The Vegan Troll's Cabin, Part 9
At the sudden, booming shout, signs of life began to stir throughout the deathly quiet village. Yohan wore a broad, beaming grin, looking thoroughly amused by the commotion he had caused.
"Dammit, what the hell is going on this early?"
The villagers, who had just been jolted awake, stumbled out to find the source of the noise, their faces a mix of grogginess and irritation. It didn't take them long to notice the carriage parked right in the middle of the village—the very same one they had seen just a few days ago.
"Wait, that carriage..."
"Isn't that the bastard from before?"
"Yep, that bastard is indeed back," Yohan called out loudly, answering a villager's muttered question.
By now, most of the villagers had emerged from their homes. Among them were several who had glared at Yohan with deep suspicion during his last visit. He also spotted the middle-aged man who had been relatively friendly to them.
"What are you back for this time?"
The young man Yohan had nearly gotten into a fistfight with last time pushed his way through the murmuring crowd, taking long strides toward them.
"I told you before, we don't have anything to sell to outsiders."
"Yeah, I know. And I didn't come here looking for handouts, either."
Perhaps sensing a shift in Yohan's confident demeanor, the young man didn't charge in blindly like he had before.
"In fact, I'm here to do you all a massive favor. Right?"
Yohan smirked playfully and glanced over at Falco. She gave a firm nod.
"We're going to wipe out the cannibal troll village."
She delivered the terrifying declaration with a completely deadpan expression.
"Wh-what?"
The crowd froze instantly. The villagers could only blink in stunned silence, wondering if their ears were playing tricks on them.
"Are you people out of your minds?"
Even the quiet middle-aged man couldn't help but speak up. Yet Yohan merely kept his cheerful grin and nodded.
"At first, I was just going to stock up on supplies and be on my way. But after hearing what's been going on, my hands are practically itching to do something."
He spoke as if subjugating a pack of cannibal trolls was a walk in the park. In truth, it was pure bluffing. Yohan knew all too well that this fight wouldn't be easy. Just because he had defeated a demon didn't make him invincible against a horde of man-eating monsters. For all he knew, they might end up surrounded by giant green muscle-monsters and meet a gruesome, agonizing end. Even so, he had to put on a strong front. Only then could he spark a glimmer of hope in these people, who had been shackled by generations of despair.
"That's absurd."
Sure enough, the villagers dismissed Yohan's declaration as utter nonsense. Yohan had fully expected this reaction. For decades, they had sacrificed one of their own every single year. On top of that, public security in this godforsaken world was practically nonexistent. No official help was ever coming. To the villagers, Yohan was nothing more than a lunatic looking for a death wish.
"Y-yeah... they're insane."
"Did their carriage flip over on the mountain pass? Did they hit their heads?"
Even the hostile young man was now looking at Yohan with a gaze that bordered on pity.
"Hey, bring it out."
Yohan called out to Billy inside the carriage. The door swung open immediately, and Billy stepped out, cradling a troll's head in both hands.
"Y-you!"
"How dare you show your face here again!"
Recognizing Billy, the villagers erupted with a fury that far surpassed their previous hostility.
"Everyone, please calm down!"
Billy flinched slightly under their wrath, but he took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Quiet!"
Yohan bellowed right after him. Overwhelmed by Yohan's booming voice, the crowd fell dead silent, as if by magic.
"Take a look at this!"
Yohan took the troll's head from Billy and slowly unwrapped the cloth covering it. The cleanly severed head of the troll was revealed for all to see.
"Eek!"
Gasps and shrieks erupted from the crowd. A few faint-hearted villagers even collapsed to the ground or swooned on the spot.
"You all know what this is, right? Yeah, it's a troll's head. I personally split this bastard's body and skull right down the middle."
With a theatrical flourish, Yohan hurled the troll's head onto the ground.
*Thud!*
The heavy head hit the dirt with a dull thud and rolled. The villagers crowding around the carriage instinctively scrambled back several paces to get away from it.
"Like I just said, we're going to raid the cannibal troll village."
"B-but still... killing a single troll is one thing, but taking on the entire pack is..." the middle-aged man stammered.
The others quickly chimed in, murmuring in agreement.
"No, it's fine. Because I can actually do it."
Yohan replied coolly, then suddenly reached his hand toward the sky.
*Flash!*
A brilliant, pure white light erupted from his palm, instantly shooting upward into a blinding pillar of radiance before condensing into the shape of a sword.
"Hmm."
Yohan gave the newly summoned Light Sword a few casual swings through the air. All his practice in his spare time was paying off; his control over the weapon was growing smoother by the day.
"Who... who on earth are you?"
The young man who had tried to fight him earlier asked in a hushed, cautious tone. Instead of answering immediately, Yohan deliberately let the Light Sword disperse back into particles of light before speaking.
"My name is Yohan. I am the Apostle of the Nameless Goddess."
A Goddess, and an Apostle. The villagers stared blankly, struggling to process the two words. It wasn't that they lacked the basic knowledge of what those terms meant. Rather, they simply couldn't wrap their heads around the reality that a literal Apostle of a deity had set foot in their run-down village.
"Yohan is incredibly strong. He decapitated a pure-blood troll in the blink of an eye. I saw it with my own two eyes!"
In the heavy silence, Billy stepped forward and shouted to back him up. Yohan and Billy briefly locked eyes. They had played all their cards. Now, all they could do was wait for these people, who had been paralyzed by fear for so long, to find their courage.
Yohan remained silent, desperately hoping for a positive reaction.
"Y-yeah... Screw it, let's do this!"
"He's right. We can't keep sacrificing our children year after year forever!"
A few voices broke the silence. Hearing them, Yohan's lips curled into a subtle smirk.
"Dammit, I'd rather die fighting than spend the rest of my life crying in this dump, waiting to get eaten!"
It had worked. The villagers were finally finding the resolve to stand up to their monstrous tormentors.
"Alright! Everyone, go home and grab your tools!"
"Get your pitchforks, rakes, whatever you can find!"
Once they made up their minds, the villagers moved with unprecedented energy, shouting encouragement to one another as if they had never been terrified of the troll's head in the first place.
"Whoa, whoa, stop!"
But Yohan had absolutely no intention of taking them along to the troll village.
"W-what?"
"What is it now?"
The villagers, who had been about to run back to their houses for weapons, froze in their tracks.
"Who said I was taking you guys? The three of us are more than enough to slaughter those troll bastards."
Yohan gestured toward Falco and Billy.
"What? What kind of bullshit is that?"
"Why can't we go with you?!"
Several sturdy young men protested loudly at Yohan's words. The other villagers murmured in agreement, looking equally upset.
"Cut the crap and stay inside your houses! You finally have a chance to live in peace, and you want to go throw your lives away? Are you insane?"
Yohan's voice rose, sharp and commanding.
"Listen to me. My goal is to free you from those goddamn man-eating trolls, not to drag you along to die with us!"
"B-but—"
"But what?! Do you honestly think you can kill a single troll with those farm tools? You'll just get torn to shreds."
A few tried to argue further, but Yohan's harsh, almost threatening tone shut them up completely.
"Everyone, Yohan is right. The three of us are enough to handle the trolls."
"But you're not that different from us!"
Billy stepped in to support Yohan. Immediately, several young men turned their frustration on him.
"No, I am different. You are innocent victims, but I bear responsibility for this. And... even if it's only a quarter, I have troll blood in my veins. I can hold my own in a fight."
Unlike Yohan's aggressive scolding, Billy spoke with earnest pleading. Fortunately, his heartfelt appeal worked. The young men, who had been ready to charge out of the village, slowly calmed down.
"Alright."
Just as everyone seemed to have settled down, the quiet middle-aged man stepped forward.
"You're right. There's no need for the innocent villagers to shed any more blood."
"Glad you understand. So sit this one out, mister."
Yohan replied coolly. But the man shook his head.
"I have a responsibility too. Just like Billy."
He spoke with a heavy, complicated tone. Yohan was about to dismiss him forcefully, but when he saw Billy's face pale, he held his tongue and listened.
Yohan immediately put two and two together regarding the man's relationship with Billy.
So that man is... I see. That explains it.
The Goddess seemed to grasp the situation just as quickly.
"If I hadn't created the circumstances that forced that child to leave, you would have never ended up as their accomplice, Billy."
At the man's words, Billy squeezed his eyes shut. He clenched his fists so hard that his nails dug into his palms, drawing blood.
Meanwhile, the man quietly slipped back into his house. He emerged a moment later carrying a sword. It wasn't a crude farming tool, but a proper blade forged for killing.
Looking at him, Yohan knew that even if he tried to stop him by force, the man wouldn't back down.
"Good grief," Yohan muttered, shaking his head with a sigh.
Falco, on the other hand, nodded in deep respect for the man's resolve.
"Thank you for understanding. Now, everyone, go back inside and wait with your families. The four of us are enough to face them."
After giving Yohan a nod of gratitude, the man naturally took charge and dispersed the crowd. The villagers who had gathered in the early morning returned to their homes or began their daily chores.
The three of them climbed back into the carriage. The armed man took one last look at the village before boarding as their final passenger.
"Hey, mister. Are you absolutely sure you won't regret this?"
Yohan asked from the driver's seat.
"Jack."
He gently stroked the scabbard of his sword.
"The name is Jack, not mister."
"Sure, Uncle Jack. You ready for this?"
Jack let out a hearty chuckle at Yohan's question. Yohan smirked. He hadn't really expected a serious answer anyway. Turning back, Yohan gripped the reins tightly in both hands.
"Alright, let's go kick some bad guy ass."
He muttered under his breath, and they set off.