CH 17

———Benjamin village.

A village with the open sky and a mountain range visible even from the entrance in the background.

Old wooden houses were standing in rows, and they all looked so beautiful you would hardly believe that their owners were poor.

Every house was not as large as a mansion, but they still looked sturdy.

The fields were filled with vegetables, agricultural tools, and farmers.

In the orchard, there were several women tending to the trees.

[Yup! We’ve arrived. First things first, I’ll go greet the mayor. What about you guys? If you have any business in this village, you might as well say hello to the mayor first. What do you say?] (Kilim)

[You think? …Alright, we’re coming with you.] (Seto)

[Hmm… I believe if we go straight down this path, there’s a relatively large house at the end, so I guess that’s where we should go.] (Kilim)

And so, the three of them went to the village mayor’s house.

A remote village that was rumored to be full of eccentrics.

At first glance, this scenery looked as average as could be, but our travelers silently wondered just what sort of secrets this village was hiding as they went to meet the mayor.

Right after demanding an audience, the three of them entered the village mayor’s office.

At the back of the room was her desk, surrounded by bookshelves.

The room was also furnished with a table and an old sofa in the center.

The mayor, who was working at her desk, sat up from her chair.

She was an elderly woman, but the elegance in her appearance made her look much younger than her actual age.

[Welcome to my house, Kilim-san and… your companions?] (Mayor)

[Oh, these fine people are my benefactors. And seeing as they were headed to this village as well, we decided to come together.] (Kilim)

[My, is that so? Then please have a seat. Let me treat you to some tea.] (Mayor)

Upon saying so, the mayor gave wordless instructions to her servant, and sat at the head of the table.

She smiled at the three of them as they sat across the table, and gave them a few words of welcome.

[Welcome to Benjamin village. My name is Scarlett, and I am the mayor of this village. And I know you are the soldier who will be working here as a guard, Kilim-san. …Bow, who are you two lovely people?] (Mayor/Scarlett)

She calmly oriented her line of sight toward Seto and Satis.

[My name is Seto.] (Seto)

[And I am Satis. You could say that I’m this boy’s relative.] (Satis)

Satis replied smoothly, and Seto instantly looked in her direction.

Psst! What do you mean, “relative”!? (Seto)

Introducing ourselves as such will put her at ease, no? (Satis)

Scarlett sipped her tea after it was brought into the room while watching the two of them whispering in secret.

[Fufufu! You two are very close, I see. You remind me of the old days.] (Scarlett)

She said that with a smile, and explained to Kilim the details of her job while engaging in small talk.

An attendant immediately led the latter to her workplace.

Kilim went to the building where she would live and work.

After seeing her off, Scarlett went back to the sofa and addressed the other two while happily sipping her tea.

[Now, I apologize for asking you while you’re enjoying the tea, but… What brings you two to our village? Do you wish to live here, perhaps?] (Scarlett)

[Oh, no. The two of us are traveling. And since we have a long journey ahead of us, we were wondering if we could stay in your village for a few days. …Of course, we don’t intend to overstay our welcome, so we were hoping you would grant us permission.] (Satis)

[Ahh, I see.] (Scarlett)

Scarlett smiled.

She asked a servant to bring her some documents, then she looked through them for a short while.

[So is there an inn in this village?] (Seto)

[Oh, that’s not what these are for, Seto-kun. You see, a few house owners have recently passed away, increasing the number of unoccupied houses. I have had some of them demolished, but there are a few that are still eligible for rent. …How about this one? It might be a good place for the two of you to spend some time together.] (Scarlett)

[We sincerely appreciate that you even found a place for us.] (Satis)

[Don’t mention it. I can imagine how tough it must be for a woman and a child to travel on their own. …Better yet, why not live in our village?] (Scarlett)

[Eh? But we’re outsiders. The other villagers wouldn’t accept it if we just showed up out of nowhere and decided to stay without their permission, would they?] (Seto)

While Seto looked startled, Scarlett showed another gentle smile.

[You two have heard the rumors about this place, haven’t you? We’re a village of eccentrics. …Nearly everyone here hails from the outside. …Some of them used to be known as legendary heroes, and others are men who made their fortunes in business but are now penniless due to various reasons. People with all sorts of backgrounds arrived and settled here. …It’s as if they were drawn to this village by the magic of fairy tales.] (Scarlett)

People were drawn to this place by a quirk of fate and a checkered destiny.

So Seto and Satis wondered if they, too, had come here by that same work of fate.

Satis was the one who suggested that they go to this village.

Perhaps this was also their destiny.

[…I’m sure Kilim-san must have also gone through her fair share of misfortunes before winding up here. It’s strange how this village only harbors people with such circumstances. Truly, what a mystery.] (Scarlett)

[Are you sure there won’t be any dispute? If people are as quirk—… as unique as you say, wouldn’t they constantly be at odds with each other?] (Satis)

[Fufufu! Back when this village was established, conflicts were a daily occurrence. Men who were tired of their lives would yell at each other, and sad-looking women would watch them, laugh, and make fun of them. …Now we look back on them as good memories.] (Scarlett)

The longing look on the face of the mayor was one of beauty and nostalgia that could not be expressed in terms of age.

There was no doubt that Scarlett must have watched over a great number of people in this village who still kept on living through turbulent times.

And she must have also seen them off to a better world.

[Now, I know I should take you to that vacant house, but unfortunately, I have a lot on my hands. …So I’ll have one of my attendants show you the way.] (Scarlett)

[Alright. Thank you very much.] (Satis)

[Thanks for… I mean, we are grateful for your help.] (Seto)

[Fufufu! Take all your time to make yourselves at home. I will join you up later. We haven’t had visitors in such a long time, I can’t wait to show around the village.] (Scarlett)

Then, an attendant led Seto and Satis to the vacant house.

It was relatively small compared to the others.

But it was a two-story house with two private rooms.

And the living room was furnished with household items.

Seto and Satis decided to stay in it until the mayor arrived.