Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Selling Firewood - 2
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There was no particular reason for me to grant the request from Jace's wife, Selnia.
My family and I weren't related to her by blood, and honestly, her attitude toward Elsia left much to be desired.
But.
"Elsia, give her some firewood."
"Understood."
I decided to help her out.
More precisely, not her, but her husband, Jace.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me."
"Pardon?"
So I gave Selnia a warning.
"I'm giving you firewood because your husband, Jace, lost his leg protecting the villagers during the war and successfully carried out his guard duties for the village. It's like he helped me back then, so now I'm returning the favor."
In short, I was telling her indirectly that this was a one-time freebie, and next time she'd have to pay the proper price.
"...Understood."
Selnia was sharp enough to pick up on it; the joy on her face vanished, replaced by wariness toward me in an instant.
Did she think I'd be such a pushover? I'm only a pushover for my family.
With that, Selnia took the blackwood firewood and left. That amount should last her about two weeks.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I unnecessarily worried you, Sian."
"No big deal. If someone like that shows up again, come straight to me. Don't deal with them yourself."
"Yes."
Not everyone in a rural village is kindly toward their neighbors just because it's the countryside, and being poor doesn't make someone inherently good. People's generosity comes from wealth, and standards of good and evil vary from person to person. That's why the head of the household must be strong and cold for his family's sake. He has to think more about not being taken advantage of than about giving freely. It might sound harsh, but this is the way to survive in the world and protect your family.
"Elsia, how much firewood do we have left?"
"Excluding what we gave Selnia, we have about enough for three months."
"That's quite a bit."
"But with winter's end unpredictable, I'm not sure we can afford to rely on this."
"It's fine. The Dark Forest is full of blackwood. We can just harvest it regularly."
"Why don't we make a business out of it this time?"
"Business?"
"Yes. Normally it wouldn't sell, but with this weather, firewood prices will skyrocket. And blackwood makes excellent firewood, so we can charge a premium."
"Hmm... But selling just within the village won't yield much profit, and it might make us enemies."
"No, I have a separate plan."
"???"
Elsia explained her idea step by step.
As the daughter of a merchant, her approach to business was on another level. Chloe was right to suggest taking her as a concubine.
"That way, no hard feelings will build up."
I adopted Elsia's advice.
If we play this right, we could build up some capital from this opportunity.
"Then I'll handle gathering the blackwood?"
"Yes. Please do, Sian."
"Of course. It's what the head of the household should do."
...
I decided to gather the blackwood alone.
Clara seemed eager to come along, but since it was simple manual labor, it was more convenient and faster to go solo than to bring her.
"Next time, we'll go together. Got it?"
"Yeah, next time we'll go together."
Since coming out as a woman to the family, Clara had been wanting to spend more time with me, unlike before.
She clearly disliked exercise, so who knows what wind blew her this way.
And as expected, the Village Chief gathered the village men. The reason was, naturally, the ongoing winter.
"In times like these, we must unite our strength."
The Village Chief preached ideals of unity, but sadly, people can't live on ideals alone.
A few village men voiced concerns.
"It's hard for us to share firewood for free, too."
"Right. Our own stock is barely enough."
"How about we all gather and chop firewood together?"
"In this cold? Just coming here feels like freezing to death."
The village men's words had some merit.
'It really is brutally cold.'
This winter felt at least twice as harsh as last year's, and back then it was already spring around this time.
The weather was unnaturally off.
As I sipped my tea and watched the meeting, Tom poked my side and asked,
"Sian, got any good ideas?"
"Even I am powerless against nature."
"True, no one but the Emperor could stand against nature."
Eh? The Emperor beats nature?
Is the Emperor here some kind of superhuman?
"But do you have enough firewood?"
"Plenty. And if I run low, I can just get more from the Dark Forest."
"Hearing that makes me jealous you're a hunter at a time like this."
"Want to go? I'll guide you."
"You trying to get me killed? I'd never set foot in the Dark Forest, even if it killed me."
Tom shuddered, clearly haunted by bad memories of the Dark Forest.
"You hate it that much, yet you live here just fine."
"Because you're here. With you around, the village is safe."
Tom's words made me feel a bit good.
To think he'd praise me in front of everyone like this.
"Right. I'll tell you something, just between us and Tom."
"What scheme are you plotting now?"
Warmed by his fondness, I whispered our current plan to Tom.
Scheme? Who'd hear that and think I'm the final black of this rural village? The Final Black of the Rural Village Was the Village's Top Hunter. Sounds like some web novel title.
...
Carlson had a daily morning routine: honing his swordsmanship.
Though talentless and unable to reach the next realm of the 4th Circle, he couldn't abandon the habit he'd built up over time.
It might seem foolish to others, but to Carlson, it was an inseparable part of life.
Today, as he swung his sword, a woman approached.
A beautiful blonde with blue eyes, clad in leather armor and carrying a black bow.
It was Clara, who had fought alongside him in the war.
"Good morning, Captain."
"Leon? That outfit..."
"W-Well, you see..."
Showing her true self as a woman for the first time in front of men outside the family, Clara fidgeted shyly with her fingers.
"I see. You've made your decision."
"Yes... Somehow."
Carlson was one of the few who knew Clara was a woman, like the Village Chief.
The Village Chief understood the Sylvia family's circumstances, and Carlson owed a life debt to Clara's maternal grandfather.
Both had worked to keep her secret.
Especially Carlson, who had put in great effort to protect her on the battlefield.
He taught her basic swordsmanship and stepped in to help before trouble arose for her as a woman.
Thanks to Carlson's kind heart and strong sense of responsibility, Clara survived the dangerous war unscathed as a woman, and she was grateful to him for it.
"I came to say thank you."
"No need for thanks. Compared to the grace I received from Lord Andrew, it's mere a drop in the bucket. And what you overcame was your own effort, not mine."
With some knowledge of medicine and a life debt to the former Village Chief Andrew, Carlson saw helping Clara as a given. Considering her age, like his niece, he pitied her situation.
Of course, he only helped within his means.
He had a family to protect and a wife he loved. No matter the debt, family came first for him.
That might be the difference between Sian and Carlson.
And why Clara ultimately fell for Sian, not Carlson.
Sian would protect Clara no matter what.
And Sian never forgets neighbors who help his woman.
"Sian asked me to pass this on."
"You didn't have to bring anything."
After hearing Clara's story, Sian wanted to thank Carlson personally, but he'd been busy gathering firewood amid the prolonged winter. So he sent Clara in his place with a gift.
And that gift was...
"Th-this is?!"
A virility enhancer.
An improved version from the last one.
"Captain?"
Unaware of what it was, Clara tilted her head at Carlson's flustered reaction.
Carlson hurriedly hid the virility enhancer and changed the subject.
"Th-thank you. Uh, is that the black bow Tom mentioned?"
"Yes. A gift from Sian."
At the mere mention of Sian, Clara's face lit up like a schoolgirl's.
Seeing his niece-like charge make such an expression filled Carlson with emotion. Is this what having a daughter feels like?
"Want to see? I'm good with this bow."
Excited to talk about the gift from her beloved, Clara struck a pose, aimed, and began shooting arrows flawlessly. Carlson was impressed. Her skill surpassed any archer he'd seen.
'I knew she had talent, but this much...'
In a way, Carlson was Clara's teacher.
He had taught her how to enhance her physical abilities with mana.
Of course, not everyone could learn it just by being taught. It required innate mana sensitivity and sufficient mana to back it up.
Out of ten students, maybe one would master it—talent was that crucial.
Fortunately, Clara had abundant innate mana and talent, allowing her to enhance her body somewhat with mana. Still, she was far below Sian, who didn't even use mana.