded!)

I had never been surrounded by such a large number of people in my entire life. I couldn’t feel malice, but the gazes were painfully intense. Whether it was due to composure or not, Lux next to me remained calm. Trying my best to not show my nervousness, I also held my composure.

“Everyone, please listen carefully. First, I have been dismissed as the lord just now. The lord who was in charge before me will take office as the new lord.”

Upon hearing Lux’s first words, the surrounding group became even more restless. And I became scared by that. It’s okay, I’m not wet yet.

“And, we will be expelled from here by tomorrow noon. ―So, I have a proposal. How about all of you come with us?”

Voices such as “Where are we going?” “What about food?” “When is the lord coming?” arose from the surroundings. After calming them down, I slowly explained about the pioneer settlement and the village.

Starting with jobs in the settlement, providing food, clothing, and shelter, and finally, I talked in detail about wanting them to become villagers. In the middle of the introduction, I explained the village’s policies, the presence of the barrier, and the loyalty system.

As a conclusion to my speech, I dropped the killer lines, “If you live in the pioneer settlement, you can eat these sweet potatoes every day,” and “The only chance to move is tomorrow.” The new lord doesn’t seem to be cooperative, and the merits of selling sweet potatoes are diminishing. Besides, the barrier will be closed anyway. It doesn’t matter how much noise the parliament makes.

“Alright, everyone, those who are interested, please stay after breakfast tomorrow morning. As explained earlier, there are conditions for living in the pioneer settlement. Please keep that in mind.”

With these words, Lux concluded the gathering to attract villagers.

(Come to think of it, there was no interference at all. Zebas and the others are unbelievably indifferent. It would be troublesome if they don’t make a move soon…)

“Alright, that concludes the explanation! We’ll have dinner now, so please line up!”

“If anyone has questions about the pioneer settlement, please come to the front of the tent!”

In the end, I stayed at the tent until it got dark on that day. Watching the refugees’ reactions, answering questions, time passed quickly.

Overwhelmingly, the most common questions were: “How can we increase loyalty?” “What happens if one family member falls below the criteria?” and “Is the pioneer settlement really safe?”

Regarding the first question about loyalty, those who asked it were probably fine already. These people are likely thinking, “I want to raise loyalty of my own accord.” Unless there are strange motives, they probably already meet the minimum criteria.

Regarding the second question about families, I made it clear that there are “no exceptions.” Whether they stay with their families or leave them and come to the pioneer settlement is entirely up to them.

As for the last question, it’s something they need to see on-site. I showed them the barrier on the spot and demonstrated that no one except villagers can enter, but since there are no monsters here, I couldn’t provide definitive proof.

(If there was a bit more time, I could have approached this more decently… but lamenting that now won’t change anything.)

No, that’s not it. This is because of the absurd responses from the parliament and the new lord. I must make them regret this without fail.

“It’s too late to apologize now; this old man is enjoying life with the villagers.”

Suddenly coming up with that phrase, my mood calmed down a bit.

The plan deviated a bit, but I spoke about what needed to be said. Now, all that’s left is to wait for the decisive battle tomorrow.

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