Chapter 35 - First Request (2)

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Chapter 35 - First Request (2)

“V-village chief!”

Jenna spun around, startled, practically leaping into the air.

“...Village chief?”

Yulia’s expression showed she was puzzled by the title, as if she was wondering if such a position even existed in the Empire.

Of course... She must have found it curious because it was her first time hearing it. Lloyd had faith in his superior’s knowledge and intelligence. She was smarter than she appeared.

‘But still.’

A village chief was practically a king in a place like this.

No, considering the unique insularity of rural villages, a village chief wielded more power than a king.

Lloyd turned around and was quite surprised.

‘...Is he a thug?’

There’s a certain image that comes to mind when you think of a village chief.

Someone old, stooped over, and frail. But the “village chief” standing before Lloyd was far from that image.

He was a man in his mid to late forties, standing at a towering height of around 180 cm.

His back was straight.

His body was solid, with well-defined muscles that had clearly been honed through real combat.

He even had a long scar etched across his face.

‘...Or was he a mercenary?’

The man looked like someone who had seen his share of battles.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lloyd...”

“Jenna! Do my words as the village chief mean nothing to you? Outsiders are never interested in our village; they’re always like wolves, looking to devour us!”

“I’m Lloyd, from the Social Science Research Insti...”

“That’s it! You’re grounded for a week—no, two weeks!”

“Lloyd...”

“If you bring another outsider here, don’t expect to be fed!”

How could someone so blatantly pretend not to hear?

Lloyd glanced at Princess Yulia, who was also looking quite flustered. How could she look so dignified even when confused? But no, that’s not the point here.

‘What are you going to do?’

She whispered, clearly at a loss for how to handle the situation.

Well, who in the world would dare ignore the words of a princess? Even if she was the third princess, at the very least, people would usually respond with a polite “yes, yes.” This must have been the first time someone had completely disregarded her.

‘Don’t worry.’

‘It seems he has no intention of listening. Wouldn’t it be better to just leave?’

‘No. There’s something going on here.’

‘...Something? Even if there is, it won’t matter if he won’t listen...! We’re not even getting paid much; let’s just go back!’

Paid? I think otherwise.

Besides, indifference isn’t an issue.

Attention-grabbing is my specialty.

“Let’s just go back.”

Lloyd deliberately spoke loudly.

The village chief still didn’t react.

Jenna’s sobbing was pitiful, but she would have to be ignored for the moment.

The village chief continued to pretend he hadn’t heard anything, not even bothering to make a face like he was annoyed by a barking dog.

Lloyd started walking back toward the wagon, his steps slow and deliberate.

Then he shouted.

“Thief! There’s a thief stealing the crops!”

“Where? Where is this crop thief?!”

The village chief, who had been pretending not to hear, came running like a shot.

Lloyd grinned.

“Must have been a mistake.”

“You little brat!!!”

“Oh, you can hear me now. I’m Lloyd from the Social Science Research Institute.”

“.......”

The village chief immediately switched back to ignoring him.

A tough opponent.

Lloyd tilted his head.

Then he stuck his foot out as the village chief turned to walk away.

—Thud.

The village chief fell flat on his face in the dirt, just like a character in a cartoon.

Beyond him, Lloyd could see Yulia and Jenna’s shocked faces.

“What on earth are you doing...!”

Lloyd simply smiled at them, and then a huge shadow loomed over him.

A long scar ran perilously close to the village chief’s left eye.

The village chief glared at him with fierce eyes.

“I was going to let you off because you’re just a kid...!”

The low growl came from deep within the man, carrying an unmistakable sense of power.

‘Who the hell is this guy?’

Lloyd raised both hands in the air, though his thoughts were elsewhere.

“Well, I called out to you, but you didn’t respond, so I thought you might be a ghost and decided to check by giving you a little nudge with my foot. No other bad intentions.”

“Is that your idea of an apology?”

“Apology? Shouldn’t that be coming from you?”

“What did you say?!”

Thud.

With a single step, the ground shook violently.

Lloyd wobbled but responded calmly.

“The person who ignores others should be the one to apologize.”

“You little...!”

Grab.

“Eek! Village chief, no!”

The village chief grabbed Lloyd by the collar and hoisted him into the air.

Dangling.

As he hung there, Lloyd calmly gestured to the women to reassure them. The village chief growled.

“I wasn’t ignoring you; I was giving you a chance. A chance to leave our village peacefully!”

“Such a generous opportunity.”

“Leave now. This is the last warning you’ll get.”

With that, the village chief released Lloyd’s collar and turned away.

His hostility toward outsiders was clear.

‘Normally, this is where I’d leave.’

But that made the village all the more suspicious.

It reeked of something valuable, like a pot of honey buried beneath the surface.

That hostility likely stemmed from the influx of outsiders drawn by that scent.

Instead of falling to the ground, Lloyd landed softly and spoke up.

“I can tell how much you love this village.”

The village chief’s steps slowed at Lloyd’s empathetic words.

“In that case, you should face reality. Are you just going to stand by and watch as your fields turn black?”

Stating the provocative truth was enough to make the village chief turn around.

“Jenna loves this village just as much as you do. That’s why she knocked on the doors of dozens of guilds in Eastan before coming to us. This girl, not even fifteen years old, has shown more initiative than you. Who is the real adult in this village?”

Now he was pushing the village chief’s sense of responsibility.

He was demanding a choice.

The village chief’s face turned red with anger.

Then, gritting his teeth, he muttered.

“You impudent brat.”

“Even so, the choice is yours. If you want us to leave, we will. Princess Yulia, are you ready to go?”

“...Huh? Oh, yes.”

Caught off guard, Yulia climbed into the wagon.

Lloyd was about to follow when—

“...Fine. I admit that we need your help.”

The village chief murmured quietly.

“Come with me.”

Step, step.

The village chief led the way.

Behind him, Jenna jumped for joy.

Yulia turned to Lloyd with a look of disbelief.

“How did you manage that? He seemed even more stubborn than Father’s Royal Guard Captain.”

Lloyd shrugged lightly.

“People like him are actually easier to persuade.”

Empathy, stating facts, appealing to their sense of responsibility, pointing out the problem, and presenting a solution.

Lloyd knew that people as rigid as the village chief were especially susceptible to this approach.

“Let’s go.”

◆

The village chief led Lloyd and the woman who appeared to be his superior to his home.

It wasn’t large, but it was tidy.

As he served tea and refreshments, Lloyd narrowed his eyes.

- He didn’t poison it, did he?

The expression on Lloyd’s face said it all.

‘Sigh.’

The village chief sighed and took a sip of tea and a bite of the refreshments.

“You looked like a man just now, but now you seem more like a schemer.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“...Ha.”

Jenna and Yulia, who were fidgeting uncomfortably, stared at them as if they were handling a bomb that could go off at any moment.

‘This is going to be stressful.’

The boy in front of him was tricky.

The village chief couldn’t tell if the boy was good or bad, but one thing was clear: he was capable.

The fact that he knew how to handle people was proof enough.

Lloyd grinned and spoke.

“I hear that the potatoes, the village’s main crop, are dying. I also heard that the potatoes grown here are considered high quality. It must be troubling that you can’t save them.”

Lloyd was initiating negotiations.

He was exaggerating the seriousness of the situation, while suggesting that he could solve it.

‘Impressive.’

The village chief was impressed.

For someone who looked like just a boy, he spoke like a diplomat who had spent decades negotiating.

Like a sly old fox.

‘He could be a con artist.’

Talented people often ended up betraying you.

The village chief pondered for a moment before making his offer.

“Our village doesn’t have any money right now. We’re spending everything we have just to buy food.”

“I see.”

“But let’s do it this way. If you solve the potato problem, I’ll give you 10% of the net profits from potato sales.”

“...You’ll give us more money? Ah, I mean, of course. Thank you.”

Lloyd seemed flustered for a moment before breaking into a broad smile.

The village chief clicked his tongue.

Even while negotiating, he had that cheeky smile.

‘Anyway, I’m not giving him an advance payment... There’s nothing to lose. If he really can save the potato fields, we’ll profit.’

Reassuring himself, the village chief swallowed.

...Wait a minute.

Was he nervous just now?

“Heh.”

The village chief found himself chuckling at the absurdity.

He was getting nervous in front of a boy who looked no older than fifteen.

◆

‘What’s this lucky break?’

Lloyd couldn’t help but smirk at the village chief’s offer of royalties.

He hadn’t even thought of that.

Lloyd’s real target was the “people responsible for what’s happening to the fields.”

They were the ones who represented a pot of gold for Lloyd.

‘Seems like he thought I was trying to negotiate with him.’

That was actually better.

Though it was a village, the size of the fields was substantial.

Even if the net profit wasn’t huge compared to the total revenue... the fact that the potatoes from this village were considered high quality meant it would be a significant amount of money.

‘Hehe.’

Lloyd hadn’t smiled like this in a long time, pleased with the unexpected windfall.

He decided to put in a little extra effort.

Lloyd watched as the village chief brought over a basket of potatoes.

“Here. These are the problem potatoes. As you can see, the upper half has turned black. It’s a disease we’ve never encountered before. We’ve tried various treatments, but nothing works...”

Potatoes are sick.

It made sense to approach this as a disease.

But.

“I’ve seen enough.”

Screech.

Lloyd pushed his chair back and stood up.

“Let’s head to the field.”

The village chief was taken aback.

“It’s the middle of the night. You won’t be able to see anything. We should wait until morning...”

“No. There are things you can only see at night.”

Especially when it’s a plot as sinister as this.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]