Chapter 422: The Curious Neighboring Village

　The day after Tauro’s encounter with the boy who caught his attention.

　A messenger from the chief of the neighboring village where the boy lived asked him to visit their village.

　Tauro and his party were about to turn down the request because they had promised to provide guidance for a week at the request of Maine Village.

　But then, the chief of Maine Village came to them.

“If you don’t mind, could you please go to the neighboring village?”

　The chief of Maine Village suddenly asked.

“Eh?… I thought we were being asked to teach here for a few more days?”

　Tauro did not quite understand the village chief’s wish to give priority to other villages.

“We owe a debt of gratitude to the neighboring village. If the village chief there wants to invite you all, we can’t just turn him down. If you’re hesitating because of the deal you made with us, we’re fine with it.”

　Tauro was filled with doubts at the sudden change in attitude, as if all the enthusiasm from the first day had disappeared, but if the person in question said it was good, there was nothing he could do.

“…I understand. We will go see the neighboring village. If you need us to wrap up what we started, we will come back and show you the rest.”*

　Tauro promised the chief of Maine Village that he would do so, and after confirming with Ragune and the others, they decided to head to the neighboring village.

　The neighboring village was surprisingly close, just a little over an hour’s walk away.

　What was strange was that this village was tucked away deep in the forest, giving it the impression of being a hidden village.

　For that reason, just to be on the safe side, Tauro alerted Ragune and the others to stay on alert, and was led to the village chief’s house.

“Welcome friends. My name is Gaze, and I am the village chief of this village. I have heard a lot about you all from the chief of Maine Village and the villagers. I hear that you are very trustworthy and skilled adventurers.”

　The village chief, Gaze, greeted Tauro and the others and asked how they’ve been.

　He seems humble towards adventurers.

　Tauro immediately decided to see what they wanted.

　Tauro heard a little from the villager whom he had taught that they would like to receive training at their place as well, and since it was close to the village of Maine, they thought it would be fine if he could commute.

“I’m guessing that you would like us to teach you how to defend yourself in this village as well, right?” 

“Well, something like that. We have a man named Cross who used to teach the villagers swordsmanship, the bow, etc., but he was seriously injured. ……”

　It must be about Haku’s father.

　Tauro came to that conclusion as he listened to Village Chief Gaze’s explanation, but there was something about what the chief said that stuck with him.

　But at this stage I don’t know what that is.

　It would have been easy to refuse, but Tauro was also curious about this Cross, and his son Haku, so he waited for the village chief to continue his story.

“…Because of that, there is currently no one in this village who is as capable of fighting as you guys. I want my people to learn how to fight quickly so they can protect our village and our children. In the meantime, I’d like you all to act as guards and instructors for this village. Of course, we will pay you well. I’ll pay you twice as much as Maine Village!”

“Well, then again, we are highly regarded!”*

　Ankh was in a good mood because of the generous reward.

“……, but I’m curious. Is this village that much in danger of something?”

　Ragune’s question was also reasonable.

　Whether it was Maine Village or anywhere else, the area around here didn’t seem that unsafe.

　Of course, Haku’s father, Cross, was seriously injured while defending the village from an attack by monsters, so there must have been some strong monsters, but for now, according to Tauro’s “Presence Detection,” there didn’t seem to be any strong monsters in the vicinity.

　So It doesn’t feel like the situation is that critical.

“There are enemies in this world that we don’t even know about.”

　The village chief suddenly said something significant.

“?”

　Tauro was increasingly confused as to what this meant.

　So I decided to ask for more details to clarify.

“That’s a very abstract expression, so I don’t really understand, but are you saying that the village is in some kind of danger?”

“…I have heard from the Chief of Maine that you guys seem trustworthy. That’s why I want to hire you guys and confirm that first. There are only two days left until the one-week period that you were originally scheduled to stay. Could you please stay here for those two days and think about it?”

　　The village chief is serious. I can tell.

　But for some reason, Tauro found it suspicious.

　Also, it seemed like the chief of Maine and chief Gaze had a very close relationship.

　Deep down, I suspected that the request from the chief of Maine village was also due to the will of the village chief Gaze, who happened to check us out during our previous visit, which led to us being chosen.*

　But I don’t know why.

　It’s clear that they’re looking for someone they can trust, but…

“…You have permission from the Chief of Maine Village, right?”

　Tauro confirmed again.

“Yes, of course!”

　With this reply, Tauro clearly understood that Chief Gaze and the chief of Maine were in cahoots.

　This is because this answer would not have been possible if they had not been communicating from the beginning.

　However, since it was clear that Mayor Gaze was serious and was looking for someone he could trust, he agreed to stay for just two days.

　Once we left the chief’s house, we found Haku waiting there with a man who seems to be his father.

“Sensei! Will you stay with us?”

　Haku asked as soon as he spotted Tauro.

“Haku, you shouldn’t suddenly ask a guest such a question. I apologize on behalf of my son. My name is Cross.”

　The man who identified himself as Cross limped towards Tauro and greeted him.

“I am Tauro, leader of the adventurer team “Black Golden Wings.””

　Tauro, mindful of Cross’s lameness, stepped up to him and shook his hand.

“Where are you planning to stay tonight? Please come stay with us if you like. My son would like to talk to you all.”

　Cross put his hand on Haku’s shoulder and invited Tauro and the others to come over to their house.

　Then Chief Gaze arrived.

“Cross, you’re not feeling well. It would be best if you didn’t move around too much. They are going to spend the next two days here in the village teaching the villagers, so they will be staying in an abandoned house on the outskirts.”

　From the conversation, it sounded as if the village chief was concerned about Cross, but from Tauro’s “presence detection,” he got the impression that he considered Cross a nuisance.

　According to Haku, Cross is supposed to be respected by the villagers, but…

　Tauro was increasingly unable to grasp the situation in this village because of the conflicting words and atmosphere.

Tl note:

白羽の矢が立ったのではないかと。- to choose something out of many

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