The Road to the Holy City (1)
After finishing their conversation, Yohan escorted Charles back to Henry. In the meantime, Henry had sorted the items Yohan brought by category, leaving the table so cluttered with various blades and accessories that there didn't seem to be room to set down a single teacup.
"I've sorted most of it, and every single piece will fetch a pretty penny if we put it on the market. But are you really just giving all of this to me?" Henry asked, his face a mix of disbelief and skepticism.
Yohan gave a light nod. "Didn't you say you're almost out of cash after moving your shop, old man? Just think of it as payment for looking after our kid."
"Hoo... I don't know if I should be accepting all this." Henry scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile.
"You readily agreed to my favor in the first place, old man. In times like these, feeding and raising a kid is no easy task."
From what Yohan had observed, Henry was a rare man of integrity in this neighborhood. The fact that he had readily accepted Yohan's sudden, borderline unreasonable demand to take in Charles spoke volumes about his character.
"Tsk... Well, if you're just giving it to me, I'll gladly take it, but..."
"Just make sure the kid eats well. Kids that age need regular meals to grow tall."
The items Yohan handed over were indeed valuable, just as Henry said. The accessories were one thing, but the weapons—especially the swords—were highly sought-after items on the black market.
However, it would take too much time and effort for Yohan to peddle them himself. Leaving them to Henry, who was an expert at laundering stolen goods, was the smartest move.
"Alright. See you next time, then. Drop by often if you can."
"If I don't forget."
"Haha, of course."
Yohan shook hands lightly with Henry, then patted Charles's head.
"You take care of yourself too."
"Yes. I was so happy to see you both after so long," Charles said, looking at Yohan and Falco.
"Right. Let's head out then."
With Charles and Henry waving them off, Yohan's party left the shop. Under a sky where the sun had already climbed to its peak, they saw the residents of Valifield bustling through the streets.
"Whew. I've been talking up a storm since morning, and I'm already exhausted." Yohan let out a long sigh, then turned to meet Falco's eyes. "Shall we go grocery shopping now?"
"Yeah."
It was time to buy various daily necessities to bring back to the villagers.
After loading the carriage's cargo bed to the brim with goods, the party used the Goddess's power to teleport to the forest near the village. Thanks to the massive surge in the number of believers, teleporting a carriage and horses together was no longer a burden.
This is what you call a cheat code in a fantasy world, Yohan thought, a smirk playing on his lips.
After a moment, he raised his head and surveyed their surroundings. "It's been a while since we've been back here."
"To be fair, it hasn't even been three months," Annie remarked.
"Heh. True."
The mountain valley, once ruled by a pack of man-eating trolls, looked incredibly peaceful. Most notably, unlike before, the chirping of birds echoed from all directions, and the presence of wild animals could be felt everywhere.
On their last visit, there hadn't been a single beast to hunt in the forest, forcing them to barely scrape by on grilled fish caught from the river.
Yohan felt a wave of nostalgia as he recalled those memories.
"The animals have returned to the forest," Falco noted, a bright smile gracing her face. She hopped down from the carriage and began to stroll around. At this moment, she looked exactly like a nature-loving elf.
"What, happy because there are more beasts for you to eat?"
Of course, that was strictly on the surface. The Falco Yohan knew loved meat more than most humans and was a pointy-eared brute who preferred violence over conversation.
"T-The elves of the forest love nature. It's only natural to be happy!" Falco stammered, her ears twitching and turning red at Yohan's sarcasm.
"Sure, sure."
Despite Falco's defensive excuse, no one in the party paid her any mind.
"Just get back in. We need to head down to the village and unload."
"Fine."
The carriage carrying the party cut through the forest toward the settlement. As they reached the outskirts of the village, Yohan noticed that the environment had changed significantly.
Unlike before, a proper road had been paved leading into the village. It was still just a dirt path, but the fact that it was cleared of large and small rocks meant someone was consistently maintaining it.
"A lot has changed in the meantime."
"Indeed. Was the village's outer wall always that sturdy?" Annie asked.
It wasn't just the road that had changed. A wooden wall, standing at least two meters tall, now enclosed the village. While they hadn't built a grand gate like the one in Junk Town, this was still a massive leap forward considering the village's starting conditions.
"It's the Apostle! The Apostle has returned!" a villager who spotted the carriage shouted at the top of his lungs.
"The Apostle is back!"
"Hey, did you just say the Apostle?"
Instantly, the villagers working in the fields threw down their farming tools and rushed toward the carriage in unison.
"Whoa."
Having nearly a hundred people swarm him with such enthusiastic welcomes was a first for Yohan.
"Uh, wait... I mean..." He wore a rare, sheepish expression, looking thoroughly embarrassed.
On the other hand, Annie calmly scanned the villagers one by one. Her habit of investigating people across the continent during her days as an inquisitor seemed to have kicked in automatically.
"Are the people out here right now the entirety of the village population?" she murmured.
"Billy!" one of the villagers shouted, spotting Billy in the cargo bed.
Billy offered an awkward smile and waved through the window. "Has everyone been doing well?"
"Of course! Now that those damn man-eaters are completely gone, the village is full of life."
"I'm glad to hear that. Up we go." Billy opened the door and hopped down from the carriage, and Yohan and the rest of the party followed suit.
"But you said you were going to see the outside world, so what're you back so soon for?"
"Yeah, it hasn't even been that long since you left."
"And who's that tall, pretty lady next to you?"
"Wait, hold on a second."
The moment Billy stepped down, the villagers surrounded him, bombarding him with questions. As Billy stood there flustered and overwhelmed, Yohan stepped in front of him and gently pushed the villagers back.
"I'm glad you're all happy to see us, but calm down first. We're all believers of the same Goddess, so we just dropped by to see if everyone was still breathing."
At Yohan's words, the villagers burst into hearty laughter.
"Aigoo, what is there to worry about? Of course we're doing well, thanks to you."
"I can see that. I noticed you even paved a nice road starting from the village entrance."
As Yohan chatted with the gathered crowd, an elderly man caught his eye. Yohan quickly recognized him as the elder who had accompanied them to Jack's funeral.
The elder made his way through the crowd and stood before Yohan.
"Your party has grown in the meantime," the elder said, glancing briefly at Annie.
Yohan caught a trace of wariness in his eyes. Even if they had been freed from the yoke of the man-eating trolls, the insularity built up over generations couldn't be shed overnight.
"Right? She believes in our Goddess too, so you don't have to worry."
"If you're the one vouching for her, then of course we must believe you."
The villagers still hadn't fully healed from their deep wounds. Worried that Annie might be offended by their attitude, Yohan glanced at her.
Fortunately, Annie understood the villagers' circumstances and showed no signs of discomfort. Instead, she was busy observing the village landscape with an intrigued expression.
"Everyone's complexion looks way better than before. You guys aren't just saying it—you really are living well now, huh?"
"It's all because you risked your lives to fight for us," the elder replied with a nod. "In any case, welcome back. You must be tired, let's go inside and talk."
"Ah, going straight inside is a bit much. First, have one person from each household come out. I brought some gifts."
When the word "gifts" slipped from Yohan's mouth, gasps of excitement rippled through the crowd.
"One person per household?"
"Yeah. I brought some gifts from the outside."
"I see. Alright, everyone, line up with one person per household, just as the Apostle said," the elder announced, raising his voice.
The chatter died down instantly as the villagers quickly formed a long, single-file line, while the rest stepped back a few paces.
"Alright, let's unload the goods."
At Yohan's command, even Falco, who had been waiting quietly, hopped down from the driver's seat to help unload the cargo.
In truth, the carriage didn't have enough space, so Yohan had used his Single-room as temporary storage. He opened a dimensional portal on the spot and brought out everything stored inside.
"We have plenty of stock, so don't go fighting over who gets what first. Just line up quietly, alright?"
What the villagers needed most right now were undoubtedly farming tools and household goods. Next were thick clothes to survive the upcoming winter, and medicine in case of emergencies.
"Oh my, you brought so many things."
"Thank you so much, Apostle. The tools we had at home were getting old and broken anyway."
Yohan's party began distributing the mountain of goods piled on the ground.
"Behold! These have all been prepared for thee, so do not hesitate to accept them!"
In the meantime, the Goddess had manifested physically to join in on the distribution.
"T-Thank you!"
"T-The Goddess herself..."
Every time a villager faced the Goddess, they reflexively bowed or even prostrated themselves on the spot. Watching this from the side, Yohan had to sweat to keep himself from bursting into laughter.
While Yohan and his companions had grown accustomed to her, to ordinary people, merely laying eyes on a manifested deity was an overwhelming, emotionally charged experience.
"But what are these seeds for? I don't think we're supposed to roast and eat them," a villager asked, tilting his head as he scooped up a handful of seeds from a pouch.
"Ah, those? They're seeds for various crops. I noticed you guys eat nothing but potatoes for all three meals. I didn't know the local soil conditions, so I just bought whatever I could find. Plant them and see what grows."
"Ah, I see."
Distributing clothes and medicine would certainly improve their immediate circumstances. However, clothes and medicine were ultimately consumables. To ensure the long-term development of the village, they needed to achieve food self-sufficiency.
Of course, that was easier said than done. Planting and harvesting crops took months, and more often than not, years.
"If it's about farming, the village elders know best. Elder Jeffrey, come over and take a look at this."
Fortunately, there were a few elders in the village who possessed such knowledge.
"I, too, know a thing or two about plants."
Driven by her obsession with maintaining her "forest elf" image, Falco, who had been quietly distributing goods without causing trouble, suddenly approached the villager and snatched the seeds.
"Whoa, an elf is truly an elf."
When the villagers chimed in with admiration, Falco tried to keep a straight face, but she couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from twitching upward.
"Exactly. She might look like that, but she's lived way longer than—mphf!"
"Say another word... and you're dead. Got it?"
Pitter-patter.
In the midst of this, a villager had accidentally touched Falco's sore spot. Because a furious Falco had aggressively covered Yohan's mouth, several seeds slipped from her hand and spilled onto the ground.
"Hey! You idiot! That costs money, why are you spilling it on the—"
"Yikes!"
But Yohan suddenly let out a startled shriek as a brilliant light erupted from the seeds on the ground.
"Wait, what is this?"
It wasn't just the spilled seeds that were glowing. The ring Falco wore began to emit a light of the exact same color.
Crack! Creak!
The seeds on the ground began to grow at an unbelievable speed. The sprouts instantly shot up into thick stalks, which immediately bore a massive harvest of fruits and grains.
"Hey, hey. Hold on. If this works..."
Seeing this, a brilliant idea flashed through Yohan's mind.
"Yeah. I think I know what you're thinking."
Falco seemed to have reached the same conclusion. The two looked at each other and nodded.
From this day on, this village will become a blessed land overflowing with crops and grain.
Yohan seriously believed so.