An Enjoyable Village Experience
The tale of the demons from a moment ago had been utterly fascinating.
That meant the deer-horned demon that had tried to slaughter every living creature in sight was probably a Demon of Hatred.
And fortunately, my mana could be considered power from the Demon of Interest side.
I could sense the energy called mana, yet without seeing its source I apparently could not tell what kind of mana it was. When I watched the priests enter the study with grim faces, I seriously worried I might have to seal my magic away.
Now even if I used magic, no subjugation force would be formed against me.
Next came the vow…
It was fine to kill those who were discourteous and thought only of themselves?
This really was a world where idiots could not survive.
No wonder the knight I first met had treated me with such extreme courtesy—it must have been because of the Pact of Life…
My evaluation of the people here skyrocketed.
And if mages had created the Mind-Body Method that knights used, then force mages existed here as well…
I watched the blonde girl Bel walking away and thought.
Before, even when I sat all the way in the back she had never sensed me, so how had she known today?
I had carefully taken notes without making a sound, yet still got caught.
I jumped when the girl looked back during study.
I used Hide to kill her interest again, but after class when the girl named Mani flung the door open I almost got discovered.
My literacy studies seemed nearly finished; I probably no longer needed to return to the church.
I had nearly been caught this time. If the same situation happened again, they would certainly start suspecting something was nearby.
I would head to the hideout and review everything I had learned so far.
Time flowed on, and a new morning arrived.
Blanc was serving as my pillow, and man, she was so soft and fluffy it felt wonderful.
Still, I had stayed here so long that it was starting to feel like home…
How long had I been here by now?
It seemed like more than three months…
I had completely mastered the speech and writing that had been my goal here.
"The soy sauce factory manager is Manager Kang, and the soybean paste factory manager is…"
"The police headquarters' iron bars are double iron bars, and the prosecution office's iron bars are…"
I could even manage tongue twisters now, so speech and writing were a complete success.
Truly a time of endurance…
"Pong~~~"
"Thanks, Blanc."
Blanc celebrated my mastery of speech and writing, so it was about time I prepared to leave.
Meanwhile Hati was over there leisurely scratching his belly—where had Hugin gone?
He had been missing since last night; he must have something to check.
I was not particularly worried.
He was the type who would mouth off even to a Demon of Hatred. If he ever reached a truly dangerous level, Hati would notice at once and go help him.
"Hati, I'm heading to the village for a bit. When Hugin gets back, tell him we're leaving soon so stay near here."
"Grrung…."
Watching Hati roll around on the ground and answer half-heartedly, he was getting lazier by the day… Traveling would hopefully fix that a little.
Before leaving I needed to drop by the village to experiment with various things.
Previously, while learning the language in the village, I had confirmed that various hunters from outside were selling furs.
Eavesdropping on their chatter had given me good information.
As long as the animals were not from the forest near noble houses, you could hunt them freely.
Even though they were herbivores and the like, their aggression was far too high and their numbers grew too quickly.
Most were treated as harmful pests that injured people, so their numbers had to be continuously reduced.
I had thought catching animals in the forest was illegal and had carefully taken only a few at a time to avoid detection, but there had been no need.
Moreover the forest was vast, and with the church nearby the priests continuously dealt with the animals, so the village had no full-time hunters of its own.
Therefore the concept would be hunter.
Before going to the village I had caught animals deep in the forest and tried tanning them.
Without any chemicals, using only smoke, lye, and oil rendered from animal fat, the leather had come out cleanly tanned.
Was this the influence of A-rank tanning masters? Strange…
I had already made clean leather clothes from some of the neatly tanned hides, referencing the clothes hunters wore.
Thanks for the rawhide clothes…
I stuffed the pile of leather prepared for sale into a large bag and was ready!!
Alright then—time to go check out this world's rural public sentiment right now!
This week's shift is gatekeeping….
Jack sighed.
Patrolling the village walls was less boring; at least you got to walk around and time passed.
But gatekeeping meant standing in one spot all day holding a spear, so it was damn dull.
His partner Heps wore the same face as if he had chewed shit.
Outsiders rarely came in the first place, so everyone you saw at the gate was a familiar face… Ugh…
"Something… something… can't something interesting happen to blow away this boredom…"
As if Jack's words had been a flag, before long they spotted an unfamiliar figure in the distance.
"Heps. Is that a person over there?"
"Huh? Oh…. it is a person! Leather clothes and a robe? Ah, that robe's leather too. Must be a hunter working outside."
"But why's he wearing a wooden mask?"
"How should I know? Maybe his face is badly scarred or some other reason. Other outsiders cover most of their faces with cloth or blankets anyway."
While the two made idle talk, the outsider approached the village gate.
He's really tall?
The outsider had a solid build and was quite tall—about a head taller than Jack.
No wonder he could hunt alone outside.
"Hold on a moment there."
"Yes, what is it?"
This outsider's voice is really nice too.
"A brief inspection. What business brings you here?"
"I've processed some game I caught this time and brought it along. I came hoping I might be able to trade."
"I see~ Then could we check your luggage for a moment? The world's been rough lately so we have to check."
"Sure, go ahead. Take a look."
Outsiders entering the village always had to have their luggage inspected.
In case the outsider turned out to be one of those fucker demon worshippers.
If demon worshippers got into the village, the shitty situation of summoning a demon could occur.
Those guys carried weird and disgusting luggage that stood out to anyone who looked, so inspecting bags filtered most of them out.
"That's a really big bag."
Jack opened the large bag and rummaged through it, finding a pile of leather.
"This is a money pouch, this is food… Oh! The leather condition is excellent. Even the tanning is well done? Wow~ you're skilled?"
"Ooh~ for real, leathers without a single scratch~"
Heps beside him also marveled at the clean leathers.
"Ahaha… thank you."
"But you don't have any weapons. Like a bow or a dagger?"
"I hid them in the nearby forest. Can't bring them in anyway."
That was correct.
What crazy person would let someone stroll around the village armed?
If the outsider was a psycho and started a knife fight, the villagers would be in danger, so only the self-defense force or soldiers could carry weapons inside the village.
Huh? What if the outsider got attacked?
Not their problem.
Most cases where outsiders got attacked were when the outsider bastard acted up alone and got what was coming; unless they were being a real pain, most villagers let things slide, so if problems arose it was the outsider's fault.
Therefore if they brought weapons they left them at the guard post near the gate, but many, like this man, hid their weapons near the village for fear of losing their belongings.
"Um, about the mask…?"
"Yes? Should I take it off?"
"Please take it off."
The outsider removed the mask, and the face behind it appeared to Jack and Heps.
Sky-blue hair and golden eyes.
An incredibly handsome face.
"Wow~ you're really handsome."
"Is there a reason you go around wearing a mask?"
"Hahaha… I don't want things getting troublesome…"
"Yeah, that face would definitely be a hassle…"
"I'm jealous…"
Leaving the two men's envy behind, the outsider put the wooden mask back on.
No other strange points about this outsider besides the mask.
This outsider should be fine entering the village.
"Hmm… nothing unusual."
Jack put the items back in the bag and pointed with his finger deeper into the village.
"If you're looking for a place to stay, go deeper into the village and there are brick houses; there's an outsider rest stop there so check it out."
"Yes, thank you."
"Then… by any chance, can you sell some of these leathers right now?"
Jack rummaged in his own bag on the ground beside the gate and pulled out a silver-coin pouch.
"I'm on guard duty so I can't go to the market, but I've got a fair amount of money on me right now."
"Works for me. I'll give you a good price."
"Oh! I'll buy a few too. Quality like this, gotta stock up a few."
And so the gatekeepers and the hunter made a cool deal and parted.
"You bought two big leathers? Stocking up too?"
"Quality this good for two silver each is ridiculously cheap. My wife'll love it so of course I'm buying. How many did you get?"
"I got five small ones and three big ones."
"You bought a ton."
"Why the admiration for my wealth?"
"Bullshit, heh heh heh."
"Keh keh."
The two were happy from the good deal.
I entered the village smoothly.
Unlike before when I had been sneaking around, I took in the people fully.
The warm sounds of people talking, the sound of plowing fields, and all the other various noises….
This was a village! The lonely feeling vanished completely.
Humans really were social animals! Glad I had dropped by the village.
Except for the dirty and smelly parts, that is.
But because of the mask, gazes poured in from all around.
Even the gate guards had looked at the mask strangely, and coming inside the village the mask drew even more attention.
Considering the worst case of going bare-faced, I would just keep wearing it.
I arrived at the village market.
Peddlers ran stalls, or villagers bartered things they no longer needed.
I should set up a stall too.
A stall was nothing special.
Just take out the leather and sit, and people would come by.
Last time I had seen a big rawhide sell for six silver, but since this was for experience rather than making money, I sold super cheap.
And since tanned leather products were in high demand, they sold fast.
"My, the leathers are so clean for two silver? Practically free?"
"Just give me those three small ones."
I had brought twenty big leathers and thirty small ones, and sold them all in an hour or two.
After organizing the emptied bag and looking around for something to buy, I spotted musical instruments.
Hmm… oh? They were selling flutes?
Looking at the yellow color, they were probably made of bone.
I approached the middle-aged-looking peddler with the bone flute.
"Hmm? The friend who was selling leather earlier. Interested in the flute?"
"Yes, how much is this?"
"Just four silver."
"Aw… make it three."
"No, four."
"It's not selling anyway, make it three."
"Four."
"…."
In the end I bought it for four silver.
The peddler who kept insisting on an absolute four dollars even from his intent.
Seems the flute had been bad stock; after selling, his mood looked much better.
"Still, since you cleared out one of my stocks and there are no other customers around, I'll tell you an interesting story!"
"What kind of story?"
"Actually a large merchant caravan comes to this village every half year? But the caravan that should have arrived last month hasn't come."
As expected… there was an external caravan that filled the village's demand.
"That's a bit strange. Do you know the reason?"
"Because of a demon, they say."
"A demon appeared nearby?"
"It was subjugated a few months ago. A deer-horned demon, its name was…. Beast or something?"
The peddler put a hand on his chin and spoke.
"Anyway it was a pretty powerful demon; before the subjugation a whole company of patrol troops was wiped out."
"Patrol… troops?"
"Huh? You know, the soldiers who go around in groups of about thirty protecting the empire's roads."
So the corpses Hati had found in the forest must have been the patrol troops.
"Even with two or three knights in the patrol, if they got wiped out that says it all."
"I see."
"That's why the large caravans seem to have stopped for a bit. I was planning to move with the large caravan from here too, but my feet have been stuck for a month… tsk…."
"Where were you headed that you travel with the caravan?"
"I was going to the city of Leverit. It's far from here but quite a large city, so stocking up some goods and resting a bit wouldn't be bad."
A city… should I go check it out?
"Anyway, that should be worth one silver, right?"
"Yes, thank you."
"A polite young man. In case our paths cross again, I'll tell you my name—I'm Gen."
"Haren. I'm a hunter."
"Haha, you seem like a skilled hunter. Next time we meet, sell me some fur cheap."
Hearing the story from peddler Gen, that deer-horned demon really had been a strong one.
And the knight named Delner who had been facing it alone had done more than three people's share?
I bought a few loaves of bread at the market and walked the road.
Today I would sleep one night at that rest stop in the village and leave.
Going deeper into the village, the roads were well-packed and the houses turned into brick ones.
Coming here, before it had been a hopeless medieval backwater village, but this place felt like a fantasy village from games.
There were street trees, the ground was not dirty, the people were clean….
Huh? That blonde girl over there was probably… the kid named Bel?
The one next to her was Mani.
"Bel~ tomorrow we're going to play in the forest so look forward to it~"
"Okay Mani, see you tomorrow."
The two girls seemed to be heading home after playing.
Around Bel's neck was a necklace I had not seen before, made from the small wooden cube I had left behind when I fled.
That incident at the church must be a precious memory for that girl.
Come to think of it, I still had the matching wooden cube in my belongings; when I left this village later I should throw it away.
In case it got discovered, I should dispose of it somewhere far.
Leaving Bel behind as she walked away, I asked people for directions and they kindly told me, so I easily found the place called the rest stop.
The rest stop turned out to be an inn, and a bearded man was at the counter.
"Welcome~ here for lodging?"
"Yes."
"One day is one silver, one week is four silver, one month is eleven. Breakfast and dinner are free."
What? If it was one a day, a week should be seven, right?
No—this price drop… similar to gym membership prices.
One month was ridiculously expensive, but paying for half a year or more made it look super cheap. The trick.
They were trying to keep outsiders in the village somehow, and settling here would be even better.
That was how peddler Gen could hold out for a month.
"Just for one day."
"Yes~ take this key, room on the far right of the third floor."
The owner handed over the key and told me the precautions.
"When you sleep or go out in the middle, make sure to lock the door."
"Yes, take care."
The rest-stop room was cleaner than expected.
But there were quite a few fleas; as soon as I entered the room they poured out and fled into the wall cracks.
Wow… if they had stayed hidden I would not have known, but now I had taken the red pill.
Good thing the bugs really hated my body.
Before I knew it night had deepened.
Curious what dinner would be I tried it, but it was pig-slop gruel.
It was so damn bad I came up midway and just chewed on bread and jerky.
No wonder no one was eating; free or not it was not food worth eating….
I lay on the inn bed; a bit hard but better than the ground.
This village experience had been a complete success.
Especially the village public sentiment was good—damn, I could trust them!
Though because of the class system there were two villages within the village that did not mix?
From what I looked into, the class system here was like this.
Arman (Royalty) – Trien (Nobility) – Baira (Freeman) – Indala (Untouchable / Serf) in that order.
From the words I had heard a few months ago like "Baira is unlucky" and "Sad to be born Indala,"
"Baira" and "Indala" had been proper nouns I could not grasp even with intent, but they were simply freemen and serfs.
I had thought about why such a class system existed, but the answer was simple.
The serfs were ridiculously weak.
Serfs were shorter and frailer than freemen.
Instead freemen were clearly stronger than real-world humans. Life force, was it?
Seeing a small thirty-something housewife carry a huge box into the warehouse, freemen's physiques were really strong.
Thanks to life force, an ordinary woman doing housework could bench two hundred kilos or so.
If only serfs formed a village and lived, if monsters or demons attacked they would be massacred.
To prevent that, nobles paid money to relocate dozens of freemen to the village, and freemen lived in the village while protecting the serfs.
Serfs farmed; freemen became warriors or managed the village.
That was the basic structure of the village.
Night deepened.
Tomorrow I'll leave this place. It's a place I've grown quite fond of—a bit regrettable.
Haren accepted the drowsiness washing over him and fell into a deep sleep.