Chapter 42
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Selling Firewood - 3
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"This is really warm!"
For outdoor activities, we'd made a few winter outfits.
The insides were stuffed thick with layers of linen and duck feathers like quilted armor, and the outsides were reinforced with yeti hide to boost the cold resistance.
The result was a medieval puffer jacket that kept the warmth in and blocked the wind!
Who knew Chloe had such a knack for tailoring.
According to her, it was a virtue every wife should have, but in my eyes, Chloe just had talented hands. Which explained why she milked my semen by hand every night... the rest is omitted.
Anyway, I hoped she wouldn't overdo it while pregnant.
As I was thinking that, Tom approached in his medieval puffer jacket and asked about the business.
"By the way, how'd you come up with the idea to sell firewood?"
"It was Elsia's idea."
"Elsia? That girl always had a head for this sort of thing. Just like her old man."
"It's only possible because of the current situation. So, are you in?"
"You think I'd pass up a chance to join you?"
"Didn't think so."
The business we were talking about was selling blackwood firewood around the village. Ordinary trees nearby wouldn't fetch much, but with this brutal cold, everyone would want to stock up while they could.
Our house had the most firewood to spare in the village anyway, and thanks to Chloe's medieval puffer jackets, the cold wasn't an issue for me.
Instead of taking money—which might hurt our village reputation—we aimed to get paid in kind.
"Just sign here."
"Sign? I can't write my name."
"Then press your thumbprint here instead."
"So if I do this, I pay it off with labor later?"
"That's right~ You'll help with village work as needed."
It was a form of deferred labor payment.
This way, I can get people to build what I want later.
Unlike working one-on-one with Tom before, now we could tackle bigger projects.
Plus, with the Village Chief's backing, no one would welch on the deal.
The village men seemed to like the arrangement too.
Getting free firewood would've bruised their pride as family heads, but paying with future labor let them take it without guilt.
It was a bargain for them besides.
"Five days' worth for a day's labor? That's too cheap."
"Hell, I'll work like a dog for a week. Gimme a month's supply!"
"Coming right up! Hold on. Clia, hand some firewood to these guys."
"Got it! Over here, uncles~"
"Elin, everything okay?"
"Yes. It's going smoothly, Sian oppa."
With Elsia overseeing everything, her daughter Elin was handling the simple accounting.
"Good thing we have you, Elin. You're a big help."
"Thank you. I'll become a woman who lives up to your expectations, Sian oppa."
"Don't push yourself too hard. Hard workers deserve rewards. What do you want, Elin?"
"Um... could you give me a massage?"
Looked like Elin was hooked on my massages. Well, I was pretty good at them.
"Oppa! We're almost out of firewood!"
"Already? Guess I'll make another run."
Once we'd sold to most of the villagers, I'd head to the Dark Forest to farm more blackwood.
"What should I do?"
"Hold down the fort here for me, and recruit anyone interested in the work."
"Got it."
After handing recruitment to Tom, I bolted to the White Giant Ents' nest in the Dark Forest.
The war with the Red Giant Ents must've heated up—monster corpses littered the nest.
Luckily, there was plenty of blackwood for firewood as usual.
I loaded it onto the custom cart Tom made.
Blackwood was heavy to begin with, but the kind the White Giant Ents had drained of sap was light enough for me to carry two logs effortlessly.
"Hm?"
As I hauled the logs home like always, a group of silver-haired women appeared before me.
What the...?
More precisely, one adult woman and two girls about Clia's age. But their outfits stood out from Lugeron Village folk.
They looked like tribal garb from cold northern lands.
Northerners, maybe?
"■■■ ■■ ■■■!"
"■■!! ■■■ ■■!"
"■■■! ■■■ ■■!"
Their language wasn't Imperial Common either.
I overheard their talk, but it was gibberish.
Still, their vibe screamed bad intentions for coming to the village.
As the axe-wielding women moved to raid a smaller house...
"Freeze."
I hurled a log to block their path.
"Turn back now, and I'll pretend I saw nothing. Ah, you probably don't understand."
They panicked at my sudden appearance—the kids especially—but the adult woman swung her axe at me right away.
She's got skills.
Stronger than Carlson, the toughest in the village aside from me.
"■■!!"
With an unintelligible shout, she charged. Up close, she reminded me of Sylvia. Though Sylvia was prettier in my eyes.
"Wish it'd been regular blackwood."
The firewood log I used shattered under her axe swing. Then she hurled it at me, defenseless.
I drew the skinning knife Petra made and deflected it.
Sturdier than I thought.
Her throw packed a punch, but Petra's little knife held up fine.
She must've improved a ton since learning from Tom.
Hm?
Sudden danger sense hit me—I turned at the chill.
The deflected axe was boomeranging back at me.
What sorcery was this?
Actually, it curved back to the woman who'd thrown it.
Thor's hammer or what?!
Can't let her keep distance.
She had ranged attacks she could spam; I didn't.
I rushed her, and she flung two axes at once.
This time I dodged. She drew a dagger from her bosom and charged too.
Behind me: returning axe.
Ahead: Carlson-level fighter.
Tricky, but easier than Wolf, who'd actually wounded me before.
KABOOM!
"■?!"
I clenched my fist and slammed the ground, triggering a mini-quake. The woman faltered for a split second.
I seized the gap, swatting the incoming axe.
The empowered axe rocketed back at her even faster.
"■■■!"
She panicked hard. Unlike Thor's hammer, this axe wasn't fully under her control.
The pressure she'd put on me reversed onto her.
Clang!
She parried with her dagger but couldn't handle the force.
"■■!"
The kids behind her screamed as the axe looped back.
In that do-or-die moment where her own axe might hit her, I snatched it mid-flight, then pinned her throat with it.
"Stay put."
"......"
She bit her lower lip, feeling the skill gap bone-deep, but didn't resist further...
The lord of Lugeron Village, Hippo Baron, wasn't from a proper noble house. A mercenary by origin, he'd lucked into a title through feats of arms—a semi-noble whose lands were Byran, Asl, and Lugeron.
Perhaps because of that lack of legitimacy, he was sidelined among nobles serving Anitul Earl, dismissed as rootless. Even mercenaries scorned him for lack of coin.
The three territories he'd gotten from Anitul Earl were all flawed: perilously close to the Dark Forest, the empire's officially recognized demon realm.
Lugeron Village was right next door, even worse.
It'd been deliberately settled with troublesome slash-and-burn folk to distract forest monsters from other lands.
Who could collect proper taxes from such a place?
"Y-You're sending me there? I can't! Better kill me than feed me to the monsters!"
Its ill repute made everyone—from treasurers up—shun it, Hippo Baron included.
Only recently, war's privations forced him there, nearly getting eaten by a War Bear en route.
He'd spotted a hunter father-son duo active in the Dark Forest but ignored them.
As lord, he should've investigated locals, but seeing them casually take down a War Bear even knights avoided changed his mind.
He had no desire to waste scarce funds managing that village anyway.
"A hunter in the Dark Forest, you say?"
But now, that decision hung his life in the balance.
Before him stood a holy knight of the Holy Kingdom, guardians of imperial peace.
"Yes, we're looking for him."
One of the continent's elite orders—the Holy Palace Knights—was hunting a single hunter.