Kays Translations

Chapter 165: Two Against One, The Other One---

The younger sister, who is the hero, seemed to have the opposite idea from her sister.

Rather than wanting to return to the original world, she seemed to want to avoid conflicts with others. At that moment, she desperately answered while looking into my eyes.

"Oh, that's unusual. You're being quite straightforward. In that case, why not stay in the village of the village chief?"

Seria, her sister, casually blurted out.

"But, that's... will you really allow it?"

"You can do whatever you want, can't you? Oh, but if you do, why not go as a bride candidate for the village chief?"

"W-What? As a bride?"

(The flow suddenly feels strange. What is she talking about?)

"If you were to be with the village chief, you'd probably feel some affection for him too, right? We’re about the same age... and the village chief doesn't seem to mind, either."

"W-Wait a minute. There are a lot of things I want to say, but I have absolutely no intention of doing that."

"Why not? Aren't you just living it up in the village with your harem?"

"Of course not. I'm perfectly healthy. I haven't created a harem or anything."

Of course, I have such desires. I would be delighted to be pampered, and I might have imagined such a future if I didn't think ahead...

"Oh, that's unusual. Could it be that you..."

"That's not it either. But anyway, you're mistaken. I'm already 41 years old, and I'm just an old man who looks young thanks to the benefits of the village."

"Oh, I heard about that from the rumors in town. Hmm... looks young, but is an old man on the inside. That's... surprisingly not bad."

Surprisingly not bad? That's not good at all! I thought, but since the conversation wasn't progressing, I decided to ignore it.

As long as certain levels of loyalty are met, it's fine for them to become villagers. There could be interpersonal battles even if they come to the village. Prioritize the village and me over her sister. I explained these conditions calmly.

"So, the talk about being a bride is out of the question, but if you seriously intend to come to the village, let me know. Of course, you'll have to abide by what I just said."

The hero just nodded in response and didn't say anything more. Her sister, who was right next to her, just looked at her with an expressionless face, and I couldn't read her intentions at all.

"Hey, can I ask you one more thing?"

"Oh, what is it, old man?"

As the conversation came to a halt, I brought up the one thing I had wanted to ask most today.

"Have you ever made contact with any other village chief besides me?"

The hero, along with the other holders of unique skills, each has another counterpart. And they were transferred to the kingdom and the beastman country respectively. So, it shouldn't be an exception for the "village chief."

"I see... I can answer that, but could you tell me why you think so first?"

"You guys hardly paid attention to the barrier, right? If you have extensive knowledge of other worlds, there's no way you wouldn't notice the danger of this ability. It's weird to use the lord's mansion as a base. I thought you had already seen it somewhere and knew its effects."

"Too bad, I was going to use that for our next negotiation... But you're right. There was another 'village chief' in the kingdom. He didn't seem as competent as you, though."

(I had a feeling all along, but there really was one. ...Was he also transferred with his entire family?)

I thought she would be reluctant to share further information, but surprisingly, the saint readily told me the details.

- The other village chief also lived with about ten people in a village with a barrier. All the confirmed villagers were beastmen, and all of them were women. Although it was a bit smaller, there were also Japanese-style single-family houses.

- The location of the village was in the northernmost part of the kingdom, along the coast, and the scale of the barrier didn't seem to be that large. "At most, it was about half the size of the garden in the lord's mansion," the saint testified. Furthermore, the details of the skill are completely unknown. It's possible that the occupation of the village chief and the skill of the village were just self-proclaimed by him.

- Although they tried to recruit him as a comrade, the village chief firmly refused. Since he didn't come out of the barrier, they eventually gave up. He seemed to excel in defense, but didn't seem to have the power to hunt monsters.

- The reason for causing a large outbreak of orcs in the northern part of the kingdom was also to isolate him. He was said to be currently immobilized. Before transferring to Keimos, the sage confirmed this, so there should be no mistake.

"I see, so he's still alive."

"Yes, at least until two weeks ago, he was living normally."

"Ah... Thanks for clearing that up. I'm grateful for the information."

"I'm glad you've gained quite a bit of trust. Oh, by the way. Just to let you know, I took care of the one in the beastman country. The one who was in the ape man territory to the west."

"I... Ah, I see. But how did you find him? How did you even...?"

"Old man? Let's save that for next time. I'd be happy if you came to visit again. If you could return to your original form, that would be even better."

I don't know how serious she is, but I definitely want to avoid joining the old man paradise. I'll save the story of the robber in the beastman country for another time.

---

So, a lot happened... After obtaining valuable information and parting ways with the saint, I used the teleportation circle to return to the village.

It was rare for Drago to remain silent throughout, but apparently, he was wary of the saint's mind-reading and appraisal skills. He seemed to be nervous about his true name being revealed. As soon as we returned to the village, he asked about the hero.

"Drago, I apologize for not being considerate enough. It wasn't a high-level appraisal, so I think it's probably fine, but... What do you want to know about the hero?"

"What was her loyalty level? You must have checked, right?"

"Yeah, I confirmed it with her sister as well. It's already been released though."

"Hmm... Actually, that girl was helping with the distribution of supplies for the villagers every day. I've been asked about the village by her several times too."

(I see, so that's why. I was surprised by her sister's reaction, but I almost thought I had misread the hero's loyalty level for a moment. It seems like she's interested in the village.)

"I'm not going to accept her immediately, but I might eventually draw the hero in. I'll consult with everyone else and make a careful decision."

"I see, I see. In that case, alright! The day I face that girl in battle seems to be drawing near!"

As usual, it seems like Drago... No, the blood of a dragon person is stirring.

"Hmm... But from her demeanor, it seems like she dislikes fighting. It might be better not to expect too much?"

"You're too naive, Village chief! She's undoubtedly a strong one. She may seem like that most of the time, but when it comes down to it, even I might be in danger. If I'm careless, it might even be a close match with Touya."

"Huh? Seriously? She seemed like such a quiet, good girl... Well, but if Drago says so, it's probably better to be careful."

"I think we should bring in the hero at least. If she becomes an enemy, she'll be quite troublesome."

"Understood. I'll consider it positively while being cautious. It was reassuring to have you here today. Thank you."

(If Drago evaluates her this highly, she must be quite something. It might be best to bring her over to our side before she falls into darkness.)

"Well, well, with the addition of new settlers, it looks like we'll be busy from now on! Village chief, let's do our best with all our might!"

"Yeah, I hope everything goes smoothly... All we can do now is pray to the goddess." 

And so, the acceptance of the probably final settlers was completed. From tomorrow onwards, we'll settle down and steadily develop the village.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter